Chapter 240: Still a Great Battle (Part 1)

  Beneath the ancient tree, the well water of the Sunwell was recovering at an extremely slow speed. Following the slow recovery of the well water, the effect of the Sunwell's anti-magic field was also slowly reasserting itself.

  Although this speed was indeed very slow—it would take at least a full day to fully recover—it was already beginning to have a considerable impact on the mages' combat effectiveness. At the very least, the several dozen mages on the ground were already starting to struggle.

  There were simply too many The Withered Wood Wardens, and relying on the elemental giants alone was no longer enough to withstand the constant pressure from these behemoths. Several fire mages were using their Wall of Fire and Erupting Hellfire with all their might, and clusters of flames and explosions continuously erupted among the The Withered Wood Wardens. Flames shot into the sky, and wood chips flew everywhere. Under the incantations and gestures of the earth mages, huge pillars of earth and spikes continuously surged up from the ground, holding the The Withered Wood Wardens and unicorns at bay.

  Among the thousands of arrows filling the sky, one arrow suddenly stood out. It broke through the Hurricane Aegis, bypassed the gaps in the ice wall and flame shield, and pierced a mage's neck from the side. The mage fell to the ground, clutching his neck from which blood was gushing wildly, his hands and feet twitching as he let out goose-like cries of death. The earth armor that had originally protected his entire body had unknowingly weakened and fallen away.

  This was already the third mage to fall to an Elven arrow. The originally seamless protective magic like Hurricane Aegis, for some unknown reason, would sometimes have strange fluctuations—it would weaken, or its operation would suddenly pause, or a hole would suddenly appear.

  Of course, the Elven archers could not perceive these subtle changes to shoot at them, but they didn't need to. It was just like how, even if you can't see a leak in the roof with your naked eye, the rain will naturally seep in. This torrential downpour of arrows would never miss any gap. The three corpses of the mages on the ground were already a clear illustration of this.

  "How come the effects of magic seem unstable? There's something strange about this forest!" a mage finally discovered the problem and roared amidst the sound of his own explosions. "Everyone, get on the air elementals and go up to the sky."

  "No. We don't have enough magical power left to summon air elementals. Magic recovers too slowly in this forest," an air great mage tried to summon an elemental but was almost knocked to the ground and spitting blood by the magical backlash from the failure. "Everyone, don't advance any further. Hold this formation and wait for Master Aiden and the others above."

  On the War Ancient Tree, the Elven scout Kaelin, who was on the verge of death, had already been carried back.

  She had both burn wounds from flames and scars from concussions and impacts. There were also several magical ice spikes sticking out of her hands and feet. Her reactions and skills were certainly good, but the most crucial factor was luck. The full-powered bombardment from those dozens of mages, fueled by their rage, had surprisingly failed to blow her to mincemeat.

  "Elder Luya is alone on the War Mantis?" Kaelin slowly awoke under the restorative magic of the Elven elders. "Are we just supposed to watch from down here?" Kaelin jumped up. Her hand was still tightly gripping the jet-black longbow. But as soon as she jumped up, her legs went soft and she fell down again.

  "All the Pegasuses capable of carrying people have been dispatched and killed. Only the underage Pegasuses are left," an Elven elder sighed deeply. "With your current injuries, it's impossible for you to even draw the Phantom Divine Bow. All we can do now is hope that Elder Luya can hold on for a little longer..."

  A piercing, strange cry interrupted the elder's words, streaking across the sky above Whispering Woods. A mantis, surrounded by attacks from dozens of mages, its body exploding with flashes and rumbles of magic from all schools, let out an insect-like peculiar cry and fell from the sky.

  The War Mantis's originally long, fierce, and angular giant body was now mangled like a rag that had been used for decades. No matter how strong its life force and defense, there was a limit. The attacks from dozens of high-level mages were enough to blast an iron mountain into fragments.

  But none of the mages looked pleased, because more than ten of them had already become pieces under the giant scythes of the War Mantis.

  Whether it was the flight spell or the air elementals, in terms of speed and agility, they were surprisingly unable to match this behemoth. The mages could not dodge in time. Even their attack magic could barely hit the target accurately. In the end, it was only by using dozens of master mages' Slow, Weakness, Curses, and Armor Break spells to forcibly make the War Mantis stagger that they were able to blast this monster to pieces.

  The War Mantis wasn't just this one. Just as this mantis fell, a mage also screamed, and along with the air elemental under his feet, was sliced in two by the giant scythe of another mantis.

  "Good, there's still one more. Take it down and we win." a great mage let out a warrior-like, impassioned roar.

  It wasn't just him. In fact, the emotions of all the mages were somewhat out of control now. These originally wise old men had unknowingly become completely immersed in the battle. The grief brought by the deaths of their companions, the fear, the anger, and the rampant magical explosions and flames had long since worn away their original composure and calm.

  Now, the mages only had one mantis to deal with. The largest one was completely engaged in a chase with Master Aiden. From a distance, one could only see a giant green shadow and a small white dot dancing and weaving through the sky with extreme speed.

  "I'll give you a chance. Give me the Leaves of the World Tree, and I will spare the lives of the Elves here." Aiden's voice was as cold as ice, but his eyes were burning red. He recognized this female Elf; she was the sole survivor from this Whispering Woods a year ago. More importantly, he could sense the presence of the Leaves of the World Tree on this female Elf.

  Although both were speeding and spinning, he had the illusion of almost being able to smell the aura emanating from that leaf. If he weren't certain that he had no chance of withstanding a single blow from the War Mantis, he would have instantly turned around and snatched the leaf.

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  Luya did not speak. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. All her energy and spirit were already spent on not being thrown off by the mantis's high-speed movement. Every time the mantis made a sharp turn or spin, she felt as if her heart was about to fly out of her mouth. The hands and feet gripping the mantis's carapace felt as if they could be snapped by inertia at any moment with a "kacha."

  These War Mantises were originally magical creatures left behind by the Ancient Elven Empire. After more than ten thousand years, they had only just hatched and had to rely on the Leaves of the World Tree to maintain their consciousness within a certain range. That was why she had to take the Leaves of the World Tree and board the War Mantis. And now, these three mantises were almost the Elves' only hope.

  She had vaguely sensed from the beginning that the timing of this group of mages, led by a Necromancer, was too coincidental, and it was perhaps directly related to her own decision to send people to visit the Tower of Fangs.

  Even though she truly could not have known that the Tower of Fangs was actually being manipulated by a Necromancer, if they had only waited until the War Ancient Tree had finished growing and the Sunwell's anti-magic field had recovered before sending people to visit, this catastrophe before them would never have happened.

  All of this was caused by her own mistake. Just because of a moment of high spirits and impulsiveness, she had brewed such a catastrophe. Looking at the continuous flashes of explosions and flames below, the constant screams and flying limbs of the Elves, Luya felt as if there were several knives twisting in her heart. It wasn't just pain, but also a heavy feeling of her heart and soul being torn apart with no way to vent.

  If everything could be undone, she would be willing to pay any price. But what had already happened could never be undone, of this she was very clear. Then, at the very least, she had to do her best to remedy the situation, to fight for victory in this battle. Even though hope seemed slim now, she had to fight for it and not give up. This Necromancer was undoubtedly the leader of this group of mages, and also the strongest one. As long as he could be killed, there might still be hope for this battle.

  But now, that hope seemed very slim. No matter how the War Mantis attacked, it could not match the flight flexibility of this Necromancer. At most, it could only force him to dodge continuously, unable to make a move. Meanwhile, on the other side, one War Mantis had already fallen under the mages' siege.

  The mantis stopped, and Luya steadied herself as quickly as she could. She took out the Leaves of the World Tree from her embrace. Even though it was very dangerous, she had to make one final gamble.

  "Great Mafa, your devout servant beseeches you in your name to grant this life..." Luya chanted the prayer, and the green light on the Leaves of the World Tree instantly began to shine brilliantly.

  The mantis that had been pursuing her suddenly stopped. Master Aiden was also stunned, but when he saw the female Elf on top take out the Leaves of the World Tree and begin to chant an incantation, he also reacted. His figure also came to an abrupt stop, and a Thunderblast Bomb instantly condensed in his hand and whistled towards her.

  The crackling ball of lightning was not aimed at Luya on the mantis. Master Aiden didn't want to blow up the Leaves of the World Tree along with it. His target was only the mantis's head. As long as he could defeat this monster, the person and the object on top would be things in a bag.

  The moment the thunderball made contact with the mantis's limb, it transformed into a heaven-shaking bang. Amidst the flashing electric light, fragments of the green, hard shell flew everywhere. But the mantis did not plummet. The monster used its giant scythe-like forelimbs to block this Thunderblast Bomb in front of its head. Not only was its head unharmed, but even that scythe-like forelimb was only shattered by a small half.

  Master Aiden frowned slightly, his hands moved again. This time, it was two Thunderblast Bombs.

  The two loud explosions could not conceal the strange hiss coming from the mantis's mouth. One of the mantis's forelimbs was completely blown into countless fragments. A foul stench splattered everywhere along with the green fragments and liquid. The blast wave and the mantis's own struggle almost threw the Elf on top off.

  But it was only almost; it didn't really throw Luya off. And her casting was not interrupted. She finally completed it.

  "...let this humble life possess the life and power of a giant dragon, and let it be used by me." As the prayer was completed, the light on the Leaves of the World Tree was already as bright as a green lantern. She placed the Leaves of the World Tree on the mantis's back, and the overwhelmingly abundant life magic surged into it.

  The mantis was still hissing and shaking. The shattered forelimb was still spraying green bodily fluid outward, but at the same time, its body also seemed to be swelling up like an inflating balloon. In just a single breath, it had already grown to twice its original size. This magical creature, which was originally only a little smaller than a Wyvern, had now in the blink of an eye become a behemoth dozens of meters long. In comparison, Master Aiden not far away seemed as inconspicuous as a little white sparrow, even one of the mantis's compound eyes seemed a circle larger than him.

  A dragon. Such a massive body, probably only the legendary dragons had it. And for such a magical insect, whose life and attack power were already far beyond any beast, to have such a body now, its combat power was probably not much less than that of a real dragon.

  Master Aiden's eyes went wide. But he still did not forget to shoot the fourth Thunderblast Bomb in his hand. Amidst the huge rumbling flashes of lightning, there were still fragments of the mantis's shell flying everywhere, but this explosion only left a not-so-obvious mark on the mantis's other forelimb.

  The Thunderblast Bomb had almost no obvious effect. Before he could even be surprised, Master Aiden only saw this monster, now the size of a small mountain, charge towards him with a deafening, sharp shriek. Although its body had become gigantic, its speed had not decreased in the slightest; on the contrary, it seemed even faster.

  Relying almost on instinct alone, Master Aiden, with his consummate air magic cultivation, used his flight spell to slip past the oncoming scythe like an extremely agile fly darting through a person's fingers. The airflow that brushed past his face almost made him think his own face had already been sliced off. That scythe-like forelimb, which was already ridiculously large, was now even bigger, like a small boat. Not to mention a human body, even an elephant might be sliced in two.

  Luya plopped down into a crack in the carapace on the mantis's back, a gap that had become wide enough to accommodate her after it grew. She could now barely move. This was the ultimate nature magic, "Dragon's Might," which could only be used by borrowing the power of the Leaves of the World Tree. The immense life force of the War Mantis had almost drained all of her energy.

  This was already all she could do. The rest was up to seeing whether this mantis, which was now not much different from a real dragon, could deal with these mages.

  On the other side, the mages, who were now considered seasoned veterans, still used a massive amount of curses and magic to bombard the other mantis, blasting it to pieces as well. They naturally saw this unbelievable natural magic scene and immediately swarmed over on their air elementals.

  On one side of the forest's edge, a man and a woman were urging their horses, rushing in the direction of the War Ancient Tree.

  Through the dense branches and leaves above, one could vaguely see the mages on the air elementals taking turns bombing a giant green shadow. Various magical lights and rumbles rose and fell one after another.

  Ethan spurred his horse, galloping in the direction of the War Ancient Tree. Although the forest's cover prevented him from seeing the War Ancient Tree, he could feel the location of the Sunwell. The faint fluctuation emanating from there was resonating with his body.

  This was his third time coming to Whispering Woods. It seemed that every time he came to this forest, he would inevitably be drawn into a battle. He really didn't know if it was his bad luck or the Elves' bad luck. And without a doubt, this battle was once again because of the only remaining Leaves of the World Tree. One didn't know whether to call that thing the Elves' holy relic or the source of disaster.

  "Are you going to help those Elves? Let me be clear, I will not make a move to help these heretics." Talise, who was following behind him, said loudly.

  Ethan didn't turn his head. He tossed back a sentence: "Just don't get in the way. I might not have time to save you this time."

  Whispering Woods was long past its former tranquility. The sounds of magical explosions, the cries of the Elves, and the smell of burning trees or corpses drifting from afar made it completely no different from a battlefield. But probably because all the The Withered Wood Wardens had been concentrated on the other side of the forest, their rush in was completely unobstructed, making the quietness here seem somewhat unnatural.

  Following behind Ethan, Talise said loudly, "Do you know that speaking to a knight like this is an insult? Your insults to me over these past ten-plus days are enough to cancel out those so-called favors of yours. I'm telling you, I can at any time, in my capacity as a Temple Knight..."

  "Get back." Ethan, who was galloping on his horse, suddenly shouted. He reined in his horse, rose from the saddle, and flew backward, not forgetting to pull Talise with him.

  Talise's reaction wasn't slow. Ethan's warning and pull made her leave the saddle almost at the same time. The two of them flew back together, but the two horses continued to rush forward with undiminished momentum.

  A column of fire suddenly shot up from the ground in front, engulfing the two galloping horses. A small patch of unremarkable ground in front suddenly seemed to have become a small volcanic crater—a magical one. The flames erupting from it were mixed with a strong magical aura. The temperature of this magical fire was in no way inferior to that of lava. Following two miserable horse cries, a strong, burnt smell filled the air as two horse corpses, already burnt to a crisp and misshapen, slid out from the other side of the fire column.