Chapter 205: First Arrival at Forest Home

“Vice-Captain Finley.” Nolan’s tone was calm, but beneath that calmness there was no room for negotiation. “My people are not prisoners.”

Under Nolan’s gaze, Finley shifted uncomfortably, yet still stubbornly defended himself. “This is a rule passed down by the Wood Elves since ancient times! The location of Forest Home is an absolute secret. Any outsider entering must—”

“That’s enough, Finley,” Romina cut him off.

The words caught in Finley’s throat. The muscles in his face twitched twice before he finally fell silent.

After a moment of contemplation, Romina turned toward Nolan and everyone behind him and spoke with solemn conviction. “Nolan is my friend, and Coldsteel City is a friend of the Wood Elves. I will not blindfold you and escort you into Forest Home like criminals.”

Finley’s expression immediately darkened. “Captain! That violates tradition! The Council of Elders will—”

“I’ll explain it to the Council of Elders,” she interrupted once more, her decision already made as she looked at Nolan. “Forest Home is the greatest secret of the Wood Elves. It is also our final home. So I ask only one thing of all of you: do not reveal anything you see here to the outside world.”

Nolan stepped forward and placed his right hand against the Immovable Bulwark over his chest, producing a sharp metallic sound. Looking directly into Romina’s eyes, he spoke with unwavering clarity. “I, Nolan, Lord of Coldsteel City, swear upon my honor and my life. Everything my people and I see and hear within Forest Home today will never be revealed to another soul. I swear it in the name of the Mother Goddess.”

Behind him, Kayan and the fifty warriors of the Holy Hammer Division slammed their warhammers against the ground in perfect unison, each placing a hand over their chest.

“We swear upon our lives and souls!”

Finley opened his mouth, but in the end only managed a strained warning. “You’d better prove worthy of the captain’s trust. Otherwise—”

Nolan raised a hand, cutting him off, “There’s no need to threaten me, Vice-Captain. I understand the consequences perfectly well. Besides, your threats mean very little to me.”

Ignoring Finley’s reddening face, Romina nodded once and turned around without further hesitation.

“Please follow me.”

The group resumed their journey.

After a while, everyone suddenly began to hear a strange low sound. A deep, rhythmic pulse quietly reverberated through the air. It was long and resonant, neither the roar of a beast nor the howl of the wind. Instead, it sounded eerily similar to the steady beating of some gigantic heart.

The sound came from every direction at once, yet also seemed to rise from beneath the earth itself, vibrating through everyone’s chest.

Vivi’s tiger ears twitched uneasily as she instinctively edged closer to Nolan again, lowering her voice.

“Nolan… do you hear that? What is it?”

Not only her—even Rehanna and the Holy Hammer Division soldiers could feel faint tremors traveling up through the ground beneath their feet.

Nolan’s expression gradually turned serious.

Of course he heard it.

The rhythm was far too regular to be a natural phenomenon.

Just as everyone’s uncertainty was growing, Romina suddenly stopped and turned around. Pride shone openly across her face. Like the owner of a grand estate preparing to unveil it to honored guests.

“We’re almost at Forest Home,” she announced. “Prepare yourselves.”

Arrived? Prepare for what?

Everyone exchanged confused looks.

Unable to restrain herself, Rehanna leaned forward and scanned the surroundings. “Captain Romina… there’s nothing here except trees. Where exactly is Forest Home?”

As far as the eye could see, there was only endless primeval forest: towering giant trees, tangled vines, and thick layers of fallen leaves. Even if the Wood Elves’ settlements were nothing like human cities with stone walls and buildings, surely there should at least be some trace of civilization?

Yet there was nothing here. No structures. No people. Only that deep, lingering pulse continued echoing around them.

Romina did not answer. She merely smiled mysteriously, gestured for everyone to continue, and walked onward.

Completely bewildered, the group followed behind her.

After another three to five minutes, the scenery ahead suddenly distorted. It was as if an invisible membrane rippled through the air.

Then, in the next instant, their vision cleared again.

Romina turned around, spread her arms wide, and smiled brilliantly. “Welcome to Forest Home.”

This time, nobody responded.

Not because the people of Coldsteel City lacked manners, but because every single person present had been left utterly speechless by the sight before them.

Vivi’s mouth fell into a perfect “O.” Rehanna’s beautiful eyes widened so far they seemed ready to burst from their sockets, filled with disbelief.

Kayan and the Holy Hammer Division warriors looked as though they had been struck by petrification magic. Frozen mid-step, they stood motionless, even forgetting how to properly grip the warhammers in their hands.

Even Ailindel revealed a rare expression of astonishment.

As for Nolan, it felt as though he had discovered an entirely new continent.

And for him, it truly was something entirely new.

In the game, the location of Forest Home had always remained a mystery. Even players who participated in the Wild Hunt of the Deep Forest storyline had only fought the corrupted entities on the outskirts. No one had ever been allowed inside.

To the Wood Elves, players were merely ordinary adventurers—not nearly important enough to enter the city itself.

And as for attempting to search for it manually in this endless forest? One only needed to ask the countless explorers who eventually gave up and suicided back to town after wandering endlessly.

Forum speculation posts about Forest Home had once reached tens of thousands of replies. Some believed it was underground. Others insisted the Wood Elves had no permanent city at all, merely nomadic settlements hidden throughout the woods.

No one had guessed the truth.

Because before them, there was no city.

No sprawling collection of buildings.

There was only a tree.

A colossal divine tree so unimaginably enormous that words could scarcely describe it.

Its trunk stretched across the horizon like a mountain range, so massive that thousands of people holding hands together could barely encircle it. The bark resembled weathered stone, covered in natural patterns and gigantic hollows. 

Looking upward, they could not even glimpse the end of its canopy. Endless layers of branches and leaves spread above like a green sky, completely blotting out the heavens themselves. By Nolan’s rough estimate, the tree stood at least eight hundred meters tall—comparable to the tallest skyscrapers from his previous world.

And upon that giant tree existed an entire ecosystem.

A vertical city.

Countless treehouses were built along the enormous branches, connected by vine bridges and wooden walkways. Wood Elves moved throughout them like ants upon a vast living world, agilely traversing between branches and homes. Soft light glowed from openings in the trunks that served as windows, illuminated by some form of magical radiance. Despite the late autumn chill permeating the forest outside, the interior of this enormous barrier remained as warm as spring.

This was Nolan’s first visit to Forest Home. The city of the Wood Elves was built upon a gigantic tree so impossibly vast it defied all reason. But that was not the most shocking part. What truly stunned him was the information displayed clearly on the system panel.

【Forest Home: Legendary Settlement】

And beneath that designation was another label.

【Power Tier: Origin】

Forest Home… was alive. 

This was not merely a modified tree. It was a living being. And its power level had reached Origin.

At that moment, the ground trembled once again.

THUD! 

That deep, resonant pulse echoed louder than before.

Nolan lowered his gaze and saw one of the giant roots at the base of the tree—wider than Coldsteel City’s main avenue itself—slowly lifting from the soil. It curled upward before slamming back down with terrifying force. The earth shook violently.

The sound they had heard earlier, the one resembling a heartbeat, had never been a heartbeat at all. It was the sound of the giant tree walking.

Forest Home had never been a fixed location. It was a colossal, living ancient tree capable of movement.

A walking city.

No wonder outsiders could never locate it. No wonder visitors were always blindfolded before entering. Because not only was its outer layer protected by an Origin-tier magical barrier, it could literally move on its own.

Beneath the giant tree, the ranger patrol that had gone ahead earlier stood in the distance, waving toward them.

Meanwhile, seeing the utterly stunned expressions on Nolan’s group, both Romina and Finley could not help showing faint traces of pride.

Forest Home. The greatest secret of the Wood Elves. Their home. The source of their power. And the ultimate fortress they took pride in above all else.

What better proof of its greatness could there be than the sheer shock on the faces of these outsiders?

“Come,” Romina said with a smile. “I’ll take our human guests to the city level.”