Chapter 166: Adessa Great Forest (6)
Fragments rained down like cannonballs from Fogwigg. The beastmen and the fragments mixed in the air.
At that moment, the Chieftain swung his weapon.
His weapon was shaped like a crescent moon sword, and the massive blade sliced through more than half of the debris, hitting the beastmen.
The beastmen caught in the remaining fragments defended themselves by wielding their own weapons.
Oh no.
I initiated a space leap.
I approached the beastman, who was about to be hit by an unusually large chunk of debris, and shielded him with a floating veil.
“Thank you!”
The beastman, who had come to the brink of death and returned, shouted with a face full of gratitude before falling to the ground.
Returning to the back of Ti-Yong, I moved away from Fogwigg, keeping a safe distance.
After a brief lull, I confirmed that there were no casualties among the beastmen who had descended to the ground.
It seemed that no one was seriously injured.
It has regenerated again.
I shifted my gaze to Fogwigg’s weakness. The areas hit by combined attacks were quickly restored, as I had expected.
“Tsk. Did that monster have this kind of ability before?”
The Mad King brushed off the black flames on her arm.
On the body of Fogwigg, the black aura was once again surging, just like when I first saw it. Judging from the felt energy, it seemed like the damage would only be significant unless someone on the level of a Lord made it, if not greater.
The people here were all level 80 and above, but was this still not enough?
In the state where the flames surrounded it, it was not easy to climb on top or approach it closely.
Kwaaaang!
At that moment, the Mad King exploded with rage and once again charged towards Fogwigg alone.
She swung her sword without care, whether the black aura stuck to her body or not, truly behaving like a madwoman.
The black aura of Fogwigg and the crimson aura of the Mad King mixed together, and a black-red light flashed.
Midway through, Fogwigg once again burst the surface and sent shards flying, but she didn’t pause in her assault, slashing or smashing them all to pieces.
The Mad King did not easily succumb to Fogwigg’s counterattacks, but the same could be said in reverse.
She unleashed an assault that could have toppled a mountain, and Fogwigg didn’t even flinch.
She’s just wasting her strength.
Ultimately, it would be impossible to break through on her own.
Realizing that it was all in vain, the Mad King also ceased her attacks.
The Mad King descended to the ground, stabbed the sword into the ground in frustration, and sat down, catching her breath.
The Chieftain looked at her and spoke to the other beastmen.
“It seems like it will be difficult with just our current power. Let’s gather our strength and launch a joint attack when the elves arrive.”
Indeed, that seemed to be the wisest choice given the current situation.
In terms of pure destructive power, the elves’ elemental powers were probably stronger.
Therefore, when the Elf Chieftain and the reinforcements arrived, they would launch a unified attack.
…They arrived just as we were talking about them.
I felt their presence and lifted my head.
Suddenly, the dots appearing on the other side of the sky rapidly approached.
The Thunder Lord and the elven tribe had arrived.
Is it the power of the Wind Spirits?
Whoosh!
The elves, riding on hawkdis and stirring up strong winds, descended to the ground.
Among them, it was immediately recognizable who the Elf Chieftain was.
Shandra, Elven Chieftain of Adessa.
She gathered the energy of the spirits around her and stepped closer to the Beastmen High Chieftain.
“I’ve heard all about it from the Second Lord of Calderic, and I’ve brought with me the best men I can muster.”
“Thank you.”
“Is that Fogwigg?”
The Elf Chieftain looked at the Fogwigg with an intensely serious expression.
The other elves all had a weary expression as well.
The Thunder Lord standing near the Elf Chieftain approached me and asked.
“It seems we arrived late. How is the situation?”
I shook my head.
“We have already made one attack, but it was in vain. We need the power of the elves.”
There was no time for idle chatter.
After briefly sharing information with the Beastmen Chieftain, the Elf Chieftain immediately prepared for battle with the elves.
“It’s meaningless to reserve our energy since the enemy recovers quickly, even if it gets hit. We must put all our strength into a single attack.”
“Understood.”
The strategy was simple.
This time, the elves would launch the initial attack, followed by a coordinated attack from the Beastmen.
With this level of power, there was enough possibility.
“Akene.”
The chieftain summoned the Great Spirit of Wind. A goddess-like figure with closed eyes floated above her head.
Suddenly, a whirlwind erupted, and both the elves and the Beastmen floated into the sky.
They formed a circle around Fogwigg. Then the elves summoned their spirits in unison.
Various spirits such as the fire spirits, water spirits, thunder spirits, wind spirits, and other spirits shaped the air above Fogwigg.
The chieftain of the elves created a giant whirlwind in the form of a lance, and Thunder Lord created a lightning ball, compressing her lightning to the limit as before.
As if they were going to settle the score this time, the beastmen chieftain had spared no expense in summoning his power.
…Kwaaah!
And then an onslaught began.
In an instant, if an ordinary person were present, the blinding flash that engulfed the forest had blinded their vision. Explosions erupted, storms raged, and lightning flashes flickered.
I focused my attention and watched that spectacle.
I could see the Fogwigg’s weaknesses caved in, even more so than in the previous attacks.
“Kraaaaah!”
Amidst the piercing sound, the beastmen’s roars resounded.
They dropped into the depression as soon as the elves’ attacks were over.
The moment they struck Fogwigg’s weakened body once more…
Dududud!
Fogwigg began to heal its wounds at a much faster speed than before.
The beastmen, who were widening the cracks within the vulnerable area, found themselves in danger of being buried by the masses closing in from all sides.
“Ah…!”
More than half of the beastmen narrowly escaped, but some could not get out.
The elven chieftain used the power of the wind spirit to pull out those who couldn’t escape from the pit.
However, a few ultimately failed to escape and were consumed by Fogwigg.
Including the Chieftain.
The beastmen who had escaped looked at the wriggling Fogwigg with bewildered faces.
“Chief!”
Swoosh!
In that moment, a part of Fogwig’s body burst open, and the Chieftain of the beastmen emerged.
In his arm, he held another beastman who hadn’t managed to escape.
“Hoo…”
The Chieftain of the beastmen looked back at Fogwigg with a desolate gaze.
Despite everyone combining their strength, the formidable opponent ultimately persevered.
The massive wounds that had briefly appeared were now being replaced by other chunks, disappearing without a trace.
“…!”
At that moment, Fogwigg showed another reaction.
With such intensity that the ground trembled, it began to move its body once again.
The speed was unbelievably fast, causing the beastmen and elves in its path to be swept away without being able to avoid it.
“Oh no…!”
The elf chieftain and the Thunder Lord unleashed their attacks simultaneously.
The lightning bolts and wind blades struck a wide swath across Fogwigg’s body, but they only slowed it down a bit.
“We can’t let it escape! We must prevent it from reaching the World Tree!”
Everyone moved urgently without even a moment to fully recover.
In the midst of it all, while I was merely watching, riding on Ti-Yong, I rushed ahead of Fogwigg.
“To-Yong. Dodge.”
I jumped off Ti-Yong’s back and expanded the floating barrier as wide as possible in front of Fogwigg.
Although there was some uneasiness that it might not be fully covered, thankfully Fogwigg was stopped by the floating veil and its movement came to a halt.
However, the force pushing against the barrier was incredibly strong, and the impact transmitted through the barrier was quite alarming.
I can’t endure this for long.
It wasn’t enough to crush me, but if it kept going like this, I would suffocate to death.
Fortunately, as the elves and beastmen who followed behind attacked relentlessly, the creature once again ceased its movement.
“…These guys are no joke.”
Everyone stared at Fogwigg with exhausted faces.
While we managed to stop it for now, there was no guarantee that we could continue to do so if it started moving again.
Even a combined effort using all our strength proved futile. It was truly a hopeless situation.
In that manner, without proper rest or respite, a fierce battle raged on for three days and nights.
Fogwigg persisted in advancing, and we repeatedly struggled to stop it.
Although reinforcements arrived from other tribes in the middle, it held little significance.
“We don’t have much distance left. At this rate, the creature will reach the World Tree by tomorrow at the latest.”
The situation was desperate.
Everyone was exhausted, and we still hadn’t found a way to stop Fogwigg.
“……Do you have any ideas, Chief Shandra?”
“I have none. It’s impossible to amplify the power of the World Tree as we did back then…”
The morale was depleted, and no one could utter a word.
In the face of the overwhelming power of Fogwigg, bravery and the will to risk our lives became meaningless. We had come to realize this after fighting for several days.
At that moment, the Mad King, who had been gazing blankly at the sky, let out a chuckle.
All eyes focused on her.
“Why are you so fixated on living? Wasn’t the forest already destroyed during the Great War? It was only preserved by sacrificing Igrel’s life.”
“Igrel…”
“No matter what methods we use, it seems impossible to stop that monster. Let’s just accept it. You are the proud warriors of the Great Forest, aren’t you? Let’s fight to the end and die here.”
Yes, if it’s the end, anyway…
Muttering those words, the Mad King turned her body and headed somewhere. It was in the direction where the World Tree existed.
“Ignel! Where are you going?”
“Chief! It’s about to move again!”
At that moment, Fogwigg trembled.
With Ignel gone, everyone attacked relentlessly to stop the enemy without any concern.
What is she tying to do?
Feeling a sinister premonition, I didn’t join the attack and instead chased after the disappeared Mad King.
***
“Mad King! Why are you here…!”
“Get lost.”
Mad King raised her fist.
The warriors guarding the entrance of the World Tree were easily knocked out and fell unconscious from her punch.
Having defeated all the warriors and entered the depths of the World Tree, the Mad King headed for its core.
To see the core of the World Tree.
“…Igrel.”
Mad King had a brother named Igrel.
She didn’t believe in legends or superstitions that descended upon the tribe, but there was one thing she believed in.
It was impossible not to believe in the existence of Igrel, her brother, even after all that sacrifice.
Igrel was that powerful. He was the strongest warrior of the Great Forest.
When he reached the age to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony, he had already surpassed even Udakbat, the current chieftain, and no one denied or opposed the fact that he would become the next chieftain of the beastmen tribe.
From a young age, they fought each other playfully or seriously until they grew tired of it.
However, Igrel had never once been defeated by Ignel.
To Ignel, Igrel was the only blood, brother, idol, and goal in the world.
Ignel stopped in her tracks in front of the orange gem covered with a tree trunk.
Standing still, she looked at the core of the World Tree and reached out her hand.
“Let’s end it all. You, me, and this forest.”
If they couldn’t stop that monster from devouring the World Tree, anyway.
Before then, she would rather crush the soul of his brothers trapped inside this damned stone with her own hands.
Ignel chuckled, clutching the core in her hand.
“…We made such a promise. Even if you become the chieftain, I will eventually become the strongest warrior of the Great Forest.”
In the end, the promise was not kept because Ignel could not surpass him until his death.
He left the Great Forest and traveled the continent, fighting numerous people.
Among them, there were petty individuals, formidable foes who could make her blood boil, and she even encountered a monster stronger than Igrel.
The world outside the forest was vast. However, her thirst was never quenched.
No matter how strong the enemy was, even if it was the Overlord of Calderic, there was no existence that could satisfy her thirst.
Excitement and exhilaration were temporary, and after the battle, emptiness always remained in her heart.
“If there is a world after death, let’s meet and fight again, Igrel.”
Igrel exerted strength into the hand holding the core.
There was a momentary hesitation in her eyes, but it was fleeting.
Crack.
It was the moment right before the core of the World Tree shattered.
“Stop, Mad King.”
Igrel turned her head.
The Seventh Lord was walking into the entrance of the tree roots.
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