It didn't take us long before we scaled the path and reached the top of the World Tree in massed numbers. Quite frankly, our numbers had been reduced quite a bit after the clash against the Kobolds and their Raven and Bat allies, but the sight of all of us marching upward was impressive.
"Damn it. Why couldn't there be a feeding tube within the World Tree where we can ride the rising air current and get to the top almost immediately?" I complained.
"Because this isn't Dungeons and Artifacts," Eliza replied, annoyed. I gaped at her. She had rejoined us as a guide, having separated from her elven brethren who were interspersed throughout the human parties to ensure no one got lost or fell behind. But that wasn't why I was surprised.
"You actually read that manhwa?"
"Well…not really, but I know what you're referring to."
"Can we not waste time with these references?" Myria asked wearily. "The voices beyond the fourth dimension are getting sick of it."
"Why would they be sick of it?" I was genuinely skeptical. "More likely they will be happy to find new manhwas and web novels to read. They can look up the references and find more stories that they might enjoy."
"Are you seriously intending to act as a giant advertisement for other stories?"
"Why not? Consider it charity."
"We're here," Sylvie said, interrupting us from our banter. She pointed to the canopy right above, a massive plateau that stretched over the top of Yggdrasil like an island. Leaves extended throughout the area, almost forming an uneven ring that wreathed the pinnacle like a skirt. Atop the peak of Yggdrasil was a rich, verdant landscape. There was only tall grass here and very few trees, most of them conifer trees that adapted to the cold. This high up, we were pretty much immersed in the clouds, but most of the watery condensation had transformed into snow that gathered upon the conifer trees in tremendous tufts, reminding me of polar caps on mountain peaks.
The conifer trees were gathered in such tight clusters that they actually looked like giant leaves from afar. I could imagine passengers from an airplane watching Yggdrasil and mistaking all the green for leaves.
"The nine-leaf clovers should be found somewhere in that forest," Sylvie whispered with a nod. "When we have a chance, we should look for it."
"Yeah, but we should focus on the mission first." I nodded. "As long as the dark elves are carrying out their schemes to corrupt Yggdrasil, I don't think we can afford to be distracted by the task of searching for the nine-leaf clover. Let's settle one thing at a time."
"I agree."
"Come on," Silvia complained as she hopped in front of us, her hands clasped behind her back. "You're so boring. Lighten up a little!"
"Uh, right. Not sure how we can be in a good mood when we have sadist dark elves who revel in torture and suffering executing a scheme that might possibly destroy the world, or at the very least deal irreparable damage."
"I see them," Morten said, raising his hands to his eyes and squinting into the distance. I followed the direction he was staring at and magnified the view on my glasses. As expected, the might of the dark elves had been gathered at the top of Yggdrasil for one last defense. There was a similar monolith like the one Sigmund had destroyed in Noctwood, emitting sickly green energies and pumping them back into the earth. Already, the grass and trees around that monolith had withered and blackened from the contamination.
Surrounding the dark elves were their spirit beast allies. There was no longer any sign of the Kobolds or Ravens, both forces having been broken irrevocably after we slew their respective rulers back in Noctwood. But the army the dark elves had gathered here was comparable in strength even if it wasn't as numerous. There were no overwhelming swarms of Bats or Ravens to suicidally drown us in bodies. Instead, fearsome monsters hovered around the dark elves, accompanying those sleek, disturbing spiky ships that Sigmund had called Raiders.
Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns.
The former were lion-shaped spirit beasts that stretched over five meters long with a maned tail and spine. Massive feathery wings stretched from their backs, flapping like majestic eagles. A mix of brown and white with golden talons stretching from their furry legs, they stood out vividly in the heavens. Their heads were a cross between a lion and an eagle, with a beak and fierce look. They would have been the ruler of the skies, their posture proud and indomitable, if it weren't for the much larger Wind Wyverns accompanying them.
The Wind Wyverns were smaller dragons – descended from the fearsome race but not quite full-blooded like Long Wang. They had light green scales, and their wingspans rivaled that of small aircrafts, stretching to over fifteen meters. Wickedly curved claws stretched out from their talons, and their draconic jaws constantly snapped, revealing rows of sharp fangs. Gusts of wind continually blew around their bodies, occasionally spinning off into mini whirlwinds. They were quite the imposing sight that sent chills down even the most hardened warriors and mages.
"How can we beat those? There are so many Mystic-ranked spirit beasts."
Fortunately, there were no Wind Dragons or Earth ranked spirit beasts among them, so we were relieved about that at least. However, my gaze darted to one of the Raiders where I knew Lelith Maledictx must surely be riding on. She wouldn't be without the enslaved Ardena, who would fight on her command with strength and swordsmanship rivaling that of Sigmund Krieg. Not only that, it appeared that Ricowen had joined the fray this time. He was standing on the prow of one of the Raiders, his arms folded as he waited expectantly. I could feel the awesome amount of mana radiating off his potent figure.
On the ground, his favored Velocity Raptors and Giga Rexes awaited, his Saurian army reinforced by more of those shellfish, cephalopod and other types of spirit beasts. There were also Sea Scorpions and Armored Carids in the mix as well. they growled and pawed or slashed listlessly, held in check by their powerful demonic commander.
"Time for a rematch," I muttered.
At that moment, the system sent me a notification window.
-New quest issued. Defense of Yggdrasil: Defeat the dark elves and their allies, and save Yggdrasil from corruption. Completion of this mission will grant the appropriate rewards. –
"Heh…" I couldn't help but smirk as I pushed my glasses up my nose. "I would still try to kick those dark elves' asses even if you didn't assign me this mission. They've been getting on my nerves."
"The Growling Griffons are going to be a problem," Morten said, watching them warily. "They are fast and agile, and are even nimbler than the Wind Wyverns because of their relatively smaller size. It'll be hard to hit them."
"I wonder why they didn't call them Howling Griffons," I muttered. "It would sound better."
"Maybe because they are afraid of getting into copyright trouble?"
"Then why did they name those black humanoid armored creatures Raven Guard?" I rolled my eyes. "That would be a bigger infringement of their intellectual property if they really are that pedantic about it."
"Uh, good question." Morten shrugged. "Maybe they wanted the G's to match for the Griffons."
"Yeah, that makes more sense."
"You still keep in contact with your Owl buddies? We could use their help in an aerial battle here."
I shook my head. "Against Mystic ranked Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns? The ordinary ranked Round Owlets and Yellow ranked Arrow Owls will only get slaughtered. There was only one Mystic ranked Grim Owl, and he'll be terribly outnumbered against so many of those Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns. Hell, I wouldn't dare send my Charred Drake up there alone."
"Gah! We need aerial reinforcements from somewhere!" Morten clutched his head. Myria sighed.
"No use crying over what we don't have. We just have to make do with what we do have. Stop whining and get your head back in gear."
"What I wouldn't give for Storm Eagles, Fire Raptors and Thunder Hawks," I muttered, throwing up my hands. Everyone stared at me.
"I thought you were worried about copyright."
"As I said earlier, we already went way past that with the Raven Guard."
Our banter was interrupted when Colonel Robert Blake yelled out a warning.
"Incoming! The enemy's coming at us! Break into your respective parties and drive them back, and then fight toward the dark elves' position step by step! I'm counting on all of you! You want autonomy, you get it! Just succeed!"
Blake had known that there were way too many parties to organize a united offense, so he had broken us down to our disparate groups and hoped for the best. Even though it might seem messy, the strength in this strategy lay in that the enemy couldn't formulate a generalized strategy against our attack.
But they had chosen to strike first.
The Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns soared toward our location, howling and screeching aggressively as they spread their wings and buffeted us with violent gusts of wind. The warriors and mages scattered, though there were pockets of us who stood our ground and readily met the enemy. There was a bone-crunching collision as the giant spirit beasts crashed into our lines, a few of them already knocked out of the air by ferocious spells.
"We'll set up spirit arrays here," Silvia told me before she joined her sister in dropping to the ground to sketch esoteric runes on the grass and draw upon the rich mana of Yggdrasil to fuel their powerful spells. I nodded and summoned my own army of spirit beasts. Lightning lashed out as my aquatic armada came into being, the Little Anglers and Lantern Fishes already surging to their respective formations and weaving an electrical net to catch the Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns that flew overhead. A few of them tumbled right into the jaws of Lantern Sharks, their powerful bites snapping necks and punching holes through their bodies.
The Wind Wyverns were tougher than the muscular Growling Griffons, their light green armored scales rendering them almost impervious to the serrated teeth of my Lantern Sharks. Fortunately, I had other contingencies in place for them. Colossal Crabs seized their necks and limbs with powerful pincers, holding them in place for the much slower Guardian Golems to pulverize them to the ground.
Amidst the mess of beating wings, raking talons, slashing claws and stabbing beaks, my Titan Golem arose in the middle, a boiling mountain surrounded by a sea of blood and violence. Lava erupted from his many protrusions, engulfing shrieking Griffons and Wyverns with boiling jets of molten rock.
However, this was just the first wave. More of the flying spirit beasts swooped down on us, grabbing screaming warriors and hurling them off Yggdrasil to their deaths below. It would be a long fall for those not capable of flying magic. Fortunately, my party remained firmly rooted to the canopy of Yggdrasil.
Myria struck out with her flexible water whip, cutting through the winged creatures with relatively ease. The Growling Griffons went down, but the majority of them swiftly scattered and evaded deftly after the first few attacks, recognizing the danger that the thin but highly pressurized lines posed. The Wind Wyverns, on the other hand, were a lot more resistant to the snaking water blade, deflecting the sharpness and pressure with their armored scales.
Fortunately, Sigmund stepped in, easily cleaving them into pieces with his sword. Blue energies blazed furiously along the length of his huge weapon and he utterly destroyed the poor Wind Wyverns. Each swing of his sword sent entire flocks tumbling down with missing appendages and wings, and in several cases, heads.
Did that guy have a Dragon Slayer bonus or something? Jesus, it was almost as if he was dealing extra damage to enemies that had the dragon attribute.
That advantage, though overwhelming, was short-lived. Along with the second wave of Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns came a fleet of razor-sharp Raiders, the black ships disgorging their troops. As Gladiators, Gladiatrixes and Cabal Knights leaped off their transports to engage the struggling warriors and mages in a desperate melee, they were soon joined on the ground by riders on Dire Wolves. I could hear screams of agony as seasoned veterans were cut down, a few of them laid low by the potent toxins imbued into the splinter rounds or poisoned bladed weapons of the despicable dark elves.
I was in no position to help anyone, though. Despite summoning my Phantom Stumps, Ghost Pumpkins, Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths to turn the tide and protect my allies, I was surrounded by a few Cabal Knights that withstood the ghost attacks with their carapace armor and fought toward me. Myria and Morten kept them at bay with their swordsmanship and kicks, but I was also forced to draw Azure Dragon to defend myself.
"We can't allow ourselves to be bogged down here!" Sigmund bellowed, disengaging from the Wind Wyverns to ease the pressure mounted by the arrivals of the dark elves. Even the elite Cabal Knights were no match for him, their armor split apart by his huge sword as if they were nothing more than paper. "We need to get to the monolith and destroy it!"
"And how do you propose we do that?" I grunted, parrying a glaive from a Cabal Knight. He twirled his heavy weapon about and used his greater physical strength to force me back, but I summoned Azure Frost and stabbed him in the chest, my spirit sword punching through his breastplate with surprising ease.
"Through force," Sigmund replied. My eyes widened when I saw the crackling energies explode out of his blade and consume the dark elves, Growling Griffons and Wind Wyverns in a dragon-shaped blast. The blue dragon roared silently as it surged through the clearing…
…only to be cleaved apart and forced to dissipate harmlessly when a golden sword sliced through it.
Ardena strode toward us, her eyes blank and her mind under the control of the enemy, and adopted an offensive stance with her glowing divine sword.