Chapter 219

Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Lycanthropes (4)

-“You abominable beasts, how dare you desecrate this holy ground?!”

-“Fiends! Cut them down!”

-“M-monster! Save me! Please, anyone, save me!”

Across the vast annals of the continent’s past,

Lycanthropes had consistently been viewed as a blight, a breed to be dreaded and wiped out.

A flawed race, incapable of natural procreation, compelled to use contamination to expand their ranks.

Those who caught the affliction would be ruined by foul sorcery, their psyches warped beyond comprehension, overtaken by ferocity and bloodlust.

Even the ones who managed to retain their intellect would surrender to madness beneath the full moon, going berserk and spreading contagion and carnage.

It was only logical for the populace to seek protection for themselves and their kin from these walking disasters.

A tale existed of a young lad who was bitten by a werewolf and subsequently, in a bout of insanity, slaughtered everyone in his hamlet, including his own kin, before escaping.

Propelled by his feral urges, he left an endless trail of casualties behind him before ultimately giving in to his affliction and turning into a true fiend… It was a familiar fable in this realm.

…Yet it was genuinely extraordinary for one of them to endure for centuries and grow powerful enough to be hailed as ‘King’.

And such advancement could never have occurred without a benefactor’s backing and guidance.

Rumble—!

“Kihihihyaha! Snared you! You irritating little insects!”

Lycanthrope King Baucalacas tore through the Earth Spirit that had been stubbornly obstructing his advance with his terrifying talons.

A solitary slash sufficed to gouge a five-meter-wide crater into the earth, mirroring the claw marks of a predator, and the entity, crushed by the immense brute force, was compelled back to its native realm without offering any defense, despite holding the status of a Highest-level being.

“Gah!”

“Horut! Can you stand?”

“…Cecily, it’s naught! Stay sharp! If that fiend manages to breach the perimeter, all is lost!”

The kinetic backlash caused the High Elf Horut, the master of spirits, to spit up crimson fluid.

Yet he clenched his teeth and channeled his remaining vigor into his summons, disregarding the agony.

In the epicenter of the combat zone, where the two factions collided violently…

Every one of the four High Elves remaining within Drasha had been tasked with restraining the chieftain of the Lycanthropes.

‘We are scarcely maintaining our ground, even with the proximity of the World Tree…! I never anticipated such a monster would strike with such abandon… The disparity in our tiers is one matter, but our attributes clash terribly.’

High Elves operated at their peak when adjacent to the World Tree, yet the adversary’s strength, bolstered by a mixture of foul sorcery and lunacy, was irresistible.

No matter the volume of magical artillery they deployed, he merely brushed it aside and mended his flesh, his monstrous vitality neutralizing a portion of their offensives.

Meanwhile, his own strikes effortlessly shattered their wards, regardless of their strenuous endeavors.

Their sole tactical choice was to pin him down utilizing a strategic array, capitalizing on their enhanced mending factors courtesy of the World Tree.

‘…But can we truly sustain this? Observing that fiend, I harbor grave doubts… If only an additional High Elf of equivalent stature were present… ’

Elves, endowed with lengthy lifespans, typically boasted a greater density of potent combatants relative to alternative species.

The Forest Guardians, the champion-level Elves safeguarding each territory, were the precise reason they managed to counter the synchronized onslaughts of the White Giants and the Lycanthropes.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, not a single High Elf had attained the rank of transcendence within the contemporary Elven Kingdom.

The solitary individual bordering that threshold was Lydia, the commander of the Guardians… but she had journeyed across the sea to accompany the champion’s cohort.

“Kahahaha! Are you spent already? Well? Is that the end? Let us conclude this!”

Baucalacas, the Werewolf King, lunged toward the High Elves, cackling hysterically.

The atmosphere around his form hissed as his lethal magical reservoir swelled, leaving columns of singed air in his wake.

“I shall intercept him!”

“We shall back you up!”

The High Elf Platina, an expert in both spirit arts and bladecraft, stepped into the fray, her frame coated in standard energy, to obstruct his path.

Her blade, saturated with astral light, collided with his blood-tinted talons.

Clatter—!

She reeled momentarily, bested by his colossal physical power, but the monarch’s defensive reinforcement helped her stabilize her posture.

Yet that reprieve was fleeting…

Snap! Rumble—!

“Ah!”

She held her position for scarcely sixty seconds, even with the supplementary aid from her comrades.

She was ultimately compelled to leap backward, evading his strike.

Had Cecily not insulated her with an aqua shield at the critical instant, she would have sustained a devastating wound.

“Tch! Nearly claimed one! Regrettable! I desire that World Tree were absent! Ah, we must incinerate it, immediately!”

Baucalacas growled, the crimson madness within his gaze expanding.

His higher intellect was dissolving, yet his physical attributes were merely escalating.

‘We must devise a strategy… ’

Cecily nipped her lip, her spirits plunging.

They were barely managing to hold the line, yet five additional commander-level Lycanthropes were migrating toward the clash.

Potent combatants existed on the Elven flank as well, however…

‘Losses are inevitable. Hold, where is Harris?’

She suddenly comprehended that Harris had been uncharacteristically quiet for a duration.

The preceding update indicated he was locked in combat with a commander-level Lycanthrope, however…

She was unable to establish contact, given they lacked the leisure to sustain the World Tree signaling web.

‘…He is likely retracing his steps. The tide will shift once he arrives. We merely need to endure until that juncture.’

As Cecily redirected her focus to the engagement,

Harris was precisely crossing the boundary into Drasha.

—

Crunch!

“Ngh! World Tree…”

Rumble—!

“Clang!”

Mortality was rippling through the core of the Enamel Continent, which had served as an oasis of serenity for generations.

It made no adjustments for Lycanthrope or Elf.

The rapidly constructed timber stockades were already shattered, and the Elves were gradually giving ground, attempting to curtail their casualties.

The Lycanthropes evaded or parried the majority of the long-range volleys using their superior physiological traits and reflexes, and even upon taking a hit, they seldom perished, owing to their toughness, spell immunity, and mending traits.

The Elves possessed greater numbers, yet the raiders constituted a hand-picked vanguard.

They required a more impactful asset… and fortunately, Drasha possessed the ideal contingent.

Separated from the primary clash, near the perimeter…

Click—

Shapiron Silvesty methodically drew her bowstring, pooling elemental energy.

“Grrr! Perish!”

A soldier-tier Lycanthrope was closing in, weaving past her projectiles and darting through the foliage.

His bulky, sinewy frame radiated a crimson vapor, his gaze bloodshot with insanity, and his jaws dripping with foam.

He resembled a rabid predator, yet Shapiron maintained her composure, lingering for the flawless window…

And the moment he crossed into her lethal perimeter, she loosed her projectile, saturated with the Wind Spirit’s velocity.

Swoosh— Thump!

The tip of the projectile tunneled into his brow.

A standard soldier-tier Lycanthrope would have perished on the spot, notwithstanding their mending traits, yet this specimen, amplified by a merging of foul sorcery and insanity, merely faltered.

He bellowed, sprinting toward her position with a homicidal glare, intent on dragging her to the grave alongside him, even in demise.

“Perish!”

Yet Shapiron did not flinch.

She remained unbothered that he endured the initial strike.

She did not stand unsupported.

Swoosh— Thump—! Thump! Swoosh—! Tear!

As she anchored his gaze, projectiles and sorcerous incantations descended upon him from every quadrant.

He possessed no prospects for survival, even had he been a knight.

And a pair of countenances materialized from the concealed areas where the volleys had originated.

They were her academy peers, Timer and Curia, who had shared the stage with Harris previously.

“Shapiron, are you certain this is prudent? It proves effective, but… is this not excessively hazardous for you?”

“…Should we alter our tactics?”

“It is acceptable. We are solely addressing the crippled and the isolated units. This is no occasion to be overly selective.”

Drasha Academy stood as the premier pedagogical establishment within the Elven Kingdom.

Naturally, its pupils were all vanguard material, capable enough to be categorized as superior combatants.

They could be entrusted with rear reinforcement during this emergency.

“If we accelerate our pace, we can preserve further lives. Thus, going forward…”

Rustle—

Yet as the words left her lips,

The entire group went rigid, catching the sound of shifting foliage.

…They could perceive the noise, yet they could detect nothing via their heightened perceptions.

They traded glances and methodically shifted their vision toward the origin…

And observed a female with a peculiar visage, lounging there as though she had intentionally generated the noise.

“I intended to merely proceed past… yet your words ring true. If I display a modicum of diligence, I can preserve further of my kin.”

She muttered nonchalantly, her delivery even and composed.

Cropped dark hair, myriad lacerations marking her visible flesh, a sinewy build measuring beyond 180 centimeters in elevation.

“…It is permissible to eliminate a handful of you along the route, correct?”

She smirked, displaying jagged, predatory dentition, her digits gradually stretching into talons.

“Ah, I was growing weary of lurking while the remainder of the pack enjoyed all the amusement. This is ideal. Kihihihik.”

The female they encountered was…

A commander-level Lycanthrope, executing a covert assignment from the King.

—

Harris instantly redirected his course toward Drasha.

Even at his peak velocity, it would require multiple hours to soar there, but that was the utility of the “Forest Path”!

‘It is typically interdicted for ordinary journeys… but this qualifies as a crisis!’

And he was executing an order from the World Tree itself, meaning it was indisputably within permissible boundaries.

He designated the World Tree as his target location and crossed into the Forest Path.

And five minutes afterward,

He exited the conduit, already balanced upon one of the World Tree’s limbs.

‘…I did not intend to arrive at this elevation. Well, this proves advantageous, I suppose.’

He could secure a superior overview of the engagement zone from this vantage.

Harris peered down at Drasha and knit his brows slightly.

The spectacle of the once tranquil and elegant settlement overrun by pandemonium was jarring.

‘The World Tree extended such a lavish compensation… This must represent a dire predicament.’

The engagement zone beneath him was locked in a gridlock.

The Elves were marginally outnumbered, yet they were not on the precipice of ruin, and backup was continuously arriving from the adjacent territories.

‘…I fail to comprehend. I must examine the details more closely.’

Harris silently elevated his bow, Themis, and triggered “Stargazer”, monitoring the scenario below.

And then…

He went rigid, experiencing a abrupt manifestation of strength.

‘What is this?’

It was not a negative sensation.

It felt as though he were more tightly integrated with the World Tree than normal…

‘Is it due to my position upon one of its limbs?’

All High Elf attributes were magnified when they resided near the World Tree.

It was only logical for him to perceive it more intensely, being situated practically upon its structure.

…And it was likewise an extraordinary scenario, so perhaps the World Tree was filtering supplementary power to him…

‘…This is insufficient. Let us test the limits of what I can attain.’

Harris triggered “Chosen of the World Tree” and “Assimilation with Nature”, elevating his harmony with the World Tree to its zenith.

And as he cast his gaze down at the engagement zone…

‘Ah, this is… ’

He could perceive it.

《The unique ability “Stargazer” has integrated its auxiliary components “Clear Mind” and “Insight” and upgraded into “Watcher of the Milky Way”.》

He could perceive the reality through the vision of the World Tree, through the vision of a divinity.