"What is that?!"
In just an instant, the expression on 'Greedy Wolf' Hengo's face became as solemn as 'Glorious Light' Alice's.
As a 'Lampbearer,' and a seasoned expert in the circle at that, he had traveled through many worlds, but he had never seen such a gigantic tree.
No, 'majestic' should be the word to describe it!
This tree shot straight into the clouds, looking from afar like a ladder connecting heaven and earth.
Alice shook her head: "I only just discovered it too, it should have appeared not long ago! I'm worried it's a means of the Propagation Hegemon, so I didn't dare approach to check."
Hengo nodded slightly: "Indeed, only a Hegemon could have such means!"
They had already explored the biosphere in 'T33' once, and such a giant tree simply didn't exist. Moreover, according to the analysis of the technology sphere, under the current gravitational environment, air composition, temperature, humidity, and other factors, it was fundamentally impossible to naturally evolve such a tree.
This wasn't scientific!
After a short while, the one-armed old man also arrived on the cliff.
Hengo frowned: "Why are you injured so badly?"
The old man looked guilty: "I regret not listening to your advice!"
Saying so, he recounted the matter of engaging the flesh puppet, being defeated and fleeing, and finally implicating his companion.
Looking at the broken lamp the old man took out, Hengo and Alice sighed helplessly.
In the process of resisting Hegemons, countless 'Lampbearers' had already perished. This companion wasn't the first, nor would he be the last.
At this time, the black-robed 'Lampbearer' in the same group as Hengo arrived hurriedly.
Seeing the old man seriously injured and the other person dead, his expression was somewhat ugly.
Beforehand, he had guessed this mission might be tricky, but after arriving at the place, he realized he had still underestimated the danger of this mission.
However, everyone was a 'Lampbearer,' having seen much of the world and experienced some things, so they quickly accepted reality.
After a moment of silence, Alice pointed to the distance: "The reason I suddenly summoned everyone is because of that tree!"
The old man and that black-robed 'Lampbearer' looked in the direction Alice pointed, then were stunned simultaneously.
After pondering for a moment, the old man asked: "Should we go over and take a look?"
Alice was somewhat indecisive: "If that tree is a means of the Propagation Hegemon, the vicinity of the tree must be crawling with flesh puppets. It will be very difficult for us to approach."
The old man and the black-robed 'Lampbearer' had already tasted the trickiness of flesh puppets. One flesh puppet was enough to make them flee in panic. If there were a few more, a single misstep could lead to the destruction of both lamp and person, just like the previous black-robed 'Lampbearer.'
Hengo said: "If someone covers me, I can try to approach and reconnaissance!"
For him, at worst it was losing another prosthetic body, but the premise was that someone had to lure away the flesh puppets that might appear.
Hearing Hengo's words, the black-robed 'Lampbearer' beside him shook his head directly: "I won't go, no matter how much the reward is!"
The previous mission was just placing information spheres without actively contacting flesh puppets, and it was already full of danger. Now to deliberately provoke flesh puppets, the black-robed 'Lampbearer' naturally wasn't willing.
Let alone him, even the injured old man looked troubled.
Sensing the atmosphere was somewhat stiff, Hengo asked: "Alice, where is your partner? Did an accident happen too?"
Alice shook her head: "He just sent a message, should still be alive."
Sure enough, not long after, Shinji arrived on the high cliff using the jetpack.
Alice said: "I've already received the signal of the information sphere activation, thank you very much!"
"Hmm!"
Shinji responded.
Alice pointed to the giant tree on the horizon again, explaining the reason for summoning everyone to Shinji.
Before Shinji could answer, Hengo said: "That thing must be created by the Hegemon. Maybe that's the Propagation Hegemon's means of devouring the world. Opportunities are rare, I think we should take some risks to investigate!"
The black-robed 'Lampbearer' said: "If that's the Hegemon's means of devouring the world, then us going over isn't taking a risk but seeking death! Sorry, ten grains of 'Embers' aren't enough to buy my life!"
The old man looked serious: "My current state is very bad, the Hegemon's pollution in my body hasn't been completely cleared yet."
'Lampbearers' could be immune to Hegemon pollution relative to other creatures. If hit directly by the Hegemon's power, 'Lampbearers' would still be polluted by the Hegemon's power and need to use the power of the 'Lamp' to clear the pollution to ensure their own safety.
If it were other Hegemons, as long as some 'Embers' were consumed, clearing the pollution wouldn't be difficult.
Unfortunately, the one polluting the old man was the Propagation Hegemon. Its pollution was the most stubborn, especially after invading the body, it was very difficult to clear.
Hengo looked at Shinji again and asked: "What do you think?"
"Uh..."
Shinji was slightly embarrassed.
Hengo snorted lightly, finally looking at Alice: "I'm afraid it's just the two of us!"
Undoubtedly, Hengo interpreted that trace of embarrassment Shinji showed as the same attitude as the old man and the other black-robed 'Lampbearer.'
However, what truly embarrassed Shinji was that the matter of him releasing the God Tree to secretly absorb 'T33's energy was discovered by everyone.
"Wasn't it agreed that we would retreat immediately after activating the information spheres? If I knew, I would have released the God Tree a bit later!"
Shinji muttered in his heart.
Undoubtedly, that giant tree connecting heaven and earth in the distance wasn't a means of the Propagation Hegemon, but Shinji temporarily releasing the Ten-Tails from his body, transforming the Ten-Tails into the God Tree form, and taking root in 'T33.'
After understanding 'T33's situation, Shinji evaluated it.
Obviously, the Propagation Hegemon's invasion of 'T33' was currently still in the initial stage, its degree far lighter than the Fear Hegemon's invasion of the Ninja World.
This could be seen from the difficulty 'Glorious Light' Alice had in breaking 'T33's spatial barrier.
'T33's spatial barrier was obviously sturdier than the Ninja World's.
And the reason why so much of the Propagation Hegemon's power had infiltrated was mainly because there was no intelligent civilization on 'T33,' nor was a 'Lampbearer' born, so the Propagation Hegemon's invasion encountered no resistance.
In other words.
There was actually still a short period of time before 'T33' was completely destroyed.
Being targeted by a Hegemon, there was basically no possibility of reversal, so 'T33's destruction was already destined. Since 'T33' would eventually become the Propagation Hegemon's meal, why not take a share before the Propagation Hegemon completely swallowed it.
In a sense, this was also weakening the Hegemon's power, avoiding the Propagation Hegemon becoming further stronger after devouring 'T33'...