Novel The Max Level Hero has Returned! - Chapter 228
Chapter 228
80. Three Hundred Years and a Thousand Years
[What?!]
Yggdrasil hurriedly twisted her body and distanced herself from Davey.
However, Davey had been waiting for this very moment. He condensed the flames in his hands into a sword.
Yggdrasil widened her eyes in shock when Davey swiftly moved to block her escape route. She was even more shocked by the sudden flow of power that surrounded Davey.
World Tree Yggdrasil only had one life, and Davey had prepared a lot to kill her in one single blow. It was a pleasing thought, just knowing that he would succeed.
“You’re already a step too late.”
Davey really wanted to try saying that phrase once. He was not sure if the World Tree had read his mind, because her cold glare was very spine-tingling.
[Divine Beast Sword]
[Vermillion Bird’s Wing]
[Raging Sword]
Yggdrasil was left confused and flustered at the fiery sword that suddenly manifested in Davey’s hands. She moved on instinct, trying to reduce Davey’s power and scatter the sword in the wind.
The sword was a raging and explosive one that contained the Vermillion Bird’s power. It was made through sorcery, the only power in this world that the World Tree could not move or affect. In other words, since it was a power that did not exist in this world, there was no way for the flow of fate to interfere and override its uses in this domain.
Just like that, the future that had been hidden from World Tree Yggdrasil’s foresight became reality in an instant. This stubborn and forceful power was the most threatening weapon against her.
[How come?!!]
“Welcome~ This is your first time experiencing sorcery, right?”
With the fiery sword, Davey stabbed Yggdrasil’s chest. His earlier attacks had already gotten rid of some parts of the World Tree’s armor, so the flames of his sword could now easily penetrate through the gaps and burn everything it touched.
A fiery cloud in the shape of a bird suddenly appeared in the skies and resonated with the flaming sword. With a loud cry, the bird plunged toward the World Tree like a meteor in a meteor shower. Its goal? The Divine Tree’s flower, the very source of power that Yggdrasil was using right now.
***
All of the things that the Divine Tree’s Will experienced would translate over to the giant tree. In other words, if the Divine Tree’s Will was burning, then the giant tree would also burn up.
Once the flaming sword pierced through Yggdrasil’s current incarnation, the gigantic tree looming behind her also began to burn. The flowers that bloomed and amplified her powers also began to burn and turn into ashes. The once green leaves swaying on the tree’s branches slowly dried up and fell down the ground. Even the sturdy-looking bark that surrounded the tree started to turn into soot.
[Kghhk… Ugh!]
Yggdrasil frowned at the unbearable pain. Due to this sudden and very unexpected fatal injury, she could not gather enough force to wipe out the flames on her body.
Davey was the one who retrieved the flaming sword made of Fire Chicken’s power from Yggdrasil’s chest. He approached the World Tree who was crouching down in pain before pulling it out himself.
—Kihyeeeeek!
The flaming cloud that struck the tree from above began to transform. Finally, Fire Chicken’s majestic appearance was revealed.
—Kihyeeeeeeek!
Fire Chicken’s gigantic figure was blazing.
—Kihyeeeeeeeek!
The Vermillion Bird looked lofty, noble, and brilliant. In fact, it even looked sacred and holy.
—Kihyeeeeeeeek!
“You’re too noisy, punk!”
—Chirp!
After Davey harshly rebuked it, the rascal chirped and whined as it lowered its head and rubbed its beak on the back of Davey’s head. Fire Chicken was even sporting a very sad expression, as if he was carrying all the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“You have to learn how to read the atmosphere. Do you want me to send you flying to the end of the horizon, huh?”
—Kihyeeek! Kihyeeek!
Fire Chicken cried out to protest in his defense, but Davey ignored him.
[Haa… Haa… A fiery bird that does not belong to this world… So…you’re the bastard who took Emilia. It seems like you also used this power to suppress the power inside Emilia’s body since it did not explode as intended.]
Yggdrasil’s voice lacked the power that it had earlier on. Clearly, she was not in a great state after experiencing that sudden fatal blow.
“How is it? It’s awesome, right?” Davey said as he kicked Yggdrasil hard in the abdomen.
Kick!!!
“This is what you call turning the tides.”
Although Yggdrasil had sealed most of Davey’s powers, the price that she had to pay was the depletion of most of her own. It had to be known that Gnoass was not a naive and innocent spirit, so he had definitely prevented the World Tree from using that kind of power again. And despite having most of his mana sealed, Davey still had a power that the World Tree could not interfere with in his arsenal.
In other words, Davey’s opponent had already revealed all of her cards while Davey had kept a few trump cards hidden up his sleeves.
The outcome of this battle had already been determined right from the start.
[Ha! Come at me, I’m not an existence that’s very easy to beat!]
Even though her power had not truly disappeared, Yggdrasil was acting as if she had lost them all. She abandoned the approach she had taken, which had her fully depending on them. After digging her feet into the ground, Yggdrasil charged and attacked Davey with a full-frontal assault.
As Yggdrasil shot forward like a bullet, Davey realized that she was holding a wooden sword, something that had been recreated without Davey’s prior knowledge. The attack looked chilling, but…
Davey ignored Perserque, who was looking at him with an anxious and restless expression, and took out a scroll. He flicked it open.
[3rd Grade]
[Gather]
The scroll was decorated with large symbols and distinctively unique characters. It shone its own bright light as the special effects of the talisman began to take effect. Then, the forces that had been forced asleep inside Davey were slowly moving and gathering together.
The scroll floated up into the sky. Its power distorted the space between Davey and Yggdrasil.
[Urk?!]
Thump!!!
Yggdrasil was flustered by Davey’s unusual method of defense, but she didn’t stop her attack.
No matter how outstanding his sorcery’s defensive power was, Davey would never allow himself to receive the World Tree’s attack head-on. This time, he threw three talismans up in the air.
The first talisman floated in the air, twisted the space surrounding it, and burned on its own.
[2nd Grade]
[Restriction Zone]
[Tree Barrier]
Thud!!!
Not long after, Yggdrasil felt weighed down by something heavy. The hardy trunks of ancient oak trees fell from her 1 o’clock, 5 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 11 o’clock and burned by themselves. They were soon connected by strong electric currents, which served as a simple and strong restriction on her movements.
[Let me go!!! You dirty bastard!]
[2nd Grade]
[Blooming Ghost]
In the case of talismans, the lower their grade, the stronger their effects. However, there still existed a class ranking even in lower grade sorcery. And in each grade, the higher the class, the higher the amplification of the effects.
A light burst out of the second talisman, which burned into nothing from a purple flame that appeared at its bottom-end. At the same time, small purple flowers bloomed and withered repeatedly as a purple gas surrounded Davey, whose ghostly qi was triggered.
It did not take too long for Davey’s right hand to change into one that belonged to a giant monster. His skin turned rough and purple, and veins started to bulge and pulsate with an eerie red glow.
That was not all.
Yggdrasil possessed a vast knowledge reserve when it came to magic, holy magic, and dark magic, but she was clueless about sorcery. She could not counter any of Davey’s sorcery, so Davey had no need to fake his attacks or disguise them.
[2nd Grade]
[Vermillion Bird’s Authority]
[Spirit Annihilating Move]
Whenever a solar flare eruption occurred, some of the flames burning on the World Tree would stretch out and linger around Davey’s arm.
Once his arm was burned completely black, Davey shot forward without any hesitation.
Yggdrasil, who was being weighed down and trapped by the tree barrier, struggled to stand up. It was rather terrifying that she could slightly ignore the restrictions of the barrier to attempt standing up. However, Davey never intended to grumble about something like that. This was still within the range of his expectations.
Davey instantly arrived in front of Yggdrasil, ignored her shocking attempt to escape, grabbed her by the head, and slammed her down on the ground.
Baaaaaang!!!
The attack created a powerful shockwave, also creating another huge crater within the crater that Tearing the Mantle had created earlier. In the end, Yggdrasil could only cry out in pain.
[Urk!!! I… I won’t die from this kind of attack!]
“This is not even an attack that would kill you physically. But it would still kill you, you know?”
Crack, crack!!!
[What?!]
In the first place, the Spirit Annihilating Move was a sorcery that annihilated the soul and not the physical body. However, Davey had to hesitate and wonder if it was truly meaningful to take Yggdrasil’s soul out. After all, he could easily give her a Brand of Corruption and that would already be more than enough.
Davey’s master in sorcery and daoist magic, [Woo-Chi], had extreme hatred for biased individuals. This was the reason why Davey had a tendency to become either extremely evil or extremely kind.
Yggdrasil unleashed an ear-piercing scream when Davey ripped off some of the World Tree’s roots that were hidden in her incarnation. She could feel him forcibly pour corrupt energy inside of her.
[Keuaaaaaaaaaack!!!]
Shrieking at the unbearable pain, Yggdrasil felt like her very soul was being torn apart. She no longer struggled to get up. After that blow, Yggdrasil never thought of getting up again.
Davey then slammed Yggdrasil against the ground again before retrieving three more talismans of the same color. With a flick of his hand, the talismans were sandwiched in between his index finger, middle finger, and ring finger.
[2nd Grade Vermillion Bird’s Authority]
[Divine Beast’s Transcendental Qi]
[Blooming Flames of Divine Retribution.]
The Vermillion Bird could annihilate everything. It was an existence that embodied extreme burning rage. It was a Divine Beast that would burn anything outside of this world’s providence.
That was why the World Tree, writhing in pain after receiving the Brand of Corruption, was obviously a target.
The incarnation’s body was the giant tree’s body, and the giant tree’s body was also the body of the incarnation. So, what would happen if both bodies received damage? The effects would only double in effectiveness and efficiency.
At this moment, Yggdrasil was being held down by Davey, and the gigantic tree that supported the world was on the receiving end of a spinning white arrow that could burn anything and everything down.
***
Yggdrasil’s existence contained an unimaginable amount of power and blessings. If Davey did not have his sorcery, he would have had no way to deal with her. However, that was not the only problem.
[Ha… Hahahaha… Hahahahahahahaha!]
Even though she was lying on the ground with no power left to get up, Yggdrasil was still laughing maniacally at Davey. She had madness flashing in her eyes.
Yggdrasil’s entire body was burned, everything turning black. The gigantic tree behind her was no exception. It lost all of its leaves from the fire and had turned black all over. However, as if to boast its robust vitality, it did not disappear. The naked tree was still standing tall.
The symbol of Yggdrasil’s power continued to burn after receiving the Divine Beast Vermillion Bird’s attack. The flowers could not resist the fire and ended up burning, its petals falling down helplessly.
Anyone who looked at the situation without digging deeper would think that Davey was merciless and vicious to do this to the World Tree. But there was no helping it; Davey would not be able to overpower Yggdrasil otherwise.
There was no limit to the current Yggdrasil’s movements and use of power. She could use them recklessly, just like the aloof and noble Divine Tree in novels and fairy tales. In other words, as long as she willed it, Yggdrasil could use her power to turn Heins Territory into a land of death.
[That was really surprising! It’s very surprising for me to learn about such a power. But…what are you going to do now? Did you think that you would be able to kill me if you killed my incarnation?]
“Can’t you see your body?”
[The collapse of the gigantic tree will bring about the collapse of the world. I wonder if you have the courage to make such a bold decision.]
Davey nodded silently at Yggdrasil. Unless he was aware of the source of the original source stone, Davey had to completely break and destroy the giant tree in front of him. Using an ax or electric saw couldn’t collapse the gigantic tree, but… If he succeeded, it would mean the destruction of this continent.
To put it simply, Davey was playing a strategy simulation game while fighting an opponent with an invincible cheat key. It was a game that even a professional gamer would never be able to win against. However, for the one holding the invincible cheat key… It was a widely known fact that the cheat key could only be used once. After all, the game would be fixed to regain balance and prevent the cheat key from being used again.
“What was it again? Power over wel…”
—Stop thinking nonsense!!!
Perserque shouted. She pulled Davey’s hair when he started to think about random things.
“That’s true. Killing your incarnation here after we have killed the Divine Tree’s Saint is not a solution to my most fundamental problem.”
A faint smile graced Yggdrasil’s face.
[See? In the end, you can’t do anything at all. My main body might be in a terrible state right now, but it will be able to recover in just a few days.]
Only the gigantic tree’s outer bark had been burned. Its inner force was not damaged at all. And Yggdrasil was very much at ease. She had never once considered her defeat. However, did she think that Davey would willingly start a fight without knowing that?
Without Emilia’s help, Davey would never have tried to deal with the World Tree in such a manner. Since the opponent was using an invincible cheat key and was protecting herself with her own powers, Davey had no other choice but to use his own cheat key too.
Yggdrasil laughed, believing that Davey had no other way to deal with her.
[Ha… Hahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha!!! Look! What a refreshing sight!!! Since I already know your hidden trump card, I will no longer suffer such humiliation from you in the future!]
Davey thought that Yggdrasil could laugh all she wanted. He immediately dragged her around and slammed her against the gigantic tree. He said, “I don’t need to find the location of your source stone.”
‘I can break you on my own.’
[Ugh?!]
“When the Will of the World Tree dies, the world’s providence will give birth to the next Will of the World Tree. The World Tree’s main body might have eternal life, but that’s not the case for a spiritual body like you.”
Technically, Yggdrasil was the soul of the World Tree. However, she was just one of the many facets of the World Tree’s inner workings.
[What?!]
‘If you look into the abyss, the abyss will also look into you.’
Some believed that this saying warned those who dealt with monsters to be careful not to become monsters themselves. But in Davey’s opinion, it meant that he should show enough sincerity by revealing himself if he wanted to see through the other person.
Three hundred years of Yggdrasil’s memories, plus the Transcendental’s Will, going against Davey’s one thousand years of memories, plus alpha…
“Let’s see whose mind will collapse first. Yours or mine?”
If it was Yggdrasil’s spiritual body and not her physical body that received such a blow, then she would definitely disappear without a trace.
Without any hesitation, Davey took Yggdrasil’s three hundred years of memories into his head. At the same time, he poured his one thousand years of memories into hers.
Of course, the effects were shown in an instant. The thick trunk of the gigantic tree behind Yggdrasil began to shake as huge changes began to take place. Since the World Tree’s spiritual body had become extremely unstable, the World Tree’s physical body, the gigantic tree, began to make changes and adjustments on its own.