Chapter 421 - Meeting Helen

In the innermost palace courtyard, Helen and the ex-disciples continued to cultivate under the Divine Demon Tree.

At this moment, Leon and Darlene arrived outside under Mia's lead.

However, the innermost courtyard was a tightly guarded place. Without earning the chief's trust or receiving her permission, no one could enter it. Leon was stopped by the servants guarding outside.

"I will go and call mom!" Mia said.

Leon nodded, "Alright. Try not to cause trouble, though."

"Mia knows! Mia is very sensible!" She said unhappily.

"Alright, alright. Big Brother was wrong, okay? Go on now."

"Mm!"

Shortly after, the servants opened the gates for Mia to enter. In that brief moment, Leon was able to gaze inside. His eyes narrowed on the crimson tree with black leaves at the center.

From a single glance, he could tell that it was an extraordinary tree.

Nevertheless, the doors were shortly shut afterward, stopping for gazing at it further. He could only wait outside with Darlene.

"Do you know anything about that tree inside?" Leon asks Darlene, who chose to wait outside by his side.

She nodded and pulled Leon some distance away from the entrance to explain in a low voice, "That is Chief Valencia's most prized possession, the Divine Demon Tree. It belongs to a really rare breed of mutated trees, capable of producing an endless amount of Darkness Profound Energy for cultivation."

"Hmm… I see."

Leon hummed softly in thought. He could tell from a glance by the way the people were meditating below it and the strong Darkness Profound Energy emitting from the area.

But was it really rare, though? Where could the rest of the Darkness Profound Energy on the Dark Continent be coming from?

"Do you know where she got this tree from?" He inquired.

"Hmm…" Darlene pondered for a moment with a frowning look before she recalled something she heard and said, "I think it was found and brought back from the Land of Darkness by Chief Valencia's father, the previous chief."

"The Land of Darkness, huh?" Leon softly mused.

So, the Divine Demon Tree was procured straight from the land of demons.

This means that there was a possibility that it was not all that rare after all—it was only rare in the sense that the Darkmoon Tribe had only managed to obtain one of them.

Leon did not ponder long before the doors to the courtyard were opened again. The little girl was seen trying to drag their mother Helen out.

The face was unfamiliar to Leon. It was a younger face, but the aura and shape of the person were familiar to him.

He could tell that this was his mother, Helen, who spent 12 years raising him along with his father, Brian, back in the Capital's lower district.

Helen was rather nervous about being suddenly dragged out by her adopted daughter, saying that they would meet her son, whom she had not seen for a while. However, when she finally saw the person, she could not help but be stunned.

"You are…?" She asks hesitantly.

The appearance was mostly the same, but the tone of her son's complexion was utterly different from her memories. He was tanned.

Leon smiled at her and said, "What, you don't recognize your own son anymore?"

"Eh, well... you used to be... well, you know--whiter." Helen responded. after a moment, she shivered from realization and asks, "You still recognize me as your mother?"

Leon nodded and said, "Regardless of the reasons, you did raise me for 12 years after all."

Helen became emotional with watery eyes. She was afraid that her son would not recognize them anymore after learning the truth, but it turns out that they still have a place in his heart.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me." Helen wiped her eyes and spoke.

Leon nodded and followed his mother after picking up Mia. Darlene also followed behind them, but then Helen stopped. She glanced back at Darlene with doubt before turning to Leon.

"She is...?"

"My woman." Leon smiled wryly.

"Another one?" Helen looked at her son, speechlessly for a moment before saying, "You... Haiz, I don't know what to do with you. How many more women are you planning to have?"

"I don't know, really. Whatever happens, happens, I guess." Leon rubbed his head, awkwardly. It was not like he planned for this to happen. It just happens.

At this point, if Darlene had not figured out the relationship between these two people, then she would be an idiot.

It came as a great shock to her and completely caught her off guard. However, quickly recovered and muster up her courage, and stepped forward.

"H-Hello, mother. I am Darlene." She greeted nervously.

Helen gave Darlene a careful look before she nodded, "Mm. You're not bad."

It was a short comment, but it was enough for Darlene to be overjoyed, surprisingly. To be acknowledged by her hubby's mother, she could not be more relieved.

What she did not know was that Helen was only her hubby's adoptive mother. There were more surprises in store for her when she meets his parents.

Nevertheless, Darlene was surprised by their previous exchanged and looked at her hubby for answers.

"I have other women, as well. You are not the only one. Are you disappointed?" Leon admitted calmly.

Darlene shook her head and said, "No, someone as great as hubby is bound to have many women."

Despite saying this, there was still a hint of disappointment in her eyes. Nevertheless, she had expected this day would come sooner or later.

There are many warriors of both genders; there were typically fewer men than women in the tribe.

This is because women will get pregnant and give birth in the tribe while men head out to hunt outside. They were creatures prone to doing stupid sh*t to relieve boredom and had higher chances of getting themselves killed.

As such, it was customary for men to have many partners to balance out the differences in gender ratios. Otherwise, many women will probably die single.

Leon noticed Darlene's disappointment, but he said nothing. This was something all his women had to accept. He cannot be monopolized.

Sometime later, they arrived in Helen's room and sat around the round table.

"How are you finding this place, mother? Do you wish to return to the Human Domain? I can bring us back." Leon inquired after inspecting the simple room.

Helen shook her head and said, "No, Mother will stay here in the Darkmoon Tribe. This place is more to mother's liking."

Although Leon had already faintly guessed that his mother's answer would be like this, he could not understand why she would prefer this dark, barren place over the lush green lands.

He figured that it might be due to his mother's concerns about the threat of the Illusory Butterfly Sect and his other mother, Elizabeth. However, his mother shook his head when he brought this matter up.

"Although the land here is fraught with dangers all around, people put in their best efforts every day to live a fulfilling life. Chief Valencia wishes to vanquish the demons and open new lands for the people to live. It is also Mother's wish to help this person realize this dream."

The living conditions of the Human Domain was much better than the Dark Continent. However, she spent twelves year living in hiding there.

Meanwhile, the people here all face their life's challenges bravely and straightforward. She wanted to cultivate her courage to live like this while doing what she can to improve their living conditions.

"You might have also noticed this, son, but this place also contains deep heritage pertaining to the distant past. If we can unravel the secrets of that ancient period, perhaps we can learn something about the Cataclysm." Helen continued.

Leon was surprised.

He did not expect his mother to have such a noble goal. However, he frowned after a moment and asked, "What should I tell father?"

"Tell him that if he wants to stay in the Human Domain, then he can stay there. However, I will be staying here to work for my goal." Helen said. After a moment of silence, she added, "It seems that you will be going back soon. When do you plan on going, son?"

"I haven't decided yet, but quite soon. Possibly within the next two days. I've been away from the Capital for some time. It's time I head back and check on the kingdom. Everyone will probably lose their minds if I don't go back soon." Leon answered after some thought.

Helen nodded before asking Mia, "How about it, Mia? Would you like to stay here with your mother or go back to the Capital with your big brother?"

Mia looked back between Leon and Helen with indecisiveness.

She enjoyed the company of her big brother, but she had been together with her adoptive mother longer and had grown attached. Also, she made some friends in the tribe while she had no one back in the Crawford Kingdom.

"Mia… Mia wants everyone to be together." She said with her head lowered.

Leon rubbed the little girl's head and said, "Just stay here with mother. It will not be a forever goodbye. Once Big Brother builds a big Teleportation Array to connect the two lands, we will be able to visit each other whenever we want."

"Is that true?"

Mia's eye lit up excitedly.

Helen was surprised by her son's claim. He was competent. However, at the same time, she was a little concerned.

She did not mention it to avoid making things difficult for her son, but she knew that she would never be able to get along with Queen Elizabeth and King Heinrich.

The King and Queen can never forgive the people that took their son away from them. Thus, living in the Darkmoon Tribe was the most correct choice to make things easier between the two parties.

The group of three began to speak about miscellaneous topics relating to their experiences in the past few weeks while Darlene listened quietly at the side.

Leon took note of the time and suddenly got up.

"It's good to see you doing well, mother. However, it is time for Darlene and me to leave. We still have some matters to take care of."

Helen nodded and said, "Remember to visit mother whenever you are free."

"We will have to play another time, Mia," Leon said apologetically to the little girl. Although Mia was a bit disappointed, she was sensible enough not to make things difficult for Leon.

"Next time then! It's a promise!"

After they gave each other hugs, Leon left with Darlene.

Meanwhile, the seven Venerable Shamans and Chief Valencia were just finished gathering in the Great Hall.

....