I got into school for nothing - Chapter 164
I got into school for nothing (164)
Lesson 33. Jade Star - 4
As the trees began to be uprooted, the invaders lost their minds and went wild.
However, as long as the Wolf Fang Tribe stood firm in their territory, there was a limit to the resistance those who had lost their footing could offer.
Moreover, when Slothy, the Nataehu, began to actively manipulate the trees within the territory, directly shaking off the parasites clinging to them, they could no longer endure.
“Khh, run, run away—!”
“But where to?”
“He, he's coming! He's coming!”
It would be ideal if he could just stand there and absorb everything, but there was still a limit to the range of his Authority.
Invoking the concepts of levitation and flight, Ban Yuwon effortlessly balanced himself and cut through the sky, his form reminiscent of the rare Birdfolk, a classification among the beast-kin.
Simultaneously, an ever-increasing amount of the 'Tree' (木) concept was being sucked into his wide-spread hands.
“Ah, ahhh—!”
“A demon, it's a demon! A demon is cursing our tribe...!”
“Don't come, don't...!”
Which side attacked first, and now they're telling him not to come?
As he snorted and uprooted every tree within an area of nearly one kilometer ahead, the invaders finally lost their footing and plummeted to the ground.
Then, in a perfectly natural and expected flow—
—Dududududu
It came.
Starting with a colossal worm bursting through the ground and swallowing several beast-kin in the vicinity, countless Forest Worms, both large and small, began to teem!
“Kuaaaah!”
“Khh... fall back! Retreat!”
“We can't fight both the worms and the enemy simultaneously... run, run away!”
The swarm of Forest Worms, drawn by the vibrations, boasted a ferocious might incomparable to the single one Ban Yuwon had faced earlier.
Ban Yuwon watched as the hellish scene expanded, uprooting trees in the beast-kin's escape routes in real-time.
“It seems the more trees are uprooted, the more freely the worms move.”
—Normally, tree roots seem to hinder the worms' movement. But since you completely removed them, that's what happens. Wouldn't you say it's quite a rare sight even here?
“There's no one who can uproot trees as cleanly as I can.”
Ban Yuwon agreed with Cellon's words.
It meant there was a good reason the beast-kin were so obsessed with trees.
—Don't stay too long. These aren't the main force.
“I suppose not.”
Lastly, Ban Yuwon collected as many 'Tree' concepts as he possibly could, then flew back over the heads of the beast-kin, who were buried in Forest Worms, struggling, screaming, and cursing him, returning to the Wolf Fang Tribe's territory.
“Son-in-law!”
Immediately after he lightly landed on a tree branch.
Kanid, emitting a ferocious aura from his entire body as if still in combat, leaped onto the branch as if he had been waiting for Ban Yuwon to return.
“What on earth did you do to the trees?”
“I can replant them. Though, we'll need to take some measures here beforehand...”
The concentrated 'Tree' concept in Ban Yuwon's hands was now so dense that it emitted a blinding amount of light, making it difficult to look at directly.
“So, shall I plant them?”
“Hmm, for now, it would be better to leave them as they are. After all, we don't just have one enemy to fight.”
“I thought as much.”
Ban Yuwon stored all the concepts in his Code Core, threw it into his inventory, and then assessed the war situation.
All the trees in the area had been conceptualized, creating a long, barren strip of wasteland cutting across the forest.
The thousands of beast-kin who had stepped onto that line were being punished by the Forest Worms in real-time, and with more worms swarming in as the vibrations intensified, their chances of survival approached zero.
Meanwhile, thanks to Ban Yuwon's swift intervention, the Wolf Fang Tribe had almost no casualties.
There were quite a few injured and fallen trees, but Slothy diligently moved between them, healing them.
“Is that ability of yours, son-in-law, easy to wield?”
“Not really. But it's fine after a little rest.”
Though this was his first time using an ability on such a massive scale since awakening his Authority, perhaps thanks to the mental growth he experienced while completing his Giwon Sword, the aftereffects weren't too severe.
It was the kind of recovery that a short rest, or even just a little 'Blood Wine,' could achieve.
“I see, so that's how it is.”
“Do you have something you want to ask me to do?”
“You're quick-witted, that's good. I want to build a fortress.”
He said 'fortress,' but he likely didn't mean a city wall.
A natural fortress, a wasteland, where if the enemy crossed the line, the Forest Worms would take care of them themselves.
Kanid wanted to isolate their territory until the moment the tribe's crisis passed.
And what that implied was...
“Are you perhaps at odds with more than one tribe? No, how many beast-kin tribes are even on this planet to begin with?”
“How much did you hear from Rucell?”
“Up to the part where that psycho Constellation bastard created a contractor in another tribe, not yours, and is manipulating them.”
“Then you've heard most of it. First, there are about two other tribes on this planet as large as ours, and those two tribes have now joined forces to attack us. And currently, those 'dimension pirates' have integrated all the weaker tribes to form one massive force.”
Roughly speaking, the situation was even more serious than the Three Kingdoms period.
No, they actually thought of holding a banquet in such a situation!
“The situation isn't exactly leisurely... so I'll start right away. This width should be enough, right?”
“A little shorter would be fine.”
“Understood.”
“I know this isn't something that can be done in a short time, so just do as much as you can and come back. Even that alone will be a huge help.”
“Alright.”
Ban Yuwon let out a faint sigh, then snapped his fingers.
His familiars, Eve, Lilyth, and Tikke, who always guarded him, spread out at regular intervals.
Those who saw it might not understand, but it was actually quite a terrifying sight.
This was because all these familiars served as terminals, so to speak, sharing Ban Yuwon's Authority and able to wield it.
Kanid had said it couldn't be done in a short time, but Ban Yuwon intended to perfectly construct this natural fortress within a single day.
“Let's go now.”
“Wait, take Slothy with you.”
“Huh?”
Just then, as if she had finished clearing the trees, Slothy flew over to them with a whoosh.
She had launched herself like Tarzan, swinging on elastic tree vines.
As he admired her skill, Slothy stared blankly at him and tilted her head.
With incredibly slow movements.
“Ah, the fight's over, so you've slowed down again.”
“Sooo... iinteereesting...”
“What's so interesting?”
“Yoourr... faace...”
Could he hit her?
“Take her as a guard. As long as she's within our territory, there's no enemy that can threaten Slothy.”
“No need... I'm fine, really.”
“Slothy, he is a valuable guest, so please escort him well without being rude. Who knows, he might become a precious connection for you too.”
“Uuuhm...”
Ban Yuwon, who felt the chief's devious scheme to marry off his daughter and at the same time pawn off the village's troublesome old maid, wanted to firmly resist, but.
“Mmm.”
Slothy, who hadn't paid him any mind when they first met, was now nodding with a rather pleased expression for some reason.
Then, with surprisingly swift movements, she clung to Ban Yuwon's back.
“Hey.”
“Leett's... gooo...”
“She needs to conserve her energy now so she can fight if the situation calls for it, so please be considerate.”
At the chief's words, uttered with a hearty laugh, Ban Yuwon could only shrug.
The heavy weight, the soft touch pressing against his back, honestly didn't feel unpleasant.
“I'll be back before nightfall.”
“The night forest is even scarier. Slothy will tell you when the time is right.”
Indeed, it seemed there was such a meaning in sending Slothy along.
Ban Yuwon glanced at the Forest Worms preying on the beast-kin below, then turned to Dokgo Yeon, who had been fighting passively before retreating, and asked.
“Wanna come along?”
“Yes, let's go together.”
“Oh.”
He had only asked out of politeness, assuming she wouldn't involve herself in such bothersome work.
But Dokgo Yeon, as if she had been waiting for him to ask, lightly launched herself and landed beside him.
Ban Yuwon, who found her behavior oddly unfamiliar today, just like before, stared blankly at her. Sensing his gaze, Dokgo Yeon calmly retorted.
“Why?”
“Uh... no. It's just reassuring to have you along.”
“Naturally.”
“Then, go safely.”
Kanid, seeing Dokgo Yeon swiftly join the party, clearly wore a look of dismay, but Ban Yuwon ignored it and leaped forward.
Eve, Lilyth, and Tikke were already ahead of him, commencing the task of extracting 'Tree' concepts.
Including Ban Yuwon, all four were deftly wielding Authority to uproot trees, easily creating a wasteland path several hundred meters wide, as if carving a road through a forest in a simulation game.
“How could you even think of something so horrible?”
“We can replant them anytime, so you could call it an eco-friendly tactic.”
“Aalwaays....”
Slothy, who was on Ban Yuwon's back with a languid expression, naturally interjected into their conversation.
“Yoo're... my kiindred... riight...?”
“No.”
“Hoow... coould thaaat... bee...?”
“Her thought process seems a bit strange.”
“That's not the only strange thing about her, you know.”
Wait, could it be that when she said Ban Yuwon's face was strange earlier, she meant he didn't look like a beast-kin?
Ban Yuwon shook his head, dumbfounded.
“Uuuuuhm...”
Meanwhile, Slothy, who had pondered for a long time even after hearing he wasn't a beast-kin, looked at the forest road expanding in real-time and nodded as if she had made a great decision.
“Wiith... thiis... abiiliity...”
“With this ability.”
“I caaan... reest...”
“I can rest.”
Kwak! Suddenly, Slothy's grip on Ban Yuwon's shoulder tightened fiercely.
Ban Yuwon felt her internal concepts activate, though in a different sense than before.
“Let's mate.”
“Why did you say just that word so quickly?”
“The second moment a sloth speeds up...”
“Isn't that when they swim?”
“What's swimming?”
Indeed, it seemed she had never once swum in her life.
As he nodded in understanding, Slothy pushed her body against him, as if fanning him, and spoke.
“Not swimming, mating.”
“I really didn't want that foreshadowing to pay off like this.”
But he broadly understood her reasoning.
In other words, if Ban Yuwon was around, she could easily fulfill the role of a Nataehu, so she meant to marry him and pass all her responsibilities onto him.
Feeling the pressure radiating from Dokgo Yeon beside him intensify, Ban Yuwon firmly replied.
“Sorry, but I'm leaving here once this special activity is over.”
“It's fine. It's not the male who works, it's our child. We'll just play together.”
“Ah-ha. So that's why you said mating.”
Find an excellent male, give birth to excellent offspring.
For beast-kin tribes, each assigned their own appropriate roles, giving birth to offspring who could inherit their roles would naturally be a very important matter.
Ban Yuwon's Authority wasn't merely limited to trees, but Slothy's positive reaction upon seeing it was practically preordained.
‘Come to think of it, Rucell also liked me, calling me a capable male because I make good money.’
Ban Yuwon, having gained a deeper understanding of the beast-kin's instincts, nodded.
However, accepting Slothy's proposal was a separate matter.
Wasn't he just an ordinary guy from Earth who'd hesitated for a long time even when considering accepting Rucell and Mira simultaneously?
If he were to accept Slothy, then before that, he would have already accepted Rucell and Mira...
“Sorry, but I'm not that easy. Try to appeal to me a bit more.”
“Mm, I'll show you lots of my abilities.”
So here, it was an appeal based on ability, equally for both genders, he mused.
Ban Yuwon nodded in understanding once more, wearing a wry smile.
Beside him, Dokgo Yeon was glaring at him with her eyes darkened, but for now, he decided to pretend not to notice.
As promised, he succeeded in creating the natural wasteland fortress surrounding the Wolf Fang Tribe's territory before nightfall.
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