The Adventures of an Overpowered Knight in Another World Chapter 610- Revival of the World Tree & Aurelian (9)

"I shall return. And when I do, I will consume that girl and you. The sapling of the World Tree will be defiled, and this world will forever lose it."

"Are you finished speaking?" Reinhardt abruptly cut in.

At this juncture, the surrounding atmosphere had grown exceedingly heavy and suffocating, becoming nearly unbearable.

Reinhardt harbored a deep loathing, an abhorrence, for beings of their nature. How could he possibly stand by and endure this wretch's incessant boasting?

No, that was simply not how he operated.

The sole reason he had lingered was his attempt to meticulously pinpoint the location of this adversary.

The entity was attempting to project its power throughout this ethereal dimension, disseminating its presence. Even its voice seemed to emanate from everywhere at once.

However, could such rudimentary stratagems possibly evade his perception?

Before long, Reinhardt had successfully identified the hiding spot of this fiend by employing his [Eyes of Divine Clarity].

Still, the protracted ordeal of listening to its endless diatribe had nearly driven him to the brink of madness.

Its pronouncements might have held sway over others. But who was Reinhardt, truly?

Possessing numerous Divine Traits, his mental fortitude was of a caliber that could not be easily shaken. At a certain point, Reinhardt even began to tune it out, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. Shortly thereafter, his lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

He had found it.

The source.

The precise locus from which the corruption was seeping into this spiritual plane. A subtle fissure in the very fabric of existence, concealed deep beneath the intricate network of roots.

"You've been talking so much... I'm nearly falling asleep."

Reinhardt stretched with a pronounced yawn.

His action instantly silenced the entity, plunging the surroundings into a brief, profound stillness.

Yet, the quietude was short-lived.

The corruption intensified, and the entity's booming voice resurfaced. Though no overt anger was conveyed, its irritation towards Reinhardt was palpable.

"Revel in your arrogance while you still can, human," the voice derided, a hint of a sneer in its tone. "When your sacred field dissipates, I shall be the one left triumphant."

As if to punctuate its threat, the corruption surged, attempting to breach the [Divine Sanctum], but was promptly repelled.

Observing this display, Reinhardt tilted his head, a playful smirk gracing his features.

"Is that so? And who informed you that you would live to see that day?"

His golden eyes blazed with a chilling, unyielding luminescence.

"I believe you've misunderstood something fundamental."

With those words, Reinhardt stepped deliberately out of the protective confines of the [Divine Sanctum].

The entity faltered for a moment in stunned disbelief, only to become visibly agitated the subsequent second.

"Hmph! It seems your prolonged existence has made you humans forget the fear we inspire. Very well, I shall demonstrate the utter insignificance of your being in our eyes. Since you utter such bold pronouncements, I shall consume you first!"

The instant Reinhardt crossed the threshold, the encroaching darkness reacted with violent ferocity.

Like famished predators sighting exposed flesh, the corruption erupted from all sides, surging like a torrent of dread and despair, endeavoring to overwhelm Reinhardt.

However, mere meters from engulfing him, the onslaught halted abruptly.

The scene resembled a paused film, the motion frozen mid-action.

Then, without even making contact, the darkness began to disintegrate, vanishing into nothingness.

There was no struggle, no resistance. The moment it drew near, it was simply erased from existence. Wisps of white smoke ascended into the air like dispersed mist, forming a spectral cloak around him.

This ethereal vapor, composed of countless minute light particles, was merely a byproduct of his Divine Mana inadvertently seeping outwards.

Under normal circumstances, Reinhardt would meticulously suppress the outward leakage of his attributes, particularly his formidable mana.

After all, failing to do so would transform him into a human inferno, causing unintended disruptions wherever he ventured.

Yet, on this occasion, he made absolutely no effort to contain his power.

And the outcome was unequivocally absolute.

Every tendril of corruption that drew near him dissolved instantly, obliterated before it could even brush against his person.

Within the suffocating gloom of this blighted realm, Reinhardt stood like a resplendent star.

A human sun, radiating unparalleled power.

The corruption recoiled in sheer terror, a palpable wave of fear emanating from it.

This astonishing spectacle caused the darkness to cease its advance, and for the first time, a trace of apprehension colored the entity's voice.

"What are you?"

Even in ages past, no human had ever exhibited such a presence.

One capable of instilling even him with a flicker of genuine fear.

The entity had erroneously assumed that the Holy Field, known as [Divine Sanctum], represented the human's ultimate trump card. His paramount skill. A logical deduction, given the skill's extraordinary potency.

However, that assumption could not have been further from the truth.

Powerful, undeniably. But [Divine Sanctum] was merely one of Reinhardt's standard abilities. Moreover, his arsenal contained skills far exceeding its might.

Consequently, judging Reinhardt solely by his [Divine Sanctum] had been a critical miscalculation on the entity's part.

The corruption writhed, sensing a shift in the balance of power.

Because in that precise moment, it grasped a terrifying realization.

The human standing before it was not relying on the power of the Divine Sanctum to fight. He himself was power, the very embodiment of divine force.

The parasite realized that it had made a grave mistake.

It should never have revealed itself to this human.

However, it was far too late.

Reinhardt moved, vanishing from his position.

The next instant, he was already upon the tear in space.

Reinhardt extended his hands, ripping the tear open.

.

.

.

Far from Snowpoint City, and distant from the spiritual space where the World Tree was growing, in some forgotten corner of the world, a devastating war—the likes of which the continent of Valdonia had not witnessed since the Ancient Era—was raging on.

A war of extinction.

The battlefield spanned shattered plains scarred with enormous craters and scorched earth.

Smoke billowed in endless plumes. Explosions thundered like collapsing mountains. Every second, a life would perish here, dying miserably until not even their bones remained.

Yet despite the cruel atmosphere of the battlefield, more and more lives stood in the place of the fallen, attempting to halt the incoming onslaught, disregarding their own lives.

That said, what made this battlefield truly peculiar were its participants.

Unlike the current battles in Valdonia, where humans fought against demons or members of their own race, the participants of this battlefield were different in that they were not exclusively human.

Humans, demi-humans, and the living races of this world could all be seen participating in this war.

Humans fought shoulder to shoulder with elves. Dwarves roared beside Centaurs, and Therianthropes leaped across the battlefield.

Beastmen, giants, and other rare races—beings most people would never encounter even once in their lifetime—were everywhere.

Normally, such races rarely gathered in the same place, and even if they did, conflict stemming from differing interests was inevitable.

However, at this moment, they had all cast aside their differences and fought as one.

A scene that could not be witnessed in the current age of Valdonia.

Yet such a scene was unfolding in this place.

What’s more, for such unity to be displayed by members of disparate races, it could be seen how dire their circumstances were.

This begged the question: who were they fighting against?

Who could possibly push all the races of the world to the brink, forcing them to stand united?

The answer was something else entirely.

A loud mechanical humming sound echoed across the battlefield.

Then, BANG...

From the smoke emerged numerous towering silhouettes. They possessed unnatural forms and came in all sizes and shapes.

When the dust settled, their forms could finally be discerned.

Constructs.

However, they were not mere ordinary constructs. They were far more sinister and advanced.

Their bodies resembled enormous beasts forged from black iron and bone-like metal plates. Some strode on four razor-jointed legs like monstrous predators. Others towered like titans with multiple rotating limbs.

Crimson light shone from what appeared to be their eye sockets, and dense demonic energy exuded from their exhaust pipes, casting a dark pall over the very land and sky.

It was not just their appearance that was extreme, but their capabilities as well.

Every time a massive construct slammed its clawed limb into the ground, the impact shattered the earth and hurled dozens of soldiers into the air.

Another opened its rib-like chest plates, revealing a core of swirling crimson energy. The core reached a critical threshold and then fired.

A beam of corrupted plasma tore across the battlefield, reducing an entire formation of warriors to ash.

It wasn't just the towering constructs, either. Even the smaller machines posed no less of a threat.

Swarms upon swarms of spider-like drones crawled across the battlefield, devouring anything living. Some machines flew through the sky, some strode across the ground, and others moved beneath it.

A hell on earth.

Against such an army, the united races fought with every last bit of their strength.

Each race contributed its unique strengths and technologies to hold the line. However, in the face of the mechanical army of doom, it simply wasn't enough.

For every construct they painstakingly destroyed, two more emerged from the black horizon. It felt as if the battlefield was drowning in steel and demonic energy.

And the Allied forces were losing.