Act Thirty-Eight: Time War

But Romane's situation wasn't as optimistic as Brando had imagined, and the atmosphere grew tense as time passed. Brando then realized that the young merchant girl must have hidden secrets in her heart that he didn't know about—secrets that might be subconscious—and the deeper they were hidden, the greater the harm at this moment.

For a moment, the only sound in the air was the tense breathing of the two of them. The merchant girl herself slept peacefully, but Brando truly feared she would just sleep and never wake up.

He couldn't help but glance at the Golden Demon Tree. The connection between dreams and reality had become quite fragile, and the Golden Demon Tree could awaken at any moment.

"Freya?"

Freya clenched her fists, too nervous to speak. Brando had said they only had five minutes, and by his calculations, time was running out, but Romane still seemed trapped in her nightmare. Yet, she knew she couldn't blame the young man, as only she at Bucci knew about this secret.

She only regretted not telling Brando earlier, but how could she have known this dream would be so complicated? Didn't Brando also say nothing because he was afraid of affecting their state of mind, only to inadvertently make things worse?

However, the young man didn't fall into blind panic. His mind raced, and he suddenly threw the Gleaming Thorn in his hand.

"Have her hold it."

"What?"

"This sword has the power to ward off evil. Have her hold it." Brando said this aloud, but in his heart, he knew that his only reliance was the Elven Sword, hoping that a one-level increase in energy level would see the merchant girl through this disaster.

Martha above! He couldn't help but pray in his heart to the omnipresent supreme being, 'Vonder,' hoping she would be merciful to Romane. But perhaps it was the sword that worked, or perhaps Brando's prayer was sensed by Martha. Before long, the merchant girl actually let out a soft "Mm" and blinked her eyes open.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the two of them, paused for a moment, then said happily, "Freya, you're here too. I had a nightmare just now!"

"Ah—!" Freya was stunned, then let out a surprised yelp from her chest. She hadn't heard a word the merchant girl said, but instead, she threw her arms around Romane, weeping with joy. She had thought there was no hope, but she hadn't expected Brando's method to actually work.

"Romane, you idiot!"

"F-Freya, what are you talking about! I'm not an idiot!" Romane, as if struck by a fatal blow, flusteredly and earnestly retorted.

It was Brando, watching the merchant girl, who was flustered by Freya's sudden tears, who remained calmer. With the infusion of belief and the help of the Gleaming Thorn, the possibility of Romane waking up from even the deepest nightmare was high. He was more worried about what impact this might have on her.

But seeing her dazed expression, Brando knew he was overthinking it.

"Alright, don't cry anymore," he said. "The Golden Demon Tree is about to wake up. We'll talk after the battle."

The ponytail girl then wiped away her tears and nodded. "What should we do, Brando?" she asked.

"We're not the main characters in this battle. In this valley, there's a Stone Cone Worm—"

"What's that?"

"Romane, don't interrupt! The Stone Cone Worm is an elemental creature from the Plane of Earth. It's a natural nemesis to the Golden Demon Tree, but before this Stone Cone Worm matures, the Golden Demon Tree can rely on its vast root system to keep it outside the valley. Of course, it takes eighty to one hundred and twenty years for a Stone Cone Worm to mature, and we can't wait that long, so we have to help it."

"Help it?" Freya asked.

Brando took the Elven Sword from Romane's hand and replied, "The Golden Demon Tree's main body is very weak. Its only means of attack is to extend its roots from the ground to pierce intruders. Therefore, we need to force it to do so. The more roots it draws out, the fewer roots will be left to defend against the Stone Cone Worm, and eventually, the Stone Cone Worm will be able to enter the valley—"

"But we only have ten minutes. At most, the first wave of Withered Beasts will flood the valley in ten minutes. If we haven't succeeded by then, you must run west without hesitation. That secret passage is in a valley and is very conspicuous."

"And you?" Romane looked up.

"Leave the rear guard to the men. That's your grace as ladies." Brando saw her smooth forehead and couldn't help but gently tap it with his finger. He then looked at Freya, who was tying up her ponytail behind her back to prepare for the upcoming battle. Noticing his gaze, she nodded.

Brando was taken aback. He thought Freya would insist on staying behind again. However, he saw no reluctance in her expression; instead, there was a newfound composure. It seemed the other party had gained something from the dream.

The capable Freya exuded an aura of a future Valkyrie. He couldn't help but smile with relief, then turned back and said, "Romane, put on your ring."

The merchant girl immediately raised her small hand proudly, showing off the distinct black and white ring.

"Your task is to listen for movement underground. If you discover anything, you must tell us immediately."

"Okay, Brando."

"Then let's go. We'll approach the Golden Demon Tree from under that rocky promontory. Judging by the terrain there, there should be a fault line below that will delay the Golden Demon Tree's detection of our intentions." Brando said, taking the lead and sneaking forward. He first ran onto a protruding rock, then turned back and gestured for Freya and Romane to follow.

Freya grabbed Romane's hand and followed, her intention clear—be good and don't run off, I'll protect you. She did this so Brando could focus without distraction and attack the Golden Demon Tree as soon as he had the chance.

The three of them quickly passed under the rocky promontory Brando had mentioned. His memory was flawless; they weren't harassed at all before that. However, as soon as they crossed the dividing line, the merchant girl immediately heard a rumbling sound from beneath her feet.

"Brando, there's a sound from below."

Our protagonist's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately shouted, "Separate, quick, separate!"

Freya immediately pushed Romane to one side, and as the three of them dodged, the ground was immediately split open by two thick vines with a loud boom. However, the Golden Demon Tree clearly hadn't expected its attack to be seen through by a few insects. As its roots emerged from the ground, they were met by Brando's prepared sword.

The young man got up from the ground, raised the Elven Sword high, and slashed at the center of the bucket-thick vine. The blade sank halfway in, and silver flames immediately erupted from the edge. The Purifying Fire burned the vine with a sizzling sound, and the Golden Demon Tree in the center of the valley trembled with pain, causing the entire valley to hum.

It was summoning reinforcements again. Brando's heart sank; as he had expected, time was already tight. He couldn't help but look back: Freya dodged the sweeping attack of the Golden Demon Tree's roots with a beautiful side roll, then followed up with a sword strike on the vine. Although the sword only sank a third of the way in, this beautiful move impressed him greatly.

This was at least level 2 Eluin Military Swordsmanship. It seemed Freya had gained quite a bit from the dream.

"Brando, there's another sound!" Romane, climbing to the edge of the battlefield alone, shouted back.

"How far?" Brando instinctively shouted, but he immediately realized his slip-up. He had instinctively treated Romane as the scout of the team, but the merchant girl was only more sensitive, not a professional scout like in a game.

"A hundred meters, maybe seventy meters," Romane thought.

"That far?" Brando was startled and flicked away the vine attacking him with a backhand sword strike. The remaining half-root lost its vitality and fell limply, its severed end charred black.

"Sixty meters now."

Brando hesitated. Although it was unbelievable, he decided to trust Romane. "Freya, forget about it! See that path? Charge out from there."

Freya only paused for a moment, then immediately held her sword in front of her chest, allowing the vine attacking her to whip her away. The Feathers of Wind swirling around her lit up one by one, forming a net of light that protected her and lessened the impact—the ponytail girl only rolled a few times on the ground before getting up, already beside Romane.

"Romane, come with me!" Then she grabbed the merchant girl's hand and rushed in that direction.

"Hey! Where's Brando?"

"He'll catch up!"

The girl finally learned to trust her teammates instead of trying to be a hero all by herself. Brando couldn't help but feel relieved. He was genuinely worried Freya would get herself tangled up with him at this point, but seeing the vines attacking Freya still trying to pursue, he didn't hesitate to slash them in two along the previous cut with a single sword strike.

After clearing out the enemies, he didn't dare linger. The sounds from underground were clear even to him, which meant Romane's judgment was correct. However, he couldn't help but be a little shocked. How did that somewhat reckless girl hear sounds from seventy meters underground?

He estimated that it would take at least a Perception Energy Level of 5 to reach that level.

The thought flashed through Brando's mind, and he immediately turned and ran. With his agility, catching up to Freya and Romane wouldn't be difficult, but the three of them were blocked by the Golden Demon Tree's root system again on their way. The third time, all three of them heard a loud bang coming from the southeast of the valley, and then all the roots that were attacking them at that moment suddenly retracted.

This time, even without Brando's reminder, Freya and Romane knew that the Stone Cone Worm must have entered the fray.

"Did we win?" Romane couldn't help but ask with a bit of surprise.

Brando shook his head. They still had to enter the core area around the Golden Demon Tree. In the time that followed, the Golden Demon Tree would continuously weigh which side posed a greater threat to it, and then dispatch its massive root system to intercept one side. However, this kind of "robbing Peter to pay Paul" behavior wouldn't last; they would eventually achieve victory.

But the only problem was whether they could accomplish all of this within the allotted time.

There were less than five minutes left.

(PS. Now that I'm on Sanjiang, the drama has really picked up.

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