Chapter 152 - 51: [The Helmed Undead’s Choice and Insect Path Ecology]

Chapter 152: Chapter 51: [The Helmed Undead’s Choice and Insect Path Ecology]

"That will suffice. Thank you very much, Miss Hald," Samael said, giving a slight nod of gratitude. "Also, I know the workload is heavy and exhausting right now, but I would like to trouble you with one more matter. Please forgive the imposition."

"It’s nothing... How can I help?" Gwyneth asked with a smile.

"This tall grass around here," Samael said, extending his Nether Copper Hand Armor to point at the tall grass encircling the area. "Are its seeds edible?"

"Hmm?" Gwyneth looked a bit surprised. "I’m not sure... We’ve never encountered this plant before. It might be a subspecies unique to the Heart of the Remains."

She leaned down and picked up a stalk of tall grass, searching for seeds at its tip.

The seeds were a pale brown, hard, and only half the size of a grain of wheat.

"They might be. But the yield is far too low; going through the effort of harvesting such a minuscule amount of seeds might be more trouble than it’s worth." She paused to ponder. "How did you know about this?"

"I have a method of determining the potential usefulness of flora and fauna to our underground colony—I mean, to our Underground City," Samael replied. "The information I have mentions that it has a symbiotic animal, and this animal’s care can increase the seed yield. Perhaps an outstanding Garden Master like yourself, Miss Hald, has some understanding of such symbiotic relationships."

"Ah... you flatter me." Gwyneth blushed slightly. "Such symbiotic flora and fauna are indeed a very common occurrence in the Spiritual Garden ecosystems of an Underground City. The most famous example is the complex symbiotic relationship between the Rot Root Ball and other plants and animals. However, the symbiotic species for the tall grass here might have been slaughtered by the Undead until their numbers dwindled to almost nothing, or perhaps they’ve even gone extinct."

"Is that so?" Samael looked somewhat disappointed. "I thought these seeds might solve a bit of our food problem."

"Don’t worry. We brought seeds, so the garden ecosystem should be established very soon. Food shouldn’t be an issue by then. Besides, we can forage for edible plants and animals in the surrounding areas. A Garden Master has a fair understanding of their traits; even with unfamiliar flora and fauna, it’s easy to determine if they’re safe to eat.

"We’ve already discovered several Demonized Shrubs in the Rusted Copper Forest, whose berries and tubers can sustain us for a while. Moreover, the vegetation in the moss fields to the north and the swamps to the south might be even more lush and resource-rich. Deep within the eastern fog, there seems to be a massive lake where we could fish, or we could even raise fish in the Underground City," Gwyneth explained.

"Uh... if I’m not mistaken, those all seem to be the territories of my kind," Samael said hesitantly.

A few Ghost Knights were occupying natural resources that the living needed. They had no use for them themselves, yet they refused to give them up. Would he have to go to war with them just so the Underground City could secure more species and natural resources?

If they had absolutely no use for these natural resources, could he perhaps negotiate with them to exchange some species resources?

Or, maybe he could simply dispatch his elite Bell-shaped Helmet Undead to sneak across the territorial borders and gather some? After all, those knights only cared about minerals, corpses, and Undead resources; they didn’t give a damn about flora and fauna.

The only Ghost Knight he had directly interacted with so far was Lahador. The man had quite a sinister personality and seemed to be a two-faced prick, so it was hard to say if negotiations would even be possible. He had no idea what the other Ghost Knights were like.

While he was lost in thought, Gwyneth suddenly seemed to notice something. She leaned down carefully, peering into a spot among the tall grass in front of them.

Hmm? Samael followed her gaze.

On a stalk of grass was a tiny gray mouse, only the size of a walnut. It was using its pink paws to slowly climb up the two-meter-tall stalk.

After reaching the top, it chewed open the seed pod at the tip of the stalk and stuffed the seeds inside into its cheek pouches one by one. Then, it released its grip on the stalk.

PLOP. With a soft sound, it dropped straight down from the top of the stalk. However, due to its tiny size and the layers of leaves cushioning its fall, it landed unharmed. After hitting the soil, the little gray mouse simply shook the dirt off its body, scurried through a dirt path between the roots, and ducked into a small burrow.

"I think its symbiotic species isn’t entirely extinct after all," Gwyneth whispered.

"How should we protect it? Do we need to breed it?" Samael asked, feeling a bit anxious.

"No, no, it’s fine. I think doing nothing is enough—because you have already taken control of the Undead in this area. They’ve become strong laborers for building the Underground City and will no longer hunt the living creatures in the environment. With a decrease in predators, their numbers will naturally multiply," Gwyneth smiled. "In fact, what we should be worrying about now is what to do if both they and the tall grass overbreed."

"There’s no need to worry about that. You can always trust in the extermination capabilities of the Undead, whether against animals or plants," Samael said with a smile. Behind him, the Tendril Undead holding their Nether Copper Long Sabers stood in quiet attendance.

"The weather is getting colder." Gwyneth stood up and looked at the sky above. "It might start snowing soon. Even though the Hai Xin Plain isn’t exactly considered a northern region, the winter temperatures here still drop severely."

"Do you need me to arrange for the Undead to build a temporary surface shelter first?" Samael asked.

Gwyneth shook her head.

"The Insect Path has already been reinforced with the Rot Root Balls. The Insect Path Trees, tendril ferns, and glowing fungi have all been planted, and their growth is currently being catalyzed. If it snows, we can stay in the outer Insect Path for now. The thick root walls and soil will prevent heat loss—this is also why the interior of an Underground City feels like spring all year round," she replied. "Besides, the underground dome will be finished in two days. At that time, we can move everything underground, start planting the underground garden, transform the ecosystem, and build the underground castle."

It sounded like everything was going smoothly.

Samael suppressed the unease in his heart.

Perhaps this was just how it was—perhaps most things in the world were like this. Before starting, one would be filled with anxiety, imagining all sorts of difficulties and dangers, and plotting various countermeasures. But once they actually started doing it, they would realize that it wasn’t as hard as they thought. The hardest step was actually letting go of one’s worries, mustering up the courage, and taking action.