The Innkeeper
chapter-1086

Long ago, when Lex was concerned about the safety of his Inn, he added something called Delinquent Vines underneath the Inn. They extended throughout the length of the Inn, at that time, and could be remotely controlled to react to any incident happening at any time, anywhere.

Later, the remnant soul of one of Lex's old tenants who had actually died, fused with the Vines, which is how Young McDonald came to be. He had since worked diligently for the Inn, though these days he had less to do with security than managing the underground of the Inn.

Some guests preferred to burrow underground, but then catering to them was not exactly convenient, which is where he came in. Though, as the Inn grew, so did Young McDonald, which is why he was not exactly weak.

That is why, when suddenly, hundreds of vines burst from the ground, screaming in agony, it actually came as a surprise to many. But what followed that was even worse. Massive, woody roots burst from the ground like pillars rising from the sky, ripping the vines to shreds in many places.

Dirt, rock, and torn vines rained from the sky as a result of the numerous explosions, but Young McDonald was far from the only one who was injured. Most old guests, by now at least, were strong enough to at least survive the initial attack, but the children weren't.

Jimmy, the serving captain of the Peacock warriors did not quite understand what was happening. Something had hit him on the head, and he blacked out for a few seconds. When he recovered, his body felt oddly weightless, and there seemed to be a pleasant breeze.

But the world seemed red. He rubbed his eyes and that didn't make the color go away, but when he looked at his hand he saw blood, as well as a broken tooth.

"Oh, I start losing my milk teeth," the concussed child muttered to himself, still unable to grasp what was happening. It saw a peacock flying in the air, and out of habit, he grabbed it.

He was one of many children who had suffered from the initial explosion of the earth, and was launched into the air as a result. It was fortunate that the Bunnies and Peacocks were always around the kids, like attendants, so they instantly took to the air to rescue them, and prevent more damage.

But the chaos had only just begun. Thousands of roots erupted from the ground, across each of the settlements, and the ground began to oddly bulge, like something was trapped underneath.

Then the earth split, and massive trees started to grow. Simultaneously, the vines began to whip everything around them, whether it was guests, buildings, or even other plants. A pulse of energy, originating from the tip of each root, spread across the Inn, reaching the places that the vines could not, and hitting those who had escaped the initial eruption.

Divine might, mixed in with some odd, green energy spread across the Inn and tore through the few buildings that had been spared. Guests whose senses were sharp enough to avoid the eruption were still hit by the pulse.

While some of the stronger ones resisted using only their bodies, the spirits who were residing in the Inn, as well as the weaker guests suffered the worst of it. Bones broke, skin was punctured, blood burst out of bodies as if water balloons full of blood had just popped, and the spirits faded till they were nearly invisible.

Neither the impact nor the sound of the initial explosion had ended, not to mention the devastating pulse, when the trees began to glow. All the blood in the region was pulled towards the nearest tree like a magnet attracting metal.

At the same time, as if through perfect coordination, the new guests, who had come as a part of various delegations all attacked. Not all of them did, for example the Imp Kanye was taking up more of a supporting role, but most were vicious in their attacks.

They had the intent to kill, and their attacks showed it. They targeted specifically the workers, who they had divided across the Inn by calling them on various errands. Whether it was through wood or stone, through claws or fangs, divinity or damnation, they attacked with all they had, intending to spare not a single one.

The coordination was perfect, and many workers were unable to retaliate and were taken by surprise. Although most of them managed to defend, or evade the attacks entirely, they were too caught up dealing with the sudden change to do much other than barely survive. That was the plan all along.

The first blow was devastating, and that was only just the beginning. The trees would grow larger, and give birth to a terrifying formation that had destroyed countless nations before this. The corpses of their enemies would become the fuel for the Tree of Heavens might, and the Midnight Inn would be a name forgotten to history.

The first five seconds passed, and the opening gambit was made, but the Tree had no intention of waiting for a response. During its planning phase it had admitted that the Inn was the strongest foe it had ever faced, and it could not give them time to respond at all. They had to be crushed in one go, leaving them unable to retaliate at all.

So as the first few seconds passed, and many came to realize what was happening, darts of poisonous thorns shot out of all the vines, targeting the strongest workers and guests.The poison was the strongest, most lethal necrotic poison the Tree could conjure, and could kill other Nascent cultivators in less than a second.

This attack alone would kill most living beings in the Inn, leaving behind only the strongest and most resilience. The Tree of Heaven paid with the currency of its will, and so its will shall be done!