Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 299 - 297

The situation was unfolding exactly as Suho and Woo Jinchul predicted.

Ratatatatat!

"Target acquired!"

A helicopter pilot shouted. A squadron of choppers carrying the French special forces was heading towards the area where Elvenwood was discovered.

[This is headquarters. Commence attack immediately.]

"Understood!"

SWOOSH—

Missiles were launched. They flew straight towards the giant tree and hit the trunk of Elvenwood.

Kaboom—!

"Direct hit!"

A part of Elvenwood exploded. After the Apostle of Paradise died, they no longer had the power to resist. It wouldn't have been like this originally. Elvenwood used to be the divine tree of the elves, a monstrous tree that raised and devoured elves throughout its long history. But the Elvenwood that sprouted on Earth was a little different. It was, 'contaminated' by the mana of the outer universe, a mutant sprouted by the Apostle of Paradise. When he died, the masterless monstrous trees were completely lost, not knowing who to attack, raise, and devour. That was the result they were seeing now.

Crash—!

"Another hit! There's no response from the tree!"

Numerous fighter jets continued to attack the monstrous tree that suddenly appeared in France. The missiles they fired weren't ordinary. They were ordnance specially crafted with dungeon magic stones and magic crystals. These missiles were explosives capable of inflicting significant damage even on magical beasts. Of course, the production cost of each one was absurdly high... But look. It was worth investing that much money in research.

Rumble—!

The sound of the monstrous tree collapsing from the explosions was as terrifying as the roar of a monster. The helicopter pilot, who came here with a tense face, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Haa. It was easier than I thoug..." But...

It was too early to relax.

"D-danger! 12 o'clock!"

The helicopter pilot jerked the stick sharply. Hundreds of magical beasts suddenly emerged from the collapsed trees. They were the beings that were hiding inside Elvenwood.

Kraaaaaaaaaaa—!

Winged magical beasts charged towards the helicopter.

Thud—!

One crashed into the propeller. The helicopter lost its balance and shook.

"Damn it!"

Following that, numerous figures poured out from the ground and attacked them. They were the villains who were hiding in Elvenwood.

"Headquarters! This isn't just a simple tree! It's an enemy base!"

– All units, immediately commence joint operations with the ground forces!

The battle intensified. Elvenwood collapsed easily, but the beings hidden inside weren't pushovers. Similar things were happening all over the world.

* * *

The United States.

The USA mobilized strategic bombers to destroy Elvenwood, but the situation quickly turned into chaos due to the magical beasts and villains that emerged. The soldiers couldn't help but panic at the unexpected turn of events.

"...Don't tell me we poked a beehive that was quietly hidden?" It was a moment of self-doubt, wondering if they had done something reckless. But...

Kaboom—!

Suddenly, with a giant explosion, the magical beasts and villains pouring out of Elvenwood were swept away like by a wave. And...

"What nonsense? Of course, it's right to find and kill them all before the vermin multiply."

"...?!"

The man who swept away all the enemies in the area with a single blow chuckled mischievously. The soldiers' eyes widened as they saw him.

"It's Thomas Andre!"

"I heard he was arrested for murder...!"

"Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

A veteran with white hair. The muscular old man, his white hair like a lion's mane fluttering, stood with his giant fist raised. Wearing shorts and sunglasses as if he was on vacation.

"W-we're saved!" The surprise was short-lived, and sighs of relief erupted from the soldiers at Thomas Andre's appearance.

Thomas Andre!

His bulging muscles and the magic power blazing from his body, which would be terrifying if he was an enemy, were incredibly reassuring when he was on their side. Recently, he was a prisoner who was arrested by the Hunter Bureau for murdering Christopher Reed, an S-rank Hunter of the United States. But for some reason, Thomas Andre, who should have been imprisoned, appeared with the Hunters of the Bureau.

"Master! We've taken care of the other side as well!" He even brought all his Scavenger Guild members!

* * *

China.

Although China was rapidly taking control of the situation under Liu Zhigang's leadership, they were struggling because there were more Elvenwoods than in other countries. The area was a super-large field bordering North Korea and Russia, a giant apocalypse that they had already half-given up on and left alone. But with the sudden appearance of Elvenwoods, they could no longer just watch. Thanks to the information coming in from all over the world, they learned that those trees were 'beehives'. A den where countless villains and magical beasts were hiding was a ticking time bomb; they didn't know what would happen if they left it alone.

* * *

Inside the Kremlin, Russia

As the military and Hunters fought desperately against the Elvenwoods that appeared all over the world,

"...Interesting."

Yuri Orlov was leisurely sitting in front of a monitor, watching the chaos. Everything he had hidden in the Elvenwoods in various parts of the world was being revealed.

"The Apostle of Paradise, to think that weed-like bastard actually died." Looking at the situation, there was no need for him to check personally. The Apostle of Paradise was dead, and this was the result.

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"Hmm. Then the perception-impairing effect I placed on our country must have disappeared as well. This is quite troublesome." Yuri Orlov stroked his chin with a troubled expression.

He didn't feel any sadness over the death of the Apostle of Paradise, who had been cooperating with him. Rather, he clicked his tongue, thinking he was a pathetic guy who died in vain in a foreign land after acting all high and mighty. Even though the Elvenwoods he was growing in various parts of the world were suddenly revealed, the fruits harvested from those places were already Russia's assets. However, the future was the problem.

"If this happens, 'they' will start to move as well."

The apostles of Itarim. Although he called them that for convenience, strictly speaking, they were 'apostles of the Itarim-s.' Since the gods they served were all different, they were also in a relationship of checking on and competing with each other, despite all being invaders of Earth. And from now on, they would inevitably flock to Russia, China, and North Korea. To seize the achievements he and the Apostle of Paradise had made. To take the fruits of the masterless Elvenwoods. And...

"No, wait." A cold smile appeared on Yuri Orlov's lips as he pondered.

The dead were dead, And shouldn't humans play with humans? Perhaps those from other countries had already realized that Russia was behind the Apostle of Paradise. Although it would be difficult to present evidence, After considering all possibilities, Yuri Orlov drained his red wine and got up.

Clink!

"Since things have come to this, shall we make some new friends?"

* * *

Suho relentlessly moved forward. The masterless flowerpots crumbled helplessly before his army. He uprooted all those trees and put them into the shadow dungeon.

[Kieek! I can see your hands! Can't you work faster?! We need to process the lumber quickly and send it to the Sea of The Afterlife!] Beru went back and forth between the shadow dungeon and the real world, handing over the Elvenwoods to the shadow dwarves. Who cheered at the sudden influx of work.

[Kyahaha! To think we would see so many of the legendary divine trees of the elves, which we never even glimpsed in our lives!]

[Just who raised so many of these precious trees?!]

[Who was it? I think it was the Apostle of Paradise?]

[Apostle of Paradise? What a talented guy! If he wasn't an otherworldly bastard, I would have captured him and made him plant trees for the rest of his life!]

The shadow dwarves smacked their lips, knowing that the Apostle of Paradise with such demonic talent was already dead. But it was only for a moment.

[Wh-what? Why are they still coming in?]

[There's no end!]

[There were... this many Elvenwoods?!]

The shadow dwarves let out happy sighs at the endless supply of materials coming into the shadow dungeon. And they began to move their hands quickly under Beru's harsh whipping. Their longing for the Apostle of Paradise was long gone. They were already short-handed just by processing the trees he had already grown. Most of their fellow dwarves were already wandering the Sea of The Afterlife, leaving only a minimal number of workers in the shadow dungeon.

[Oh no! Master is cutting down trees faster and faster! We can't fall behind!]

[Heave-ho!]

Just like that, the Elvenwood logs they diligently processed were transformed one by one into keels for warships in the Sea of The Afterlife. And as soon as they were finished, Harmakan transferred them to the Sea of The Afterlife through the 'Hell Gate'.

[Wh-what? What are these all of the sudden?!]

Now it was the demons and dwarves in the Sea of The Afterlife who were surprised. Keels made of Elvenwood, which they used to be grateful for even one, were endlessly coming in! The King of Demons, the Monarch of Gluttony Esil, who was always on the ship with the best keel, quickly switched to the ship with a keel made of 'Alfheim,' the largest and thickest among all the trees.

Waaaaaaaaaa—!

The shadow dwarves who were with Esil were suddenly excited and began to expand the giant ship around Alfheim at a terrifying speed. The keel was the most important pillar of a ship. With this Alfheim, they would be able to build a warship far larger and stronger than they could ever imagine. Of course, a vessel wasn't completed with just a keel. They needed a tremendous amount of auxiliary materials to match the level of that foundation. But they were going to procure those locally, weren't they?

[Kyahaha! Come as much as you want! You scraps of the afterlife!]

The weeds of the afterlife, who had been preying on the demons that entered the Sea of The Afterlife, were now being hunted. They were caught and turned into materials for Alfheim.

[Demon King's Warship, Alfheim]

And in a place no one knew, the legend began to spread through the Sea of The Afterlife.