Chapter 193
Chapter 193
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Fall of the Red Tree King
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One of the six eyes of the Red Tree King opened.
Its roots had detected an intruder.
Small in size but with considerable weight—it was probably one of those winged pests caught in them.
The winged ones. Arrogant creatures scurrying about under orders from the "Black and Old King."
But the Red Tree King liked them. They tasted exquisite.
Just thinking of their flavorful juices made saliva drip unwittingly from its maw. As a droplet trailed down its elongated jaw, the nearby pupae shuddered.
The king knew well the effects its bodily secretions had on other creatures.
Even those who came to slay it became its slaves the instant they ingested the red substance. They craved only more of it, even as the king devoured their heads.
Using this power, it had repeatedly devoured all life in an area before moving on. After hundreds of winters, its strength had grown enough to make even the "Black and Old King" wary.
Someday, I'll devour that insolent king too. With that resolve, it waited for the new slave to approach.
But as time passed, the mysterious intruder never appeared before it.
Instead, an unpleasant sensation assaulted it—pain and loss. Feelings from its frail youth that now stabbed relentlessly.
Someone was destroying its treasure trove.
Realizing this, the king flew into a rage.
Who dares defy the king of this red forest?
The first suspect was the "Black and Old King," come to punish it for devouring its herald, dragging its massive bulk here personally.
But the king dismissed the thought. The "Black and Old King" was enormous; it would surely sense such a behemoth descending.
Subterranean serpents, sky beasts, monsters atop the peaks—various candidates surfaced, but none fit.
The intruder rampaging in its territory seemed to be a recent arrival.
No matter. Its identity was irrelevant now.
The one ruining its carefully stockpiled prey deserved death.
The Red Tree King signaled its subterranean roots: capture the intruder and drag it here.
Several nearby pupae tore open, spilling forth their contents.
Varied in form and species, all bore red moss upon their bodies—its faithful slaves.
"Kraaaah!"
"Grrraaah!"
"Kyeng! Kyeng kyeng!"
The slaves charged off to seize their quarry at the king's command.
Soon enough, they would drag the cunning pest here. They always did.
Yet reality defied its expectations once more.
Sensory links to the dispatched slaves began snapping one by one.
The clamor from moments ago had vanished into ominous silence blanketing the forest.
And the root pain it had felt earlier—it was worsening.
At first a mere prickle like thorns, now it burned as if hordes of insects gnawed its flesh.
This was no longer confined to the larder. Its vast root network across the domain was under simultaneous assault.
Unable to endure, the king opened all six eyes.
It knew how to handle such crises. Focusing senses on its roots, it severed the afflicted sections one by one.
Each cut brought agony, but far less than being devoured alive.
Trimming its sprawl shrank its territory in an instant.
Reclaiming it would take ages—an obvious fact. The king prepared to summon more slaves.
But then, something caught its gaze.
It assumed sunlight filtering through broken branches, some of the tangled canopy fractured.
No. It was bubbles gleaming in myriad hues, writhing like living entities.
Unknown origin, unknown creator. Only an overwhelming wave of effervescent chaos surged toward it.
Seeing the approaching bubbles, its heart pounded fiercely.
Alertness. Terror. Emotions long dormant in memory.
The king screamed unwittingly, urging its slaves to destroy the bubbles at once.
Mere moments ago, they had surged forth to protect it. Now, not a single pupa stirred, even as it shrieked.
As if its commands no longer reached them.
The bubbles reached it before long. It tried yanking its lower body from the earth, but too late.
They crept forth, adhering to its form. Where they touched, its sturdy carapace crumbled.
It rarely hunted personally but was no weakling. Its shell was ironclad, wings robust enough for its bulk.
Yet before the bubbles, all was futile.
They coiled around it like a serpent constricting prey. Memories surfaced—of its vulnerable youth, ambushed by an underground snake. The nightmare revived; it thrashed wildly.
But as in that memory of helplessness, reality yielded not an inch. The bubbles clung tighter, mocking its struggles.
Amid the infinite blaze of chromatic foam, it suffocated slowly.
'...This I didn't see coming.'
Before me stood the master of the red forest: Glacial Phind. Its body, half-emerged from the soil before collapsing, was plastered with multicolored bubbles.
On this frozen planet, it looked drowned—barely clinging to life.
'I thought Psychic Breath was the powerhouse.'
Abyssal Hues applied to three traits: Monster's Tentacles, Psionic Reflection Armor, and Terror Gazer.
For Monster's Tentacles, the enhancement targeted not the appendages themselves but the Psychic Breath they fired.
The upgraded breath shifted from a heat ray to bubble orbs.
On contact, they birthed destructive chromatic foam. Rather than vanishing with the target, the bubbles sought new prey nearby.
Like locusts devouring crops, they persisted until nothing edible remained, leaving only sticky residue.
I'd verified Psychic Breath's prowess while raiding its larder. While at it, I tested the other traits too.
Psionic Reflection Armor yielded no notable effects—likely needed a psionic hit to confirm.
Last: Terror Gazer. Inflicts madness-inducing hallucinations on one sapient being.
Fleeing its slaves earlier, I'd planned to use it on them. Minimal expectations, as it targeted sapients only—buying time at best.
But results far exceeded.
'On another level entirely.'
Activating Terror Gazer drained my strength as a green-purple bubble formed.
The eerie orb floated lazily onto a pursuing Winterwalker's head, swelling to engulf it entirely.
Covered, it thrashed madly before collapsing.
The horror followed: the bubble exploded on its fall.
Fragments adhered to nearby slaves, ensnaring their heads identically.
Physical impact and contagion. Terror Gazer's upgrade spread via bubbles.
Range shortened, but potency skyrocketed. Target limit expanded beyond sapients to all creatures.
After clearing the slaves, I tested on Glacial Phind—success meant effortless hunts ahead.
I dashed through the woods, firing Terror Gazer repeatedly. Bubbles streamed toward it.
'Handy tradeoff.'
Shorter range, but multiple shots. Ideal against stationary foes like this, less so speedsters.
Thus, Glacial Phind fell cluelessly to a far weaker being.
'Easier than expected.'
Glacial Phind outclassed brute-force Ice Horrors in trickiness. Without Abyssal Hues, handling its slaves would've been hell.
Addicted or not, its innate powers remained. Death-ignoring, pain-immune—it was deadlier.
Endless recruits clamored to serve in the red forest; no end to the horde.
Nor was the main body frail.
Immunity-laden carapace, swift wings. Pure melee? Rivals White Galleron.
Terrestrial sluggishness was mitigated by flight—not much a flaw.
Subduing such a predator unscathed.
'Kill first, think later.'
Glacial Phind was unconscious, not dead. I approached.
Its stag-beetle head was foam-smeared. All six eyes rolled back, bloody froth spilling from its jaws.
I swung my tail pincer, cracking the neck carapace with a boom.
Repeated strikes shattered it; I raised for the kill-crush.
'This ends i—Gah?!'
An unprecedented agony seared my tail tip. Legs buckled; I slumped into the dirt.
'H-Hot!'
Flames licking flesh. Childhood memories surged.
A traffic accident left me severely burned; most of my youth wasted hospitalized.
That hellish burn reignited now.
'S-Snap out of it!'
Semitransparent boxes flickered frantically, like a glitch.
Grinding my teeth, I checked for flames.
None blazed across me. Amid mounting delirium, I focused on auxiliary organs.
The four beneath my jaws sought the pain's source, spotting something at the tail tip.
Chromatic foam coated the pincer surface.
'The hues!'
I gaped wide and bit midway down the tail. Flesh tore free painlessly.
The scorching overwhelmed all else.
Chewing on, I eyed the foam.
It grew slowly, now engulfing the entire pincer—from mere splatter.
'Ngh...!'
Agony sapped my jaws; I released and yanked with combat limbs.
A gruesome rip—muscles tore, bones snapped. Carapace and scales long shattered.
Foam had consumed the pincer; now it advanced up my tail, gleaming grotesquely.
My mind teetered on the brink.
'Please!'
All strength into combat arms. Barely, I severed two-thirds.
The severed length hit the ground; its foam dulled instantly.
Pain source gone, the blaze vanished. Severed stump throbbed, but exhaustion numbed me.
Half-conscious, sprawled, a new box appeared.
Glacial Phind's death stripped light from its foam.
It was dead, foam inert, but I couldn't relax.
Psychic Breath bubbles persisted until targets vanished. Different origin didn't guarantee harmlessness.
'......'
No sense staring. I prodded one with a finger.
Ready to amputate at pain's onset—nothing came.
'Effects end with death.'
Terror Gazer bubbles targeted minds, unlike Psychic Breath.
'Evokes the subject's worst nightmare pain.'
Burns hit me instantly. Glacial Phind and slaves endured similarly.
'...Use with caution.'
Experiencing it firsthand, I understood.
Newly acquired Abyssal Hues—a true double-edged sword.