CH 306.1

The elven village that spread out at the base of the World Tree in the heart of the Spirit Forest.

「High Elf-sama! I have an urgent matter to report!」

But it is not always possible to live only at one’s own pace.

An old man with thick eyebrows who were packed into a high elf’s mansion was exactly that. He was dragged out of a comfortable sleep at dawn by a barrage of soldiers pounding on his bedroom door.

「A large group of Imperial Army is heading this way, you say?」

Prompted with a bad feeling, the report was the worst possible.

The Elven knight order, led by an old man who was as skinny as a dead tree, had already departed. The only ones remaining in the village were the C-class, which could not hover.

(That’s why I said not to do such outrageous things as using the full force of the army and not leaving some Knights for defense)

He gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Incidentally, the reason for the late report was that the wind spirits had gone away. The World Tree no longer emits magic power, so it must have been unable to sustain itself.

Their ability to keep watch declined because they had been relying on it so heavily.

「We must not let them defile the Spirit Forest! We shall intercept them with all our might, and not a single Knight shall step foot inside.」

The soldier’s face contorted as he gave the order, but the thick-browed high elf shouted at him and chased him away from the mansion.

Next, he ordered another soldier to gather his colleagues, who were still nowhere to be seen, and he himself headed for the southern part of the forest, where the enemy was closing in.

(What a number!)

The thick-browed high elf groaned as he arrived at the southern edge of the forest, using his leaping magic to leap over the trees in rapid succession like monkeys. There were giants lined up in an orderly fashion on the burnt field and were advancing toward them.

The soldiers who had just brought the news to him were acting strangely, no doubt because they had seen this.

『About a hundred Empire Knights. They form a line and advance with their shields on the side.』

The one who said that through the external sound system was a horned C-class Knight, which was in a one-kneeling position on the outer edge of the forest.

The captain, who was piloting it, is pale, but that is to be expected. In contrast, there were less than ten of them.

(The only saving grace is that we have a group of offensive magic users.)

The amount of magic power of the magicians is several times that of human pilots. Although it takes time to activate, the power and frequency would be comparable to a B-class Knight of the human race.

Looking at the figures standing on the branches of the surrounding trees, the captain desperately thinks of a plan.

(We should dare them to invade the forest and engage in guerrilla warfare against the magicians.)

And wait for the return of the Elven knight order’s main force.

It is unforgivable for human Knights to set foot in the Spirit Forest. But currently, they have no power to prevent it.

The captain came to such a conclusion, but it seems that the thick-browed high elf in command of the place had arrived at a different conclusion.

『What are you doing!? Shoot! Hurry up and start shooting!』

He screamed from the top of the tree at the end of the line with loudspeaker magic. When he looked back with his Knight, he saw him waving his staff in his hand impatiently.

He jumped on the spot, and his voice was turning into something like cutting metal plates.

(I guess there’s no choice.)

Although he had his doubts, he had no choice but to obey the high elf’s order.

『Our target is the Empire’s Knights! Aim between their shields!』

At the same time, he lowered one of his hands, and magic arrows of various colors of light, red, blue, white, and yellow, flew from the C-class Knights’ wands.

All of it hit the enemy’s shield and disappeared, unable to break it or stop it.

(The distance is too far.)

It’s just out of range and barely reaches. It was difficult to aim, and of course, it was impossible to get through the gap.

The captain looked behind him again to see what he thought of the situation.

『Why are you all stopping? You too. Shoot! Shoot, shoot, and keep shooting!』

The high elf with thick eyebrows was shouting at the surrounding magicians with foam at the corners of his mouth.

As a result, the attack magic was unleashed in an uncontrolled manner. Naturally, it was ineffective.

The thick-browed elf who already lost his patience began to draw a magic circle in the air and chant a spell using his own magic power, which he always spares.

『Eat this!』

Along with that voice, he swung down his twisted staff and launched a powerful offensive magic using a large amount of magical power. With a roar from diagonally above, multiple bolts of lightning strike the Empire Knights.

Several B-class Knights in the formation were destroyed, but the formation of the Imperial Army was not disrupted, and they didn’t stop advancing.

(It’s no use. Not even the magic of the high elf can stop them.)

Finally, the captain pushed the difference in status and advised the high elves. The content was what he thought earlier, which was to 『Do guerrilla warfare by drawing them into the forest』.

『You bastard! Are you saying to let those lowly humans step their foot into the forest!?』

The horned C-class Knight kneeled in front of the thick-browed high elf, who stood on a tree branch. Then, with a shout of rage, he fired a fire arrow.

Because the elves have superior magic power manipulation skills, they can feel the pain of the Knight’s burns as if it were their own.

He gritted his teeth and calmed down, explaining that he could do nothing to prevent it, and asked him to reconsider.

『If you’re saying that much, then try it!』

He must have had some thoughts about the reality in front of him because he conceded with it while contorting his thick eyebrows. He turned his head to the back with a grim look on his face and left, bouncing on the branches with his leaping magic.

(The enemy will soon reach the forest. There is no time to devise detailed plans.)

The captain exhaled and told them to use their own judgment in the battle. He then dispersed the Knights and magicians.

With the steady shaking of the earth growing louder and louder, the captain retreated just far enough to take cover. He made his Knight lower his body and hid in the shadows of the forest.

It was not long after that the Imperial Army reached the outer edge of the forest.

(…Those bastards!)

It was not surprising that the captain groaned in the cockpit. When the Empire Knights reached the forest, they did not pass through the trees but began to cut down the trees in their path with their swords.

(What a thing to do! Are they fine if something terrible happened to this world!?)

A wide road leading to the World Tree was being built as he was watching them. The captain was stunned, staring at the scene with his mouth half-open.

『They wouldn’t dare to cause harm to the forest even when they do step foot inside it.』

He had assumed so from the top of his head.

This is because the World Tree is the only thing in this world that releases magic power into the world. And the surrounding forest is a place where precious magical plants grow.

Even if they were to acquire the forest, its value would be drastically reduced.

(I’ve always thought they were greedy and stupid, but I had no idea it was to this extent.)

It wasn’t mockery that welled up in his heart, but anger.

If it was only the human race that would perish, he could just laugh it off as something they deserved. But to be caught up in it because of their foolishness is just too much.

(We have to stop them. If we don’t stop them, this world will be destroyed.)

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw one of the Empire Knights pointing its great shield at him while raising his sword. It was not aware of him yet but was probably wary of the offensive magic coming from deep in the forest.

(Please hit!)

He fired a fire arrow at its head, which was not hidden by the shield, but it didn’t hit it because it was moving.

As he was about to retreat while clicking his tongue, at that moment, a Thunder Arrow pierced the Empire Knight from right beside him.