An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

Lutilis turned around and looked at Meredith, who understood her thoughts perfectly and nodded in response.

"Ao, Xiaoban, I'm leaving the battlefield to you."

“Deal with the apostles and not us?”

"Without the fog barrier, we can't leave the Knights alone. And anyway, we can't fight the apostle in the important place of the tree. We will try to throw her outside."

Of course, the key lies in Nizu.

"Sister Mei'er is coming too."

"understood."

"Xiao Liu, help us lead the way!"

"Understood. Let's head to the throne room."

"Xiao Nai, time is precious, take us there."

"Understood."

Meredith and the others touched each other with Natsu at the center. Before moving, Meredith once again looked at Oscar and Bandu.

"I'm counting on you two."

"Leave it to us."

"You guys should be careful. Don't be careless."

The three men showed arrogant expressions, and two big fists and a small fist bumped against each other.

Then, Meredi and the others disappeared. Seeing them leave, Bandu instantly transformed into an ice dragon. Oscar leaped onto the ice dragon's back without hesitation and soared into the sky above the forest.

Looking from a distance, one could see the enemy army coming like a tide, and there were countless black spots in the sky. Those were the White Light Knights and Beast Light Knights flying in the air.

You can also see the entire group of warriors marching out from the edge of the forest. Even if they hide in the forest to defend, without the fog barrier, they will only be subject to the concentrated fire of magic attacks from outside.

Therefore, the correct answer is to strike first. Force the opponent into a melee, and if possible, drag them out of the forest.

This would undoubtedly be a life-or-death battle. The only difficulty in the battle was its extreme, and success depended on how well they could withstand the ferocious "white light" and "beast light."

"Okay, Bandu, your opponent is the world's top beast tamer. What are your chances of winning?"

"Who are you talking to? I'm the world's strongest beast tamer. I'm asking you, do you have a chance of winning against the church's strongest knights?"

"I'll try to deal with it, because those people are just the appetizer. The flavor of the main course is incredibly strong."

"Then finish your appetizer quickly."

"Don't let me see you embarrassed, fake artist."

"That's my line, Smelly Glasses."

Faced with the most dangerous battlefield, the two incompatible people made fun of each other and then laughed.

Bandu let out a dragon's roar.

As if responding to him, the flying dragons led by Uruluk, who were scattered throughout the forest, also took flight. Simultaneously, among the trees in the forest, a pack of giant silver wolves could be seen sprinting—the demon wolf troop led by Kuo.

Uruluk flew alongside Bandu, and a large number of slimes leaped from its back. These slimes joined with Bartram's main body on Bandu's back, trembling with fighting spirit.

The orc warriors roared in unison, shaking the atmosphere.

Despite facing a crisis, they are full of fighting spirit and momentum.

Oscar's fighting spirit was high. He used the telescopic function of his black glasses to capture the figure of Ross Byrne. He stared at him with a gaze that seemed to penetrate steel and said forcefully:

"I will show you the hope that Meredith and we bring."

——For our beloved leader.

In order to reach the heart of the tree, Meredi and others first prepared to move to the throne room.

However, although Miledi and others were anxious, they encountered setbacks when they set out.

“Hmm!?”

"Xiao Nai!?"

Their perspective shifted, and where the throne should have been, they saw a wall of trees instead. They had moved to the base of a large tree. Looking behind them, the unusual changes in the tree seemed to have caused panic among the people, who fled in all directions, and the chaotic noise could be heard even here.

Natsu thought it was a mis-transfer and was about to transfer again, but—

"It bounced back."

"!... This is probably the tree's defensive ability. Any interference from the outside will be repelled."

A power that even the Age of Gods magicians couldn't interfere with. So that's why Lutilis said an apostle couldn't possibly invade.

"...No, it seems my power is also greatly limited."

Although he communicated with the tree, he was unable to remove the ability to prevent interference, which meant that the tree was in a very dangerous situation.

As if to prove this, the tree, which had already been emitting magical energy in waves like a pulse, shaking the ground with deafening noises, now showed strange changes.

"Ah... Why is it like this... The leaves of the big tree..."

The leaves, once so vibrant and green, were now falling one by one. The tree itself was gradually losing its color and even vibrating violently vertically.

Meredi and the other city dwellers cried out and fell to the ground. A shockwave, incomparable to the previous earthquake, erupted, shaking the earth.

And then... accompanied by a violent rumbling, the tree began to sink. Slowly, but cracks appeared in the ground, and it sank steadily.

"Xiaoliu, can you use the Guardian Staff to go directly to the 'key point'?!"

"no."

Even those chosen by the Guardian Wand must follow a designated route to enter the heart of the tree, because that route is sealed, and the key to unlocking it is the Guardian Wand.

"Got it, let's go!"

Without even a moment to regret, Meredith used gravity magic to bring everyone down with her. She was careful not to get too close to the trees, dodging falling leaves as she headed for the throne room.

"Your Majesty! Are you alright!?"

The one who came to greet him on the balcony was the Vizier Pasha, who quickly gave instructions to his subordinates.

As soon as they landed, Lutilis led the way, running towards the throne, while giving instructions to the Pasha Vizier who was walking alongside them.

"I have no problem. The key point of the tree is under attack, and the fog barrier cannot be deployed for the time being. Pasha, evacuate the people to the east as soon as possible!"

"It has already begun. I was considering having Your Majesty announce it to the people, but it seems we don't have the luxury. Can I assume we are abandoning the city?"

"Pasha, I leave the evacuation to you. While I'm away on the battlefield, you will act as queen and protect the people."

"As you command, I wish you good fortune in your military career—Ryu, be safe and sound."

"Okay, Pasha, be careful too."

Finally, the two of them stared at each other with the expression of grandmother and granddaughter. The Vizier Pasha paused and turned swiftly. As they passed, she caught the eyes of Meredith and the others. They understood and nodded, promising to protect Lutilis.

Arriving at the throne, Lutilis waved her protective staff with great concentration. The woven branches of the throne gradually unraveled, transforming into a crest resembling an upside-down tree. Then, a hole opened in the ground, revealing a spiral staircase leading downwards. The central cavity was bottomless.

"Time is precious. As long as we don't interfere with the tree, there shouldn't be any problems. Meredith, please."

"Okay! Let's go."

The four of them dropped from the central hole in one breath, not using the spiral staircase. Although they reached the bottom in an instant, when Meredy used gravity magic to slow them down, Lutilis waved her protective staff in the air, wanting to save time before landing.

With this, the ground seemed to unravel once more, creating a hole and opening a passage further underground. Lutilis repeated this process five times, and without landing once, the group arrived at a small space approximately three hundred meters underground.

It was clearly coming from inside the big tree, but that place was formed by black ore and extremely thick tree roots entangled with the ore.

"This... I've seen Ao use it. This is probably Azantium Ore, right?"

"The world's strongest ore."

"Yes, but the color is a bit strange... This feeling... I think a lot of it is mixed with the seal stones I often saw at the Lazen family."

The tree's roots seemed to be grasping something, blocking the path to the strategic point. That something seemed to be a mineral wall of supreme strength, both physically and magically. The roots themselves emanated a mysterious power, and combined with the mineral, it must have exerted an exceptionally strong defensive power.

"Mi-chan, Natsu-chan, there's someone there."

"I know."

Mei'er broke out in sweat on her forehead. She looked behind the wall in front of her where the small emblem of a fallen tree was engraved. Even through the strong wall, she could feel that there was a terrifying existence behind the wall, and unimaginable power was constantly overflowing.

"It's about to open! Be prepared!"

As if speaking to herself, Lutilis, also sweating profusely, released the final seal.

There was a loud bang, and the ore door slid open to both sides.

What instantly overflowed was an extremely strong "silver light" that gave the illusion of burning the eyes, and a powerful pressure that even shocked people.

It wouldn't be surprising for a normal person to have lost consciousness by this point. Protecting their faces with their arms, Meredith and the others charged into the storm beyond common sense.

Then, they met again.

"Are you here?"

The silver Valkyrie, the Church's trump card—the Apostle of God. Her beauty remains unearthly, but her eyes hold only emptiness, a beauty truly inhuman.

The silver wings and silver dress armor fluttered, and she waved her hand gracefully. The silver light that originally filled the space immediately dissipated, and only then could her full appearance be seen clearly.

This was a dome-shaped space of modest size. The surrounding walls, like the door, appeared to be a composite metal of Azantium ore and seal stone. Thick tree roots stretched out from all directions, filling the entire space. Because these roots were also mixed with the same dark glow as the walls, they looked like strong roots fused with the composite metal.

However, if there were no one holding a guard staff to clear the way, no matter how many people there were, they would not be able to enter the center. However, now it was full of holes, collapses, and fractures, a horrific sight.

The center was exposed, and beside the apostle, there was a cocoon like a tree root, from which a faint light leaked. Through the gap, a mysterious sapling with a faint phosphorescent glow could be seen.

That must be the heart of the great tree, the core of the forest. Its light flickered faintly at times because it was truly just one step away. Since the sapling had emerged, it must have been using its magical defenses as a last bastion, just as it had deflected Natsu's spatial magic, to fend off the enemy's invasion.

Meredith's gaze shifted to the attacker—the apostle. Behind him, a hole opened in the wall.

"I see... You sneaked in from underground. It's a cliché, but it's a blind spot. Even the edge of the battlefield plain, over ten kilometers from here, we didn't even notice it... No, I see. That's why we launched this desperate assault."

Although his expression did not change, the apostle's eyes seemed to say "correct answer".

Because Meredith and the others were distracted by the frenzied battlefield, and the incident took place hundreds of meters underground, it was quite normal for her to remain undetected even if she unleashed the apostle's magic. However, there was still something puzzling.

Seeing the weakened sapling, Lutilis said with a sorrowful expression:

"There's a massive tree with tangled roots right below the city. If I damage the roots, I'm sure I'll notice."

"Yes, it's not that hard, but it's a rather troublesome project."

"You mean it's just a troublesome project?"

As long as they reach the outer edge of the capital's underground, they will have to dodge thousands of tree roots while using minimal magic power to avoid detection and dig all the way to the key point of the tree.

Yet, for this apostle, it was merely a nuisance, a truly bizarre phenomenon. Furthermore, the tree's defenses could deflect even Age of God magic, yet she was able to easily penetrate them. That was unimaginable destructive power.

"How could there be such power..."

Lutilis shuddered. Such magic didn't exist in the existing magic world, and none of the magicians present at the Age of Gods could pull it off. Whether it was Meredy and Natsu, the former apostles of the dead war god who knew the opponent's abilities, or Mer, they all shuddered, speechless.

"This is what the Lord desires, so there is no such thing as 'impossible'."

She suddenly raised her hand.

“And the Lord wants to see.”

Beautiful silver light gathered in her hands.

"—'Miledy Rasen, will people still gather after you die?'"

Natsu and Mei's hair stood on end, and both of their minds flashed back to what happened in the Andika Sealing Hall.

Silver light pierced through the island's underground space. Because the Apostle of God had been lurking for a long time, and seemed to have made many preparations to revive the mythical beast Leviathan, I originally thought it was just a secret passage leading to the seaside, but...

What if that wasn't a secret passage, but was actually magic powerful enough to penetrate the island's underground?

A strong premonition of death ran through his body, and in an instant a flash of light was emitted.

The target is --Milledi.

"I won't let you destroy 『Absolute Disaster』 again!!"

If she dodges, this important part will be destroyed, so it is inevitable that Miledi will want to take the attack.

"No, Xiaomi! Get out of the way!"

"hateful!"

With a popping sound, a sound that almost made one feel stupid, Meredith's "Absolute Disaster," which had previously been able to absorb any attack, was easily destroyed as if it were a malicious joke. There was also the sound of the entire wall behind Meredith disappearing.

Natsu appeared a little further away, holding onto Meredith with one hand. She barely escaped the ray.