episode_0364

.

.

.

“The other party is… It was a land fairy… ”

‘Land fairy… ? ‘Are they strong guys?’

“No… These guys are far from strong…

The failure to take proper measures was a big problem.

In such a soft and soft land, it is easy for land fairies to attack… ”

Leah, who was massaging her bruised arm and grimacing as if she was enduring pain, began to open her mouth without stopping, as if trying to convey everything she knew.

“They are monsters that live underground.

Although they resemble small humans like dwarves, they have an innate ability to dig.

I thought I handled the first attack well… …

In fact, while some guys are intentionally touching the trap to attract attention…

Others had launched a surprise attack through tunnels dug throughout the village.”

‘Underground tunnel… ? ‘Are you saying there was a tunnel dug in the ground?’

“That’s what’s scary about them.

Especially since you never know when and where they will dig a tunnel and attack.”

If so, I understood it to some extent.

The surrounding terrain was cleaner than expected.

The fact that there were no traces of the giant monster species could mean that they were attacked by a smaller species in the first place.

And no matter how excellent and numerous the southern elf hunters were, if we assume that they were unaware of the sudden surprise attack, then their annihilation would not have been completely incomprehensible.

“Their attacks are more like slinging stones.

You might look at it funny, but the result is these bruises.

Even that armor called Nemea could not completely block the impact of the sling…

Especially since the number is so large… ”

Imaginations of times gone by are drawn in my mind.

The sight of dwarves suddenly sticking their heads out of a tunnel and throwing heavy rocks with great speed.

It may seem reminiscent of the emergence and disappearance of the Viet Cong, who dug tunnels and carried out guerrilla warfare during the Vietnam War.

At first, one or two people would endure a little pain and try to cope somehow, but they could not help but become anxious and intimidated by the increasingly complex and ceaseless attacks.

So, what happened to Leah was somewhat understandable.

If she just throws a stone and goes straight into the tunnel, no matter how fast she moves like the wind, there will be limits to the actual impact of that attack.

When one side is attacked, the earth fairies on that side hide in the tunnel, and the earth fairies on the other side come out and throw stones.

Conversely, if you rush to the other side, the land fairies on that side will hide, and the ground fairies will pop out from the hole in the distance.

Then, in the end, Leah’s attacks cannot hit anything properly, and in the meantime, she can only be beaten one-sidedly and helplessly by the constant barrage of heavy rocks from the land fairies.

To begin with, their compatibility was very poor, and this type of battle was something Leia could not handle alone.

If I had known about it and prepared for it, I could have made a trap to stop them, but the traps I set this time were to deal with enemies coming in from outside the village, and to protect the floors inside the village where I couldn’t imagine anything coming out of it. It wasn’t for that purpose.

That said, although there are arrows scattered here and there on the ground, it doesn’t seem like the elves who actually shot the arrows were active.

“If you hit one stone, it wouldn’t really tickle, but there were too many of them.

In the end, I couldn’t come to my senses and ended up under intense attack.

Even though I was busy trying to avoid it, I ended up making a mess… … ”

I calmed Leah, who was staggering and tried to get up, and jumped off her shoulder. I suggested to her that she get some more rest.

Just as a waterfall cuts through a stone, even if it were a small sling, it could never have been ignored.

Looking at the hard chitinous carapace of Leah’s lower body, along with the dust marks from where the stone had hit, and the appearance of fine incontinence here and there, I could see how much struggle she had had while dealing with them.

Maybe it was something with more offensive power than just a slingshot.

That injury could probably be fixed when I returned to my main body, my lair, but I needed to be careful here, so I left Leah resting without moving and turned around.

“Ajumma… Hmm… … ”

“Inel… !! Yuneir… … !!”

All around me, I could hear the cries of women who had lost their colleagues, family, and friends, and the pitiful cries of mourning for them.

And Riel, one of them and one of the people who led us here, was also one of those people.

“…… Ma… Mom… … ”

The news I heard later was that not only were the elves dead, but some of them had been snatched by the bastards and sucked into the tunnel, and it seemed that her mother was among them.

Even though everyone was having a hard time, I remembered her with a gentle smile, saying she was grateful to her daughter and the benefactors of the village. I swallowed my bitterness and walked towards them.

At that moment, the attention of those around them was focused on the sight of Riel, who was hugging his younger brother, staggering out of his seat.

“Mom… I want to go rescue… … ”

“Sister… … Black… ”

“Riel… !! What do you mean!!

In our power… I can’t even fight properly… ”

“We also come from a family of hunters!!

I heard that my great-grandmother’s mother was also the best hunter in the village!!

Surely we… !! Anything… … Ugh… ”

“That’s… … This is because the blessings of the World Tree can no longer come to us!!

They say there was a time like that!! now… … !!”

‘What does that mean?’

In the argument between Riel, who was making a fuss about going to save her mother, and some ladies(?) in the village, I felt a strange sense of discomfort and was starting to get involved.

‘Blessing of the World Tree… … ?’

[Can you explain that just now?]

“That… that is… We also… … ”

“I… Sigh… i know… … Great-grandmother… … ”

Riel and Jurne’s great-grandmother, who was telling them old stories, was the last elf in the village who had survived the longest for nearly 100 years.

So, on behalf of the village women who had vague knowledge, everyone’s attention was focused on Riel’s younger brother, Jurne, who had heard the old story most closely, starting to open his mouth.

From what Yurne heard from her great-grandmother, all elves of the past were excellent hunters.

There are differences in experience depending on whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, and there are almost no exceptions.

In particular, the female hunters’ performance was so amazing that the village often held exciting feasts for the giant monsters they caught.

Rather, unlike now that only men are hunters, in the past, female elves led the hunting, and some men did field work or gathering.

It is said that the elves, based on their naturally strong bodies and strong mental power that believed in the World Tree, repelled and sometimes hunted monsters around the village and lived peacefully under the World Tree.

In some ways, I think we still live like that, but there was a clear difference between the past and the present.

Why have today’s female elves become non-combatants?

[Then why isn’t it like that now?]

“Sigh… … Grandma…

Things these days… I lack mental strength…

Black… That’s the problem… … ”

What on earth did you just say?

But fortunately, the other words she said seemed to be the key to getting closer to the truth.

“World Tree… Fulfill your destiny… … Black…

Fairies too… Because they don’t come to see us anymore…

Because the elves no longer receive the blessing… You were sad about that… … ”

‘……’

It felt like something was going to fit together, but it felt subtly misaligned.

Strong female hunters blessed by the sacred World Tree.

And after that blessing disappeared, the power structure between men and women was reversed.

‘It’s natural that men are physically stronger than women in the first place.

If it’s average athletic ability, isn’t there a difference in talent?

Considering that the female hunters of that time were highly talented…

Isn’t that what you call a blessing…? ?

But if everyone was strong because they received blessings, why does the situation turn around when they lose their blessings?

There’s a reason why female elves have produced excellent hunters, right?’

‘no way… … !!’

[Riel, take me there.]

“Ugh… … Over there?”

Suddenly seeing me writing something on the floor mentioning myself and pointing somewhere, Riel wrapped the bow he had been holding tightly in his hand with the intention of going to rescue his mother, tied it around his back, and picked me up carefully.

And the place she headed to was the exact place where sunlight and greenery come together to create a strangely comfortable atmosphere.

It was the very place where it felt like someone’s warm smile was waiting behind you.

‘more… more… !!’

“Here… Not here… ?

female… Why here?

Go further? Ah!!”

‘stop.’

After wandering around frantically for a while, I suddenly stopped her.

If I stand like this, I will be at the exact same place where I feel like I will hear the voice I miss in my ears again.

As I stood there, I jumped out of Riel’s hand and began to struggle to climb through the wildly growing tree roots on the floor.

‘here… Somewhere here…

It was definitely around here?

Wow!!’

In “… !? Eeeee!!”

Meanwhile, Riel suddenly screamed in embarrassment when he saw me disappearing between the tree roots, and I was falling down a small, slide-like passage under the sunken floor.

After rolling round and round like I was riding a roller coaster for a while, I ended up being thrown out as if I were garbage in a widened area.

After I came to my senses after stumbling around the crab steps due to dizziness for a long time, that was the moment when I was finally able to look around.

As I looked at the space filled with old tree roots, my compound eyes began to slowly see something that looked familiar.

‘okay… As expected, you were trying to let me know… …

World tree… blessing… … Strong female hunters… ‘

I remember the dream of her appearing to me, and the peaceful smile she gave me.

‘World Tree… The world tree… …

I really can’t believe it… ‘

I was looking up at this majestic lair and the homesteader who protected it, feeling like my bones were burning and almost laughing.

‘This guy was Enic… …

They say it’s dark under the lamp…

Oh my god, really… ‘