Creator God Tima's Overlord Journey: Chapter 41

"What was that..." An old woman spoke. She wore a very strange outfit—a high-collared qipao. The garment itself was exquisite, but on an elderly woman whose face was covered in wrinkles and whose feet were twisted out of shape, it looked utterly bizarre.

In an aged, trembling voice, the old woman spoke. The sudden flash of intense light made everyone else instinctively close their eyes, but she had noticed something far more important.

"That came from the Destroyer Dragon King's direction."

Knights and the Demonic Tree

On the vast, empty wasteland stood a solitary figure.

It was a knight of average height, around one hundred and seventy centimeters tall. Their build appeared rather slender, yet they wore a full suit of plate armor. The armor was entirely silver-white, and though the moonlight was currently obscured by dark clouds, it still gleamed with a holy radiance.

The knight's features were completely hidden behind their visor, as was their hair. The visor had been forged in the shape of some beast's head, its edges adorned with numerous long, pale-brown tassels that gave off an overwhelming sense of majesty.

Below that were heavy pauldrons and a breastplate, with gauntlets and greaves all in place. A blue battle skirt wrapped around the knight's thighs, leaving not an inch of skin exposed.

"That should settle it." The knight spoke in a calm, cold voice, like the northern ocean, filled with a grim, killing chill.

"Y-yes." A voice from nowhere answered the knight. It was filled with shock, astonishment, and trembling fear.

That voice belonged to a magical beast that had lived in this forest for who knew how many years—the tree spirit Pines Boren Perlia. She was the guardian of the place where the Destroyer Dragon King had been sealed.

According to legend, long, long ago, before even the long-lived Pines had been born, the sky suddenly split open, and monsters descended upon the earth.

Those monsters possessed power so great that even the kings of dragonkind feared them—power capable of destroying the world. They brought terrible calamity upon the entire world.

Though they were eventually defeated by the Dragon Kings, who had gathered all their strength, they had merely fallen into a deep slumber. Or rather, they had been sealed away.

One such being slept within this forest.

It was the monster humans called the Destroyer Dragon King. Its true nature was a twisted demonic tree. During the years Pines had lived before this, she had once witnessed a riot caused by a portion of the demonic tree awakening.

That riot had been swiftly resolved by seven heroes. Unfortunately, so much time had passed that Pines had forgotten those heroes' names.

Yet this time, less than half an hour ago, what Pines sensed was an even worse future—the main body of the demonic tree was about to awaken.

"It should have been at least another month." Though she voiced that complaint, Pines knew very well why the demonic tree had awakened early.

"So it's over." With that sigh, the tree spirit Pines had already resigned herself. Both her life and this world would be destroyed by the rebirth of the demonic tree of destruction.

Even the seven heroes who had promised to defeat the demonic tree with her possessed only the strength to defeat its avatars. Before its true body, they would surely be helpless as well.

It was over. The world was already over. Just as she thought that, the knight descended.

The knight, clad head to toe in silver-white armor from greaves to visor, descended straight from the sky toward the place where the demonic tree was about to awaken.

"Human, run from here! The demonic tree is about to be born!" she cried out instinctively, but the other party showed no reaction at all.

"Run, human! Don't tell me you intend to fight it? You can't possibly win!"

As though finally noticing the voice, the knight turned their head toward Pines.

"If it can destroy me like this, that would be fine too." The knight spoke with an aura so sharp and lonely.

Like a lion separated from its pride.

Suddenly, the earth split apart. A massive figure a hundred meters tall grew out from within, its hideous branches spreading wildly like madness. Root-like things extended from the ground and spread in every direction.

Pines let out a mournful cry. The demonic tree's roots began wrapping around the trees at the edge of the wasteland, devouring them one by one. The barren land at the heart of the forest, created when the demonic tree had drained away all the nutrients, was now continuously expanding.