Chapter 96 Full Of Enthusiasm
Several minutes later, the Elder Treant I had defeated revived.
The magical energy filling the labyrinth converged on one corner of the grassland, constructing a temporary mass with light.
Just a few seconds after the reaction began, a towering tree-like Elder Treant was reborn right before our eyes.
"――Alright, Fiona, I'm counting on you."
"...Hmm."
The one facing it was Fiona.
Fiona had just returned from repairing her Storage Ring and pulled out 2 wooden swords, holding one in each hand.
The wooden swords were slender and delicate, unlike ordinary ones, and seemed fragile against the massive Elder Treant.
However, Fiona took a deep breath, her eyes filled with determination as she gazed at the Elder Treant.
And then the battle began.
In that instant, it was quiet.
Fiona's body leaned forward, as if she was about to fall, and her long hair fluttered behind her. Few people could keep up with her swift, powerless movements.
The human eye can predict an opponent's movements based on experience. However, if there are no signs of movement, such as changes in gaze, breathing, or muscle tension, the prediction fails, and the reaction is delayed.
But that's only true when facing humans. It doesn't apply to the Elder Treant.
Fiona's forward lean wasn't meant to exploit her opponent's weakness. It was simply that relaxing her muscles allowed her to move more smoothly and quickly.
However, her sudden, forceless movement slowed even the Elder Treant's reaction.
Battle technique――[Rapid Flash]
An aura with directionality exploded from the soles of Fiona's feet as she fell.
Immediately after, Fiona's figure vanished, moving to a new location.
In an instant, she had already invaded the Elder Treant's inner circle, just 10 meters (≈ 32.8 feet) away.
In reality, Fiona's aura control power had grown even further due to the influence of using [God's Descent] to experience higher techniques than her current self.
Although she couldn't reproduce the Hero Battle Technique she used against the false angel, she could now imitate a part of my unique battle technique. One of them was [Rapid Flash].
In any case, Elder Treant began to counterattack against the rapidly approaching enemy life form. It manipulated countless roots spreading underground, thrusting out sharp root spears with great force.
Root spears sprouted from the wide area of the ground to pierce Fiona. For most opponents, it would be difficult to avoid due to the wide range.
However, Fiona didn't even think about avoiding it.
――[Rapid Flash]
The second explosion further accelerated Fiona's charge. She easily escaped from the attack area covering the wide range of root spears. Elder Treant's counterattack was completely meaningless, only piercing empty space.
By that time, Fiona had already reached Elder Treant's roots and deeply thrust her slender sword into the surface of the giant trunk.
The wooden sword, lacking an edge, wouldn't be able to pierce Elder Treant's hard, sturdy trunk. Normally, it wouldn't be able to pierce it.
But the aura covering the surface made the impossible possible.
Swordsman Skill――[Aura Blade]
It's not just a simple skill.
When Fiona created her wooden sword, she had always used this skill, so its proficiency had increased to the point where it could merge with other skills, just like [Flying Slash]. The unified skill allowed her to rapidly expand her aura inside the trunk the moment she thrust her sword. There was no delay in this aura's variation.
Swordsman Skill――[Burst Blade]
The aura flowing from the thrust wooden sword exploded.
A large hole was bored into a part of Elder Treant's giant trunk.
However, it wasn't enough to take it down with one hit. No matter how big it was, it was still far from being fatal compared to the Elder Treant's massive body. The treant was still alive and well, and as proof, its roots burst out from the ground, trying to capture Fiona, while its magical energy controlled the wind, turning it into a colorless blade that rained down.
The ground was torn apart by countless wind blades, and the dirt and debris danced in the air, obscuring our view.
――Is Fiona okay?
The onlookers didn't even have time to wonder that before the next instant proved her safety.
With a deafening explosion that shook the grasslands.
When the Elder Treant stretched out its roots to capture Fiona and unleashed its wind blades, she was already gone from the scene.
She had reactivated [Rapid Flash] and wove in [Speed Step] to move at high speed around the giant tree.
She drew a circle around the massive trunk, moving swiftly from one spot to another, striking and stabbing with her aura-infused wooden sword, causing the Elder Treant's trunk to shatter from the aura's explosive power.
On the other hand, the Elder Treant's attacks, which were like a terrifying monster's, couldn't catch Fiona, not even with its countless roots and wind blades.
As time passed, Fiona's movements accelerated, and her attacks grew more intense.
Sword Dance Maiden skill――[Sword Dance]
Sword Dance Maiden skill――[Dance of the God Offering]
With these two powerful skills, Fiona's abilities continued to rise. Soon, she wasn't just using the ground, but also the surface of the Elder Treant's massive trunk as a foothold, performing 3-dimensional maneuvers.
It was a breathtaking, bold, and flashy sword dance that captivated the onlookers.
The writhing roots and wind blades were now mere decorations for her sword dance.
The explosions continued to shake the grasslands for a while――.
Just a few dozen seconds later, Fiona kicked the trunk she was standing on with all her might and jumped high into the air.
She drew a parabolic arc and descended from the sky, landing right in front of us, who were watching in awe.
She stood up from her slightly crouched position, let out a deep breath, and stored her 2 wooden swords in her Storage Ring.
"――It's over."
Right after those words, the Elder Treant behind Fiona let out a loud cracking sound and snapped in 2 from the roots, falling to the ground.
The massive impact shook the ground, causing a shockwave to resonate.
The remains of the Elder Treant, now a gruesome sight, ceased its fake life activity as Fiona had said, and began to dissolve into magical energy.
"Good job, you're tired."
I lightly raised my hand to greet Fiona.
Then, I turned around to see the reactions of my clan members.
This battle was a great fight, where she directly attacked with wooden swords and perfectly sealed the deal. Now, they should understand what it means to fight with wooden swords――or so I thought.
They were all stunned, their mouths agape, but a few seconds later――,
"Whoa, wow, wowwwww."
"That's amazing! Sword Dance Maiden is incredible!"
"Wow, you did it with a wooden sword!"
"Can we really take down an Elder Treant with a wooden sword?!"
"My dear big sister, that was so beautiful!!"
They erupted into cheers.
Fiona, on the other hand, kept a straight face, her lips pressed together, but her cheeks were flushed red as she nodded awkwardly.
"A, uh... yeah..."
She whispered so softly that only I could hear, then quickly moved behind me to hide.
It seemed she was embarrassed by the praise.
I thought she'd say something like "What's with you guys? Don't you know who I am?" and puff out her chest, but――Fiona's reactions can be quite childish at times like this.
Anyway.
Now, they should understand that we can fight with wooden swords.
I also fought with a wooden sword, but the difference in their reactions is a bit hard to understand. Still, as long as the result is good, I won't worry about it.
I clapped my hands loudly to gather everyone's attention and reminded them of our original goal when we came to the labyrinth.
"Alright, from now on, you'll be hunting Treants as planned! And of course, with the wooden weapons I handed out earlier!"
For that, I gave wooden weapons for everyone.
It's not a problem even if one or 2 break, since we have a lot, so I want them to fight with confidence.
When I told them that, the clan members cheered.
"No way, you're kidding me!!"
"We can do it too if the Sword Dance Maiden can!"
"Don't be ridiculous!!"
It seems they're full of enthusiasm.
I nodded repeatedly and gently guided everyone from the grassland to the forest.
"――Shut uppp!!! Stop complaining before you even start! It's not impossible! Liar, those are just empty wordsss!!!"
I took out a wooden sword from my inventory and showed them where Trent was, over there.
To be specific, I tried hitting the clan members' feet with [Flying Blade].
"Whoa!? T-this guy, he's attacking us?"
"Is this guy our Master or what?"
"Who is this guy who made him our Clan Master!?"
After that, I guided the clan members a lot.
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