Chapter 135: Phoenix Advance

Evan clenched his fists.

This was the first time in his life he had seen Yggdrasil look like this.

Of course, it was not the same entity as the Yggdrasil he once knew.

He didn’t even know the Yggdrasil of this world, but he couldn’t help the way its image overlapped with that of his friend.

Pity and anger boiled simultaneously within Evan’s heart.

He couldn’t understand what kind of bastard had turned it into this state.

It hurt his heart even more to know that he had to strike it down with his own hands.

The Twisted Yggdrasil spewed out Magia, polluting the surrounding forest.

Soon, the massive trees began to twist, uprooting themselves and rising from the ground.

The trees were turning into monsters.

*Rumble!*

Watching this, Evan frowned.

Alan approached Evan and asked, “Young Master, what will you do? It seems the situation has grown too large for us to handle.”

“No, we have to stop it…”

Evan was troubled this time.

He had never imagined he would encounter Yggdrasil as an enemy.

He didn’t know its exact level, but considering the Yggdrasil of his previous world, he knew this wouldn’t be easy.

“I don’t think I can cut a tree that big with my sword,” Reynold said jokingly, pointing at his Greatsword, but that was exactly what worried Evan the most.

‘A massive body like that would be useless to cut, no matter how much I try.’

In a case like this, powerful firepower was needed. It was then.

“Ah, no! This can’t be happening!”

Ainis shrieked and slumped to the floor. Her hope was collapsing.

It looked like she would be like that for a while if left alone.

However, there was no luxury to appreciate the Elf’s lamentation right now.

Evan spoke to her firmly.

“It’s started to destroy the forest. We have to take action or stop it immediately.”

Tears streaming down her face, Ainis looked at Evan and nodded silently.

It might have seemed cold for a third party to speak so indifferently, but logically, stopping it was the only way.

If this continued, the entire Elf Village would be in danger.

For the sake of survival, they had to swallow their grief and strike Yggdrasil down.

“Support from the village…” she said weakly, but Evan shook his head.

“I don’t think we can go back.”

He had realized it was already too late after checking the warning window that appeared before him.

**[You have entered the territory of the Boss Monster, Twisted Yggdrasil]**

**[You cannot leave the field unless you defeat the Twisted Yggdrasil]**

Among boss monsters that didn’t reside in dungeons, there were special cases where the field itself was designated this way.

It was no different from the field becoming an temporary instance dungeon.

‘I can’t feel the flow of mana from the outside. I should have noticed sooner.’

Ainis tilted her head, unable to understand Evan’s words. “What do you mean by that?”

“Look around carefully. Haven’t you felt like we’ve been cut off from the outside for a while? If you’re not sure, try listening to the voice of the forest you mentioned.”

Upon hearing Evan’s words, she immediately closed her eyes. She focused on sensing the surrounding mana with her Mana Sensitivity or listening to the voice of the forest.

“Aaargh! Stop it!”

Soon, Ainis covered both her ears and screamed repeatedly. She writhed in pain, her body twisting. Surprised, Evan checked on her condition. “What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“The… The World Tree is screaming… It’s begging me to kill it.”

“…I see.”

Evan wore a bitter expression. After monitoring her condition, he gave Alan an order.

“Go back the way we came and scout the surroundings. A magic barrier likely prevents us from leaving past a certain point.”

“Understood.”

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Alan began to move quickly. Reynold scratched his head and asked Evan, “What should I do?”

“We wait here until Alan returns. If we can escape, it would be better to leave first and get help from the Elfs.”

Evan said that and then opened the shop window. In reality, escaping was impossible. The four of them would have to handle the Twisted Yggdrasil alone.

‘That aside, how am I supposed to handle those monstrous things?’

Many tree monsters had already risen and were wandering the area.

It looked like it would be difficult just to break through them and reach Yggdrasil.

He needed something special to deal with them.

‘Something useful right now…’

Evan looked through the shop inventory and thought of a strategy.

‘To take down such giant monsters, I have to at least use opposing attributes.’

To deal with tree monsters, it would be best to use the opposite attribute, the fire attribute.

‘Essence of Fire. Fire Scrolls. Fire Golem Crafting Recipe…’

Various items caught his eye. He had to weigh the efficiency against the public expenditure.

‘In my heart, the Fire Golem Crafting Recipe would be great, but the time and materials are prohibitive… Firepower enough to burn the whole forest…’

Suddenly, something flashed through Evan’s mind.

‘I guess I don’t even need to look for it.’

Evan purchased a few Fire Essences and closed the shop window.

“Young Master! This is bad! Just as you said, we can’t go past a certain range.” Alan continued, frowning as if he couldn’t find the right words. “Should I say there’s a transparent shield? Something is blocking the way.”

Ainis fell further into despair, eventually letting out a hollow laugh as if she had resigned herself.

“It’s over, human. If we can’t escape this place, we can only die…”

“You give up too fast. Instead of that, didn’t you say you could summon spirits? Summon spirits of the fire and wind attributes.”

Evan pulled the Elemental Sword from his inventory.

*Whoosh!*

Flames erupted from the blade.

“That, that is…”

Ainis looked at Evan’s sword in shock.

**[The Ent has entered a Berserk state]**

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Loud explosions rang out one after another.

Evan shouted, “Reynold, don’t try to take it head-on! Deflecting it is more important! Alan, you climb up!”

Evan’s party was currently dealing with a massive tree monster.

It was an Ent, a giant tree beast created by the Twisted Yggdrasil.

Its roots acted as legs, and thick branches served as arms.

It stomped with its roots and swung its branches toward Reynold and Alan.

Every attack was fatal. A single mistake could result in broken bones.

However, their movements were slow.

Even moving their massive bodies seemed like a burden.

A moment later.

*Sizzle!*

Small flames erupted from the Ent’s body.

Then, the Ent began to thrash about in pain.

Alan, who had climbed onto the Ent’s body, shouted toward Evan, “I’m ready!”

Evan turned his gaze to Ainis, who was nearby. “Ainis!”

“I know! Just wait!”

Small figures were moving around Ainis.

They were the wind spirits she had summoned, and they were currently preparing to create a strong wind.

Once the preparation was finished, the wind began to blast toward the Ent, and the flames grew larger.

The fire started spreading across its entire body.

“Everyone, get back!”

Evan took this opportunity to climb onto the creature’s flaming body.

**[The effect of the Ring of Fire has been activated]**

**[Fire Resistance has increased by 50%]**

The effect of the Elemental Sword and the Ring of Fire applied various fire resistance effects to him.

To Evan, fire was no longer dangerous.

It was actually familiar.

The Ent, distracted by its burning body, did not notice Evan climbing it.

**[Fire Blade has been activated]**

When he used the elemental power of the Elemental Sword, a sharp blade made of flames was summoned.

At the same time, he used the Third Form of Lee Han.

*Vroooom!*

Powerful energy was released from the sword as resonance began.

Veins popped out on the hand and arm gripping the sword.

Evan swung the sword at the monster with all his might.

*BOOM!*

A golden explosion erupted from the sword, followed by a powerful shockwave that radiated outward.

With the addition of Mythic Power, the thrashing Ent could not hold on.

Soon, it tottered, lost its balance, and crashed to the ground.

*Thud!*

Then, the flames spread to the surrounding forest.

Evan jumped down from the Ent’s body.

Looking at the fallen monster, Evan approached the place where everyone was gathered.

“Is this the third one? To think such a thing is actually possible…”

Ainis was showing a completely different attitude toward Evan.

Moving from a hostile stance to one of surprise, she finally acknowledged him.

“If the forest protects you, you aren’t an ordinary human. More importantly, where on earth did that power come from?”

She spoke playfully and with more ease now.

Watching Evan take down the Ents one by one made it feel as though there was hope.

However, Evan’s reaction was negative.

“It’ll be endless at this rate. We’re too slow, and their numbers are constantly increasing.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. We can’t just go charging toward the World Tree like this.”

Ainis shook her head.

“There are still parts that haven’t been polluted. If I hunker down here while gathering the fruits, we might be able to leave someday.”

Since Elves lived ten times longer than humans, their concept of time was different.

Spending a little bit of time for them was like an eternity for humans. Evan clicked his tongue at those words.

“We don’t have time for that. Everything until now was just a test anyway. I wanted to see what their level was.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Ainis, sensing something strange, asked Evan. Then Evan smirked and replied.

“Listen up, everyone. From now on, we’re going to break through the front toward the World Tree.”

“What?”

“Wh-What are you saying?”

“Wait! I was only joking when I said that!”

Everyone reacted vehemently, unable to understand.

“It’s simple. Since they seem to burn well, we’ll ignore them as much as possible and only target the World Tree.”

“No! No! Wait a minute! Does that even make sense? Let’s not overdo it. Why are you acting like this?”

Ainis reacted strongly as if she could never allow it. However, Evan had already calculated everything since he started the raid.

‘There’s only one chance.’

Among the Mythic Powers, he had to bet everything on the Conqueror’s Power, which could be called his final ultimate move.

“You guys buy me some time. Leave the rest to me.”

“Yo-Young Master. How are we supposed to stop those things?”

“Strength aside, we’re already losing in terms of sheer numbers.”

Evan put the Elemental Sword into his inventory. After summoning Ascalon, he unleashed its power. As flames began to surge, the fire sword revealed its form.

“If we block them together with this fellow, it’ll be enough.”

The another secret weapon for this plan was the Phoenix. If it was the Phoenix, it would be able to handle a large-scale force of Ents.