Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 260: Handprint

Dressed in his red robes and armour, Odis studied the clouds that veiled the lush greenery of Botania below. The minor plane’s spatial barrier was as tough as that of a low-rank plane. The ease of entry would have to depend on how large of an opening he could create.

He extended his right arm forward and began pushing it towards the minor plane below, a massive handprint instantly forming on the barrier. The darkened skies made it look like bad weather was on its way, causing the botanians below to huff annoyedly. Great, now the sunlight was gone. Why had the clouds appeared so early today?

Countless Botanians had been lounging outside their homes to bask in the sun. Their energy replenishing session had been rudely cut off, causing them to open their eyes abruptly. Irritated by the sudden lack of warmth, they packed their things. Sunlight was the source of their lives; the World Tree was their first target of worship, followed closely by the sun and the rain.

A watermelon Botanian continued his journey home angrily. He had bought some mud clay from Mango City for dinner tonight. While he was excited to share it with his family, the unwelcome absence of sunlight had fuelled his displeasure.

“I should get home soon. My children and wife must be worried sick.” The watermelon Botanian thought of his toddler and picked up his pace. While the Botanians looked like literal plants, reproduction was achieved through copulation.

The watermelon Botanian continued to walk but soon realised that the surrounding strangers were staring at the sky. Bewildered, he turned his huge head upwards. “W-What is that?!”

Mango City was one of the seven hundred cities on the Wilderness continent. A mango Botanian that was completely yellow from top to bottom stood at the highest point of the city. He stared at the odd handprint in the sky solemnly, slipping into deep thought.

“Sir, what is that?” A smaller lychee guard asked his master. The concept of hierarchy was vague among the Botanians. Peace and freedom were core ideals in Botania, which was why the lord of Mango City was far from condescending to his subordinates.

“I don’t know. Yet, I’m filled with dread,” answered the mango with furrowed brows. He was sufficiently competent to be ranked as a level-one lifeform. Despite that, his body couldn’t help but tremble at the ominous handprint that hovered above the city.josei

“What?” The lychee guard’s heart sank. If it could intimidate their mighty lord, it could only mean catastrophic danger.

“Quick, get the cuckoo bird. We need to report this to the Holy City!” ordered the mango urgently. Cuckoo birds were common messaging tools in Botania. While the birds were one of the fastest creatures on the plane, they were incredibly difficult to breed. The Botanians rarely used them as the birds fuelled their flights on its sender’s life span.

“Right away, My Lord!” The lychee guard sprinted away to fetch the cuckoo bird.

Fear grappled at the mango Botanian as he watched the imprint grow in size. He had no idea if the Holy City could even overcome this peculiar and concerning phenomenon.

Before the bird could even deliver the news, the Holy City in the very centre of Botania was already in absolute chaos. In fact, the massive handprint in the sky was visible from every corner of the plane.

Surprisingly, the low-rank Botanians weren’t too affected by their appearance. The imprint had merely robbed them of their favourite sunlight and caused minor inconveniences. The high-rank Botanians, especially those that were close to becoming a level-one lifeform or beyond, could feel the impending doom strongly. Botanians of higher ranks would feel the most intense fear. Powerful botanians were concentrated in the Holy City but they were all running towards a large temple in the city centre frantically.

“High priest!”

Botanians above level one were viewed as the icon of strength among the regular folks. However, their leaders were crying like frightened children in front of the temple’s gates. Soon, the temple’s doors creaked apart to reveal a sunflower Botanian.

The bigger your head was, the stronger your capabilities were; that was the convention on Botania. The sunflower high priest was a level-three lifeform of impressive height. He was three metres tall even when in his usual compressed state.

The wailing Botanians that surrounded their high priest were of various shapes and sizes. Plenty of them were taller than four metres, making it appear like a circle of adults sobbing to a child. The stress imposed by the handprint in the sky was beyond their capacity. Those that had lived for many centuries naturally learnt to be in awe of the unknown. Yet, the current situation had proven to be too much for them to handle. The level-three sunflower high priest was the strongest entity they had ever encountered and the handprint was clearly of another calibre.

“The mother tree told me to gather our kind. We will overcome this disaster together.” The sunflower sighed. The Botanians that crowded around it were mostly level-two lifeforms, they were lords who were qualified to learn of the mother tree’s living existence. The fact that instruction was laid from the tree was reassuring enough to stop their involuntary tremors.

“Inform every continent about this. We’ll fight off the alien invaders together!” The sunflower high priest barked to the other Botanians.

“Understood!”

They began to take off one after another. Botanian leaders that were of level one and two capabilities could fly effortlessly. Following their departure, the word ‘invasion’ began to spread among the higher forces of Botania. It sounded like a taboo; one that signified the imminent calamity of Botania.