Chapter 596

Chapter 596

The distant and deserted island with an active volcano was usually remote from people's thoughts. Yet, this island was now letting its presence known to all. It poured out smoke and lava from its crater on a whole different level from before. The earth trembled while the wind blew, and accordingly, the ocean around the island wildly rocked back and forth.

Baaam!

An entire side of the island blew off, and parts of the island flew far into the ocean and created a giant splash. Bright red lava poured out at the area where the island broke. When it made contact with the cold ocean water, it generated huge steam and covered the island's surroundings.

Soon, an enormous amount of mana shot up and scattered the fog instantly. Then, a figure came into view. Each of the green leaves hanging from its branches oozed out great vitality and mighty mana flowed across its brown body, showcasing its magnificence. As its thick roots gripped the earth, it appeared as if it could endure any storm no matter how strong it was. In the cross-section where the island had split apart, Zich and his companions looked up at the tree.

The mana it exuded evoked awe and fear in its viewers. Even if it claimed to be a god or a godlike being, no one would be able to refute it.

"...That must be the real World Tree," Zich murmured. After the second inhibition system that had been binding it completely disappeared, the World Tree combined with its clones to form a single entity. In more exact terms, its clones had been pulled into it, making up this one giant tree that was floating in front of their eyes.

"To think they've been detaining something like this. It makes me realize the might of the Clowon Empire."

"From what I know, it didn't fiercely resist when getting bound. Although it has its own will, it's not very strong. Of course, the empire's strength was formidable too."

Zich and Lyla exchanged opinions, but unlike them, the other companions—such as Hans—didn't even dare open their mouths. They were overwhelmed by the World Tree's presence and simply looked at the great existence blankly.

Zing! The World Tree exerted its mana slightly. It was a great amount, but no one felt threatened because it was the warm and calm sort of mana.

"Is it thanking us?"

"Probably."

The World Tree pushed out its mana again. It was much rougher and more destructive than the mana from before.

Crunch!

They weren't sure, but Zich and his company thought they heard a loud cracking sound, and when they looked up, they saw that the sky was cracking. The greater the mana from the World Tree, the larger the cracks grew. Soon, a hole big enough for the World Tree to easily fit through formed in the sky, and a multitude of colorful lights wavered beyond it. The World Tree floated up and slowly went entered the hole.

"It's leaving."

"Yes."

Zich and his company watched until the World Tree entirely disappeared into the hole. Then, the hole gradually got smaller until it completely disappeared. All that was left was the blue sky, but even that was covered by the steam that formed from the clash between the lava and the ocean water. Everything they had aimed to do here was completed now—at least for the matters of destroying the Brushel System and freeing the World Tree—and they still needed to sweep away the rest of Ultel's army. Zich was about to order the rest of his companions to return when he stopped.

"Huh?" Zich stopped moving when he felt a familiar sensation on his back. He stretched out his hand and pulled out the thing hanging there. It was Windur.

"...Why didn't it take this?" Windur was a sword made from a branch of the World Tree and was a part of it too. Zich thought it would return as part of the World Tree once the tree departed. Lyla looked at the sword with wide eyes.

"Did it just forget about it?"

"Something like this...? Zich was about to refute what Lyla said, but then he pursed his lips. Windur was certainly a rare sword with immeasurable value to a human, but leaving just one of its branches could not mean much for the World Tree.

"...Did it really just forget and leave it here?"

Ziing! Zich had finally decided on the matter when Windur cried out in denial. Simultaneously, the World Tree's mana bloomed out of its blades and disappeared.

"...The mana that the World Tree is sending through Windur hasn't been cut off yet."

"Then, did it really purposefully leave it here? Maybe to pay me back?"

Ziiing! Windur rang again. Its ringing was longer than last time as if it was agreeing with Lyla. Zich glanced down at Windur and hung it on his back again.

"Well, this is good for me. There's no need for me to think so hard about it." There was no sword better than Windur, and furthermore, the World Tree's mana hadn't been cut off from it yet. There was not a single bad consequence about Windur remaining with him.

"Let's return now. We have to stomp those remaining Bellid insects."

If the allied forces were still at war, they needed to eradicate the rest of Ultel's subordinates.

***

When Zich returned to the allied forces' territory, the two forces were still clashing without a resolution in sight. However, the battle was on hold, and since the Bellids' main forces had disappeared, the Bellids were reluctant to attack first. Of course, the situation was completely different now. The Bellids' main forces had been completely eradicated, while Zich's company returned without a single loss. No, considering that they had Windur, the World Tree's mana, Lyla, and Tornium, their forces had actually increased compared to before; in particular, the World Tree's mana transferred to Zich through Windur was overwhelming.

Baaaam!

"Kuaaah!"

"Aghhhh!"

With just one swing, Zich left a huge scar in the ground. All of his enemies—whether they were humans, monsters, or the undead—were destroyed.

"Block it!"

"The high-ranking monsters. Send out the high-level monsters!" Enormous monsters blocked Zich's path. He didn't know if it was because high-level monsters couldn't fit inside the tower or because they had been placed here to support the Bellid armies that lost their main force, but all of the high-level large monsters still remained on the battlefield. They were not opponents that even the most talented people could easily deal with. However, Zich had already freed all his mana and he even had mana supply from the World Tree. The high-level monsters were nothing but slightly bigger bugs to crush.

Bam! Bam! The monsters' hard skin, tough muscles, and strong bones could not stop Zich's sword for even a moment. As soon as they entered Zich's path, all of the monsters were shattered into pieces. The Bellid army became paralyzed.

Zich wasn't even moving fast; he was walking at the pace of an ordinary person briskly marching. However, all those who rushed to stop him were obliterated without even being able to properly resist. Nothing could slow down his steps at all, let alone block him.

A person who seemed to be the commander shouted, "Stop him! We must stop him until the main force returns no matter what!"

They were waiting for people who would never be able to come back. The Bellids seemed to be unable to understand why Zich and his companions came back but their main forces weren't able to return.

'Well, there was no need for Ultel to tell them.' From Ultel's point of view, if he caught Zich and found out the way to fix the Brushel System, he could immediately regress, so there was no point telling the Bellids on the battlefield about their situation. To be honest, as long as Ultel could catch Zich, he probably wouldn't have even blinked if all of his subordinates were wiped out on the battlefield. It was a pitiful situation for them, but Zich just continued to swing Windur.

'I probably wouldn't feel sorry for anyone else either, and they're the Bellids of all people.' Why would anyone feel sorry for bugs? Rather than wasting sympathy for the Bellids, it was much better to give a penny to a beggar one met on the street. The allies continued to push the Bellids back, and the Bellids continued to fall.

In every way, it was clear that the Bellids had no chance of victory. No matter how powerful their faith was, not all of the Bellids could hold onto their fanaticism in the face of death. Some of them were slowly showing signs of defying orders and trying to back out. If even one person successfully ran away, a hopeless atmosphere would spread through the Bellid army in an instant, and their enemies would collapse. The Bellid commander fell into despair. He was angry that he failed to fulfill the orders given by their heavenly and glorious pope. However, it was still too early for them to give up hope.

"I-it's an ally!" A subordinate next to him looked back and shouted, and the commander also quickly turned his head. A group of people was running from beyond the horizon. They were all dressed in robes, and the commander's expression brightened.

"The Pope has sent reinforcements! Hang in there a little longer!" the commander's voice roared. His face, which had almost been drained of color, was slowly becoming energized again. The other Bellids also saw the robed people running toward them from the distance. They thought that the robed figures were Demon People, and there were a huge number of them. With such numbers, it seemed as if they could even suppress Zich, who was slaughtering the Bellids from the forefront. Hadn't the Demon People successfully stopped Zich in the previous battle?

Some Bellids had tried to escape as their morale hit rock bottom, but they were all fundamentally fanatics—as soon as they thought that strong allies were going to support them, their fighting spirit burned up again.

"The great Bellu is protecting us! Even if we die here, we will find eternal glory in Bellu's arms! Give your life to our god, Bellu!"

[Ooooowaaaa!]

With a loud cry, the Bellids ran towards the allied forces again, and as expected, they were killed as soon as they went near Zich. However, they didn't give up. When those robed figures arrived, they could balance out the fighting power once again.

The robed figures arrived behind the Bellids in an instant. The Bellids were about to move out of their way when—

"Aghhhh!"

"W-what! Why are you...aghhhhhhh!" The robed figures began cutting down the Bellids. The Bellids were unable to retaliate properly and quickly died.

"T-they're enemies!"

"Those guys aren't our allies!"

Only then did some Bellids notice the flashing armor hidden beneath the robes. The others also realized that the robed figures they had thought were their allies were actually enemies. Naturally, the Bellids' morale was completely shattered. The Bellids fell into a panic, spewed out blood one by one, and collapsed. Some Bellids tried to escape, but it was impossible.

There were allied forces in the front and fake robes in the back. They were completely surrounded. It was clear why the allied forces had disguised a fraction of their troops and sent them behind the Bellids despite already being at an advantage—it was to not even let a single person escape.

"N-no way..." The Bellid commander felt devastated as he saw his allies dying everywhere. However, these feelings did not last long.

"Are you the leader?"