Three months later.
South of Crossroad.
At the Black Lake Front. Forward Base.
On the day of Stage 30.
***
It was already the 30th defense battle.
Every stage multiple of five is known as a boss stage, where especially difficult enemies appear.
Until now, monsters up to the 10th rank under the Demon King - the Nightmare Legion Commanders - had emerged.
However, perhaps due to my defeating several Nightmare Legion Commanders in the dungeon by other means, there was a shortage of them for the boss stage. So, a division from another top-tier monster legion appeared in this boss stage.
The 'Moving Forest' Legion.
Originally, this legion, a collective of giant living, moving trees, only guarded its territory in the dungeon and didn't invade human realms. But this time, these trees invaded.
This conglomerate of thousands, tens of thousands of trees is a fortress, a weapon, a labyrinth in itself.
The slowly advancing forest of trees, which hardly takes any damage from most attacks, lures in close victims and 'eats' them.
Those who venture too close to this forest lose their way inside, forget the flow of time and spatial movement, and slowly wither away.
There are two strategies to defeat this cursed forest.
First, setting the forest on fire.
True to their nature, the trees are susceptible to fire-based attacks. A powerful enough blaze can incinerate the entire forest at once.
This could be seen as the direct approach. This is how it was done in the game.
However, there's a big problem: the moment these trees catch fire, they start emitting light.
Usually quiet and stealthy, these trees, upon sensing their skin burning, start emitting bizarre screams, uprooting themselves from the ground and charging towards the ground.
And they seek out the attacker who set them on fire to kill them.
From the moment they catch fire until they are completely burnt, it doesn't take long, but the frenzied tree monsters are as ferocious as ogres of the same level.
Thousands, tens of thousands of these creatures, glowing and charging, could obliterate everything, including our walls.
Hence, the second strategy.
Send a small elite team close to the forest, and when the 'food'-enticed forest parts, find the boss entity at its center - the 'Elder Tree.'
This tree, the first and the one that spread the curse to the other trees, is the legion commander of these tree monsters. The cursing burnt root. The Elder Tree.
As long as the forest is densely packed, it emits a bewitching aura, making it impossible to locate.
But if we can send a bait team to spread them out, the forest's density will thin, and Damien can be instructed to search.
And if found, Damien's sniping can finish it off in one hit.
This tactic was decided upon as it would cause the least casualties, and the Sky Knights were chosen as the bait.
Able to soar in the sky, this knight corps was the most mobile among all the forces of the World Guardian Front.
Despite being worn down from the fierce battles of the past three months, the Sky Knights were in a much better situation than the others.
Every military group had casualties, but the elite Sky Knights hadn't lost a single person.
Mikhail had also achieved boss kills in Stages 28 and 29.
Mikhail was an exceptional knight, his subordinates were powerful, and importantly, they could fly.
For the boss stage, they were one of the few reliable cards I could play. So, I ordered them to deploy, and Mikhail and her knights gladly accepted.
And then-
An accident occurred.
***
Initially, the operation proceeded as planned.
The Sky Knights, flying at a low altitude, glided right above the 'Moving Forest', luring the trees.
The trees stretched their branches towards the griffins and knights flying close by, but the Sky Knights skillfully maintained their distance.
The Sky Knights roamed above the 'Moving Forest', enticing the trees and fragmenting their formation.
When this lure operation succeeded and the Elder Tree at the center of the forest finally revealed itself,
At the very moment when the monstrous legion commander, with its charred body and horrifically split trunk resembling a grotesque smile, was spotted,
"-We can take it down."
Mikhail dove down like a bolt of lightning towards the ground.
"Your Highness?!"
"That's not right, Your Highness-!"
It was a completely impulsive act.
The role of the Sky Knights was merely to fly safely and disrupt the forest.
The knights under Mikhail's command were all horrified, trying to stop him, but it was too late. Mikhail had already plunged into the embrace of the enemy commander.
To the young knight, it seemed like a moment to kill the Elder Tree and become a hero.
To hesitate or not in the face of an opportunity to become a hero and write a legend.
That is what separates those who can create legends from those who can't. Mikhail did not miss his chance.
...But Mikhail didn't know.
If that opportunity was a lie to begin with.
If what he thought was an opportunity was actually a trap.
If one cannot distinguish, they cannot become a hero, nor can they write a legend. He didn't know.
Ssssssh!
The Elder Tree extended its vine-like branches like whips towards Mikhail, who had leaped into its embrace.
Mikhail, with his rapier imbued with magic, sliced through the vine branches and leaped into the Elder Tree's embrace.
"Haaaaaaah!"
Mikhail's rapier, emanating crimson magic power, lunged right towards the Elder Tree's face.
Thunk!
And then, it stopped.
Just before the blade made contact, the Elder Tree spread its spider-web-like vines, entangling Mikhail and his griffin completely.
It was a matter of milliseconds.
If the sword had been 0.1 seconds faster, Mikhail's strike would have felled the enemy commander, and he would have added a new line to his and the Sky Knights' legend.
But it was 0.1 seconds too slow.
"Khhk?!"
Entangled by the vines, Mikhail twisted in agony, letting out a pained groan.
The Sky Knights, watching from above, desperately dove down.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"
"Just wait a moment! We will save you!"
The entire knight corps plunged in to rescue Mikhail, their prince and commander.
But by then, the forest had already prepared to kill the intruders.
Trees densely crowded the air, forming a maze in the sky.
The Sky Knights, trying to break through this maze, soon found the intertwined branches too thick to penetrate, forcing them to detour.
Turning sideways, spinning, flipping upside down, and then...
In a short time, they lost their way in the forest.
The location of the Elder Tree, even the sight of Mikhail, was nowhere to be seen. The knights of the Sky Knights screamed the prince's name as they scrambled through the forest.
When they came to their senses, they were scattered and lost.
"What’s going on?"
"How much time has passed?"
"Where did everyone go? Where's my griffin?"
"Where is this... What am I here for..."
"Why am I so... dizzy..."
Throughout the forest, the Sky Knights perished.
Poisoned, hallucinating, entangled by vines, falling into swamps.
Scattered across the forest and hunted down by it, Mikhail could only watch in horror, bound by the Elder Tree.
"No, no, no!"
Mikhail screamed desperately,
"Get out of the forest, now! Hurry! Please...!"
None of Mikhail's subordinates could hear his cries.
No matter how much he struggled, the monster's vines only tightened their grip on him.
Ultimately, Mikhail could only watch helplessly as his precious subordinates died one by one.
As his mistake led to the annihilation of the entire knight corps.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
***
"We must save the Sky Knights!"
Immediately after the situation unfolded, I issued an order.
"Fire on the outskirts of the forest! Fire-!"
Plan B, the more damaging direct approach, was now in play. But I couldn't afford to lose Mikhail and the Sky Knights here.
Boom! Babababoom!
The cannons fired in unison. They were pre-loaded with ammunition that would easily catch fire.
Screeech! Screeeeech!
The outer edges of the forest, caught in the explosion and set ablaze, emitted strange screams as the trees uprooted themselves.
And then-
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
They started rushing forward.
The terrifying sight shook the soldiers, but I instead ordered more attacks.
"We need to agitate them more! Keep attacking without pause!"
Continuous attacks from our side would reduce the attention of the monsters on the trapped Sky Knights.
Disturbing the enemy would increase the chances of spotting the Elder Tree, allowing Damien to snipe it and end this.
This defense battle and the rescue of the Sky Knights had to be resolved swiftly...!
Boom! Boom! Babababoom!
The cannons kept firing relentlessly, and the cursed trees, ablaze, poured towards the forward base.
Bang! Kaboom!
As the monsters charged, the mines buried earlier exploded, and a net of cannon fire enveloped them.
Despite this, the burning trees approached with terrifying speed. Their seething rage was truly fearsome.
"We must stop them before they reach the forward base! Fire with all firepower!"
Continuously encouraging the artillery, I suddenly turned to my side.
"Lilly!"
"I'm on it!"
Lilly, timing it perfectly, activated the artifacts and gathered magic in her hands.
The other magicians beside her prepared their spells.
Since each fire attribute magician was precious, I had asked Lilly to join. The magicians released their spells one by one.
Whooosh!
Lilly's Fire Wall literally formed a wall of flames.
The trees that touched this magic were all engulfed in flames, but their sheer number eventually broke through.
Now the monsters were almost upon us. I gritted my teeth. At this rate!
That's when it happened.
Whooooosh!
Suddenly, pillars of fire rained down from the sky. I looked in surprise towards the source.
An elderly man with a flowing white beard.
The master of the Ivory Tower, the great magician Dearmudin.
"Dearmudin!"
"Is this the time to call my name?! Just do what you have to do!"
Dearmudin, seemingly strained, yelled back.
I hurriedly urged Damien, who was still struggling with the sniper scope.
"Damien! Are you still not ready?!"
"Not yet... I can't see it..."
The forest was too thick, and the rising smoky haze from the fire made it even harder to spot the location.
'Damn it! If only my 'Map Making' had worked!'
The Elder Tree, being a deceptive, illusion-type monster, had prevented my 'Map Making' trait from pinpointing its location.
As time dragged on, the tree monsters finally approached the forward base's defense line.
Even with my magical walls raised several layers high, the towering height of the entangled trees made it inevitable for them to reach us.
Lucas, standing at the defense line, shouted.
"Prepare for hand-to-hand combat-!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Kill the monsters-!"
Watching the close-combat heroes and soldiers collide with the burning trees, I clenched my teeth.
Thump!
Whoosh!
"Khhhh!"
"Aaaagh! Hot! It's hot!"
Soldiers struck by large tree branches fell like bowling pins, and in no time, casualties began to mount.
The ferocity of the frenzied tree monsters was a problem, as was the fire clinging to their bodies.
For the moment, heroes and soldiers, despite their injuries, were maintaining the defense line, but if this situation dragged on, the damage would be uncontrollable.
And then, at that moment.
Flash!
A crimson flash sparkled within the forest.
It was Mikhail's magic light. A signal to us.
I shouted and pointed in that direction.
"Damien, there! Can you see it?!"
"Yes, I've got it!"
Click!
The magical rifle [Black Queen] began to transform on its own, flashing with white magic light and morphing into the familiar form of a long railgun.
Damien, aiming the massive rifle at the enemy commander, his eyes glittering, announced.
"Sniping now-!"
--TL Notes--
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