#219
Lycanthrope (4)
– "Where is this cursed race?"
-"It's a monster! "Kill me!"
-"Monster! Save people! Help me!"
In the not-so-short history of the continent.
Lycanthropes have always been oppressed and ostracized, something close to an 'epidemic'.
An imperfect race that cannot reproduce normally and can only increase its population through infection.
Even those who were healthy begin to have their minds polluted by dark magic as soon as they are infected, and eventually their egos, steeped in wildness and violence, become distorted to the point where their former selves are difficult to find.
Even if he somehow managed to maintain his sanity, he would lose his senses in the madness that raged every day when the full moon rose, and would often go berserk, resorting to infection and murder.
It was natural for people to try to exclude bombs that could explode at any time in order to protect themselves and their families.
Also, an ordinary boy who was bitten by a werewolf killed all the villagers and family members who tried to kill him and ran away.
Afterwards, following its instincts and causing countless victims, it finally turned into a complete monster, which would not be such a strange story in this world.
…It was certainly unusual for him to become strong enough to become a 'king' after surviving for hundreds of years.
Also, there was someone's intervention and help in the process.
Kwaaaang—!
"Kuhihihaha! Got it! "You annoying bugs!"
Lycanthrope King Baukalakas used his eerie grip to tear apart the earth spirit that was constantly hindering his steps.
With just that, scars were created on the ground with a radius of 5 meters as if they had been clawed by a wild beast, and the spirit was helplessly reverse-summoned, unable to resist in any way, despite its status as the highest level, due to the enormous essence of destruction in its hands.
"Ugh!"
"Horut! Are you okay?"
"…Cecily, there is nothing wrong with tidying up, so just focus! "If he takes even one step outside the camp, it's over!"
In the aftermath, a thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of the mouth of the high elf Horut, who was a spirit summoner.
However, without showing any special expression, he concentrated more on the remaining spirits and gritted his teeth.
In the middle of the battlefield where two races faced each other head on.
Among them, the people mobilized to tie up the lycanthrope leader were all of the four remaining high elves in Drasha.
'Wow, even though I'm right next to the World Tree, all I can do is barely survive…! Who would have thought that a monster that size would attack without even thinking about what happened next. There is a difference in rank, but the compatibility is not very good.'
High elves' abilities increase several times the closer they are to the World Tree, but the amplification of their abilities by fusing black magic with madness was not easy.
Above all, the power of the person who had reached transcendence, 'ignoring part of the attack/defense', combined with his terrible body, reached a level where nothing could be done.
No matter how much firepower this side pours in, they completely ignore a certain percentage and then recover by holding on with their bodies, and even then, the attacks of this powerful guy break through their defenses.
So for now, the best thing to do was to form a team like this and fight a war of attrition to somehow hold the guy down.
First of all, when it comes to resilience, the High Elves next to the World Tree can be seen as having the upper hand.
'…No, is that really true? Looking at the state of that monster, I don't think so at all. … If there had been at least one equal opponent, we could have finished this quickly.'
As they have an absolute advantage in longevity, the Elf race as a whole had a very high percentage of strong people who crossed a certain line.
The fact that we were able to somehow respond to the simultaneous appearance of white giants and invasion of lycanthropes was all thanks to the forest guards spread throughout the territory.
However, in the current Elven Kingdom, there is not a single person who has reached the state of transcendence, as if there were some additional restrictions on overcoming the limit.
At least the high elf Lydia, the leader of the sentinels, is evaluated as being close to the wall, but didn't she just cross the ocean out of curiosity and join the warrior party?
"Kakkakkak! Are you tired now? ok? it's over? "Let's get this over with!"
At that time, with a snarky laugh, the monster rushed towards where the high elves were.
The air was shattered by the destructive magic emanating from its body, and the burning smell spread along the trace of the outstretched fingertips.
"Tsk, I'll stop it!"
"I will assist you!"
Platinum, a spirit swordsman who was at the peak of both spirit and swordsmanship, blocked the path of the approaching man with aura blooming all over his body.
Her starlight sword met dark red nails flying through space.
Kaaaaang—!
Although she was momentarily stumped by the overwhelming difference in physical ability that was visible at a glance, she was able to compete on equal footing after receiving auxiliary magic support from the queen, who was also an archmage.
But even for a moment…
Quad deuk! Coooooo—!
"Whoosh!"
With additional support from others, she lasted only about a minute.
In the end, she was barely able to get out after throwing herself around as if she was being thrown away.
Even so, if it weren't for Cecily who put a water curtain on me at the last moment, I would have been seriously hurt by the ensuing attack this time.
"Fuhi! I was able to catch one, but I'm starting to get a little annoyed! If it weren't for the World Tree, things would have ended long ago! Oh, I need to burn it down quickly, that thing!"
The color of young blood in Baucalakas' eyes became darker, as if his patience was reaching its limit.
Perhaps his rationality would have been further diminished, but beyond that, his physical abilities would have increased even further.
'We have to find a way somehow.'
Cecily sighed inwardly and bit her lip.
All they could do was hold on, but on the lycanthrope side, five more general-level individuals headed to the battlefield.
Of course, it's not like there aren't talented people out there who can stand up to them, but…
'I guess I'll have to take the damage. Now that I think about it, who is Mr. Harris?'
At that moment, she suddenly realized that at some point he was a stranger.
I thought the last news was that they were engaged in combat with a general.
Since I couldn't afford to maintain the World Tree network right now, I couldn't find out any further news.
'…I guess he's coming back here right now. If we get to that point, it will be a little better than it is now. Let's hold out as long as we can.'
When Cecily was concentrating on the battle again.
The Harris she remembered was just entering Drasha.
***
Quad Deuk!
"Ugh! World Tree…."
Kwaaang—!
"Kean!"
Death was spreading from the center of the Enamel Continent, which had been the center of peace for a long time.
Death comes equally to both lycanthropes and elves.
The wooden barrier that had been hastily grown in preparation for an invasion had already been breached a long time ago, and the elves were slowly pulling back the front line and trying to reduce their numbers as much as possible.
Lycanthropes have superior physical abilities and instincts to avoid or block all mediocre long-distance attacks, and even if the attack hits, not only do they have to overcome durability and anti-magic power, but their regeneration speed is so overwhelming that they are not prone to death.
No matter how many elves there are, they are elite troops who have been deliberately selected.
The elves needed immediate power that could be used more reliably… Fortunately, Drasha had excellent human resources prepared.
On the outskirts of the battlefield, a little away from the center.
Quirky—
Shapiron Silvesti calmly pulled the bowstring and gradually increased his natural strength.
"Kaaaa! kill!"
A warrior-level lycanthrope approaches, moving in a zigzag motion as if avoiding a diagonal line.
The body swelled to the max, the dark red energy rising from the whole body, the eyes stained bright red and bloodshot with madness, and the vicious teeth with drool leaking out.
Even at first glance, that rabid-like appearance was extremely brutal, but she maintained her composure as much as possible and waited until the very last moment…. At the
most optimal moment, when he could not avoid it, she made a deadly attack containing the spirit of the wind. A single shot was fired.
Wedge—wow!
An arrowhead pierces the forehead precisely.
If it were an ordinary warrior-level individual, it would have been an attack that would have killed him in one hit no matter how much regenerative power he had, but the lycanthrope, which had gained monstrous vitality through a combination of dark magic and madness, only stumbled on the spot for a moment.
The guy lunged at her again with an arrow stuck in his head, as if he wanted to go with her even if he died.
"Die!"
Even in that crisis situation, Shapiron's expression remained undisturbed.
In fact, it didn't matter if the guy didn't fall down with just one hit.
Because, quite naturally, she was not alone.
Ssam-ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!ss! Puff! Hiss—! Sigh!
While she was drawing the prey's attention, arrows and magic flew from a blind spot and thoroughly cut him to pieces.
At this point, even a knight-level person, not a warrior-level person, would not be able to survive.
And from the direction from which the attack came, Timer and Curie, classmates who had once performed on a festival stage with Harris, quietly approached.
"Miss Shapiron, are you really okay with this? "It's effective, but I think it's too dangerous alone."
"…What about changing the strategy?"
"are you okay. After all, the only people we deal with are wounded soldiers and remnants that have escaped like this, right? "Now is not the time to relax, so we have to take some risks."
Drasha Academy is the best educational facility in the Elven Kingdom.
Of course, all of the students were elites and high-quality personnel who could immediately be used as a force.
In such a crisis situation, we can trust and entrust it with rear support.
"If we move just a little faster, we can save at least one more person. So from now on…"
Rustling—
That was the moment when she heard the sound of digging through the bushes, as if cutting off her words.
The expressions of the three people hardened.
…I could hear the sound, but I still couldn't feel anything because they were always tense.
They glanced at each other and slowly turned their heads in that direction.
There, a woman with a rough look who seemed to be the one who made the noise by shaking the bushes on purpose was looking at them with a strange expression.
"At first, I tried to pass by quietly, but when I thought about it, I realized you were right? "If I were just a little more diligent, I could save at least one more of my compatriots."
She opened her mouth in a relaxed manner.
He is a tall, muscular man up to 180 centimeters tall, with short black hair and dense scars visible wherever his skin is visible, including his neck and the backs of his hands.
"…It'll be okay if I kill a few guys along the way, right?"
Teeth like beasts visible from a slightly smiling mouth and fingernails that gradually become sharper.
"Ah, I was just getting annoyed at the fact that I was the only one hiding while the other guys were having fun killing things to their heart's content, but it worked out well. Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk."
The woman that Shapiron and his group met by chance was none other than
He was a general-level lycanthrope who was secretly working on a secret mission assigned by the king.
***
Harris moved straight to Drasha.
Even if you flew at top speed, it would have taken several hours to travel, but wasn't the 'Forest Path' technique originally practiced to be used for situations like this?
'Originally, it was a pilgrimage, so there were taboos and all… but now it's a crisis!'
Since he was on his way to carry out a direct request from the World Tree, this was naturally within the acceptable range.
So he walked forward, using the World Tree as a guidepost.
After about 5 minutes.
When he came out of the forest path, he was already on the branches of the World Tree.
'…I didn't plan on coming up here. No, it's actually good.'
From this open view, it would be easier to understand the situation.
With that in mind, Harris looked at the area near Drasha below.
I furrowed my brows slightly at the progress of the war, which had progressed quite a bit.
He, who remembers Drasha as always being peaceful and beautiful, was not at all familiar with the current scene.
'If the World Tree is willing to offer such an extraordinary compensation, then it seems that no matter what problem arises, it will be solved.'
What was immediately visible was a tense battle situation.
There is a feeling of being pushed back a little, but it doesn't look like it will collapse right now, and if we wait, forest guards will come in from all directions with their sentries.
'…I don't know. I guess I'll have to look more closely to find out.'
Harris calmly adjusted his bow, Themis, activated "Star Observer" and quietly looked down…
At the same time, he paused for a moment at the sense of elation he felt.
'what? Why is this suddenly happening?'
It wasn't bad.
I feel like I am more closely connected to the subject than when I normally use the skill…
'Is it because I am in contact with the World Tree?'
All abilities of a high elf become stronger the closer they are to the World Tree.
Of course, if you're on top of it, you'll feel it more clearly than usual.
…Plus, since this is a special situation, it feels like they are allowing something more.
'…I don't think it's enough. Then, just a little more.'
In that situation, Harris activated "World Tree Deficit" and "Natural Assimilation" to maximize affinity with Mother Nature, especially the World Tree.
And let's bend the ground like that—.
'Oh this….'
I.
《The special skill "Star Observer" absorbs the lower abilities "Bright View Index" and "Visiting Eyes" and evolves into "Milky Way Observer."》
World Tree— I was able to get a glimpse of the world seen by God.