85. No Matter What You Do, You’re In The Palm of My Hand. So, Do Whatever You Want.
Creak!!
The spear would have already snapped if it had been made of wood or metal. No matter how durable a spear was, it would immediately lose its tension if it was being bent more than a certain amount.
Of course, what Davey was doing could be seen as foolish, but he was said to be extremely talented in seeing the layers of metal by the ‘Thousand-Day Blacksmith’, the one who had made Caldeiras the Divine Sword and the basis of Red and Blue Ribbon. Also, he had taken beatings from Odin, the hot-tempered God of Mages, to learn mana control.
‘Whatever. Even if the metal breaks, it’s not hard to strengthen it for a little while.’
Needless to say, this method was near impossible for everyone else. This was only possible for Davey.UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m
Of course, that was not the only problem. The probability of accurately penetrating the Guardian Deity that could be anywhere in the forest and piercing the defense of the bloody barrier which had been corrupted by vampires was close to winning the lottery.
Was it impossible?
‘Do you think the only reason I gave them the brooch was just to make this situation happen?’
It was Davey’s power, so it contained his intent and purpose. Then, of course, he could clearly tell the exact area that was now expelling that same power.
“It’s impossible to find the Guardian Deity that is somewhere in the forest.”
Ignoring Milpieu’s statement, Davey covered his trembling arm with mana.
Ripp!!
He pulled on the cloth bowstring with his right arm, which trembled and had bulging veins on its surface. When the tension in his arm started to hit its limit...
[Godly Bowmanship]
[Dropping the Sun]
Without hesitation, Davey supported the bow with his left foot and let go of Longinus.
Kaboom!!!!
Dozens of layers of circular shock waves appeared with a golden flash of light that illuminated the surroundings. Alongside the flash of light that caused a huge sonic boom, a strong wind ruthlessly collided with the first barrier of the Guardian Deity that the vampires had corrupted.
Crack!!
The result? There was no question as to which would be stronger: the barrier that covered the entire forest or Davey’s focused attack on only one part of it.
The flash of light headed in a completely different direction from the huge pillar of light where the power of the Guardian Deity was running wild, but it would still be effective. Davey hadn’t aimed for the pillar, which was where the vampires, Empress Dowager, and Son of Heaven were.
The light did not lose its power even as it broke apart trees of hundreds and thousands of meters tall.
Boom...
When the flash of light that flew continuously in the air completely disappeared from sight, a huge sphere of golden light appeared on the other side of the forest.
As the vast forest was already full of the Guardian Deity’s energy, it was difficult even for Davey to figure out the exact location unless he personally searched for it. However, now that he had heard the vampires’ plans about embedding the brooch they had stolen from him in the Guardian Deity they had previously discovered, he didn’t need to find their exact location; the Guardian Deity would be right where his power was.
“How...” Milpieu mumbled in disbelief.
Ignoring Milpieu’s confusion, Davey unwrapped and threw away the bent spear. He said, “Think all you want. Do you think I haven’t experienced what you guys did?”
With his real-life experience, Davey was what one would describe as a pro. That was what people from his previous life would say whenever they played computer games. Davey was not going to argue against the term, since it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Several heroes had summoned countless enemies they had met in their lives at the Hall, where it had been easier to summon things. Through fighting them all, Davey had gained hundreds of years of experience.
Anyway, human advancements were usually similar in some ways.
—Still, how is it possible to predict their every move?
‘Half of it is inference.’
One had to cheat and be clever to win in life-or-death battles. Davey had to hide as much of his information as he could while gathering as much information as he could about the opponent. No matter how strong one was, they would only come to a bitter end if they just used brute force.
“Rinne, where is Annabelle?”
“Proceeding the mission without any problems. Luring the testers without difficulty.”
“Tell them to not leave the point.”
‘You’re going to pass the test using the power of the forest’s Guardian Deity. Well, let me do that for you.’
Even if Davey wasn't as good as Bow Lord Apollon, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to give a test that would encourage the talented archers to overcome an obstacle. Although, the process itself would be a little violent.
What Tanya wanted was to overcome the obstacle on her own; Davey could let her do that as her older brother. However, he couldn’t just focus his attention on that as this was also important to him.
“Seize them so that they won’t be able to run away.”
‘Right. I should do what I meant to do before they come bother me.’
This was the reason Davey had come to visit in advance and why he had left this area for a little while.
—Please... Please kill me...
The Rock Giant was speaking to Davey as if it had been waiting for this very moment. Its voice resonated deeply.
“You didn’t lose your mind.”
—I...am the Guardian Deity of the forest; this forest is my home. And...the only place that keeps...me from losing my mind.
The Rock Giant answered, stuttering, as its eyes shone red.
—However... Strange beings overpowered me. I resisted, but they were persistent... They knew my weakness...and they penetrated me... I lost...my mind. Like the past... I ran wild.
“What is the root cause of that?”
—My power...was absorbed...from this forest and I was robbed of the power that kept me from losing my mind... The human woman said she was going to save someone... The small human that she had with her... He has a strange disease... And the one who stole my power was not human.
The human woman referred to the Empress Dowager and the small human referred to the Son of Heaven. And the non-human one referred to the Chancellor of Peace of the Ming Kingdom, who had disappeared with the Empress Dowager ever since the Bow Test had started.
Even though he was a vampire, the Chancellor of Peace hid his identity well and moved freely. It seemed like he thought that Davey did not know, but vampires were actually easy to notice from their overwhelmingly strong odor of blood.
—Most people can’t really do that unless they’re you.
‘I said it is because of the odor of blood, but... when you scan their mana, you will realize that vampires have an inherent power of blood.’
—That’s what I’m saying. It is usually difficult to notice things like that.
‘What can I do? I can’t do anything about the fact that I can see it.’
Davey could even see the surroundings with his eyes closed as he had reached the level of the Mind’s Eye. The vampires probably knew that, but they still could not hide from him. After all, no camouflage skill was good enough to escape the gaze of someone who had achieved the Mind’s Eye.
—I will...destroy the forest if I lose my mind again... Violence like never before.
“So, you want me to kill you before you lose your mind?
—Someone is stealing my power. I will become a crazy giant.
This was a similar situation to the clone of Shandra Minea. The difference was that Shandra had never returned to normal, but this giant was once again losing its mind after regaining consciousness with Davey’s power.
—Strong human, the golden arrow you shot... It awoke me from my crazy mind. You knew how to calm me.
‘This Rock Giant is quick.’
The Rock Giant had lived for a long time, so it was that much wiser and more quick-witted than the average Rock Giant. It knew that it was Davey who had thrown the golden flash of light. As such, that was why it was asking Davey to kill it.
After listening to the Rock Giant’s request, Davey simply shook his head and said, “Monstrous Rock Giants are usually friendly mythical beasts. It seems like you were sent here all alone.”
—...
The Rock Giant’s red eyes shone once again.
—You know...my King?
“To an extent. But there is something I want to ask you beforehand.
The Rock Giant forced itself up, then crawled over to Davey on all fours, and looked at Davey.
—I do...not have much time...to keep my consciousness.
“Is there another being like you?”
—I don’t know...
“Alright. Let me change the question.”
‘Who sent you here?’
The clone of Shandra Minea had been crazy, so regular conversation had failed to get through back then.
However, the Monstrous Rock Giant, the Guardian Deity of this forest, was different. It still had its consciousness and had a long-standing friendly relationship with humans. Simply put, it was the only being from another world that had its own mind even though it was a little rough.
Davey, who knew the vampires’ plan, used this opportunity to his advantage. He used the mosquitoes as pointers to find a reason to talk to the Guardian Deity that was somewhere in this protected forest, so he could save some effort in finding the Guardian Deity.
And the beings that stole Davey’s power along the way? They had no idea what kind of information the power they had stolen from Davey was actually giving him.
Vampires were beings so secretive that it was difficult to find their hideout. Unfortunately, from the moment they had taken Davey’s power, they had opened up their base for discovery.
‘If you take one from me, you’re going to have to give up ten.’