Chereads / I´m the strongest Cheat Lord in the whole world! / Chapter 100 - Chapter 61 – World Tree

Chapter 100 - Chapter 61 – World Tree

Behind a thin, transparent veil and guarded by hundreds of enormous trees reaching almost to the clouds, lay the famous elven kingdom.

It looked like any other kingdom at first glance, but nature surrounded it in every visible inch.

There were even branches used as military bases or homes.

Although it was a world enclosed by an illusion, life there was perfect and peaceful.

That was the image all elves had known in the past, but now it had turned disgraceful.

A sinister and desolate atmosphere invaded the place, much like a rundown bar covered in darkness.

The sunlight, which was once visible, was now blocked by the treetops since no one bothered to cut them.

The drinking water sources were contaminated with feces and urine.

Soldiers got drunk and kidnapped anyone near their territory, either for physical abuse or playing dart-throwing games aimed at their victims' eyes.

The once-known paradise on earth was now nothing more than a rotting shadow of what it had been.

The royal palace, once adorned with unique flowers and structures that enhanced its beauty, was not spared from ruin.

Broken walls, graffiti, and, above all, corpses hanging like statues.

The elves who were trapped there were used as servants—slaves, in other words.

If they refused, they would die like the others.

But recently, something had changed. The elves who had been working in the castle were sent elsewhere to work.

The one responsible for this walked on an elegant, clean carpet, followed by two attractive elves who reported to him.

"The human army is getting closer."

"Our scouts reported that they are about to break the barrier protecting us."

"Your Majesty, how should we respond to this threat?"

"Even if we use slaves, the humans outnumber us."

The tall man with long golden hair reaching almost to the floor gave an order to his two subordinates with a strong tone of voice.

"Do nothing."

"...!"

"I will handle the humans. After all, I am the king."

"More importantly, how is the tracing going?"

"Yes. The tracing is almost finished."

"At most... it will be ready today, in four hours if I'm not mistaken."

"Good. That's all, dismissed."

"At your command."

The elves left quietly, and the man reached a golden door.

He opened it gently, and a soft breeze brushed against his face.

The man had beautiful, fine, and delicate features, but looked to be in his thirties.

On his head rested a crown made of gold, diamonds, and wood, symbolizing his authority— the highest authority in this rotten place.

The room he entered was the only one well-maintained and cleaned in the entire castle.

A magic stone ventilated the room to prevent the stench from the outside from seeping in.

Looking at the grim exterior from his window, a beautiful woman with white hair gave him a cold stare with her stunning blue eyes.

"Leomelion, what do you feel when you see this?"

The man was Leomelion Schneizel Evergreen, the youngest son of the queen.

The young woman before him was his mother, the former queen, Christine Miroslava Evergreen.

"What are you talking about, mother?"

Leomelion responded in his usual mocking and unfriendly tone.

"What am I talking about?"

"Don't you see the outside?"

"The country your father and I built."

"The place where you and Lionelle grew up."

"Don't you feel anything seeing how you're destroying your home? The home of your entire race and your compatriots?"

A look of horror spread across his face at his mother's sharp words.

He dropped to the ground and began to cry.

"You're right, mother."

His mother thought that his heart had finally given in to the suffering of his people.

"If only... if only I had done this much sooner."

But reality wasn't so kind to her.

"I would have seen your stupid face as you realized you gave birth to a monster like me."

Her son's cruel words wounded her deeply.

"You're right. If I hadn't had you, none of this would have happened!"

"It's my fault for bringing a demon into this world."

"Mother, don't flatter me, please."

His steps approached her in a sinister manner.

His hand moved to her slender neck and grasped it firmly.

"You're to blame, just like that useless father of mine."

"If I had been given the throne, this country wouldn't have turned out this way."

"Do you think I wanted these savages to turn my castle into a garbage dump?"

"I am the one who loves cleanliness more than anyone, and believe me, it pains me to see my home dirty."

"Those repulsive elves are just my shield. Once I accomplish my goal, I'll get rid of every one of them and restore this place to its pristine state."

"But you didn't give me the throne. My older brother had to have it because he was the eldest, right?"

"Even though you know that my father, the youngest and wisest son, saved the elves from humans, and now we're in a similar situation."

"The humans are coming, mother. And someone must save us."

"Do you think my weak brother would have protected us?"

"No!"

With each passing second, his grip on his mother's neck tightened.

Christine began to suffocate.

"That idiot would have sought peace, and that would have led to our extermination."

"I had no choice!"

"If I hadn't taken the throne by force, we'd all be slaves to the humans by now."

"Don't you understand that I saved them?"

"Can't you see that it's thanks to me, your least favorite son, that you can breathe and not become a sack of flesh for them, huh?"

Christine was on the brink of unconsciousness. Leomelion released her, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

Coughing

From her soft carpet, she looked at his green eyes. They lacked life and emotion.

"You don't protect the elves."

"You protect your own neck. We never mattered to you."

"I thought you just needed more time to learn about life."

"You're right, as you said. Lionelle is too soft, but you are a scum who killed your own father and imprisoned your mother just to torture her daily."

"What kind of living being are you?"

With expressionless eyes, he drew close to her face to say:

"I am the king, whether you like it or not. I keep you alive for a reason."

He pointed outside, where a massive mountain could be seen rising above the clouds.

"Only a priestess from the royal family can hear the voice of the World Tree."

"There's no one else. Speaking of the tree…"

"Has it said anything to you?"

"..."

"I haven't heard its voice in years. Maybe... it got tired of witnessing so much death and decided to stop thinking."

"A tree... that thinks?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, woman?"

He then proceeded to kick his mother's abdomen repeatedly, not caring about the force he used.

"Just because you heard the voice of that tree when you were a mere peasant fleeing..."

"Just because that tree is the center of life in this forest."

"Just because Lilith and her mother are dead, and you've lost someone to pass on your secret of hearing the tree's voice..."

"Doesn't mean you should think your king is as stupid as his predecessor!"

Once he finished the violent act, his mother, coughing up blood, he cast a potent healing spell on her.

"I forgot."

He turned around and cast the healing spell.

On the back of his right hand, there was an emblem resembling a tree.

"You can't die. Even if you gave me your priestess emblem, I can't hear its voice."

"Mother, today is the day our lives will change forever."

"You should treat your future only son better since you won't have another one soon."

He left the room, locking the door behind him.

The former queen hugged herself and began crying on the velvet floor.

"I'm sorry, everyone."

"Because of me, this country was destroyed."

As she wept, her eyes focused on the only picture that hadn't been removed from the room.

It was a family portrait.

The only ones without blonde hair were little Rose and a beautiful woman who resembled her.

After a series of blows worthy of an Ultra Smash Bros. type game, Rei and his father-in-law stopped fighting and both collapsed with swollen faces to the ground.

"Are you done acting like children fighting over your toy?" Rose scolded both of them as they sat down in a kneeling position.

It was funny watching them apologize with unintelligible words.

Once their faces had de-swollen, we sat back down to discuss the current situation.

"First, I want to apologize to everyone for the embarrassing show I put on."

"Don't apologize, we see stranger things at home," said Sig, looking completely unfazed by the scene.

"From what I understand, you came here so that when Rose gives birth, she can show her child where their mother comes from, right?"

"Yes, that's right. We also want to build good political and possibly economic relations with the elves."

"Currently, the world is shaking due to the war the empire started against the republic."

"I believe it is better for both sides to have a close bond since there is a chance the war could reach us."

"We could achieve a peaceful intervention and even offer you a safe place to flee."

"I see."

The elf king seemed satisfied with Sig's objective for coming here.

"It's a very tempting offer, but I'm afraid it cannot be carried out."

"Why, did they usurp your throne?"

"No. Because the elves do not trust humans."

"Maybe Lilim trusts you, but for me and the others, you are still strangers."

"We have a long, cruel history with humans. Especially with them."

Everyone's gaze focused on the two dog-like men in the corner.

The larger one, resembling a black-and-white cross, was called Kuzaha Ramsus and was the leader of the kobolds. The slightly smaller, brown one was his right hand, Jienma Jinmon.

Apparently, the kobolds have two names, and it's rude to call them by just one of them.

By the way, the elf king spoke in the kobold language, which is why he was surprised that we could understand him.

"Kuzaha-dono, please explain the situation."

The kobold seemed annoyed, but reluctantly obeyed and showed a hand-drawn map, which seemed to have been made by a satellite.

"To the east here, there is a human army that is slowly surrounding the barrier, looking for ways to break through and enter—kobu."

"Kobu?"

(Everyone surely thought upon hearing his suffix.)

"While at the other end is a smaller human army, but with many strange tools—kobu."

"We have no idea when they might break the barrier, but it's a matter of days, maybe hours—kobu."

"I understand."

"As you can see, human kingdom prince, currently the elves and kobolds are facing a critical situation."

"The trust you propose is far from being real. More than anything, because this is our problem."

"If we let strangers help us, we would be showing disrespect to all those who died before."

"..."

Sig couldn't respond to what the king was saying. No one could.

At face value, it was clear that the king rejected the idea of help from humans. They understood they were in danger, but having human help would be a mistake they could later regret.

How would we resolve this matter?

While we thought about what to say, the idiot made his move.

And by idiot, I mean him.

"I'm fed up with your victimhood."

Rei stood up and pointed at the king, calling him a victim.

Everyone had the same baffled expression upon hearing him speak a truth.

"Don't we want help from humans because they are humans?"

"Are elves and kobolds stupid?"

"What's important here, idiot, is survival."

"Do you all want to die with no chance of winning?"

"Now that you've met your daughter, don't you want to spend time with her?"

"I don't give a damn about your hatred of humans. I hate humans too because I always end up fighting against an idiot."

"But these people, the guys and girls here, have earned my trust. I trust them to watch my back."

"So, no matter what you say, I will save your country because it's Rose's country."

"I'm not doing this out of charity, but because of my promise."

"I keep the promises I make."

"So, I'll ask you instead of the foolish, optimistic prince."

(Foolish optimistic prince, did he say!)

"Do you want to live? Or do you want to die like rats with no chance to resist?"

"As long as I and that fool over there are here, this place will have a 100% guaranteed victory."

"Answer quickly."

(Rei. You shouldn't talk to someone you need to convince to help you like that.)

"Alright. I accept the help."

(Eh? Did he really accept the help?)

(Is he a masochist? Are elves masochists or bipolar?)

The king stood up and shook Rei's hand.

"Hey, Lionelle, are you sure about this—kobu?"

"Kuzaha-dono, just like this young man said, we must prioritize the future of our people over our prejudices."

"If you really came to save us, then let's give them a chance. It's not like our escape plan isn't in the works either."

Even though he said that with a smile and confidence toward humans, the real reason for the king accepting the offer of help was written all over his wicked smile.

"If you go to war and die, Rose will be able to tell her son that his elf father died as a hero."

"Goddamn son of a bitch!"

Once again, Rei and the elf king began to fight.

Once they stopped fighting like children, the king took Rei and me to a place far from where the elves lived. Apparently, it was requested by someone.

We arrived at a mountain where the same white dragon from earlier was waiting for us.

"Finally, you arrive, you kept me waiting for a long time."

"My clothes."

"Here."

The dragon transformed into a human, standing naked, her large breasts and huge buttocks exposed as she changed clothes right in front of us. The king covered his eyes, but we didn't.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, why did you bring us here?"

"That is something the person in question will tell you personally."

Guided by Zara, we entered a hole that led us to a hidden paradise inside the mountain. A bunch of medium and small dragons were resting or flying around.

Sunlight came through small holes, but it illuminated the place intensely.

Then, we heard heavy footsteps and saw the same golden dragon from earlier.

"It's good to see you again, human guests."

His sweet and deep voice was relaxing. He could easily work on a radio show, and everyone would peacefully listen to his voice.

"Forte-dono, I brought them here. Please explain the situation, as I must leave and speak with the kobolds."

"Understood, thank you for bringing them."

The elf king and Rei made a grimace before he left.

"Why specifically bring us here, Forte-san?"

I asked the question, as if Rei did it, we would be crushed by his lack of respect.

"I called you for a reason, to tell you a little story."

"Will it be long and boring?"

"Rei, shut up!"

"Hahaha, no. It's actually short and to the point."

"Then say it quickly."

"You human, show more respect to the king of dragons."

Zara kicked Rei, and I calmed him down.

"For generations, the small and medium dragons have lived here in harmony with the forest."

"We accept all those who want to live in peace."

"When the elves arrived, we let them build their home here."

"One day, he was born."

"He?"

I asked, intrigued.

"The dragon who attacked you, the one with three heads and skin black as night."

"Eizen."

"Eizen?"

"What does he have to do with this?"

"Eizen, despite being born with mutations, was accepted by all. But one day, he grew as large as me, which meant he would become the king of dragons when I die."

"But... his heart filled with evil. I don't understand where that malice came from."

"The day the elven kingdom fell was the day he revealed himself."

"He attacked our main home and killed almost everyone."

"I fought against him, but his heads ripped off my wings and tail."

"I managed to escape because he thought I was dead, but if he finds out I'm alive, he'll burn every corner of this forest until he finds me."

(That's why he hides despite his huge size.)

"My reason for calling you is because of what Kuzaha and Lionelle told me."

"You want to help the elves and deal with both internal and external threats, right?"

"Yes, that's right. We want to recover Rose's home and kick the ass of whoever's in charge."

"A little more delicacy, Rei."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Despite his large jaw, it seemed like he was smiling.

"The dragons will support you. But the problem for us is Eizen."

"He is the key piece that could not only defeat us, but also destroy the world if he chooses."

"Your Majesty, let me fight him. Since he killed my parents, I've trained like never before to face him."

"These humans are small and weak, they can't even scratch him."

(I can't deny what he's saying because he doesn't know us. But it's true we couldn't do anything against him before.)

"Zara. I understand your feelings, but the reason I called these children here is because within them, I sense a great magical power, almost comparable to that of the tree."

"Tree! Which tree?"

When he mentioned the tree, I just wanted to make sure I was right in what I suspected.

"The World Tree. The one that generates life in this place and the whole planet."

"For years, it has been weakening for some reason, but now I feel it is weaker than ever."

"I see."

"A World Tree? What is that, Kuro?"

(The World Tree… I guess it's like in the game after all, despite all the strange elements I find.)

"Kuro, I asked you a question."

(In the game, Rose's uncle had a plan involving the World Tree.)

"Hey, I'm talking to you."

(If it's what I think it is, this is really bad, and I can understand why that dragon attacked us before.)

"Damn, answer me when I talk to you!"

I had been ignoring Rei for a while, and he responded by kicking me in the back repeatedly.

"Stop it already. It hurts a lot."

(Lie, it doesn't hurt at all.)

"I called you to ask that you please deal with Eizen. Even if you can injure him severely, we will take care of eliminating him if you can't."

"That Eizen is the dragon that attacked us before, right?"

"In that case, he's the second bastard I need to beat up. The first is Rose's bastard uncle."

"Let's go, Kuro, let's see how we destroy that barrier to enter."

"There's no need, young human."

"Zara will show you a way to enter."

"Me?"

"Please, Zara."

"Fine… if you say so."

The dragon girl gave us a threatening look.

"Follow me."

She transformed into a dragon as she left and took us back to the village.

There, we told everyone what had happened, and the plan was put into motion.

Basically, they would take care of everything else, and the two of us would handle the inside.

Before we left, Rei approached Sophia.

"Sophie, I leave Rose in your care. Please, take care of her."

"Don't worry. I won't let anything bad happen to Rose-chan."

"Thanks. And Rose."

"Yes?"

Rei gave Rose a strong, affectionate hug.

"I'll be back soon. To show you my long-awaited promise."

"Yes, I know."

He also hugged Sophia and then Eli, who was jumping around like a rabbit.

"Let's go, you two."

Zara took us on her back to a distant place where there were ruins around.

We got off her back, and her claw pointed to a structure resembling a broken door.

"Over there, that place is where the barrier creates a weakness in its surroundings. They say it's caused because the ruins were from a civilization that destroyed itself due to malice, and that's why the ruins are key to entering this place."

"Are humans looking for these ruins?"

"I don't think so. If that were the case, they wouldn't be able to enter everyone. It's better for them to destroy it to enter all at once."

"I'll be waiting here, in case you come back with your tail between your legs, hahaha."

Rei got angry and pointed his finger at Zara.

"Wait for it and you'll see, you giant lizard."

"I'll kick that dragon's ass, that idiot elf's ass, and then I'll kick yours."

"I'm waiting for it, hahaha."

"Rei, let's go."

I grabbed Rei's shoulder, and we stood in front of the broken door.

We touched different parts of the barrier, and our hands didn't pass through it.

But the structure of the door allowed our hands to go through, and therefore, us as well.

That's how we infiltrated the place.

The interior of the elf kingdom is the complete opposite of a fantasy game. It reminds me a lot of that game where even the weakest can kill you, and you have to use a broken sword and rest by a campfire to save your progress.

The place was almost identical to that, except that there were no dungeons or monsters.

"This place looks horrible. Is this really the elf kingdom?"

"It is. The king gave us a map, we need to follow it quietly to enter the castle."

"Remember, Rei, our mission is to defeat Rose's uncle and break the barrier. Then we'll relight it, and one of us will call the others to come."

"And how do we relight it?"

"…"

(That damn king didn't tell us that!)

(He only said there's a room where the barrier deactivates with a royal family command.)

(What if he doesn't want to deactivate it in the first place?)

(Damn it!)

"Alright, alright. We'll worry about it later."

"That's true…"

We followed the map and avoided the sight of some guards. We could have made a ruckus, but according to Forte-san, the dragon Eizen seems to work with that man, so he could probably pass through the barrier without issue.

After a while of awkwardly hiding, we found it.

"Is that the royal palace? It looks awful."

"Rei… no, wait, it's true, it's awful."

We ventured further in with unique maneuvers and followed the map to the letter. But for some reason...

"Don't you think it's strange that there's no one here?"

"Disregarding the guards outside, this place doesn't have much security. We've already walked through two floors without any problems."

"Maybe we're just so good they can't detect us, hehe."

(I can see your nose growing because you're being so cocky.)

"I don't think so. If that were the case, anyone would've infiltrated much earlier."

"Who cares? Let's keep going."

Just as Rei said that, we turned a corner and finally ran into someone. We looked up and saw her.

A beautiful woman with blonde hair and an elegant dress fit for a queen. I feel like I've seen her before, but I can't remember.

"Humans."

She was about to scream, and we covered her mouth, dragging her into the nearest room, which was far away, and closed the door.

"Please don't scream. It's true that we're humans, but we're not enemies."

"That's right. We came to kill the bastard who caused all of this."

"Rei, don't reveal our plans!"

"You're the one doing it, idiot."

"You… came to kill Leomelion?"

"Are you part of that human army?"

"No. We're from the Kingdom of Brune. We came to help a friend recover her home."

The elf, who had been trembling, was slowly calming down.

"So, you came to help that friend recover her home, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You don't seem like a servant with that outfit."

"I'm not, but I'm also not someone worth mentioning."

"So who are you, walking around the halls so calmly?"

"I was trying to escape. I haven't seen anyone in days, and I thought today would be a good opportunity."

"Hey, Kuro, look at this."

"What is it?"

Rei called me since he was looking at a frame hanging on the wall.

The frame had many attractive elves in it, but my eyes focused on two silver-haired women.

"One of them is Rose, and the other looks like her."

"Rose?"

The elf woman approached and looked at Rei with interest.

"Excuse me, who is Rose, and why do you say she looks like her?"

"Umm, I don't know if you know, but Rose— I mean Lilith— is the daughter of the king, and we came to recover her home for her as a promise."

"Lilith…"

The woman lunged at Rei, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

"Did you say Lilith, right?"

"A girl with silver hair and pink-tipped ends?"

"Yes. She's with us, along with her father."

The woman started crying and collapsed to the ground.

"Lilith… Lionelle… I see, they're alive, and I thought the opposite for so many years."

She cried intensely, so I silenced the place.

Then I noticed the picture more closely, the image of the woman next to Rose's father.

I approached Rei and whispered to him.

"Rei, you won't believe it, but this woman is the king's mother. I mean, Rose's grandmother."

"Rose's grandmother?"

"This young woman who can't possibly be anything other than an old prune?"

"You do know that elves are long-lived, right?"

After a while, when she calmed down, she introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, I am the former queen of this country. Christine Miroslava Evergreen."

"A pleasure, I am Kurono Ichiru, and this is..."

"Reidel Redblade. A duke of the kingdom and the future savior of this country."

"I am also almost Rose's— I mean, Lilith's fiancé."

"Fiancé?"

We told her what had happened, and after a while, she sighed in disappointment, looking to the side and avoiding showing her disillusioned face.

"Really, Lilith has such bad taste. Choosing the one with the sinister eyebrows, I fear for my future grandson."

Various veins popped up on her face, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to hit her wife's grandmother.

"I understand your reasons for coming here. But I believe it's in vain."

"Why do you say that? Is it because of the dragon?"

"That's another problem we need to solve."

"No. The dragon is the least of our worries."

"I'm talking about the World Tree. Something strange is happening to it, and I don't know if this country can be saved."

(Here we go again with the damn tree. Just like in the game, I have to ask if it's what I think it is.)

"Excuse me, could you tell us about that tree and how all this happened?"

"Sure."

"Make it brief."

"… Sure."

"…"

She told us the story of the World Tree, which I already knew and wasn't interested in. What mattered to me was Rose's past.

Apparently, Rose's mother was a rarity among the elves; no one else had her characteristic silver hair. She was orphaned since her parents died in the old elven kingdom.

She grew up here, and one day, she met her future husband. He fell in love with her beauty, and after many dates, they got engaged. Apparently, she also had immense magical power, so integrating her into the royal family was easy.

One day, when Rose was celebrating her birthday, her uncle caused the coup. She grabbed the hands of Rose's mother, who, by the way, was named Armia Zirconia Evergreen.

But when they tried to escape, they were caught.

At that moment, there was an explosion, and a decorative spear was falling. Rose was there in the middle, and Armia-san stood in her way, getting pierced by it.

I can't imagine how traumatizing that must have been.

But that's how it all began.

"I always thought Lilith and Lionelle were dead, but I can't believe they're still alive. It's a miracle."

"Thank you for telling us the story of how it all happened. I'm so sorry."

"No. I'm the one to blame. If I had treated that boy better, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Suddenly, Rei stood up.

"What's going on, Rei?"

"Kuro, let's go. Camouflage doesn't matter anymore."

"Huh?"

Christine-san and I made the same expression.

"That bastard didn't just cause his mother's death, but he also sold Rose."

"I won't forgive him. I'll kill him myself."

Rei opened the door and left the room.

The place began to shake.

"Your Majesty the Queen, please stay here. We will handle this, and later we will need your help to control the barrier."

Before I left, she took my hand.

"My son. Leomelion has caused so much harm to this country."

"Leave him alive so we can give him the punishment he deserves."

"With Rei like that, I can't guarantee it, but I'll try."

I left the room and saw that Rei went straight to the false king's room.

I found him at the door, and he blew it into pieces.

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?"

"I'm going to kill you, come here!"

I entered the room, but there was no one inside.

"Rei, he's not here."

"Then where is he?!"

"His Majesty Leomelion is not here."

"...!"

We turned around and saw two elf men with blonde hair and golden eyes in front of us.

"Where did he go? Tell me if you don't want to die."

"Die?"

"Hey, Ottar, did you hear what that human said?"

"Lessar, it's true. After nearly killing them, we'll figure out how they entered."

Even though we are stronger than them, I feel like something is wrong here.

By the way, where did that false king goes?

◇◇◇

Far from here, Leomelion was crossing a forest to reach a vast field covered in flowers.

He had arrived at the heart of the forest, where the World Tree lay.

A huge dragon was devouring the bodies of elves who, for some reason, had lost their lives.

" Tsurreizen Zayndrolux, I hope you haven't eaten my slaves."

"I haven't. They fainted because their life energy was taken by it."

"I see. That means it's complete."

"Not yet."

"How much longer?"

"At least an hour."

"I understand."

The elven king and the dragon grinned wickedly.

"It's time to take not only this forest but also teach humans who the dominant species is."

_______________

The fanservice is once again for Zara, as there's no design for Rose's grandmother or her mother.

We will soon reach the best chapter of this arc.

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/8287049