Ch.237237. Forced Breakthrough (2)

The monsters that had arrived in the great forest began to surge from everywhere.

Cursed monstrosities. The native beasts of this continent, intoxicated by the demons’ Magia, their flesh melting from the poison. Of course, they burned with murderous intent toward us in the form of the living dead.

Beings that never originally existed on this continent. The damned fanatics of the cult had summoned these accursed magical beasts from another world, cackling as they began their elf hunt.

‘Look at these things.’

One supporting its gelatinous body on three thick tentacle legs. Another with a pathetically weak lower body but an upper body so powerful that it could wring juice from an orc, topped with a lizard’s head.

Ordinary people would be too frightened to even look at their heads, quickly turning away. It would be impossible not to lose one’s expression when facing something so mangled it was embarrassing to call a face.

But having killed many such creatures, I could read their emotions.

‘Their dispositions are as twisted as their appearances.’

What they felt was the joy of tormenting the weak.

It was quite a sight to see them snickering at the thought that elves worth toying with had finally arrived.

‘But what a shame.’

Such vermin couldn’t touch even a speck of dust on the real monster.

‘Because we have a monster on our side—Edelin.’

A High Elf. And not just any High Elf, but a veteran who had fought demons to the point of weariness. Soon their laughter would cease, and wailing would fill the air.

And with that…

“Everyone, sacrifice your lives to clear a path for me and the heroes.”

The full-scale breakthrough began.

I pulled an arrow from my quiver and nocked it on my bowstring. Or rather, I was about to when Edelin raised her bow faster than me.

“Dad, that elf is amazing!”

“Sigh, you fool. That’s not just any elf, she’s a High Elf.”

“But still, amazing is amazing…”

Just as our Tania and Changsik were chattering even in this situation.

When I spoke with Edelin beneath the World Tree before, she had summoned a spirit to judge the truth of my internal accusations. Now, borrowing that spirit’s power as she drew her bowstring…

Her arrow, imbued with extraordinary power, was aimed at the enemies.

“How on earth…”

Sione stared helplessly at Edelin’s back as if facing an insurmountable wall.

Despite being the one destined to prevent the world’s destruction…

And having learned archery not from some mediocre nobody, but from me directly…

Yet here she was, making an expression I’d never seen when I shot arrows, just from seeing that one arrow.

I tapped her arm and whispered quietly.

“You’ll be able to shoot like that eventually.”

“Huh?”

“As long as I’m by your side, Lady Sione will certainly be able to shoot like that later.”

PAANG—!

At that moment, a powerful sonic boom erupted.

A single small arrow was finally released from the fully drawn bowstring.

The arrow shot straight forward, wrapped in light and violent wind.

Naturally, as the gale tore through flesh and bone, devouring its prey, the sea of enemies parted, creating a path where the wind had carved through.

“Those gathered under Ianet’s name, advance quickly!”

As Airine Ianet’s words fell, the Ianet elves who had rallied around her and barely survived charged forward without hesitation.

They began clearing the path Edelin had created, fighting through enemies trying to close the gap and block the way with the help of spirits.

“Perhaps you should properly nock your bowstring first.”

At my suggestion, Sione, who had been staring at me as if entranced, nodded her head vigorously and regained her composure.

That’s right. Even with a reliable High Elf in front, on a battlefield surrounded by enemies on all sides, standing dazed while admiring a High Elf wasn’t exactly appropriate.

“Securing the old ones’ arrangement will take quite some time, so we must move quickly before those creatures expend all their strength.”

As Edelin said.

We couldn’t waste the lives of the elves holding the front line.

Without delay, we rushed along the small path they were protecting.

“Elvis, support me. Tania, help any elves who look in danger. Orna, do as you usually do.”

—Meow!

With Orna’s cute cry that didn’t match the urgent situation.

The spirits also found their places.

Elvis rose into the sky to secure our vision from above. Tania raised flames to incinerate those who stubbornly attacked. And Orna, naturally, climbed onto Sione’s head with dignified meows, adding wind to her arrows.

“I’ll clear the front.”

“No need to clear too widely. Just enough to make a path is sufficient.”

“As you command!”

The guard captain and his guards moved ahead of us to clear the way.

The ragtag elves of House Ianet began to fall back one by one, wounded by the surging enemies. Yet if they still had strength to draw a bowstring or swing a sword despite bleeding, they threw themselves without hesitation into defending the opened path.

“That way! More of them are pushing in from that direction!”

Among them, a crimson elf was performing as valiantly as the guards.

‘She’s desperate.’

Airine Ianet was indeed so.

She was squeezing out her Mana to operate three spirits, deploying them to secure paths and support the guards.

And her main body never ceased wielding bow and sword.

‘With a ruined house, I suppose she has no choice if she wants to leave behind at least a name.’

Seeing her covered in blood, gasping for breath yet still giving orders to her house’s elves—who could disparage her self-sacrifice?

‘Well, anyway.’

Having nocked an arrow, I needed to shoot at least once, so I focused and searched for enemies around us.

—Northeast, 200m… a grotesque monster!

Elvis’s voice rang in my head just in time.

Without hesitation, I aimed the arrow I had been holding with a pinch grip, powered by the wind Orna had provided, toward that direction.

—Damn it… how many times have I told you to signal before shooting?

As the arrowhead aimed at the magical beast’s head.

Tania, with her uncanny timing, added flames to it.

Fixing my focus, as obstacles appeared in the path.

TAT!

I loosened the bowstring I had drawn uncomfortably, quickly throwing my body to the side, and at the moment another path appeared.

PAANG!

Sliding release.

The cleanly shot fireball flew with cutting wind and unquenchable flame, embedding itself in the enemy’s head.

—Hit!

BOOM—!

With Elvis’s precise manipulation, the wind imbued in the arrow sucked in more wind and exploded, causing the magical beast’s head to burst as it collapsed.

“Good.”

As my body finally began to loosen after shooting the arrow, and my fighting spirit burned against the intensifying Magia.

THUD— THUD—

The ground began to shake.

Something massive, or something disgustingly heavy, was approaching us. The fact that it was so obvious we could feel it through our legs…

Sione and I looked around. And we could see it approaching from the distance.

“Ugh… that’s…”

Sione made a disgusted sound and frowned.

And it wasn’t just her—I felt the same.

“…How tiresome.”

As Edelin said, it was a tiresome existence to me as well.

A demon’s toy made by crudely stitching together corpses. Always reeking of blood. Hundreds or thousands of legs and arms. A cursed being created by mixing bodies and heads of different species.

That damned second demon who always “gifted” us with these abominations made from its subordinates’ corpses. That very trash was now advancing toward us, exuding terrible death energy and poison.

“After a thousand years, I see that cursed being again.”

It seemed to be an especially irritating existence to Edelin.

She spoke with a calm yet vengeful voice so chilling it sent shivers down my spine.

Edelin stopped running and nocked another arrow as she spoke.

“Sianella.”

Sione, startled by her muttering, looked at Edelin’s back.

“It seems that damned demon you struggled so hard to defeat is still alive.”

Sione followed the fragments of memories shared between Edelin and her ancestor.

Edelin’s gaze was fixed on the mass of corpses, particularly on an elf’s head crudely attached to it and the ancient armor visible in places throughout the body, corroded and having lost its brilliance.

“To think I’d see the corpses of our comrades who died a thousand years ago again.”

The method commonly used by the second demon I knew.

Gathering the corpses of fallen allies, crudely binding them together, and sending them back to their former comrades.

Through Edelin, who was displaying the exact same behavior and unmistakable disgust and hostility, I finally became completely certain.

“This is maddening.”

What was it about this great forest?

Those who couldn’t stand breathing the same air were now here together.

To cut their necks…

“…I’ll handle this one. Given the situation, we absolutely cannot miss retrieving the arrangement. Guards—”

Edelin, mentioning the need for the arrangement again.

She infused her voice with Mana to reach the guards engaged in battle.

“Half of you focus on protecting the heroes with your lives from now on.”

“But since securing the arrangement requires great strength from you, it might be better to leave this to us—”

“No. It would take you too long to defeat that mass of corpses now.”

“Isn’t it just a monster made by sticking corpses together?”

“No. It’s not that simple.”

Edelin gave a small laugh.

“The materials used are warriors from a thousand years ago.”

And so she…

Whether to vent her anger at past memories, or to secure the arrangement more quickly and certainly…

“I’ll take care of this now.”

She shot her arrow.

Toward that massive mountain of corpses.