Chapter 560
Chapter 560
Chapter 560: Cutting the Tree Down
It’s been two days since I tried to cut the tree down, but it still hasn’t fallen yet!
When I tried to cut it down with one swing, I failed. And when I tried to use consecutive slashes, it recovered itself before I can cut it down! Even when I chipped the trunk down to just a few centimeters, the tree would recover itself before I could cut it down!
I failed. And those who are bored are already returned either with my portals or riding on Spot’s back.
And since it might take a while until I can cut the tree down, I had Sonia and Spot to look for other traces of Aura users of the past.
Albert also has returned to do his duty in the palace. And now that he has introduced Lana to the world as his daughter, he will be busier with a lot of questions from other nobles or even the citizens.
More importantly, they would ask why he would keep the fact that the kingdom is hostile to the cult as secret. But it was not a secret at all. Shirley has spread it to the people back after we cleared the stampede in Melk. The rumors have been spread, but many people didn’t believe it.
And now that they know that even the king himself hid the existence of his own daughter from public, they slowly recognize the danger of the situation. Now they know why there are many nobles suddenly disappeared.
.....
Well, that’s politic. He needs to gain as many allies from the nobles and the citizens. I can’t do that, so I will leave it to him.
Anyway, it’s time to cut the tree down again.
“Victoria, an axe this time,” I said.
“You gave up on using sword? Well, it’s a tree so an axe is a better choice,” Victoria replied as she turned into a huge axe.
As I swung the axe to the tree, Victoria also adjusted her weight so the slash should be stronger. But the result is the same whether I cut it once or multiple times.
“Just what the heck is wrong with this tree!?” I shouted.
Even a huge axe doesn’t work. What should I do?
“Well, it’s a tree. How about we ask an elf about it. The queen should know something about it,” Victoria said.
“Ah, right! Is Lina still here?”
I was about to use Divine Vision to look for Lina, but I suddenly feel her presence behind me.
“Whoa! You surprise me there! Since when were you here?” I asked Lina who appears suddenly like a ghost. Even more hidden than a ghost.
“Since a while ago, Master. I’ll summon Elestias right away,” Lina said.
And soon after, a beautiful elf was summoned in front of us. Her name is Tia. At least I called her that way. And it’s a rare occurrence of me to remember someone’s name. Especially since we haven’t met for a while.
“What kind I do for you?” Tia asked.
“Can you tell me something about this tree? It’s a weird tree that absorb my Aura and can regenerate itself.”
Tia then looked around at the tree. Not just the trunk. She also checked the branches, leaves, roots, and even the soil. She’s a tree doctor.
After a while, she then touched the tree and she even talked to it in a language I don’t know. Is that tree language? She’s a tree whisperer as well?
“Hmm... I see. This tree was just an ordinary tree until someone modified it with a power I don’t know. It must be the Aura that Master Roy can use,” Tia said.
“Yeah, that’s what we assumed as well. Anything else?” I asked.
“This tree has the power to regenerate itself when it receive damage. And it can retain its form for a long time. No growth even after thousands of years,” Tia said.
“That’s all? I need to cut down this tree to reveal its secret. Anything else you know? Like its weakness?”
“The tree is very strong and has quick regeneration rate. I don’t know if this can be called as weakness or not, but as it grows from the root, the tree’s regeneration is faster the closer you attack from the bottom part. Maybe it will help,” Tia said.
It’s fast in the bottom and the higher my attack, the slower its regeneration is. I think that helps.
I have been using brute force from the start. Now, I need some strategy. But I need to learn more about the speed of its regeneration.
“Victoria, give me four Blobbies. Turn them into axes,” I said.
“Four?”
“One for each gap between my fingers in one hand,” I said as I grabbed the Blobbyaxes all in my right hand.
I covered them all with Aura, and then I attacked the tree with full strength.
All four axes stuck quite deep into the trunk. And I left the axes there as I wait for a while.
Soon after, the tree started regenerating. And the axe got pushed away and fall one by one to the ground from the bottom. Even though the gap isn’t large between the axes, I can tell.
“I see. The regeneration is really faster the lower it receives damage. Let’s have another experiment.
This time, I used the four axes again to hit the tree quite high above. And then, as soon as the four axes stuck on the tree, I transformed Victoria into a huge axe, and start striking the tree below the four axes as the marks.
I keep striking at the tree until I see a sign of regeneration. And soon enough, I can see the result.
While the axes above my the area I hit are still stuck, the place I hit started regenerating. Tia’s explanation was correct. Not that I doubted her. I just want to see it for myself.
“So, you have a new strategy?” Victoria asked.
“Give me four more Blobbyaxes. I will then stick all eight axes on the bottom part, and then I will strike the middle part continuously with the huge axe. I will also use my Divine Vision to look below as well. If I see the axes that got stuck started to get pushed, I will strike those axes first before I continue slashing the tree. Simple,” I said.
“It does sound simple. But only you can do it. It has just been a few days since you tried cutting this tree down, but you already prepared a strategy. Even my master who have been trying to do it for years failed. At least back before I left the dojo,” Victoria said.
“You sure your master is not just muscle-headed?” I asked.
“If he’s a muscle-head, neither Sonia nor I would respect him even if he’s my master. But at least you are smarter than my master. Still, he has better memory than you. He could even remember the name of someone he just met,” Victoria ridiculed me.
Let’s try it. This time, I’m confident I can cut this tree down. I hope the reward will be worth it.
I stuck all eight axes on the bottom part of the tree, so close to the roots, and I quickly swung Victoriaxe on the tree as strong and as fast as possible.
After the fourth hit, I can see the axes at the bottom started to get pushed back. So, I strike the axes at the bottom one by one with Victoriaxe before I return to hit the middle part of the tree.
The part that I hit still hasn’t regenerated. Which is a good news.
Although the axes at the bottom is being pushed back again after I struck them, I quickly returned to hit the middle part of the tree.
The closer I got to the center, the harder the tree is. And before I can cut it down completely, the axes at the bottom is being pushed back so I need to put them back again.
Finally, my last slash. I used all my Aura and will on the last slash as it started to regenerate since the axes at the bottom have all fallen.
“RAAARGH!!”
The axe sliced through the tree. The tree falls down with a loud sound and alerted everyone who are still here. Though good thing Veronica is still here since she blocked all the sound from being heard outside the mansion.
Everyone then quickly come over to see what’s going on. And they see that the tree that has been causing me trouble is finally falling down.
“I did it!”
“Congratulations, Master,” Lina praised me. Which is the opposite of our usual roles.
And then, something happened.
The tree that has been cut is disappearing. Not just the part that I cut, even the bottom as well. Including the roots!
“No! My anti-magic material!”
“Roy! Quickly pour your Aura to the tree! See if you can save even a little bit of material!” Victoria shouted.
I grabbed the part that was cut down, and pour my Aura inside hoping that I can save at least a little bit. But it doesn’t work. The tree still disappearing.
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“No! You goddamned, fricking,...”
Here comes my several minutes of curses that no minors should hear. Good thing there are no more children here.