173. Temple of the World Tree (2)
The giant wasp was eating the orb.
And wasps weren’t the only creatures floating in the air. Huge swarms of insects, such as moths and butterflies, were wriggling grotesquely. Dozens of them were diligently turning off the light, crossing the trees in unison.
“Gee, crazy… .”
I quickly drew my sword. Silvery white flames burned all over her body.
“Runtar! Letea! Answer the call!”
Runthar and Lethea appeared behind me. I jumped out the window and stood on a wooden plank. The wooden plank with the iron plate creaked.
“Wake the kids up right now!”
damn. Another flying opponent.
I couldn’t properly deal with such flying insects on a board like this. If he recklessly used flame-related skills, he could have burned the entire forest and eaten it.
If I made a mistake, even the wooden plank I stepped on would be burned, so it was perfect for falling to my death.
I might be able to fire a signal flare though.
I drew my sword straight into the air. A ray of red light crossed the air.
Sparks exploded in the air.
Surprised by the flare, the party members came out of the building one by one.
“Ethan, what is this… .”
Arthur jumped onto the wooden planks. And sighed at the countless swarms of insects flying through the forest.
“Arthur! It is an attack.”
“Yeah, come on, kids… .”
The place was too unfavorable.
Elf villages are all built in trees. There, wooden boards were laid between the trees to provide a path for movement.
This is the worst terrain for a swordsman like me who usually engages in close combat.
Reus, Tesha, and Tia showed up late. And the warrior Lanter looked at the swarm of insects floating in the air with startled eyes.
“What are these things!”
Can a bug understand that?
At that moment, the eyes of numerous flying insects in the air turned to Lanter.
Even if it’s not a thriller movie, it’s a creepy scene. Besides, bugs are terrible.
Lanter took out his sword and cut the flying insects into pieces.
Blue magic power crossed the air dozens of times.
But there were too many of them. And again, no matter how strong, a swordsman is weak against flying creatures.
Lanter, who was cutting through the air, was quickly surrounded by a swarm of insects. And the guys launched a physical offensive against Lanter.
“Uh, what… .”
Lanter fell with the railing collapsing due to the mass offensive. The sound of something like an egg hitting the floor and cracking was heard, leaving behind a long scream.
“Arthur, Reus, everyone down the tree!”
“It must be so.”
We hit the wooden planks one after another and ran towards the transition stone. First of all, I couldn’t deal with such flying insects on a wooden board like this.
Screams were heard all over town.
Even while running toward the transition stone, the bugs continued to chase.
Fortunately, we touched the transition stone and came down to the ground. Only then did I see the scenery of the village at a glance.
The lower light spirits were being eaten by insects, and the light was quickly disappearing.
There, countless elves were caught by insects and floating in the air.
Soon they crashed down.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t save them. Would it be different if there was sepia? They might have been saved by gravity reversal or telekinesis.
The elder who came down to the ground belatedly heard the sound of lamentation.
“Ah, world clock… . Please protect your children.”
I grabbed the elder’s arm.
“A flatland or empty space nearby is fine, so please guide me to a place where there are no damn trees!”
Only then did the elder come to his senses and lead us.
“Speaking of flat land, the hill with the World Tree would be the best place to fight.”
We went forward protecting the elder. In the meantime, countless flying insects flew in.
“Luntar!”
Fire-!
Flames dancing in the air burned the wings of insects. An explosion followed by a crackling sound. A number of flying insects then crashed.
“Tia, call the light spirit!”
“Yes, got it! Lapierre!”
Soon, a spirit with a bright light appeared around Tia.
In an instant, the surroundings lit up.
However, this brightness could not be maintained for long. Because Tia wasn’t overflowing with magic like I was.
Even so, the light source was secured for a while. In the meantime, we had to find a terrain that was easy to fight.
Attacked by bugs in the middle of the night.
It was a nightmare I would never want to have again. Screams echoed from all directions.
The last thing I saw before leaving town was the grotesque sight of a huge butterfly sucking the blood of elves with its long snout sticking out like a straw.
“iced coffee… . what the hell is going on… .”
The elder lamented at the terrible sight.
But there was no time to hesitate or stop. We led the elder and ran for a while out of the village. Wherever we passed, the same scenery caught our eyes.
The scenery quickly passed by in my field of vision.
At the same time, countless swarms of insects chased after us.
“Luntar—!”
Once again, runthar’s flames roared into the air. The flames sent countless bugs crashing to the ground.
“Are you still far away?”
“Almost, almost there!”
As the elder said, the end of the forest road was visible. And on the plain, there was a huge world tree.
However, when we arrived in front of the World Tree, we had no choice but to panic.
Unlike the scenery seen during the day, there was a huge cocoon at the center of the World Tree.
pounding… . pounding… .
Even without listening, I could see the cocoon pulsing. It was a strange sight, like a huge heart stuck to a tree.
“Oh My God… . this… .”
Soon I realized why the world tree was sick. These numerous insects must have sucked the energy of the tree, but it is strange that they do not get sick.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
I turned my head to the epicenter of the sound. A woman was standing between the trees.
Long pointed ears, blue hair blowing in the wind, and eyes of the same color.
It was the elf who guarded the temple of the world tree he had seen during the day, Gabriel.
Numerous swarms of insects flew around her.
“Briel! How dare you, an apostle who is supposed to attend the world tree!”
At first glance, there was anger in the blue eyes that seemed indifferent.
I fixed my sword and stared at my opponent. Anyone can see that he is the main culprit of this incident and the magician who serves the insects.
“Elder, you are the one who imprisoned the great race in the Great Forest.”
“Briel! Why did you do this?”
Gabrielle once laughed.
“300 years… . For so long, I lived only with hatred.”
300 years.
Considering that an elf’s life span is over 500 years, it meant that he had lived with hatred for more than half his life.
It seemed like the last piece of the puzzle was fitting.
The adventurers aiming for the Golden Temple, and the elven priest who has cultivated the time of revenge for 300 years… .
“No way, did you stick with the devil?”
“Yes, what is it like? The object of my hatred has always been human. Our master of the Great Forest will go out into the world. It is our turn to pay back what we have lost to the humans who have defiled this land.”
She just snapped her fingers.
At that moment, a swarm of insects crawled down the stem of the world tree. It made me sick to see creatures like spiders, centipedes and caterpillars descending.
“That said, the World Tree you must protect… ! You are someone I cannot communicate with.”
Saying that, Arthur took a step forward. Golden magic was being released from Arthur’s body.
“I use bugs, but even the idea looks like bugs.”
And Reus also followed Arthur forward.
At those words, Gabriel narrowed his brows.
“Human beings are the pests of the world. You guys are eating the world. You cut down forests and cut down mountains, blinded by gold, you invaded.”
“It’s funny that the bitch who betrayed her clan by using bugs sees humans and calls them pests.”
Reus ran out and released his magic power. Arthur also ran after Reus. Blue magic and golden magic crossed the night sky.
“Kill them all.”
When Ibriel stretched out her hand, a swarm of black insects that filled the sky flew in all at once.
“Full armor, commander of the battlefield!”
Arthur’s body was enveloped in light. And suddenly, Arthur was wearing golden armor.
“The protection of the light!”
protection of light.
It was a top-notch buff skill that allowed Arthur to break through head-on even in a situation where magic bombardments were pouring in.
“aa!”
Reus threw out his spear.
Blue magic poured out and passed through the air. With that blow, numerous flying insects were cut into pieces and plummeted to the ground. Black ooze spilled onto the floor.
“Protect me!”
Flying insects like bees and moths blocked Arthur and Reus’ path.
‘Linchester Swordsmanship 7th, Baldo’
The black blade came out of the scabbard and drew a sword strike like a crescent moon. With just one sword strike, numerous flying insects were cut into pieces and plummeted to the ground.
The bugs that fell to the floor spurted out thick, black bodily fluids.
The object’s power itself was not strong. However, the number of enemies was too great.
No matter how much I swung my sword, they showed no signs of diminishing. At that moment, the ground trembled.
Quagga each… !
The ground shook as if there had been an earthquake. Soon, a huge death worm appeared through the ground.
The guy with dozens of sharp teeth on his snout attacked Reus.
bang!
Dust rose at the dull sound. However, Reus took a few steps back and stepped back, then kicked the ground.
With that power, the spear was inserted into the body of the Death Worm.
“Reus!”
“Hey, are you worried about Ethan?”
I also drew my sword and joined the side. I hit the knife on the death worm’s torso. A sensation similar to that of hitting a rock came.
“Ethan!”
I knew very well what that calling meant.
Similar to when we cooperated with Arthur, Reus and I got along very well. When I stepped back, he threw out the spear he had accumulated all that time, and when he fell back, he unleashed the blow I prepared.
‘Linchester swordsmanship, 5th slash!’
I gripped the handle of the sword tightly.
A blade imbued with blue magic power and blazing fire struck the body of the Death Worm.
“Kiehehehehe!”
The Death Worm screamed loudly and wriggled. And fell down with a thud.
The guy who was wriggling and spraying dark red bodily fluid stopped.
Then I was able to look around. I saw Tia and Tesha looking exhausted, and Arthur intercepting all the bugs alone in the lead.
As expected, unless they attacked the caster, it seemed that they would not be able to catch them all.
The problem was that there were too many swarms of insects.
In addition, our side was not willing to fight while protecting the elders. Even so, it was not easy to retreat.
Before we knew it, we came to a cliff as if we were being pushed little by little. Looking back, I saw a long overpass.
Then, Reus laughed.
“Really, all of you are completely useless.”
Reus, who was out of breath, tapped his shoulder with the spear.
“Ethan, Arthur… . I’ll take over here. It’s enough for me alone to get rid of those bugs.”
Arthur, who soon understood what Reus meant, asked back.
“Reus, what are you talking about!”
“The way out is that I will secure it. Cross the bridge and take the elder to safety.”
“No, don’t talk nonsense. I can’t leave my friends behind.”
“Arthur, don’t be mistaken. I am not your friend.”
There was a look of bewilderment in Arthur’s eyes. Reus smiled coldly and replied.
“Gods are not friends with humans.”
I could feel the pride of being a half-god from the guy who uttered that.
Achilles, son of sea goddess and hero Peleus, is that the birth you were so proud of?
The boy tried to move forward with his exhausted body. He intended to die as a hero by securing a retreat alone.
To die alone by pretending to be so cool?
Doesn’t God make friends with humans?
You bastard, even if you set up a death flag, you set it up very strongly.
“Don’t be mean, Reus.”
I smiled coldly and put my hand on the boy’s shoulder. The boy turned around with a surprised look and immediately smiled.
