Episode 665 The Thorny Vine (2)
“Was there such a thing as this?”
“Not likely- the reports said that the road to the second checkpoint city was flat, with nothing in it- or rather, it was said that the road had been cleared, making it easier for the troops to move-”
“Then what the hell is this?”
“It was a huge wall of thorny vines, the ends of which could only be seen by squinting upward-
The stalks were so thick that a man could hardly hug them with his arms, and the sharp thorns that rose above them were thicker and sharper than the fangs of a great beast.
Moreover, unlike ordinary thorns, it was of a wild color, which made it even more terrifying to the beholder.
A barrier of thorns sprang up where nothing else should have.
It was obvious that the demon Heathcliff had created it.
A feeling that something shouldn’t be touched.
If it was the work of a worshipper of a heretical god, it might bring a great curse upon them if they messed with it.
“What are you doing!”
“There is a wall in front of it-”
“They’re just a bunch of plants, we’ll just burn them to the ground!”
A group of soldiers with flamethrowers on their backs marched forward in a single file line-
Wearing red suits on their bodies, they pointed their flamethrowers at the wall in front of them-
Hiss!
Flames mixed with sticky, flammable liquid erupted in a cool spray.
A plant, no matter how large and intimidating, would disappear if set on fire.
The commander’s smug expression crumbled at the sight that followed.
“The wall of vines is intact!”
“What, it’s a plant, how can it not be burned?”
“The rice wall is moving!”
The black thorny vine wall hadn’t even been burned by the flamethrower’s fire, but it had begun to move and rampage of its own volition-.
The thorns swept through the ranks of soldiers, writhing and moving as if a giant octopus were struggling.
Molotov cocktails spewing flames from the front of the line bounced and flew like bowling pins.
None of them were killed, thanks to the suit armor they wore, but the mass bounced off, causing a series of collisions with nearby soldiers, throwing the situation into chaos.
“Damn it, take cover!”
“Bunch up, more damage!”
The soldiers in the back row aimed their guns and fired at the thorny vines-.
Titic-
But the thorny vines were unharmed by the bullets.
The bullets could not penetrate the hard bark, and some of the bullets were struck by the thorns and bounced off.
“Bullets don’t work!”
“Back away from the thorns, infantry!”
“Pull the wounded back!”
The rampaging thorns were a problem by their size and mass alone, but the flames they engulfed made them even more menacing- they were like something from the depths of hell.
They looked like writhing tentacles crawling up from the depths of hell.
“This is the magic of the devil-”
“Is this the power of a heretic-”
Not knowing that it was an elf’s power, the troops thought that the thorny vine itself was the work of the devil.
“Push it with that strong firepower!”
The soldiers threw the bombs they had prepared.
Puff, puff, puff!
Red flames erupted and engulfed the thorns.
It was bulletproof and fireproof, but it couldn’t withstand the impact of the explosion, and some of the thorns cracked and burst.
“What’s left is gunpowder anyway! Shake it off!”
“Keep pushing!”
The momentum shifted back in favor of the invaders.
The thorny vines had no response to the endless barrage of bombs.
But the soldiers’ faces did not improve.
“When the hell is this going to end?”
I thought it would only be a wall, but it wasn’t.
After clearing away some of the thorns, another wall of thorns opened up.
And it was much bigger and thicker than the one before it.
And the thorns weren’t standing still either.
It caught some of the flying bombs and threw them back at the troops, or knocked them back as they flew by.
“Infantry fall back, here come the tanks!”
The tanks rumbled to life and rushed forward to push back the thorns.
But the thorns simply pushed them aside or overturned them.
“What! Chariots being pushed back by a mere plant!”
An armored unit that could tear apart even a forest couldn’t get past a single wall of thorns?
The same was true of the steam golem troops that followed them-
The steam golems, modified for combat and powered up with at least intermediate level magic, were no match for the thorns.
One-on-one, the steam golems could have fared better against the thorns.
It could tear the vines apart with its power or slice them with its blades.
But the number of thorny vines was too great.
The sharp thorns were so hard that they easily pierced even the hard armor of the steam golem.
“You’re blocking well after all-”
Ambella, who had been watching the scene from afar, marveled at the effectiveness of the thorny vines beyond her expectations.
She had hoped it would block well, but she hadn’t expected it to be this good.
“What the hell was that?”
Caroline asked, watching the scene from the side.
“How could a plant do that? Even with the help of the druids, it’s beyond common sense – I’d believe in plant-based magic.”
Surprisingly, the thorny vine was not magical.
It was a real plant that germinated from a seed, and the druids added a number of effects to it, including rapid growth and increased resilience to hardening bark.
“It’s a special breed that only grows in our elven kingdom-”
Ambella took out a cigar and puffed at the corner of her mouth.
I wonder if there is such a fire.
As Ambella pondered this, a spark flashed before her eyes and she lit the cigar in her mouth.
Caroline had helped her.
“Bitch- hoo- thank you-”
“So is that all you can tell me, that it’s a special breed?”
“I wonder if that’s all-”
Ambella smirked and blew smoke out of her mouth.
“A hundred years ago- when the humans invaded us- the elves fought back desperately- and of course, at the forefront of that fight was the Burke family- including me-”
The elves fought desperately, and finally managed to hold off the humans.
“We held them off, but the damage was done- especially with the gunpowder and bomb cannons- I shudder to think of it now- we elves had to be strong in case there was another war someday-”
“Is that thorny vine the result of that-”
“The overwhelming firepower of gunpowder and bullet explosions and flame chariots- the thorns that our elven wise men and druids have spent a hundred years perfecting and refining in order to withstand it.”
Of course, it wasn’t as powerful as it appeared to be now.
It was Sedina, the wielder of the World Tree, who made it possible.
Sedina Plantae.
In a single day, she evolved generations of thorny vines that the elves had spent a hundred years refining.
Beyond its immunity to fire, it is also resistant to magic, and is impervious to outside influences.
“This haste is not without its disadvantages, however – even with the druids’ power to make it grow so quickly, the thorns don’t last very long in return.”
The dangerous thorny vine’s lifespan is less than a week, due to the haste with which it was created.
In human terms, that’s a quick death.
“But a week is a long time in this time of year-”
Even the chariot and steam golem troops were unable to penetrate the wall of thorns and were forced to retreat.
The marauding troops scrambled.
Mortars fired.
With a loud whistling sound, the curved shells rained down like rain on the thorns.
Puff, puff, puff!
There was an explosion, sparks flew, and the thorns began to tear themselves apart.
Caroline, watching the battle with her arms crossed, clicked her tongue.
“It seems like they’re doing a good job of blocking it, but the difference in firepower can’t be helped-”
Since they were ineffective at close range, the troops began to slowly clear the thorny vines with mortars, playing it safe.
Unable to deal with attacks from a distance, the thorny vines shattered and scattered into pieces without much resistance.
And the firepower of the invading army was too strong.
The scope of the flames was so vast as to prove that the claim that they had gathered all the firepower of the continent was not a lie.
The gunpowder used to clear the way was enough to create the illusion that the entire area was on fire.
“Hot – they’re no match for our numbers – not that we’re standing still, of course.”
A change occurred among the thorny vines.
Instead of long, slender stalks, blunt-tipped berries began to poke out of the ground.
Their blunt heads, like maces, were densely studded with long, sharp thorns like needles.
The seeds of the thorn gourd, sown among the thorns, had germinated in time.
“What is that?”
The sudden appearance of the thorny gourd puzzled the troops.
The gourd exploded with a loud bang.
The thorns exploded without anyone touching them.
The thorns that had grown densely on it shot out in all directions from the impact and pressure of the explosion.
“Aaahhh!”
“What the hell!”
The soldiers fell to the ground as the thorns shot out like bullets.
It happened so suddenly that they were too late to react.
They hadn’t expected a ranged attack to come from there while they were clearing the thorny vines.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The thorns exploded in all directions, spitting out thorns like a rain shower.
The rain of thorns swept towards the mortar troops, and the mortar troops who were defenselessly attacking from a distance were bound to suffer heavy losses.
“Stand back!”
“Mages!”
The lesser War Mages finally stepped forward.
The defensive magic unleashed by the War Mages lightly deflected the thorns.
Some War Mages shot out blades forged from sharpened wind, slicing through the fruit of the thorns as they rose from the ground.
The severed thorns fell to the ground, unable to burst.
The chaotic situation quickly stabilized as the mages stepped in.
But the War Mages were not pleased.
This was a battle that should have been fought without them, with the overwhelming firepower of infantry and armored units.
But the infantry were helpless, falling one after another.
The steam golem’s armored units, including its seemingly stalwart tanks, suffered heavy losses against the thorns.
In the end, the lesser War Mages were forced to step up.
In the wars of our time, War Mages were never the ones to lead from the front.
They were always the ones to show up with firepower after the middle of the fight, and they needed protection from the periphery, not the front.
They learned the art of maneuvering, of casting magic on the move, but it was always with the intention of providing a minimal amount of extra safety.
In the end, it was still the modern standard of engagement for a mage to use high-firepowered magic from a safe distance.
If either side’s war mages were to take the initiative on the battlefield.
it was an admission that they were at a disadvantage.
Unless they knew the strength of the enemy’s forces, War Mages would step up to prevent damage, but it wasn’t always easy.
Eventually, the mages who should be safe would be exposed to the danger zone.
just like now.
Ugh.
One by one, shadowy figures emerged from the forest of black thorns beneath the dark clouds.
The long, slender plants were flowers.
It burst into full bloom, its red petals seeming to drip with blood, and its head turned toward the gathering of the War Mages.
Blood!
The fiery yellow energy gathered in the bud shot out like a meteor in a long tail.
“Bombardment! Watch out!”
The yellow energy from the flower landed on the shield, causing it to explode.
The shield blocked the thorns of the spiked gourd, but it didn’t last long against the energy bolts from the flower.
A high-powered attack that blatantly targeted the mage.
“Shield reinforcement!”
“Two battalions dedicated to defense-”
But unlike the infantry, the War Mages were not easily defeated.
The sheer number of War Mages assembled was staggering.
Though follow-up units were still disembarking from the shoreline, and they were only the vanguard.
Still, the War Mages numbered over five hundred.
But that number, 500, was not entirely synergistic.
So the War Mages had divided their roles well in advance.
One for offense, one for defense.
The defensive mages would take turns deploying shields.
and the offensive force, safe in the shadows, sweeps in with overwhelming firepower.
This is similar to the line infantry of musket warfare, but with wizards, the synergy is immense.
Bombardment buds, which should have dealt a devastating blow in a surprise attack, were burned, cut down by the wind, struck by lightning, or frozen before the War Mages could even land a single blow.
The War Mages pushed back the thorns in unison.
The thorns increased their resistance to magic, but were useless against firepower.
“Is this what it comes down to-”
Ambella clicked her tongue in disappointment as she tossed the burnt-out cigar to the ground.
Even in the midst of the battle, the thorns had only lasted as long as a single cigar.
Which meant his opponent was quick to react.
“But I knew this would happen-”
Even though it had been breached, it was only the first line of defense.
There was still much more they had in store.
“Let’s show them why House Burke is the best at defense.”
Ambella gave the order, and the druids prepared for their next move.
Breaking through the forest of thorns, the soldiers swallowed hard as they tried to rejoice at the clear view.
“What is it this time?”
What stretched out before them was a vast field of flowers-.
