Chapter 395: Sacrifice [1]

As soon as Damien's body merged with the Primordial Undying Tree, the torrent of energy flooding into him became ferocious.

It charged through his Mana Circuits like a horde of raging bulls, threatening to destroy his internals with its sheer quantity and density.

Damien gritted his teeth and endured. He had expected the amount of energy in the purple fruit to be immense, but this kind of volatile movement was completely out of his expectations.

After all, the essence he had gained from the Primordial Undying Tree previously was incredibly gentle.

But none of that mattered now. From his Mana Circuits, the energy found its way into his Mana Heart and even entered the Void Flame that was resting within. It perforated through his body, soon exiting his circuits and merging with his physical body as well.

'Devour.'

Damien mobilized his most useful skill. Although he had now gained a degree of control over Void Essence, the properties of Devour weren't something he could emulate.

Not only did Devour steal traits from others and make them his own, but it also optimized his growth to perfectly suit his needs. No matter how much control and ability he has, this kind of precision was impossible because of human error.

But the Void Physique didn't have that same risk of human error. It could complete these tasks incredibly easily. As he became further in tune with Void Essence, he slowly realized how insane his Void Physique actually was.

The energy from the Primordial Undying Fruit continued to perforate through his body, eventually merging with every part of him. Even the parts of himself that he couldn't see personally, like the area where his mana was stored.

It was at this time that a second essence infiltrated his body. Since he had been warned beforehand, he didn't panic when he saw it. It was simply the Primordial Undying Tree helping him digest its essence.

As if feeling the essence's intent, the Void Essence used through devour surrounded it and merged into it. These two essences began working together to perfectly mold Damien's body with the energy of the purple fruit.

'Ha! It's like the process became automated. At this rate, I just have to sit back and watch as it takes place.' Damien inwardly marveled.

But unlike what he expected, he wasn't given the opportunity to be lazy.

[The Primordial Undying Tree wishes to tell you a story.]

The notification was abrupt, both in appearance and content. Damien didn't know what kind of story this old tree wanted to show him. But he didn't think such a being would do anything without meaning, so he quietly accepted.

His vision turned black.

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he felt was that his body wasn't his own. It was larger and more robust, while being rugged and scarred from battle.

'This is..:'

[The Primordial Undying Tree urges you to watch.]

Damien stopped thinking and focused on the scene around him. His eyes widened in shock the second he did so.

He didn't even realize how he was able to calmly think without realizing what was happening in his surroundings. It was a battle of untold proportions.

Divine spirits and Godbeasts flew through the air regularly, completely unlike their almost extinct status today. On the ground. Countless races stood side by side facing an enemy.

As for the enemy, it was just as he expected it to be. The Nox. Black dragons corrupted by Nox mana fought against the Divine Dragons on the resistance side, humans turned their backs on each other for easy power, it was a conglomeration of betrayals.

And in the center of it were the Nox themselves. Mindless beings stained in the color of ink zipped through the battlefield and claimed thousands of lives in an instant. Their desire seemed to be for nothing other than blood.

The body Damien was currently inhabiting was that of an elf. A 4th class elf who, although he might've been a figure of power in his own world, was nothing more than another soldier on this battlefield.

His arms moved on their own. A plain-looking arrow was knocked on an articulate bow made of wood that still emitted vitality. The bowstring was pulled back as mana raged from his body. In the next instant, he fired.

BOOM!

The arrow flew straight and steady without any deviation from its original path. Within a few seconds, it had already flown hundreds of kilometers into the enemy camp, piercing the ground with heavy impact and causing a massive explosion.

Blots of ink spread in the air as the bodies of Nox soldiers and Devil Worshippers were blown to shreds. Before the explosion even died down, another arrow had been fired.

Sweat trickled down the elf's brow.

'I can only give so much support. Luckily for me, they are only sending their soldiers at 3rd class or below. But the fact that I, as a 4th class, must be deployed to deal with them is shameful to our alliance.'

Despite his thoughts, he kept firing arrows. He didn't stop until he couldn't see any more enemies in front of him.

'This wave is finished, but how many has it been already? My mana will be depleted soon.'

As Damien looked around through the eyes of that elf, he noticed the sheer scale of the battle. The number of corpses littering the ground numbered far greater than he could count.

'Is this number in the hundreds of thousands? Maybe even the millions? That's fucking insane.'

He had lived a life surrounded by blood, but seeing this many corpses piled up in a single place still shook him.

'What kind of place is this?'

He had seen records of the battle with the Nox 10,000 years ago, but something like this wasn't included in that at all.

This wasn't a war, it was more like a final struggle against an unbeatable opponent.

The looks on the faces of those who lived were dull. They clung to survival, but didn't have any hope of living to see the next day. Even the elf warrior that Damien was inhabiting was the same.

'The second they mobilize 4th class existences, the people here will be massacred'

It didn't take long for him to realize it. Including the elf warrior, 10 4th classes had been mobilized on the alliance side, while none had been seen from the Nox.

It was due to the sheer difference in numbers.

Some of the elf's memories entered Damien's mind as he shared the man's body.

The alliance was made up of millions of troops from various different races. But when compared to the Nox, even these numbers were minuscule.

Because even in this battle alone, the Nox were able to mobilize troops numbering in the millions. And due to the fact that a great deal of those troops were other races who were corrupted by their own greed, the Nox were able to conserve their own forces.

In a drawn-out war, they had the absolute advantage. It wasn't even fair to consider it a close fight.

'We've held on until now, but how long will it last?'

The elf's thoughts were negative, but the flames in his eyes never vanished. He had people to protect, an entire race worth of them. But in the bottom of his heart, he knew it.

'I'm...tired.'