The Moderate faction’s army could neither retreat nor advance.
To approach the rampaging World Tree amidst the collapsing inner citadel was certain death, yet to fall back meant being blocked by the branches of the tree, which spread like an immense cage around them.
The elf soldiers, faced with a calamity like a natural disaster, panicked, not knowing what to do.
Just then, a pale green light blazed from the World Tree.
“T-the World Tree.”
The elves felt their heads spin from the strong fragrance brushing their noses.
A powerful scent, like the freshness of a forest, the fragrance of a vast garden in bloom, and the cool smell of water from a lively brook—all mingled together.
Immediately afterward, night descended upon the surroundings.
The World Tree absorbed all light within a radius of more than ten kilometers into its leaves.
The darker the landscape grew, the brighter the World Tree shone.
A snow-white tree glowing in the darkness.
From the World Tree, which now radiated with sunlight itself, immense energy gathered into one point.
Gathering, condensing.
What was created was a mass of destruction.
The authority of the World Tree, bringing despair and death to all things.
That destructive gaze turned upon them.
Everyone stared at the scene, as if their breath had been choked off.
It was overwhelming.
Even the instinct to shout “run” was crushed—in the face of that power, one could only humbly accept death.
At last, the crouching mass of destruction shot forward, long and direct, toward the Moderate soldiers.
A single beam of light split the darkness.
“Lo—”
Darish Flohim opened his mouth to say something.
But before his voice could leave him, the white flash devoured him, his guard, and his retinue.
────!
There was not even the agony of burning.
Not even ashes remained.
Darish Flohim and the elf army were disassembled down to the cellular level and annihilated.
The instant the light struck the ground, the condensed energy spread in all directions, causing a massive explosion.
Like a volcanic eruption, the massive energy burrowed into the earth and erupted outward in every direction.
The land overturned.
There was no crimson flame, no black smoke rising from fire.
Only a white explosion expanding in a dome, swallowing everything.
And with just that, the Moderate faction’s forces were reduced to near annihilation.
The shockwave came late.
A storm infused with heat spread like a raging current across the entire Forest of Life.
Air combusted and turned to vacuum, and then the outer air was violently sucked back inward.
In the place the shockwave had swept through, a mushroom cloud rose, marking the explosion.
From atop Steel Raven, Ludger looked down on the sight and felt his hair stand on end.
An attack that could plunge the surroundings into instant night, filled with absorbed light—such power.
Its scale and force were so great that recognizing it would not make evasion possible.
‘This is the World Tree’s power?’
From its sturdy roots to its control over the land around it—such things seemed believable, since it was the World Tree.
But to reap and bestow life, to absorb light itself and fire it as a strategic weapon—this was beyond all reason.
Even Ella Plante’s actions, five hundred years ago, when she had sought to multiply such World Trees, now seemed like madness.
‘So this is why elves worshiped it as a god. If something like this awakens fully, it might overturn the entire world order.’
Even Lesley’s plan to twist and destroy all ley lines in Kasarr Basin now felt trivial by comparison.
Ludger looked down at Ventmin Lifret, who was laughing manically.
“Ahahahahaha──!!!”
She had annihilated the Moderate faction in a single strike.
She could feel the despair and hopelessness of the survivors before her omnipotent power.
What joy could be greater than this?
But Ventmin Lifret quickly recalled her true purpose.
She had merely swept away a pebble on the road.
There were still many insects she had to crush.
“Insects? Ah yes. Those.”
Ventmin smirked.
Then the earth beneath, where the World Tree’s roots spread, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ shook with a heavy thud.
Like a crashing wave, the ground heaved violently, and the already crumbling citadel collapsed completely.
The ground shattered in places, creating passages connected to the underground chambers.
Scrrk, scrrk.
From the black, deep holes came chilling noises—and then enormous bugs, the size of bears, swarmed out.
Earthworms, living in the underground chambers of the World Tree, gnawing its roots and drinking its sap.
The black, hard-bodied worms moved in perfect unison, as if controlled by something, and surged like a tidal wave toward the surviving soldiers of the Moderates.
“Wh-what is that!”
“Form ranks!”
“Where is the commander!”
With the command structure completely obliterated by the earlier strike, the soldiers could not respond properly.
Into that cauldron of chaos poured the earthworms.
Screams and blood of elves rang out everywhere.
The worms’ massive jaws ripped through elf armor with ease.
The elves did not simply die in vain.
They swung their swords desperately, killing worms where they could. But the difference in numbers was overwhelming.
And the worms did not only charge at the Moderates.
Even more of them surged toward the soldiers of the Neutral faction.
“Druids, forward!”
Yet the Neutral faction did not panic at the sight—they responded calmly.
As the druids advanced and chanted spells, thorny brambles burst from the ground.
They formed a massive barrier, blocking the worms.
The worms crashed into the barrier, breaking and splintering as they tangled.
“Archers!”
The archers waiting behind loosed their arrows.
Arrows infused with spirits and life energy pierced the worms’ shells.
But the worms did not stop.
Having drunk the World Tree’s sap, they sealed their wounds with terrifying regeneration, clambering over their companions’ corpses, one by one crossing the barrier.
Awaiting them were shield-bearers wielding shields the size of great trees.
The worms rammed the shield-bearers, but the firm formation did not budge.
The shield-bearers of House Burke, protectors of the forest through a long history, were not so feeble as to fall to mere vermin controlled by the World Tree.
As the worms and shield-bearers clashed, the swordsmen behind them moved in.
“Strike the brow! Other spots are useless!”
“If you can’t, then cut the legs!”
The nimble elf swordsmen ran over the worms’ backs and heads, slashing their necks or severing their joints.
Green ichor sprayed as the worms shrieked and fell.
But no matter how many they slew, their numbers did not dwindle.
‘The soldiers of Burke and Dentis are holding well. But they cannot last long.’
Ludger assessed the battlefield and fixed his gaze on Ventmin.
As if sensing it, Ventmin looked up at him as well.
“You. Isn’t it about time you stopped looking down at us from above?”
With those words, the World Tree hummed with vibration.
In the next moment, something shot toward Ludger from the tree.
An attack like the golden arrows Ventmin had fired before.
But larger. Faster.
One could call them golden spears.
Not only stronger, but far more numerous.
For they numbered in the thousands, raining down above Ludger’s head.
“Evade!”
Ludger immediately commanded Steel Raven.
The raven cloaked in shadow burned with fire as it entered evasive maneuvers at tremendous speed.
Everywhere the black shadow’s trail passed, a golden rain poured down.
But no matter how much he tried to evade and escape, already trapped inside the cage, Ludger could not fully leave the World Tree’s range.
While blocking part of the golden attacks with defensive magic, he did not cease dropping artifacts toward Ventmin.
“I told you, it won’t work.”
Ventmin tried to seize the falling artifacts with roots.
But before the roots could fully grasp them, the artifacts exploded.
Brilliant multicolored blasts bloomed in midair, ripping the space apart.
Ventmin frowned as though annoyed by a troublesome insect.
“Detonating them before absorption by advancing the critical runaway time? Pointless.”
At best, it erased only parts of the endlessly regenerating roots, without touching the main body.
And in a battle of attrition, it would be Ludger who lost first, since the number of artifacts was finite.
Thinking she should first swat down that bothersome bird, Ventmin unleashed a stronger attack.
The golden spears raining upon Ludger lessened in number, but in exchange became bombardments striking directly at the ground.
Steel Raven continued a perilous flight, barely skimming past each time a white pillar of light tore by.
Like a child toying with a dragonfly, a cruel smile curled on Ventmin’s lips.
Then, sensing a strange presence, she wrapped herself in a thick barrier of wood.
At that instant, a sword the size of a man crashed down.
Kwaang!
Surrounded by the tough bark of the World Tree, Ventmin looked at the attacker and smiled sweetly.
“My, Ambella. How long has it been? Was exile enjoyable?”
Ambella, with an eyepatch over one eye, wore a feral grin.
“Oh, it was filthy delightful. I even brought you a gift, you bitch.”
Ambella’s arms swelled with strength.
The scarred muscles of her forearms rippled, and her greatsword slashed cleanly through Ventmin’s upper body at an angle.
A perfect strike.
Yet Ventmin’s sundered torso still writhed, alive.
“As expected, before the head of House Burke, this level of defense is meaningless.”
From the cross-section of her lower body, countless vines burst forth like an underground spring, surging to engulf Ambella.
Then Vierno stepped forward.
Infusing both hands with the power of wind, he thrust them outward, shredding the vines like a blender and scattering them apart.
Though the severed vines regenerated at once, Ambella had already leapt back.
“For both the head of House Dentis and the head of House Burke to come of their own accord—how convenient. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one.”
Ventmin’s destroyed torso melted away, and from the lower half sprouted her regenerated form.
And from above, blue blasts of mana rained down.
A surprise attack from Hans in spirit-beast form.
Ventmin sneered and extended her hand, absorbing the blue mana into herself until it vanished.
After clearing the small branches, Hans landed behind Ambella and Vierno.
Vierno looked in surprise at the sudden appearance of a spirit-beast, but meeting Hans’s eyes, he realized this was an ally.
“Mister Hans, is that you?”
[...You recognized me right away?]
“Yes. Your eyes say it all. I don’t know what happened to make you look like this, but at least it’s reassuring in this situation.”
[...Well. I don’t know if I’ll be of much use against that one.]
Hans muttered bitterly, staring at Ventmin who had absorbed all his attacks.
The overwhelming mana of the spirit-beast was nothing more than nourishment for the World Tree—nothing more, nothing less.
That meant the only way was pure hand-to-hand combat, something Hans had never attempted, leaving him at a loss.
At least the elite warriors of House Burke and House Dentis were here, but there were only ten of them.
Then, with the cry of a monstrous bird overhead, Ludger descended nearby.
Steel Raven followed, beating its wings as it landed beside Hans.
Ludger looked at the gathered reinforcements and asked,
“No more?”
“Who else do you expect to show up here?”
Ambella scoffed.
Indeed, it was hard to imagine anyone else arriving.
Which meant, with only those present, they had to bring down Ventmin merged with the World Tree.
‘Is that possible?’
Ambella, Vierno, Hans, and himself.
On paper, their strength was more than enough.
But their opponent was far beyond simple comparison.
Ventmin, one with the World Tree, was stronger than the four of them combined.
Had she not already obliterated the Moderates with a single strike?
‘But retreat is impossible.’
Trapped inside this cage called the World Tree, the only choice left was to fight.
‘Alex... still seems to be fighting down below.’
Helia came to mind, but she had already exceeded expectations by unleashing the dragon’s breath that scorched the tree earlier.
Knowing her temperament, she had either already fled or hidden herself, waiting.
Hoping for further reinforcements was likely a vain wish.
Just as Ludger thought this, Ventmin’s smirking expression froze cold.
“What is this?”
Everyone wondered at her reaction as she turned her head, staring in one direction.
Through the World Tree, Ventmin could see and control everything around.
And now she sensed something fast approaching.
A single presence.
Not an ordinary elf.
Rather, this aura was...
“A human?”
A lone human was rushing swiftly toward them.
Sensing future annoyance, Ventmin swung a root at him, intending to eliminate him before he became a nuisance.
One of the World Tree’s main roots rose and struck downward to crush the approaching human head-on.
Then something astonishing happened.
The human drew his sword and lightly thrust it into the root.
A colossal root, fifty meters thick and eight hundred meters long.
Its sheer mass and the hardness of the World Tree surpassed any metal.
Craaaack.
Yet the root, touched by the sword tip, twisted like a whirlpool and shattered into fragments.
“What?”
The World Tree was not only hard but also possessed tremendous tensile strength. Yet it could not withstand that force and broke apart.
“Who is that human...”
As Ventmin stared in shock, the man stepped on the broken fragments as stepping stones and leapt up, arriving at the split cradle.
“So, everyone was here.”
Ludger’s eyes widened in recognition of the new arrival.
“You... why are you here...?”
Lutus Wardot.
The Empire’s strongest knight, the greatest sword of the continent, and protector of the Imperial Family.
He had appeared alone in the Elven Kingdom.