Chapter 426: The Final Trap!

In the city of Ilz.

“Whoa, so this is the elves’ lair? Fancier than an embroidered tapestry, ain’t it?”

As he stepped into Ilz, Charkin let out a low whistle of amazement.

“Is this your first time here, Charkin?”

Hulim asked, curious.

“Yep.”

Charkin nodded.

“Never been welcome here, and we dwarves don’t care much for fancy places like this anyway. Truth be told, not many dwarves have set foot in Ilz at all.”

“I’ve been here once before, though.”

Eugene cut in, his chin held high.

“Oh really? Didn’t peg you for the type to visit a place like this.”

“Hmph! Unlike you two layabouts, I hold a proper official position. It’s only natural I’d come here to negotiate with the elves for various matters.”

He paused, then added gruffly,

“Still, you’re right about one thing, Charkin—this whole place looks like it’ll crumble if you sneeze too hard. Can’t believe they’d build their capital somewhere so fragile. Our dwarf fortresses of black stone are true strongholds, every inch of ’em.”

“Tch, tch. Typical elves—prioritizing luxury over security, wasting resources on all this useless frippery.”

Aznov chimed in, craning his neck to gawk at the ornate architecture around them.

“Imagine how much gold we could get if we sold all this stuff! What a waste...... a total waste......”

“Exactly! Pure waste!”

“Couldn’t agree more!”

“......”

Hulim fell silent.

She’d agreed to travel with the dwarves to guard against any potential Gulos reinforcements, but right now—

Maybe she really should have come back alone with Ignir instead.

“Charkin.”

Hulim came to a halt.

“And you two as well.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

The three dwarves stopped in their tracks, turning to stare at her in unison.

“I forgot to mention—I’ll be giving Irus a full report of our journey once this is over.”

“Including everything you just said.”

“?” “?” “?”

......

Inside the elven royal palace.

As always, it was Sylvia who stood before the assembled leaders, delivering her briefing.

“With the arrival of the dwarf legion and their capture of the northern pass, we now have a de facto north-south pincer formation. In terms of both overall combat strength and strategic positioning, we no longer hold any disadvantage against Gulos.”

“For these reasons, I believe the time has come to launch a full-scale offensive against Gulos.”

With that, she turned her gaze toward Irus.

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Every eye in the chamber followed suit, locking onto Irus’s figure.

“I understand.”

Irus rose slowly to her feet, her gaze sweeping over the gathered crowd.

Then she spoke, her voice ringing clear and firm.

“Prepare yourselves for the final battle, everyone. The next time we take the field—”

“Will be the decisive clash.”

......

Night fell.

The World Tree glowed with a soft, star-like radiance, its light spilling over the city of Ilz.

Hulim sat alone on the edge of the city’s outermost wall, gazing up at the tree.

“Color me surprised—never thought I’d see Hulim sitting alone like this, enjoying the view.”

“It’s not that surprising. After all, Hulim’s been growing up fast, hasn’t she?”

“Is that so? So much can change in half a year...... Though to be fair, the way she transformed back in Mirnabith was far more shocking.”

Hulim turned her head.

Standing behind her were two familiar figures—a dwarf and a dragon.

“Charkin? Ignir? What are you two doing wandering around at this hour?”

“Wandering? Please.”

Charkin shrugged, leaning against the wall beside her.

“Got no interest in sightseeing in an elf city.”

He tilted his head back, staring up at the World Tree towering above them.

Then he clicked his tongue.

“Tch. Still can’t believe a place this amazing is wasted on elves.”

“......If dwarves like you moved in here en masse, it’d be even more out of place, you know.”

“Haha, touché~!”

Ignir let out a booming laugh.

“If a bunch of dwarves like Charkin took over, they’d probably build a bunch of ugly black stone piles right next to the World Tree. Total eyesores.”

“You insolent lizard! Daring to mock dwarven pragmatism!”

“Pragmatism? More like total lack of taste.”

“Why you—wanna fight?!”

“Ignir——”

Hulim cut in, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought you spent all your time napping in the palace gardens?”

“Hmph~. Even dragons need to stretch their wings once in a while.”

“Though I did follow this guy here after seeing him sneaking around like a thief. Curious to see what he was up to.”

“I’ve told you a hundred times—I was meditating to calm my mind!”

“Meditating to calm your mind?”

Hulim looked at Charkin in confusion.

“Yep. Kinda like a ritual I do before every big battle,” Charkin explained, scratching the back of his head. “Helps me clear my head so I don’t make stupid mistakes when the fighting starts.”

Meditation......

Hulim fell into thought.

She turned back to gaze up at the World Tree, its light warm against her face.

In her own way, she supposed she’d been doing the same thing lately—preparing herself.

......

Beneath the World Tree.

Far from the city of Ilz, stood the Holy Tree Temple.

At this moment, all unnecessary personnel had been cleared from the temple grounds.

Irus walked alone into the temple’s inner sanctum.

Her expression solemn, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

She began to reach out to the one and only will that only she could communicate with.

“World Tree, hear my prayer.”

Ping~!

The temple was instantly bathed in a brilliant, sacred light. A vast consciousness stirred within the World Tree’s massive trunk, descending before Irus like a living presence.

“Bestow your blessings upon the people of Ilz, and tell me—what exactly do Gulos intend to—”

Irus’s plea was cut short as the World Tree’s will flooded her mind with a single, terrifying revelation.

Irus’s face paled instantly.

A trap!

......

Ping~!

Inside the Gulos headquarters.

A faint crimson glow suddenly flared to life in Darius’s arms.

After sitting motionless on his throne for what felt like an eternity, Darius snapped his head up, his eyes blazing with madness.

“At long last—the moment we’ve been waiting for has arrived!”

“Let the end begin!”

Hum——!!!

All across the land outside Ilz, massive crimson pillars of light erupted from the ground, forming a perfect circle around the World Tree—a colossal cage that stretched from earth to sky.

And then the sky itself began to darken, quickly fading from deep blue to a blood-chilling shade of crimson......

“What in the world...... are those things?!”

On the city wall, Charkin stared in horror at the pillars of light piercing the sky, his eyes wide as saucers.

As the crimson dome spread across the heavens, the entire world was bathed in the eerie, hellish glow of twilight.

Hulim’s expression turned grave as she glanced back at the World Tree, her heart sinking.

Charkin realized the truth a split second later, his face going white with shock.

“It can’t be......”

“Those Gulos bastards——”

“They’re trying to destroy the World Tree?!”

The World Tree.

It was the only god-tier entity in this world besides the gods of Tiramsuin.

It possessed no offensive power whatsoever, and its abilities were extremely limited. But like all god-tier beings, its true strength lay in its boundless vitality—a vitality so immense that destroying it should have been impossible.

Its colossal trunk was intertwined with the very fabric of the world, its mana reserves limitless beyond comprehension. And it possessed a will of its own, ancient and wise.

For ordinary people, merely leaving a scratch on the World Tree would have been a herculean task. Even S-Rank powerhouses, fighting with all their might, could barely hope to damage it in any meaningful way.

Of course, the World Tree was the very heart of Himril. Anyone with half a brain would realize that controlling the World Tree meant controlling the world itself.

But because destroying it seemed so utterly impossible, no one had ever considered that Gulos would dare to try.

Yet as they stared at the crimson cage surrounding the World Tree, the people of Himril realized they had made a fatal mistake.

They had underestimated Gulos’s power.

Or rather......

They had underestimated the dark forces of the demon race lurking behind Gulos.