115
115 ― The Ominous Sword Body
The World Tree was relentless. Without a moment's hesitation or mercy, it devoured Silvern's forest while expanding its own territory.
Rather, it stretched out its roots even more greedily than the forest that had coveted Akram's fire. It was reminiscent of the black roots that had coveted the Knight of Erosion in Belen Village.
One thing was certain. The World Tree. The vitality of that tree called the Soul Tree was stronger than any life form they had seen so far.
'Gradually......'
Such aggressive expansion was bound to meet resistance.
Up to a certain point, expansion had been smooth, but from a certain moment onward, they faced fierce resistance. The number of Dragon Tooth Soldiers doubled, and the tenacity of the forest reached a different dimension.
'It's getting damper and darker as we go.'
The closer they got to it, the more moss-filled swamps could be seen. They stuck tenaciously to the World Tree's roots, preventing them from tearing up their land any further.
Dozens of Dragon Tooth Soldiers rushed at the roots covered in swamp, repeatedly slashing at them as if chopping wood.
Dealing with those Dragon Tooth Soldiers was Jin-woo's job, and evaporating the clinging swamps was Kalesian's job.
"Whew, it's quite tiring with just the two of us."
Having come this deep, the fire spirits could no longer be active.
Since they could barely face the Dragon Tooth Soldiers only with the World Tree's protection, it was difficult for them to be active in lands where even the World Tree struggled.
Leaving them behind, only Jin-woo and Kalesian were at the front lines.
A spirit of Akram's level could be active in these swamps, but he had to protect his own land.
"Are you alright? We don't know when a fight might break out, so can you fight?"
"That's no problem. I've stored most of my mana in anticipation of clashing with it."
Kalesian was literally clearing away the swamps with the minimum necessary power. When he said he was tired, he meant he was exhausted from controlling that minimal power.
'Am I alright?'
Jin-woo was also closely checking his own condition.
This place was like the heart of enemy territory. They were expanding their own land, but everything around them, except for that territory, was enemy ground.
Since they didn't know when enemies might appear...
―Kuuuuuuuuung!
At that moment, an earthquake occurred.
"Kalesian!"
"I know!"
Jin-woo and Kalesian immediately retreated and hid within the World Tree's embrace. They had expanded their territory for times like this, so they couldn't use it.
Even while this was happening, the ground split, swamp water shot up in reverse, and clouds were torn apart.
A green dragon soared from the lowest ground to the highest sky, scattering the sticky swamp water.
Water Disaster Dragon Silvern.
The first to react was the World Tree. The roots it spread chased Silvern in an endless chain. And when the green dragon flapped its wings, the complexly swirling winds cut all the roots to pieces and dropped them.
"I've been waiting for this!"
Kalesian unleashed the magic he had prepared. The magic circles that had been continuously built up without rest formed a tower and were liberated. This was why he had complained about being tired even from the trivial task of clearing away swamps.
―Impossible!
However, Silvern hadn't flown up without a plan. The scales all over his body shone and shot out light. Thousands of needle-like lights pierced through Kalesian's magic and magic circles, collapsing their structure.
"Crazy..."
Breaking through a magic circle with small flaws like needles meant he had perfectly seen through that magic circle. Even though Kalesian had been rushed in building and each preparation was inadequate, it was a skill rarely seen.
'Damn. I have to acknowledge the magical gap.'
Kalesian's face contorted. He was also an adult, but a young dragon who hadn't lived even 3,000 years. In contrast, his opponent was an Ancient Dragon who had ascended to the Spirit Realm after more than 8,000 years of training. Moreover, he was a being who had spent countless eons in this world.
It was natural for there to be a gap between them. He acknowledged that, but he didn't lose his fighting spirit.
―Insolent things... Die!
Silvern took a deep breath. His chest swelled greatly, and just the air that was sucked in made the entire area nearly a vacuum.
But what was more frightening was the mana that was sucked in.
"Breath!"
Kalesian hurriedly gathered his breath and fired it, but it was useless. His breath, which was usually a powerful weapon, was nothing more than a small fireball before the current Silvern.
"Let's dodge!"
"Y-yeah!"
Even when dodging, the direction was predetermined. They couldn't jump into its territory, so the only place to flee was the World Tree's domain. They had spread their territory to use it like this from the beginning, so there was nothing to hesitate about.
Jin-woo grabbed Kalesian and burrowed deeper into the World Tree's territory.
Silvern's gaze didn't miss the two. Worthless bugs.
'Rondar, you bastard.'
You woke me up and even provoked me because of such trivial things?
If anger had a color, it would be very deep, redder than blood. Perhaps because of his mood, even the green breath Silvern was gathering seemed to have red energy flowing through it like electricity.
And he fired it. A beam of light to burn both bugs and even the insolent tree roots.
―――――!
The beam of light rushed forward, devouring even sound.
The World Tree's roots were firmly intertwined to form a dome to protect Jin-woo and Kalesian, but it was useless. It tore through the dome like paper, blowing away the territory they had worked so hard to spread wherever it touched.
Jin-woo and Kalesian jumped as far back as possible and hid their bodies in an underground pit. Broken tree fragments and rocks whirled over their heads like grenade shrapnel.
The wind was so strong it seemed to grab the necks of the two hiding like moles and forcibly drag them out. They barely endured while withstanding such pressure.
The scene finally revealed was miserable. The territory they had spread over several days was devastated in a single moment.
Fortunately, there was quite a distance from the fire domain and the World Tree's main body, which they had planted, but still, about a third seemed to have been blown away.
By simple calculation, two more light beams like that would blow away all their land.
And.
Kugugugugugu―!
"Crazy! It's the second shot!"
Seeing Silvern preparing his next breath, Kalesian screamed.
***
The reason they had steadily expanded the World Tree's territory until now was to utilize it in battle.
The enemy's land was prepared by the enemy, so they couldn't fight there, and they had to fight on their own land to have even a slight chance of victory.
However, the land they had expanded for over a week was devastated in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
The land that Jin-woo, Kalesian, and all the fire spirits had expanded. The land they had spread without retreating despite endless attacks from Dragon Tooth Soldiers, swamps, moss, and damp tree roots, was leveled before Silvern's breath.
All territories were easily blown away, leaving only Akram's fire domain and the World Tree planted right in front.
"This wasn't in the story..."
"Akram."
Looking at Akram, who had come and spoken in dismay, Jin-woo spoke quietly.
"He's stronger than we thought."
"Sigh."
Akram couldn't say anything either.
The original plan was to expand the World Tree's territory and then use that land to counterattack and defeat him, but he was too powerful to face such a plan.
Rather than blame Jin-woo and Kalesian, Akram thought of his own death.
"Is this as far as we go..."
Neither he, nor his territory, nor his children who inherited his flames had any way to survive.
Perhaps it was fate that decided from the beginning. The moment they caught the eye of a dragon, a predator at the apex of all living things, this ending was predetermined.
―Rondar!! Did you come to grate on my nerves because of such trivial things!
Silvern was pouring his uncontrollable anger into the sky. The bugs below ground were too pathetic to resolve his anger.
'...Rondar?'
Jin-woo reacted to that name. If it were someone with the same name, it must be the Rondar he knew.
It seemed Rondar had appeared in the past few days and irritated him. He didn't know what tone or content it was, but seeing how angry he was, he seemed to have scratched quite thoroughly.
'Pointless behavior.'
He was already a burdensome opponent, yet he deliberately provoked him.
However, Jin-woo shook his head and sighed.
'His anger has nothing to do with his strength.'
If he were human, he might momentarily exert power beyond his limits due to anger. But dragons are not like that. They are beings whose body and mind are united, and whose balance reaches the soul.
A momentary emotion, mental energy popping out wouldn't actually make their strength more powerful. It would only change their mindset in approaching battle.
―――――!
'This is trouble.'
Looking at Silvern roaring in the sky, Jin-woo broke out in cold sweat.
Among them, the one who wielded the most powerful magic was Kalesian, but even such Kalesian felt a wall against Silvern's magic. Though he didn't say it in words, it was clear from his expression and tone.
His body was also incredibly powerful, making it difficult to properly cut without the Nebula Sword.
Even that Nebula Sword would bounce off if the sword path was even slightly disturbed. Without drawing a perfect sword path, he couldn't even cut his scales.
Each of his scales had the strength of a red cliff or more.
'Most importantly.'
Breath.
The spear of light was a dragon's greatest weapon.
There was no way to counter it.
"Is this Ancient... The power of an Ancient Dragon among them who ascended to the Spirit Realm?"
Kalesian's words represented their feelings.
Even Kalesian, who had responded casually to any hardship while joking around, was seriously contemplating. How to break through this crisis.
Even while this was happening, Silvern's mana crackled and covered the surroundings.
Exposed to that mana, swamps overflowed, damp forests grew, and moss enveloped everything. After clearing away all of the World Tree's territory with his breath, he was replanting his own territory.
Looking at the swamp gradually closing in, Jin-woo gripped his sword tighter. Now there was only one means available.
―This is the last one!
Silvern was loading his third breath for the finishing blow. To think he still had this much strength left after firing so much.
Without time to be shocked, they had to prepare. Now they couldn't even run away. It was one of two things. Either withstand it, or fail to withstand it and die.
"Damn―"
Kalesian gritted his teeth and stacked dozens of magic circles to block the party's front. Could this little thing work? Of course, he knew it wouldn't, but he couldn't just stand idle.
"Kuk!"
Akram didn't stay still either. Maintaining the territory any longer was meaningless. If he didn't pour all his strength into this moment, even protecting wouldn't mean he had protected anything.
The fire domain gradually died down and that power gathered in front of the party. The World Tree's power dwelt there, creating a slightly sturdier barrier.
The breath fired at the barrier into which they had poured everything, and the entire world was covered in light.
"......"
In that world of light, Jin-woo waited with his sword in hand.
The one with an ominous sword, the body from which shadow-like energy dripped.
―......!
The first to react to it were two beings. One was Silvern, who was firing the breath, and the other was.
The World Tree that was protecting them.