“M-My Lord, please forgive us...!”
The Elders buried their heads in the dirt on the spot. The pressure of an Advanced Rank entity made them almost forget how to breathe.
“Goodness, don't go dying right in front of me. It's incredibly bad luck.”
Qimeng flicked her finger, sending several 【Life Fruits】 arching through the air and landing right into their mouths, melting instantly.
In the blink of an eye, the lacerations on the Elders' bodies healed completely, and color returned to their pale little faces.
Only the Chief, who was standing to the side, made Qimeng knit her brows.
Her physical body had already collapsed, leaving her floating in midair as a translucent natural spirit entity that looked ready to dissipate at any moment, her arms constantly crumbling into glittering dust.
“What a disobedient bunch. You just had to push yourselves to the limit. If I hadn't arrived in time, you would have all been wiped out, you know?”
“We have disappointed you, Great Qimeng... But for the dignity of our clan, we have no regrets even in death.”
The Chief lowered her head bitterly.
“Sigh... I really can't do anything with you. Listen up, I can indeed keep using life force to sustain your ghostly state, but you'll have to live as a spirit entity for the rest of your life, you know?”
“No, please forgive this old one for refusing your kindness, Great Spirit Lord.”
The Chief shook her head with a smile, her nearly transparent body suddenly emitting a warm glow.
“Please allow me, before I fade away, to take the remains of our fallen compatriots to the Wood Elf Incubation Pool. This old one is willing to become the Guardian of the Sacred Land, raising a stronger and more loyal generation of children for you.”
“Huh? An incubation pool? Is there such a thing?”
Qimeng tilted her head in confusion.
Only after the blushing Yinzhi explained did she finally understand.
Simply put, these self-assertive Wood Elves had taken it upon themselves to remodel the earth spider nest, which was filled with the main tree's roots.
They had relocated the original Wood Elf Incubation Room from the valley and expanded it into a much larger incubation pool.
Qimeng: “...”
Even though she had been extremely resistant to becoming some sort of Mother Tree at the very beginning...
Now, not only was she saddled with a bunch of subordinates, but they had even built the delivery room on their own.
It was truly a headache.
Looking into the Chief's eyes, which were filled with determination, Qimeng helplessly agreed and flicked three 【Life Fruits】 over.
“Permission granted! Go on. These Life Fruits are enough to sustain your spirit entity, allowing you to hold on for a bit longer.”
“Thank you infinitely for your grace, My Lord!”
The Chief took a deep look at this forest valley she had protected all her life.
She gently gathered the Life Fruits as her body dissolved into a warm breeze.
This breeze swept across the battlefield, gathering the remains and lingering souls of her fallen compatriots. With a smile, she drifted away toward the incubation pool in the Tree Court territory.
“Awoo!!”
“Roar!!”
Right at that moment, the roars of magical beasts erupted around the forest!
The light of the Crimson Moon dyed the night sky blood-red. Not just the wolves, but almost all low and intermediate-tier monsters in the forest affected by demonization charged toward the Wood Elves!
Meanwhile, the territory's main base at the rear was also under attack.
“Dameng! Left! A giant Demon Mouse is rushing us from the left! Flatten it, quick!”
“Xiaomeng! Right! There's a weird winged moth on the right! Whip it with your wooden vine!”
Xiaomi stomped her feet anxiously as she struggled to brandish a short spear that was taller than she was.
Thanks to being relentlessly fed magic stones, she had barely broken through to the 【High-tier Novice】 rank, and Dameng and Xiaomeng were at the same rank.
It could be said that these three 【High-tier Novice】 ranks were the entirety of the territory's overt defensive force.
Xiaomi had originally thought that with a powerful boss like Qimeng backing her, she would be able to strut around the territory and live a carefree life...
Damn it! Who could have expected a sudden outbreak of a magical beast riot?!
Staring at the dozen or so Intermediate Rank magical beasts before her emitting a bloodthirsty red glow, Xiaomi's little face drained of color, and she could barely hold onto her short spear.
In the night sky, the Crimson Moon looked like a vertical pupil dripping with blood, casting a scarlet glow over the territory.
As far as the eye could see, there were drooling magic wolves and countless Demon Mice.
Driven mad by the stimulation of the Crimson Moon, the completely demonized beasts kicked up a massive cloud of dust as they pounced.
“Th-This is definitely the end of the world!!”
Tears and snot streaming down her face, Xiaomi slumped onto her butt, waving her short spear and crying out to the heavens.
“My Lord! Help! Where are you?! Your loyal little vassal is about to be eaten!”
“You can clearly fly away, so why are you stubbornly holding your ground here?”
A tree soldier woven from black thorns appeared before Xiaomi at some point, and Qimeng's signature cool voice actually echoed directly from the black thorn tree soldier's husk.
Xiaomi gasped in surprise. Upon hearing that familiar voice, she could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
“Waaah! My Lord! I'm Xiaomi, the Territory Defense Captain! I-I'm not a deserter! I will live and die with the territory!”
“Oh? Captain Xiaomi, you have quite the resolve.”
In the space above the tree soldier, Qimeng's projection seemed to materialize with a playful smile.
“My Lord! Where are you?! I miss you so much... Waaah, I think I'm about to die. I'm actually hallucinating your voice from this pitch-black guy! I want to find you! We agreed that we would be together even if it was the end of the world!!”
Smack.
Listening to Xiaomi's blind rambling, the black thorn tree soldier in front of her suddenly tapped her on the forehead.
“Idiot, open your eyes and look. How is a small scene like this the end of the world?”
“Waaah, but there are over a dozen Intermediate Rank magical beasts over there! We're going to die... Eh?”
Xiaomi opened her eyes while crying, only to find that the scenery before her had completely changed.
A bizarre black light suddenly rippled across the earth.
“Since you're all so motivated, I'll show you a little something.”
Qimeng's emotionless whisper, along with the resonance of the main tree, echoed through the territory's night sky.
“Black Thorn Legion, rise!”
Rumble!!!
In the next second, under the terrified gazes of the dozen or so Intermediate Rank magical beasts, the earth beneath their feet fractured and collapsed!
One heavy fist after another, wrapped in black-and-red energy, burst forth from the ground!
Immediately after, a hundred active black thorn treants, nearly two meters tall and covered in sharp thorns, rose from the ground like a plant army awakening from hell, exuding an oppressive pressure!
“Roar!”
The black thorn tree soldiers let out silent roars and collided head-on with the charging horde of magical beasts!
Pfft! Pfft!
The black thorn tree soldiers' attack method was simple and brutal, consisting mostly of punching and tearing. Any prey struck or entangled by them would have their life force forcibly drained.
The aggressive magic wolves and giant Demon Mice only needed their skin punctured by the black thorns to have their life force slowly sucked dry, their ferocious bodies shriveling up on the spot.
However, an even deeper despair was yet to come.
A bizarre green light glowed within the carcasses of the beasts, and then a brand-new black thorn tree soldier would rip through the skin, crawling out from the remains to rejoin the battlefield!
Sustaining battle through battle, infinite parasitism!
In just a few quarters of an hour, the previously overbearing tide of magical beasts was submerged by the ever-growing Black Thorn Legion and slaughtered in reverse!
Xiaomi's mouth hung wide open, her short spear dropping to the ground as she stared blankly at the group of black treants quietly cleaning up the battlefield ahead.
“Eh?”
“The end of the world... was over just like that?”
Rate on N.U.
