Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos-Chapter 377. A Knight’s Rebirth And Oath.

Killing Marlius was far from finishing off the army. He might've been one of the strongest, but when numbers reached thousands, the strength of one person could only do so much. Hence, the underground continued battling for several days. Many Aethermancers with Earth and Nature affinities tried to dig their way out. However, it was an almost impossible task when two World Trees were looking over the entire battlefield.

Once an Earth Aether Mana user appeared, Fortuna would focus her soul attacks on them while Wisdom manipulated the terrain around them and used her roots to drag them away from the group. After all, once these people who could easily disrupt the surroundings were gone, the rest would be nothing more than trapped mice in the burrow.

A group of nearly 400 people traveled along the complex and wide ant tunnels, their faces incredibly serious. Edharen led this particular group, and his face under the helmet was cold and attentive to his surroundings. A soldier by his side asked softly. "Lord Edharen, I feel that we are moving further into the ground. Are you sure that this is the path?"

Edharen was a very high-ranking official. Usually, he should be by Marlius' side protecting him. However, after waking up from his illusion, he was far away and surrounded by a small part of his army. At first, there were around 430 people with him. However, when he asked the Earth Aethermancers and others to use their powers, things quickly became chaotic. The walls collapsed, roots appeared everywhere, and even though he managed to cut down a few, the people that he wanted to protect were ultimately killed or made mentally invalid.

Edharen analyzed in his mind. 'World Tree Fortuna's mind attack powers are much stronger than we anticipated. If she focuses on a few people at a time, killing them is not a problem. However, the consumption of Anima Energy is not small. Therefore, killing all of us is far from possible.'

As he looked at the walls around him, surrounded by powerfully pulsing roots, the thought of trying to attack the walls and escape left his mind. 'If I could communicate with more people, escaping by brute force would not be impossible. However, my group is too small. If the land above us collapses while we are in the ant nest, dying will be the last of our worries.'

A small sound entered his sensitive ears, and his mind turned sharp. Without a single shred of hesitation, he turned left from his position and slashed at the wall.

BANG!!

His sword cleaved through the air and walls, a small wind rising up from the power behind his swing. Edharen was a pure longsword master, his body and soul tempered through countless battles.

Strangely, no damage number popped up other than the small ones from hitting the roots. His straight eyebrows below the helmet furrowed as he quickly surveyed the surroundings. "I heard something, keep an eye out. Hm?"

Looking back, he squinted and asked. "Aren't we fewer than before?"

The soldiers around him turned back with confused expressions. Regardless of how silent someone could be, snatching them from a group of around 400 people was impossible in their opinion.

"Lord Edharen, are you sure you are not too stressed because you want to return to Lord Marlius' side as quickly as possible?"

Edharen glanced at them, his face showing a hint of disdain and disgust that the helmet covered. In truth, the only reason he was fighting on the Nexus side was that he was sold when he was little by his parents.

He was born in a lion-kin family. However, his beastly traits were barely any. Besides having long and thick hair and a slightly different muscle composition, one would have trouble differentiating him from a normal human man. With the way he trimmed his hair, some actually thought of him and confused him with a human.

Still, his beastly physique and strength revealed that he was far from a normal human. After being sold and bound by a slave runic contract, Edharen had to go from owner to owner, becoming a powerful combatant only after showing his worth. Many years had passed since he started his journey, and his strength had reached incredible heights that he would've never expected the first time he picked up a sword to change his destiny.

Until now, though, he was kept on a tight leash and never had a chance to sever the last chain tightly wound around his neck. 'If Marlius dies, the contract will be severed, and I will be free. Sadly, I can't even direct my malice toward him, and even now, I am unwillingly rushing forward to save him.'

When he was little, Edharen remembered how he became lost in the woods near his town. When he thought that he would become wild beast food, a gentle but all-encompassing presence enveloped him. It was a Life Tree living nearby who saw his predicament and saved him.

From then on, he revered World Trees and Life Trees alike as sacred creatures worth respect and love. Ironically, in a twist of fate, he had been forced to fight such creatures and even killed a few under the orders of his masters.

As he was rushing forward with a stoic face, he suddenly felt a change deep within him. 'Huh?'

Edharen paused his march, and the entire army behind him stopped at the same time. "Lord Edharen, is something wrong?"

The tall and stoic man raised his hand and punched forward.

BANG!

The air in front of him exploded with brutal strength, making many people around him look on in awe. Another soldier at the side laughed. "Lord Edharen's strength is truly ridiculous. Even Lord Marlius would lose in a one-on-one fight."

Another soldier chimed in. "I heard that Lord Edharen was once punished by sending him alone to kill a Life Tree. After three days, he returned riddled with wounds but victorious! Managing to beat a Life Tree in a one-on-one is something not many can do!"

Edharen turned his head and looked at that man; the sound of his helmet scraping the metal of his armor was somewhat ominous. "That Life Tree's name was Hua. When I was a child, she saved my life." Everyone around couldn't help but become silent, feeling something wrong with his words. Edharen didn't care and continued speaking. "At that time, she noticed my plight after fighting for a day and tried to communicate with me. Seeing my tears, she chose to give up her life and give me one chance to reverse my fate."

Edharen looked up, as if he was observing something in the Heavens. The gorgeous and soothing canopy of the Life Tree reflected in his eyes. He took out a small green core from his pouch and crushed it. The pure energy from it flowed into his body, shattering all chains inside of his body and liberating his true potential.

[Slave Contract Shattered!]

[Vast amounts of energy detected!]

[Potential Unlocked]

[Tier Up!]

[Tier Up!]

[Tier Up!]

[Tier Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

...

***

Name: Edharen -> Hua Edharen

Race: Cursed Life Lionkin -> Life Tree Knight Lionkin.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Level: 62->70

Tier: D+ -> B-

***

[You've gained title.]

: You've been forced to fight what you loved for your entire life. Instead of hesitating, the second you could turn your life around, you took it. When fighting against creatures that have any Anti-nature titles, your stats will increase by 15%, and your attacks will ignore 10% of their defense. All your negative titles will be washed away.

"I, Hua Edharen, won't rest until those who stole the luster of your leaves and branches perish by my sword." The Lion Knight's face turned terrifyingly cold as his body started moving. "Go easy, ."

Before anyone understood what was happening, Edharen turned around and unsheathed his longsword fast enough to create a small flash of light.

SLASH!

The world seemed to pause for a moment as everyone blinked confusedly. Then, damage numbers appeared all around like crazy.

[-14,450,440!]

[-13,460,660!]

[-14,154,640!]

...

The over 130 Phoer Body Cores of damage from that one sword strike made every single person around Edharen burst with blood and fall back. The knight's silvery armor was stained red in an instant, but below the helmet, his face was calm and stoic.

[Congratulations on defeating...] x127

After swinging once, he rushed toward the rest through the falling corpses and brandished his sword stoically.

Fortuna noticed a large energy signal and quickly looked over. Once she understood what was going on, she couldn't help but look extremely confused. "... Why is that man killing everyone in his group? Is he trying to forcefully Level Up?"

Thinking of the option of a powerhouse appearing, she quickly notified Thalgryn, Flor, Eila, Ignatia, and the other leaders. "There is a man going crazy in tunnel 1,452 section 3. I suspect he is trying to Level Up to Level 75 and reach the ."

Thalgryn's face turned serious. After all, Level 75 was an even bigger power-up compared to Level 50. The stat gain from Level 74 to Level 75 was a truly terrifying leap.

Eila quickly ordered. "Fortuna, guide the most powerful group that's nearby."

"Understood," Fortuna spoke to Thalgryn. "Thalgryn, I'll guide you there. Carry your 300 beast riders there and neutralize the man."

Thalgryn quickly nodded and gave the order. The 300-strong cavalry quickly rushed through the tunnels, arriving at Edharen's side in just a few minutes. Once there, Thalgryn saw the man cleaving down the last standing person from top to bottom with the longsword.

Thalgryn paused and squinted. The aura that this man gave out was honestly terrifying. The second in command, the armor-wearing woman, spoke solemnly. "Lady Thalgryn, we might lose one or two people if we confront that man. His strength is truly terrifying."

Edharen looked over at the new arrivals and spoke aloud, his cold voice echoing in the caves. "Are you part of the World Tree's army?"

Thalgryn glanced at him closely and spoke. "So what if we are? So what if we are not?"

Edharen stuck the longsword in front of him, grabbing it with both hands. His appearance was incredibly imposing. "If you are, then I want to speak with all of you. If you are not, then I'll have to cleave all of you down. I, Hua Edharen, am going to hunt down every single Nexus scum until my last breath is drawn."

Thalgryn paused when the familiar name rang in her ears. "Edharen... Edharen?" Her face turned solemn when she realized who he was. "You are Life Tree Slayer Edharen."

Edharen spoke solemnly. "Not anymore. I have been released from my chains."

Thalgryn squinted, trying to sense anything from him. However, the man was fully clad in silvery armor stained with blood. Hence, telling anything from him was almost impossible.

Fortuna spoke at this time. "I've heard him say something about taking revenge... Perhaps there is more to it than it appears to be."

Thalgryn pondered and decided to trust Fortuna. "Proof. I need proof, or else, you'll be killed here today. Your sins are too heavy."

Edharen showed his title. "Is this enough?"

Thalgryn's heart shook with surprise. "This..." Her gaze became complicated. "I didn't expect the ruthless Edharen to have such a title... Explain yourself in detail." She added. "To answer your question, I am Thalgryn, part of the , serving under Lady World Tree Tianlian Liu Shu."

Edharen knew Thalgryn's name, so he nodded once before explaining his situation. By the end of the explanation, Thalgryn had already approached and jumped down from her beast. She extended one of her hands and smiled. "We'll be pleased to cooperate with you from now on."

Edharen shook her hand firmly with his armored gauntlet. "Likewise."