"Should we show ourselves now?" Oliver can’t help but ask. He feels like if this keeps up, the star tree might actually get crowned the new plant king by the other plant deities.

  "Let’s wait a bit longer, Master," Ygg says, holding back its anger. "I want to see what these guys do next. They’re enslaved right now—don’t they ever think about fighting back against those damn Níemogrs?"

  "Alright, we’ll wait then." Oliver nods.

  Meanwhile, the plants keep chattering away, their discussion heating up.

  "Honestly, being ruled by the Níemogrs isn’t so bad," the star tree pipes up again. "Haven’t you noticed? These past years, we’ve lived with peace of mind—no more worrying about some random animal deity popping out of nowhere to eat us!"

  Has this guy been bought off by the Níemogrs or what? Saying stuff like that?

  "Yeah, true," another chimes in. "I’ve been rooting and growing in peace lately—my body’s gotten a lot bigger."

  "If you put it that way, living in the Níemogrs’ nest is way better than when Ygg was the boss, right?"

  "Hey, have you all forgotten how those Níemogrs used to hunt us down and chew us up?"

  "But here in the nest, they haven’t eaten us…"

  "Good point. Still, I can’t shake this uneasy feeling."

  "Don’t worry about it! Didn’t they say they just want to eat our fruits now and live with us peacefully?"

  Oliver listens and shakes his head inwardly. These guys have totally been duped by the Níemogrs! If it were really like they claim—just eating their fruits—then why doesn’t a high-potential deity like the star tree have a name in mythology? In the prophetic info stream from the Book of the Chaos Era, there’s zero mention of it.

  Only one explanation fits: this thing got eaten by the Níemogrs before it could fully grow—maybe even before it hit its prime! Níemogrs thrive and evolve by devouring plant deities. These plant gods are way too naive!

  "These idiots," Ygg snaps, fuming. "They’re seriously laughing about how surrendering to Níemogrs is better than me?" It thought its rule had earned total loyalty and devotion—turns out, they’ve all flipped to its worst enemy, and so easily too!

  "Unbelievable!"

  "Hahaha, no doubts left now, right?" the star tree declares. "Crown me your new plant king! I’ll team up with the Níemogrs to keep you all safe and thriving—give every plant a worry-free place to grow!"

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "As your king, I’ll protect you better than Ygg ever did!" The star tree’s soul orb swells with excitement, trembling from the thrill.

  "Wait a sec—I object!" Just as the plants start nodding along, a voice cuts through.

  The star tree’s soul orb freezes for a moment, then flares with irritation. Who the hell is this, opposing it now of all times? Doesn’t everyone know it’s the strongest plant deity here? Plus, the Níemogrs back it up!

  Then it feels a familiar, regal plant-king aura sweep over them. A shrunken, soul-form World Tree appears before the crowd at this underground root meeting!

  "Ygg, you—you’re not dead? And you snuck in here…" The star tree’s jaw drops.

  "Oh my god, Ygg, you’re alive!"

  "Amazing! Ygg, I thought the Níemogrs ate you…"

  "Huh? Why are you here, boss? Did you join the Níemogrs too?"

  The other plants shout out, their voices a mix of confusion and joy. Sure, they’d all turned on Ygg, but seeing it alive sparks genuine happiness. They’re not as complicated as humans—still pretty simple and pure at heart. As fellow plant deities, ruled by Ygg for years, they do want it to live.

  "Hmph," Ygg snorts. "Some of you must be pretty disappointed I’m alive, huh? You lot are dumber than I thought—fooled so easily! I’m the natural plant king—the World Tree, the first and strongest plant in the chaos! No one else can lead you but me!"

  "Boss, it’s all the star tree’s fault—it tricked me! You’re still my favorite!" The starlight grass’s roots wiggle as it rushes to explain.

  Talk about a reed in the wind—swaying whichever way it blows!

  "Yeah, yeah! We still want you as our boss—the star tree’s not cut out for it!"

  "Totally! That’s what I think too!" A bunch of others chime in.

  These plants have zero backbone, Oliver thinks, barely holding back a laugh. But he gets it soon enough—they’re not human. You can’t judge them by human logic or morals.

  Meanwhile, the star tree sulks. Its soul orb shrinks, deflated and angry. It was this close to winning—why’d Ygg have to show up now?

  "Star tree, what do you say? Still planning to betray me and take over?" Ygg rustles its branches, its voice stern and brimming with authority as it confronts the star tree.

  "I… why so harsh? I’m not scared of you!" the star tree stammers. Truth is, it’s already spooked—it could never beat Ygg before, and now Ygg’s back stronger than ever. It’s only level 9, but it can tell Ygg’s at least level 10.

  Still, it rallies its courage and yells, "Who says the plant king spot is yours forever? You just got lucky as the first World Tree in the chaos! Strength-wise, I’m not far behind, and now we’re all in the Níemogrs’ nest—their leader agreed I should be the plant king!"

  That’s right—the Níemogrs signed off on it. That’s its real confidence!

  "So what if they agreed?" Ygg fires back. "I’ll let you in on something—this time, I’m here to destroy this Níemogr super-nest!"

  The World Tree’s words leave every plant stunned, wondering if they heard right. Shock hits them hard!

  The old Ygg just ran from Níemogrs’ hunts—always the fastest to flee. But now? It’s saying it’ll take down their nest? Not just kill some random Níemogr, but wipe out a super-nest housing thousands, including crazy-strong leader-tier Níemogrs?!

  "Hahaha, quit joking, Ygg! Since when did you start bragging like this?" The star tree can’t help but mock.

  "Joking? You think I’m kidding? What do you think I snuck into this nest for?" Ygg sweeps an arrogant gaze over the plants. "It’s only been a few centuries, but I’m not the same old me. Níemogrs? Nothing! I’m here today to crush them all!"