Thousands of meters high, the Tree of Life was crawling with countless insects, gnawing at its trunk and leaving behind gaping holes.
Terrifying monsters descended upon the Death Soil, tearing apart the earth.
Giants wielded massive stone hammers, smashing the crimson copper mountains to pieces.
The Fountain of Eternity fell under a curse, its clear waters contaminated...
These ...were the Seven Great Origins Creations!
Enzo saw the truth.
These Primeval Totems were not non-existent but destroyed.
Destroyed by catastrophe.
But where did the catastrophe come from?
Countless puzzles presented themselves before Enzo, leaving him utterly clueless. What did Maude, the priest of the Barren Mountain Tribe, see in the end that made him choose not to leave information about the source of the disaster?
No one knew.
And now, Enzo felt himself entangled in even greater trouble, as if those disasters had set their sights on him.
Meanwhile.
In the soul world...Freya, floating above the ruins, sensed something amiss.
The ruins beneath her feet began sprouting various plants, with vines rapidly climbing and entwining around her body. Freya chuckled dismissively, "Childish tactics."
But in the next moment, Freya's expression changed.
Under her control, the vines showed no response.
This was impossible!
Freya panicked.
Enzo, however, approached her and placed his hand on Freya's smooth abdomen. As life energy surged through, Freya felt something coalescing inside her body. Furious, she demanded, "Damn insect, what have you done to me?"
Enzo offered no explanation. After completing his actions, he swiftly grabbed Bookstaver and left the soul world.
Without Enzo's control, the vines lost their power, and Freya easily broke free. When she attempted to examine what Enzo had left on her body, she found various insects crawling all over the plants that had grown out, seemingly regarding her as food.
Freya promptly chose to leave the soul world.
Unbeknownst to her, the insects disappeared along with her departure.
On the other side...
Returning to consciousness, Enzo's vision cleared once more.
Rhode, concerned, called out, "Lord Enzo?"
Enzo waved his hand and said, "I'm fine. Let's continue the interrogation."
However, Enzo's complexion was pale, far from looking fine in any way.
Rhode hesitated to ask further, following Enzo's command obediently.
Druid's revelations also relieved Rhode and the others. The Mpondo Tribe currently had no knowledge that Neville and the others had fled into the jungle. Their search efforts were focused on areas adjacent to the Plata Plain—Caucasia Mountain, Qaidam Lake, Rivaille Forest, among others.
As for Lord Freya, Druid was not aware of her whereabouts.
However, Enzo knew very well.
Using Bookstaver's power, he briefly reached the Level.6, advancing the totem into the Tree of Life. Yet, this act attracted disaster—the Energy-devouring Worm, a terrifying creature dormant in the void. Upon sensing the energy of the Tree of Life, it would awaken. Enzo concentrated all the Tree of Life energy into a seed left inside Freya, enough to last for over two years.
During this time, Freya would have no opportunity to trouble him.
However, retaliation from Freya was inevitable two years later.
Contemplating this, Enzo felt a heaviness in his heart. He ordered Rhode to strengthen the vigilance and had Druid imprisoned.
At that moment, the sky once again began to rain.
Enzo fully realized why the people of the Crimson Star Tribe despised the rainy season so much—this downpour had lasted continuously for over two months.
...
As the rain finally ceased, the long-awaited sunlight returned.
"The rainy season has finally ended!"
The cheers of the Crimson Star Tribe awakened Enzo.
He lay on a fur blanket, opened his eyes, and saw the beautiful figure lying beside him.
Tia was completely naked, with her slender legs resting on his lower abdomen, captivating by its unique fragrance. Her two breasts stood tall, providing a soft touch.
Enzo couldn't resist reaching out to touch Tia. Sensing his touch, she opened her amber eyes lazily.
"Enzo, I want to sleep a bit more. You wore me out last night." She said in a languid tone.
Then she closed her eyes again.
The two-month-long rainy season virtually halted the tribe's construction activities, restricting the movement of its people. In their boredom, Clara, Amy, Tia sought out Enzo to indulge in the pleasures of sex, alleviating the monotony brought by the endless rain.
Enzo found himself both pained and pleased by their attention.
During this time, he also took the opportunity to plan the tribe's future development.
Unfortunately, Bookstaver remained in a deep slumber, unable to provide insights from the development experiences of the Barren Mountain Tribe. However, it wasn't a big problem. Enzo was confident that finding additional soul seeds would revive Bookstaver.
In addition to the rainy season and tribal matters, Jessica visited the tribe several times.
Despite the advancements brought by the leaf totem of the life tree, Jessica's totemic power did not enhance Enzo's abilities.
In fact, even a fraction of Enzo's power proved overwhelming for Jessica to handle.
During Jessica's last visit, just over ten days ago.
Enzo infused her with power, prompting her to hurriedly return to the Venom Tribe. Soon after, Rita arrived with generous gifts from Priest Lucy, while informing Enzo of Jessica's nearing totem manifestation.
The gifts consisted of fresh fruits from the swampy areas, which Enzo graciously distributed among Ward and the others.
Enzo speculated on the significance of Jessica and Priest Lucy's totems—Golden Insect and The Insect of Life—in relation to the Tree of Life's catastrophe.
However, he couldn't ascertain any direct connection.
Apart from these events, the tribal competitions among members had finally concluded.
On the fifteenth day of Neville's arrival, he consulted with all Red Coral Tribe members who expressed their desire to join the Crimson Star Tribe. After careful consideration, Enzo agreed to Neville's request, thus increasing the Crimson Star Tribe's population to over six hundred people.
Surveying the jungle, Enzo realized the tribe had grown significantly in strength, bolstering the tribal fire.
...
Soon after, Tia finally opened her eyes again and upon seeing the sunlight streaming in, quickly dressed and ran downstairs. Bursting out of the bamboo hut, she dashed into the sunlight, shouting joyously, "The sun's out!"
Watching her, a smile crept onto Enzo's face.
The rainy season had ended, and it was time to get down to business.
In the afternoon, Enzo gathered all the tribe members at the ritual square.
During the rainy season, the ritual square had been completed. The members of the Crimson Star Tribe brought various stones, shattered them, and laid them on the square, ensuring it was protected from rain erosion and distinct from other areas of the camp.
At the center of the square stood a statue of Enzo. Crafted by Snow, the statue bore a striking resemblance to him.
In addition, the statue was adorned with artistic embellishments.
For example, Enzo's feet were various fierce beasts, behind him stood tall bamboo forests, and adorned with mysterious decorations.
Additionally, the stone fire basin from the original camp was also transported here.
Flames was reaching half a meter high.
According to Bookstaver, the Crimson Star Tribe currently maintained the Tribal Fire. The reason Clara and others could transform into totem warriors was solely due to the immense strength of Enzo's totem.
Before long, all the tribe members assembled.
Clara, Tia, Amy, Ward, Monta, Brian, Neville, and others stood at the forefront.
Behind them stood the hundred most powerful warriors of the tribe, selected for the occasion, while the rest of the tribe members lined up on either side, gazing with envy.
At this moment, Amy stepped forward.
"Lord Priest, the ceremony can begin!" she declared.
Enzo nodded, raising the bone staff left behind by Sovita, and ignited the Tribal Fire.
The flames soared meters into the air, dancing and flickering, prompting awe from the tribe members who witnessed this miraculous sight.
Looking at those selected individuals, Enzo addressed them, "You are the strongest warriors of our tribe. Today, you will undergo the baptism of the Tribal Fire and become the tribe's warriors, stronger than ever!"
Excitement surged among the chosen ones.
In unison, they shouted, "For the Crimson Star Tribe!"
Enzo then controlled the Tribal Fire, enveloping the tribe members in a sea of flames. Simultaneously, he activated his own totemic power, unlocking their hidden potentials.
As the flames engulfed them, these individuals did not flinch, their eyes filled with determination.
...
Thirty minutes later, the baptism was complete.
Under the dual effects of the Tribal Fire baptism and the activation of totemic power, the strength of these tribe members doubled, rivaling that of some large predators.
The Crimson Star Tribe's power had significantly increased.
But it wasn't over yet.
Enzo looked at everyone and said, "Next, the tribe will periodically hold other competitions. Anyone who achieves a ranking will have the opportunity to undergo the Tribal Fire baptism and become a tribe's warrior!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with excitement.
Whether old or new members, they couldn't help but marvel. After all, becoming a tribe's warrior was a luxury for ordinary tribe members.
But now, everyone had a chance!
The tribe members erupted in gratitude for Enzo's kindness, bursting into even more enthusiastic cheers.
In truth, Enzo could now easily guide everyone through the Tribal Fire baptism to become tribe's warriors. However, doing so might not necessarily be a good thing.
After enduring two months of rainy season and with ample food supply, many tribe members had become complacent.
They needed motivation.
And strength was the best reward.