Chapter 247: World Tree (4)
xXK3Bku“‘Tates is a son of a bitch.’ Say it.”BcL
PWP7cTO“W… What?”PRmZA
C3DRnJNThe leader of the Axehead Tribe tilted his head as if he didn’t catch what I said, but I did not miss the slight twitch of his lips.4iK
hh6b8“Say ‘Tates is a son of a bitch.’ Come on.”9SO1E8
71SpR“Ha, haha… What… are you saying…”HqcH4Ko
jgzKmSj“What’s wrong? What’s so hard about saying that one sentence? It will show us you are not a follower of Tates Valtazar.”VVCm
kolAv1z“L, listen… That’s not a cultured expression…”rkY
Nyf“What? Are you telling me Tates Valtazar is not a son of a bitch? Of course he is! Come on – say it! Do it right now!”QrBqmr
ZHJeiThe people from the kingdom might not show any averse reaction to what I said, but there had to be a strong response from the northerners.DG9zs
y612NHThose that escaped all the way to the walls were obviously there because they hated Valtazar, and the rest remained because they were a follower and decided to obey him.8p1M6
lB7EKzqTates was a living god – he reigned above them as a god and was the leader of the north. Half the valkyries acknowledged him and were revering him as god, and the northerners were obviously aware of that.JwxKI0
E6yAs such, their perception of Tates would be in complete contrast depending on whether they were a follower or not.OTOk
hjbGkTo the non-followers, Tates was just a son of a bitch trying to destroy the world hoping for a new world, and for followers of Tates, he was the god of the new world.5lM
iofB6“Say ‘Tates Valtazar is a damned son of a bitch!!’ Why can’t you say it!?”hAlPk
hlO“U, ughh… Uhh…”i4BwC
RrZ– Cling!lMy9
zAfThey immediately unsheathed their swords and raised their axes, practically revealing themselves.3nM
opoJ1“Kill them all!”93E30
5EXWCkdAh dang it. Of course.aQmsSXX
GwTFOpbThe man in the lead dashed forward with the ax in hand. Until the very end, he couldn’t say, ‘Tates is a son of a bitch’ and instead leaped forward, swinging down his ax.0bjs3C9
477“Huhp…!”zlvsb
wtUhcyMHowever, his ax was too slow for it to reach my neck, and my spear pierced through his throat before he could even perceive it.9QZ
tyGKDA“Wipe them out,” I ordered.yrn3Umd
oUw8qE5It resulted in a slight commotion, but it didn’t take us long to suppress them.Aff
8YvyVUD“Did you fight? Against people?” asked Estelle after arriving nearby with the main group, alongside Hua Ran and Alicia.sJMHGZx
agF6“They were northern tribes under Valtazar. They tried to join us pretending to be allies.”xWIZU3
FVja4“…That would have been dangerous.”cTWP9
UC4UFX“They’re probably doing something similar on all fronts.”avDpMWi
cGkThey would probably stay quiet and lay low for the time being, because our numbers were much more than theirs.cUF
q4eazwdHowever, that won’t stay the same after more northern tribes join our ranks. They might suddenly turn their ax heads at us when we were at a geographical disadvantage.nCt9h
sK1“How did you know they were enemies?” she asked.j4SN
ZneAXwWhen I told her my secret strategy, she replied with a smile.uHc
egiIK“Ah~ I see. That is certainly something the enemies won’t be able to say in fear of blasphemy.”tZq
d5b8“There’s no guarantee it would work, but when there’s a big group trying to join us, we could force all of them to say it and a few won’t be able to.”rgn
WHSTbT3That was when we could define that entire group as an enemy.wNvaiy
p3caPD“It’s an old-fashioned method, but it would work well especially in this kind of setting.”t7Fo7ob
WeL“Yeah. I will convey that to the other groups. Hopefully there won’t be any issues with our pigeons.”5KJqzf4
Qzr3HjIt was pitch black here, and it was hard to tell whether the pigeons would be able to successfully deliver the message or not.mniL
VrH“Thanks for your work. You can fall back now,” said Estelle. “We will have someone else at the lead now…”Bfj
y1PxcvS“No. I’ll do it.”s0IPd86
WcuYd“Korin-dongsaeng?”2dh
flpmu“Can you continue staying with Hua Ran and Alicia? I can stay at the front>”l75V
jRGOyThe roles were completely different for those at the front and those at the center. At the front, we would have to continue fighting against groups like this and killing them.CgDmgqR
eQJd8And that had to be my job. I didn’t want to rely on the girls when it came to killing people as much as possible.ujD
Rkz6r“…”Euk5H
eFJoEstelle was about to volunteer to join but seemed to decide against it. She was the most important figure in our army, and it would naturally be hard for her to step up to the front.QHW
Szy“Let’s keep moving forward. We have to quickly increase our numbers.”atcTXyX
0DUsEven if we accidentally took in a wrong group, we had to be so big that they couldn’t possibly dream of doing anything funny.2k8hxi
GgkHV6We continued moving forward, and we came across several more groups.fY0HWd
d9MRtAt times, we found a bunch of corpses that were brutally murdered, as well as groups of soldiers from the kingdom and northerners that were fighting against Shadow Demons. Out of those, we found allies and enemies.bX9e
7tYh“They’re enemies! Wipe them out!”kbiAh
QymDFrom the groups we encountered, there was a higher ratio of allies than enemies.dIt
u99zAround 2 out of 10 groups that we came across were enemies. Rather than trying to hide in our ranks and cause insurmountable damage, it appeared that their goal was to steal information and cause confusion in our army.2k96RH
YvgKCa3“Kuhk…! Kill me!”6dJd
QpHGCsAs expected of northerners, they refused to reply when we asked them about the enemy formations and information.9irHh4
unlDFor them, a valiant death was the road to paradise, and their belief would have been enhanced even further after coming across a living god.ij5mpLp
oYoZY2H“What should we do sir?”V3ZKvV
IeTh“Cut his head off.”OWZy
XsJzGI didn’t hesitate to kill them. Although human lives were precious, I wasn’t a blind humanist who couldn’t differentiate between allies and enemies during a war.G5B5N
a8pMercy for enemies was a betrayal to allies.J0B9L
MdEhe3j“These guys don’t stop coming though. They’re putting their lives on the line for this.”BQmvpZ
pnMOrui“It’s because they believe there is an afterlife prepared for them.”0JOwsp
mFzyTo be fair, they weren’t wrong. If Valtazar reopened the era of gods, the original paradise, Tir na Nog, and spiritual worlds like Valhalla would be brought back with his powers.PrEC
erpBAlthough I didn’t know much about the powers of gods, I knew he had the power to promise afterlife to the souls of the dead.kUE
7AlmlARBecause of that, the enemies seemed to have no fear of death.G5Zzm
9o3Z‘It’s taking a toll on us already.’5g8UEbm
aw1Having an enemy that was willing to throw away their current lives in expectation of the afterlife was really quite tedious.6ObW
XMw“Well, I guess I’m also like them, risking my life to save the world.”Log
cHSSoon, we came across a split path.aZ9s35
Y4sEWe were on our way going up the largest root, and we had to stop after seeing a sudden increase in roots.KywWuTy
NH8X“Sir Korin! There’s a group in the distance!”bCr
PEs5CHearing the scout, we immediately pulled out our weapons and readied ourselves.hTRKuoB
gIt“Fuu… Hope it’s not another enemy.”Q1Aa4
BRIpWhether it be Shadow Demons or troops under Valtazar, constant streams of battles was building fatigue in our army. I hoped the group in front of us wasn’t going to be yet another enemy.8B81K
kdLM“Aht? Korin?”URjafI
B0p7Z6j“Student Korin?”WE7RHT
bvqwZThankfully, what we soon heard was a familiar voice.O3I5HVT
dI9POt2****KDBq
9xViDwCThe group we met was the combined troops of northerners and the kingdom’s army, which included Lady Josephine, Kranel and Yuel.Io9gp
9dlyF“Have some tea.”9fwbKdd
gxl“Ah, thank you.”DtL
HVMWe stopped our army for the time being after encountering Lady Josephine’s group, and I received the tea she made. Because of the sheer number of mages in our army, it was quite easy to light fires and cook food.OmTZ
dgKJSfx“How were things on your end, Professor?”DOSy
zum2“It was chaotic,” she replied. “Especially because we came across Valtazar’s subordinates pretending to be allies.”ilDN
1XFV“You too huh… How did you tell them apart?”iwl0
mMGFS“I remembered everyone.”iKA4Q10
LbAGhmy“Sorry?”yesYaR
uRVqwf“I remembered the faces of all the leaders and vice leaders of the northern tribes in our expedition. So I knew it was an enemy when it was only strangers.”nCUv
X2dWuKL“…”m2oNVr
dhTHow is that even possible? I asked with my eyes but Lady Josephine simply pushed the frames of her glasses up with her finger.kzjA
SeSv0MLShe was much more intellectual than someone like me, so I guess it was possible if that’s what she was saying. I decided not to doubt anyone in the group that came with her.7Kb9HS
Ymg3“By the way, what happened to the Chairman?”lHxg4x
NtP“Master is tracking another root with Marie.”7aWJx
ABjzbfY“I see.”XKtKqq
ak40Like that, we stopped advancing and took a break while catching up.0VEg
1vTThe world was devoid of light and it was hard to tell the time, but technically it was around midnight so we decided to set up our tents and spend the night.mf96
O1sw“Korin-dongsaeeeenggg!”jStNE8
rg8VDe“Ah please! Stop yelling in my ears.”bVeGSl
b47I wondered when this noona, Estelle, would stop clinging onto me.tvBY7
Q8JhJG“Hing~ You’re so cold…”iWuJ4
QWcI“What is it?”gLc
7PHL“Do you want to eat dinner in my tent?”PVaFf
6g8hce“…”59Q
apM1vIWhen I turned my skeptical eyes towards her, Estelle pouted and grumbled.ADYaj
P5WWTv“You’re looking at me as if I’m someone planning to do something lewd.”qTRgqG
mG3R4kA“Are you not?”TXv
0KUZ“Maybe a little bit,” she replied before quickly rewording herself. “… I mean, it’s cold. It’ll be warmer in my tent.”xk8BLn
PSnsf“Sure.” It was quite obvious, but I agreed nonetheless.TLvzA
xOOQkt0“Ah… r, really?”nmWkU
hT2H“We don’t have enough tents either. Let’s use the same one.”6ogz
j66“Sure thing! Come with me!”MYfE
x3bF0OWalking down the dark encampment, we arrived at Estelle’s tent.pla5RHu
DmflIyN“It’s a lot more luxurious than I imagined.”yKf
poogq“I am the Saintess and the Princess, after all.”sVv7Y
IvvAlthough we were on an expedition, just like how the tent of a normal soldier was different from that of an executive officer, Estelle’s tent was luxurious beyond belief as the fundamental symbol and commander of the army.3XhYCB9
WSCeDThere was a large rug of wolf hide on the ground, as well as a thick blanket of duck feathers. On top of that, even her basin of water was made in gold.27XNj
wyxr8“It’s far from practicality, but a member of the royal family has to be distinguished no matter where they go. You would have to get used to this too, Korin-dongsaeng.”xJk
LIblTt“Well… I do have a similar experience.”JBPe6
xSaIn the last iteration, Park Sihu and I would often share the same tent.cxL
br4As a master of all sorts of magic spells, he was able to make up the best environment no matter where we were, and we didn’t lack anything thanks to his inventory.dDa
KKtr1fNow that I think about it, this was my first time having a fully native experience on the field for such a long time.xKKUf
wE6qapThe tent was extravagant, but the same didn’t apply for food.ARaYng
dsAhUsing potatoes, emergency ration food including jerkies and some other ingredients, we made the typical war stew and shared it while discussing future plans.MsJpx2H
ou1lcW“How do you think this war will span out?” Estelle asked.hnVcu
YV8“Who knows. Logically speaking, it would be us attacking the wells and Valtazar trying to defend them.”TWz
EI6f1Xz“It sounds like you have some doubts.”NM0Xtce
7xQ5“Until now, I had been thinking that I was the one leading the big picture.”yV0QOSq
tfSd6XAfter coming back in time, I had planned and prepared countless things.YTDvMN
aufI saved Marie, destroyed the plans around Hua Ran, crumbled the Tower of Mages and the Old Faith, and took in a portion of the northerners.B93
lyGUzZGLooking back at what I had achieved in the past 3 years, all I could say was that they had been fantastic. They were much better than what I was able to do with Park Sihu in the last iteration.p3NP
bsuG8And yet this big picture had begun to twist and distort, and now, it felt like it had been swallowed into the enemy’s big picture.4Xgjl5j
ohze“Even what happened today. I had never imagined Valtazar to have such abilities. Leaving aside the World Tree, this world without light was certainly going completely against our expectations.”59Yd12
GMQFrom the time he didn’t attack Master, to the border city and the haste retreat of the Frost Giant.3pLQ
olVrZWas it me that was drawing a big picture and continuing with it? Or were we playing in the hands of Tates?2twVX8
TAIsmSeeing me ponder to myself, Estelle smiled.JU1G
8xO“So even you have these meaningless worries, dongsaeng!”dvkOmA
zKM4Q9K“Huh? …Hahp!”LpMRTcl
uJyEstelle suddenly shoved her spoon into my mouth. With an enticing smile in her eyes, she started rotating the spoon in my mouth.AMoOWcC
OY34tpThe deep flavor of the stew permeated through my mouth, as she played around with the spoon as if it were a tongue.gpnA
InK6lh“Kuhum…!”ucQZ
NFfNf“Throw away those worries.”qzP
6BYCv“Ububup?”uDNZ3Eh
mFa“You’ve led us very well until this point. You bartered with people, made shrewd plans and sometimes went head-first.”vMHa8f9
9775R3– Us being here is the proof that your hard work has been meaningful.THFapbc
9EST1zH“…”V6VyXAJ
aTUsVThe people around me were really generous with their evaluations of me. Even aside from the actions that I had done, I knew how hard it is to fully trust someone else so I was all the more grateful.R98v
S6rdEven though I wasn’t even that amazing of a person, oddly enough, they trusted me a lot and depended on me.Gv8TpK
JaUO“Then… I guess there’s no choice but to do it.”eqFqQr
JJjNc“Un. I’m sure you will save everyone, dongsaeng. You will save the world. I believe so.”PeJA
EXAASeriously, she wasn’t normal by any means either.szbAy
yILtEJust because of her trust in me, she turned away from the religion she had been believing in her whole life, crushed the pope’s head and united the religions into one.xuP
g13SHonestly, it’s a bit spooky when she tries to talk me into becoming the next gods in line, but she was definitely a reassuring ally to have.Zy1iMOs
Q3ClUmI“Let’s go to bed. It’s probably going to be noisy, but let’s try to preserve our stamina as much as we can.”iNJChX
CoRzfn“Shall we sleep on the same bed then~”2Vmk
eKyHere she was again, trying to tease me. She kept pretending to be an adult and trying to tease whenever possible.yfG
WAjnNND“Sure. Why not.”kgGeVd
HbFEnO“Huh?”2FIolt
CsbrAThat was why I played along with her. It was also… because I was grateful for what she said.rZfy1
XTp0e“Kyaak?!”xjF6
yUJI carried her like the princess she was and headed straight to the bed.anWbHt
O0MFB“Higik… Hugik…!”76p
F7lcEstelle couldn’t calm down even when she was laid down on the soft blankets of the bed.XsJ
2hPtoNV“Well then…”h1ZNu
F5OSpwTReally? Are you serious? Her eyes seemed to be asking me, as her lips opened and closed like a goldfish.ytR
jZGCLEven though she was the one constantly teasing me, she was a coward when push actually came to shove.1eiYB
zZXlB“K, Korin-dongsaeng?”1Z1
MuYFKM7“Shh…”nKt3
UWV88pPlacing my finger on her lips, I whispered with a grin.sxz
cTZbap“Call me oppa for tonight.”8BQ0yKY
pb4“…!”wuY85su
kr3“I promise we’ll just be holding hands.”uMno
pRlAqEstelle was trembling on the bed, not knowing what to say.BzqUi
ddje0QI went on the bed and laid myself down next to the stiff girl. This was my time to teach her a lesson.MHfhu
Jh97DAfter teasing her like that for about an hour, I left the tent.LCCtPFQ
6C9h02lFuu~ I commended myself for holding myself back.umiV
tbcaL****B2LGws
N3rxThe battle continued throughout the night.5DX7cs
MeW0YpQThe Shadow Demons came pouring out regardless of the time, and at times, we had to defeat a group of northerners pretending to be allies.cHk
PriGThere were a few occasions where we were joined by our actual allies and had to restructure our army, but all in all, everything went smoothly with no real threats.76eGvh8
qtXrThis was the power of numbers.aEQer
nD1mfPower of an army.NKtb
vydoIXOur expedition army with one sole purpose was able to cover for the building fatigue and losses by the sheer power of numbers.0Grx
SKpQ29RThat was how powerful it was to be regrouped as one after overcoming chaos and confusion.du87Z
PdYiTo be fair, we had so many knights and mages that anything seemed possible.pLeQF2Q
JCR“Everyone. Wake up! It’s morning!”uq8Bn
XjrjlThe alarm rang across the encampment as soldiers woke each other up. But as expected, it was rare to find anyone that became used to this kind of morning already.Wy92n
Htyr– Ughh… It’s still dark…ToSs
MTHX– Are you sure it’s morning already?gH7H
mWpgBfEven though it was supposed to be in the middle of broad daylight, the world was still dark. It felt like our sense of time was malfunctioning, but we still had a reliable clock.iQWTT
iVpZ3cF“Can we not travel in the sky?”cZA8wZ
6Avypb“I did see a Hresvelgr, but the tree tried to wrap it up with its roots when it got too close.”7nRv
wUxa“We should be able to receive supplies from above. I made a signal with our campfires. With this—”afGIc7
f0hI6OAs they said, humans were adaptable animals. Despite the unimaginable event of the light vanishing from the world, everyone was trying their best to adapt to the new change.gEt
LlG“In any case, it really is dark.”7suG1ce
pxG18“Well no shit. There’s no light. Of course it’s dark.”oKh
4l37b3“No, I mean… It’s like there’s a lid on top of us…”TjpQ6Yq
kms7JThat was when I overheard a soldier’s comment that I could not ignore. Skeptical, I quickly engraved the Rune of the Sun on my Silver Spear.PW70
l5hW“Huh, Sir Korin?”rCGz4
O9xLKtZ“What are you planning to do?”QMU
0WcAction spoke more than words. I threw the spear high into the air, and the Silver Spear leaving a trail of sunlight soared into the sky…eKK
bs2U3– Kajik!LC0
CsE5DYAAnd stopped somewhere. The ambient lighting of the spear soon revealed the ‘tree bark’ that it was piercing through.US91
BVwzhf“Mages! Light up the sky!!”s6WZZMo
8VviheoThe mages quickly responded by shooting light spells into the air. They had been holding their magic back as much as possible to save mana, and everyone was therefore able to respond with their spells.9pkbW
cKRUa“Huh?”XPg
Gjlf“What…”VkkKwU
RX9RWhat was revealed was an enormous face.9mCdl
FvelUFor it to be a titan, however, it looked like a wooden puppet and the skin appeared like a dry bark.4m3v8
fGXGWBut it still had an arm – the enormous hand that was reaching out towards us was the proof.MnVp8
A64h2KI“1.2 kilometers…”b8TVnv
fkKKfOne of the mages predicted the size of that giant. So that’s how big it had to be to cover the entire sky, huh.8wB
Eqj7k“They did us dirty. Seems like the noise overnight was to hide that thing.”nps8GqI
bzFIt was at least 60 times bigger than the King of Titans, Balor. A normal organism could never be so big.UbvEYAh
2hrYggdrasil Wickerman.ESLw6D
PBfDNZGThe giant, reaching 1.2 kilometers in height, pounced down with its fist.BblNQ
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