The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Season of the Storm (4)

Crackle— Crackle—

Night falls even in the Northern Elf Forest.

Fortunately, the rain stopped as the elf forces retreated, and the Northern Expeditionary Force settled down.

The two princesses, the marquis, the representative wizard of the Magic Tower, and other important figures sat around a crackling bonfire.

Cain, his violet eyes reflecting the red flames, belatedly introduced Arna.

“Lady Arna participated in the last expedition.”

The eyes of those who had participated in the previous expedition widened.

It was impossible not to know the beauty with her rare lemon-blonde hair and exceptional archery skills.

“That woman is the mercenary, ‘Flash’?”

Even Marquis McLoud seemed to know her.

However, it seemed that no one had expected the mercenary ‘Flash’ and Edmund’s wife to be the same person.

Cain shook his head.

“What’s wrong with that? There are many on our side who participated in the last turn as well.”

It was Olivia.

Perhaps to dampen Oleciren’s spirit, she interjected at every opportunity. However, she turned her gaze away when Cain and Abel looked at her silently.

Even she wasn’t prepared to face the strongest brothers of Airian.

“Little Mother.”

Cain politely addressed Arna.

Many were surprised by the title.

It was very rare for the eldest son and legitimate child of a nobleman to address his stepmother so kindly.

“May I disclose it?”

Arna nodded.

She had prepared herself from the moment she decided to come here.

Although it was her lifelong secret, she wasn’t foolish enough to hide it when the opportunity to break free from it presented itself.

She pointed to her ears.

“I suppose my words will have more credibility if I do. I am a half-elf.”

“……!”

Her ears were a bit pointy, but compared to the elongated ears of elves, they were just human ears. There were ordinary people with ears as pointy as Arna’s, so no one even suspected.

“And to raise Abel, I wandered the outskirts of the ‘Deep Forest’.”

She raised a finger.

There was the Glumiêm’s Forest, shrouded in thick fog, its interior completely hidden from view.

“I met her there a few times. Glumiêm.”

“……!”

The sole observer of the ‘Deep Forest’.

Everyone present realized that Arna was the perfect person for the expedition, not for personal reasons, but for the expedition itself.

At the same time, they recalled what she had said earlier.

Marquis McLoud, as a representative, asked with a trembling voice.

“You’re saying we can’t defeat Glumiêm inside that forest……?”

“Yes. The Elf Queen is practically the avatar of the World Tree in that region. In other words, she receives infinite power within the World Tree’s influence.”

Arna spoke about the structure of elf society, information that scholar Lambert would have tearfully recorded if he were present.

“And the ‘Central Spiritualization’, a characteristic of elves, connects the consciousness of elves connected to the same World Tree.”

“So, are they all the same person?”

Arna shook her head.

“They are all different individuals, but they are always under the watch of higher-ranking elves and are prepared to devote themselves.”

Ordinary elves to the elders, and elders to the queen.

While connections existed between elves of the same class, it was merely for communication. True possession required a difference in class.

“It wouldn’t just be their consciousness that’s connected, right?”

Marquis McLoud, who had participated in three expeditions including this one, asked as he recalled the elves he had seen.

“Yes. The most frightening aspect of ‘Central Spiritualization’ is that it combines the power of the existing elf with the power of other connected elves.”

“What a damn annoying race.”

On the continent, humans and elves might have maintained an awkward relationship, but they weren’t enemies like this.

In the past, there were attempts to hunt elves and sell them into slavery, but those attempts were quickly thwarted by ‘Central Spiritualization.’

‘There are those who capture wandering elves, though……’

Cain smiled bitterly as he briefly recalled the dark side of the continent he had witnessed.

Arna nodded in agreement with McLoud’s words.

“Yes, elves are a truly cursed race, except when they die or wander. Especially, their disposition varies greatly depending on the nature of the avatar of the World Tree, the Queen.”

“So, the ‘Central Spirit’ changes depending on who the top elf is?”

Olivia, who had been listening, asked with a sigh.

Although she wanted to provoke Oleciren, she couldn’t help but be intrigued as she learned more about the new ecology of elves from Arna’s words.

“That is correct.”

“So, unlike the moderate elves of the continent, the fact that Airian’s elves are so messed up is all Glumiêm’s fault?”

“Yes.”

All problems could be traced back to a single source.

Squeeze—

Cain turned to his side.

Abel was listening with an expressionless face. However, his hand betrayed his true feelings.

The icy wind of Elivagar tried to cool Abel’s burning rage, but his grip on the hilt of his sword remained tight.

Sensing Cain’s gaze, Abel gave a faint smile.

Pat.

Although he had heard from Arna about the hardships she and Abel had endured at the hands of Glumiêm, Cain couldn’t fully comprehend it.

Therefore, he gently placed his hand on Abel’s shoulder.

Only then did Abel’s hand, which even the wind couldn’t melt, loosen slightly.

“Then, the only way to kill Glumiêm is to lure her out of the forest.”

Olivia muttered, and Arna shook her head with a wry smile.

“First of all, it’s impossible to lure her out. Even if we could, as the avatar of the World Tree, the Elf Queen would recover immediately near the World Tree, even if she were to take some damage.”

“Then we have to destroy the World Tree.”

“That’s the only way to kill Glumiêm.”

“……What about us advancing towards the World Tree?”

Arna glanced at the wizard who was listening silently and then at Oleciren with her black eyes.

“First of all, with both a witch and a wizard present, we should be able to partially lift the ‘Deep Forest’ barrier. However, Glumiêm is both the Queen and a witch.”

Oleciren turned her head.

The real Northern Elf Forest was shrouded in white mist.

Perhaps because her true awakening was approaching, using her witch’s ‘miracle’ was easy.

The Northern Elf Forest she saw was a natural fortress.

“Every leaf, every root, everything is imbued with Glumiêm’s ‘miracle’.”

“Since the Queen is a witch, the World Tree must be contaminated as well, and if the World Tree is like that, then all the trees under its influence must be as well.”

“And Glumiêm’s ‘miracles’ are two-fold: ‘Mental Allurement’ and ‘Fate Observation’.”

“Two ‘miracles’ originating from a single ‘origin.’ So, the moment we enter the forest, no……”

Arna stopped speaking.

Then, she tightly gripped her Storm Bow Hokma, which she had kept by her side since arriving here.

To Cain, she looked exactly like Abel.

“The moment we even think about entering the forest, Glumiêm observes the fate related to the forest. And prepares for it.”

Olivia grumbled in disbelief.

“We can’t kill her outside, and we can’t kill her inside because she sees everything. She’s a real monster.”

Marquis McLoud let out a bitter laugh, looking back at the forest.

“Is this our limit?”

They had succeeded in weakening the elves’ forces through the expedition.

But anything beyond that seemed impossible.

There was no answer, no matter what method they used.

It wasn’t just that they lacked power; they were also short on options.

Olivia’s plan to push forward as soon as the ‘Barrier of the Great Forest’ was opened was torn to shreds.

At that moment.

“The limit is……”

Cain stood up.

Everyone looked up at him.

“Something I decide, not the situation.”

Thump—

Cain walked towards the center of the group, where everyone was seated. Only the light of the small bonfire pushed back the encroaching darkness.

Half of Cain’s body was bathed in light, while the other half was swallowed by the darkness of the world.

Abel and Oleciren felt a strange stirring in their hearts as they watched him.

As if an unexpected future had suddenly drawn near.

“From now on, I will exercise command over all expeditionary forces and the Ethelred Knights.”

Cain made his official declaration.

Everyone present had their own thoughts, but no one could refuse Cain’s words.

His power, his reputation, his background as an Ethelred—all of it commanded obedience.

“I, Jeremy McLoud, Marquis of McLoud, will follow Cain Ethelred.”

Marquis McLoud was the first to speak.

“Olivia Rune Airian, I will follow.”

Her tone was curt, but even she wasn’t foolish enough to refuse.

“The knights of the Marquisate of Ross will also follow.”

“Ethelred Knight Commander Cloyd, your orders are mine to follow.”

“The Magic Tower will follow as well.”

As everyone voiced their support for Cain, only Oleciren stared at him sharply.

“I can’t follow.”

The wind blew.

Just as everyone, people who could be considered Cain’s closest confidants, pledged their support, Oleciren, the closest of them all, opposed him.

“You were waiting for this, weren’t you? For the moment I would clash with her?”

“…….”

Cain could only manage a wry smile.

Oleciren immediately snapped at him.

“She tried to kill you.”

“I know.”

“Then at least an apology is in order. Why cover it up with a grand cause? Why bury it under the pretense of doing it for everyone’s sake?!”

Oleciren’s voice grew heated.

Marquis McLoud sighed deeply. Olivia turned her head away, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of shame.

Abel’s eyes blazed with the intent to kill them both right there and then.

And then Oleciren’s cry echoed through the night.

“Why don’t you ever think about yourself?!”

“That and this are different.”

Cain tried to draw a line.

However, Oleciren was already a comrade who had run through this spring with Cain.

She knew him well, knew his thoughts.

“Let me guess. The plan you’re about to reveal……?”

Whirr— Whirr— Whirr—

A strange grinding sound, audible only to Cain’s ears.

Oleciren’s black eyes began to blaze.

Just as Glumiêm’s eyes saw the threads of fate, hers were beginning to glimpse the very possibilities of the world, just like back in Ironheart.

“You are someone Glumiêm can’t read the fate of. That means you can enter the forest.”

“…….”

“A diversion, right? If the wizard and I undo the barrier, the elves will have to respond, and they’ll all come out here. We’ll fight here, and you’ll use that opportunity to enter the forest and cut down the World Tree.”

Everyone nodded.

Considering the limitations Arna had mentioned, that was indeed the only way to fight and win.

“And you’re going to sacrifice yourself to do it. Am I wrong?”

Infiltrating the forest was only the first step.

He would have to fight and defeat the forces protecting the World Tree and strike down the Elf Queen Glumiêm herself.

In comparison, the expeditionary force’s role in the diversion seemed almost easy.

They had strength in numbers here, while he would be alone in the forest.

His plan exposed, Cain fell silent for a moment.

Oleciren continued.

“That’s why I’m against it. A victory achieved by sacrificing you……”

“Oleciren. There are things in this world that can’t be helped.”

“No!”

Whirr— Whirr— Whirr—!

The grinding sound intensified.

It rang out more strongly than ever.

Just as Arthuan was endlessly revived, the boundless witch’s power she possessed began to awaken.

“I’ll be the one to get rid of those things.”

Had there ever been a witch this powerful?

As he witnessed the overwhelming might of Oleciren, Cain thought of all the witches he had seen and heard of before, and then he spoke.

“That might be possible someday. But the only time we can strike, while the expeditionary force remains intact and before the elves can call for reinforcements, is now.”

“Cain!”

Their voices clashed in the night.

Slide—

At that moment, the brown-haired boy, who had been listening silently, raised his hand.

“She couldn’t read my fate either.”

Abel, who had led the Ethelred Knights from the south to the north, spoke.

“I will go with my brother.”

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