Eat The World Tree

Chapter 239: Baobab Tree (3)

A heavy weight pressed down on my lower abdomen.

-Squeeze, squeeze.

“I can’t tell you how much trouble I went through just to find you.”

Bao murmured with a wicked voice, laughing softly. A giant hand gently stroked my neck, then suddenly grasped it tightly.

“Where is that bastard?”

“Even if you say that… Ugh!”

As I feigned ignorance, pressure was applied to my neck.

“Don’t play dumb. I know you’re that Peach Woman’s disciple.”

No matter how much I enhanced my physical abilities, I was at best comparable to or slightly below the National Tree level.

Born into a warrior tribe, the baobab tree’s innate physical abilities were overwhelmingly superior. Unless I disconnected from the status window or used magic, I couldn’t defeat this guy.

‘…I can’t make a scene with all the cameras around.’

And Peach Woman? Did all these bastards have such foul mouths?

I reached out and twisted Bao’s wrist.

“Oh?”

Bao’s eyebrows twitched.

It was a close call.

My hands were trembling. So were Bao’s.

Our strengths were similar. Veins popped out on our wrists, and I slowly pried Bao’s hand off my neck.

-Thud.

Then, Bao’s hand grew even larger.

A giant over 3 meters tall. Her body seemed ready to swallow me whole.

An arm span of over eight feet pressed down on my abdomen. The weight was considerable.

Continuing this tug-of-war was meaningless.

As my arm, locked in a power struggle, was pushed back, Bao’s hand tightened around my neck.

[Zzzzz]

A camera followed late, capturing us.

“Still not talking?”

She sneered. Her lips trembled, and air escaped from my mouth.

My lungs were being crushed, making it hard to breathe.

“Staying like this will only bring you more pain.”

“What… if I surrender?”

“I’ll follow you.”

A cold voice penetrated my brain.

“I’ll chase you until you die.”

“…Why, exactly?”

“To find that bastard. Just tell me where he is. Bob. You know? I know you came from Peach Spring Blossom.”

“Peach Spring Blossom… I know… what… the connection is.”

Bao’s frown deepened, and the grip on my neck loosened slightly, giving me some breathing room.

Finally, I could see my opponent’s face.

I couldn’t see clearly earlier because of the chaos. As a National Tree, she was quite beautiful.

Dark skin with yellow eyes and medium-length hair.

Even though her body had grown larger, she retained the sexy curves of a woman.

Finally, she spoke.

“I’m Bob’s sibling.”

Bob’s sibling?

A younger sister?

The image of a burly black muscle man popped into my head. Baobab tree.

I knew they were of the same tree, but I didn’t realize they were actually related by blood.

I was at a loss for words, stunned.

‘…They don’t look alike at all.’

Bob’s image was still that of a bald black man.

A man who looked good in a suit.

Bao and Bob.

Bob and Bao.

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No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reconcile their images.

“…”

“Why have you decided to tell me now?”

Her grip tightened again. My neck was squeezed, and my breathing was completely blocked.

I shook my head.

‘When are they coming?’

I inserted my fingers under her palm as a small resistance.

If I gently pushed, I could at least breathe a little.

Did I come farther than expected? There was no sign of Taeyang or Aori coming this way.

I spread my magic to scan the surroundings one by one.

No sign of them.

-Rustle, rustle.

A few monsters, a vast forest. A newly opened dungeon today, the third day.

After searching every nook and cranny, I finally sensed two presences far away.

They were heading this way but very slowly.

“I really don’t know where they are.”

“As I said earlier, don’t play dumb. You could get hurt.”

“Nobody knows the exact location of Peach Spring Blossom. I only heard that I could find it after graduation.”

Bao stared intently at my face.

Her eyes seemed to read my inner thoughts.

“…Maybe you’re right. If I didn’t have the ability to discern lies, I might have been fooled.”

It could be a bluff.

Anyone can fabricate abilities they don’t have to corner someone.

“Hehehehe.”

But this time, it seemed real.

Her laughing face was unusual.

Bao folded her giant fingers one by one and made a fist.

“Lee Shiheon.”

“…”

“…You have to tell me.”

My clumsy Korean name slipped from her lips.

If she just wanted to know the location, couldn’t she have asked nicely?

Why resort to violence?

Maybe the warrior tribe preferred to persuade with fists.

‘I have no choice.’

I gathered magic in my palm.

Bao, noticing my movement, threw her fist.

-Boom!

She raised her hand and slammed it into the ground.

At that moment, a giant dust storm rose, engulfing Bao.

I created a strong wind to blow dust into Bao’s eyes.

We disappeared from the camera’s lens.

“…You shallow trickster!”

At the same time, I wrapped my body in magic to break free from Bao’s grip and lifted my upper body.

-Thud!

Our foreheads collided.

At a finger’s length distance, we glared at each other with a mask between us.

I reached out to Bao’s chest.

The soft texture in my grasp was brief. I conjured magic to push her away.

Of course, it wasn’t to drive her away.

【 Temporary connection with the World Tree is disengaged. 】

My muscles swelled. The surging magic turned my body black.

As I surpassed the first stage, my vision expanded long and wide.

I perceived all the objects and locations nearby. The movements of magic.

My heightened senses caught everything, paving the way for my actions.

The optimal path to defeat the opponent.

But this time, I charged in a different direction.

Sometimes, a rational approach is more effective than animalistic instincts.

I kicked off the ground and rushed forward.

“…What the…”

My punch was blocked by Bao’s hand.

As soon as my punch was blocked, I turned and kicked her head.

My speed was superior.

-Bang!

A heavy weight hit my heel.

Because of her large body, it felt like I was breaking a tree. A slight lapse in concentration allowed her to land a blow. The impact on her jaw and skull briefly knocked her unconscious.

I seized the opportunity and grabbed Bao’s face.

“Grrr… Mmph!”

‘I’m taking her with me.’

Given my opponent, I couldn’t win against her as a magician.

-Thud!

Grabbing Bao’s head, I teleported far away.

Her growing size made it burdensome to fight her.

Teleporting multiple times between trees.

Finally, we arrived at our destination.

Inside the dungeon.

[Zzzzz!]

Leaving behind the last scene captured by the camera, we rolled onto the dungeon floor.

Thud. Bao and I fell.

We immediately got up, glaring at each other with our respective emotions.

“…Is this a dungeon? What are you thinking?”

Bao arrogantly laughed and took a stance. Her body was now 4 meters tall.

Although her strength and stamina were currently weaker than mine, if she grows more, it will be overwhelming.

“You’re going to face me without your team?”

“Yep.”

“…What?”

Bao frowned at my answer.

“There’s no one watching now.”

Dark magic swirled above my shoulders.

---

“They’re not here.”

Aori, searching the bushes, looked at Taeyang.

The shattered gauntlet had been discarded long ago.

It was only a few seconds of confrontation, but both their bodies were a mess.

“They probably went into the dungeon.”

A hidden gate in the forest. But there were signs that someone had already entered.

Once someone enters a dungeon, tracking them is impossible.

Most of the cameras lost their target and scattered. Only a few remaining cameras focused on Taeyang and Aori.

Taeyang sat down in front of the gate.

“Damn it.”

Embarrassing.

He had put on quite a show, but who would have known their opponent would be that woman?

As he brushed his forehead with his hand, he heard laughter from behind.

“…Hehehe.”

“Don’t laugh.”

Aori, recalling the earlier scene, was laughing.

“Hyung… hehe. Do I look… like such a weakling…? Ugh! Hahaha.”

“I told you to shut up.”

“One punch, knocked out. Idiot.”

Any chance she got, she mocked Taeyang.

Taeyang sighed heavily, tracing the veins on his forehead.

His hyung wouldn’t have recklessly dragged someone into the dungeon. No matter how crazed a fighter Bao was, he wouldn’t lose pathetically.

“Is the king okay?”

Aori asked, her voice filled with concern, the smile gone from her lips.

Taeyang scoffed at her.

“Just trust him.”

“That woman was incredibly strong.”

Aori held out her broken gauntlet to Taeyang.

It had the power to shatter bones with one punch.

Aori’s combat ability was by no means weak.

Yet, even she couldn’t handle Bao.

“Unless we release our powers, it’s tough to fight.”

“Yeah. You and I are in the same boat….”

Those who inherited the king’s power. Without unleashing the power of the trees within them, their combat abilities were significantly reduced.

Aori, being a Tree Person, had far superior potential than Taeyang, a human.

Still, she was of the Tree Spirit King’s bloodline.

Moreover, Aori inherited powers from families that no longer existed.

“If I can’t handle her, she’s at least top-tier among the National Trees.”

“You’re so confident.”

“Who am I?”

Aori placed her hands on her hips and proudly named her parents.

“The daughter of Golden Delicious and Hongok.”

“How can someone be named Golden Delicious?”

“Did you just insult my dad?”

“Yes.”

“Trash. The worst.”

The Apple family. Destroyed for their collusion with the Tree Spirit King, most were sold as slaves or killed.

But their power couldn’t be ignored.

Inheriting the World Tree’s blood strongly, along with the Tree Spirit King’s, made her uniquely talented.

Golden Delicious, one of the few who remained loyal to the Tree Spirit King, was her progenitor.

Golden Delicious and the Tree Spirit King had a son, who then united with Hongok to create Aori.

“…Is the king okay?”

Aori furrowed her brow, pouting.

“Stop worrying.”

“Can’t help it.”

“Have you fought my hyung?”

“Unlike you, I know my limits.”

Aori stuck out her tongue. Taeyang raised his middle finger and gave a wicked smile.

“If he fought seriously, there’s no one here who could match him.”

“Even the National Trees?”

“National Trees, my ass.”

Taeyang, who had lived in the slums, had seen countless individuals with incomparable skills.

And he recognized their expressions and eyes.

He knew that the skill he saw in Lee Shiheon couldn’t possibly be touched by the Baobab Tree.

He hadn’t even used his full strength.

But the unusual aura emanating from his body couldn’t be hidden.

“Did I tell you before about that feeling those S-grades lack?”

“When did you say that?”

“When we were eating cup noodles at home last time.”

“Maybe you did… but why?”

Taeyang raised his finger.

“My hyung is a god.”

A joke half meant.

Aori’s face crumpled.

“…Not funny.”

“He could beat most S-grades.”

There was no other way to explain the atmosphere at that time.