Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Guardians of the World Tree (8)
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Kadim strode purposefully across the World Tree's corridors and stairs, heading upward. The two parties followed busily in his wake.
Duncan glanced around cautiously before murmuring to Parneo.
"Excuse me, Guardian sir... What exactly is this 'Week of Repose'?"
"...The 'Week of Repose' commemorates the time when Mother World Tree herself descended to restore peace to this world. Traditionally, no one but the guardians is permitted entry to the World Tree during that period... but it seems someone has arbitrarily declared it now for malicious ends."
"Ah, got it... So that's why the other elves are in such a bind, unable to enter the World Tree?"
"When access to the World Tree is blocked, they can't perform the blood offerings here... A portion of the offered blood is returned as 'lifeblood,' which many elves depend on for their livelihood. There's also the rule that those who neglect offerings for too long won't reach the 'World Tree's Dream' in the afterlife..."
"... ."
Once again, the grim topic of ritual blood sacrifice reared its head.
No, it wasn't just a matter of livelihood—it determined their fate in the afterlife too? Duncan was left dumbfounded by the bizarre customs and rules. Even Kadim up ahead furrowed his brow upon overhearing the conversation.
Meanwhile, the group was making their way to the Hall of Audience, the very spot where they had first forged the pact with the guardians. They had agreed to regroup there once the task was done, planning to start their hunt for the culprits from there.
They didn't need to go that far. The culprits revealed themselves along the way.
"Who are you scum! Outsiders are strictly forbidden during the 'Week of Repose'! Who dares defy the sacred laws of nature and disrupt the order of repose!"
The 1st rank guardian allied with the 'Blue Fangs,' 'Iron Stump' Rourel, appeared with a haughty scowl.
Kadim scowled as well. He wasn't a total stranger. This was the guardian who had called out rudeness at the round table before and thrust out thorns.
Rourel faced Kadim's group without a hint of intimidation. He had two other 1st rank guardians and a horde of lower ones at his back. Striding forward like an inspector busting corruption, he jabbed an accusing finger at Kadim.
"Hah, who would've guessed—it's that hierarchy-blind barbarian again. Do you even know what you've done? Violating the 'laws of nature' is as good as blaspheming Mother World Tree! You won't be forgiven even if you grovel in the mud till moss blankets your back!"
"... ."
"And you, Sir Parneo! What's this nonsense? A so-called guardian not only failing to stop a violator but leading him like a lackey! Does your heart hold even a sprout of reverence for the World Tree?"
Parneo widened his narrow eyes, gazing at his superior.
"...Isn't this misguided from the outset, sir? This year's 'Week of Repose' already passed—suddenly redesignating it now screams impure motives. Innocent citizens are suffering because of it..."
"Shut your mouth! It was decided for valid reasons, so pipe down if you don't know better! Even your master 'White Turtle' agreed—dare you defy your teacher?"
"What? M-My master too...? Th-That can't be..."
Seeing the wavering eyes, Rourel let out a mocking sneer.
"Hah, don't believe me? Go ask him yourself."
"... ."
"Tch... Poor Sir Tevio. His one and only disciple in this mess. Not content with sneaking into the confinement area, now defending a rule-breaker... Tenacious in his twilight years, but no luck with disciples, it seems..."
Rourel relentlessly prodded the young druid's failings, ordering him to quit slandering his master's name and scram. Parneo's pointed ears flushed with humiliation and fury, but he couldn't muster a retort. In the end, he forcibly bowed his head and dragged his reluctant feet away.
Kadim couldn't care less about the bone-chilling rules, the elves' blood-selling woes, or the guardians' petty politics. With hollow eyes, he gazed down at the rowdy pointy-ear.
"...Keep your promise. I caught the snake brat. Now guide me to Melissa."
"Promise? What promise? There's no promise to keep with a blaspheming savage who..."
Returning Axe Throw
Grazed ears, lobes, shoulders, hair...
Embedded in wall → Retraced path
A chilling gust sheared past Rourel's ear tip, the earlobe of the guardian behind him, the shoulders and hair of those further back—barely missing them all before embedding in the wall. Then it retraced its exact trajectory back to its master's hand.
"Uh."
"Wha..."
Those who escaped death by a hair's breadth blinked in bewilderment. Once realization hit, the hair on their bodies stood straight on end.
"One warning. Next won't miss."
"... ."
But Rourel showed no fear. He brushed his ear tip once, then lifted axe-sharp eyes and twisted his lips.
"Hah... Decent at brute axe work, eh? Didn't just spectate during the forest tyrant's capture, I suppose. Still, proof's incomplete—no promise kept."
"...What nonsense."
"Simple: you didn't catch the basilisk alone. Barely managed with help from the green rookie 'Black Panther' who left first, and that goateed dwarf over there."
"... ."
"...Huh?"
An absurd reaction came from Duncan. Had Parneo stayed, he'd have reacted the same.
Even his fellow guardians sensed the forced nitpick, but Rourel didn't care. He arbitrarily imagined the others' contributions to diminish Kadim's role, conjuring another excuse to dodge the promise.
They had sworn to return straight to the Hall of Audience after the deed—yet they hadn't been there last night.
Obviously because they had blocked entry, but he played it cool with shameless gall.
"So we owe no duty to the 'oath sworn on the World Tree's name'! You took others' aid, broke nature's laws, threatened guardians—you deserve lifetime confinement in the sequestration ward..."
"... ."
"...Out of deference to the faint chance you truly know the World Tree's keeper, one last opportunity. By the 'Week of Repose's' end in a week, hunt the tyrant in the eastern fir forest and return. Naturally, this time utterly alone, no help..."
A vein throbbed on Kadim's forehead. At this point, one thought was unavoidable.
This pointy-eared bastard—why's he acting like he's got nine lives? Weren't they weak enough that one snake stumped them all? Got some ace up his sleeve?
To confirm, he tested with an axe to the skull first.
"...Gasp!"
The nature of his ace was revealed in an instant.
He had mimicked multiple layers of 'golden ironwood' form. Raising a trunk-thick forearm to block the axe blade, he flashed a smug sneer.
"Heh, heh... Figured since you diced the basilisk, you'd dice me easy too?"
"... ."
"Sorry, but if that tyrant lived near the World Tree, it'd have been shredded by me ages ago. The closer to the World Tree, the sturdier we guardians become than millennial ancient trees..."
He spoke the truth. The World Tree was a sanctuary brimming with Hesilia's divinity more than anywhere else. Guardians drew greater power the nearer they were; inside, they could mimic at several times their normal capacity.
'Iron Stump' Rourel hadn't provoked so arrogantly for nothing. Maybe not outside, but here he could tangle with any foe. Plus with the other guardians, crushing one barbarian would be easier than snapping twigs.
What followed diverged slightly from his expectations.
Crack, crack...
Deep into heartwood
Not halting at the bark, the axe blade dug deep into the heartwood.
The lips spewing drivel gradually stiffened. Kadim bore down on the axe with full force, glaring at Rourel with inorganic eyes.
"You're mistaken about one thing."
"...?"
"I didn't trust you because you swore on the World Tree. I trusted because you staked your ears and heads."
"...What?"
"But you're breaking the promise and pulling this revolting stunt..."
Crrrack, crrrrack...
Nearly severs arm
The axe blade finally split the trunk's core, nearly severing one arm entirely. Rourel's face crumbled like rotten kindling.
"W-Wait... Hey, w-wait, stop just a sec..."
He desperately tried to halt the encroaching axe and call for aid from the other guardians, but...
"...No choice. Have to reap every worthless head."
...Kadim igniting thunder on his blade was faster.
———— Flash, KABOOOOOMMM!!
Power doubled → Arms cleaved → Crown smashed
The thunder shock rapidly doubled the axe’s power. In a split second, it rent both arms and smashed straight into the crown. Blue embers exploded from the impact point, shattering the skull buried under bark and knots in one blow.
Spluuurtter!
"Gaaaaaaah!!!"
Acrid smoke billowed up, charred brain chunks flying like excavated coal. His eyes spun wildly in opposite directions.
'Iron Stump' Rourel crumpled like a wooden doll with its head blown off. As his final words, he uttered something more worthwhile than his prior blather.
"Uh, eee... Heh, guh, guuuuh..."
The room reeked with the stench of scorched char.
The surviving guardians froze like statues. Terror and shock spread through their rigid veins like wildfire.
"Uh... S-Sir Rourel...?"
"M-Mother World Tree... This, this is impossible..."
"No way... 'Iron Stump' in one strike..."
"Uwaaaak!! R-Retreat!! Stay back!!"
"... ."
Kadim promptly raised his axe haft, ready to burst the other heads too.
The guardians belonging to the 'Guardians of the World Tree' are divided into five ranks total. Naturally, higher ranks possess superior druidic talent and can mimic more powerful forms.
4th and 5th rank guardians mainly mimic insects or small critters. They can mimic higher beings, but imperfectly, always leaving elven traces.
3rd rank guardians mainly mimic ordinary beasts or natural objects. Near the World Tree, they can temporarily mimic exceptional ones.
2nd rank guardians mainly mimic ferocious beasts or potent natural forces. They wield immense power, but at greater risk of 'naturalization.'
And 1st rank guardians mainly mimic corpses.
"Cough!"
- Grrrrraaaah!
Moments ago, two more 1st rank guardians had mimicked corpses in the others' wake.
Not by choice. Forced into it by the unstoppable axe and sword blades hurtling their way. Still, since it was the form 1st ranks most commonly took, there was no gainsaying it as their primary mimicry.
This mess stemmed from their deceit of one barbarian—and that barbarian, Kadim, establishing a rule as he climbed the World Tree.
Dodgers: spared, if possible.
"Gasp! M-Mercy! This way, sir!"
Non-dodgers: killed outright.
"Insolent wretch! You dare riot here... Gahk!"
1st ranks: heads always burst.
"Nooo..."
Crunch!
"...Gaaaaah!!!"
He encountered some formidable ones now and then, but a swig of demon blood or a call to divinity handled them. No guardian withstood a buffed berserker's rampage. Sword and axe drank deep of the highest druids' blood, glowing a deep crimson.
Duncan's cloaked stealth strikes proved quite useful too. Guardians slacking off with the barbarian far away or drawing bows from behind often met sudden ends to invisible blades.
"B-Back off, you fuck!"
"Guhk!"
Not decisive support, but it saved precious time. Thanks to that, Kadim ascended the World Tree in unstoppable fashion, smashing the heads of promise-breakers one after another without delay.
But at a certain height, an unforeseen snag arose.
"Pant, pant... What do we do, sir? Paths are getting tricky to navigate from here..."
"... ."
The interior had grown ant-nest complex, making navigation a chore.
Until now, he'd bullied paths out of guardians, but humans grew scarce. Being the World Tree's guts, smashing walls and ceilings was tough too. Trimming twigs or scratching bark was feasible, but piercing those transcendentally tough layered timbers? No chance...
Fortune smiled soon enough: presences detected nearby.
Unexpectedly, it was a recent companion. The boy druid Parneo, scolded and chased off by his superior.
"G-Grand Druid sir...? And your friend...? How did you get here... Oh gods, Mother World Tree! Wh-What's all that blood?"
"... ."
"... ."
No hope for friendly aid like before... but no alternatives. Kadim wiped the blood from his axe blade and ordered a guide to Melissa.
Parneo wasn't stupid. He grasped what had transpired. Fists clenched tight, eyes trembling, he agonized long over his choice.
"...Very well. Follow me, both of you."
He accepted the command with evident reluctance. The troubled boy druid took point, followed by the blood-soaked warrior and merchant.
Yet the path Parneo led them on was wrong.
At its end loomed a sinister burrow. Beyond the pitch-black maw, poison moss and thorn vines grew in wild tangles. No one would call it passable for humans.
Kadim slowly raised his thunder axe.
"...So you're a pointy-ear after all."
"... ."
Just before the enraged axe could charge, Parneo dropped to his knees and flattened himself on the floor.
"Forgive the deception, Grand Druid sir! But I never meant to lead you into peril! No other chance seemed possible, so I had no choice but to beg aid this way!"
"... ."
"A dear friend of mine is imprisoned here in the sequestration ward! I know it's shameless amid your haste, but... please, rescue my friend? I tried alone but fell short... If you help, I'll surely guide you wherever after..."
Kadim frowned. No trap, but hardly proper guidance. He held off hurling the axe, but didn't lower the haft either.
An uncomfortable silence flowed.
Duncan, gauging the mood gingerly, suddenly wondered why a guardian's friend was locked here. He asked cautiously, and Parneo answered bitterly.
"Likely because my friend is a dark elf... She chose to worship the 'Forgotten God' over Mother World Tree. We shun dark elves as utter heretics..."
A sharp glint flashed in Kadim's eyes.