The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 43



Only Noblemtl

Episode 43. I knew it would come like this

“Move quickly! What are you doing there!”

“South! We don’t have enough personnel to deploy!”

“Then just block the road by breaking it down! Don’t be picky about the means! If we don’t finish it here, we’ll all be defeated!”

There was no market place in the middle of such a commotion.

The mercenaries and hired hands who had been playing around like it was their own home ran around until their feet were sweaty, and the personnel who had returned followed them in confusion.

The atmosphere was chaotic from the start.

The walls, covered in crude spray-paintings, were surrounded by barbed wire, and the tall spires were equipped with crossbows and other weapons.

The outpost was transformed from a shabby pile of shacks into a fortress fit for the battlefield.

“Are you sure this is okay? If something goes wrong like this… … .”

“Then what should I do in this situation? It’s too late to contact the company.”

“Damn, I got lucky.”

Sylvester’s staff gathered at a distance and engaged in anxious conversation.

They didn’t accept the plan to drain the drain from the beginning.

The employees of an abandoned project are all like a string cut off.

The headquarters didn’t even care about their life or death.

I had no choice but to obediently follow the mercenaries who were pushing forward with their plan.

In this situation, all they could do was pray that they would at least survive even if something went wrong.

“You get what you pay for.”

I scanned the area from the roof of the building.

I was satisfied.

The busy workforce was finally showing some interesting behavior.

‘Even looking at it again, it’s still a strange terrain.’

The wet, sticky floor resembled a mud flat, and puddles of water formed here and there, where bugs swarmed.

Did the gang say they were using the terrain to set traps against the mercenaries?

Unless the power difference is significant, it would be a struggle.

‘The gangsters who set the trap won’t treat you like mercenaries, but it’s better than nothing.’

The area itself is the gang’s home ground.

No matter what we do, it’ll probably be in their hands.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any damage.

After all, it was better to let the enemy fall into our trap than to fall into theirs.

“… … I guess I should start moving slowly.”

The plan was to end it here in one fierce battle.

I wasn’t so conscientious as to just sit back and watch what I told you to do.

As it turned out, I had one ability that I could try out.

I grabbed the roughly hewn piece of wood and headed down.

“Wh, what’s going on?”

As I approached, the servant became tense and stuttered.

Even though it was a face I had never seen before who had returned from the front lines, it was the same.

‘The rumor has already spread.’

And even how I went about doing this.

The expression on its face, which revealed fear as it approached, proved this.

“Move over for a moment.”

The servant quickly gave up his seat.

I put my hand on the spot where he had been digging the ground.

The muddy ground made it difficult to dig trenches or make traps.

So, in an attempt to at least slow down the enemy’s advance, they were just digging up the ground.

‘Will it work?’

I put my wish into the piece of wood I held in my hand.

I hope that even with my crude dexterity, the skill will be activated.

“A piece of the World Tree containing the origin was used as material!”

“The trap totem has been created!”

The World Tree was compatible with all woods.

Well, it was a natural specification since it was a plant from mythology.

I used this to carve a totem.

Trap totem.

A totem with the effect of changing the terrain it is installed on into a trap.

The question was whether the totem would be effective in this inhospitable terrain.

I planted the trap totem in the ground with a feeling of half anticipation and half doubt.

Woohoo!

The totem embedded in the ground glowed brightly.

“… … ?”

That was the end of it.

Is it true that even a trap totem can’t do any good in a mud field?

The servants who were watching were also confused and exchanged glances with each other.

‘No, but just in case.’

I stepped carefully on the ground.

Clang!

“… … !”

It was right after that.

The thorny vines that split from the totem multiplied explosively and turned the area upside down.

“omg!”

“Crazy, what is that?”

A voice full of astonishment echoed.

I was frozen in place, unable to move.

“… … It works well.”

It wasn’t your typical thornbush.

The pointed thorns were thick like cylinders and sharp like awls.

The shallow pits dug into the ground threatened to pierce the upper body of a healthy adult male with thorns.

“A piece of the World Tree has increased the power of the Trap Totem!”

“… … Speak quickly.”

The system warned belatedly.

I almost got fooled by my own abilities.

Putting aside such minor incidents, the effect was excellent.

This kind of power would be fatal to most people.

It would be the same even if you protected your body with armor.

Even without having to experiment, the sharpness that could even pierce through iron plates was visually conveyed.

‘But how do I get out of this?’

It was a difficult car.

Swish!

The thornbush moved on its own to make way for me.

I blinked.

‘Are you telling me to go this way?’

As we emerged from the pit, the World Tree spread out its two cotyledons.

“The World Tree is grumbling, saying, ‘Thank you.’”

“You did it?”

Wasn’t it only the stems extending from my body that knew how to move?

It was a new discovery.

As time passed, the totem split, lost its strength, and its stem crumbled.

‘Even if it’s a trap, the totem’s effect doesn’t last indefinitely, right?’

It was just right.

Because any trap, once it has exhausted its effectiveness, becomes a nuisance and a nuisance to clean up.

It could have easily hurt someone on the same side.

“hey.”

“Oh, yes!”

“Follow me.”

“Why, why are you doing that?”

The servant, who thought he was being hated, cried.

It’s not nice to see a grown man like that.

As I frowned, the servant became even more frightened.

“I’ll give you the totem you saw earlier, so carry it around and set it up in a suitable place.”

“Is that okay?”

“Why, do you regret it?”

“no!”

Rejection is exhilarating.

The other servants breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn’t chosen.

“What are you doing?”

“……yes?”

It’s too early to feel relieved.

“We need to clean up here. Are we just going to leave it like this?”

I can’t clean this up.

The once colorful surface quickly became crumpled like a sheet of paper.

***

“Ha, I’m tired. If I keep doing this and end up wasting my time, it’ll be the worst.”

“Surely, he must have done it because he had a plan.”

“Who can be sure of that? They just hope so.”

Remodeling the outpost wasn’t a project that could be completed in a day.

We prepared for the gang’s attack for four whole days.

It was natural for him to become tired from working on the fort during the day and standing guard at night.

So people were now worried that the gangs might not attack.

It is frustrating that their efforts may be in vain.

Percibel’s movements as she pretended not to notice and glanced at me represented the thoughts of her subordinates.

“He will come today.”

“… … I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s written all over your face, so you’re trying to pretend not to care?”

Percibel pretended not to know.

I was worried that he might use this as an excuse to harm me.

I pretended not to see it.

I wasn’t that narrow-minded.

“It’s not us who are in a hurry, it’s them.”

“What does that mean?”

“Do you really think a gang would be so generous as to allow uninvited guests to coexist uncomfortably in their own front yard?”

That wasn’t the case.

They are the ones who reject the city’s order.

If you were to rank groups by exclusionary tendencies, gangs would be at the top of the list.

“It would be a shame to just watch them retreat while we are already suffering the damage they have done.”

As the battle continued, they also shed a lot of blood.

For a gang that reigns on violence and oppression, not paying the blood price is a threat to identity.

The name Sylvester would have been out of the question.

I guess the only thing left is to take thorough revenge.

“If you wait, it will come to you on its own.”

Even though I explained it logically, Percibel looked half-believing and half-doubting.

It didn’t matter.

The situation was bound to happen soon anyway.

Wheezing!

I closed my eyes.

I had the illusion that a strong wind was hitting my body.

It was a mistake, but it wasn’t a mistake.

Behind my closed eyelids, a vast, starry sky spread out.

Share your vision.

As the name suggests, it is a skill that shares vision with the watchman hawk.

It was similar to, yet different from, the magic where a wizard shares the five senses of a summoned creature.

It was a superior compatible system with no burden on the body and even the images were clean.

Peeeeek!

It is said that they can see four to eight times farther than humans.

The watchman’s hawk was even worse.

It was incomparable to the narrow field of vision of a human being.

Looking down, a wide area came into view at a glance, as if looking at a map.

It wasn’t just that the field of view was wide.

Nameless bugs crawling through collapsed buildings, the ground shifting intermittently, etc.

When you focus, it’s as if you’ve zoomed in on the photo, and even the smallest details are naturally captured.

In terms of reconnaissance capabilities, the Watchman Hawk was without a single flaw.

Aside from logical predictions, it was also the basis for my belief in the gang’s attack.

‘… … As expected.’

A point not far from the outpost.

I focused on the suspicious shaking.

‘It’s moving.’

They were armed men, each with a fierce expression and holding weapons.

There was no need to check the appearance of the dragon.

They were the Race Lizard Gang.

‘Four days is a long wait.’

One day, they were confused by the sudden retreat of the enemy, and the other two days were spent waiting to gather information.

And today you must have made a decision.

Decided to wage an all-out war.

Beep!

When I opened my eyes, a meteor fell from the sky.

“Ugh!”

Percibel, who was standing next to me, backed away in fright.

I calmly held out my hand.

Gurr!

A weight was placed on my forearm.

It was not a meteor, but the fall of a sentinel falcon flying in the sky.

‘If the opponent is a squirrel, we can fight together.’

Even though I braked at the last minute of the fall, the weight on my arms was considerable.

If it had been slammed straight down, it would have had enough power to shatter even a boulder.

But now is not the time to experience its power.

I got a tattoo of a watchman’s hawk.

Then, he checked the condition of the totem and the world tree hidden in his arms.

After examining the traps set at every intersection with his eyes, he spoke to Percibel.

“Tell the men below to be on their toes.”

Now it is visible to the naked eye.

Beyond the dim darkness, waves were crashing together, rolling.

“It’s an attack.”

***

“It’s the gang! They’re here!”

“Don’t be so cold, hurry up and get your gear!”

“Shine the light! Clear the view!”

Shouts erupted from all over.

As my warning spread, the mercenaries also noticed the gang’s approach.

Bright lights illuminated the outside and people readied their weapons.

‘How secretive.’

The approach of the Race Lizard Gang was silent.

Unlike other violent groups that like to protest violently, they camouflaged themselves with mud and marched without vehicles.

If I hadn’t scouted and discovered it, and if the Python mercenaries were still out of their minds, this would have been an inevitable surprise attack.

“Shoot!”

“Kill them all!”

Doo doo doo doo doo!!

A deafening gunshot rang out.

On the spire, mercenaries were also seen firing old-fashioned crossbows.

Surprise attacks are effective when they go undetected.

On the contrary, it was a tactic that exposed vulnerabilities when counterattacked.

“Kwaaaaak!”

“Damn, I got caught!”

“Scatter now!”

But the lace lizard was experienced.

Some people were shot, but they quickly split into groups of three or five, dispersing the fire.

“Surround them! Don’t let a single one escape!”

Those guys were really poisoned.

Split groups formed a siege around the outpost.

It seemed that they also intended to wipe out the enemy’s seeds with this operation.

Kwaaang! Boom!

Gunshots rang out from both groups, bombs exploded, and flames rose high.

Clang!

The trap totem has been quietly achieving results in the meantime.

Many gang members who approached the outpost were hit by thorny vines that grew without warning.

It was even more effective because it was at night.

The gang members were skewered and killed without even knowing what had hit them.

‘I think I reduced it by about a third.’

It was a considerable achievement considering the results were achieved through traps alone.

Mercenaries also demonstrated their skills sufficiently in life-threatening situations.

This was enough for me to not have to raise a hand.

I had my own share.

“The World Tree stands guard, tense and raising its branches.”

I took my eyes off the battlefield and looked at the floor.

The ground inside the outpost was just as shaky as the outside.

The flooring was laid, but it was not firmly secured.

Knock knock!

Suddenly, my eyes caught sight of the wriggling ground.

It was a very subtle vibration that could easily be mistaken for an illusion.

But there was no mistaking the eagle’s eyesight.

Choaack!

As I jumped back, a harpoon shot out through the floor where I was.

It is a harpoon that sheds a cold light even when covered in mud.

If I had let my guard down, I would have been shot from the groin to the head.

It was a threatening surprise.

That’s why I was preparing for it.

“I knew it would turn out like this.”

There was a figure crawling up the muddy floor.

Push profit!

Heavy breathing could be heard from the mask that acted as a gas mask.

The color of steel that covers the entire body cannot be hidden even when dirty with mud.

The armor covering his entire body was impressive, as if he was looking at an ancient general.

Thud! Thud!

The guy walked leisurely through the muddy mud as if it were flat ground.

It was thanks to special shoes with a wide membrane.

Boooow!

The tail was what revealed a heavy presence behind the back.

His massive log-like tail served as a third leg to aid his movements.

I know who he is.

The guy’s features pointed to a setting in my memory.

The leader of the Race Lizard Gang and an enhanced human with a modified body.

“Lizardman.”

A red, machine-modified beam of light was fixed on me.