Chapter. 15. Can someone who has seen the end of the world plant an apple tree? (30)
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“The mutes are gone… Have we won…? “Is anyone hurt?”
Otman, who was struggling to stay conscious, suddenly felt that the resistance to the waterspout had disappeared.
While the sharp sounds of claws rubbing against metal and the screams and shouts had died down.
Otman, who was looking around with blurry eyes as the noise of the battle disappeared and there was only a low groan, realized that all of the people who were supposed to be by his side had disappeared.
“Where has everyone gone…. Notum Hydrasil….”
“It’s up there.”
“Ah, is it there…”
Otman, who had been imagining the horror of the surroundings filled with blood and traces of battle, was finally able to relax for a moment when he heard a calm voice coming from above.
I was happy to get up, but my stamina seemed to have run out and my legs were shaking so I couldn’t move properly.
“Oh my… I wish I could help you a little bit…”
“I’m sorry. “I’m not in a situation where I can help you right now.”
“…Are you hurt? How much are you hurt? Notum knows a little bit about healing magic, but Rakshasha also seems to have some expertise in surgical procedures…”
There was no answer even in the helpless voice of the old man. Otman moved toward the deck as if crawling, using the unclaimed sword that had fallen at his feet as a walking stick.
When Otman managed to climb up the stairs and look outside, what caught his eye was a scene he had never expected.
Nulak’s flagship, barely able to maintain its shape, was thoroughly stained with human debris and blood.
Nulak, who had fallen from the palanquin, was holding his torn belly skin with one hand and stopping the bleeding from his missing leg around the thigh with the other.
In the center of such devastation, a small tree full of life and strangeness was attracting attention.
Idrasil was climbing the tree and pulling the branches with sharp eyes. Notum was panting with bloodshot eyes and clinging to the tree’s roots with both hands.
“What the hell is this…”
“Wait. “Please don’t disturb me.”
Idrasil interrupted the old man’s struggling voice and pulled further on the thin branch held in both hands.
When I looked closely, I saw that it was a tree that resembled a huge bow in the shape of a tree. Idrasil’s feet were firmly planted on the stem that served as a bow, and both hands were pulling the thin stem that appeared to be a string.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
“Notum calm down. “If the tension is not maintained, it can go astray.”
“Guuuu…. They took the woman…! Snake Woman Snake Woman Desert Woman-”
“Keep calm. clearly. “I said.”
“…Whoop whoosh!”
Notum, who calmed down his anger at Idrasil’s frosty voice, concentrated on his magic, and the natural bow, nourished by the soaked blood, began to show off its vitality even more.
Ahhhhh!
The eyes of the elf, who pulled the string with both hands, looked sharply at the enemy.
A fallen dragon and a professor who lost both arms. An ominous creature appeared before him, a woman resembling a snake, and the Rakshasa who was subdued by it.
An ordinary shot would be easily detected by their monstrous senses. Considering the combat power and cruelty of the enemy that I have personally experienced, failure will soon result in the death of the hostage.
Idrasil was in no hurry. According to her research on the professor, he was the one who would react most violently in such a situation.
He is an expressive human being. When he spoke, his facial expressions would often follow. While conversing with an unidentified enemy, his eyes did not move with the other person. It probably means you’re looking at something different.
Idrasil suppressed the growing impatience and took a breath.
“….Fuuuuu.”
With my breath, I also emptied all the distracting thoughts inside. While focusing solely on the bow and the goal and the bow.
The senses of the sniper who took the opportunity were expanded by the vibrations under his feet.
A leaning dragon. Enemies on a dragon that leans like that. The professor runs forward, kicking the dragon scales off his feet as if he had been waiting for just this moment, and the snake woman with a cruel smile as if she knew this would happen.
And the little monster inside the green liquid leisurely appreciating the scene.
Idrasil found exactly where the tip of the arrow should be pointed in the gap that appeared in an instant.
‘….here!’
-Paang!
Finally, the taut string of the bow was released.
The arrow imbued with the spirit of wind advanced toward its goal as if cutting through space without any resistance or sound.
Cutting through the blazing air, passing between the dizzyingly tilted masts of a warship, to where the dragon’s tilted body is.
Nigmi’s smiling face, which had been laughing at the miserably missed arrow with a speed that even the queen’s immediate descendants could not have noticed, was colored with embarrassment and astonishment.
Kwajik
!
The arrow, which seemed to have been stretched from a tree root, pierced the back of Nigmi’s hand and Falcatus’ protective wall and came to a narrow stop right in front of his nose.
“…Tsk.”
The elf clicked his tongue at the arrow that had unfortunately stopped, and the troll shaman raised a branch that would become the next arrow from his fingertips.
‘I didn’t reach the target, but I achieved my goal.’
While the snake woman, surprised by her sniping, blocked her target, the professor succeeded in cutting off the snakes growing from her right arm. The snake woman hurriedly stretched out her hand again, but she could not put as much pressure on the Rakshasa as she had already spread the magic thread as much as she could and hid herself.
“The battle is not over yet! “How is the situation going?”
Idrasil responded to Otman’s question after noticing the situation by pulling the bowstring.
“The enemy has taken a hostage.”
“…Rakshasha. “I’ve already used up all my mana, so what should I do…”
“It’s okay now.”
Idrasil took aim at the target once again, assessing her palm, which had been completely peeled off during the first shot. I felt like I could fire about two more shots without damaging the nerves in my hands.
“We also took hostages. “Now our enemies will be able to feel the same emotions we have been feeling.”
As a marksman, you must always aim for the enemy’s weaknesses. It is, after all, the result of rational thinking.
It may not be because of the emotions that arise from seeing the Rakshasha being crushed in real time. maybe.
****
There was only one thing I was aiming for.
‘Nigmi is a lizardman Naga mixed race. ‘Read the other person’s thoughts using racial characteristics.’
Falcatus’ finger pointed downward as if mocking my intention just before quicksand approached. I knew that my surprise attack, tailored at the moment the dragon’s body tilted, would be detected by Nigmi’s characteristics.
‘Falcatus said he wouldn’t let his guard down when dealing with me. It’s a battle of numbers played while reading the other person’s thoughts. There’s no way that side can lose.’
So, I gave it to you to read.
The other person is reading my thoughts. That’s the same as having the other person act according to your thoughts.
The professor stopped thinking at that moment when he saw the Rakshasha’s favorite thread being held in the fingertips of the Rakshasha, whose body was ruptured and broken all over and whose eyes were bloodshot.
The moment when Nigmi, who had lost his posture due to the creation of quicksand and was struggling to attack the dragon that was leaning towards it, and who had easily dodged an attack he already knew about, was about to unleash the Rakshasha with a laugh.
-Sgak!
Kwasik!
The Rakshasa’s rope cuts off the snake that bound her.
I hit the ground at the same speed I was rushing and held the falling Rakshasha in my arms.
Before Nigmi could get angry, her hand narrowly blocked Falcatus’ path.
All of this happened simultaneously.
‘sniping? ….Idrasil!’
Unexpected support. It is an attack that can cause fatal wounds to the weak Falcatus, and at the same time, it is a sniping from a distance that is no different from a counter to Nigmi, who reads the opponent’s thoughts and blocks the attack with a movement close to precognition!
The other side seemed to have not expected this either and was seen reacting urgently to the second arrow.
During the brief gap created by Idrasil, the professor looked at the Rakshasha in his arms.
She faintly flutters her eyelids and then droops.
‘Dangerous.’
No limb was intact. Everything was broken and twisted, and the pressure was enough to break the bones, so it was obvious what happened to the muscles surrounding them and the internal organs inside them.
When I wondered how I could move in that state, I saw this crazy woman sticking a thread into my body and pulling it.
Kuuuuuu –
Quicksand was rapidly growing in size and absorbing the desert.
‘….I have no choice.’
The Rakshasha in his arms and the enemy commander who appeared before him. It is a golden opportunity, but the Rakshasha is in no condition to withstand the aftermath of battle.
Scaffolding sinking in real time. Our enemies have means of moving through the sand, and we do not.
There is so much to gain and so much to lose in battle.
The professor felt Falcatus’ eyes on him.
“….”
[…..]
The smirking guy seemed to have read something in the professor’s eyes.
One side offers and agrees. On the other side, anger and resignation.
After a silent agreement was reached, the professor was the first to break off the meaningless confrontation.
“….good.”
[oh. Are you sending it to me? If you rush in like this, it could be really dangerous, right?]
“Don’t be shy and just go. “I don’t want to be embarrassed, so I try to brag about a topic that makes me nervous.”
[Uhm…. I tried to hide it. Since I am a living being, I cannot help but feel physiological fear. As a sniper… this is the factor that commanders need to pay the most attention to, but since I have very little experience in the field, I think it is inevitable that I am lacking in this area. I never would have guessed that there was a sniper ready who wasn’t even in your head. My father.]
The chew is really.
The guy who had been clapping his hands as he watched the professor grit his teeth closed his mouth with a sad look in his eyes. At that voice, Nigmi’s vertically slit eyes caw! I was blown away.
“…You’re going? like this? here. Those guys. Are you saying you’re going to let me go?! “Those insect-like people who stuck something like a tree root in my hand!!!”
[If that tree root gets stuck in my body, I will die. If you can even read arrows flying from far away, then feel free to do whatever you want, Nigmi.]
“Shaak! Shaaaaaaaak!”
[guy. As for personality.]
Nigmi, who spread out his cobra-like raincoat and flicked his tongue, glared fiercely at the direction from which the arrow came, then lifted up his falcatus, wrapped it with his body, and jumped into the sand.
‘You’re on guard against sniping until the end.’
The waiting tunnel worm swallowed them both, and the last mutes remaining on the battlefield disappeared.
Before their presence completely disappeared, the professor felt that Falcatus’ thoughts were still in his mind and spoke.
[….why. What do you guys want to do? Mute.]
.
.
.
.
[Hahahaha.]
An innocent laugh. He answered sincerely, as he always did.
[I guess it’s the same reason you’re struggling so hard.]
[Same reason as me?]
[I really like you. professor. Professor Park. my father You are a truly genuine person. In dealing with this world, perhaps even more so than that bitch of the World Tree.]
A story of reality as if nothing had happened. Falcatus speaks of the administrator and the World Tree.
[To what extent… no, how did you find out?]
[You must ask questions one by one. You asked what we wanted to do? It’s just an ordinary reason. Because I want to live. Like all living things, aren’t we doing this because we want to live?]
[The rest… as a gift for my father. I’ll leave it to you for your exploration pleasure. If you’re having a hard time, come visit us next time with a gift. Hmm… I don’t eat fruit, so that sniper’s head would be fine. I think Nigmi has a huge grudge.]
[….I’ll kill him next time I see him.]
[Hahahaha. I plan to save your life again.]
[Oh, it looks like you have a lot of free time since we went, so it would be better for you to escape quickly.]
[….Escape?]
[I mean pseudo-like. We saw it as we were passing by and we almost got sucked in. Hahahaha.]
At the faint sound of the man’s laughter, Falcatus’ thoughts disappeared.
Only then did the professor remember what he had buried in a corner of his head while being preoccupied with rescuing the Rakshasha.
How much time has passed since I used an attack filled with divine power?
Big thump!
The answer came from Kauladi’s warships, which collided with each other like logs caught in the rapids and were destroyed.
****
Quaaaaaaaaa!
[professor! Professor, are you still there! Hurry up! The taboo has grown out of control!]
[I know! I know… but I can’t escape! Is that okay?]
[It’s not okay! Even the wind is sucked in through a gaping hole in the middle of the taboo, and the wind is blowing that way too! The ship doesn’t move forward!]
[If it’s a military ship, shouldn’t there be an oarsman? I’ll try my best to get out there, so please prepare what you need for field medical care! portion! bandage! splint! Everything we have!]
[Well… we are now on the Dry Oasis! Not Nulak’s flagship!]
[No, why!]
The enemy was gone, but the crisis was just around the corner.
What on earth is this taboo quicksand? It goes beyond quicksand and has a black hole in the middle, like an abyss black hole, sucking sand in at an incredible speed.
Military ships that were to be used as stepping stones were coming down here, and the small desert boat that our group was on was being pulled towards the center of the quicksand in an instant.
It wasn’t long before the professor joined Ottman and his group.
“Why are you riding here! “I can’t see the Nulak kids, so it looks like they’ve already escaped from the outskirts!”
“Abandoned! The seriously injured Nulak used a spell to throw us away! ‘Don’t you all know the taboo well?’ Saying!”
“Ugh….ugh! “You damn pig!”
Nulak has been a consistently capable and clever pig from the beginning.
As Nulak is a desert person, there is no way he would not know how the taboo works, and his clever mind instantly figured out who was at the center of this taboo.
The white holy light that struck down the dragon. The warrior Saladin advanced to the center.
I don’t know how far Geumgi could have caught at wholesale level, so it’s all of his group.
It was not a quick and wise decision truly worthy of a leader.
Thanks to this, we all ended up dying.
The center of quicksand while Notum takes care of the Rakshasha whom the professor carefully handed over with healing magic. The black hole was getting closer and closer.
“Is there any oatmeal left? “I think the magic you used to send the mute off earlier will be enough to lift the boat and escape.”
“I have enough water… but I don’t have any mana left.”
“…Do you have enough water?”
The professor thought about Ottman’s dry throat and thought for a moment that he had lost his mind. It’s hard enough to take care of just one Rakshasha, but if even Otman falls, I think I’ll really want to give up.
“okay. This place used to be an ocean countless years ago! I don’t know what happened to make the blue sea disappear and become a land of martyrs, but it is clear that the water in this desert is endless. “Water changes, but it doesn’t disappear.”
“This is… the sea?”
Quang!
Amid the noise
of the military ships gathered in the center of the quicksand colliding and splitting apart, the keyword [sea] lingered in the corner of the professor’s eyes.
‘Desert creatures with strangely large bodies. It is difficult for land creatures to evolve into species with such large bodies due to their weight, but this is not the case for sea creatures. That’s plausible. If this were the sea, the environment of this sand sea and the ecosystem that does not fit Adari can be rationally explained.’
‘The first sand shark. I came across a mute somewhere. Among the creatures from the sand sea that were caught, there were quite a few like that. The Rakshasha said that there was a Mute somewhere in the desert, but that the moon shadow spread throughout the desert had not seen any trace of Mute.’
‘Legend. Legend….!’
Jump up!
“That legend! I told you so from the beginning! The moon sank and the sun crashed! Sink! Sink! “Nowhere did it say that the sun had set, but it didn’t say anything about what happened to the moon!”
The legend goes that the King of the Desert coveted the moon and said, ‘The moon sank beneath the surface of the water and never rose.’
moon and sea. The moon and the sea! Moon sea!!!!
‘At my first meeting with Kauladi, he definitely said it was [the power of the sun] and kneaded the sand as he pleased!’
The sun crashed and threw its remains into the dragon kingdom. If the remains had crashed, where would they all have gone?
Sararak –
The professor held the sand piled up on the deck of the Dry Oasis in his hand.
‘we are here.’
The moon, crashed by ancient dragons, sank to the bottom of the sea. The sea, drawn by the moon, slowly sank together as if creating an ebb and flow, revealing a dry seafloor to the world.
And the sun fell on it. The shattered fireball became small dust-like particles and covered the area now called the Great Desert.
That was the creation of this great desert. An area created with the fall of two gods.
If the flowing sand sea is the remains of the sun…..
“Professor! Before! “There’s a military ship ahead!”
“…Yikes!”
Quaaaang!
The professor, who hit the military ship that almost collided with the ship, immediately ran below deck.
All sailors, from sailors to navigators and deck captains, are clinging to the oars and trying to somehow escape the quicksand.
“Captain! Captain Avery!”
“Damn it! Saladin! You too, come quickly and stay here! If I somehow hold out until the taboo ends, I can survive!”
“Knock off everything that doesn’t work and turn the bow!”
“what?”
The professor lifted the sweat-soaked captain out of the oarsman’s chair and carried him under his side as he went out onto the deck.
“Do you see that? That!”
“The enforcer of that taboo… such a big disaster in your sailor’s life…”
“We’re going in there!”
“Are you crazy?”
“If it stays like this anyway, we’ll all die! “It doesn’t matter if it’s just me, but I don’t know how taboos work, so if I have to kill you all to end it, I’ll be dead!”
faint. It was a very faint possibility, but there was no answer other than this.
sun and moon. Two ancient gods.
The taboo quicksand reacted crazily to the divine power.
If the sun became a desert and remained like this.
Where does the moon go and what is it doing?
“I can’t do anything… I…”
“What kind of weak talk is this person called a sailor! If you just get sucked in like this, you’ll get caught between the military ships and the ship will be destroyed! “The only ones who can avoid it are you!”
There’s no way out anyway.
If I were alone, I could go out by melting my body into the sea of sand, but if the rest of the group got sucked in like this, it would be the end.
‘If that’s the case, you should at least gamble!’
The captain and the professor’s eyes met. Confident eyes. The burning will to live.
A dirty wheel caught Avery’s eye.
okay. If it’s your last voyage anyway, wouldn’t it be better to make your last voyage as a captain, not as an oarsman in a cramped dock?
Avery, the captain of the Dry Oasis, took a deep breath of sandy air.
『Sale-hooooo!!』
A command announcing departure. The sound, which resonated clearly amidst the noise of warships and warships, was clearly audible to the ears of the exhausted sailors.
“Don’t hesitate and come out! More things than reefs are piled up before your eyes! It’s okay to tear the sail, so maximize the tension! Even spread out the shade to somehow increase turning ability! Pod! Gulane! “Get a pole and pull the steering blades manually!”
“Uh uhuh….”
“Move!”
“Yes old!”
The crew couldn’t understand what was going on or why the captain suddenly went crazy, but the captain’s orders on the ship were absolute, and the commands they had become familiar with had their hands reaching into every corner of the ship.
A small desert boat swaying as if riding a rapid current, narrowly passing between large military ships.
As the bow gradually tilted downward.
Ottman, who was looking around at the sailors hanging on the ropes and railings, couldn’t help but ask the professor who was tying a spare sail to the rope with his eyes flashing.
“I wonder what’s down there so I’m going over there- ugh!”
Guuuugh –
Eventually, the ship reached the center of the quicksand, which was like a black abyss, and tilted forward.
The professor, hanging from a rope on a ship that was in trouble, spoke with confident eyes.
“ocean. Otman the ancient sea you spoke of! “I’m going to the sunken sea with the moon!”
“Moo woo why? “Why bother!”
“If you just leave it like that, they’ll all die anyway! More than anything…”
Gwageuuk kkeikik-
“…Because it looks like those bastards are over there!”
Tongue.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
“Ugh!”
“Captain!Captain niiiiim!!!”
“Wow!!!!”
“Mother!!!!”
Eventually, with nothing left under the ship, the Dry Oasis began to fall toward the endless underground.
Deep into the endless depths of the wreckage of broken military ships.
****
