Ch.226Chapter 226: Age of Chaos (10)

# Chapter 226: Age of Chaos (10)

The Gate of Hell.

Like a massive scar etched across the continent’s sky, the ominous rift endlessly spewed forth demons.

Blood-red demonic energy swirled like a storm, contaminating the earth, while the roars of demons echoed like a symphony heralding the end of the world.

On a high cliff at the outskirts of the Western Great Forest.

Valt and his companions, aboard a small airship provided by Ramrpo, were left speechless at the unbelievable tragedy unfolding before their eyes.

In the distance, the defensive line of the allied forces looked as fragile as a sandcastle against the massive waves of demonic assaults.

“This can’t be… The frontline has been pushed back this far in just a few hours.”

Lisa muttered, her trembling hands operating an information terminal.

“Don’t worry too much. The Emperor’s army hasn’t even begun fighting yet.”

Valt tried to comfort her, but the situation remained dire nonetheless.

Yuria was somewhat excited.

The pressure of demonic energy that made her hair stand on end and the smell of blood stimulated her wild nature, but the enemies before her were on a completely different level from any being she had faced before.

“Khuhu… Each of those creatures seems stronger than most magical beasts. This would be quite the hunt… or perhaps we might be the ones hunted?”

Arias’s pale face was completely drained of blood.

She instinctively looked toward the heart of the forest where the World Tree stood. Her homeland, her everything was there.

“The World Tree… our elven village… I pray they’re safe…”

“Everyone, focus and try to contact your homelands. We need to understand the situation.”

Valt’s low voice helped his confused companions regain their composure.

Lati was the first to close her eyes and clasp her hands together.

Soft melodies unique to the fairy folk flowed from her lips, and the subtle natural energies around her responded as if whispering to her.

After a moment, she opened her eyes with a faint sigh of relief.

“The fairy village… thankfully, the ancient protective magic has activated, so demons haven’t invaded yet. The forest spirits are desperately maintaining the barrier, but… they say the entire forest is screaming. The demonic contamination is so severe that it might be irreparable…”

Solpin knelt on one knee and thrust the tip of her massive claymore into the ground.

Her nails transformed into sharp dragon claws as she began carving complex dragon language patterns on the ground.

When the pattern was complete, a faint vibration resonated, and a low pulsing sound characteristic of the dragon folk seemed to reach her from deep within the earth.

“Our dragon folk village is still holding out! The underground fortress built with our ancestors’ wisdom won’t fall easily! But some warriors who went out scouting haven’t returned… Grrrr, how dare they touch the dragon folk?!”

Flames of anger burned in her eyes.

Yuria howled toward the sky with all her might.

It wasn’t a simple cry. It was a primitive communication method that sent magical energy through sound waves at a special frequency that only beast-folk could detect.

After a moment, her ears twitched, and her expression mixed relief with anger.

“The beast tribe is still okay! The chief himself is commanding the defense line! He says the demons are getting a proper taste of our tribe’s claws! Khahaha! But… living here will be impossible due to the forest’s contamination. Those damn demons!”

Only Arias remained.

With trembling hands, she pulled out a small crystal emitting a brilliant light from her waist. It was a moonlight crystal for emergency communication, passed down only to elven royalty.

When she infused it with magical energy, a faint moonlight-like glow began to flicker, but the connection wasn’t smooth.

Finally, through ominous static, a desperate and urgent elven voice burst from the crystal.

“Lady Arias! Lady Arias, can you hear me?! Argh! The World Tree…! Giant demons with red eyes are directly attacking the World Tree! The protective barrier… cannot hold! The elders… are buying time, but they won’t last long… Aaaaargh!”

With a sharp scream, the communication cut off tragically.

The moonlight crystal fell limply from Arias’s hand, cracking as it hit the ground. Hot tears flowed like waterfalls from her beautiful green eyes.

“No… the World Tree…!”

Airin and Liris placed their hands on Arias’s shoulders with grave expressions.

“The World Tree isn’t just a tree. It manages the magical circulation of the continent and breathes purifying energy into all living beings—it’s the source of life. If it’s destroyed, not only the Great Forest but the entire continent’s magical balance will collapse, leading to uncontrollable demonic contamination. That’s why the demons are targeting it first and most desperately.”

Valt stepped forward.

His face was unreadable, but his eyes shone colder and harder than ever before.

“Setting our top priority. We protect the World Tree.”

He looked at Arias and spoke resolutely.

“The Continental Allied Forces will handle the main battle, but critical locations like this need to be defended by mobile units like us. Arias, your homeland… we will definitely protect it.”

Arias looked at Valt with tear-filled eyes.

His confident voice felt like a ray of light in the midst of despair.

The other team members nodded without objection.

A fierce flame of protection for the dying World Tree ignited in their hearts.

The path to the elven village had already transformed into demon territory.

“We’ll land here. It’s impossible to go any further.”

Demons were flying through the air ahead of them.

This small airship would only become a target.

Even landing wasn’t easy, but with the help of magic, they managed to park the airship near the elven village in the Great Forest.

But trouble started from the beginning.

“Krrrrrrrrrr!”

A giant tree monster possessed by a corrupted forest spirit blocked their path. Thorns contaminated with demonic energy rained down from its twisted branches, and pure malice flowed from its glowing red eyes.

For the previous Valt, this would have been a formidable opponent requiring considerable time and effort to subdue.

But the current Valt was different.

“You’re in the way.”

With a low growl, Valt kicked off the ground and charged straight toward the tree monster.

Physical force condensed to its limit in his fist before he struck the thickest part of the trunk.

KWAAAANG—!

With a sound like a mountain crumbling, the massive tree monster’s trunk, likely hundreds of years old, exploded into fragments.

His fist, no longer bound by the “Do Not Harm” trait, was now pure destructive power that defied the laws of nature.

Valt continued forward through the flying wooden debris without stopping.

The energy emanating from his entire body was something beyond that of an 8th Circle magician.

The Physical-Magical Amplification Amulet was converting and amplifying his astonishing physical strength of 500 into magical power beyond imagination, adding transcendent force to his every movement.

Each time he kicked off the ground, the surface trembled slightly and cracked; each time he swung his fist, the air screamed.

Solpin swallowed hard with awe in her eyes.

“Valt, that guy… he’s really become a monster, hasn’t he?”

Victor, on the contrary, shouted excitedly.

“Wow! Brother! You’ve finally decided to use those muscles seriously?!”

After running for who knows how long, avoiding or sometimes overwhelming persistent interference from numerous magical beasts, corrupted spirits, and small demon reconnaissance teams, they finally reached the outskirts of the elven village, where an intense and majestic battle scene unfolded before their eyes.

The once beautiful forest, where fairy songs and elven harp melodies had echoed, was now contaminated with dark red demonic energy, burning and grotesquely twisted in places.

Nevertheless, the intricate and beautiful multi-layered magical barrier surrounding the elven village still emitted a brilliant blue light, fiercely resisting.

Whenever demon attacks hit the barrier’s surface, violent sparks and ripples occurred, but it showed no signs of breaking easily.

The World Tree, majestically rising inside the village as if supporting the sky, continuously emitted pure and powerful purifying light from its massive body, pushing back the surrounding demonic energy.

But upon closer inspection, those beams of light were somewhat thinner than what they had seen in previous records, and their occasional unstable flickering revealed extreme strain.

Elite elven archers, hidden on the ramparts and between tree branches, were ceaselessly firing light arrows imbued with magical power.

Their arrows accurately targeted the demons’ weak points, causing some demons to fall with screams.

Through weakened gaps in the barrier, nimble elven swordsmen engaged in fierce close combat with invading demons, performing elegant sword dances that flowed like water.

Their swords, infused with elemental spirits’ power, emitted blue blade auras.

At the center of the village beneath the World Tree, white-haired elven elders held their staffs high, chanting spells in ancient language to strengthen the barrier or infuse healing and vitality magic into the World Tree itself.

Though clearly outnumbered, they were incredibly effective at holding back the demon legion’s fierce offensive through their desperate will to protect the World Tree, their exceptional racial magical abilities, and deep communion with the forest.

But the demons’ offensive continued endlessly like waves.

From the sky, dozens of winged gargoyle-like demons formed formations and dive-bombed the barrier, clawing at it with sharp talons or spitting magical projectiles.

On the ground, several rhinoceros-shaped assault demons covered in hard carapaces rammed the barrier with thunderous sounds.

Particularly at one section of the defense line, a hideous high-ranking demon the size of a house with multiple arms was commanding dozens of mid-ranking demons, concentrating attacks on a specific section of the barrier.

The elven defense line there was wobbling precariously.

Arias created a water spear by calling upon Undine and hurled it at the high-ranking demon, shouting:

“I can’t just stand by and watch!”

PAAAT–!

The arrow hit one of the demon’s arms but failed to inflict a deep wound.

Just then, a powerful voice of an elven warrior cut through the battlefield noise.

An elven great warrior, covered in wounds while fighting and commanding at the precarious defense line, had spotted Valt’s group, especially Arias.

“Princess Arias! You’ve come!”