Eat The World Tree

【'Plant Encyclopedia' activated, absorbs part of the 'World Tree of Patience's' ability.】

【Mental power increases significantly.】

【'Plant Encyclopedia' activated, absorbs part of the 'World Tree of Fortitude's' ability, greatly increasing durability. You can now use the authority 'Fortitude' of the World Tree of Fortitude.】

.

.

.

.

.

.

Lee Shiheon (Candidate for the World Tree's Husband)

【 Age/Height/Weight 】

20 years old / 187cm / 84.18kg

【 Abilities 】

-Strength 13.1

-Durability 14.9

-Agility 13.6

-Stamina 12.1

-Magic 15

-Charisma 9

-Intelligence 7

-Potential 14

-Luck 10

□Unique Traits (2)

[Plant Encyclopedia (S→SS)][Combat Body (SS→EX)]

□Skills (4)

[Black Path (-)][Heavenly Demon Technique (EX)][Color Technique (B)][Walking Pheromone (E→C)]

□Temperaments (7)

[Tree Spirit King (-)][Sword Talent (A)][Magic Talent (S→SS)][Lewd Demon (B)][Spirit Master Talent (B)] …….

■Authorities (3)

[Healing (-)][Remnants of Time (-)][Fortitude (S)]

【Due to numerous changes in internal energy, some skills and temperaments have changed.】

【The aura of the king has strengthened, thus modifying the status window partially.】

【As growth progresses, potential has decreased.】

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The status window, which I hadn’t seen in a while, had become blurred compared to before.

I could read it, but I needed to scrutinize it carefully.

‘Is this indicating that it can’t contain any more abilities?’

Considering the status window was based on the power bestowed by the World Tree, perhaps it was reaching its limit.

-Huung!

Standing on the skeletal steel beams of a hotel rooftop, I gazed into the distance.

I had taken measures in the basement where the trees grow.

No ordinary Flower could intrude into the basement.

As I had grown, I had gained some pride in my magical abilities.

“Still not enough.”

With a smirk, I looked at the status window again.

The abilities I had gained from my relationship with the trees were quite substantial.

As abilities increased, they gained relative value, so even if they didn’t go up by 0.2 as consistently as before, the accumulation definitely made a difference.

-Paang!

Striking the air with all my might, a sonic boom resounded.

Maybe the clash with Maehwa and using the Black Path had unexpectedly good effects.

My sharpened senses now perceive the surroundings without conscious effort.

Now, there were other authorities as well.

I needed to figure out how to use them, though.

【 Fortitude 】

A red aura of strong energy covered my skin.

The World Tree didn’t always have an authority.

The real gain came from just one tree.

The duration I could maintain it was still short, and it was not very efficient.

Like healing, it must be used consistently to become useful.

“….”

I stretched my shoulders and looked down below.

“I’m still far from enough.”

Talk about reaching a realm or something.

It was something I had heard since my days as the Young Demon, but now it just made me laugh.

How could those who hadn’t even reached a realm guess about someone who might?

It’s not just flattery, but as my level had risen, I had come to understand.

Comparing with common ranks:

The gap between S and someone at a certain Realm was much greater than that between F and S.

Conversely, it could be said that among S-rank hunters, whom people looked up to, there was a significant skill disparity.

In short, I was still far behind my master.

‘If only I had time. I wouldn’t have to do this.’

Worrying about this is pointless since the line has already been crossed.

I stood up, looking towards the distant foundation.

Stepping outside the steel beams, my body tilted. Falling from over 15 floors of a hotel.

-Hwiuuung!

The wind sliced past my face, broadening my view, as my body gradually approached the ground.

-Kung!

Upon landing, the dust that rose mixed into the air, clouding my vision.

I moved my feet, slowly advancing.

As my vision cleared, I infiltrated through a gap in the front line I had previously identified.

‘The space inside the foundation is top secret.’

The internal structure wasn’t known.

It couldn’t even be documented in schematic maps, so only the administrators knew the rough layout.

However, there was one piece of information even civilians know.

The Queen of the Cradle.

The World Tree that governed the concept of ‘growth’ existed in the deep part of the foundation.

The noble mother of all plants growing in the Cradle.

A story like that of the distant moon, which couldn’t be seen or touched by mere humans unless it was now.

In short, I had to aim for the mother.

The previous encounter was merely training.

The Mother of Plants.

Queen. World Tree of Growth.

Both movements to target her and to protect her were accelerating.

Hours had passed since the first ambush.

The fixed front line was becoming exhausting for both Flower and the Order, and due to the increasingly complex skirmishes, they were only managing to maintain the line.

-Kwaang!

Key facilities turned to dust under the bombardment.

Despite blocking all forms of magic everywhere, where could such an explosion come from?

‘Damn Flowers.’

The knight commander, John, opened his bloodshot eyes wide.

‘Cistus. If it weren’t for that woman.’

Rumored to be capable of single-handedly devouring a nation, just releasing a few of her clones had already thrown the Cradle into panic.

Yet, the front line was maintained thanks to the Order’s attachment to the World Tree inside.

“We must not give up this place at all costs!!!”

Pushing themselves to their limits, they fought against Flower.

The movements of the priests, willing to face death, were no different from those of zealots.

Knights filled in densely, and an army exceeding a thousand emerged from the Cradle.

A legion, incomparable to the occasional guild skirmishes, awaited Flower at the heart of the Cradle.

Of course, Flower had forces of that magnitude too.

-Kung, kung. Kung. Kung.

Footsteps that roughly shook the Cradle. A group led by an executive and an executive proxy intruded.

The very person who had brought down the Cradle with intelligent and persistent terrorist tactics.

Hongyeon, in the center of the forces, watched the knight commander with dead eyes.

‘One.’

A genius of strategy.

The skills of the cult leader who once ruled One Garden had reached completion upon joining Flower.

As a strategist, she was the best of her time.

She never lost in a single battle.

Within the Hunter Association, Hongyeon’s existence had surpassed being a target to become an object of fear.

Of course, her name wasn’t known.

Since joining Flower, Hongyeon had avoided mentioning her own name.

No.

She simply no longer needed a name.

Having lost the reason to live and found a reason to die, what use would a name be?

Names were made to call the living, so they were unnecessary for her.

“Ha…”

Hongyeon exhaled a bitter breath, her lips trembling. Her pupils, which had been fixed on the ground, slowly rose.

Hundreds of elite soldiers awaited her command.

-Swip.

Her hand pointed forward.

The place her finger indicated was the heart of the Cradle.

“Go and die.”

A dry voice came out over her dry throat.

-Yes!!!

The zealots gathered and charged.

As a massive crowd advanced, dust rose from the ground, and blood splattered around.

Hongyeon watched the battlefield from slightly behind, subtly changing the course of the battle.

The war of superhumans did not follow the tactics recorded in history.

The difference in individual prowess was stark, and with magic as a variable, tactics must be constantly adjusted.

Throughout history, strategists fitting for such armies were rare.

Thus, in this era, only a girl, broken by misunderstanding, fate, and all the evils this world could muster, could stand there.

The only commander born from relentless obsession and malice.

The cult leader of the Demonic Sect.

But now, an equal to Flower’s executives.

Hongyeon’s magic enveloped the front line.

She calmly observed all movements, using Cistus’s clones at the right time.

-Kwang!

The sound of explosions rained down on the front line.

From the invading side, Flower couldn’t bring many troops.

The size difference was evident from the start.

Comparing the number of soldiers, it was 9 times.

With substandard troops, they achieved feats close to victory in siege and urban warfare.

It was possible to push this far because it was an ambush, and they were thoroughly prepared.

“Remarkable.”

The voice of the sixth executive, Paeonia, echoed with admiration.

“The original goal was just to break part of the Cradle, but now it’s on the brink of falling. I might not need to intervene.”

He had been active as a spy within the Cradle and now, having killed the grandmaster, he laughed in disbelief.

He had heard of her talent for war, but not that it would be to this extent.

Hongyeon, without even glancing at Paeonia, focused solely on the battlefield situation.

‘Dangerous woman.’

Her talent was too outstanding.

Her personal combat strength was negligible, but she excelled at expanding forces and managing funds.

She was also skilled in warfare.

Hongyeon’s presence within Flower was already approaching something close to worship.

‘She could become a problem.’

Having made his decision, Paeonia slowly retreated.

To report on her actions and to keep her forces in check.

-Tubuck, tubuck, tubuck.

Paeonia turned his back and disappeared.

Hongyeon, aware of this, showed no reaction.

Her purpose had always been consistent. What did it matter if some executives saw her as a thorn in their side?

She was a life meant to die.

-Kwang!

The noose around the foundation tightened.

It was almost certain that the entire Cradle would soon fall into Flower’s hands.

Hongyeon opened her mouth to send a telepathic message to use the last of Cistus’s clones.

-Kung.

At that moment.

Something black, with an ominous momentum, began to sweep through the area.

“That is…?”

-Kreurup!?

Hongyeon’s perception fell behind the speed of the suddenly appearing entity, and before the soldiers could react, their necks were severed.

Like swirling waves, the black illusion drew curves.

The front line collapsed without even a short death cry.

Among superhumans, there are those with exceptional skills.

Methods to deal with them were developed by previous strategists, but-

-Pahk!

If the response was too late, there was no method.

‘Where did it come from?’

For the first time, a look of distortion appeared on Hongyeon’s face.

They had long since cornered and dealt with all the skilled individuals around the foundation.

Strong entities who could pose a threat as allies of the World Tree.

At least in the Cradle, they thought they had cut off all such threats, but had one remained?

It wasn’t nonexistent.

The hotel that was far from the foundation, the venue for the Forester Selection Competition, where many National Trees might be breathing.

If they exerted their full strength, such movements wouldn’t be impossible.

However, they had received a report a few hours ago that all National Trees were incapacitated.

There shouldn’t be such an entity appearing.

-Bang!

Kwang!

A sudden strike pierced through the believers around Hongyeon.

Even without a sword, he shot out fist strikes, bursting hearts.

Somewhere familiar in movement.

Yet, the figure, moving at an untraceable speed, seemed to blend into the shadows before disappearing into the distance.

Still, he began to sweep through the front line.

The plan crumbled. As the front line was destroyed, Flower’s situation rapidly worsened.

Hongyeon, regaining her senses, urgently began sending telepathic messages and issuing commands around her.

If they could reorganize the front line centered around subduing that person, there would be no one they couldn’t handle.

That’s what she thought, but-

-Thuk.

The shadow that had stopped turned its head towards Hongyeon.

A face smeared with blood, red energy wrapped around both arms, and black magic.

The man frowned as he looked at where Hongyeon was seated.

-Why are you here?

His lips moved slightly, as if murmuring something.