The Martial Unity

1947 Offer and Demand

The Elder Tree was stunned into silence at the bold declaration of the Divine Doctor.

Everybody felt fear.

Even the Elder Tree itself felt fear.

Nearly all sentient life experienced fear.

Was the madman not calling all of it primitive with his declaration?

"It wasn't always primitive…" the Divine Doctor continued as he removed several more contraptions wrapped over his body. "It served its purpose as a danger deterrent better than any other known mechanism in purpose until…"

He glanced at the Elder Tree, his frozen smile never once changing. "…Until the advent of intelligence."

The Elder Tree stared at the Divine Doctor in silence.

"Why be fearful when you can be intelligent?" The Divine Doctor's question was posed to all sentient lifeforms on the Panama Continent. "Why let fear impede rationality and intelligence? Why not rid oneself of fear and embrace the power of thought? It is the most optimal choice. It was the choice that I took."

Rui sharpened his eyes.

That explanation explained a lot.

It explained how the Divine Doctor's mind seemed unaffected when he subjected himself to extremely potent fear-

hallucinogens even though his body was clearly affected.

"I am beyond fear." The Divine Doctor closed his eyes. "I was deeply disappointed when I logically deduced that the conditions to be chosen for entry into the Garden of Salvation was fear. Disappointed and also troubled, for it was not easy to subject myself to fear. I had to go through a lot of preparations to get my hands on the fear needed to enter this place."

He opened his eyes, turning to the Elder Tree. "I will have you compensate me for my troubles."

I saved your life.

The Divine Doctor's smile deepened.

"No, I'm afraid you did no such thing."

…Why did you come here? The Elder Tree grew confused. Just what do you seek?

"I require your aid, unfortunately," the Divine Doctor remarked with a frozen smile. "I am faced with a patient with an ailment that exceeds even my ability to diagnose."

Why should I help you at all?

"Because I have something to offer," the Divine Doctor replied clinically. "I offer healing, treatment, and a cure."

I do not require such things. Certainly not from a human.

A mirthless chuckle escaped the Divine Doctor. "It will behoove you not to test me. I have identified one hundred and eighty-one esoteric deficiencies, disorders, and illnesses in your vast and expansive system, including but not limited to severe felnoven deficiency, which interferes with your space manipulation, as well as severe sundew, blood iron, darkress, and heineoun cobalt deficiencies that each interfere with the more important functions that I am witnessing here."

The Elder Tree was stunned into silence as the Divine Doctor made extremely accurate evaluations of its medical condition within minutes of meeting it!

…Who are you?

The Divine Doctor's frozen smile never changed a shade.

"It matters not who I am as much as what I can do for you and what you can do for me. I can not only ameliorate your ailments and illnesses, but I can also teach you how to heal and treat these creatures better."

He glanced at the vast and expansive biosphere within the Garden of Salvation. "Considering that they're here, I can infer they're important to your survival, most likely because of the role they play in the ecosystem that is vital for ensuring your survival through not just the chemical cycles but also the conditioning of heaven and earth to meet your environmental needs."

Rui raised an eyebrow.

He hadn't figured out the second part.

Are you truly able to do that? the Elder Tree asked eagerly.

The Divine Doctor had just made an extremely attractive offer. The survival of the species that were important to his own survival was something that the Elder Tree had to constantly juggle with.

For all its magical power, it was not a doctor. It did not possess medical knowledge and expertise. The best it could do was provide a place that was perfectly suited for each creature and allowed them to heal naturally and reproduce naturally. Oftentimes, this failed, and the creatures died nonetheless.

However, if the Elder Tree gained the medical expertise of the Divine Doctor, it would be able to diagnose, treat, and cure. It would vastly increase the success of its rescue and rehabilitation operations.

"Proving it is effortless," the Divine Doctor huffed. "I'm more concerned about whether you are able to fulfill my demands in return."

As long as it is within my ability and commensurate to what you are offering, I am.

The Divine Doctor's smile widened. "What I require of you is not strenuous or demanding."

…Just what do you require?

"You see…" The Divine Doctor began pacing back and forth as his eyes wandered around, immersed in thought. "My current patient has an ailment and an illness that I am unable to identify. You can be assured I have looked for it in many, many places and consulted many people, but I am simply unable to. Truly frustrating, I say. Which is why I require your help."

The Elder Tree grew confused. …I do not follow. What can I possibly offer? I am not familiar with medicine.

"Oh, but you can, dear Elder Tree." The Divine Doctor's frozen smile widened, exhibiting excitement for the first time. "All you need to do is tell me what you see, or rather don't see."

…What?

"Your means of observing the Beast Domain even though you have spatially isolated most of your main body." The Divine Doctor smiled clinically. "You rely on a flora network. You gain information far beyond your ordinary sensory limit by receiving information from flora across the Beast Domain, more specifically by communication of sensory information through root connections, don't you?"

…I suppose I should not be surprised that you know that.

"Correct. Regardless, this long-distance sensory network allows you to bypass the sensory resistance of the Beast Domain," the Divine Doctor replied. "While other Sage-level creatures are limited in their zones because of how exponentially more intense sensory resistance gets the closer you get to the Beast Domain, you are able to bypass this by leveraging a significant portion of the entire plant kingdom to serve as your eyes and ears across the Beast Domain and beyond."

-