Green Monster Epic

In fact, Allen hadn't initially considered publicizing his attack. After all, the attackers came from the Temple forces and their affiliated tribes, and a thorough investigation could easily spiral out of control.

To that end, Allen wasted precious ingredients to destroy the remaining head of the powerful figure, preventing it from being used as evidence against him.

However, during his recuperation in Mansha City, Allen reconsidered. Whether or not the assassination attempt was made public, interested parties would eventually find out.

Allen's current position was no longer one where he could hide his abilities and slip under the radar. Now at the center of power in the Mansha Wilderness, his every move was scrutinized.

The decline in his strength and his physical inconvenience would inevitably be noticed with a little observation, eventually leading to various tests to confirm suspicions.

As for the Church of Nature, even if he played dumb and denied the assassination attempt, the mystery of their demigod-level expert and the missing legendary figures would still be pinned on him.

Therefore, he might as well inform all the forces in the wilderness of the situation and shift the blame for the assassination to the elves. This would provide an opportunity to recoup the resources the alliance owed the Northern Territory over the years.

Judging from Zerang's report, the tribes within the Ring of Thorns organization hadn't failed him this time. Their support arrived extremely quickly, although they didn't quite catch the tail end of the war or play a significant role.

However, this attitude deserved recognition, and the best way to acknowledge it was to provide material rewards.

Of course, this time Allen wouldn't use his own tribe's assets to reward these tribes. Instead, he planned to use his authority as Speaker to extract some resources from the alliance for the Ring of Thorns.

This was a benefit Allen had earned from guarding Mansha City for fifty years. If he didn't use it now, he would have to wait another two hundred years for the next opportunity. Moreover, this time Allen was seeking benefits for the Northern Territory in a legitimate way, leaving no room for criticism, especially since the elves had indeed sent a large army to invade the Green Plains.

As for shifting the blame for his attack to the elves, he also personally wrote a letter to the Pope of the Church of Nature, expressing his attitude: I know who orchestrated this assassination attempt, but for the sake of unity in the wilderness, I will not pursue this matter.

By blaming the elves, the Church of Nature would have to grudgingly accept it. They couldn't possibly jump out and say that they were the ones who sent the assassins! By tacitly agreeing to Allen's statement, they would no longer be able to use this incident to target Allen, at least not openly.

However, Allen's publicizing of the assassination attempt also had another meaning, as Miguel and others in the Church of Nature suspected. Allen was also silently warning the Church of Nature not to repeat such actions, or he would expose the true culprit to the wilderness, causing a massive uproar in the alliance!

Now, re-evaluating himself and his tribe, Allen suddenly realized that he didn't need to be as wary and fearful of the Temple forces as he once was.

The Temple churches seemed vast and influential, but their actual strength on the surface consisted mainly of the at least ten or more legendary-level experts cultivated within the church system. In terms of grassroots combat power, the Temple had only their knightly orders and the Inquisition lurking in the shadows, with no other established combat forces.

The reason Allen had always perceived the church's power as immense stemmed from their numerous followers. Even the smallest churches had at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers, while entities like the Church of Nature had tens of millions.

But upon closer inspection, followers weren't necessarily equivalent to actual combat power. For example, nearly half of the Green Plains tribes worshiped the Father of the Oak, but the vast majority of these followers were goblins with no combat ability. Even the earth goblins and bear goblins were mostly ordinary civilians.

Even if such followers were called upon by the church to form an army in times of crisis, their combat power would likely be weak.

Even Allen's Green Plains tribe's warrior army, which he considered well-organized, suffered heavy losses when fighting against a real elven army, let alone ordinary followers.

Thinking about it this way, the church's strength lay more in their top-tier combat power, their influence over the wilderness tribes, and the vastness of their intelligence network. In terms of sheer strength, the Green Plains tribe, now highly integrated with the other two races, had at least some confidence to contend with them.

And when the alliance relationship within the Ring of Thorns organization became closer, and the Northern Territory became a unified entity, Allen was even more confident that he and the church forces would be able to coexist on truly equal terms.

The core council meeting went smoothly. At least under Allen's chairmanship, the core representatives of the top thirty-six tribes in the alliance almost unanimously approved the proposal to provide a sum of resources to the Northern Territory tribes.

There was no other way. The war in which the Green Plains tribe was attacked by the elves was indeed true, and it was reasonable for Allen, as the current Speaker, to seize this opportunity to seek support from the alliance for the Northern Territory and his tribe. There was no fault to be found. At the same time, Allen was, after all, newly appointed, and tribal representatives who knew anything about diplomacy would certainly not raise objections to his first proposal.

A few scattered objections from tribes with some connections to the Green Plains, such as the Quilla and Etira tribes, were completely drowned out by the overwhelming trend.

At the same time, the alliance also expressed its position, instructing the Mansha City Defense Command to issue a protest in the name of the alliance against the elven invasion and demand a reasonable explanation from the elves.

However, on this matter, there were many more dissenting voices. Many tribal representatives, fearing the power of the elves and feeling that it was none of their business, did not want to escalate the matter and offend a peacefully coexisting elf.

At the meeting, Allen held the alliance's charter and debated each article, arguing reasonably and presenting the advantages and disadvantages. Then, relying on the power in his hands to pressure the representatives in the hall, he finally won the support of the core council representatives by a narrow margin.

Allen didn't believe that the elves would take significant action against the wilderness because of the alliance's protest letter. In fact, in his subsequent deductions, Allen believed that this elven invasion was likely a private action by a small group of elven leaders.

The reason was not difficult to find. First of all, the purpose of this elven detachment's invasion of the wilderness was very clear: Allen's Green Plains tribe. Moreover, their trip was only to destroy and annihilate the branch towns of the Green Plains tribe, not to occupy territory.

The Tagan Desert stretches for thousands of miles north and south, separating the Greenwild Plains from the Elven Borderlands. Any elven general with strategic vision would never cross such a vast distance to occupy the Greenwild Plains, a mere enclave. The logistics alone would give the occupying elves a headache.

Moreover, the Greenwild Plains are flat and offer no natural defenses. Even if the elves were to temporarily occupy it, the Wildlands Alliance, once it reacted, could organize a large army to strike directly at the elven heartland and drive them out.

It's even possible that before the invading elven army could establish a foothold, the Wildlands would seize the opportunity to bypass the Catoel Canyon, converge with the Drow from the northern mountains, cut off the elves' retreat, and encircle them.

Secondly, judging by the Elven Kingdom's past actions and displayed strength and strategic planning, if they truly harbored ambitions towards the Wildlands, they would undoubtedly launch a swift and overwhelming offensive, just as they did against the Airen Kingdom, leaving the native tribes of the northern Wildlands and their eastern neighbors no chance to react or intervene.

While this military action may pose a threat to the Greenwild Tribe, it is insignificant in the grand scheme of the Wildlands, appearing overly simplistic, crude, and disorganized. Even the Hozier Drow Federation, with its long-standing feud with the elves, could easily handle it.

The elves' current actions resemble more of a probing attack, possibly indicating that while their lower ranks are eager to act, the middle and upper echelons are not yet prepared, resulting in a significant disconnect between the top and bottom.

Therefore, Allen believes that the Alliance must demonstrate a strong stance on this matter and never show weakness in front of the elves. Like a lone wolf targeted by a powerful predator, even if it is weakened to its limit, it will still present its sharpest claws to the mighty foe, never allowing them to see through its true strength.

Otherwise, if the elves catch a glimpse of the Wildlands' vulnerabilities, they might seize the opportunity to turn their attention to the even weaker Wildlands. At that point, the territories of the major tribes in the Northern Borderlands, as the Wildlands' forefront, would become battlegrounds, resulting in devastating losses.

"Lord Allen, should we discuss this matter with the Temple? After all, the Temple has more experience in dealing with the elves than our Alliance, and this matter concerns the entire Wildlands, so the Temple will also be affected."

Although the vote received approval, someone still raised their concerns during the meeting.

"I will personally negotiate with the Temple, so everyone doesn't need to worry."

Allen nodded, acknowledging the suggestion and providing his answer.

"We will also report the matter to our tribes. Perhaps we will convene another meeting on this matter in the future."

"Very well."

The news obtained by the tribal representatives at this meeting was truly shocking. Whether it was the sudden invasion of the Northern Borderlands by the elven army, or the Half-God Speaker displaying the newly grown flesh membrane on his chest, with faint glimmers of light visible through the penetrating wound from the back, and the aura of his pulsating heart, all allowed the representatives who could truly decide the future direction of the Wildlands Alliance to sense the danger within.

Although the core thirty-odd tribes and the main representatives of the larger factions were all powerful figures, they had no choice but to quickly report the content of Allen's words to the higher-ups of their tribes and factions.

"Then today's meeting is adjourned. Tomorrow, we will convene a meeting with the entire Alliance membership to report on the elven invasion."

"Everyone may now leave."

Allen clapped his hands on the table, ending the meeting. Dozens of tribal representatives bowed to Allen in farewell and left the meeting hall in small groups, whispering to each other.

After everyone had left, Allen didn't idle either. After leaving the Alliance's stone fortress, he headed towards the Southern District. Although his injuries now only appeared less frightening, his actual strength was less than one-tenth or one-twelfth of his full power. Sometimes, even walking caused unbearable pain and fatigue.

The inner city of the Southern District was where many churches were located. A dozen or so churches of various sizes had divided up the vast inner city, leaving a small portion in the hands of the City Lord's Mansion to be neglected. After all, it was not very appropriate to arrange any industries around the magnificent and majestic church complexes.

Allen went straight to the Oak Church Temple District, which was the most familiar and closest to him. Before he even entered the main hall, he saw Nordin, the short, stout, and sturdy Knight Commander, who was still wearing his heavy armor even inside the main hall.

"Good lad, looking at you, you certainly don't seem like a goblin who has suffered serious injuries!!"

Nordin sized Allen up and down, jokingly saying affectionately.

"Alas, Commander Nordin, please don't make fun of me. I almost lost my life this time!!"

Although Allen's strength now surpassed Nordin's, he did not appear superior because of it. Nordin had helped him in his early years and had also spoken up for the Greenwild Tribe in the Oak Church. These favors made Nordin the only person in the church, second only to Oscar, who could gain Allen's friendship.

Of course, compared to the pure friendship between him and Oscar, Allen was very clear that the friendship between him and Nordin was nothing more than that, even less than his relationship with Nicol, the ogre chieftain of the Heart of the Wild Tribe.

"Do you need me to arrange for a cleric to heal you?"

"No need. Even with the help of powerful divine magic, I'll still need to recuperate for at least several years!!"

Allen shook his head, politely declining Nordin's kindness. So-called divine magic was fine for temporary emergencies during battle, but as Allen's own strength increased and his control and perception of his body deepened, he realized that the effect of divine magic was merely to activate the potential of the body's cells through magic power. Although it accelerated the recovery time, it inevitably caused some damage to the body, leaving behind some hidden injuries.

"I'm here mainly to hear the Church's attitude towards the elven invasion and the two assassination attempts on me."

"However, at the Alliance's hastily convened meeting just now, the Alliance reached a consensus and decided to issue a strong protest and condemnation to the Elven Kingdom in the name of the City Lord's Mansion, demanding a reasonable explanation from them."

"I wonder if the Church supports the actions of our Alliance?"

"His Eminence also wants to see you. If you want to know the answer, why not just ask His Eminence Feritz…"

"Alright…"

The two chatted as they walked towards the inner hall. The route was very quiet, and it seemed that there were fewer clergy members such as priests and pastors.