Golden Demon Tree

The three of them stealthily made their way down from the valley, silent as shadows. Time seemed to have frozen, for their movements were so subtle that anyone scanning the valley from its center would not have noticed a thing.

He had taken this route over a hundred times. It was not as if he had never failed and been discovered before, but that had been when he was still inexperienced. Compared to then, failure was now impossible. Although treants were strong and aggressive, these naturally blind creatures were poor at reconnaissance—sound simply traveled more slowly than light.

Even so, Brando, his nerves taut, still heard the faint rasp of a boot scraping against rock. He turned and saw Freya glaring back at him nervously. The young man could not help frowning. You're still too tense, Freya.

He stopped and let Roman pass him. The Merchant's Daughter was doing very well—keeping her body low, breathing evenly, and taking neither steps that were too large nor too slow. She moved with the graceful agility of a kitten, making no excessive noise. Her mind was also filled with cautious excitement. The tautness in her heart instead drove her body to draw out even more potential. Roman had always believed she was a born merchant and adventurer.

"Roman, you're doing great. Keep it up—" Brando silently encouraged her with his mouth.

The Merchant's Daughter quickly nodded. The movement was tiny, but she could not hide her pride.

Brando let Roman pass and turned his gaze to Freya behind her. The girl seemed to realize her own condition and could not help lowering her head. Seeing this, the young man sighed silently. This future Valkyrie was not outstanding in any aspect of talent—wisdom, judgment, psychological strength, or physical ability. It was as though, invisibly, all of this had already determined that she would become an ordinary person.

Yet only Brando understood that she must possess some potential that would one day allow her to achieve that legendary title.

He could not help studying her carefully. When she lowered her head, she revealed a head of light-brown hair. It was neither too thick nor too sparse, and its soft texture showed that its owner took meticulous care of it. It was not elaborate, but it was very neat.

By then, Freya had already crouched and passed by his side. The girl made no sound, and only her long ponytail rose and fell with her movements, as though expressing the defiance in her heart. Brando knew that this was a unique stubbornness.

His heart stirred. "Freya."

Freya's movement ahead of him halted.

"You're too tense. Relax a little."

"I'm sorry, I..."

"It's all right."

"Do you see that rock ahead? We need to split up here. Hide behind it. When the patrol passes, you must draw the attention of the last two treants away immediately."

Freya nodded.

"You go first. I'll watch you from here. Freya, I believe you can do this." Brando rolled over and lay on his side among the rubble, gesturing to her.

The girl finally revealed an irrepressible look of surprise. This was different from the original arrangement, but she was not stupid. She knew Brando was staying behind to encourage her. She was touched, but all she could do now was press her lips together and nod heavily.

Brando watched Freya continue forward, her movements steadier now, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Actually, such a reaction under pressure was perfectly normal. There were not many people with talent like Roman's. He turned around and saw the Merchant's Daughter had also stopped to look at him, her face full of curiosity. He could not help irritably gesturing for her to keep moving.

Unfortunately, the person on this side had outstanding mental fortitude, but her thought process was far too abnormal. If anything, Freya was more reliable. He still looked forward to the day when that future Valkyrie would grow up.

Freya soon reached her designated position. The patrol had only just crossed half the valley, and nothing had gone wrong. In fact, nothing could have gone wrong in the first place; the girl had simply been too nervous. Brando was the one in trouble now. Staying behind to encourage Freya had cost him some time, and the treants had already gone around half the circle and were entering their ambush range. At this distance, he might well be discovered.

But Brando was Brando, and he forcibly brought his route and timing to perfection without making a single mistake. When he finally crawled over beside Roman, even he could not help wiping away a bead of sweat. It had been incredibly tense, but at least he had not let his emotions affect his performance—just as in the game, he had performed flawlessly.

Seeing his head covered in sweat, Roman hurriedly rummaged through her bag and handed him a checkered handkerchief. She said nothing, but her thoughts were obvious. Seeing the checkered handkerchief, Brando vaguely remembered that it was a handicraft from the northern Viero Region. Similar goods were difficult to find in Buchi, and it was also one of the Merchant's Daughter's favorite collectibles.

"Thank you," he mouthed slowly.

"I should be the one thanking you, Brando." Miss Romane hugged her bag with both hands and answered seriously, "It's going to be dangerous later, isn't it? There may be things we won't have the chance to say, right? That's why I wanted to tell you—thank you, Brando."

Brando was startled, then smiled faintly.

In that brief span, the six treants had already drawn near. Even behind the sharp rocks, the three of them could hear their rustling footsteps growing closer. The treants used low notes to transmit information, while their communication with the parent tree was carried out entirely through the mind.

Brando saw Freya draw her sword. She wrapped the blade in her clothes to keep its reflection from alerting the enemy. Brando nodded. At least in this regard, it was clear that Freya was no longer the dreamy little girl she had been a few days ago. He immediately gave a signal: I'll go first. You attack from behind.

Freya frowned. Their opponent always took the most dangerous part of the work upon himself, which made her feel uneasy—and somewhat unwilling to accept it. Even so, she knew this was the most suitable arrangement and could only nod helplessly.

The treants passed beneath a rocky outcrop that extended across the ground. Then they stopped, spread out in all directions to search, and exchanged a series of strange notes. Brando drew Gleaming Thorn, shielded Roman with one hand, and sent Freya an attack signal—

Now was the moment. The treants should be behind them, and they were spread far apart. This was the best time to attack.

Brando charged out first. His initial target was the adult treant. Freya followed, decisively drawing her sword and rushing toward the rear of the treant formation. Her targets were the two offspring of the Golden Demon Tree standing close together.

Treants at the rear of a formation were generally responsible for keeping watch, so they reacted the fastest. The instant the two treants spotted Freya, they turned and let out a low roar. Four vines unfurled from their bodies and thrust forward like spears. The vines tore through the air with a shrill whistle.

But Freya spread both hands and knocked the four cables aside. Feather of Wind lit up piece by piece around her, protecting her as she leaped upward and slammed into the body of the first treant. Feather of Wind dimmed briefly, then shone brightly again. Caught off guard, the towering monster was sent flying backward.

At that moment, the girl remembered Brando's words: "Your Empress of Wind Half-Plate counters them tremendously. You should attack without holding back—"

She gritted her teeth and threw herself forward without regard for defense, pinning down the fallen treant. A force like raging waves immediately tried to fling her away. Freya knew her strength was limited and that she could be thrown off at any moment. She gripped her longsword with both hands, raised it high, and brought it down on the treant's right arm.

With a light hiss, the right arm, vines writhing around it, flew into the air. At the same time, Freya was thrown away. She had just gotten to her feet when another treant sent her flying with a whip, making her roll across the ground several times. Although the Empress of Wind Half-Plate protected her, the impact still made the girl cough up blood.

One of the fallen treants could not recover for the moment. Freya understood that only one enemy remained. Yet after wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she could not find an opportunity to attack.

She could not help taking a light breath.

On the other side, Brando killed his unprepared enemy the instant he struck. In his hand, Gleaming Thorn was like a dancing silver thread. His first thrust pierced beneath the treant's right ribs, then swept outward, turning its right arm and several vines into flying ash.

His second strike severed both its legs. At the instant the monster lost its balance and fell, the cold edge of the Elven Treasure Sword had already swept across its neck.

Amid the interweaving net of light, the adult treant turned to ash.

Of course, he had taken advantage of the surprise attack. He would need to think of a way to deal with what remained. Fortunately, Brando had already planned for this. The moment he succeeded, he sheathed his sword and retreated. How could the vine-covered monsters, having lost a companion, simply let the matter go? Three treants immediately roared and pursued him.

This was precisely the moment Brando had been waiting for. When they chased him through a narrow path, the three vine-covered monsters instinctively formed a straight line so they could pass through one after another. But waiting for them was the faintly glowing silver ring in Brando's hand.

"Oss!"

********

Freya heard a terrifying explosion from behind and to her left. She knew that it was the sound of Brando succeeding. Her mind relaxed involuntarily, and at the same time, she noticed that the enemy before her had been stunned by the massive sonic shock.

As a young person from the countryside around Buchi, she naturally could not understand how devastating the explosion was to sound-sensitive treants. The immense noise had nearly robbed them of their ability to perceive the outside world, as though the entire world had been filled with a vast white light, with nothing remaining within it.

But knowing that this was an opportunity was enough. She raised her longsword, which had been corroded until it was almost broken, and hacked viciously at the treant's legs.

The brief battle seemed to end with that strike—

With a crisp clang, the treant's towering body and her longsword were split in two. Freya could hardly believe she had actually succeeded. She opened her mouth in shock, then saw Roman standing opposite her, gasping for breath and gripping a Madara blacksteel sword.

"Roman!"

"Freya, I—I'm sorry. Brando told me to come help you..."

The girl smiled. "It's all right. Thank you."

When Brando emerged from behind the rocky outcrop, this was the scene he saw. He could not help staring for a moment. He had thought Freya would lose her temper, but her reaction was unexpectedly mild.

Actually, his arrangement had not been entirely intended to reduce Freya's pressure. It had also been a tactical decision. The focus of this ambush had instead been on the side with the Ponytail Girl. The core of the treant patrol was its commander—the adult treant—and the two treants at the rear responsible for keeping watch.

As long as the treants responsible for scouting were restrained, Brando could easily ambush and kill the adult, then lure the remaining treants away and carry out the plan. He could not give them the chance to form up on the spot and launch a counterattack. Otherwise, even if Brando rose another five levels, he might not be able to protect Freya and Roman from six ranged monsters.

But just as he was worrying about how to explain himself, he unexpectedly found that Freya seemed to have already understood.

"Why hasn't the Golden Tree reacted?" The future Valkyrie had also noticed him by then. She asked, "Can't it move?"

Brando was startled and only then came back to his senses. He shook his head. Of course the Golden Demon Tree had reacted. On the contrary, the instant they launched their attack and drew its attention, that terrifying monster's counterattack had already begun.

It was simply silent.

"We have one minute. I'll explain how to deal with the Golden Demon Tree. You must listen carefully if you don't want your souls to be imprisoned within the Golden Tree forever," he replied.

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