Chapter 81: The invocation ritual requires human blood.
The forest rose toward me faster and faster.
Even with the parachute reducing a large portion of my speed, I was still descending far too quickly for a gentle landing.
The treetops finally reached me.
CRAAAASH!
I tore through a layer of thick branches.
The parachute got caught for a brief moment.
The next second...
CRAAACK!!
The trunk of a massive tree exploded into splinters when my body grazed against it.
The armor absorbed most of the impact.
I rolled across the ground several times.
I immediately stood up.
Still breathing.
Still intact.
I looked behind me.
The gigantic Hand of Light began losing its form.
Carefully, I guided the remaining magic toward the ground.
The carriage landed first.
Then the two chests.
Finally, the horses.
As soon as they touched solid ground, the magic completely dissipated into small golden particles.
The two animals let out frightened neighs.
— Calm down!
I raised my hands.
But before approaching them...
I looked around.
Silence.
An almost absolute silence.
The trees were enormous.
Thick trunks covered with ancient moss.
Vines hung between the branches.
Sunlight barely managed to pierce through that green ceiling.
No trails.
No roads.
It was a completely untouched forest.
At least...
No black balloons.
Only then did I slowly walk toward the horses.
I placed my hand on their necks.
— Hey...
— It’s okay.
— It’s over.
One of them was still trembling.
I continued stroking their manes.
— You were brave.
Little by little, their neighing grew quieter.
Their breathing became slower.
Only when both finally calmed down did I begin reorganizing everything.
I placed the chests back onto the carriage.
I checked the restraints.
I inspected the ingredients.
The books.
The boxes.
Fortunately...
Despite the impacts, almost nothing had been lost.
— Biochip.
— Project the map.
[Beep!]
The map appeared before my eyes.
A small blue light blinked, representing my position.
Another line showed the original route.
My smile disappeared.
— Damn...
I had been thrown far to the south.
The Biochip quickly calculated.
[Distance to planned route: 30.4 kilometers.]
I clenched my fists.
— Damn black acolytes...
I took a deep breath.
Then I knelt down.
My breathing was still heavy.
The battle.
The fall.
The gigantic Hand of Light conjuration.
All of it had drained almost all of my energy.
I took several potions from my belt.
I uncorked them one after another.
I drank slowly.
The cold liquid flowed down my throat with a burning sensation.
A few seconds later, I felt my physical exhaustion decrease.
My muscles stopped feeling like lead.
Even so...
My magical state was miserable.
The Biochip confirmed it.
[Remaining Mana: 1 unit.]
I smiled bitterly.
— I expected as much...
I stored the empty bottles away.
Then I took out two small spiritual cores.
Without hesitation, I threw both onto the ground.
The runes engraved on them lit up.
Earth Element Particles began converging from all directions.
First, the knight appeared.
Soon after...
The enormous Clay King Shark slowly emerged from the ground.
Its colossal body looked like a moving mountain.
I observed the two of them for a few seconds.
I considered using the Shark to travel underground.
It would be fast.
Safe.
But all I had to do was look at the horses.
They would never survive several minutes underground without breathing; they were simple and foolish creatures.
I stood up.
I looked at the two Golems.
— Protect this area.
— Kill any hostile creature that approaches.
Both slightly tilted their heads.
Like soldiers receiving orders.
The Clay King Shark was the first to act.
Its enormous body slowly began sinking.
Without lifting a single handful of earth.
In a few seconds...
It completely disappeared beneath the ground.
I knew that it was now patrolling the underground area around me.
The Knight remained motionless.
He raised his long clay spear.
He assumed a guarding position beside me.
I nodded in satisfaction.
Then I looked at the dense forest.
There were still almost thirty kilometers until I returned to the correct route.
I took a deep breath.
I raised my left arm.
CLACK!
VRRRRRRRRRR!!
The circular saw blade produced a sharp sound that echoed through the forest.
— Since you forced me to leave the road...
— I’ll open a new one myself using brute force.
The first tree fell a few seconds later.
.
.
.
.
Somewhere within the immense forest...
Colossal trees, ancient as mountains, rose in a natural circle.
Their intertwined roots formed living walls, completely hiding what existed within.
There...
There was a small camp.
It was not built by humans.
Nor by demons.
It was an ent settlement.
Humanoid creatures made of living wood, roots, vines, and thick bark silently walked between small huts shaped directly into the trunks of trees.
Some carried baskets filled with herbs.
Others pushed enormous dead insects.
Some slowly sank their hands into the soil, feeding the surrounding trees with plant magic.
Right at the center of that camp...
There was a massive ritual circle.
Red runes had been drawn directly onto the ground.
Black roots snaked around the entire circumference, slowly pulsing like veins.
At the center of the ritual stood a very different ent.
His body resembled the twisted trunk of an ancient oak tree.
The wood that formed his skin was completely cracked by time.
His face possessed almost human features.
A long beard made of dark moss descended to his waist.
Mushrooms grew naturally upon his shoulders.
His eyes shone with a deep green light.
It was obvious that this creature had existed for an extremely long time.
Holding a staff formed from a living root, the old Shaman slowly walked around the magical circle.
His deep voice echoed through the clearing as he chanted in a forgotten language.
Around him, other ents approached carrying corpses.
A massive demonic boar.
A deer with crystal antlers.
Giant snakes.
Corrupted wolves.
Four-armed monkeys.
Each body was carefully thrown onto the red circle.
The moment they touched the runes...
Their blood flowed by itself.
Their flesh withered.
Their bones crumbled.
All their life essence was slowly absorbed by the ritual.
Even so...
It still wasn’t enough.
The old Shaman stopped chanting.
He observed the circle for several seconds.
Then he released a sound similar to a sigh.
— Still missing...
— The blood of the walkers of civilization...
— Without human blood...
— The ritual will never be completed.
The other ents slowly lowered their heads.
None of them dared to respond.
The forest where they lived was extremely isolated.
Humans rarely reached this far.
Finding a traveler in this region could take years.
The old Shaman remained motionless.
Thinking.
It was then...
That something silently landed on his shoulder.
It was a small bird.
But it was not made of flesh.
Its entire body had been carved from pale wood.
Small leaves replaced its feathers.
Its eyes were two tiny black seeds.
As soon as it landed...
It opened its beak.
It began to sing.
However...
They were not ordinary sounds.
Each note carried magical images.
As if it were telling a story.
The old man closed his eyes.
The images appeared before him.
A vast sky.
Balloons.
Black balloons.
Human Mages.
Explosions.
A young man wearing armor.
Another group of humans pursuing that same young man.
Then...
The balloon’s canvas being destroyed.
The human plummeting from the skies.
Landing alive in the forest.
Opening a path alone through the trees.
When the song ended...
The wooden bird remained motionless.
The old Shaman slowly opened his eyes.
For several seconds...
He remained completely silent.
Then...
A low laugh escaped his throat.
— Heh...
The laughter grew.
— Hehehe...
Soon, it transformed into a completely disturbing laugh.
— Hahahahahahaha...
The roots around him vibrated along with his voice.
The other ents took several steps back.
They knew that laugh very well.
It was the laugh their leader released whenever he believed he was facing a gift granted by the ancient spirits.
The old Shaman placed both hands on his staff.
His smile revealed teeth made of black wood.
— Brothers...
His voice echoed through the clearing.
— Our God has finally answered our prayers.
— The final offering has arrived at our forest.
— A human acolyte...
— Alone...
— Injured...
— Far away from any help.
— Prepare yourselves.
— Today...
— We shall hunt a human.
He raised his staff.
The roots beneath his feet began to pulse.
The ents scattered throughout the camp responded almost at the same time.
Hundreds of green eyes lit up between the trees.
...
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