The Latest Game Is Too Amazing

Chapter 14: The Mage Rises

Exactly how much time has passed? Raphael thinks as he wipes away his sweat.

The giant tree monsters attacked their formation, and the royal army was brilliantly deceived by their plan to wedge them apart, causing them to be caught in a whirlwind of chaos. Because of this, the divided royal army has become scattered, separating into groups the size of platoons and companies, and theyre no longer in a state where its possible to follow the chain of command. And since the orcs that have been waiting for this moment to attack, they cant endure it. The troops have been put at a total disadvantage, resulting in defeat after defeat.

And in the middle of this disadvantageous situation, among the units fighting bravely is the one led by Raphael. Proudly said to be the pinnacle of strength in all the kingdom, they made it through countless orc attacks and drove the enemy back. However, after many consecutive battles, they were defeated one by one, and now his unit has been reduced to a hundred people. Each of them is steeped in the blood of orcs as well as their own, leaving them noticeably exhausted. Injuries can be healed with potions and clerics healing spells. However, potions and healing spells dont restore blood or prevent the frequent blood loss from causing anemia, so the accumulated exhaustion cant be completely recovered.

At this rate, its only a matter of time before they get wiped out. Their only option is to join up with the other units and escape this crisis, but

How can these orcs anticipate my every move?!

Even though they have to proceed through pathless woods to join up with the other units, the orcs have laid down multiple lines of defense and are attacking fiercely. As if theyre being led by the nose by an enemy that can read their every move, theyre unable to join up with their allies.

Come to think of it, the survivors of the villages attacked by orcs said that they were ambushed the same way. Remembering that at this stage, Raphael grits his teeth. He doesnt know if the tree monsters are still observing them or how theyre passing on that information to the orcs, but it seems that the enemy is aware of their movements.

Everything about their current situation benefits the enemys side. But he cant give up here. Hell likely have to take responsibility for this defeat and step down from the position of the Commander of the Knights, but right now, hes still the Commander. Hes an officer responsible for 2,200 lives. He must keep their sides casualties to a minimum and bring back at least a bit of information for their next battle.

An explosion echoes through the woods. Thats surely the sound of their mage allies fighting. Their allies havent given up yet. Raphael tries once again to join up with his allies and escape.

He sees a place where dazzling sunlight is shining in. Thinking that hes made it out of the forest, he heads toward it, but it seems that he was mistaken. He ended up in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Rather than escaping the forest, he seems to have gotten himself lost deeper inside it. In the center of the clearing, an ancient tree much larger than the tree monsters he encountered earlier towers over him. Thinking this one may be a monster as well, Raphael and his men fearfully approach with great suspicion.

Mighty human, you have done well to make it this far, says the deep voice of an old man.

Raphaels eyes widen. Looking closely, he finds large hollows in the tree trunk, in the shape of eyes and a mouth. Its as if the tree has the face of a human. Monsters with high intelligence are capable of speech. That in itself isnt particularly strange, but he has his guard up due to the tree monsters from before.

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What are you? Identify yourself! Raphael points his sword at it as he questions it. The other soldiers also surround the tree, prepared to fight it.

I am one who serves Lord Mosdeus, the Elder Treant.

Mosdeus. Raphael is familiar with that name.

You fiend! You serve the evil god?!

He is nothing of the sort. Lord Mosdeus is our god, the exalted god of monsters, the Elder Treant says, displeased with Raphaels remarks, growing even more intimidating than before. No matter. Mighty human, take pride in your strength. Your valor which has repelled many of my followers shall be dedicated to Lord Mosdeus.

My sword is dedicated to my kingdom. I will offer nothing to the evil god! All that awaits you, who bring harm to my people and menace my kingdom, is to be cut into pieces!

It laughs defiantly. If you can, then I invite you to try.

Cease your prattle! Mages, archers, hit it with fire!

The mages and archers move, following Raphaels orders. However, before they can attack, the ground shakes. The sudden tremor throws the soldiers off-balance. The Elder Treants roots burst through the earth and attack them mercilessly.

Fuhahaha, how clumsy. If a single shake of my roots causes you to fall, humans are more fragile than I anticipated, the Elder Treant says mockingly. I shall give you some useful information. These roots can do more than simply shaking the earth. Plants that are connected to these roots are put under my control and become my underlings. Although, they require humans as nutrients in order to transform into monsters such as treants. Soon, my roots shall spread all throughout the land and my underlings shall grow.

So that was the purpose of the recent attacks on the villages?!

That is correct. The incompetent orcs that took up residence in this land while I was sealed wouldnt have enough military strength.

This thing is dangerous. Listening to its explanation which is worse than Raphael imagined, he trembles with fear. To summarize everything hes learned up until now, the follower of the evil god Mosdeus, the Elder Treant, is planning to invade the kingdom. Hes heard that monsters can talk to their underlings and see through their eyes no matter how far away they are. Although, that was from a fairy tale about vampires, so the information is questionable, but if its true, then all of the mysterious circumstances could be explained. Information could be transmitted through its underling plants. If all of the plants in the kingdom are turned into its underlings and get turned into those tree monsters into treants, the kingdom will surely be destroyed.

As a knight, he has to prevent that at all costs, even if it means risking his life.

If the Elder Treant is telling the truth, its roots shouldnt have spread through the entire kingdom yet. First, he should take care of the Elder Treant and minimize the damage.

Men, we cannot risk letting that monster live! It is spreading its roots. We need not fear it moving like the other tree monsters can! Consider it immobilized and commence the attack!

The soldiers take up their battle stances once more.

It is true that I am unable to move. However

The surrounding trees start to move.

I am still able to summon my underlings.

Raphael is surrounded by 30 treants.

Pay them no attention, theyre insignificant. Defeat that monster, whatever it takes!

Commander, well take care of the smaller ones so you can focus on the big one! his adjutant says.

Raphael listens to him and strengthens his muscles with mana once again. The army is losing, and the evil gods forces are growing. Even if this unprecedented threat to the kingdom is only his own presumption, Raphael faces the Elder Treant with determination to defeat it.

Several treants stand in his way, as if to block his path. Some of them burst into action while others are held back by soldiers before they get the chance, and Raphaels path is cleared. The soldiers skillfully defend him from attacks from the side or the back.

Seeing the soldiers raising their voices and facing the treants, Raphael can feel himself brimming with power in response. Everyone has been covered with wounds to make it to this point, and on top of that, theyre opening up a path for him, all for the sake of the kingdom. Raphael is deeply grateful to have been blessed with such excellent subordinates. But he cant dwell on it. Theyre putting their lives in danger to buy time. He cant let even a single second go to waste. He wont be able to face them unless he slays the Elder Treant by any means necessary.

Although his legs must be worn out, they are not yet weak, and he kicks at the ground with force, closing in on the Elder Treant all at once. To prevent this, the Elder Treant creates a new root and bends it like a whip to knock Raphael away. Raphael sidesteps the roots attack as he draws closer.

Sensing intuitively that now is the time to strike, Raphael enshrouds his sword in mana, stands firm, turns his hips, and puts all of that force into his sword, unleashing the strongest attack that hes currently capable of. The high-speed attack causes wind to rush past, and he strikes the Elder Treants trunk. The instant the sword hits, the impact is so intense that a cloud of dust rises from the earth.

He can feel the strength of the attack. His hands are also slightly numb from the impact. However, its

An excellent attack, mighty human. But it will take more than that to defeat me.

The sword has pierced deep into the Elder Treants trunk, but it isnt even halfway hurt, much less bisected. Clicking his tongue, Raphael kicks the tree, pulls his sword out, and puts some distance between them.

The Elder Treants body appears to be tougher than he expected. If he cant defeat it in one hit, hell just have to keep on swinging his sword at it. Coming to this conclusion, Raphael closes in on it once more.

A treant that the soldiers failed to defeat attacks with its branch, and instead of taking the hit head-on, he catches it with the flat of the blade to divert its trajectory and cuts the branch down. The Elder Treant uses that opening to seize Raphaels shoulder with its root. The impact of his pauldron being hit causes Raphael to grimace reflexively, but he bends just in time to keep the force of the attack to a minimum. In addition, he cuts the root that tried to grab his arm.

Raphael isnt the only one attacking the Elder Treant. The archers and mages in the rear guard shoot flaming arrows and Fire Arrow spells to burn the Elder Treant, but it deftly uses its roots to cover the fire with dirt and extinguish it. It seems that the Elder Treant hates fire just as much as its treant underlings, which are weak to flames. The Elder Treants mouth curves downwards, perhaps in contempt. It redirects its attention and its roots towards the soldiers in the rear guard.

Raphael doesnt pass up that opportunity. He slips past the roots and enters melee range. Prioritizing speed, he hits it with a series of blows. Literally whittling down the Elder Treants body, wood shavings scatter through the air. Each attack is weak in comparison to the attack that he put all of his strength into, but if he aims for the spot where he chopped into it earlier and keeps on slashing at it, he can widen the wound. While paying attention to the roots movements and receiving the protection of his allies, he steadily continues damaging the Elder Treant.

Raphael wishes his allies would finish their fights soon, but he suppresses his feelings of impatience and continues whittling at his enemy. They all predict that its going to be a long battle.

Commander, sir, get back! a soldier shouts, the first to notice the abnormality due to being far enough away to see the whole picture. However, since Raphaels field of vision is extremely limited due to the size of his enemy and his proximity to it, he cant read the Elder Treants movements which are outside of his view and his reaction is delayed.

The Elder Treant seizes Raphael with its strong arms. Taking a blow from an unexpected direction, Raphael coughs up blood.

At last, Ive caught you, mighty human, the Elder Treant says with a smug grin. You are stronger than my underlings, so it would be a shame to kill you. I shall take you in, as I have the orcs. You shall obey me and serve Lord Mosdeus.

A green insect slowly crawls down the Elder Treants arm and towards Raphael. He knows this insect. It was used by an alchemist he caught in the past who used dark arts. This insect enters the targets ear and parasitizes their brain, allowing the user to manipulate the target, one of the most common dark arts.

He finally understands why the orcs, which have low intelligence, are being led by the Elder Treant. Theyre only being manipulated by the Elder Treant. Its moving the orcs like puppets based on the information gathered by its underlings. And at this rate, hes going to become one of them.

With a sudden horror, Raphael struggles to escape, but the arm grabbing him doesnt move an inch.

Rescue the commander! his adjutant calls out with a look of desperation, but even more treants came rushing in to thwart them.

Theres nothing they can do. A sense of helplessness hangs in the air. Raphael bites deep into his lip in frustration.

Is this where it all ends? Will he be taken by this fiend and forced to direct his sword at his own kingdom? His wife and newborn child pass through his mind.

Someone, anyone Please, save us from this crisis

Theres the sound of an explosion. An otherworldly shriek echoes through the clearing. Suddenly, the restraint loosens and, in accordance with gravity, Raphael falls. Unable to brace himself, he slams into the ground and goes into a coughing fit. In that moment, the insect that was about to enter his ear falls and gets crushed by his body.

What in the world just happened?

Through his pain, Raphael lets his gaze wander as he attempts to make sense of this situation.

The Elder Treant is glaring at something with anguish in its face.

Following its line of sight, he finds a black-haired, black-eyed boy holding a staff.