Chapter 14: The Great Battle (Part 1)

Beneath the ancient elven tree, the water in the Sun Well was recovering at an extremely slow pace. As the well water slowly replenished, the magic-nullifying effect of the Sun Well was gradually starting to take effect once again.

Although this recovery was indeed very slow, and it would take at least a full day to restore completely, it had already begun to significantly impact the combat abilities of the mages. At least the several dozen mages on the ground were starting to struggle.

There were simply too many deadwood guards, and the elemental giants alone could no longer withstand the constant pressure from these massive creatures. Several fire mages were using all their strength to cast fire walls and hellfire spells, causing explosions and bursts of flames to continually erupt among the deadwood guards, sending flames soaring and wood chips flying. Under the earth mages' incantations and gestures, huge earth pillars and spikes continuously surged from the ground, keeping the deadwood guards and unicorns at bay.

Among the thousands of flying arrows in the sky, one arrow suddenly broke through the Hurricane Shield, bypassed the gaps between the ice wall and fire shield, and struck a mage in the neck from the side. The mage collapsed to the ground, clutching his bleeding neck, convulsing in a death rattle that sounded like a dying goose. The earth armor that had been protecting him had unknowingly weakened and slowly peeled off.

This was the third mage to fall under the elven arrows. The once seemingly flawless Hurricane Shield and other protective spells had begun to show strange fluctuations at some point—either weakening, or pausing for a moment, or revealing a small gap.

Of course, the elven archers were not able to detect these subtle changes in the magic to target them, but they didn't need to. It was as if, even though the naked eye couldn't see the cracks in the roof, the rain would naturally seep through. These torrential arrows could never miss any gaps. The three mage corpses on the ground were clear enough evidence of this.

"Why does it feel like the magic effects are unstable? Something's wrong with this forest!" Finally, one of the mages noticed the issue, shouting amid the explosion sounds of his spells. "Everyone, ride the air elementals and take to the skies!"

"No, we can't. There's not enough magic power left to summon air elementals. Magic recovers too slowly in this forest," a high-level air mage attempted to summon an elemental but almost collapsed from the backlash caused by the failure, coughing up blood. "Everyone, stop advancing. Maintain this formation and wait for Master Aiden and the others above."

On the ancient war tree, the nearly lifeless elven patrolman, Kaylin, had been carried back.

She bore burns from flames, wounds from shocks and impacts, and several magical ice shards were embedded in her hands and feet. While her reflexes and skills were undoubtedly impressive, it was ultimately her luck that made the difference—despite the furious, full-force bombardment from dozens of mages, she had somehow managed to avoid being blown to pieces.

"Is Elder Ruya alone on the War Mantis?" Under the restorative magic of the elven elders, Kaylin slowly regained consciousness. "Are we just supposed to watch from down here?" Kaylin sprang up, but her legs weakened as she stood, and she collapsed again.

Her hand still gripped the pitch-black longbow tightly, though.

"All the flying steeds capable of carrying riders have already been deployed, and the rest are only young pegasi," the elven elder sighed deeply. "With your current injuries, you won't be able to draw the Phantom Divine Bow. Now, we can only hope that Elder Ruya can hold on a bit longer..."

A terrifyingly shrill screech interrupted the elder's words, echoing across the Whispering Forest. A mantis, surrounded by dozens of mages, exploded in flashes of every type of magic, accompanied by deafening booms, before falling from the sky, letting out an insect-like scream.

The war mantis, once a sleek and menacing creature with sharp, angular features, now looked like a tattered rag that had been used for decades. Even the strongest vitality and defense had their limits—dozens of high-level magical attacks were more than enough to reduce even an iron mountain to rubble.

But none of the mages looked pleased, for more than ten mages had already been reduced to pieces beneath the war mantis's giant scythes.

Whether it was the flight spell or air elementals, neither could match the sheer speed and agility of such a massive creature. The mages, despite their efforts, couldn't dodge in time and struggled to land their spells accurately. It took the combined effort of dozens of elemental masters—through their slowing, weakening, cursing, and armor-piercing spells—to stagger the war mantis, forcing it into a mangled, lopsided state before it was finally blasted to bits.

But the war mantis was not the only one. Just as the first one fell, another mage screamed in agony, his body split in two along with his air elemental beneath the massive scythe of another mantis.

"Good, there's another one! Take it down, and we win!" A high-level mage shouted with a warrior's fervor.

It wasn't just him. In fact, all the mages were losing control of their emotions. These once-wise elders had unknowingly become fully immersed in the battle, their grief, fear, and rage over the deaths of their comrades, along with the rampant explosions and flames tearing through the area, had eroded their usual calm and composure.

The mages were now only facing one mantis. The largest one had fully engaged in a deadly chase with Master Aiden, and from a distance, one could only see a massive green shadow and a tiny white dot darting through the sky, moving with incredible speed.

"I'll give you a chance," Aiden's voice was as cold as ice, but his eyes were burning red with intensity. "Hand over the World Tree Leaf, and I'll spare the lives of the elves here."

He knew the elven woman. She was the only survivor from a year ago in the Whispering Forest. More importantly, he could sense the presence of the World Tree leaf from her.

Although they were both speeding and spinning rapidly through the air, Aiden almost had the illusion that he could smell the aura emanating from that leaf. If it weren't for the fact that he knew he couldn't survive a direct blow from the war mantis, he would have turned and rushed to snatch the leaf from her.

Ruya didn't speak, not that she could. All of her energy and focus was devoted to preventing herself from being thrown off by the mantis's high-speed movements. Each time the mantis made a sharp turn or spin, she felt as if her heart might fly out of her chest. Her hands and feet, clinging to the mantis's shell, felt like they might snap off at any moment from the sheer force of inertia.

These war mantises were originally magical creatures left over from the ancient Elven Empire, hatched after thousands of years. They required the leaf of the World Tree to maintain their consciousness within a certain range, which is why Ruya had no choice but to carry the leaf and ride the war mantis. Now, these three mantises were nearly all the hope the elves had left.

From the beginning, she had vaguely felt that the group of mages, led by necromancers, had arrived at such a convenient moment. Perhaps it was directly connected to her reckless decision to send someone to visit the Tooth Tower.

Even though she could never have known that the Tooth Tower would be controlled by necromancers, if she had simply waited until the Ancient War Tree had fully grown and the Sun Well had restored its magic-nullifying field, sending someone to visit would have been possible without this catastrophic disaster.

All of this was her fault. It was her carelessness, her overconfidence, her impulsiveness, that had caused this calamity. Watching the explosions and flames flashing below, hearing the constant screams and seeing limbs flying, Ruya felt as though knives were twisting in her heart. It wasn't just pain—she felt as if her heart and soul were being torn apart, but there was no way to release the heavy anguish.

If everything could be undone, she would be willing to pay any price. But she knew very well that what had already happened could never be reversed. So at least, she had to do everything in her power to remedy the situation, to fight for a victory, even if the hope now seemed almost nonexistent. She could not give up. The necromancer was undoubtedly the leader and the most powerful of the mages. If she could kill him, perhaps there was still hope for the battle.

But right now, that hope seemed incredibly slim. No matter how the war mantis attacked, it couldn't match the agility of the necromancer's flight magic. At best, it could only force him to dodge without being able to strike back, while another war mantis had already fallen under the mages' assault.

The mantis stopped. Ruya quickly regained her balance, reaching into her chest to retrieve the leaf of the World Tree. Even though it was dangerous, she had no choice but to make one final effort.

"Great Fahma, your devout follower prays in your name to grant this life..." Ruya recited the prayer, and the green light on the leaf of the World Tree instantly flared up.

The mantis that had been chasing him suddenly halted. Master Aiden was momentarily stunned, but when he saw the elven woman above pulling out the leaf of the World Tree and starting to chant, he immediately understood. His body froze in place as well, and with a swift motion, he conjured a thunderclap bomb and hurled it toward the mantis.

The crackling ball of lightning wasn't aimed at Ruya, as Master Aiden didn't want to risk destroying the World Tree's leaf along with the mantis. Instead, he targeted the mantis's head. If he could destroy this creature, whatever was on top—be it a person or anything else—would be nothing more than a prize waiting to be claimed.

The lightning ball exploded upon contact with the mantis's body, unleashing a deafening roar. In the flashing lightning, the mantis's hard green exoskeleton shattered and flew in all directions. However, the mantis didn't fall. Using its massive scythe-like forelimbs, the creature had blocked the lightning bolt in front of its head. Not only was its head unharmed, but the scythe also only sustained minor damage, with just a small portion of it shattered.

Master Aiden frowned slightly and, without hesitation, raised both hands to cast again, this time launching two thunderous lightning bolts.

The two enormous explosions were still not enough to drown out the strange screeching sound coming from the mantis's mouth. One of its forelimbs was completely obliterated, fragments scattering through the air along with a foul, pungent odor. The green shards and liquid splattered everywhere, and the shockwave from the explosion, combined with the mantis's thrashing, nearly threw the elf off its back.

But it was only nearly—Ruya didn't actually fall. Her spellcasting had not been interrupted, and she finally completed the incantation.

"...Grant even this humble life the vitality and power of a dragon, and let it serve me." As the prayer was finished, the light from the World Tree's leaf blazed brightly, glowing like a green lantern. She placed the leaf on the back of the mantis, and an overwhelming surge of life magic poured into it, impossible to describe in its sheer intensity.

The mantis continued to screech and shake, its shattered forelimb still leaking green bodily fluid, but at the same time, its body began to expand, as though it were being inflated. In just a single breath, it had doubled in size. Originally, the creature was only slightly larger than a wivern, but in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a monstrous behemoth stretching dozens of meters long. Compared to it, Master Aiden, not far away, now appeared as insignificant as a small white sparrow, with the mantis's compound eyes seemingly larger than him.

A dragon. Such a massive form could only belong to the legendary dragons. And now, with this magical insect's enhanced size, it was no doubt an even more terrifying force. Its life and combat power had already surpassed any beast, and with its new, colossal form, its battle prowess was likely comparable to, if not greater than, that of an actual dragon.

Master Aiden stared in disbelief, but he didn't forget to fire his fourth thunderclap bomb. The flashing electricity and deafening roar still sent shards of the mantis's exoskeleton flying, but this explosion only left a barely noticeable mark on the mantis's other forelimb.

The thunderclap bomb had minimal effect. Before Master Aiden had time to be surprised, he saw the massive creature—now the size of a small mountain—charging toward him with an ear-piercing screech. Despite its enormous size, its speed hadn't decreased; if anything, it seemed even faster.

Almost purely by instinct, Master Aiden relied on his peak mastery of air magic and used flight to dart through the air like an incredibly agile fly. He narrowly avoided the incoming scythe, which swept past him with such force that the gust of wind made him feel as if his face had been sliced off. The scythe, already enormous, was now so massive it resembled a small boat. There was no doubt that even an elephant would be sliced in half by such a strike, let alone a human body.

Ruya collapsed onto the mantis's back, wedged into a gap in its now-enormous exoskeleton. At this moment, she could barely move. The powerful nature magic, Dragon's Strength, which could only be activated with the power of the World Tree's leaf, had drained nearly all of her energy. The mantis's immense vitality had almost exhausted her completely.

This was all she could do now. The rest was up to the mantis, which now resembled a true dragon in size and strength. It was her only hope that it could withstand the onslaught of the magicians.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the magic-wielding forces, well-practiced and familiar with their tactics, continued their relentless bombardment of the other mantis, reducing it to pieces through an overwhelming barrage of curses and spells. They too had witnessed the astonishing natural magic at work and quickly summoned air elementals to rush toward the scene.

On the edge of the forest, a man and a woman were riding hard toward the direction of the Ancient War Tree, spurred by a sense of urgency.

Through the thick canopy of ancient trees above, Asa could vaguely make out the sight of magicians mounted on air elementals, launching spells in waves toward a massive green shadow. The sky was alive with bursts of magic light and the roar of explosions echoing from all directions.

Asa urged his horse forward toward the Ancient War Tree, though the dense forest cover prevented him from seeing it directly. He could, however, feel the location of the Sun Well through a subtle resonance in his body. The faint waves emanating from it were unmistakable.

This was his third time in the Whispering Forest. It seemed that every visit inevitably led to battle. He couldn't decide whether it was his luck or the elves' misfortune. Without a doubt, this conflict was yet again tied to that last remaining leaf of the World Tree. He wasn't sure whether it was a holy relic for the elves or the source of their calamity.

"Are you planning to help those elves?" Talice's voice rang out behind him. "Just so you know, I won't be helping these heretics."

Without turning his head, Asa threw over his shoulder, "Just don't get in my way. This time, I might not have the time to save you."

The Whispering Forest was no longer its tranquil self. The distant sounds of magic explosions, the shouts of elves, and the stench of burning trees and charred bodies filled the air. The forest had transformed into a battlefield. Perhaps because all the deadwood guardians had been concentrated at the far side of the forest, their path was eerily quiet, and the stillness felt unnatural.

Talice, riding behind Asa, raised her voice, "Do you know that speaking to a knight like that is an offense? Your behavior over the past ten days has more than canceled out whatever 'favors' you think you've granted me. Let me remind you that I can always invoke my status as a Temple Knight..."

"Move!" Asa shouted suddenly, pulling hard on his reins. He vaulted from the saddle, immediately retreating as he yanked Talice with him.

Talice was no slouch—she reacted swiftly, almost in perfect synchrony with Asa's move. Together, they flew backward off their horses, but the two steeds, caught in the momentum, continued charging forward.

Then, a massive fire pillar erupted from the ground in front of them, engulfing the two charging horses. What had seemed like an ordinary stretch of ground suddenly morphed into a small magical volcanic crater. The flames rising from it weren't just regular fire—there was a strong magical essence woven into the inferno. The heat of the flames rivaled that of molten lava.

Two agonized horse cries filled the air, followed by the sickening scent of burning flesh. Moments later, the charred, mangled corpses of the horses were tossed out from the fire's maw, their bodies contorted from the extreme heat.