Sealed in Steel [ Tank Litrpg ]

Hours passed, and Elian and his party continued their climb, joining more than a hundred others intent on meeting the Sabyn Twins of Autumn.

Besides hating humans, the books Elian had read about the Twins revealed only a bit of information about them. The Twins were said to have the appearance of humanoid children, a boy and a girl, made of sparkling green vines. Curiously, some books mentioned that each twin could grant a Boon different from each other, while other books were certain the twins could grant only one kind of Boon since they were essentially one deity.

However, in all of the materials Elian had read, it was consistently stated that the girl twin granted the Boon boosting herbalism. The boy twin was where the debates came in—a minority claimed that he gave a Boon that could make plants themselves stronger. Might be how the Sabyn Herbalists turned into plants. It certainly wasn't due to the girl twin's Boon. Unlikely to be a Curse either because, so far, there was no proof that a Boon and a Curse from the same deity could co-exist on one person.

Too bad I didn't ask the Magistrate to try, Elian thought.

But he had enough random experimentation for the time being. Given his luck, mixing the Magistrate's Boon and Curse would end up badly. He didn't know how. It might not be the case. But he should just expect the worst given his groofshit fortune so far.

Whether it be the Boon of the girl twin or the mysterious and possibly nonexistent Boon of the boy twin, Elian wouldn't attempt to get either of them. The Sabyn Twins demanded too much from those asking to be their Bestowed. Unlike the Hundred-Armed Magistrate, who'd give its Boon and Curse to anyone who asked, the Sabyn Twins had a selection of rigorous tests that they cycled through every few years or so.

Elian learned from Maveron yesterday that the current test of the Twins was rendering several years in their service. The prospective bestowed didn't need to become a plant like the herbalists, but they were required to stay on the mountain just the same because that was where the work would be.

No way Elian would agree to that. Even just a year would be too much, no matter how powerful the Boon would prove to be. He couldn't hole up on this mountain while the Giants landed—this was what he was trying to prevent. If the Giants established a foothold on the continent, they'd build Gates back to their homeland to transport their main forces, and it'd be the beginning of the end for humanity. Elian's strategy was a whack-a-mole defense of destroying every landing attempt of the Giants.

After that, Elian wasn't sure what to do next. He hadn't come up with a concrete way to end the war for good. Going to the Forgotten Lands to fight the Giants on their turf was insane. No one would probably join him in that endeavor.

Perhaps the scattered pieces of the Elder Giant were the key. Not sure what the door it was supposed to unlock was, though.

"A marvel this mountain is, isn't it?" Gideon exclaimed as they passed by trees with clouds of pink and yellow blossoms that turned out to be thousands of butterflies. "Never in my life have I beheld such grandeur and beauty!"

"It surely is pretty around here," Elian said. "The home of the Sabyn Twins looks like paradise."

Would the Sabyn Twins help humanity? Would the Giants bother with this mountain? That'd depend on whether those Sabyn Herbalists who were once humans would be considered human enough by the Giants to destroy.

"They'll most likely leave this mountain alone," Elian mumbled to himself.

"Did you say anything, esteemed Penitent?" Maveron had slowed his pace so he'd fall behind and be in line with Elian and Gideon.

"Ah, nothing. I was just admiring the beauty of nature. Say, I forgot to ask you something last night. I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but have any Grovenians entered Sabyn mountain and, uh, I dunno, harmed the plants or something?"

"I don't take offense at your question," said Maveron. "It's a reasonable supposition of why the Sabyn Twins are angry at us. And I can confidently say, no, none of us has trespassed this mountain even to touch a blade of grass. I'm quite sure the actual issue is our act of felling the trees around our town. Those were a lot of trees, I can tell you that."

Elian wrinkled his forehead. "Maybe one of those trees was special? Magical or something? Other people are cutting down trees too. The pilgrims over at the Temples of Tribulation do it. They have to build camps for thousands of people."

"Your guess is as good as ours, Penitent. We may have felled something important to the Sabyn Twins, but none of us had noticed anything special about the logs and planks we used for our homes and walls. Sparkling lights, a burst of energy, nothing."

It couldn't be nothing, Elian thought, stopping himself from saying it out loud. He'd find out in a few hours what the real issue was when they met the Sabyn Twins. "If this is a misunderstanding or an unintentional offense, I'm sure the Twins wouldn't ask for heavy reparations. I mean, they're getting pretty open with the marketplace selling their stuff."

"I pray the matter is resolved swiftly," Maveron said. "But if it isn't… Penitent, would you protect us from harm?"

"That's supposed to be my job," Elian said. "Though I'm not too sure what I can do against a mountain full of creatures angry at you." Elian was a bit pissed at Maveron's question. It sort of implied Maveron wouldn't do everything possible to appease the Sabyn Twins. Maveron might even stir trouble. Elian had had enough of that from Gideon.

"True, true," Maveron replied, chuckling. "The mountain sure can be scary."

Elian glanced at Maveron. That wasn't the end of their conversation, was it? Maveron didn't come over just to ask that? Elian waited for Maveron to bring up the real topic.

A dozen steps up the stairs later, Maveron spoke again. "Penitent, about these shadow beasts…"

"What about them?"

"In the event that we're unable to meet the demands of the Sabyn Twins, the attacks on our town would continue."

"Uh, I guess so. That's the unfortunate conclusion."

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"Would you help us defend it?"

"But I—"

"I know that you and Master Floramage are heading to Ohmenstrat, but could you spare a month or two to aid us? You don't have to stay in our town forever. If we can definitively repel, I dare say, even vanquish the shadow beasts several times, it might discourage the Sabyn Twins from sending more. I'm sure someone as powerful as you can defeat the shadow beasts."

"I don't know about that 'powerful' part," Elian said, scratching the back of his head, pretending to be embarrassed. If there really was no choice, he'd defend Golden Grove. But he didn't want Maveron to know that. "Penitents build themselves for defense. You know how Tribulations work, right? We're not fighters. At least, most of us aren't, including me."

"You could hold the attention of the shadow beasts as we kill them," Maveron said. "I'm sure it'll be an easy task for you, esteemed Penitent. You meet your Tribulations without wearing armor."

Quite observant, Elian thought. When they met Maveron, Elian was wearing normal clothes. Not a piece of armor in sight. "I'll have to discuss this with Gideon. Our appointment in Ohmenstrat can be delayed by a few days, which is why we've agreed to come with you here, but not by a month or longer."

"I understand, esteemed Penitent. Do continue to consider our plight as we ascend."

"Who knows, maybe this'll be fixed when we meet the Sabyn Twins."

"I dearly hope so." Maveron pointed forward. "I must return to the head of our group. We were discussing how best to talk to the mountain deity."

As Elian stared at Maveron's back, he continued to wonder what the Grovenian's real plan could be.

Defending Golden Grove until the Sabyn Twins left them alone wouldn't explain why they brought their weapons to this mountain. It also wasn't as stupid as trying to assassinate the Twins, was it? They might be able to destroy the plants used by the Twins as bodies, but the essence of the Twins would remain unscathed. Only a deity could destroy another. Thalman knew that, which was why he planned to use his Tribulation to kill the Magistrate. The Grovenians should also know.

Then again, desperation could drive people to do crazy things.

A bit past midday, the stairs led them to a garden overlooking a cliff. The flowers had crystalline petals that left traces of light in the air as they danced in the wind. Instead of bees buzzing around the blossoms, glittering fairies, with humanoid forms the size of a thumb, fluttered with gossamer wings all over the garden.

"Would you look at that," Gideon said, placing his hands on his hips. "They have statues made of Barkskin." He circled the large statue of a dragon. The hardened vines were intricately woven to mimic the appearance of scales. "Impressive control of the vines, molding them into this formidable form."

"Someday, when this is all over," Elian said, "Viney and I are going to make a living sculpting Barkskin statues." Although he was only joking, he did think the statue looked awesome.

Many people didn't continue up the stairs—they were two-thirds of the way to the peak—turning left to enter the garden. Curious, Elian followed them. He could catch up to the Grovenians later. It wasn't every day that he could explore a place like this.

Reaching the garden's edge bordered by a hedge of blue shrubs, he could see the vast expanse of the forests around Sabyn Mountain. On the horizon, beyond the sea of trees, stretched great plains. That was the way to Ohmenstrat.

Then Elian looked down.

"Whoa… Are those houses?"

Large wooden structures shaped like pods were attached to the almost vertical cliff wall. Each pod was around twice or thrice as big as Gideon's carriage. They had windows, so they truly were houses; they even had chimneys puffing out smoke of various colors.

These were the Sabyn Herbalist Lodges.

Rickety bridges connected the wooden pods. The Sabyn Herbalists could've built those bridges better, but those weren't for their own use since they could travel through the earth. The bridges were for the outsiders visiting the Herbalists. Elian assumed that the people coming here most likely had a sickness uncurable by the usual means of potions. Such a lack of concern in making sick people come such a long way to find help. And they'd be terrified, too.

"That does look scary," Elian said, observing a man crossing one of the bridges, his legs shaking in fear as the bridge swayed in the wind. "Is this some kind of joke for the Sabyn Herbalists?"

An explosion shattered the mountain's serene silence. There was a slight quake. The man on the bridge crouched and hugged the ropes.

What was that? Elian turned around.

Another loud nose, another quake. Something huge fell to the ground.

The wooden statues and lush plants obscured Elian's view of the Grovenians, but there was rising smoke. He sprinted through the garden, gathering Aether to make a shield with full Magical Resilience. The Aether in the air was thick. He was able to create a construct more powerful than he could in a normal area.

Past the dragon statue, Elian finally saw what was happening. Maveron and the Grovenians had their weapons drawn. Magical seals wrapped some of them, while others glowed with skills. They faced off against behemoths that were part tree and part rock. One of the imposing creatures had a large, smoldering hole in its chest, though it remained standing. Another creature was lying on the ground, cut in half.

"What are you doing, Maveron?" Elian demanded. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you starting a fight?"

"The shadow beasts, we've seen them!" He pointed past the plant behemoths. Some of the trees that way were burned, likely hit by the Grovenians' spells. "They're harboring the foul creatures."

"Sheath your weapons and no harm will come to you," said a silky voice. A Guardian Herbalist emerged from the ground. Elian assumed him to be one because he wore an armor of Barkskin instead of the cloak of leaves the others donned. "This is your first and only warning. Do more harm, and we will not be forgiving."

Elian rushed up to Maveron's side. "Stop this now, Maveron. For the safety of us all."

"What are you doing, Penitent?" Maveron roared as he stepped forward, his foot cracking the ground. His weight tremendously increased. Seeing him move normally meant his strength had increased as well. Maveron raised his sword, gripping the handle with both hands. "Aid our cause. You were hired to protect our group!"

The sag of the blade's tip, the tension of Maveron's wrists—Elian could only conclude that the sword magically became way heavier as well. Maveron could easily slice through several men, all wearing armor, in his buffed state. But it'd be a physical attack.

Nothing to be concerned about.

"And I'm doing my duty," Elian said, dispelling his Aether shield to lessen the tension, "by stopping you from making a mistake. Back down and let's talk this out."

"You're wasting time! We'll lose the shadow beast!" Maveron glowed dark red. He rushed toward the Guardian Herbalist, sword raised high.

Elian was there first, reacting quickly after Maveron's legs bent to move. He knew Maveron would do something like this. Desperation bred stupidity. Maveron brought down the blade on the Guardian Herbalist. Elian moved between them to block it.

A moment of clarity flashed in Maveron's deranged eyes. He mouthed, 'No', but couldn't stop the momentum of the weighty sword slashing down.

Elian crossed his arms above him to meet the blade. The sword hit him. The impact coursed through his body. His feet sank into the ground. Blood trickled down from the shallow cut the sword had made on his flesh.

"Wha-what?" Maveron stopped glowing red as he stepped back.