Chapter 72: Incursion (2)

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Kyaaaaak!

Hansoo shook his head even while jumping down as he saw the huge amount of beasts in the inner parts of the mouth.

That was just the start.

‘There’s going to be more of them from now on.’

The Calamity Fish and Devouring and Vomiting Root had similarities and differences.

The similarity was that they were both impossible to kill from the outside.

Their main habitat was either the deep parts of the ocean or deep within the earth inside the World Tree’s Root where it was hard for humans to reach.

The outer skin was so tough to the point that a human injuring it was almost impossible and even if one did manage to damage it, if you take account of the fact that you need to count their giant size in kilometers then any plans from the outside was futile.

And he had to attack it from the inside because of this.

The Calamity Fish had left the inner defenses to the tentacles but the Devouring and Vomiting Root didn’t really have a need to create a defensive system due to its peculiar trait.

The beasts, who were created from the <Plant>, would endlessly charge out through the tunnel.

Even if they made their way through while killing the beasts, they’ll still be trampled by the other ones who would continue to charge.

‘This is why I gotta solve that before I go.’

The outer mouth was endlessly sucking in the Toxic Waters with a powerful suction strength and the beasts of the inner mouth were roaring in glee as if they were waiting for food to be dropped.

Hansoo stepped atop the teeth that were on the outer parts of the inner mouth as he bought a bit of time.

‘Well. There’s a few guys copying me.’

Hansoo shook his head towards the few clansmen who he could see in the distance.

It’ll all be in vain.

Once all the surface around here gets crushed and the Demon Mouth completely fills this place up, those guys will be given two choices.

To either drown by going into the Outer Mouth where the toxic waters were going into.

Or to go into the Inner Mouth before the entrance closes and fight with the beasts.

Once these things close their mouths then they’ll all get swallowed even if they’re bouncing atop the teeth.

‘A moment is more than enough.’

Hansoo, who jumped in place a single time, pulled something out from his pouch.

A small Divine Stone Fragment which was the size of a rice grain.

Hansoo took a glance at the Divine Stone Fragment and then scooped up a bit of the baby’s heart from his pouch.

‘I need to use it a bit at a time.’

He needed to use the heart as the poison to catch the third guy of the Pillar.

Hansoo, who had scooped up a small amount of the heart, tied the Divine Stone Fragment and the baby’s heart piece together and then threw it into the mouth where the toxic waters were getting sucked into.

Plop.

Soon the fragment swept down the waters as it disappeared into the outer tunnel.

Kugugugugugugu.

Once it had almost drank up all of the waters in the Kukulja lake, it started to slowly close its mouth.

Though it would rise back up because it was connected to the sea but those things had drunk so viciously that it had almost dried up.

Though it was wide, it wasn’t very deep so it could not quench their thirst.

Kuuuuuuuu

Hansoo landed on the inner tunnel as he saw the mouth close.

Kyaaa!

A large amount of beasts had already set up camp there.

‘Well. This is just the starting point.’

Maybe because they were located in the outermost Root but the difficulty of the beasts were not high.

Of course they will continue to gather up to him if he were to continue to fight back and forth here.

‘Get through them quickly.’

Hansoo extended the blade of his sword and then swung it in all directions.

Chhguguguguk.

Kyaaaaaa!

The Gertas dropped artifacts and runes in all directions as they got cut in halves.

Kyaaaa!

Hansoo endlessly picked up the things that were dropped as he continued forward.

This guy’s Root was quite similar to the World Tree.

As you went further and further up, the smaller roots would combine into each other as they become bigger.

And of course stronger beasts appeared the higher you went.

Hansoo held onto the Galadriang’s Relic, <Judgement>, and quickly headed upwards.

At that moment a sound of things getting slashed apart could be heard approaching him.

Kudududuk.

Ududuk.

‘It’s about time we meet.’

They had separated into different mouths.

Of course they would meet as they head upwards while killing the beasts since the roots combined.

A person who was walking while swinging a giant sword and slashing the beasts apart could be seen in the distance.

‘A bit below Kalz Morenn? Is he the new captain of the shock troopers?’

And he could see somebody walking next to him with a cold expression in protection.

‘He’s the captain of Lighthouse huh. Is that guy Michael?’

Hansoo suddenly thought of Keldian’s show off.

— There’s probably a clan I made there. It’s pretty good for something I made in a year. Be nice to them. If it’s then, it should be… the 7th Patriarch. It was a brat called Michael… he had quite a bit of grievances so be nice to him. It seems he had quite a harsh life once I heard his story after he climbed up.

Seeing that he hadn’t died and was collecting the forces proved that his skills were quite good.

‘Well. I’ll try. Keldian.’

It would’ve been different if they hadn’t crossed roads in the first place but since it has become like this, it was better to have a good relationship.

Since they’re now on the same boat.

It was some extra people who weren’t part of his plan but it wouldn’t hurt since they wanted to help.

‘Anyways this is unexpected. I thought the Clan Lord would have escaped.’

Hansoo greeted the captain of the shock troopers who had an expression that wanted to send over a skill at any moment.

“Isn’t it much better seeing me in a place like this?”

“…What are you thinking?”

Michael answered Hansoo’s question instead of the captain of the shock troopers.

Since he could not figure out what Hansoo was thinking of.

‘No. I can’t even tell if he’s a newcomer or not.’

At first he was befuddled, then he was enraged and then he was curious.

The reason why he had rated this Hansoo guy in front of him highly was partially because of his battle prowess but mainly due to his unknown intelligence.

Since he had heard that this Hansoo guy had prepared everything perfectly in order to kill the Calamity Fish.

And had successfully done so.

But coming in here without any preparations was not part of his plan.

He might’ve understood it if that guy had actually tackled through them, escaped this place with some unknown method and left them behind to fight while buying some time.

But for him to come into the mouth with them?

‘Does he have the confidence to escape this at any time?’

Michael shook his head.

The first thing they had done earlier was pouring attacks at it trying to penetrate through this thing’s skin.

But it was for naught.

The skin was so hard that the attacks didn’t even work properly and when they made a decent sized hole, the toxic waters that this thing had drunk rushed in at a rapid pace.

Even if they did go through it, they’ll just get swept by.

They thought of escaping while this guy opened its mouth to drink the toxic waters but gave that idea up once they heard the outside clansmen’s message.

Since the people who had been sucked inside the Root were doing the same thing.

And the message said that no one had come out.

If the whole clan was to use up all their forces, a few people including himself would be able to get out but he didn’t want to get out this way.

And that was why he had come to find this guy.

With hopes of him having some plans.

Hansoo laughed as he saw that Michael.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to kill this thing? I’ve done this to fulfill your wish.”

“…With just these numbers? We’ll get trampled on the way there.”

Michael made a helpless expression.

They only had about 150 people including all of the Search Teams and the Shock Troopers.

Of course these guys were the elites of the elites in the Red Zone.

But if it could be solved with just this then why would it be called a Calamity.

They will all get crushed apart by the ones coming down on the way up.

Hansoo shook his head at Michael’s words.

“It’ll be easier to do it now.”

With those words, a very faint vibration could be felt from far away.

***

An extremely large underground cavity.

A large factory shaped building was located near below the World Tree.

Something that seemed like a relic of a highly intelligent race, a building that seemed like the product of modern technology was now covered with unknown mucus and suspicious looking roots.

Like symbolizing the Elvenheim who had lost and gone extinct.

But surprisingly, the <Plant> which was a core part of the Elvenheim was still maintaining its function despite being covered in numerous strange things.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiik.

And in the hundreds of millions of Cultivating Containers within the Plant, things were constantly getting produced.

Though they weren’t being used properly under what the Elvenheims wanted.

— !!!!!!

The main body of the <Devouring and Vomiting Root> who had spread his Devil’s Mouth in all direction with the plant under his full control made a joyous sound.

Since he could feel his mouths penetrating through the earth and having reached the sea.

Sucking the toxic waters of the World Tree was quite a lot but sucking it directly from the sea was completely different in terms of quantity.

The toxic water that had multiplied a few times in quantity was constantly getting transferred to it.

The Main body then got those toxic waters and then focused on his main job.

— !!!!!!

It took a part of it and used it to fill its stomach.

Then it poured the remaining toxic waters into the <Plant> which he had infected.

Soon the Divine Stone Fragment which was embedded within the core of the <Devouring and Vomiting Root> made a blinding light as it started to pour out an amazing amount of energy.

Kurururururuk.

A huge amount of energy and toxic waters were being supplied to the Plant.

— !!!!

The Plant, which was able to send out beasts all around the World Tree Mountain Range despite having a lack of energy and toxic waters, shined brightly in red with the plentiful amount of toxic waters and energy as if it could now work to its fullest and started up.

Chiiiiik.

The Plant, which was the result of Elvenheim’s alchemistry, started to create a huge amount of beasts according to the saved DNA information.

In numbered many many times larger than usual.

Kurururuk.

The main body happily stimulated the fragment more as it sucked in the toxic waters more fervently.

Kiiiiik.

The beasts who woke up from the Cultivating Containers inside the Plant made confused expressions but then made vicious roars as they spread out through the Root’s tunnels.

So they could fulfill their objectives.

Kwarururu.

Inside that Plant, millions of Ghweche seeds were endlessly pouring in while sucking in the nearby toxic waters.

By the time the arrived balloons gathered around a certain location inside, the divine stone fragment that Hansoo mad mixed in and sent up was almost about to explode.

Since though it was dead, the baby heart piece had constantly stimulated the fragment to give off energy.

Soon the fragment which had reached its limit started to pour out a huge amount of energy in all directions.

Chiiiiiik.

The moment the extremely bright light, which had the ability to scorch Hansoo through his Reinforcement before, touched the surrounding toxic waters, the waters turned into vapor instantly.

And the toxic vapor that had remained after caught on fire.

Then an explosive chain reaction happened.

Booboobooom!

The gas lit on fire and the explosion from the gas blew up the nearby balloons.

The toxic waters evaporated from the explosion and then more gasses came out.

— !!!!!!!!

The main body which was fully immersed in controlling the Devil’s mouth in order to suck in the Toxic Waters looked at the Plant which had turned into a sea of flames and roared out in rage.

***

Crunch.

The people flinched as they saw the tunnel of the Root shrink suddenly.

Since it felt like the Root had been enraged.

Hansoo nodded as he saw this.

‘It blew up properly.’

Of course killing the main body with such an explosion was just in his dreams.

Since the main body was not weak like that.

But that plant would’ve been destroyed to the point where it would not be able to function temporarily.

According to the information he had received from the Elvenheim he had met in the Abyss, the durability of the Plant was not that high.

Since their race didn’t have any enemies during the time they ruled this world.

‘We have to move while the Plant is stopped.’

The Plant which was condensed from the technology of the Elvenheim was sadly made too well.

It would recover after a while and then completely focus on creating beasts.

They had to tackle through during the time when the new supply of beasts had been cut off and get to the Main Body.

“Let’s go.”

Michael looked at Hansoo with an expression full of suspicion.

‘…What did he do? Does he know what’s at the end of this Root?’

From the way he was speaking it seemed like his plans had succeeded.

Michael did not understand this.

No one knew what the main body of the Devil’s Mouth was or what would come out at the end of this tunnel.

But how did Hansoo know of it to set up such a plan?

Many thoughts flashed by Michael’s head but the conclusion came out rather quickly.

‘I just need to focus on getting out of this place.’

As long as that guy was not suicidal he would’ve prepared a method of surviving.

If not, then they’ll blame him for that when the time comes .

“Let’s go. Prepare your formations. Shock Troopers stand in the front.”

Since Hansoo was doing his part, he needed to do his own part.

If he were to fight with that guy because of his pride and make Hansoo lead them onto a strange path then they’ll only receive damage.

Hansoo nodded while looking at Michael who started to control his clan.

‘You made a wise decision.’

He didn’t want to fight a bloodbath with these guys here either.

Every grain of battle power was precious.

Hansoo quickly stored the small Divine Stone Fragment that he had made for emergencies as he quickly moved his footsteps.

‘Collect two Relics that are here on the way there.’

The Relics of two of the Five Great TIger Generals who had died after coming in here in order to retrieve the Plant.

With those he would have three in total including the Galadriang’s Relic he had.

If that were to happen then he wouldn’t need to think much anymore.

Since he would be able to use the Relics properly then.

Hansoo started to proceed head on.