Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Lycanthrope (5)
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How could he even begin to describe this sensation?
It was ridiculously vast, endlessly profound.
The universe unfurled like a prairie, stars flowing like rivers.
They gazed down from unimaginable heights upon the continent, silently observing all that transpired below.
And Harris, peering into that scene, felt like an absolute being overlooking a miniature model garden...
"Kuh!"
But the sense of omnipotence lasted only an instant.
He was abruptly ejected from that perception, clutching his throbbing head and staggering before collapsing onto a branch of the World Tree.
He hadn't even realized it himself, but at some point, he had begun gasping for breath without knowing why.
Swaaa—
A gentle breeze swept over him, soaked in sweat, as if to soothe him.
His heart, which had raced wildly from the tsunami of information overwhelming his mental limits in that fleeting moment, gradually calmed. Only then could he fully take in the situation.
'Whoa, that startled me.'
Harris took a deep breath and slowly looked around.
This was high up on a branch of the World Tree.
Below, the ongoing war in Drasha still raged fiercely.
'...Yeah, no time to be sitting around like this.'
Harris gripped his still-trembling legs and forced himself to stand.
Even in contact with the World Tree, the shock had been so severe that recovery wasn't immediate. But with the situation as dire as it was, he couldn't afford to slack off just because he felt off.
He had only glimpsed the World Tree's perspective for a split second, and even that was limited by his insufficient capacity—mere abstract fragments lingered in his mind.
Still, he had perceived quite a bit of the initial area.
This region around Drasha, where the World Tree resided.
'At least now I have a rough idea of what they want.'
A plan grand enough for a leader who had reached transcendence to personally lead an entire race's elites in an assault.
It was to prevent the World Tree from intervening any further—not just in the Enamel Continent, but in all of Outerica.
'No clue yet what they stand to gain from going that far.'
Through its incarnations, the World Tree had created a continent and protected elves and other heteromorphs, intervening excessively in the mortal realm and accumulating ever greater restrictions.
Its incarnation rooted here in Drasha served as both proof of its authority and a fatal weakness.
'Can't just let them have their way.'
The World Tree was the root and pillar of the Enamel Continent.
If their scheme succeeded, everything except the central region—which had originally been an island—would slowly crumble away, eventually sinking entirely into the sea.
An entire continent that had existed for thousands of years would be utterly destroyed.
"Hoo—."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Skill Activated: Observer of the Milky Way With a deep breath, Harris activated Observer of the Milky Way.
At that instant, information from the entire Drasha region flooded into his mind, as if analyzing satellite imagery.
From the Lycanthrope King's battle with the high elves, to the multiple wars erupting in the city, to the infiltration units stealthily approaching this location amid the chaos, and...
'Might as well start there.'
Kreeeak—
The bow made from the World Tree's branch, Themis, bent, drawing in natural forces from all directions to form a single arrow.
Whether due to its lingering connection with the World Tree, the spirits' power infused the arrow with greater intensity than usual.
'Come to think of it, this technique could use a proper name by now.'
The thought crossed his mind, prompting a flood of suggestions in his neural conference chamber—like 'Elemental Sniper' or 'Heaven's Judgment in Silence'—but...
'...Nah, too much hassle. Let's just go with Spirit Arrow.'
With so much already demanding his attention, agonizing over a cool name was just a waste of energy. He brushed it off easily.
And as that idle thought wrapped up...
A soundless arrow, buried in the World Tree's overwhelming presence and unnoticed by any—
Shot forth like a beam of light toward its target.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kuhk."
"Haa, haa... What the hell..."
Just 5 seconds.
That was all it took for the spirits summoned by Shapiron, Tymer, and Curie to be torn apart and forcibly unsummoned, and for the three to each take a hit and collapse after resisting.
Though top students even at the academy, mid-tier spirits offered no meaningful resistance against a Lycanthrope general.
"Hm, I was thinking of killing you outright at first... But fresh elf blood might taste even better, no?"
Despite the vast gap in power, they still lived purely because their opponent was holding back, lost in thought.
'A way... I need to find a way...'
Perhaps because it was a life-or-death moment.
Shapiron's thoughts raced faster than ever.
But no matter how she racked her brain, no path to survival appeared.
Her foe was a master-class powerhouse.
On par with the revered forest keepers of elven society.
How could mere students like them possibly stand against that?!
'...Damn it! Why is a monster like this here?!'
The sheer injustice of the gap filled her with frustration.
If only she could summon an upper-tier spirit, she might have at least attempted an escape.
'...Harris is already waiting up there so high! He said he'd handle it so confidently, and now it's supposed to end like this, so far behind? Me, Shapiron Sylvesti?!'
She bit her lip, fiddling with the ring on her left middle finger.
A ring made from the World Tree's branch, bestowed upon her father Rapori when he became a high elf.
This treasure had aided her growth thus far, but lately she'd hit a wall and been trying various methods to overcome it...
Looks like she had no time for safe options.
'This probably won't be enough either.'
Calming her shaken internals from the backlash, she discreetly gathered natural forces and slowly channeled them into the ring, stimulating the energy within.
The once-stable energy began writhing like a needle's prick, gradually adopting an aggressive stance.
'If I draw this into my body and release it all at once...'
Her parents would ground her for ages if they knew, and even in the best case, her internals would be wrecked, leaving her bedridden for a while.
But better than dying without a fight, right?
"...Tch, pointless struggling. Better to just have my fun and end it. If I need blood, the gardeners will do."
But her covert resistance was detected almost immediately.
No matter the difference in energy systems, such a gap rendered it meaningless.
"Farewell, then."
With those words, suffocating killing intent erupted.
The Lycanthrope closed in on Shapiron and her group, swinging her right hand laced with sharp aura.
Toward her own back.
Kwaaaang—!
A sudden, intense explosion rang out.
But since the energy had converged on a single point, the shockwave didn't spread far.
"Kuhuk! What the—?!"
She had barely, barely reacted just before the attack landed, glaring down at the cross-section of her body from her right hand to her right lung.
A split-second slower, and her head and heart would've been obliterated!
'A sniper shot with this power from a distance where I sensed no presence. A high elf?'
All the ones here were being handled by the King, so this must be one who had gone outside and returned.
No more time to waste.
Woodrak!
Her body, disguised in human form for stealth, rapidly furred over, transforming in a blink into a 3-meter-tall massive wolf-humanoid.
Her upper body was still hollow, but with her current regenerative power, it wouldn't take long to heal.
A slight imbalance was no big deal to her right now.
'Attack came from the World Tree direction. Damn, stealth approach is out. Since it's come to this, better to draw attention noisily and make it easier for the others.'
Complex thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant.
Compared to other generals, she was relatively less impulsive, which was why she'd been assigned this, but stealth wasn't her strong suit—she'd half-doubted herself from the start.
Of course, contingencies were prepared, and rationally, this was manageable.
'But.'
As black magic and madness intertwined fiercely to regenerate her blown-off upper half...
An unbearable rage began surging in her mind.
'...Yeah, I should deal with those twig bastards who caused this mess first.'
Having guarded against the sniping direction, she turned to the fleeing elves with a cruel smile.
As elites themselves, they had devised countermeasures in the crisis and seized the moment to act.
Tymer, less injured due to specializing in ranger skills over spirits, swiftly scooped up the other two women and bolted. Curie, versed in magic, spat blood but supported him with buffs.
Shapiron, meanwhile, kept her eyes closed the whole time, doing who-knows-what.
'No way they can fire shots like that rapidly! I'll crush those twigs first, then head to the World Tree!'
Slaughtering the elves might even provoke the sniper.
Disrupting their emotions would aid the hunt.
Her legs bulged powerfully after quick calculations.
Kwang—!
She closed the gap in an instant to the trio, who had gained some distance.
"Hek! Wait, what did we even do to deserve this chase?!"
Tymer, sprinting desperately, cried out pale-faced, but the giant wolf-humanoid merely charged with blood-red glowing eyes.
"Kuhahat! Die, you vermin!"
And that was when Shapiron's eyes snapped open, ignoring the blood gushing from her throat as she bellowed.
"Anemos!"
The name of her mid-tier wind spirit, which she shouldn't have been able to summon for a while due to the summoning link's shock.
But the World Tree ring glowing on her left finger ignored such trifles—
Whoooosh—!
And summoned an emerald-glowing upper-tier wind spirit right there.
"Blow her away!"
Fwaaak—!
A fierce gust arose at her will, whipping toward the wolf-humanoid hot on their heels.
"Khat! This puny—Huh?!"
Not an attack, but pure physical force to hinder movement.
Even an upper-tier spirit couldn't deal significant damage head-on to a general.
The best it could do was disrupt her posture and lift her briefly into the air, as now.
But in this situation, that brief moment was...
"W-Wait! How so fast alrea—!"
Enough time for the beam from the World Tree...
For that silent harbinger of death to arrive.
Puuung—!
This time, precisely enough to obliterate head and heart.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...What? Idiot?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Skill Activated: Observer of the Milky Way Harris, tracking enemies in real-time via Observer of the Milky Way, lowered his bow with a bewildered expression.
Who would've thought he'd dispatch a general-class foe with just two shots.
After such a powerful snipe, anyone would hide and evade frantically—yet she had focused elsewhere. Even he hadn't anticipated that.
'...Well, she is a Lycanthrope.'
Their infamous anger management issues.
She couldn't tolerate abandoning prey right in front of her, even if it killed her.
And this time, it did.
'Without Shapiron's help, it wouldn't have been this easy. Who knew she'd summon an upper-tier spirit.'
Had the attack failed, those fleeing academy classmates would've been in real danger.
Protecting others from this distance while fighting was tough even for him.
'For now...'
Feeling the World Tree's grace surging into his body right after the kill, he instinctively knew.
It wasn't far off now.
'Handle the stealthy infiltrators first.'
Those sneaking toward the World Tree with some fatal 'something'.
They'd prepared so thoroughly that without syncing with the World Tree, even he might've missed them.
He could've alerted the gardeners and left it to them, but he couldn't yield the triple achievement multiplier event to others!
Sensing his energy rapidly recovering under the World Tree's influence, Harris unleashed Spirit Arrows relentlessly.
'Ah, still a bit short.'
He'd excitedly picked off all the approaching foes cleanly, but it fell just shy of a wall-breaking achievement.
'Then support others to take down the generals. Clearing the strong ones faster will turn the tide.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Skill Activated: Observer of the Milky Way With that resolve, Harris activated Observer of the Milky Way again, scanning the chaotic battlefield at a glance.
The four high elves now dangerously pushed back, evenly matched master-class fighters on both sides, and mounting elf casualties.
'...Gotta hurry before the high elves collapse. Their mobility makes area spirit attacks ineffective, so sniping key targets one by one is best... Huh?'
Then, a flicker of incongruity crossed his mind.
He'd been thinking of himself as just a spirit archer, but didn't he have a skill that truly shone in massive battles like this?!
Melody of Harmony, which he'd steadily used for self-buffs while firing Spirit Arrows.
'Wait, could it actually work? If I amplify it just a bit more...'
In less than a second of rapid analysis, his gaze slowly shifted sideways.
To the massive amp enveloping the entire Drasha battlefield...
No, to the World Tree.