volume 1 - Chapter 38 (2/2)

“Your task is to listen to the tremors from the ground, if you discover anything you must tell us straight away.”

“Understood, Brendel.”

“Then let’s move out. Once we cross the array of rocks below us, we will approach the Golden Demonic Tree. Pay attention to the formation below, as there’s a broken layer that will delay the Golden Demonic Tree from discovering us.” Brendel started moving as he spoke, and ran up to the protruding boulder, then signaled to Romaine and Freya to come over to him.

Freya grabbed Romaine’s hand and went over. She did so to prevent her from running around the place and to protect her at the same time. Also, she wanted him to concentrate on his task, and once the opportunity presented itself, they could attack the Golden Demonic Tree.

The three of them quickly rushed towards the indicated spot. He did not remember wrongly as they did not receive any attacks. But once they crossed the zone, Romaine immediately heard something from the ground.

“Brendel, there are noises in the ground.”

His heart thumped loudly, and he immediately yelled: “Scatter, scatter now!”

Freya instantly pushed Romaine to the sides, and the three of them separated from each other. Two thick vines sprang from the ground. The Golden Demonic Tree did not expect the insects here to foresee its attack, and the roots received Brendel’s attack without being prepared for it.

The youth cleaved into the center of the vines that were as thick as a bucket. It bit deeply into them, and silver flames immediately burst forth, burning them with a crackling sound. The Golden Demonic Tree trembled in pain from the attack, and the entire valley reverberated with a buzz.

[It’s calling for reinforcement again.]

Brendel’s heart sank. Time was running out. He looked back and saw Freya dodging the vines gracefully, and countered by slas.h.i.+ng onto them. Even she only managed to cut through a third of the vine’s body, the clean attack impressed him.

[A great improvement in her swordsmans.h.i.+p. She benefited a lot from the dream.]

“Brendel, there’s another sound!” Romaine had moved towards the edge of the battlefield before turning around and yelling.

“How far?” Brendel yelled subconsciously, but immediately noticed his mistake. He had treated Romaine as a ‘Nightingale’ in the party, but she was only more sensitive in her perception and not a professional scout in the game.

“70 to 100 meters, probably.” Romaine thought for a moment.

“That far?” Brendel was taken aback slightly, before chopping off the vine that was attacking him. The remaining stump lost its vitality and sank down lifelessly; the place where it was cut off was burned black.

“60 meters.”

Brendel hesitated for a while, even though he found it a little incredulous, he decided to trust her: “Freya, enough! Do you see that small path over there, prepare to go over there.”

Freya’s actions only stopped for a split second before she raised the sword over her chest, and defended against the vine who whipped her over to one side. The ‘Feathers of Wind’ lit up and became a web of light, negating most of the impact and she rolled on the ground several times before climbing up. She was already at Romaine’s side.

“Romaine, let’s go!” She grabbed the merchant girl’s hand and ran to the indicated location.

“Ehhh! What about Brendel?”

“He will definitely catch up.”

[Oh? That la.s.s has finally learned to trust me and not overextend herself.]

Brendel was relieved. He was afraid that Freya would make things complicated by staying behind. The vine that attacked Freya went after her again, but Brendel severed it into two from the earlier opening she made.

He did not dare to stay behind any longer with the enemies cleared. The movement below the ground was loud enough that he even could hear them, proving that Romaine’s judgment was accurate. But he was still surprised, how could that ditsy girl hear something at least 70 meters away?

[If I calculate it…. that’s at least 5 OZ worth of perception.]

That thought only appeared for just a split second and he immediately ran away. It was not hard for him to catch up to Freya and Romaine, but the three of them were constantly interrupted by the roots appearing.

Then suddenly, they heard a huge boom at the southern valley, and all the vines that were attacking them pulled back.

Brendel did not need to say anything, but the girls knew that the Rock Wurm had joined the fray.

“Did we win?” Romaine asked in delight.

He shook his head. They still had to enter the heart of the valley. In the remaining time, the Golden Demonic Tree would constantly measure which side was more threatening and move its numerous roots to stop them. This defense would not last very long and ultimately end in their victory.

As long as they managed to do it within the time frame.

There was less than five minutes.

<script>