Chapter 470 - Urgent Call for Help

Though it seemed a long process, in actuality, it took only over ten minutes for the Corrupted Massive Root to undergo a drastic transformation.Compared to when Gaven first saw it, its size had shrunk to a tenth of what it once was, leaving it just over three hundred meters long and twenty meters high. The vines and tendrils on its head had been reduced to eight thin and long ones, frantically waving about.

Here, ’thin and long’ is relative to the terrifying size of the Corrupted Massive Root. In comparison to ordinary people, it was still an insurmountably horrifying entity.

The Corrupted Massive Root had a head, but no tail.

On its other side, it did not exist in the Material Plane but vanished into a black mist, which was another world—the Ether Plane.

It was but a small part of some terrifying existence.

The Corrupted Massive Root, having completed its transformation, saw its tentacle demon vines underneath begin to wriggle frenziedly, and the eight massive vine tendrils alternately stirred the ground, each motion causing the earth to quake.

In just three or five moves, it had adjusted its direction towards the Half-Moon Colt’s current location; the Corrupted Massive Root seemed capable of locking onto Luna’s position.

This was not surprising.

One of the three cornerstones that made up Luna’s unique abilities originated from the God of Corruption.

The other two abilities were merely new applications of the Seed of Moando and did not completely change its nature.

Many of the more powerful Moando Servants possess the ability to locate remotely via the inherent connection between the Seeds of Moando, let alone the Corrupted Massive Root.

The Corrupted Massive Root might appear to move slowly, but in reality, it was astonishingly fast, given its enormous size.

What propelled it forward were not the hundreds of tentacle demon vines beneath it, but the four vine tendrils positioned below and in front of it.

Each time, two tendrils would simultaneously crash down, firmly rooting into the ground, then dragging the colossal body forwards, while the tentacle demon vines below primarily provided support to facilitate crawling.

The ancient trees towering in its path were like mere flowers and grass before humans, being utterly crushed into the soil if they stood in the way.

Having shaken off their airborne pursuers and taken a long detour to check the situation, Gaven and Luna were nearly dumbfounded by the scene before them. Not daring to delay, they turned to flee, as the situation had exceeded their plans by far.

Defense and counterattack were predicated on the notion that one could hold a defense and severely damage the enemy’s main force.

If the enemy’s strength far surpasses your capacity, a single stomp could shatter your carefully laid defenses, rendering your tactics an utter joke. This was likely the scenario they were now facing.

The Half-Moon Colt, at full speed, returned to the temporary stronghold in less than half an hour.

Zalanda, who had been patrolling the airspace on a bipedal dragon, was the first to meet them, asking, "How did it go? Was the enemy lured in? Did those creatures catch up?"

With a bitter expression, Gaven replied, "It was successful, more so than expected, to an unimaginable extent. I’m just afraid we can’t handle it. We’re short on time, let’s land and talk."

Zalanda, sensing something was amiss from Gaven’s words, wasted no time in banter and descended alongside Gaven.

Accompanied by Shanoba’s rhythmic howls, the others who were preparing the battlefield quickly returned.

Gaven, not mincing words, simply extended his hand to Regina and said, "Memory extraction projection."

"Okay," replied Regina without hesitation. She took Gaven’s hand, focusing on his soul memory intently. When she opened her eyes again, two beams shot out, intersecting about ten meters in front of them, converging into a translucent screen, upon which an image began playing.

The image was none other than the memory projection of the Corrupted Massive Root and its post-transformation advance in their direction, as previously seen by Gaven.

This was one of Regina’s newly obtained Special Abilities after becoming the first big-screen movie pioneer in Darama.

Memory extraction (Special Ability)—Your mastery over memory has reached an unprecedented level. You can extract another person’s memories with precision through touch, converting them into memory images stored in a gem to create a memory projection or to play it as a memory projection. Extracting ten minutes of memory consumes one third-level Spell Slot.

This ability would not only make it easier for Regina to extract materials for crafting memory films in the future but also allowed for the most direct exchange of intelligence, as presently displayed.

Under normal circumstances, Regina’s display of such a unique ability would undoubtedly spark extensive discussion.

However, at that moment, everyone was too engrossed in the horror unfolding on the screen to notice.

Even through the memory projection, they could profoundly sense the massiveness and magnificence of the Corrupted Massive Root and were deeply shocked by it.

In its presence, they were as insignificant as ants.

The traps they had prepared for the battlefield were useless against it.

It didn’t need to do anything else; upon reaching the battlefield, it could simply crawl over it, destroying most of the traps in the process.

"Divine Root! That is a Divine Root!" declared August with absolute certainty. "It’s made from a part of Moando itself, from the Primordial Temple. For years, apart from a very few Moando Servants, no one has been able to determine its location, as it resides not in the Material Plane but hidden deep within the Ether Plane.

It is also one of the reasons why Moando, despite being destroyed several times, has never been utterly obliterated. Legends say that as long as the Divine Root of Moando’s Primordial Temple remains, it will never truly fall. To destroy it would surely deal a fatal blow to Moando."

"The problem is how to destroy it? Even a ninth-level spell like ’Revenge Storm’, if it lands completely on it, the resulting lethality is still quite limited, not to mention that it will not stay in one place for a minute to endure a full set of ’Revenge Storm’." Zalanda voiced everyone’s concerns.

Darnell analyzed calmly, "Since it’s a temple, it certainly is an inanimate object, especially since Moando is now in a divine demise, its mobility must be due to someone’s manipulation. To deal with such a terrifying existence, even a team of legendaries would have no way of breaking it from the outside. To kill it, we must start from the inside, kill its manipulators, and turn it back into an inanimate object."

Penetrating internally was the preferred tactic when there was a significant size disparity between the two sides.

"It seems this is our only choice, but the question is, how do we penetrate it?"

"Two methods. The first is to let it swallow us. In the midst of those tentacles is a gigantic mouth, but this is too dangerous, as it’s likely filled with grinding teeth. The second method is to concentrate our strength to break open a point and tunnel in."

"The first method is far too dangerous and out of consideration. The second method is still feasible, though difficult. Its thickness is at least measured in meters, and even if it’s a pile of decayed matter, it’s not easy to break through, let alone now that it’s a living thing, it certainly won’t sit idly by."

After the initial shock, people began to discuss tactics noisily, and not a single one brought up the idea of retreat.

Fleeing without even attempting to fight was not in their character.

Moreover, this Divine Root had already entered an attacking state and would not cease until its goals were achieved.

If they fled, the first to suffer would be Mir Forest, followed by Darama. Follow current novᴇls on NovᴇlFire(.)nᴇt

For an evil god, decimating a city did not weigh on the conscience; it was key to regaining divine power and revival.

"I need to contact new reinforcements to see if they can provide long-range support and strikes." Gaven suddenly spoke up, "If these reinforcements can take action, our chances of victory will increase significantly. Ms. Veranika, I need you to accompany me, and when the time comes, we’ll rely on your teleportation ability to return."

"Lord Virginia?"

"Fairy Wilderness?"

"Dragon Oak Mother Tree?"

Regina, Darnell, August, and Lady Olive voiced their thoughts one after another. They used different terms, but they referred to the same place.

They had all seen the Dragon Oak Mother Tree with their own eyes and had participated in the Midsummer Night’s Fairy Feast in the Three Rivers Region. When the temporary tent opened, they followed the fairies to revel upon the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

If the Dragon Oak Mother Tree took action itself, the currently approaching Divine Root might not seem so unstoppable.

What they did not know was that the Dragon Oak Mother Tree now stood ready for war, but had not moved a foot – at least not before this moment.

"Yes." Gaven nodded, "As to how much assistance these reinforcements can provide, I’m not certain, so we make preparations for both scenarios. The core plan remains to prepare to break into the interior of the Divine Root and achieve internal destruction. Counting Luna and me, the rest of you decide on this plan."

"They must be coming for me. If necessary, I will just lead them on a wild chase." The Half-Moon Colt spoke with absolute certainty.

Once the Divine Root completed its transformation, she could clearly sense the connection between them and a desperate longing, as if there was something within her body that the other side needed badly.

"Do not underestimate it. A creature of this scale can spawn other monsters according to the situation. Your speed might not hold an advantage if targeted," Gaven warned.

"I’m not fighting alone, and I won’t foolishly clash with them head-on," replied the Half-Moon Colt, her new abilities not clouding her judgment.

"Then I leave this place in your hands. Miss Veranika, let’s go." Gaven, without further ado, grabbed the newly arrived Holy Strategist and activated the Dragon Oak Mother Tree’s Flawless Teleportation, returning to the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

No sooner had they appeared at the Dragon Oak Mother Tree than they felt a severe trembling sensation, like a magnitude five or six earthquake shaking everything around. They had to plant their feet firmly to avoid falling over.

"What place is this? What’s happening?" Veranika’s generally unflappable petite face finally showed a hint of curiosity.

"I have no time to explain. I’ll have someone take you around to see! Don’t worry; this isn’t an earthquake but a calibration in progress," Gaven knew that everything here would be new and shocking for someone who had never visited the Dragon Oak Mother Tree before, overwhelming them for a good half-day.

Under normal circumstances, given her unique identity, he would undoubtedly take her to see around, to awe her—a lot of what she saw had to be reported back to the Yin Hong standards, to the Goddess of Strategy.

But now, time was of the essence, and there wasn’t a moment to spare.

"Master, our master has returned,"

"Master, it’s been so long since you came back, we missed you,"

"Master, do you think we’ve grown a bit?"

"Master, we’ve made new progress on the Tremor Bomb, finding a method concerning other energies. This has to do with the energy inherent to alchemists themselves. Tremor Bombs don’t necessarily have to be exclusively Earth Attribute."

"Master, his study on the other attribute bombs is flawed; without the Earth Attribute, the Tremor Bombs lose their shaking effect. You should look at mine first, regarding the study on Gnome Hand Cannons; there is new progress. This weapon can be perfectly integrated with our Gnoll characteristics to create Gnoll Firelances..."

"Master, his Gnoll Firelances are the real problem. Normal Gnolls can’t fire more than three shots before passing out, needing at least eight hours of sleep to recover."

"Master..."

"Master..."