Chapter Ninety-Two: White Oak Quells the Fire

Crowds had gathered in such numbers that the place seemed almost choked with people. A blonde woman looked troubled as she complained to the man beside her.

"Couldn’t we have chosen a day when it wasn’t so crowded, Boyce?"

"Julie, don’t be naive. This is the mysterious tree. When would there ever be a day with few people?" Boyce replied, displeased by her remark.

"This is the mysterious tree that grew from fifty meters to eighty in just a month. Julie, I’m asking you to set aside that proud little temper of yours for once."

"The mysterious tree?"

"Isn’t it just an ordinary oak? What’s so mysterious about it?"

"Are there wizards here? Miracles? Or gods? Don’t lie to me, Boyce. I didn’t come here to suffer with you and stare at some mediocre, unremarkable oak. If you’re going to stay, then stay by yourself. I’ve had enough."

Julie’s dislike of her companion was plain to see, and in irritation she turned as if to push her way out of the crowd.

Yet just as she turned away, and just as Boyce was about to soften his tone to keep her there, cries of alarm suddenly rose from within the crowd.

"My God! What are they doing?"

"Damn it! Stop them! You bastards!"

"Bastards! Stop right now!"

Shouts of anger and astonishment broke out one after another.

For in that instant, just as the line had advanced to the front and reached the white oak, two young men suddenly vaulted over the barrier before the workers could react and yanked open their backpacks.

From inside, they quickly removed two sizable canisters, opened them, and splashed the contents over the oak trunk.

At the same time, one of them swiftly produced a lighter and set the fuel ablaze.

In an instant, fierce flames surged up from the base of the oak.

"Damn it!"

Several workers changed color and rushed forward at once, trying to restrain the two men.

But at that very moment, one of the men suddenly drew a pistol.

And with that, panic swept through the crowd.

The workers who had been about to close in all stopped at once, staring grimly at the armed man.

"Haha! Damn those Druids, you heretics! Come on then, come closer! Let me see which of you dares!"

"You scheming frauds, using this oak to deceive people and serve your shameful, hidden purposes. Today we will expose your false tricks!"

"This is for freedom! For the freedom of thought!"

The man roared with triumph.

"We’re going to burn this oak down right now. If your so-called mysterious tree truly has miraculous powers, then let it put out the fire itself!"

"If it cannot, then today I, Lovell, will expose your conspiracy before everyone here!"

The man bellowed as though he were a savior descending upon the world.

His companion was equally agitated, continuing to hurl more fuel canisters into the blaze.

At once, the flames climbed the oak’s trunk with even greater ferocity.

"Young man, do you understand what you are doing?" the leading worker said sternly, his face dark.

"What am I doing? Isn’t that obvious?"

"Come on, let me see just how mysterious the oak you speak of really is, and whether it can manifest a miracle!"

"If it can, we are willing to accept punishment. But if it cannot, then all of you must give everyone an explanation!"

His loud cries made the crowd’s angry curses grow even more furious, though among the people some had begun to look thoughtful.

Indeed.

Since the Druids had announced the existence of the mysterious tree, neither the news media nor the Druids themselves had revealed much else for a long time.

And the governments of various countries had remained silent as well.

Now, a month later, it was only natural that many people would begin to doubt.

And as Lovell said, if the mysterious tree truly was mysterious, then let it extinguish the fire and prove it.

Of course, everyone also knew that such a miracle was unlikely to appear.

Even if it did, this white oak would hardly be the one to do it, for the mysterious tree announced by the Druids was the so-called oak within Barn.

This white oak here was merely a tree that people had gathered around for comfort and paid their respects to of their own accord.

What did growing fast prove, anyway?

Perhaps it proved nothing at all. After all, miracles of nature were hardly unheard of.

For people living in this information-rich age, modern humanity was very open-minded indeed.

The fire had already begun to spread. Black smoke made the leaves above the oak tremble constantly, and below, the flames had already climbed more than ten meters up the trunk.

With gasoline feeding it, the blaze spread with alarming speed.

Watching the young men, the workers’ faces were ashen.

In their hearts, they had begun to worry, for the white oak before them was clearly unable to withstand the flames, and the fire was growing ever more intense.

But at this moment, everyone had plainly underestimated the white oak.

For as one of the three oaks Adam had most carefully awakened, this tree had already successfully awakened two days earlier and gained two traits.

And one of those traits happened to be the perfect counter to fire.

The crowd was agitated and enraged, the workers helpless.

This only made the young man even more reckless.

He held the gun on the people around him and turned to his companion.

"Lyman, done yet?"

"Done! I threw in all ten fuel canisters, haha, this damn oak is absolutely finished."

Lyman, who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, said excitedly and with fervor.

At this moment, he felt as though he stood at the center of all eyes, and under such a spectacle he too had come to feel a sense of triumph like Lovell’s.

He believed what they were doing was utterly just, for they were exposing a shocking conspiracy.

They were saving everyone, restoring freedom of thought to the people.

"Good! Hahaha, look at it, this fire is beautiful! It’s like a sacred flame piercing the night."

Lovell laughed aloud, looking smugly pleased with himself.

Naturally, such arrogance drew even more curses from the more devout believers in the crowd.

But Lovell did not care. The fire was burning higher and higher, and after this, they would surely make everyone understand that what they were doing now was an act of salvation.

However, that triumphant expression lasted for barely a minute.

For just as the flames reached nearly twenty meters up the oak, countless patches of oily, resinous matter suddenly appeared on the upper half of the trunk.

These substances were a bluish green and dripped down in large, heavy drops.

And it was not only the upper trunk; even the surface of the trunk where the fire raged had begun to weep with this oily matter.

As it emerged and was licked by the flames, it seemed to evaporate, yet in doing so it produced vast quantities of thick white smoke.

That smoke hissed like water quenching fire.

White mist billowed upward, and as the flames were struck by it, they were extinguished one after another.

"Look! My God! The mysterious tree is putting out the fire itself!"

"Haha, I knew it! The mysterious tree would never be burned to death like this. Those two damn fools are about to be punished!"

"This trip was worth it after all! What a beautiful sight. I think I’ve fallen in love with this oak."

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