The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 96



Only Noblemtl

Episode 96. The Sheriff (1)

“Everyone knows the background of the Sheriff of the State Police. I didn’t know there would be someone who was not a Sheriff but was capable of finding us.”

The one who stepped forward from the crowd was an old man with deeply wrinkled face.

The identity of the Sheriff of the Sheriff’s Office was known to everyone who knew.

Since they are the public face of the police department whose mere presence serves to discourage the enemy, no effort was made to hide information.

He was the polar opposite of the city government agents, who were shrouded in mystery.

“However, I was confident that it was a magic that would work against them. It doesn’t seem like you have any innate magical talent, so what did you do?”

Certainly, his age was something to be reckoned with, as his gaze was more serious than that of the others.

“Does that matter at this point?”

“Of course it doesn’t matter. We might need to add another variable to our plan.”

“Then let’s exchange questions one by one.”

I, too, had something to say to them.

“What is your purpose?”

“Isn’t that what terrorist organizations usually do? We want chaos in the cities.”

“Why?”

“I have two questions for you, but I will answer them specifically.”

“That is truly appreciated.”

“There is something wrong with this city.”

The old man began with a provocative phrase.

“Those in power are only concerned with their own comfort and power, and only oppress the lower classes of society. Capital does not flow from top to bottom, but simply stagnates. We will correct this. Through uncontrollable chaos.”

The voice was calm, but the strange heat mixed in it was more intense than a raised voice.

‘He is a talented person who would have been successful if he had come forward as a speaker.’

Since you joined a terrorist organization, you can say that you used your talents to get a job.

We need people like that to convince others by justifying anti-social behavior.

But I just listened with one ear and let it go out the other.

“I guess it’s a pre-prepared propaganda slogan. It feels very natural to be talking like you’ve been waiting for it.”

“Of course. The more people who join the cause, the stronger it will be.”

I laughed at the words he uttered.

“You’re saying you’re working for a cause while sacrificing innocent people?”

“It is a sacrifice for the greater good. Through him, they have shown the truth that the city government does not care about the public, so they too must have felt a sense of accomplishment as they died.”

“You only talk about what you want. Who in this city doesn’t know the contradictions in the city government?”

For the sake of development, exploitation is taken for granted and only the will of the successful is valued.

This is something you can figure out just by living in the city for a few days without having to read the game’s setting book.

The people of this world are not stupid or uncivilized.

Are you saying that they committed terrorism just to make that known to the public?

“Let’s say you tried to target the city government and failed. Then wouldn’t there be some room for leniency?”

“… … You!”

The old man’s face turned red in an instant, as if he had been hit right in the face.

The rhythm of him striking the cane with an irregular thump, as if he was unable to control his anger, was indicative of his fiery temper.

‘It’s obvious what a terrorist organization is.’

They claim to be righteous, but in the end, they are selfish people who are focused on their own greed.

It’s not the first or second time that I’ve been tempted to persuade.

As a sheriff in the police department, I’ve heard enough of their sweet talk to make my ears itch.

The conclusion I have drawn from experience is that there is not a single thing to be listened to.

‘I guess I’m starting to get the hang of it.’

Their true identity, their purpose, and their future plans.

A vague memory came to mind.

“… … Now it is my turn to ask a question.”

“Try it.”

The old man spoke, barely suppressing his anger.

“How did you escape the influence of the barrier?”

“You seem quite curious.”

“Answer me.”

The obsession was severe.

I focused on the canes they carried and their scholarly disposition that was not typical of terrorists.

Let me give it a try.

“It’s my constitution.”

“constitution……?”

The old man looked dumbfounded.

“The World Tree is proud.”

I didn’t say anything wrong.

It’s the resistance that the World Tree possesses, so you could call it my constitution.

“Are you saying that my desperate measure to fool the police department over such a ridiculous prank has been rendered useless…?”

“If you can be incapacitated by such tricks, then your talents are limited to that.”

“… … !”

The old man finally lost his temper at my continued provocations and took action.

Woohoo!

I felt a heavy pressure pressing down on my shoulder, along with a strange vibration.

It’s a surprise attack.

The old man grinned, revealing his yellow-stained teeth.

Now that you’ve tasted it, you’re probably expecting to collapse helplessly.

If I hadn’t prepared for it, I wouldn’t have shown up confidently.

Wow!

It was probably a sound that only my and the old man’s ears could hear.

Then, I felt the wood splintering in my arms and being absorbed into my skin.

Totem of protection.

It was a move I believed was designed to neutralize the enemy’s surprise attack.

“Ahem.”

The old man’s mouth twitched as if trying to hide his laughter.

I pretended not to know either.

Thanks to you, I was able to find out some important information.

‘I thought he was a wizard.’

The pressure of the void that pressed down on my body for a moment was clearly a physical magic.

They were all wizards.

Maybe it’s a master-student relationship.

Because the inheritance of magic is not exclusive to the magicians belonging to the Magic Tower.

Of course, the strictness of the relationship would be greater than that of the tower.

If he really cared about his disciples, he wouldn’t have recommended them to work in a terrorist organization.

‘Wizards have strong pride.’

He must have felt hurt in his pride when he appeared and provoked me by leisurely breaking through the barrier he had painstakingly created.

The more I talked to him, the more I realized that he was a group of people who were far from any kind of cause, so I couldn’t even laugh.

“I guess this is the end of the trick to buy time?”

“… … What nonsense is that?”

“It’s stupid not to notice that you’re dragging out the conversation while going against my intention to ask questions.”

Kindness is something that is given to someone or done by someone.

The guy was only curious about how I broke his barrier, and no matter what question I asked, he would have wasted his time.

“It seems like my appearance was quite unexpected. You’re fidgeting and hastily preparing your magic, to the point where it’s embarrassing to pretend not to notice.”

“… … These guys!”

The old man quickly looked at his disciples’ faces and then let out an angry voice.

No matter how much he tried to act calm and composed with his age, his immature disciples could not reach the same level.

Their sweaty and nervous faces clearly showed what they were planning.

The reason I pretended not to see this was because I also had a plan.

Tadadang!

snapshot.

As soon as you pull the gun out of the holster and aim by feel, the compensation is the M2 Maximum’s job.

Five bullets pierced their foreheads in the blink of an eye.

“Ugh, you weren’t a sheriff from the police department, were you?”

The old man, like me, had the means to prevent surprise attacks.

The bullet floated up to rest in front of the old man’s forehead, as if it had been buried in a soft barrier.

It would be a defensive magic that uses a physical force field.

“But if this is all you can believe in, then it’s over.”

The old man’s disciples were also using the same magic.

The bullets did not penetrate their skulls.

“Is that really so?”

I asked a meaningful question to the old man who was smiling strangely.

The disciples, unlike their old master, were not able to defend themselves perfectly.

The bullet pierced through the force field and lodged itself in their foreheads.

It meant that the means to protect the body had disappeared.

Kkwaduk!

“Kwaaah!”

“What, what is this!”

“Ahh!”

Rapid growth through spirits.

The plants that sprouted from the crushed cartridges grew as if time had been turned back, engulfing their entire bodies.

Carnivorous plants, which had become even stronger due to their affinity for nature, ate people instead of insects.

As the insect leaves growing from the tips of the long stems tore through their entire bodies, they screamed and fell down.

“Just one person needs to open their mouth.”

It’s a point organization system anyway.

The information that the leftovers had been shared with was sparse.

On the other hand, high-level personnel such as wizards were fully qualified to know the core of the organization.

It was easier to clean up the leftovers first, except for the elderly.

“I look forward to hearing many stories.”

If we continue to rely on checkpoints and sheriffs, we will just be dragged around by their intentions.

Much depended on the old man’s capture.

***

The old man was so shocked by the massacre of his disciples that he did not make the rookie mistake of losing his mind.

Anger spread across his face, but his eyes were sharper than a sharpened blade.

Phew!

I took a cartridge out of my pocket and stamped it on my thigh.

The concentrate quickly circulated through my blood vessels, and a huge amount of vitality filled my entire body’s muscles.

“Synchronization is in progress!”

He didn’t let his guard down there and even called upon the power of the watchman hawk.

The moment I hit the ground hard with my feet, my new body retreated to a building far away.

Kookookookook!

And along that path, the road was dented in a straight line, as if a giant’s fist had struck.

Debris from the road, torn into small pieces and flying in all directions.

In that scene, I witnessed an artificial distortion, as if azaleas were blooming.

‘The force field that blocked the bullets is also a magician specializing in the physical world.’

Unlike warlocks, regular wizards are vulnerable in combat.

This was especially true for wizards other than magicians who had acquired magic through the old-fashioned method.

But the old man’s magic was quick and powerful.

So much so that I was able to evade it safely only after I had doped myself with medicine and activated synchronization.

‘You use an expensive cane.’

For a street wizard, a staff is a useful tool that bridges the inevitable gap between you and the wizards of the Tower.

If you print money and apply it, you can perform several levels higher than your level.

“Are you trying to run away? It’s no use!”

Exactly!

As the old man struck the floor with his cane, waves of blue magic surged and dug into the floor.

The magical power drew a circle centered around the old man and the five fallen disciples, creating a complex shape with overlapping figures.

A desperate measure that they’ve been preparing to buy time.

However, looking at its size, it was not a magic circle that an old man could cast alone.

The old man again resorted to the power of tools.

“Whew!”

The old man took out the cartridge, put his mouth to the spout, and sucked in as much as he could.

A puff of vaporized smoke rose up and covered the old man’s face.

In an instant, the amount of magical power released from the old man was explosively amplified.

‘Doping?’

“Kuuuuu.”

Blood spurted from the old man’s face as he was unable to handle the increased flow of magical power.

If the side effects are that bad immediately after doping, what would they be like after doping is over?

However, the magic took effect immediately, as if the side effects were worth it.

Woohoo!

It felt like gravity had increased several times.

My knees felt heavy and my shoulders were sore.

This is the extent of physical ability that has been enhanced through doping and synchronization.

It was a pressure that would have made an ordinary person collapse on the floor like a trampled frog.

“It was originally a magic that would bring down a skyscraper, but it can’t be helped. Killing you here would be an even greater blow to the police department!”

The surrounding buildings caught in the force field’s range screamed in pain.

It’s the noise made by steel frames twisting.

The building, which began to collapse from the rooftop to the ground, slowly collapsed, creating a fin-de-siècle spectacle.

“You’re mistaken about one thing. I’m not part of the police department.”

If I die, only I will suffer.

The police will pass by indifferently without even offering condolences.

So, it was solely my responsibility to overcome this situation.

Trap totem.

Gulp!

The totem stamped on the ground melted and seeped inside, crumpling the floor like mud.

“Ugh!”

The old man tilted and tilted, unable to keep his balance due to the changes in the ground.

This is the effect of a totem based on mangroves rather than thorns.

Since magicians are not a profession that fights by moving their bodies directly, it wasn’t a tactic just to upset the balance.

“this!”

The shape of the magic circle distorted along the crumpled floor.

Since the old man’s abilities were not low, it was at a level where he could quickly recover, but in a battle where even a single breath could be fatal, he had no time to do so.

I kicked the mud and ran.

The giant roots that emerge intermittently are the respiratory muscles of the mangroves led by the World Tree.

The guy’s roots had enough mass to support a person.

On the other hand, the old man who could not control his teeth could not straighten his body and quickly casted magic.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The roots twisted, sap spurted out, and a heavy noise rang deafeningly.

Even though it was magic used in a rush, its power was outstanding.

However, for physical magic, precise hitting was important.

The old man’s gaze could not follow my movements, and the calculations could not control the changed environment.

The moment the distance is shortened, the wizard’s abilities decrease rapidly.

As if sensing the end, the old man’s face turned pale and dead.