Chapter 29 - New Paradise (9)
Elves weren't the only ones growing stronger. The enemies who had taken root in this flowerpot—who knew when they'd first appeared—weren't going down without a fight. But when that gap was finally bridged, the rewards tasted all the sweeter. The elves, locked in a desperate struggle against the final ant legion led by the queen ant, gritted their teeth and fought on.
Serenian, in particular, was cutting through the foes with a ferocity that suggested she meant to slaughter them all single-handedly. Perhaps the other elves drew strength from watching her.
[Population: 26]
'No deaths. Excluding the five who were carried out, twenty-six is spot on.'
The elf struck by the poison stinger and hauled outside hadn't died yet. He didn't know if there was a cure, but tearing his eyes from the controller, he saw the elf carrying him staggering out of the anthill on trembling legs, racing toward the village.
'Almost got 'em.'
The ants guarding the queen were collapsing in droves, and even the ferocious mana beasts couldn't inflict serious damage on the elves. Shattering shields, swiping with front legs, or tripping them up—that was the extent of it. They could have fallen back here, regrouped, and returned, but they didn't. In that moment, he was certain: this must be what Serenian meant by forging new pride through change. These elves had been chased here by their own kin, never imagining they'd have to fight. But as she'd said, they were done running. So they fought with everything they had.
"---!"
The battle was in its final stages. Elves were dropping from exhaustion, broken weapons leaving them combat-ineffective left and right, while the queen ant, like the one before, mobilized even her larvae in resistance.
All he could do right now was watch over Serenian—drawing her bowstring on quivering limbs, squeezing out her last reserves of strength.
The queen ant, immobilized by her massive abdomen, thrashed her thick, sturdy front legs in defiance, still out of Serenian's reach. Through the drone's eye hovering beside her, that colossal ant looked like a space monster even bigger than the young queen he'd faced last time.
Yet Serenian stood firm against the behemoth. Leaving her panting, spent kin behind, she steadied her breath and faced the monster alone.
'She plans to fight it solo.'
He'd seen it coming. She slowly set down the mechanical crossbow and gripped what was more spear than needle—a thick sewing pin. The instant she spotted an opening, she lunged forward. A massive front leg grazed her head; she rolled across the ground and closed in right to the enemy's face.
But oddly, he felt more at ease watching her duel the queen alone now than when the elves first clashed with the enemy horde in this chamber. Because he'd seen this before. A burdened leader casting off her load to fight like that. And in the end, creating a miracle, saving everyone. Serenian's figure, battling for all of them, overlapped with that person's in his mind.
World Tree of Eden Lv 10
You can activate a new area connected to the center (size limit: 30x30).
Scale-adjustable item capacity has increased (0/5).
The moment Serenian's spear pierced the queen ant's chest, he instinctively knew she'd won the duel of queens leading their swarms. He pulled away from the controller.
Text flooded the air above the flowerpot, detailing the World Tree's growth from the victory and the new capabilities it unlocked.
'Should be fine now.'
He had plenty to say, plenty he wanted to do. But this wasn't the time. So he just kept watching. Her back, slumped and heaving before the fallen queen's corpse. The elves in the village, marveling at the even more thriving World Tree.
"You look worried sick. Your face says it all."
"I know what kind of monsters are in there."
"I saw it too, but it's hard to imagine. Anthills teeming with monster ants."
Bin chuckled mid-pack and shook his head.
While Serenian the chieftain and nine other warriors had plunged into the dungeon—the anthill—Bin and Leon had been preparing for a different task. In a way, it was just as crucial as fighting the monster ants and clearing the threat, so they trusted the others and focused silently on their duties.
"Everyone better steel themselves. Once word of us spreads, the corrupt ones will stop at nothing to hunt us down."
"We're ready."
Leon scanned their surroundings, his face grim as he spoke. He, Bin, and three other elves had their packs ready. Selected from the volunteers, their mission was to return home once more, persuade their kin, and bring them to this new land.
No turning back. And this elf migration wasn't just for them. It was for their suffering kin, trapped without choices.
'Better to fight monsters for everyone's sake than be betrayed and persecuted by our own. They think we elves can't change ourselves, but they're wrong. We can change. We can fight.'
Leon clenched his teeth as he finished packing. He had to succeed, exact revenge. That was his duty, having lost everything. As an elf himself, he saw through his kin's limits, and he had to shove it in the faces of those arrogant corrupt ones who acted like it was immutable law.
"Look! The World Tree!"
"Did they conquer the cave?!"
The elves left in the village noticed the change in the World Tree and cried out. The massive tree standing proudly in the flat central plain glowed with intricate patterns etched into its trunk.
The World Tree had grown. And the price of that growth was victory in the underworld war.
"Our turn now. Let's go."
He wanted to greet the triumphant returnees, but there was no time to hesitate. For those risking their lives, Leon had to make this mission succeed. He led his group through the rift, back to their ancestral great forest homeland.
"Never felt this forest so tense before."
"Stick to the plan—scatter. Bin, you head to the chieftain."
Leon divided the male and female elves, including himself. Some would head to the home village to persuade the chieftain who couldn't bear to leave; the rest would fan out to approach elves in nearby villages.
Soon they scattered in all directions, and Leon moved alone. It was all too familiar now—no hesitation in his steps.
'Plenty would leave if given the chance.'
Leon cut through rugged, sparsely traveled forest paths toward places a bit removed from the home village, closer to the center instead. Connections he'd made wandering in search of his wife—elves as scarred as he was. He remembered them all and planned to convince them first, bring them to Eden.
If they were inspired and actively recruited their own contacts, the migration would sweep the entire great forest in one go.
"Halt! Who's there?!"
"Here to see Rondel."
As planned, that night Leon reached an elf tribe. A village like his home, now farming vast fields around it. In the old days, when the surroundings were all forest, sneaking in might've been possible—but not now. One of the warrior elves on watch, fearing crop damage, spotted him, nocked an arrow, and aimed. Caught anyway, Leon approached openly and called out.
"Rondel? At this hour?"
"Important business."
No need to retreat; as the elf approached, Leon pulled something from his pouch and offered it. A cloth bundle tightly wrapped and tied.
The elf unwrapped it, eyes widening in shock. Leon gave a wry smile at the exact reaction he'd expected. Pitiful, how their pride and self-respect crumbled at the sight of mere ore.
"Just visiting a friend—let me in quietly."
If they weren't corrupt, he wouldn't need such tactics. Using the rare elf concept of bribery, Leon slipped cautiously into the village.
"You... you're alive?"
"It's been a while."
And just like that, he reconnected with a deep bond from a fleeting past encounter. Sighing at the elf holed up like a wreck in a ramshackle hut, Leon bowed in greeting.
"No way... did you find your wife?"
"Couldn't find Lurie, but I found something else. A chance for us to build our strength and take revenge. There, Rondel, you could avenge your daughter too."
Persuasion wouldn't be hard. Like Leon in the past, the elf was fragile, ready to topple at a touch.