## Chapter 364 – Under the World Tree (6)
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“The opponent… was a earth fairy…”
‘Earth fairy…? Are they strong?’
“No… they are far from strong…
But not preparing properly was a huge mistake.
In this soft and yielding ground, earth fairies can easily launch attacks…”
Massaging her bruised arm, Leah grimaced as if enduring the pain, and began to speak without pause, as if trying to convey everything she knew.
“They are monsters that live underground.
They resemble small humans like dwarves, but they have a natural talent for digging.
I thought we handled the initial ambush well…
But while some deliberately triggered the traps to draw attention…
Others launched surprise attacks through tunnels dug throughout the village.”
‘Tunnels…? There were tunnels?’
“That’s what makes them so terrifying.
You never know when or where they will dig out and attack.”
That made some sense.
The surrounding terrain was cleaner than expected.
The lack of traces of giant monsters meant they were likely attacked by smaller creatures.
And even if the South Elf hunters were skilled and numerous, if they were caught off guard by a sudden ambush, their annihilation wouldn’t be entirely incomprehensible.
“Their attacks consist of throwing stones.
It might seem laughable, but the result is this bruise.
Even Nemea, that armor, couldn’t completely absorb the impact of the stones…
Especially since there were so many of them…”
Images of the past flashed through my mind.
Dwarves suddenly popping their heads out of tunnels, hurling heavy stones with great force.
It was reminiscent of the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War, digging tunnels and waging guerrilla warfare.
At first, they might try to cope, enduring some pain, but as the attacks became more complex and relentless, they would inevitably become anxious and demoralized.
So, it was understandable how Leah was caught off guard.
If they just threw stones and disappeared back into the tunnels, no matter how fast she moved like the wind, there would be limitations to her actually landing an attack.
If one side was attacked, those earth fairies would hide in their tunnels, and the earth fairies on the opposite side would pop out and throw stones.
Conversely, if she charged towards the other side, those earth fairies would hide, and earth fairies would emerge from the distant holes.
In the end, Leah’s attacks couldn’t hit anything properly, and amidst the constant barrage of heavy stones from the earth fairies, she would be unilaterally and helplessly beaten.
Their compatibility was terrible, and this type of battle was something Leah couldn’t handle alone.
If she had known and prepared, she could have set up traps to stop them, but the traps she had set up this time were to deal with enemies coming from outside the village, not to defend against the floors inside the village, where she never imagined anything would pop out.
Arrows were scattered all over the ground, but it didn’t seem like the elves who shot them had been very effective.
“One stone might not even tickle, but there were just too many of them.
Eventually, I lost my focus and was subjected to a concentrated attack.
I was too busy dodging, and everything became a mess…”
Calming Leah, who was staggering to her feet, I jumped off her shoulder and suggested she rest a little longer.
Like a waterfall carving stone, even small stones couldn’t be ignored.
Seeing the dirt smudges from the stones hitting Leah’s solid chitinous armor on her lower body, and the fine cracks in places, I could tell how much she had struggled against them.
Perhaps it wasn’t just simple stone throwing, but something with more attack power.
Those injuries could probably be healed if I returned to my main body, the nest, but here and now, I needed to be careful, so I turned away, leaving Leah to rest.
“Auntie… sob…”
“Ainel…!! Yuneir…!!”
Around me, I could hear the cries of women who had lost their comrades, families, and friends, and their mournful wails of grief.
And Riel, one of them, one of the main reasons we were here, was also one of those people.
“…Mom…”
The belated news was that not only had some elves died, but some had been snatched by the monsters and dragged into the tunnels, and her mother was among them.
Remembering her gentle smile as she thanked her daughter and the village’s benefactor, even in the midst of everyone’s hardship, I swallowed my bitterness and turned towards them.
At that moment, Riel, who had been embracing her younger sister, staggered to her feet, drawing the attention of those around her.
“I’m going to save Mom…”
“Sister… sob…”
“Riel…!! What are you saying!!
With our abilities… we can’t even fight properly…”
“We’re from hunter families too!!
Great-grandmother’s mother was the best hunter in the village!!
Surely we can…!! Sob…”
“That’s… because the World Tree’s blessing no longer falls upon us!!
There was a time when that was the case!! But now…!!”
‘What are they talking about?’
Feeling a strange sense of unease at the argument between Riel, who was insisting on saving her mother, and some of the village women (?), I began to intervene.
‘The World Tree’s blessing…?’
[Can you explain that?]
“Well… we don’t know the details either…”
“I… sob… know… Great-grandmother…”
Riel and Yurne’s great-grandmother, who used to tell them old stories, was the last surviving elder elf in the village, having lived for nearly 100 years.
So, instead of the village women who only vaguely knew the stories, Yurne, Riel’s younger sister, who had heard the old tales firsthand, began to speak, drawing everyone’s attention.
According to what Yurne had heard from her great-grandmother, the elves of the past were all excellent hunters.
Whether male or female, there were almost no exceptions, only differences in experience depending on age.
In particular, the female hunters were incredibly active, and the village often held joyous feasts thanks to the giant monsters they brought back.
Unlike now, where only men were hunters, in the past, female elves led the hunts, and some men did farm work or gathering.
With their innate strong bodies and unwavering faith in the World Tree, the elves repelled or hunted the monsters around the village and lived peacefully under the World Tree.
In some ways, it might seem like they were still living that way, but there was a clear difference between the past and the present.
Why had the female elves of today become non-combatants?
[Then why can’t they do that now?]
“Sob… Grandmother said…
The youngsters these days… lack the mental fortitude…
Sob… that’s the problem…”
What are you even saying?
But fortunately, another thing she said seemed to be a key to getting closer to the truth.
“The World Tree… has reached the end of its life… sob…
The fairies… don’t come to see us anymore…
The elves no longer receive blessings… she was sad about that…”
‘…’
It felt like something was about to fit together, but it was subtly off.
Strong female hunters blessed by the sacred World Tree.
And after that blessing disappeared, the power dynamic between men and women reversed.
‘It’s natural for men to be physically stronger than women.
Usually, athletic ability is a matter of talent, isn’t it?
If the female hunters of that time were exceptionally talented…
Isn’t that what they’re calling a blessing…?
But if everyone was strong because of the blessing, why did the situation reverse when they lost it?
There must be a reason why female elves have produced excellent hunters, right?’
‘Could it be…!!’
[Riel, take me there.]
“Huh… there?”
Suddenly writing words on the ground and pointing somewhere, Riel, with the desire to save her mother, slung the bow she had been clutching onto her back and carefully picked me up.
And the place she headed to was that place where the sunlight and greenery created a strangely comfortable atmosphere.
That place where it felt like someone’s warm smile was waiting behind it.
‘Further… further…!!’
“Not… not here…?
Wh… why here?
Further? Ah!!”
‘Stop.’
Stopping her after wandering around for a while.
In that place where it felt like a familiar voice would once again be heard in my ears.
There, I jumped out of Riel’s hands and began to struggle through the haphazardly grown tree roots on the ground.
‘Here… somewhere around here…
It was definitely around here?
Whoa!!”
“Eh…!? Eeeeh!!”
With Riel’s voice screaming in bewilderment as she saw me suddenly disappear between the tree roots, I tumbled down a small, slide-like passage under the sunken ground.
After rolling around for a long time as if riding a roller coaster, I was ejected into a wider place like garbage being dumped.
After staggering around for a while, dizzy, I finally regained my senses and was able to look around.
In my compound eyes, gazing at the space filled with old tree roots, something familiar was gradually being reflected.
‘So… that’s what she was trying to tell me…
World Tree… blessing… strong female hunters…’
Remembering the dream I had of her, and the serene smile she gave me.
‘The World Tree… the World Tree…
I really can’t believe it…’
With a feeling that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and a feeling that made me want to laugh for some reason, I looked up at this magnificent den and the guardian who protected it.
‘This guy was Enic…
It’s always darkest under the lamp…
Oh my god, really…’
