Chapter 218
Chapter 218: Outrageous
Upon entering its combat state, the Divine Tree Yadh seemed to sense the arrival of danger.
The vines all around began to tremble, and spines conjured from natural energy slowly emerged from those intricate branches.
The wooden walls surrounding the vast space were covered in lush green weeds.
Verdant leaves flickering in the sky gradually drifted downward, settling against the grass-embedded walls.
Several terrifying auras emanated from the thick wooden walls; the grass began to shake loose, and the leaves scattered in all directions.
Green radiance seeped into the walls, and a silhouette gradually emerged from the dense growth.
The creature was suffused with green from head to toe, its entire body wrapped in soul-like verdant leaves, its markings etched in clear relief—only a pair of eyes shone with white light.
In its hand it held a circular blade, and at the blade's center, a terrifying eye fixed its gaze upon the intruder within the Divine Tree.
Lv45
【Verdant Vine Guardian】
Viktor glanced at the creature, feeling nothing stir within him.
Its appearance meant the Heart of the Divine Tree had become aware of its own peril.
The Divine Tree Yadh itself possessed no real offensive capability—but it had an exceptionally aggravating protection mechanism.
It would summon Magical Creatures of a matching level based on the number of individuals present.
And so when facing the Divine Tree Yadh, even in a group, one had to account for numbers—too many people would summon too many Magical Creatures.
Viktor, however, had long since prepared a countermeasure for this.
He channeled the power of the Calamity of Wood within him; the green markings gradually gained the upper hand, beginning to spread across his entire Coat.
The wild grass beneath his feet slowly withered, replaced by a vast expanse of green shoots bursting up from the soil.
They tore through the damp black earth, bending and stretching their way upward.
The sprouts broke through their shells; the stems grew thick at a visible rate, branching luxuriantly, dense leaves pushing out.
The trees kept growing, only stopping once they had pierced into the upper reaches of the entire space.
But then, flower buds erupted in wild growth at the base of the trees, climbing up their sturdy trunks.
The green vines behind 2 buds carved deep grooves into the thick bark as they continued toward the canopy.
The buds grew larger and larger, rising higher and higher, until they hung fully from the branches of the towering trees.
The flowers seemed to be pried open by some force, bursting open in an instant.
Dozens of green Magical Creatures exploded out from within, bearing sharp mouthparts or solid shells, squaring off against the Magical Creatures summoned by the Heart of the Divine Tree.
The buds at the canopy snapped shut and reopened without pause, batch after batch of Magical Creatures pushing their way out and joining the battle.
But the Heart of the Divine Tree Yadh was not to be outdone. Sensing the threat closing in, the Heart's beating grew faster and faster.
Along the green walls, countless Verdant Vine Guardians bearing blades appeared in an endless stream.
The Verdant Vine Guardians hurled their blades in rapid succession, cutting the smaller Magical Creatures clean in half at the waist.
They then mobilized the leaves across their bodies, whipping up storms that scattered the charging Magical Creatures all at once.
Viktor stood with both hands in his pockets. Even as his own summoned Magical Creatures were being suppressed, he remained completely calm.
"The Divine Tree Yadh has been fed by the offerings of generations of Elves—generations upon generations of refinement have been enough to purify its natural energy to the highest degree."
And so, Viktor first needed to drain a portion of its energy.
By exploiting its summoning mechanism.
The more Magical Creatures Viktor summoned, the harder it became for the Divine Tree Yadh to focus its attention on him.
It needed to summon an equal number of guards in a continuous stream just to ensure its own safety.
Very soon, several enormous Venus flytraps suddenly burrowed up from beneath the soil.
They erupted from the earth and swallowed a mass of Verdant Vine Guardians all at once, a thick liquid bursting out within the flowers' jaws.
Every time a Verdant Vine Guardian was destroyed, the Divine Tree Yadh would summon an identical guard once more.
Its energy seemed inexhaustible.
The Heart beat powerfully—thump, thump.
Only that single Lv45 Verdant Vine Guardian had yet to make a move.
It had been summoned based on Viktor's level—and its enemy was Viktor.
But Viktor had not moved, and the Divine Tree Yadh could not identify Viktor as an enemy.
The powerful Calamity force coiled around Viktor's body, preventing the Divine Tree Yadh from sensing that he was human.
The Heart beat on—thump, thump—only because it had detected the arrival of danger had it summoned those guards in the first place.
Watching the Heart of the Divine Tree Yadh beat, a thought arose in Viktor's mind with a particular interest:
"Weija, how does your Magic Power compare to it?"
"You want me to measure strength against it? Ha ha ha ha."
Weija heard Viktor's question and laughed with wicked glee:
In the next instant, a terrifying black wind swept through the towering canopy, completely swallowing Weija whole.
The shadow of the Crow was gradually stretched impossibly thin, until the darkness had spread across the entire space in full, climbing onto the dense, jagged branches.
Even the beating Heart, deep in that pitch-black, flickered with green light.
Her formerly sharp and wicked voice became low and turbid—as though a sinister sound had risen from the void, ethereal and deeply terrifying.
"Viktor, I never thought you'd actually compare a God to a tree."
"How could I possibly lose?"
Viktor stood with both hands in his pockets, his calm voice drifting out with unhurried ease:
"That's all I needed to hear."
In an instant, the eyes of the person and bird flickered with blue light, and a subtle connection was forged between them.
Intertwining, interlocking, building a bridge of Magic Power.
【Magic Power: 9,999,999/9,999,999】
In that instant, a surging tide of Magic Power erupted from Viktor's body with violent force.
The Coat thrashed wildly under the crushing pressure of the powerful wind, the hurricane like a great whip that seized every single branch, bending them impossibly, as though it would snap them all in two.
Viktor raised a hand to his chin, thinking it over:
"Which one should I use?"
In the end, he made his decision.
He lowered his eyes and glanced at his Magic Power.
8,999,999/9,999,999
7,999,999/9,999,999
Weija sensed something was wrong, feeling her body gradually grow weak, and snapped her gaze toward Viktor.
"Wait—Viktor, what are you doing!?"
In just a few seconds, the Magic Power had dropped by an enormous amount.
Viktor glanced at his Magic Power once more.
The consumption was extraordinarily fast.
But all of this was within his expected range.
The vast ocean of Magic Power was no longer held in check; it broke free and surged madly in all directions.
The dense blue aura even took on physical form—as though it had become a tangible sea, swallowing everything in its path.
The terrifying density of Magic Power even brought a measure of pressure upon the great Heart itself, its beating growing somewhat urgent and stifled.
It finally sensed the danger within Viktor, and the Lv45 Verdant Vine Guardian finally moved.
Beneath this overwhelming sea of Magic Power, it could not advance a single step. Even if it forced its body to inch forward, the next instant it would be completely blasted back by the terrifying Magic Power surging straight toward it.
The Verdant Vine Guardian could only spin the blade in its hand; terrifying green energy gradually coiled around the blade's edge, beginning to rotate at high speed.
Ring after ring of verdant green blade-wheels began spinning at tremendous velocity.
It hurled the blade forward; the ring-blades pierced through the dense sea of Magic Power, and several beams of green light struggled laboriously toward Viktor.
But in the very instant before they could touch Viktor, this simple attack shattered in an instant.
Surrounded by this overwhelming Magic Power—this was Viktor's most impenetrable shield.
In an instant, massive waves rose from the surface of the sea, swallowing the Magical Creatures that had been born from the enormous flower buds.
The Magic Power pouring from Viktor's body still showed no sign of stopping, like a colossal floodgate—the surface of the Magic Power ocean continued to rise.
Magic Power coiled around the entire Divine Tree Yadh, bursting forth even through those countless intricate branches.
Like a true ocean eroding the interior of the Divine Tree Yadh from within, spilling outward into the world outside.
The blue ocean exploded violently from the opening of the Divine Tree Yadh, blue Magic Power crashing down toward the earth, coiling all around the Divine Tree.
The terrifying Magic Power spread for hundreds of miles along the Divine Tree, swallowing everything in its path.
Beneath the Divine Tree, Vinia and Cocotte clearly sensed something at the same moment—and both raised their heads.
Vinia's expression became impossibly grave.
She watched with wide eyes as the blue sea of Magic Power came crashing down from the sky, sending waves ten meters high crashing upward before slowly scattering.
Watching the scene before her, Vinia stepped back several paces, the hand clutching the Scepter trembling with unease.
"The Divine Tree……why is this happening? What on earth has occurred?"
Cocotte, however, narrowed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying this surging tide of Magic Power.
"My, my—no matter when it happens, this feeling never changes."
"The sheer volume of this Magic Power—it's fundamentally too powerful to belong to a Mage."
Vinia snapped her head back around, facing Cocotte, and asked in a loud voice:
"Cocotte, tell me—what does Clavena mean?"
She was still absorbed in the question of Leon's surname.
The Divine Tree Yadh had never bestowed the surname "Clavena" upon any Elf.
No Elf bore the surname "Clavena."
And now, looking at Cocotte—who clearly knew something—Vinia felt an extremely ominous premonition take shape in her heart.
The Divine Tree's upheaval might be connected to Clavena.
Upon hearing Vinia's words, Cocotte crossed her arms and turned her head:
"Clavena? Vinia, sometimes I really ought to suggest you take a trip to the human world."
"If you went to the human world, you'd understand a great deal."
Vinia did not believe Cocotte's words. She clutched her Scepter, her tone lofty and proud:
"I am the most distinguished Elven High Priestess; everything I have was bestowed upon me by the Divine Tree Yadh. How could I be like you—forgetting the Divine Tree's nurturing, fleeing the Elven Forest?"
Cocotte gave her a helpless sidelong glance and sighed.
"I've never once acknowledged that the Divine Tree raised me."
"Enough talk, Cocotte—tell me, what does Clavena stand for!?"
Cocotte listened to her shout and smiled faintly.
"Clavena is the name of a family."
"Its head of household is my employer."
Cocotte looked at Vinia with a pitying gaze, her tone calm and unhurried, as though reflecting on something.
"A bastard Mage who would absolutely never stand by and do nothing for his family and subordinates."