Chapter 718: War?

1: What is a spirit?

2: They were creatures.

3: Creatures made by God.

4: Why were they made?

5: To act on behalf of God.

6: To manage the nature created by God in his stead.

7: As such, although they existed outside the human world, they influenced it greatly.

8: They made rivers flow, formed ocean currents, gathered moisture in the sky to rain on the land, creating forests where new life sprouted.

9: Because of their fate, spirits were generally gentle.

10: At times, they caused typhoons, floods, and earthquakes, but those were necessary for nature’s cycle. Their actions had no malice.

11: Bang━! Bang━! Craaasshhh━━!!!

12: But the spirit before them now was different. It was filled with malice and anger.

13: This was the Earth King summoned by the Reformist Druids, the ruler of earth, stone, and cement. A spirit made of these materials.

14: You could tell just by the way it swung its massive arms and let out unearthly roars.

15: It was understandable. Not only had it been forcibly summoned, but it had been shackled and controlled like a puppet, fueling its rage.

16: The humiliation and disgrace were beyond imagination.

17: Thus, Oliver didn’t feel much pity for the druids who were being crushed like flies by the Earth Spirit.

18: “Heeek- Gackk!!!”

19: “Aaarghhhh!!”

20: No sooner had Oliver thought of this than the enraged spirit crushed the fleeing druids, ending their lives with screams.

21: At the brink of escaping with their well-trained bodies, nature’s power altered through the earth, affecting their bodies.

22: The natural force left their bodies while excessive force surged in.

23: The druids could not adapt to this sudden change and became immobilized. Seizing the chance, the spirit raised its giant arm and smashed them into pieces.

24: A rather hollow end for those who no longer worshiped nature and sought to dominate it.

25: It was the obvious result.

26: No matter how much they tried to shift the relationship from worship to control, it was merely a change in perspective, nothing more. The druids’ essence could not be easily altered.

27: Orthodox, Reformist, Enjoyment — in the end, they all relied on the power of nature and spirits.

28: Even if they learned clever rituals to cheat the system, it was only temporary.

29: Just like the scene unfolding before their eyes.

30: To Oliver, the druids seemed foolish.

31: One cannot easily overturn fundamentals or roots.

32: As this thought crossed his mind, Oliver felt a surge of emotion.

33: He, too, had once thought about overturning his own roots.

34: “Look at what you’ve done!!”

35: A druid with antlers on his head yelled at Oliver as he was lost in thought.

36: “This is what happens when you don’t think properly before unleashing a spirit!”

37: The antlered druid pointed to the now-unleashed Earth Spirit, shouting furiously.

38: True to his words, the unbound Earth Spirit was rampaging, altering the surrounding terrain.

39: With every punch it threw, the land twisted to form mountains. With the next, those mountains turned back into flat plains, causing earthquakes with every strike.

40: However, the druid’s accusation was inherently ridiculous.

41: After all, it was he who had summoned the spirit and enraged it, so blaming Oliver was absurd. Why, then, did the druid speak such nonsense?

42: Was it madness? No. It was Puppet’s advice.

43: Since there was no way to overpower Oliver’s strength, they aimed to wear him down mentally.

44: Honestly speaking, it wasn’t a bad plan.

45: From the moment Oliver returned to Randa, he had been extremely cautious about how much power he used.

46: Not out of personal morality, but because it felt a bit unsettling for superficial reasons. So, yes, this strategy had the best chance.

47: The plan was to cause excessive destruction every time Oliver moved, to the point where he wouldn’t even think of moving.

48: However, Puppet overlooked one thing: even Oliver could get annoyed at some point.

49: “…Impressive.”

50: Annoyed, Oliver sarcastically praised the druid.

51: The druid hesitated for a moment, sensing Oliver’s shift, but he had gone too far to stop now.

52: “Are you trying to change the subject?”

53: “Yes, but I’m sincere. You keep going even though you’re clearly exhausted. Impressive.”

54: “Exhausted?”

55: The antlered druid was confused but quickly understood even without further explanation.

56: “…?!”

57: He wasn’t the only one.

58: Every druid captured by Oliver’s shadow felt it as well.

59: They could feel their life-long achievements fading in real time.

60: Bodies honed through rigorous training, filled with the vast natural power, were now diminishing.

61: No, correction. They weren’t just fading. They were being consumed. Oliver’s shadow was siphoning away all the fruits of their labor.

62: “W-wait! Just wait!!!”

63: Some desperate druids shouted and struggled but soon fell silent.

64: As powerful as their bodies were, they were mere vessels for nature’s power.

65: Without the contents, their bodies rapidly weakened.

66: Some druids, younger and healthier, held on, but the older ones were not so fortunate.

67: For them, having used nature’s blessing to stave off old age, losing that power meant facing the full force of time all at once.

68: The antlered druid, a leader among them, showed visible signs of rapid aging.

69: His once green, nature-blessed hair turned into a dull mess of white. His shallow wrinkles deepened without end, and every sign of senescence manifested on his body.

70: “Aaah… Aaaaa….”

71: Whether from the physical toll or the despair over his failure, the antlered druid could only groan in stupor.

72: Actually, the antlers had already fallen, and he was no longer a druid. He was just another old man, guilty like many others.

73: Even as the old man tried to say something to Oliver, Oliver paid no mind and walked through the shattered wall outside.

74: What value was there in listening to meaningless words?

75: Outside, Oliver approached the still-furious Earth Spirit.

76: Despite the druid corpses at its feet, the spirit hadn’t calmed down and was ready to unleash its wrath on innocent bystanders and the approaching Royal Army.

77: “Stop.”

78: Oliver addressed the spirit.

79: Astonishingly, but perhaps expectedly, the giant spirit, despite its immense size, heard Oliver’s words.

80: And not only did it hear, but it stopped.

81: The spirit turned its head and silently looked down at Oliver while he gazed up at it.

82: “I understand your anger, but I ask you to stop and return. I still have things to do, and I promise I’ll avenge you.”

83: A polite yet audacious request.

84: Rather than retaliate, the spirit calmed its anger, bowing its head from the heavens and yielding to Oliver’s request.

85: The massive piles of earth, stones, cement, and bricks began returning to their natural states.

86: As the spirit left, Oliver stared at the heap of soil that had become a mountain before turning his eyes forward.

87: To the central zone, where Randa City Hall was located. Military cannons were mounted on the rooftops, and the Royal Army and Defense Force had just arrived.

88: For what it’s worth, the Royal Army wasn’t just equipped with standard firearms, but advanced Exoskeleton Gloves, magical weaponry, and sorcery-based firearms that could unleash massive firepower.

89: All of this had been supplied by Puppet. And yet, all these efforts now seemed futile, as the Royal Army no longer appeared willing to fight.

90: That was understandable. After all, they had just seen Oliver dismiss a literal disaster incarnate with their own eyes.

91: No sane commander would order an attack after witnessing such a sight, and no soldier would be foolish enough to comply.

92: As Oliver approached, he addressed them.

93: “Will you continue?”

***

[We’ve just received new reports…]

96: Inside Randa City Hall, now serving as the Royal Army’s command center.

97: Military officers, each adorned with high-ranking insignia, gathered around one man.

98: This man, still in his late thirties, had secured the rank of brigadier general through his connection to the Crown Prince, and had been entrusted with the critical task of overseeing Randa’s reinforcements after initially being assigned to a minor gang elimination mission.

99: The officers had all done everything they could to get closer to this man.

100: Assisting a superior was a soldier’s duty, and securing a valuable connection was part of a soldier’s ethos. Above all, it was because they hoped to bask in some of the man’s good luck.

101: Like shouting ‘rabbit’ on the first day of each month, hoping for fortune.

102: But now, every man here could sense it.

103: That luck was running out.

104: Without anyone telling them, they pondered where things had gone wrong.

105: Was it when they were sent to Randa after subduing gangs and warlords in neighboring towns?

106: Was it the excesses of luck when they drove out the zombie horde with minimal forces?

107: Or perhaps, when they became drunk on success and began overstepping, controlling newspapers and radio broadcasts?

108: Or was it simply when Woodsman Dave returned?

109: It was hard to pinpoint exactly when or where things had gone wrong. But one thing was certain.

110: The luck was gone, and only disaster remained.

111: They had sent 6,000 soldiers from the Royal Army, Defense Force, Security Bureau, and military druids to handle Dave’s assault on the Randa Defense Force headquarters, but there had been no reports since.

112: The last they had heard was about the druids summoning an overwhelming spirit. Nothing else.

113: No one could even confirm whether Woodsman Dave had been injured.

114: Worse still, even though the recall order had gone out long ago, the Military Mages hadn’t arrived, and the commanding officer, who should have been issuing orders and receiving updates, was instead fixated on the radio broadcast.

[…Woodsman Dave, the identified suspect in the prison attack, has now summoned a massive Creature in Zone A, causing widespread destruction…]

116: Misleading, malicious news blared on the radio.

117: But it wasn’t something to condemn. War was simply an extension of politics. Controlling the media was a soldier’s duty, especially in times like these.

118: However, there was a limit to everything. Context and timing mattered.

119: From that perspective, the commanding officer’s actions were inappropriate.

120: A capable leader should have already been out there on the frontlines.

121: Normally, HQ was the appropriate place to command from when there were multiple fronts, but in this special situation, where immediate decisions were needed against a powerful enemy, the commander needed to be on the field.

122: Of course, the enemy was a monster, so staying back could be considered the smart move. But due to that ‘intelligence’, the chain of communication was now severed, leaving the command center both blind and deaf.

123: If the commander had at least ordered messengers, they could’ve made do, but he hadn’t even done that.

124: It was a frustrating situation.

125: Someone was just about to speak up—

-Thud!

127: The commander suddenly shot up from his chair.

128: “I’ll go in person.”

“W-what?!”

“Why are you so surprised? With no reports from the field, I must go and verify the situation myself.”

“But, sir, going personally…? Someone else can be sent instead!”

“No, I’ll go. I might need to issue commands directly—”

“—So you can escape if necessary?”

134: Amid the voices of the commander’s companions, which he had grown accustomed to, one unfamiliar voice spoke over them.

135: Not only that, the door opened without permission, and a man walked in.

136: Thin as a beggar, with grayed hair like an old man, one arm bandaged as if it were burned.

137: Everyone in the room, already aware of his identity, understood who he was.

“Woodsman Dave.” The man who came in unannounced said,

“Everyone, please leave except for Brigadier General Billy Crowley. I have something to discuss.”