Chapter 427: The Battle for the World Tree Begins

Inside the Holy Tree Temple.

The moment Irus sensed something was wrong, she immediately moved to sever her connection with the World Tree.

But Darius had spent years preparing for this moment—for the exact instant the World Tree’s will manifested. He would not give them even a single second to react.

Ninety-nine Pillars of Sacrifice, forged over endless years with rivers of blood and mountains of resentment, now converged to form the most malevolent curse array in the history of Himril—the Earth-Star Curse Array.

“Your efforts are futile.”

From across the vast distance separating them, Darius seemed to see Irus and the World Tree’s desperate resistance.

“This was originally a world-class magic capable of attacking the very fabric of reality itself—powerful enough to annihilate an entire weak world. Every struggle you make is meaningless.”

A world-class magic designed to destroy worlds, now repurposed to curse the will hiding within the tree. It bypassed the World Tree’s bottomless vitality entirely, aiming to erase it at the soul level!

The moment the World Tree’s will had emerged in response to Irus’s call, it had detected the overwhelming malice closing in around it.

It had tried to retreat back into its colossal trunk at once, but the curse struck in the blink of an eye.

Once its will had been marked by the curse, there was no hiding from it anymore.

The fully activated array would slowly wear it down, grinding it into nothingness.

“World Tree——!”

Irus felt a surge of panic unlike anything she had ever known, a feeling as if she were about to lose the most precious thing in her life.

She poured all her strength into trying to reestablish her connection with the World Tree, but every message she sent vanished into the void without a single reply. Her heart sank deeper and deeper with each passing second.

It was clear.

The World Tree’s will had been imprisoned.

And that meant she could no longer draw any power from the World Tree to aid her......

“Hahaha! Hahahahaha......”

Outside the sacrificial cage, Darius let out a wild, triumphant laugh.

“At long last—the day has come!”

“World! Prepare to meet your doom! Hahahahaha——!”

......

Inside the city of Ilz.

Every face was ashen with dread, and many bore traces of outright panic.

“Mobilize every able-bodied warrior we have!”

Irus’s voice was heavy with resolve.

“Destroy all ninety-nine pillars at any cost! Remember this——”

Her piercing gaze swept over every person assembled before her.

“If the World Tree falls, our world will fall with it!”

No one dared to hesitate for a moment.

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Every last elven soldier in Ilz marched out to war. And it was not just Ilz—the orc army stationed at Wintermoon Hill to the south, and the dwarf legion guarding the northern pass, all launched a full-scale assault at the exact same moment.

At the very same time.

Gulos had long since finished their preparations.

In the south.

Hunos stared out at the massive army of three races marching toward him, muttering to himself.

“Now this is what I call a spectacle~!”

“Hmph. Though it looks like we’re gonna have to fight to the death to stop them from taking down the pillars......”

“Honestly, why do these things have to stay rooted once they’re activated? Such a pain in the neck.”

“That being said——”

He cracked his knuckles, a wild, bloodthirsty glint flashing in his eyes.

“Sitting back and playing defense has never been my style.”

“Alright then—let’s raise some hell!”

Rumble......

As his voice faded, a tide of monsters stretched as far as the eye could see surged forward from behind him, charging toward the battlefield.

And it was not just in the south.

Across this vast battlefield spanning hundreds of kilometers, Gulos had deployed their forces to defend every single direction.

In the east, Arudok polished his greatsword in silence.

In the southeast, Freydia stood motionless, her gaze distant, lost in thought.

In the west, Molbai unleashed a flurry of earth magic, reshaping the battlefield to suit his fighting style.

In the northeast, a blizzard of goose-feather snow fell endlessly around Kina, but she did not even glance at the oncoming allied army. Instead, her eyes remained fixed firmly on the southeast.

And in every other direction, Gulos monster legions and their commanders stood guard, ready to fight.

BOOM——!

A deafening roar echoed across the sky.

A green meteor streaked directly toward the Gulos headquarters.

Its immense magical power blazed unrestrainedly, announcing its arrival to the entire world.

BOOM——!

An equally powerful aura erupted from the Gulos headquarters in response.

It rose into the sky, confronting the green meteor head-on.

“Darius!”

Irus glared furiously at the figure standing before her, summoning a bow and drawing it taut with all her strength.

WHOOSH——!

An arrow of pure light shot toward Darius with earth-shattering force.

“Hmph.”

Irus let out a cold snort.

He clenched his right hand.

SWISH!

A jet-black spear flew into his grasp, and a suit of fearsome black armor materialized around his body, covering him from head to toe.

He raised the obsidian spear and thrust it forward with all his might.

BOOM——!

The air was torn apart in an instant. A black spear-shaped blast shot forward, colliding with the incoming arrow of light.

Rumble......

The two forces clashed, exploding into a dazzling sphere of light visible to every corner of the battlefield.

“Irus Verdantstar Fael.”

Darius stared at the figure in the distance, his voice cold and mocking.

“Without the tree’s protection, do you truly believe you stand a chance against me now?”

The bow in Irus’s hands dissolved into motes of light, merging back into her body.

“Without the World Tree’s protection...... so what?”

Irus’s gaze locked onto Darius, unwavering. Her elven battle attire began to glow with a brilliant gold-green light, and three wands radiating immense power rose slowly behind her back.

She reached out and grasped one of them.

“Even without its protection, I will defeat you here—with all my strength!”

HUM!

The three S-Rank Holy Tree Staves, forged from the very heart of the World Tree, resonated with one another, their powers intertwining to form a magic circle that cycled mana endlessly.

“Hmph. Arrogant fool!”

Darius raised his obsidian demon spear, utterly unimpressed.

“Today, your story comes to an end.”

In the next instant.

The sky blazed with light once more as the two S-Rank powerhouses clashed in earnest.

......

BOOM! BOOM......

The bursts of light exploding in the distant sky drew Hulim’s gaze.

“Irus has already made her move.”

After a moment,

she tore her eyes away, turning to face the path ahead.

“I need to hurry.”

“ROAR!”

“ROAR!”

“ROAR......”

A massive tide of monsters stretched as far as the eye could see surged toward her, blackening the horizon.

Hulim raised the Seven Luminaries.

HUM——!

Layer upon layer of enormous magic circles unfolded around her.

A few seconds later, the plains ahead erupted in a sea of colossal fireballs.

When the flames finally died down, the entire area had been transformed into a volcanic wasteland, covered in molten lava. Countless charred monster corpses littered the ground.

Hulim lifted her head, staring at one of the crimson pillars glowing in the distance. She frowned thoughtfully.

If I get bogged down fighting these monsters, I’ll never have time to destroy all the pillars.

With that thought, she called out.

“Ignir.”

“Hm? What is it?”

The crimson dragon turned his gaze toward her.

“I leave this place to you. I’m going to destroy those pillars.”

Without waiting for Ignir’s response, Hulim shot into the sky, streaking toward the pillars. She vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

“What? Leave this to me? Wait a second!”

Ignir tried to call her back, but Hulim was already long gone.

He sighed heavily, helpless.

“......But I wanted to smash those pillars too.”