"So my son’s killer is here."

A heavy, deep, and calm voice echoed throughout the forest, but that voice was less like a human speaking and more like the distant rumble of a collapsing mountain.

At that moment, space changed.

Not just mana, not just the circulating air, but nature itself reacted. The massive branches of the forest trees bent with a dry sound, as if an invisible weight had fallen on them. The ground beneath the cursed tree’s roots trembled slightly, and deep cracks spread through the soil. Even the thick mist that always surrounded this forest now receded, as if the forest itself did not dare remain in the path of what was approaching.

Elisira froze at that moment, her eyes suddenly widening, her body unconsciously tensing.

She knew this presence. Not firsthand, but from the stories she had heard as a child, from the tales of war.

From a name repeated like a natural disaster in the continent’s history.

Walterk Bloodfang, the Mountain Breaker, one of the continent’s top ten Eternal Warriors.

Such a suffocating and terrifying aura could only belong to one thing: the Eternal Warriors.

An aura that alone could break the morale of armies, split mountains and oceans in half.

And this aura? This aura belonged to one of the top ten Eternal Warriors of the entire continent, beings who had truly approached the peak of power.

Elisira’s breath caught for a moment.

"...He really came." Her voice was so quiet it was almost lost in the wind, but the fear rippling in her eyes was real.

She knew that an Eternal Warrior would certainly not ignore his son’s death and would come for revenge, but she hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon.

It was clear he was determined to take revenge.

Then hundreds of red and golden lights appeared among the trees.

The movement of armor, the sound of heavy footsteps, and the clinking of weapons – a massive army had surrounded the forest from four directions.

Armored warriors with heavy spears and swords, mana users with magical circles spinning around their hands.

Corruption beast hunters, and even massive war beasts restrained by thick chains.

The entire forest now looked like a battlefield prepared to destroy a king.

But despite all these forces, no one dared approach the tree’s vicinity.

No one. They all kept their distance.

Of course, this fear was not because of the cursed tree or Daniel... no, no, no, don’t be mistaken. This army, in the sky and on the ground, feared only one thing: their commander.

And they dared not interfere in their commander’s revenge.

Then he appeared. Slowly, silently, without any extra show, but each step made the ground sink beneath his feet.

His height was unnatural; even among the continent’s massive warriors, he looked like an ancient giant. His body was covered in old scars, each one seemingly holding the story of a forgotten war. His long hair fell over a cloak made from the skin of corruption beasts, and a massive axe rested on his shoulder; a weapon that looked more like a piece of a carved mountain than a real axe.

But the most terrifying part of his presence was not his power.

It was his calmness. He did not look like a human who had become strong, but rather like a natural disaster that had taken human form.

Walterk stopped a few meters outside the death zone.

His gaze slowly swept over the ground, over the hundreds of traces left by the victims.

Nothing remained of them; only dried bloodstains and some very faint auras remained.

And yet, Walterk understood that these people were not weak. Even if in his eyes they were no different from ants, many of them were warriors who could bring cities to their knees.

And among the faint, weak auras, he could recognize the remaining aura of his son.

All of them had died in one spot. Finally, his gaze fixed on Daniel.

A few seconds of silence remained, a heavy silence that forced even the army behind him to hold their breath.

"They say my son... couldn’t even get close. Is that right?" Then Walterk said quietly, with neither anger nor killing intent in his voice.

Daniel gave a small nod without any change in his expression.

"So my son couldn’t die with a warrior’s honor." Walterk slowly exhaled.

His voice was still calm, but behind that calm lay the weight of a death that could destroy armies.

He knew his son was not afraid of death, but he was afraid of dying like a weakling... and in the end, he was killed like a weakling.

Then his gaze moved again.

The tree, the roots, the fruit’s light, the death zone, the surrounding mana, even the faint vibrations remaining in the air. He was analyzing, like a true war monster. And after a few moments, his eyes narrowed.

"...That power is not from the tree."

"It’s from you." His gaze sank directly into Daniel’s eyes.

He felt no power from this boy, and his depth seemed bottomless. No matter how much he looked, he could not see or find his depth.

So he thought perhaps he borrowed his power from this cursed tree in some way, but with a simple check, he realized that did not seem to be the case.

Elisira suddenly looked at Daniel, but Daniel showed no reaction.

"Because you were protecting it, my son was killed." Walterk continued.

His gaze briefly fell on the tree.

"Why are you protecting it?"

"And your energy... is different from this world." Then he added more quietly.

"Where did you come from?"

The air around grew heavier. The army behind Walterk remained silent, everyone waiting for the answer.

"Does it matter?" But Daniel just smiled very faintly, a calm, emotionless smile.

For a few seconds, Walterk just looked at him.

And then, for the first time, a very small smile appeared on his scarred face.

But it was neither friendly nor warm. It was the smile of a warrior who had finally found an opponent worth killing.

Behind him, the army was ready. Commanders had their hands on their weapons.

Mages had activated their mana circles, and the war beasts were restless.

Elisira understood this: if war started, the entire forest would be destroyed, and it might even reach the empire’s capital.

But the problem was, could Daniel hold his own and fight an Eternal Warrior? Looking at that calmness and indifference... she felt that this unknown boy might indeed have such ability.

But still, it was not easy for her to believe such a thing. The one in front of them was an Eternal Warrior! And not one of the ordinary ones, but one of the top ten.

His fame was known throughout the entire continent, and he was admired for his pure power.

They say that when it comes to pure physical strength, no one in the world is stronger than Walterk.

And this boy was supposed to fight such a monster, and he was this calm?

But Daniel wasn’t thinking about them at all. His gaze passed through the army, and what he saw was life energy.

Thousands of lives that, if destroyed here, could cause the tree’s fruit to grow at an unimaginable speed.

And that made him, for the first time, truly pleased to see such an army.

"It looks like you’re going to have a good feast," he chuckled and said to the tree.