Ch.192Chapter 192 – World Tree Defense Battle (5)

The sound of Gigas breaking through the elven defense line could be heard as Baphomet laughed with satisfaction.

“Keeeeee!”

“It’s Pine!”

Looking up at the griffin’s cry, I saw Pine descending.

“Kay, Sera, you’re both safe?”

“You’re safe too, I see.”

Pine smiled at my response.

Then she noticed Baphomet tied up behind me and looked a bit surprised.

“That demon…”

“First time seeing one?”

“No, I remember it breaking through the defense line. So you captured it.”

Pine exhaled in relief, seemingly thinking the worst had been avoided.

Then she changed her expression and said:

“Kay, I’m sorry, but could you help us?”

“Help you?”

“Yes. The situation is quite dire.”

Pine pointed to the giant walking in the distance.

“Even at the defense line with siege weapons, we couldn’t stop that giant, so we decided to fall back to the final defense line.”

Hearing Pine’s words, Sera’s face showed surprise.

“The final defense line…”

“Yes. We’ll be fighting with everything we have right in front of the World Tree.”

I had heard about this defense line before.

The final fortress built along the surface of their sacred World Tree.

It was the ultimate line of defense, equipped with an excessive amount of weaponry.

“I didn’t think you’d be pushed back that far.”

“Well, it’s happening now.”

I sighed slightly at Pine’s rather brazen response.

Essentially, what she was saying was that the siege weapons installed in the city weren’t enough to stop that giant.

“The Great One also asked me to call you and your companions if you had any strength to spare.”

“That lich?”

“Yes. Right now, he’s trying to hold back that giant while retreating.”

As she spoke, I saw a massive lightning bolt strike in front of the giant.

Even for the lich, that giant seemed too difficult to handle.

“If this were an empty plain, he would just unleash maximum firepower, but he was gritting his teeth saying he couldn’t do that.”

From Pine’s explanation, I understood the lich’s situation.

In short, magic that was too powerful could destroy everything around, so he was struggling to control its power.

“Some of the reserve forces will be stationed at this passage. Will you fight with us?”

“What about Eve, Chris, and Beatrice?”

Pine hesitated for a moment before answering.

“…They’re engaged in battle, so I don’t think we can call them.”

Pine added that she had seen them from the sky.

“I don’t think they’ll finish quickly…”

I quickly thought about what to do.

‘…Should I go get the others first?’

If the demons they were facing were on the same level as Baphomet, they could be in real danger.

As I was considering whether to resolve their situation first and then join forces, Sera took my hand.

“Kay, please calm down.”

“Sera.”

“I think we should go support the final defense line first.”

Sera slowly began to share her thoughts.

“The demons that have infiltrated elsewhere are currently being held back by the others, so it will take time for them to reach the World Tree.”

Then she pointed to the giant.

“But that giant isn’t being properly contained by either the elves or the lich. It’s probably one of the variables the lich was most concerned about. If the elves’ final defense line is breached, we lose, and that giant seems more than capable of doing that.”

Indeed, the giant was advancing as if unaffected by siege weapons and various spells.

It probably had the highest chance of reaching the World Tree on this battlefield.

“So the most urgent matter now is that giant. You know that, don’t you?”

“But…”

While stopping the giant and protecting the World Tree was important, so was the safety of my companions.

However, that was just my personal feeling.

I knew that in this situation, the more pressing issue was the giant.

“Please calm down. And…”

“And?”

“Trust the others.”

Sera said with a smile.

“Eve, Chris, and Beatrice are stronger than you think.”

‘Trust them…’

Sera’s words made my head cool down a bit.

‘Have I been too overprotective?’

I wanted to protect those dear to me, but I realized I might have been too overprotective.

The urgent matter now was that giant.

‘What if I leave my post to help them?’

Would they want that?

“…Sorry. My head’s clearer now.”

“Good. Let’s go, Kay.”

I nodded at Sera’s words.

“Let’s go to the final defense line.”

“Keeeeee!”

The griffin cried out, looking to the sky as if responding to my words.

Soon, Sera and I climbed onto the griffin’s back, and Pine pulled the reins.

“Let’s go!”

“Keeeeee!”

The griffin began to fly through the sky.

And it didn’t forget to grab something with its talons.

“Damn it, let me go! Bird-brain!”

With Baphomet clutched in its feet, the griffin began to move quickly.

+

In the distance, the cry of a griffin could be heard.

“He’s gone, Kay.”

Eve said quietly as she cut down a monster summoned by a dark elf.

Watching Eve, the dark elf shouted:

“You bitch, do you have the luxury to pay attention elsewhere right now?!”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

Eve was dodging the dark elf’s attacks by moving only her legs, not even looking in the dark elf’s direction.

Then Chris aimed her staff at the dark elf.

“Holy Arrow!”

Golden arrows flew toward the dark elf.

The dark elf shot shadow arrows to intercept them, but one grazed her thigh.

“Ugh!”

Blood splattered slightly, and her skin was slightly burned.

Seeing that there was no further injury, Chris quietly said:

“She’s not taking as much damage from holy magic as I expected.”

As if Chris’s words had touched a nerve, the dark elf immediately looked at her and said:

“Of course not! Our race split from the elves, was persecuted, and later crossed over to the demon realm.”

“So you weren’t a race born purely in the demon realm, which is why you can resist holy magic.”

The dark elf used magic without responding to Eve’s comment.

Shadow whips began to rise from all directions.

Seeing the attack that seemed impossible to dodge without flying, Chris calmly closed her eyes and struck the ground with her staff.

“‘Protect us from countless evils.'”

With Chris’s incantation, a golden barrier began to form around her staff.

A dome-shaped barrier started protecting Chris and Eve, and soon began making dull impact sounds.

*THUD!*

The shadow tentacles collided with the barrier and began to dissipate.

Then, four-legged demonic beasts began leaping through the tentacles, targeting them.

The next moment, Eve began thrusting her sword, neutralizing the beasts one by one.

‘Is this woman a swordswoman on the same level as the Demon King…?’

The dark elf harbored a small doubt as she watched Eve deal with the situation as if she could see everything clearly, despite not properly observing the enemy’s movements.

However, her experience from living for quite some time rang an alarm bell that her judgment might be wrong, so she continued to observe Eve.

‘…No. She’s a bit too inefficient for that.’

This didn’t mean Eve’s swordsmanship wasn’t excellent.

It was an assessment possible only because the dark elf knew someone who handled a sword better than Eve.

Meanwhile, all the smoke cleared, and simultaneously, a sphere of purple lightning gathered at the dark elf’s staff before flying toward Eve and Chris.

*CRASH!*

Perhaps because she had used too much energy on the tentacle attack, the barrier shattered with the sound of breaking glass.

And piercing through that gap, several icicles flew toward Chris.

“‘Protect the lamb!'”

Chris quickly summoned a shield to block the icicles.

And as if expecting this, the dark elf’s shadow suddenly stretched out its hand.

“Oh my?”

“Explode!”

Chris’s shadow exploded with a blast, and smoke began to cover where she had been standing.

‘Got her.’

Just as the dark elf was beginning to prepare another spell, thinking only the silver-haired swordswoman remained…

“Saint Knuckle!”

With Chris’s incantation, a fist made of holy power descended from the air.

The dark elf quickly canceled her spell and dodged to the side.

The fist of light exploded upon touching the ground, scattering light around.

“Tch!”

Feeling her skin slightly burned, the dark elf turned her gaze.

With a fluttering sound, Chris appeared without any injuries.

“If it weren’t for the cloak, I would have been in trouble.”

Hearing Chris’s comment, the dark elf quickly looked at the cloak Chris was wearing.

She quickly analyzed it and began grinding her teeth.

“Magic resistance…!”

This put her at a severe disadvantage.

Although she could resist holy power to some extent, the cloak’s magic resistance meant she couldn’t properly damage Chris, making it impossible to overpower her with force.

The next moment, an explosion sounded behind the dark elf.

Startled, she saw a man crash into the ground nearby.

“What…!”

The dark elf quickly identified the man rolling on the ground.

“Damn, the Duke got taken down?”

“I’m not dead yet.”

The Vampire Duke grumbled as he stood up.

However, seeing the torn clothes and signs of injury, the dark elf clicked her tongue.

‘Must be that magician from earlier.’

It was likely the work of the magician she had seen slipping past the Duke after making herself invisible.

The Duke had tried to ambush using teleportation, but the skilled opponent had blocked it perfectly.

If she appeared here without any injuries, victory couldn’t be guaranteed.

However, the next moment, the dark elf’s gaze wavered as she saw the magician approach the priestess and swordswoman without many injuries.

“Lady Beatrice!”

“Ah, sorry. That thing flew back further than I expected. Could you give me some first aid?”

The wounds weren’t severe, so she was quickly healed by the priestess’s healing magic.

Seeing this, the dark elf ground her teeth again.

‘If only we had healing means on our side…!’

The Duke wasn’t dead, but he was injured.

The fact that she now had to fight while protecting the Duke complicated matters in the dark elf’s mind.

“Just checking, but can you handle that dark elf well enough?”

“We weren’t losing, so I think we can.”

Hearing Eve’s answer, Beatrice nodded slightly.

“Let’s go, everyone.”

“Yes!”

Seeing Eve, Chris, and Beatrice enter battle stance, the vampire also prepared for battle.

With a somewhat resigned expression, the vampire quietly asked the dark elf:

“…All that’s left is to go out with a bang, right?”

“Yes, Duke.”

Despite the grim situation, the Duke and the dark elf looked at each other and nodded slightly.

“This is as far as we go. It’s up to you.”

The dark elf said quietly, glancing toward the advancing giant in the distance.

+

Elves were retreating to the final defense line.

“Prepare more siege weapons!”

“Ready large-scale magic! Don’t let them advance any further!”

“Set up the palisades! Hurry!”

“Wounded this way!”

Elven technicians, magicians, and priests were running around, treating rangers and knights who had retreated from the front lines.

At the same time, reserve forces were taking positions, preparing to fight the Gigas.

“Hey, you lot! Stop clustering together and get back to your positions!”

“Ah, sorry!”

A female ranger among a group of about ten male rangers responded, and the commander lost interest and turned away.

After he had walked a few steps away, the female ranger quietly sighed.

“…Phew, I thought my heart was going to stop.”

Pulling her ranger hood down, the woman muttered quietly.

“…I have to stay strong. For those who are fighting, I can’t stop now.”

The woman looked at the battlefield briefly, then said quietly, as if making a pledge:

“…For the Demon King.”

The succubus spoke softly while keeping her hood pulled down.

Her body was trembling slightly, but the dazed-looking male rangers were shielding her.

In truth, they weren’t rangers at all.

“…I’m really glad I prepared as much as I did.”

The elves dressed as rangers were actually elves she had carefully charmed for this purpose.

She had been charming them one by one from various parts of Alfheim and keeping them hidden until now.

“Ugh, I’m so nervous…”

She was using a magical device to prevent her magic power from leaking too much, as elves were highly sensitive to magic, but she still felt anxious.

As a side effect of the magical device, the illusion spell on her face was becoming unstable, and the charmed elves occasionally seemed to regain consciousness momentarily, making small sounds.

Fortunately, her hood covered her horns, and her skin color and ears were similar enough to an elf’s that she could somehow cover up even if the illusion became unstable.

‘Quickly, I need to hurry.’

Looking at the Gigas approaching very close, the succubus nodded slightly.

The Gigas might succeed in the mission, or the demon generals infiltrating from other directions might succeed, but she couldn’t complacently assume everything would be fine.

As she was about to move inward, someone jumped down from a griffin.

*THUD!*

“We’ve arrived.”

At that voice, the succubus almost turned her head reflexively.

It was him.

The man who was immune to her charm, and she could also hear a very familiar voice.

“Damn you all…”

‘Lord Baphomet…!’

Realizing that he had apparently been captured by that man, the succubus was about to turn around but quickly stopped herself.

‘No.’

She couldn’t cause a commotion now, not when she needed to summon the Demon King.

‘I’m sorry, General.’

Feeling frustrated that she had to abandon the general who had always taken care of her cowardly self, the succubus forced herself to turn away.

She knew that the only way to repay the general was to somehow make the mission succeed.

‘Before I arouse suspicion, quietly.’

With bad luck, she might encounter that group that had cornered her before.

The succubus moved toward the World Tree, quickly checking her surroundings.

“Hmm, so that was the real one after all.”

Somnus was watching the succubus.