Chương 80: Rage of the Forest

I was just about to lift my boots and perform a mini celebratory victory dance right there in the soot to honor our massive loot payout when the entire forest landscape violently shuddered from root to leaf. A terrifying, earth-shattering roar erupted from the deep, corrupted heart of the Great Tree ahead, a sound so thunderous and filled with raw rage that it completely blew away the residual crackle of our burning embers.

"Alright, folks, I am pretty sure our little localized pest control session just deeply offended something incredibly big, strong, and highly vindictive," I announced, adjusting the strap of my gunner gear as I looked out toward the horizon.

"It looks like Momonobo the Thorny has officially taken our actions personally and is actively stomping over here to rearrange our collective skeletal structures." Dimitri did not even blink at the sound of the impending disaster, his massive face instantly lighting up with an unwavering, deeply wholesome smile as he hoisted his blunt sword into the air.

"In that case, my splendid companions, we must simply march forward and greet this great adversary with the full, blinding warmth of our magnificent burning spirits!" Dimitri's thick, booming Russian accent rumbled through the hazy air, radiating a spectacular tide of pure, unfiltered kindness that felt like a warm hug in the middle of a war zone. I blinked twice, a thoroughly amused grin spreading across my features as my brain cells successfully decoded his inspirational warrior phrasing.

"Oh, wow, I completely see what you did there, big guy," I shot right back at him, pointing an appreciative finger at his shield.

"That is an exceptionally clever piece of tactical wordplay, considering our target is a massive Nature Spirit and is literally, mathematically weak against actual fire." Without a single shred of hesitation, our burly vanguard turned on his heel and began to stride heavily toward the designated danger zone, charting a direct course toward the exact coordinate sector where the bubbling purple goo was accumulating and the toxic purple smoke was at its absolute thickest.

Fiona did not waste a single millisecond, immediately skipping after his heavy boots with a cheerful bounce in her step, while June executed an exceptionally proud, hyper-aristocratic glide right behind them to ensure her royal presence was front and center. I turned my head toward our favorite hyper-anxious berserker, who was still quietly standing by my side while nervously looking at the thickening purple fog ahead.

"Let us get this show on the road and see what this boss monster has got, Aiko-chan," I said, offering her a casual nod to keep her grounded. Aiko gave a quiet, hesitant dip of her head beneath her messy dark bangs, processing my words in her usual low-volume manner before falling into a steady pace directly beside me as we marched into the deep corruption.

••••• We advanced significantly deeper into the increasingly dense heart of the woods, charting a straight course that led us directly into the immediate territory of the Great Tree.

With every single step our boots took, the environmental corruption took a massive turn for the worse, causing the disgusting layers of bubbling purple goo coating the bark to become incredibly thick, while the heavy blankets of swirling purple smoke completely choked out the sky until we were practically walking through a toxic purple fog. Fortunately for our collective survival rating, Fiona stayed right at the front of our little caravan to navigate the hazardous layout of the wilderness.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It was honestly a spectacular sight to behold, watching her use her unique baseline abilities to effortlessly guide us through the murky maze without a single moment of hesitation. Druids really are something completely special when it comes to dealing with a messy outdoor scenario.

Watching her move through the corruption, it felt exactly as if the forest itself was actively whispering secret map coordinates directly into her ear, steering her boots along the safest possible paths so that our highly dysfunctional squad could ultimately rescue the woodlands from this horrific virus. Which, if you really stop to analyze the grand thematic logistics of the situation for a second, is a pretty epic piece of lore to throw onto our resume.

Fiona abruptly hoisted her hand into the thick air, forming a rigid barrier that instantly brought our little caravan to a grinding halt right in the middle of the toxic sludge.

"Is that giant overgrown weed Kulinabo the Tomshore already lingering nearby?" I asked, squinting through the heavy haze.

"Och, the muckle cratur is biding richt straucht ahead o' us, ye ken, and its ain een are already locked flat on oor mugs!" Fiona declared, her voice radiating absolute, genuine kindness even though her frantic dialect was packed to the brim with completely baffling syllables.

"There's nae point in tryin' to be a wheest, sneaky wee mouse richt noo, fur the hail beastie is just waitin' brawly fur us to step intae the center o' the glaur!" She delivered the entire warning with an exceptionally precise set of theatrical hand gestures, pointing a finger through the purple smoke and then mimicking a massive pair of open eyes, which meant I could actually understand the grand hidden meaning on the very first try without my brain cells short-circuiting.

"Alright, folks, it looks like that giant magical twig is already rolling out the welcome mat for us," I announced to the group, twisting my lips into a thoroughly amused smirk.

"And according to our resident bear, it seems the monster is just casually observing our little squad to see if we actually possess enough brave points to continue marching into its personal bubble." Dimitri did not hesitate for even a single microsecond, his massive chest inflating as his face stretched into an incredibly bright, unwavering smile.

"We absolutely possess the courage to conquer any shadow, my magnificent friends!" Dimitri proudly proclaimed, his thick, booming Russian accent rumbled through the quiet woods with a spectacular tide of pure kindness as he immediately accelerated his heavy-booted stride toward the danger zone. June let out a highly dignified huff, executing a dramatic, hyper-aristocratic flick of her flawless hair to maintain her supreme royal majesty before gliding right after his massive frame.

Fiona did not waste another moment standing around, quickly bouncing ahead to guide their boots through the deepest sections of the bubbling purple goo. Aiko slowly turned her head toward me, her wide eyes reflecting the eerie glow of the surrounding purple goo.

"Th-this is... th-this is actually Aiko-san's... my first t-time facing an authentic Elite classification m-monster, Arthur-san," Aiko whispered, her incredibly low volume shaking as she kept her gaze locked onto my face.

"A-are they... a-are they truly as r-remarkably strong as they say?" I let out a soft chuckle to keep the atmosphere from getting too grim.

"Oh, they are definitely the real deal, Aiko-chan," I explained, throwing my hands out in a casual gesture to emphasize the grand mathematical scale of the situation.

"When it comes to baseline combat capabilities and overall health pools, a single one of these Elite bad boys is easily worth more than a whole synchronized army of those standard Common monsters we just cleared out." The absolute second those informative words left my mouth, our favorite hyper-anxious berserker visibly shivered from head to toe.

"A-am I... a-am I g-going to s-survive this encounter?" Aiko asked, her voice d-dropping to a tiny, trembling murmur that was almost entirely swallowed up by the thick purple smoke. I couldn't help but let a massive, thoroughly reassuring smile spread across my features as I looked down at her worried face.

"Of course you are going to survive, and you can take that directly to the bank as an official promise," I said, offering her a confident nod to anchor her frayed nerves.

"The way I see the logistics of this scenario, it is a binary equation. It is either we secure a total victory with every single member of our dysfunctional party surviving the ordeal, or we suffer a spectacular defeat with absolutely no survivors left to complain about it. I mean, it is not like we possess a choice in the matter anyway, considering there is no realistic way of escaping from that giant magical twig once the boss fight officially triggers."