Rogue Villain-Chapter 378: Evil-Slaying Sword
The Calamity had settled on an, at least now, unpopulated string of small islands in a corner of the ocean. It was far from any large continent or civilization, and The Calamity had been free to build its strength and sow its Seeds all over the world in peace without anyone interfering with its plans. It had also turned the island group into one large island covered in The Calamity’s roots.
So, as soon as The Hero and his companions found out about The Calamity’s location, they flew over in a hot air balloon they borrowed from the Guild.
The Calamity attacked them by piercing the hot air balloon with projectiles as soon as they came in range. And as The Hero and his companions descended, The Calamity tried to kill them by attacking them with roots and branches that shot out of the wooden island like missiles.
But The Hero swung his Evil-Slaying Sword of Grata. With a burst of slashes of light, all attacks coming his and his group’s way were turned into sawdust.
"Refina."
That was all The Hero needed to say for the party’s mage, Refina Rundel, to catch everyone and put them down on a floating sheet of ice beyond the island’s reach.
The Hero’s party mimicked The Hero and watched the island in silence for a moment. The Hero used his Sage Eyes to inspect their opponent and look for weaknesses before they charged ahead.
Unfortunately, the forest blocked his sight, and he couldn’t pinpoint The Calamity. He could tell, however, that the forest island was merely an extension of The Calamity. The Calamity wasn’t the entire island.
"Makrost, Dala, you’re on standby."
The party’s shieldbearer and spear-wielder raised their weapons and were ready to respond to whatever might happen.
"Eris, Refina, Ironblood, we will blow the island to pieces. After that, we’ll take a breather, if possible, before looking for The Calamity. Don’t hold back."
The Hero took the lead and started shaping magic circles in front of his sword as he charged it with mana. The others nodded in acknowledgment before preparing their own means of attack.
Erismille de Vantanel, the party’s Saintess and healer, didn’t just heal or pray for their success. She buffed her teammates before praying to the God of Earth, Naraka. She borrowed her God’s power and raised walls of dirt from below the ocean and erected a three-sided barrier around The Calamity’s island, leaving only the side facing them open.
Refina Rundel, the archmage and an unprecedented magic genius, filled the air around and above them with multi-layered and multi-dimensional magic circles and magic constructs. It wasn’t often that The Hero said she didn’t have to hold back since they usually had to worry about their surroundings when they fought.
She was going all out.
Hantar Ironblood, the dwarf craftsman, gunner, and explosives expert, pulled a set of mortar launchers out of his Inventory, which he filled with hard metal balls filled with explosives. He lit them up.
Together, in perfect synchronization that highlighted The Hero’s party’s ability to cooperate and their history of fighting alongside each other, the varied attacks sailed, pierced, flew, tumbled, and burned through the air toward the island.
Refina’s onslaught of magic turned the air into a dazzling piece of modern art that exploded with color and power.
Hantar’s explosives bathed the forest in a green inferno.
The Hero’s power concentrated into a laser as thick as a tree and pierced through the forest before hitting Eris’ wall on the other side, where it stopped dead in its tracks.
The power and aftershock from The Hero’s laser, just like the other attacks, reverberated and bounced around inside Eris’ walls, concentrating all of the attacks on the forest, not letting a single spark hit the water.
Refina conjured a gust of wind to blow away the dust and smoke.
"Seems like there won’t be an opportunity to rest."
The forest was already recovering from the seemingly little damage they had done.
"Arrow-tactic. We go fast and hard until we find The Calamity. When we do, Eris, Refina, and Hantar will try to isolate it while I, Dala, and Makrost fight it."
The Hero’s party nodded, and Refina pushed the sheet of ice forward with enough speed to create waves in their wake. She pushed and pushed until they arrived.
The Hero slashed wide with his sword and opened a path for them to charge through.
The forest tried to halt their advance, but The Hero’s Evil-Slaying Sword cut through the dark-brown, otherworldly branches and roots with ease.
The Hero’s companions only focused on keeping up with The Hero as he cleared a path through the forest toward its center. After all, compared to The Hero, they were a little lacking.
They weren’t so bad as to have to sit out in the battle all his training had culminated in. But when The Hero alone was enough to do something, they shouldn’t even think about wasting their strength.
The Hero led the way through the forest like a mad bull with his sword, razing the forest to the ground everywhere he went. He scanned the surroundings with glowing eyes to pinpoint The Calamity’s location.
It wasn’t exactly a mystery or a secret that The Calamity was most likely a tree or a tree-like being. Looking for a tree in a forest wasn’t much different from looking for a straw of hay in a haystack.
But The Calamity’s power rippled through the forest like the tremors of a cobweb.
It was just that the position between the fly and the spider was reversed in this play.
The Hero was the fly hunting the spider, and The Calamity was the spider trying to hunt the fly.
With The Hero’s senses and skills, he tracked The Calamity’s power to its source. He signaled his party with a hand gesture before throwing himself at a specific tree, his sword eliciting whining sounds from the air it cut.
The Hero lashed out with his Evil-Slaying Sword.
For the first time since he picked up the sword, something was capable of halting its advance.
