Chapter 114 : Giant Tree Grove

Chapter 114: Giant Tree Grove

“Do you all even know where that is?”

“Giant Tree Grove? I have a rough idea.”

Jin Ha-un, who knew a little more about the Central Heavens Martial Realm than Jang Woo-hyun, answered.

“Do you really know what kind of place it is?”

“It’s located on a Floating Continent a bit removed from the territory of the Central Heavens Martial Realm. I’ve heard it’s a massive forest.”

“Ah…”

Hearing the answer, Cho-su realized something.

These bastards had no information at all. No, they didn’t even seem to have the ability to think.

“Just by looking at the name, doesn’t it sound off? ‘Giant Tree Grove,’ you know?”

“Isn’t it just a forest with big trees?”

At Jin Ha-un’s thoughtless response, Cho-su frowned once again.

If anything, Jin Ha-un was similar in type to Jang Woo-hyun. A little more cautious, a bit more meticulous—but in the grand scheme, not much different.

The only reason Jang Woo-hyun and his party could move around so well in the Central Plains was thanks to Hwang An. He grasped the information and guided the group. He was truly a pathfinder.

Before ascending, Jin Ha-un had spent a long time with Hwang An and was influenced by him. That’s why Jang Woo-hyun jokingly called him Jin-an or Hwang Ha-un, but that referred only to his behavior and tone—not his core.

“You didn’t even bother to do any research?”

It wasn’t even a difficult task, yet they hadn’t done it.

“Not particularly. Just knowing the general location is enough, right?”

“Ah… I see.”

Cho-su briefly considered getting off the Flying Apparatus and going home. But the thought that these two idiots might cause trouble if left alone quickly made him change his mind.

“Giant Tree Grove is the domain of giants.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

Only then did something seem to click for Jang Woo-hyun, who snapped his fingers.

“To fight the giants from the Daein Nation, you see. There are tribes of giants living in the forest known as Giant Tree Grove, and in fighting them, things ended up this way. They’re incredibly huge.”

When asked why he had overdeveloped the Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor, Cheol Geuk-jin had answered like that. So Jang Woo-hyun had already heard about the Giant Tree Grove before.

“I heard there are giants from the Daein Nation.”

“You’re only remembering that now? Took you long enough.”

“Hyung-nim normally doesn’t pay much attention to things like that.”

When Cho-su shot Jin Ha-un a look that clearly said, “And what about you?” he averted his eyes with an awkward chuckle.

“What’s with your face?”

With a small sigh, Cho-su turned his head again to see that Jang Woo-hyun’s expression had changed.

His eyes sparkled. Like someone about to eat something delicious, his gaze was full of anticipation.

It was no wonder. According to Cheol Geuk-jin, the giants of Giant Tree Grove used martial arts similar to the Sacred River Flowing Armor.

The thought of witnessing the martial arts of a new race made Jang Woo-hyun’s heart race.

“Nothing much.”

He spoke as if it was no big deal, but Cho-su’s instincts sounded an alarm. Was it really a good idea to travel with these two idiots? It was going to be an exhausting journey.

“Let’s head that way for now.”

“Cho-su-nim?”

Without a word, Cho-su descended and called the two of them down.

Then he took out a Flying Apparatus shaped like a small ferryboat. He planned to ride with them and hear what they had to say. To see what they were thinking and how much they knew about the Central Heavens.

Thus began the journey of two idiots who knew how to break weapons or treasures and a native of Nation of Mechanical Marvels.

Using the Dry Wood and a Teleportation Array, the three eventually arrived at the massive Floating Continent.

“Uh…”

“Hmm.”

Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un, who hadn’t known much about the Giant Tree Grove, let out quiet exclamations as they gazed at the massive forest.

Even from afar, the gigantic trees appeared to pierce the heavens.

This wasn’t an ordinary forest. Given the name Giant Tree Grove (巨木林), they had expected large trees, but the forest before them defied all logic.

Each tree easily surpassed a hundred jang in height. And such trees stretched endlessly across the landscape.

“Now that you’ve seen it, it’s hitting you, huh?”

Cho-su had deliberately avoided giving any real explanation about the Giant Tree Grove on the way. He wanted those two idiot brothers to be shocked when they saw it themselves.

“Setting aside the giants of the Daein Nation who dwell here, the Grove itself is extremely dangerous. Everything inside is unconditionally bigger than we imagine. Even small lifeforms, originally. Some call it the Garden of the Gods, others call it the Primordial Forest or the Forest of Monsters.”

Overwhelmed by the grandeur of the forest, the two could only listen in silence.

“Where did they say we needed to go?”

“…Red Wood Region.”

“Red Wood Region? Never heard of it. Is that where the red trees are? Let’s check it out as quickly as possible. Don’t get entangled with the monsters deep in the forest.”

Jang Woo-hyun also agreed for now. While meeting the giants and creatures in the Giant Tree Grove was an important experience, the first thing they had to do was to find traces of Kim Min-soo.

Before moving the Flying Apparatus, Cho-su pulled out a semi-transparent cloth from the Inner Robe. Then, he wrapped the cloth around the Flying Apparatus. Mysteriously, the cloth floated and covered the surroundings of the Flying Apparatus.

“What is this?”

“It’s a spell tool that conceals presence. If flying beasts swarm in, it becomes a hassle.”

As he spoke, Cho-su controlled the Flying Apparatus and increased its speed. They flew for quite a while.

Even after flying for two si-jin, all they could see beneath them was green forest.

At times, they passed mountain ranges or enormous lakes and rivers, but generally, it was all green.

After flying for another si-jin, Jang Woo-hyun marveled at the size of the Central Heavens Realm.

‘It’s endless.’

A Floating Continent much larger than the continent where the Central Plains had been, and a forest with no visible end.

Its scale defied common sense. It was questionable whether it could even be explained scientifically.

He wondered if it might be larger than all the continents on Earth combined.

They hadn't felt it because they had used the Dry Wood and the Teleportation Array to travel swiftly, but the Central Heavens Realm was an unbelievably vast place.

‘Well, if it weren’t, everything would’ve been destroyed by now.’

Jang Woo-hyun had destroyed several small Floating Islands during a month of duels with Jin Ha-un.

If even those two, who were in the Transcendence, caused that much damage, then what about those in realms above them? Entire landmasses the size of continents would likely be shattered in an instant.

Perhaps the Central Heavens was this large precisely to withstand the power of Transcended beings and maintain the world’s integrity. If it weren’t this massive, the world itself might have vanished entirely.

“Where on earth is it? You didn’t hear anything else?”

Even when Cho-su asked, the two couldn’t give a clear answer. Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un were never the type to pay attention to such details.

“No. Just that it’s the Red Wood Region… Oh? Wait a moment, Cho-su-nim.”

“What?”

“If it’s the Red Wood Region, then maybe we can’t find it this way?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not the Red Leaf Region, but the Red Wood Region. So maybe the trees themselves are red, not the leaves.”

“Ah…”

Cho-su immediately understood what Jin Ha-un meant.

If the trees themselves were red rather than the leaves, then it was impossible to find it from above. With all the sprawling branches and massive leaves, the trunks weren’t visible.

“It might take more time than I thought. Let’s go down.”

Controlling the Flying Apparatus, Cho-su entered deeper into the Giant Tree Grove.

As they pierced through leaves large enough to cover small houses and descended, Jin Ha-un saw creatures moving along the branches.

“Monkeys?”

But they were far too large to be monkeys. Even without standing upright, they were twice the size of Jin Ha-un.

As they went lower, a different world unfolded.

A world where everything was big.

It felt like becoming a tiny person suddenly transported to the Giant Nation.

“We won’t be able to fly fast inside here.”

Though the creatures within the forest couldn’t detect the group due to the cloth wrapped around the Flying Apparatus, the massive branches and the beings moving and flying above them made it impossible to move as swiftly as they could in the sky.

“We need to find a method. We can’t just wander around this vast place blindly.”

“Doesn’t seem like this will end quickly. Hyung-nim, what should we do now?”

“I don’t think it’ll be hard to find…”

If it were truly difficult to find, someone would have told them so back at Mount Cheonmok. The fact that they had only been told “Red Wood Region” implied it shouldn’t be hard to locate.

Slowing down, the three flew in different directions, observing their surroundings.

After a long flight, something caught Jang Woo-hyun’s qi perception.

“Cho-su-nim.”

“What is it?”

“This way.”

Jang Woo-hyun pointed in one direction.

“Why? Is there something there?”

“Someone is fighting.”

As they changed direction and advanced, explosion sounds and shouting soon reached their ears.

“I’ll go check it out.”

“No. Both of you go. I can at least protect myself.”

Cho-su controlled the Flying Apparatus to rise above the tree and hid behind a giant leaf. Jang Woo-hyun and Jin Ha-un concealed their presence and leapt into the air.

Rushing swiftly, the two stopped at a tree near the source of the roars and explosions.

“Giants… it seems.”

Just as Jin Ha-un said, a giant, likely over two jang tall, was fighting against five people.

The two observed the situation for a moment.

Although both sides were attacking, there were no fatal injuries yet.

The giant’s attacks were blocked by the humans who moved swiftly or coordinated their efforts, and the humans’ attacks couldn’t penetrate the Armor of Qi that the giant had clad himself in.

“This is way too predictable.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean?”

“It’s unfolding like a cliché.”

The battle in the forest that they had suddenly witnessed—it was the kind of progression often seen in novels. Yet, seeing it firsthand, it was hard to tell which side they should help.

‘Isn’t it usually a masked man or a monster that attacks?’

“What’s a cliché?”

Jin Ha-un’s question pulled Jang Woo-hyun out of his unnecessary thoughts.

“It’s just something like this. I don’t know who to help.”

“Right. We don’t even know why they’re fighting, and it’s not like we’re on either side.”

‘Since the Giant Tree Grove is the domain of giants, maybe it’d be better to help them.’

Even so, they couldn’t recklessly jump in. Good or evil aside, they didn’t know who would actually be helpful, nor did they know either side’s circumstances.

The power between the two sides was evenly matched, so there was no rush to intervene, and their hesitation continued.

“Hmm.”

Just as the two were debating what to do—

“So the rats were hiding.”

At the voice that came from nearby, the two tensed and quickly turned their heads.

A short distance away, an old man in black clothing stood.

‘He’s someone with exceptional senses.’

He was standing exactly one step beyond the boundary of Jang Woo-hyun’s expanded detection field.

‘Why didn’t he attack?’

He had approached unnoticed, knew the exact range of the detection, and yet hadn’t attacked. It was as if he was waiting for something.

In that moment of crisis, Jang Woo-hyun’s thoughts accelerated rapidly.

‘Why make that decision…’

As his thoughts continued, a chilling sensation suddenly rushed over him, and he instinctively activated the Sacred River Flowing Armor. It wasn’t a conscious act. The reaction had been automatic upon sensing danger.

‘He spoke to distract me.’

To draw his attention. Which meant he had another purpose.

Jang Woo-hyun immediately moved and pushed Jin Ha-un, who was standing beside him.

At that moment, a sword shot out from the air behind where Jin Ha-un had just stood.

Kwajijik!

The sword clashed with the Sacred River Flowing Armor that had wrapped around Jang Woo-hyun’s extended arm. Had he been even slightly later, Jin Ha-un’s neck would have been pierced.

An utterly unexpected and unguarded attack.

The two immediately drew their swords and watched their surroundings closely.

When they looked back toward where the voice had come from, the figure had already vanished.

“Hyung-nim, this…”

“Shh.”

Jang Woo-hyun heightened his senses and expanded his Qi Threads.

‘Nothing.’

Even after spreading his Qi Threads so far that he was nearly dominating the surrounding space, he couldn’t find a trace of the enemy’s presence or energy. It was as if they had completely vanished from the area.

He didn’t even know how many enemies there were or whether the technique used was martial arts or sorcery. What he knew for certain—

‘They’re nearby.’

They were still targeting him and Jin Ha-un.

Time passed. While the sounds of giants and humans clashing echoed from one side, the two reduced even their breathing to detect the enemy.

The first to act was Jang Woo-hyun.

Having found a method, he drew out Yongwangrin and disassembled it. Hundreds of blades floated around them.