Fortunately, Eliza didn't realize we had been gone for a few moments. Well, the whole thing took less than an hour, so by the time Sylvie, Silvia and I returned to Springwood, Eliza was still outside, arranging the mass funeral with her fellow elves. Since she wouldn't be present for the actual burial itself, she decided to go around greeting the elves and offering her condolences or whatever. I didn't know because the elves kept their matters a private affair, and I knew it would be rude to pry for details.
In any event, I was more focused on my goal. I did want to help the elves, but I was glad that it contributed to my overall objective of making the best and safest dungeon in the Celestial Labyrinth. I wasn't naïve enough to dismiss the necessity of strength. Even if I had been naïve and idealistic before, the grim reality of the Flood Dragon Dungeon's invasion had long taught me that we needed a certain measure of strength to survive.
Obviously, we didn't need to be the "strongest" or whatever that most cultivation web novel or manhua protagonists claimed they needed to become in order to survive. Most people survived without necessarily being the strongest. Only one person could be the strongest, and it was stupid to think that everyone else would die. The point was to become strong enough to protect ourselves, but not without sacrificing our values and things that made us happy. You know, like modern society? I understood that the world was unfair and ideals were often near impossible to achieve, but that didn't mean you had to adopt the "might makes right" or "only the strong survives" bullshit that web novels and manhuas espoused. That sort of rhetoric was only useful for bullies to justify their violence against their victims, but it had no place in reality.
Man, there were complaints from authors of web novel websites about how toxic the comment section was, but with how these websites often promoted edgy web novels with cruel, ruthless and misogynistic protagonists abiding by the "strong eat the weak" rule, it was no wonder readers often made toxic, abusive comments. After all, they adopted the same ruthless, merciless attitudes that their favorite edgelord murder hobo protagonists did, and didn't care about the feelings of authors. They didn't like the authors? Tough luck, if the authors weren't "strong" enough, then they deserved to be hounded out of the website and forced to quit. It was survival of the "fittest", after all. Oh, the authors didn't write what they wanted or didn't comply with their favorite shipping? Let's send death threats. It was completely all right, given that they worshipped protagonists who massacred entire sects or even nations just to ensure they didn't leave any "loose ends" that might come back to take revenge on them in the future. With such ruthless, murder hobo edgelord protagonists as their models, it was no wonder such readers didn't refrain from delivering death threats, wishing that the authors die from cancer, or insulting them in the vilest manner possible. Some even threatened to rape the authors' wives just because they didn't like what happened to their favorite heroines – and why not? The misogynistic protagonists they worshipped didn't hesitate to rape female enemies as "punishment." Better yet, these readers believed that they wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of abusing other people online because of anonymity and a lack of physical presence. What was the worst that could happen? Get their accounts banned? Fine, they could just create a new account and repeat the whole thing.
Honestly, if these web novel websites were serious about combating the toxic comment sections, they should think twice about promoting such web novels and manhuas with toxic values. If you were going to advertise stories with "ruthless" main characters, obviously the readers were going to swallow those toxic values wholeheartedly and behave like keyboard warriors.
"I'm back. I apologize for keeping you guys waiting, but I am done with my affairs in Springwood. I hope you do not mind."
I realized I had been completely lost in my thoughts when Eliza suddenly returned to the hut where we were waiting. She bowed her head apologetically, but it was clear that she was already fully prepared to leave immediately, with her robes in gear and her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Not at all." I smiled. "I was…uh, occupied."
With having a rant to my system because of the recent comments I had received from the keyboard warriors beyond the fourth dimension, but she didn't need to know about that.
"Shall we go then?" Sigmund Krieg asked, standing up and slinging his sword over his back. Like the rest of us, he had dressed in his black and silver armor and was ready to set out anytime. He wasted no time with courtesies, unlike me.
"Yes. Thank you." Eliza nodded and resumed her role as guide. Morten fell back in step just behind her, while the rest of us took up the rear.
The elves of Springwood had turned out in force to bid us goodbye. They were apologetic about not being able to show any hospitality like Murkwood, but considering that they had just survived a major clash, it was completely understandable. I smiled and waved at them before reminding them that we were in a hurry.
"We need to help the other elvish enclaves, so we are going now. See you next time!"
"I hope to see you again, indeed." Hammond beamed, standing at the front with his oak staff. "Until the future."
I nodded and followed Eliza and the rest up the winding slope around the trunk. We hastened our pace, especially because our elf guide had just received a magical message from above. Her face fell when she stretched out her hand and shimmering spirits descended to perch on her fingers.
"Redwood is under attack," she whispered. She turned to us with a nod. "It's the next closest enclave, just there."
She pointed at a reddened tree branch that stretched from the trunk. Though the name really came more from the redwood trees that grew along its length, a trademark feature that only became visible when we drew closer.
Despite the weight of his clearly heavy armor, Sigmund was surging ahead at incredible speed. I stayed in front of him because of my greater speed and agility, but I doubted I would be able to move as swiftly if I had the same armor. Was it because of his incredible strength and stamina? I knew he was Earth ranked, but damn, he never ceased to surprise me.
Before I could say anything, though, his eyes narrowed and he pointed with a gauntleted finger.
"The enemy is here."
I detected them even before his warning, veering to the side before long nails ripped the bark of the wooden ground I was running along. Even as I spun in midair, I was already drawing my bow and generating azure arrows. My assailant turned to me with a screech before I blew its head off with a barrage of arrows.
Landing on the ground, I twisted about and took aim at its pack mates, aware that I wasn't alone. Fortunately, Sigmund already had my back. in a single stroke, he cleaved apart several of the shrieking spirit beasts in half.
"Barbaric Baboons," I muttered, recognizing the blue furred spirit beasts that were about two and a half meters tall and their feral features. Gray muscles bulged underneath the dark blue fur, and their relatively short tails curled about to provide balance more than an anchor for them to swing from branch to branch. There was a whole pack of them, leaping from tree to tree to close in on us.
Fireballs slammed into them and exploded, dropping their charred corpses onto the ground. Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long had materialized on either side of me, offering their assistance as they bared their teeth at the incoming feral Barbaric Baboons. I nodded to them gratefully.
"Thanks."
Then I took aim and fired a volley of arrows that caught a bunch of Angry Apes swinging long vines to our location. They were hooting and bellowing threateningly as they charged, but a few of them fell off the vines when I shot them down.
Unlike the leaner Barbaric Baboons, the Angry Apes were bulkier. They were shorter, at about two meters tall, but their fur was red and they were broader and heavier. That was why they relied on vines rather than agilely jumping from branch to branch. Nonetheless, that made them easy targets for my arrows.
"There's so many of them!" Myria muttered as she joined me. She flicked her wrist and sent water whips lashing out in multiple directions cutting apart the screaming Barbaric Baboons and Angry Apes. Sylvie and Silvia joined her, hastily setting up spirit arrays for defense and offense.
Silvia's barrier glowed, forming a dome-shaped forcefield around us. In contrast, Sylvie's sword spirit array launched blades into the panicking Angry Apes, scattering them and forcing them to disperse. The majority of them fell, though, impaled by the spirit swords before they could escape.
Morten stepped forward and kicked any Barbaric Baboons that got too close to Silvia's shields, ramming the spikes on his boots into their chins and heads. Eliza helped as best as she could, conjuring wind blades to join Sylvie's barrage of swords. Myria stayed close to me, a watery whirlpool of death as her treasure sword continually launched flexible lances that sliced through the weaving packs of monkey spirit beasts.
Sigmund had gone far ahead of us, and the sheer potency of the aura he emitted was enough to intimidate the ape spirit beasts. Many of them fled before him, but with a single swing of his sword, he blasted an entire pack into oblivion, inadvertently chopping the trees that his unfortunate victims were scrambling on.
Then he paused and narrowed his eyes.
"I'll leave the smaller ones to you guys."
"Huh? Sure!" Morten looked surprised. Sylvie and Silvia exchanged a confused glance, while Myria focused on the opponents before her. Eliza wasn't able to conceal her nervousness, but she didn't seem to know what was going on either.
On the other hand, because I was a summoner, I was more sensitive to the presences of spirit beasts. And I could already detect the aura of a behemoth.
A Giant Gorilla burst through the foliage, bellowing ferociously and beating its broad chest in a challenge. Sigmund took a step forward and raised his sword as a reply. Even though I was aware of his tremendous strength, I still couldn't help but be a little nervous when he faced the new enemy. The Giant Gorilla was about ten meters in height and was several tons of sheer muscle. Covered in thick black fur that doubled as a protective coat, its punches could disintegrate boulders and bring down buildings. Though it was only Mystic ranked, it possessed enough physical strength to rival that of an Earth ranked spirit beast. It pounded its chest once more before charging at Sigmund.
"What is this, an Urban Cultivation Frenzy?" I grumbled, remembering a similar monster from that manhua. Apparently, they dropped the translation in the Web novel website after only 83 chapters, and I didn't know if that was because the original manhua had suddenly stopped at chapter 116 and stopped updating or something (at least at the official Tencents website). Whatever the case, we all knew the result when man clashed against gorilla. All I knew was that a green-haired lady showed up and leeched off Luo Li, and…the manhua ended there without any new updates for over half a year now.
Well, that was the sad state of the Web novel website. Translations and stories – even premium ones that required payment – just get dropped randomly by irresponsible translators and writers all the time. The readers complained a lot, but it changed nothing. I had to admit that the whole thing wasn't very professional, but right now I should focus on the battle instead of my grievances.
So I fired another volley of arrows. Like artillery shells, they streaked across the air and crashed against the charging Angry Apes and Barbarous Baboons, throwing their carcasses into the air and scattering them into pieces. Those that survived the onslaught found themselves suddenly beset by Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins, who were backed by Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths. Even though the Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins were only ordinary ranked, they were boosted by the spirit arrays I quickly set up while under Sylvie and Silvia's protection.
The system gave me really cool spirit beast booter spirit arrays, which allowed my ordinary ranked spirit beasts to fight evenly with superior opponents as long as they stayed in formation and worked together. Individually, they would be crushed, but as a united collective, they were more than a match for even the most ferocious of ape spirit beasts. The Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins darted around the flailing Angry Apes and slashing Barbaric Baboons, keeping their distances before swooping in and striking with their ghostly or wood attacks. Several of them even took the ape spirit beasts' strikes head-on, only for the meaty fists and sharp nails to ineffectually pass through their intangible bodies.
While I directed them and provided long range support alongside the fairy sisters, Myria, Morten and Eliza, Sigmund was done. The Giant Gorilla had chosen to recklessly hurl itself at him, but he calmly stood his ground and cleaved it in half in a single stroke. The Giant Gorilla rushed past the black swordsman before skidding to a stop. With a disbelieving groan, it fell apart into two halves, split from crown to groin.
"Yeah!" I pumped my right hand into the air even as I gripped my bow with my left. "I knew Sigmund would do it!"
"Don't celebrate too early yet," Sigmund warned softly, his sword still held up in both hands as he refused to let down his guard. "There's more of them."
Just when he finished his sentence, the Redwood trees in front of us swayed violently as something stampeded within them. A few seconds later, a pack of Giant Gorillas burst out of the vegetation.
…and leading them was an enormous Steel Kong that loomed over them at about twice their height.