Chapter 163 – Pincer Attack (1)

The children of the Divine Tree, entering the city of the corrupted Divine Tree “Sprout,” frowned at the distorted appearance of the city.

As children of the Divine Tree, who believed they lived by the grace of the Divine Tree, the sight of the city and the Divine Tree itself, corrupted by miasma, was akin to cursing and defiling their parent, or rather, their god.

However, instead of venting their emotions, they calmly surveyed the area inside the gate.

They compared what they had heard from their kin who had escaped the city and the scouts, as well as the words of the human they had just met, with the scene before them.

“It’s worse than expected. The walls, the buildings, and even the central tree are all corrupted by miasma.”

“Still, it’s not the worst. Since the city hasn’t completely collapsed, it seems the Divine Tree hasn’t fully fallen.”

Upon hearing the report from their kin, Rashid, the first son of the Divine Tree “High Heaven,” quietly gave his orders.

“It’s not far from what we expected. Proceed as planned. Traverse the city, reach the central tree, and purify the Divine Tree.”

At his words, the group nodded and began running forward as soon as they passed through the gate.

Before they reached the gate, they had seen the bats flying above it, but no one mentioned them.

The human traveling with their fallen kin had already spoken of them, and the bats had fled toward the city center, avoiding the group.

They had already heard detailed accounts from their kin in Ea about the Demon Army and monsters on the Ea continent.

The monsters of Ea, as they had heard, were far weaker than the Demon Army that had been pushed back by the feeble humans.

They had been warned to be cautious of some large monsters, but the creatures fleeing now were not among them, so Rashid and the children of the Divine Tree dismissed the “bats” as a threat.

They had no choice.

They were here to deal with the unprecedented crisis of the Divine Tree’s corruption.

Though the corrupted Divine Tree couldn’t wield its full power, they still had to be cautious.

Moreover, their goal wasn’t just to destroy the corrupted Divine Tree but to purify and revive it, so they couldn’t afford to be distracted.

That’s why powerful mages had come with them, and Rashid, renowned both as a child of the Divine Tree and as a mage, was leading them.

After entering the city, as they saw their kin pouring into the streets and the moving corpses, Rashid suddenly thought of Zahina, whom he had just seen.

It was a pity that she, who had once been his equal in skill, had become an outcast.

But to him, a child of the Divine Tree severed from the Tree was no different from the dead now rushing toward them.

If it were him, he would have been buried beneath the Divine Tree, becoming part of it. What lingering attachment could she have to remain alive and appear before her kin like this?

It was incomprehensible, but since she was no longer one of them, there was no need to dwell on it.

Forcing the thoughts from his mind, Rashid cast a spell forward.

“Tremble, be crushed, burst.”

The dead, rushing toward them like the kin who had been turned into minions of the Demon Army years ago, fell, were crushed, and shattered under Rashid’s spell.

It was a terrifying spell, as if he could manipulate gravity at will.

In an instant, dozens of undead were obliterated, and the group pressed forward.

As they ran down the street, more undead poured out, and the group dealt with them one by one.

Arrows imbued with magic burned the undead rushing toward them, and undead leaping from tall buildings were swept away by a swiftly conjured whirlwind.

As they advanced toward the city center, dealing with their undead kin, the attacks from the undead began to change.

Instead of charging at them physically like human undead, they began to cast spells made of miasma instead of mana.

Black magical orbs made of miasma flew toward them, and green smoke filled the streets.

“Shields!”

It was unusual for ordinary undead, not liches, to use magic, but they had seen such undead before.

When the Demon Army had corrupted the land and their kin, the dead had attacked them with spells made of miasma.

Thus, Rashid and the children of the Divine Tree were prepared for the undead’s magic.

Shimmering shields formed around the group, and the miasma-based spells and poison were deflected by the shields.

Having blocked the magic, they were now more than halfway through the city.

The central tree was much closer, and it was time to prepare for the corrupted Divine Tree’s attacks.

Since the Divine Tree had never been corrupted by miasma during the Demon Army’s invasion, they didn’t know what attacks to expect from the corrupted Divine Tree.

However, they all knew well how the great tree, which protected the city and connected their kin, would defend itself and the city.

In truth, if the Divine Tree had been intact, they wouldn’t have been able to fight it, but since it had lost its divinity…

They believed they could handle the Divine Tree, now that it had lost its sanctity, because they knew how it would fight.

And then, the Divine Tree’s attacks began.

“It’s coming from underground!”

A mage at the rear of the group, using magic to survey the surroundings, shouted.

Even before he shouted, the group had sensed his sharp surge of emotion and were ready to react the moment he spoke.

Crack, rumble—

The ground split, and massive roots burst forth, but the shields, reinforced several times over, blocked the roots.

Of course, the sheer force of the impact pushed the shields back, disrupting their formation, but none of the group was caught off guard by the sudden ambush.

“Blow, cut,”

With Rashid’s incantation, magical blades like wind blades struck the rising roots.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The wind blades didn’t sever the roots in one strike, but they managed to inflict deep wounds.

Luckily, one root struck by three wind blades simultaneously was severed.

Taking Rashid’s attack as a signal, the group of mages unleashed their spells at the rising roots.

Wind blades like the ones Rashid had created flew in all directions, and scattered stones flew through the air, striking the roots.

The other mages couldn’t produce as many or as powerful attacks as Rashid, but the combined spells of dozens of mages surpassed even Rashid’s magic in destructive power.

The roots that had burst from the ground to ambush the group were all shattered, spewing black miasma as they retreated underground, and the group seized the opportunity to rush toward the city center.

Just a little further, and they would reach the city’s core, where the Divine Tree’s heart lay.

Having withstood the Divine Tree’s ambush, the group began to anticipate the success of their mission.

But perhaps this was the moment the enemy had been waiting for.

An unexpected attack began.

A sudden fog spread, blocking their path.

A thick fog so dense they couldn’t see an inch ahead.

“We can’t confirm our direction.”

“Detection magic isn’t working.”

“This isn’t ordinary fog. It’s distorting our senses and disrupting our mana.”

As the chaotic emotions of their kin flashed through their minds, they forcibly suppressed their feelings and calmly reported the situation to everyone.

Not only could they not discern their surroundings, but even though they had been running in a straight line, none of them could be sure they were heading toward the city center.

The first son of the Divine Tree and the mages had lost their way in the city.

“Everyone, gather and prepare for attacks.”

At Rashid’s calm words, the group gathered in the middle of the street.

“This fog is magical, so it won’t last long. If we wait, it will clear. We just need to fend off any ambushes until then.”

Following Rashid’s orders, they formed a defensive formation, and among the group, the younger children whispered.

“I’ve never seen this kind of magic before. Could it be the work of those vampire monsters?”

“Humans, if they knew about this magic, should have warned us.”

An elder shook his head at the youngsters’ grumbling.

“How could they know? If they had seen this magic, they wouldn’t have survived.”

He wasn’t wrong.

This fog, which obscured everything, was a vampire magic that even Zahina and the knight Egar hadn’t known about.

This magic was a powerful technique that ordinary vampires couldn’t use, so the vampires on Earth couldn’t have cast it.

Of course, even if those monsters could use this magic, they wouldn’t have heard about it.

In any case, this fog magic was a formidable spell that could obscure all senses even in broad daylight, and not just any vampire could use it. But here, a high-ranking vampire capable of using this magic had arrived.

He was one of the three elders leading the surviving vampires.

Thus, they quickly prepared their defenses, but unfortunately, their plan hadn’t accounted for this kind of defense.

Though they had a great mage, a group of mages, and skilled kin with them, they had all been gathered to break through to the city center.

Stopping in one place to fend off waves of enemies was difficult.

Undead kin pouring in from the front and back, from the sides of the street.

Massive roots bursting from the split ground.

Even the Divine Tree’s branches falling from the sky.

Countless attacks hammered the shields surrounding the group.

With each attack, their mana drained rapidly, but no one could lower the shields.

Not only were the attacks relentless, but the fog had also turned green.

At some point, the fog had mixed with the poison floating in the air, becoming a poisonous mist.

Though the group and Rashid continued to obliterate the enemies rushing at them, the enemies were endless.

And eventually, someone ran out of mana.

A small shield broke, and several of the group were enveloped by the poisonous mist.

Then, the swarming undead.

A moment later, all that remained in that spot were not torn-apart corpses but an increased number of undead.

As the shields broke one by one, and the agonizing emotions of their comrades flooded their minds, even Rashid bit his lip, overwhelmed by the chaotic emotions.

The mission had failed.

It was time to retreat.

He thought he had made the decision rationally, as always, but his eyes darted around wildly.

And then, he saw a place where the fog was receding.

The path they had come from.

As the fog receded, they could see the way back.

“Fall back! For now, we retreat from the city!”

With his trembling words, they all began running in the direction where the fog was receding.

With their numbers more than halved, they fought off their undead kin as they fled the city.

As they ran out, Rashid caught a glimpse of people running across the rooftops in the opposite direction.

The knight and the outcast.

The two were knocking vampires off the rooftops as they ran toward the city center.

It was astonishing, and it might have been another opportunity, but Rashid thought “rationally.”

Having lost more than half of their kin, it was time to retreat.

Now that they had confirmed the enemy’s ambush, they could do better next time.

With that thought, he clenched his trembling hand around his staff and ran toward the city’s exit.