The wheel was far from ordinary, nearly reaching the height of an adult’s chest at one and a half meters tall and twice as thick as a normal wheel, with four to a vehicle.
Most uniquely, the large carts, whether the carriage body or the wheels, seemed to be all of a piece—there were neither iron nails nor riveting marks to be seen, as if they had grown straight from the trees.
This was no mere work of a carpenter but the bend-wood and the Wood Shaping Technique of the Druids.
Such heavy-duty cargo trucks, if pulled by ordinary warhorses, would struggle even when empty, let alone if you tried to use just one horse for the job—two would be somewhat strained.
One could tell by their yoke height; these were not meant for warhorses at all. The Treants were perfectly suited to drag them, effortlessly as if drinking cool water—not one cart, but three linked together. Despite being empty, they still displayed their fearsome strength.
There were precisely one hundred of these tower-like wagons.
There was another, simpler type; the chassis was the same, but they had done away with one level—not the second, but the first. Only half remained of the second level.
There was just a thick wooden board one and a half meters tall on one side and the back.
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When they assembled, with the boarded sides facing outward, they could form a Sidewall Wagon Phalanx. Combined with a group of Long Spear infantry and Archers, they could keep most of the Monster Tribe at bay.
The number of Sidewall Wagons was also just right, one hundred exactly.
The beasts pulling them were more varied, including wild horses, wild oxen, and the bull-like Long-Haired Los Beasts. But the Golia, towering as large as horses, made up the bulk, with a full fifty of them, both men and women, also set to head north with the convoy.
"With this, Mesnoel has sent out all its Elites. Aren’t you afraid that those Dwarves Elves will come knocking again?" Zalanda asked Gaven with a smile.
"Mesnoel’s defense has never solely relied on manpower, but on the formidable amplification ability of the Tower of Dominion’s spells. With a spellcasting squad stationed there, they can withstand tens of thousands of troops. Unless the Masked Sovereign descends incarnate, it’ll take quite some time before they can break through," Gaven was very confident in Mesnoel’s defensive capabilities.
After The Year of Upheaval, when the gods returned to their places, the Law of the Multiverse that constrained the gods altered. The gods could no longer descend to the Material Plane in their true form but only as Saints or Divine Nature Incarnations.
In the short term, no deity dares to come as a Saint, as it’s uncertain whether dying on the Material Plane in such a guise would lead to immediate deicide, like last year.
For now, in the Material Plane, they mainly depend on Divine Nature Incarnations.
Even for a Divine Nature Incarnation, descending is not something they can do whenever they wish. They must be summoned with sufficient Strength—like when Zalanda gathered the faith of all Darama Citizens to opportunistically descend.
Or for a significant event related to their divine portfolio, like the Fairy Midsummer Night and the premiere of Pioneer’s Great Phantom.
However, such actions are risky.
If a Divine Nature Incarnation is destroyed, it’s a severe blow to any Deity, and one must be cautious about invoking it.
Previously on the banks of the Is River, Gaven and his group had demonstrated the power to slay a Deity’s Divine Nature Incarnation.
The greatest enemy of the Masked Sovereign remains his mother, Rose, and her believers; his actions would inevitably trigger the vast web behind them.
This was true for the other gods as well. They do not exist in isolation and often have divine enemies. They must carefully consider whether their rivals will take advantage of their actions before making a move.
As the Chosen of Lady Strategy, Zalanda understood these matters even more clearly. Looking at the huge caravan, he said, "You always do things in a way that inspires confidence. Today, I will add a little something extra and repay the debt from before."
Zalanda pointed to the ten Enlightened Trees that were slowly approaching: "They will go north with you."
"All of them? But what about your side?" Gaven asked, touched and a little surprised.
These Enlightened Trees were originally what he provided to assist Darama in salvaging sunken ships.
With them in the team, the caravan would naturally be more flexible, but it meant some construction projects in Darama would be impacted.
"Let me introduce you to Mei, who has just advanced to the 10th Professional Level Druid," Zalanda pointed to a bashful young girl not far behind, no more than sixteen.
Clearly unaccustomed to so much attention, she appeared somewhat at a loss, like a startled fawn, bowing her head low.
It was hard to associate her shy demeanor with that of a Transcendent Druid.
Without asking further, it was evident she had been rapidly advanced through the Path of War, with her Professional Level and some abilities developed, while much else still needed to mature.
But for both Gaven and Zalanda, that didn’t matter.
What mattered was that she had the capacity to perform Enlightenment and could enlighten trees.
A rapid apprentice has its perks; the traditional Druid ideals had not yet taken deep root in her, making her susceptible to Zalanda’s pragmatic influence.
With her around, these ten Enlightened Trees were indeed somewhat redundant for Zalanda, able to be replaced in ten days.