Volume 3 Chapter 116: Searching the Forest III (2/2)
Another reason why we decided to try out my plan is because it was likely that the elder treant could not make all metals rust equally.
Although it is true that the impossible could be made possible through the conjuration spells born from the visualization of the phenomenon and the employ of mana, it doesn’t mean that anything can be done so long as these two conditions are fulfilled. To some extent, the rules of nature are also in play.
Yes. Nature can be twisted with the employ of a spell, which requires the union of mana and imagination, and yet the more the laws of nature are twisted, the more mana is consumed. Which goes to mean that there is a limit. And it is because of that so-called limit that I was able to predict that a piece of metal that was naturally difficult to rust would prove to be equally difficult to rust magically.
Yet with just that, the iron slimes would still be in danger should the battle continue for a long time, so I made sure everyone understood that point.
As such, before committing to the battle, we decided that we would first test the waters by throwing one slime at the treant. If this attack were to fail, then I am to quickly retrieve the slime and run away. Afterwards, I will heal the slime using the method Raypin-san taught me. The most important part of a slime is its nucleus. Some rust on the surface will not be a problem. As long as the spread of the rust can be contained before it reaches the nucleus, the slime can still be saved.
But if the attack works, then we will continue with the battle. Using the information we got from our last battle with the elder treant, we came up with a plan to defeat it in as little time as possible. Once the battle is over, I will gather my slimes and heal them with light magic just to be safe. If we can’t defeat the elder treant, then in that case, we can just run away again。
Everyone agreed to help me retrieve the slimes and retreat, so we challenged the elder treant to another round of war.
“Heave ho!” [Ryouma]
This time, I’m fighting at the frontlines as well, so the battle is a lot fiercer than before.
In the first attack, the elder treant whipped its branches at me from above. In its second attack, it shot out a Dark Ball toward me. In its third attack, it blocked the road with its roots.
The elder treant also tried to entangle me, but I cut its branches and forced my way through.
And now, the face of the elder treant is right before me. I’m going to keep running toward it like this and strike it with my sword.
“OOOOOO!!” [Ryouma]
Or at least that’s what I had in mind, but as expected, the elder treant wasn’t about to just watch me cut its face, and as it prepared to shoot out another Dark Ball, it whipped its branches toward me.
Twisting my body, I moved along the direction of the branches and spun counterclockwise, then with a stroke from my blade, I cut down the branches. The excised part fell to the ground.
At this point, the Dark Ball finally launched itself toward me, but I dodged it and quickly found myself underneath its face. If this were a human, this would be the point where I lopped its neck off from left to right with a stroke of my blade, but while ki-clad sword cut through the elder treant like hot knife through butter, leaving a large wound in its wake from which a great amount of mana poured out, it was not down for the count just yet.
“UoOO!” [Elder Treant]
Oh? Is the elder treant feeling threatened now? It seems to be the case since it reduced its attacks and started healing itself with wood magic.
Unfortunately for it, there wasn’t a soul here who was just going to watch it as it recovered.
“Flame Lance!” [Raypin]
Raypin-san casted a fire spell and shot it straight into the elder treant’s wound.
It was the intermediate spell, Flame Lance, too.
Shooting fire right into a wound is bound to be super effective. True enough, the regeneration rate of the elder treant immediately went down a level.
Not willing to miss the opportunity, Miya-san and the others went all out, and traces of their weapons could be seen thoroughly engraved on and around the elder treant’s face.
But while they went all out on the elder treant, I didn’t join them and instead prepared to launch my attack.
I ordered the Big Iron Slime it to bring 15 slimes out of it and then transform.
Very quickly, the big iron slime turned into an iron ball that could be carried with both arms. Iron thorns dotted it and there were even semi-circle handles that were open at the center on it. As for the separated iron slimes, I put them together to build a chain, then I attached them to the handles on the iron ball.
It took me roughly 5 seconds to complete everything and change my weapon from a katana to an iron ball and chain.
“I’m ready!” [Ryouma]
This iron ball specializes in dealing a lot of damage in a single blow. It’s perfect for dealing with large-type monsters. When I pulled on the chains, it made a ‘jara jara’ sound. The only condition to use it is a strong physique or strengthening magic since the iron ball is heavy. As for me, I can use it thanks to my ki. When I swung the iron ball and chain, it made a sound like it was cutting through the air.
I’m not used to it myself, so I can only hit unmoving targets with it!
“Good. Clear the area!!” [Asagi]
At Asagi-san’s signal, everyone who’s been attacking until now immediately stopped and cleared the area.
My target was none other than the elder treant’s face!
“HAa!” [Ryouma]
“!!?” [Elder Treant]
The iron ball hit it right at its nose.
In the next moment, cracks appeared on the elder treant’s face and even more mana poured out.
Its face was already covered in wounds and was very fragile, so when the iron ball landed on it, its face gave in.
I was originally planning on beating it 4 to 5 times, but it looks like I took it down with just one hit. The roots and branches around have already stopped moving. But… It seems it’s still alive, after all.
“Finish it, Ryouma.” [Asagi]
“You’re the one with who contributed the most, after all, Ryouma-kun.” [Syria]
“End it once and for all.” [Mizelia]
“Alright.” [Ryouma]
As I spun the chains again, I threw the iron ball with all my strength, hitting the forehead of the elder treant.
’TOGO’ resounded a loud dull sound, then the elder treant’s face crumbled.
Mana poured out powerfully from the elder treant, but it only lasted for a while, before the flow gradually weakened, and before long, I couldn’t sense anymore mana.
“Is it dead?” [Ryouma]
“It should be, de aru.” [Raypin]
After confirming that there were no problems, I used my light magic to heal the iron slimes. It doesn’t look like they got hurt at all, but just to be safe.
Anyway, it’s great that everything ended without a hitch.
While I was thinking that, I shot Light Ball at the iron slimes.
“Well, it’s over… for now, de gozaru.” [Asagi]
As Asagi-san said that, his eyes turned to the piled up corpses of treants.
Oh, right. We still have to gather those. How long is that going to take us? Not to mention, both mine and Raypin-san’s dimension home are already full.
“Don’t worry. As soon as you finish healing your slime, we’ll go back to the town to report once. We’ll get some help then to carry all of these. We can get the costs reimbursed at the guild when we get back to Gimuru.” [Asagi]
And so, we went back to town and reported to the guild.
We’ll leave the gathering of lumber for tomorrow. For now, let’s just get a good night’s rest.
