Chapter 423. Brutal Battle.

Edharen had been living for a while in the Golden Sap Country. To be honest, he liked it here. The direction of development was also something that he had never imagined being possible. In the Ceperet World, regardless of how optimistic one was, everyone accepted that if they wanted their own World Tree to succeed, they needed to eliminate all other ones. 

That knowledge was something that made many beings hesitant. Of course, there were power-hungry people everywhere. Therefore, groups that actively attack others exist. However, inside the leadership of the strongest World Trees, pacifist people existed. They were both a blessing and a curse for the three major World Trees: <Celestial Lotus>, <Azure Rose>, and <Verdant Skyflower>. 

Still, with Liu Shu, also dubbed by others as the <Heavenly Willow>, such problems didn’t exist. Somehow, that gorgeous and enormous World Tree was able to put other major flora under her domain and make them accommodate each other. Therefore, for a future where another being like his savior, Life Tree Hua, didn’t have to sacrifice herself, Hua Edharen chose to fight the foes in Tianlian Liu Shu’s path.

“<Terragore King>, I am your opponent!”

“GRAAAHHH!!!”

BOOM!

The lion knight collided with the monster, and an instant later, it was clear who had the advantage. Edharen, even when he used his perfectly trained body to resist being flung back, felt his feet leaving the ground as he was blasted backward. 

BANG!

He hit the wall of the cave with enough strength to cause a small tremor. However, his face under his helmet only gained a small grimace before he launched himself back against the powerful foe. ‘His <Physique> should be in the 70 thousands…’

Edharen himself had around 25,000 <Physique>, and after the buffs from the World Trees, that number reached between 30 and 40 thousand. That was still over 30,000 behind the absolute creature that the Terragore King represented. A king of a race was not so easy to overcome.

Still, the Lion Knight didn’t hesitate. “<Lion Pounce>!”

His body surged with energy, and he shot once more against the <Terragore King> before it moved its gaze toward the rest. The Terragore King, noticing his approach, moved like a shadow and swung its metallic claws against his body. Edharen’s pupils shrank as he barely released a sword skill to attack it. “<Three Knight Lion Fangs>!”

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Three instant strikes struck the brutish claw strike, slowing it down. Still, it was far from enough to stop the <Terragore King>.

BOOM!

Edharen’s armor dented, and his body shot upward, slamming against the ceiling. “GAH!” His vision flickered, and all his air was forcefully expelled from his lungs. The Terragore King looked upward, ready to finish Edharen off. However, a few hundred beings rushed from the sides, attacking him. 

They were summons created for this exact moment. The Terragore King would’ve usually ignored the weak summons. After all, they couldn’t hurt him if they lacked even the strength to pierce his skin. 

Still, knowing that, the summons all had poisonous properties. Moreover, the poison came in pollen, sharp thorns, or other forms. Such things were enough to make the animal-like instinct of the Terragore King register the summons as threats, which he started attacking indiscriminately right away.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

His claws danced wildly, killing a few of the summons each second. The creatures came in many forms. Some were animal-like creatures, others were plant beings, and others were insectoids or even elemental golems. Regardless of their form or shape, when the long and sharp claws of the Terragore King landed on them, their bodies were sliced as if they were made out of loose mud instead. 

One of the people from the bait group shouted. “Where are the reinforcements!? We can’t hold him back for long!”

To stay away from the detection range of the <Terragore King>, the rest of the groups were quite far away. The vice captain, a Sylvan woman, shouted. “We need to hold him back for six minutes!”

“Six minutes!?”

Many people paled. They were ready to sacrifice their lives to take this monster down. However, if the reinforcements arrived in six minutes, whether they’d be alive by then was a question they couldn’t answer!

Liu Shu intervened at this time, her roots rushing at the Terragore King fearlessly. The Terragore King noticed, and he stopped massacring the summons around him to focus on those pesky roots. Before, they had been the only ones that managed to put a scratch on him, so they were on his high-priority list. 

Liu Shu’s dozens of roots sneaked around, slamming him like powerful tentacles that didn’t lose to him in speed. At Level 60, Liu Shu’s <Physique> attribute was 44,949. Adding some buffs later, like her Titles and Temples, that number increased by 32%, reaching 59,332 points. 

While it was still lower than the <Terragore King>’s overall stats, their strength was enough to not be like mud in front of him. ‘Ugh… He is so strong.’

As she waved her roots with the new skills she gained during the <Wall Forest> contest, she was able to exchange blows with him. However, even when her roots landed on him, the damage was just between 200,000 and 300,000. With over 3,000 Phoer Body Cores that the monster had, she would need a thousand hits to kill it! Before she could do that, all the roots in the vicinity would be cut to pieces. 

Edharen fell from the ceiling, coughing a few times. Still, he was alive and able to fight. Trusting Liu Shu’s control over her roots, he rushed forward into the fray and slashed at the Terragore King. The monster, annoyed at the persistent fly that dared challenge him, turned around and slashed down at him with the intention of flattening his body.

Liu Shu sneered. ‘I knew you’d do this.’

Over a dozen roots suddenly coiled around his extended arm, and Edharen’s eyes flashed. “<Flowing Lion Slash>!”

His sword glowed with a small golden light, and he slashed at the shoulder area of the Terragore King. 

Cree!!!

The screeching sound of metal sliding against metal filled everyone’s ears as Edharen’s sword tried to cut through the armored body of the Terragore King. 

[-234,500]!

Edharen’s face was full of disbelief. ‘So shallow!? My sword can’t cut through!’

Liu Shu also noticed, and her branches twisted in thought. ‘Ugh.. Edharen is too weak to damage him.’

“Edharen, change to support! The 400 Terragore that came with him are arriving already!” 

Liu Shu had used many of her roots to delay those monsters from arriving. She even managed to kill a few of them. Still, with four hundred monsters rushing through the tunnels, there was so much that she could do.

So, as the summoners created mindless summons to throw at the <Terragore King> and Liu Shu tried to restrain him with her roots, Edharen and the others prepared to defend against the mass of <Third Energy Cycle> monsters. 

“RAHH!”

“GRAAAHHH!”

The screeches of the hundreds of <Terragore> as they appeared from the corner of the tunnel was truly terrifying. Edharen glanced at his sword and armor, and while they were somewhat damaged, he was confident that he could last. “Sylvans, transform! We have only 4 minutes left until help arrives! We need to resist these monsters until then!”

A person muttered with disbelief. “O-Only two minutes have passed? Oh, branches above, these are the longest six minutes of my life…”

“Focus!”

After that shout, the Aethermancers began placing several shields in their way, while the tanky people took a step forward after racing buffs from the support group. Then, both sides collided.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The brutal strength of the <Terragore> made many of the shield bearers take a few steps back, while swords, spears, claws, bites, and many more attacks flew one after another in the chaotic battlefield. The transformed Sylvans were a force to be reckoned with, each of them taking two or three Terragore by themselves. However, for the rest, the sturdy physique and powerful limbs of the Terragore proved to be a challenge.

Edharen clashed weapons with the biggest <Terragore> in this group. He was honestly stunned at the agility and strength of this one <Terragore>. ‘Is this a <Terragore Striker>?’

<Terragore Striker> was a very rare variant that was completely specialized for frontal battle. They had large bodies, long claws, and incredible defense. Their agility was slightly worse than that of other Terragore, but it was honestly negligible. All in all, they were an elite version of a normal Terragore.

As Edharen clashed his sword against the barrage of claws, he checked the surroundings and noticed that deaths were appearing on both sides already. Their group had over 100 summoners to keep the <Terragore King> in check. Of the remaining 400 people in the group, only 150 were melee fighters. After all, they had planned to bombard the King with Aethermancers and Soulmancers until it was exhausted.

Sadly, plans went awry because the monster’s strength was more than what they had expected. 

Now, with a group with almost no healers, casualties were basically inevitably. One <Terragore> would jump, ignoring the attacks falling onto him, and bite someone’s head off. Another Terragore’s claws would slice through a low-quality weapon, shredding the arms of another person.

The Sylvans, while holding their own, would have their bodies heavily injured by the sharp claws and long extremities of the monsters. Edharen bit his lip underneath his helmet. ‘I need to deal with this one <Terragore Striker> quickly!’

He focused all of his attention in front of him, ignoring the surroundings. “<Life Tree Knight Style>!”

His movements changed, becoming gentle and fluid. The Terragore Striker smelled danger, so it accelerated its attacks. However, Edharen slipped between the barrage of claw strikes, making its face turned ferocious and savage. 

“GRAAHH!!!”

Edharen slipped deep inside, and then, he swung upward in a half-moon shape. “<Half Moon Cutter>!”

SLASH!

[-21,140,111]!

A terrifying gash appeared on the throat of the <Terragore Striker>. However, the monster didn’t recoil. Instead, it opened its mouth and bit down.

CHOMP!

[-19,800,455]!

“Argh!” Edharen managed to dodge the bite that would have ripped his head off. However, the sharp teeth of the monster sank deeply through his armor into his shoulder. Edharen shouted in pain, but his eyes didn’t show fear. Instead, he threw his sword to the side and unsheathed the two daggers at his waist. “DIE!”

Before the <Terragore Striker> could do more, the two daggers sank into the neck of the monster, and Edharen slashed its flesh madly. 

[-1,451,500]!

[-2,544,150]!

[-1,944,222]!

…

[Congratulations on defeating <Level 74 Terragore Striker (B- Tier). You’ve received 15,050 Experience Points!]

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