Saria went quiet, thinking carefully about Alex's question.

"In a forest like this," she said after a moment, "the best way to hide a base would be to make it look like the forest itself. If it were me, I'd fuse it with a tree—so perfectly that it just seems like another part of the woods."

Understanding dawned on Alex in an instant.

"Correct," he said softly.

Almost at the same time, both of their gazes shifted toward the same spot in the distance.

At the center of the forest stood a single, colossal tree that dwarfed everything around it. Its trunk was so wide an entire village could have been carved inside, bark dark and veined with a faint eerie glow.

Branches spread outward like an endless canopy, stretching so high they pierced the clouds, making it look as if the tree itself was trying to stab into the sky.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

In a low voice, he said, "Archers, aim at that tree—and bring it down, if you will."

The elven archers around them shifted instantly, but Saria's eyes widened.

"I'm not questioning your decision," she said quickly, "but are you sure about this? The moment we do that, every monster in this forest will come hunting us like crazy.

It's the home of many deadly monsters afterall."

"I know," Alex replied, never taking his eyes off the giant tree. "But we don't have much time. Just do as I say. Let's see if my hunch is correct or not."

Saria hesitated only a heartbeat, then lifted her hand.

"Archers!" she shouted. "Full‑power volley! Target: that tree!"

All around them, elven trackers and archers drew their bows. Terrifying energy began to fill each arrow, the shafts glowing with dense mana pulled from the World Tree's blessing. The air grew heavy, humming with the concentrated killing intent of hundreds of marksmen ready to fire.

"Loose!" Saria commanded.

The sky darkened as a storm of arrows shot upward, whistling through the air toward the massive trunk.

Each arrow carried enough power to punch through layers of stone; together, they formed a barrage that should have obliterated the tree in a single strike.

For a moment, everyone was certain it would perish in the next second.

Then something unbelievable happened.

Just as the arrows were about to reach the bark, the air around the tree rippled.

A vast translucent barrier sprang into existence, wrapping itself around the trunk like a massive crystal shell. The arrows slammed into it—only to be swallowed completely.

No explosion, no shattering. Their power was absorbed as if it were nothing, vanishing without so much as a scratch on the barrier.

The forest fell utterly silent.

Jaw after jaw dropped among the elves, shock freezing them in place. Even hardened warriors stared wide‑eyed at the sight.

Only Alex smiled.

"Found you," he murmured under his breath.

'That's why the tracker didn't pick up anything,' he thought. 'They've installed jammers strong enough to block everything.'

He tilted his head back, gaze tracing the trunk all the way up toward the unseen heights.

"They're at the top of that tree," Alex said.

The ground answered before anyone else could.

Magic circles flared to life across the dark soil, glowing with sinister, geometric symbols. The earth cracked open, and gigantic shapes began to rise, stone and metal grinding together with a deafening roar.

Hundreds of golems materialized on the ground.

Each golem stood several meters tall, bodies forged from obsidian‑like rock fused with corrupted crystal that glowed from within like burning embers.

Their limbs were thick and blocky, layered with jagged armor plates. Their hands ended in heavy, crushing claws rather than fingers. Where faces should have been, they had smooth, featureless helmets with a single slit of red light for an eye.

They moved in perfect, mechanical unison.

The aura they emanated was cold and merciless, a weapon's presence rather than a living being—each one radiating enough killing power to wipe out a small squad on its own.

Alden adjusted his grip on his sword, lips tightening.

'Yeah,' he thought, 'this is definitely the right place.'

---

On the other hand, inside the hidden base built into the great tree…

Harsh alarm sirens blared through the metal‑lined corridors, and crimson warning lights pulsed along the ceiling. Cultists rushed through the halls, voices overlapping in panicked murmurs.

One of them sprinted harder than the rest, heart pounding as he stopped before a large, reinforced door. Steeling himself, he pushed it open and stumbled inside.

Marcus was training.

The spacious room was already in ruins. Training dummies had been reduced to dust; deep gouges ran through the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

Marcus stood at the center, his sword wreathed in deadly energy that warped the air around the blade. When he swung, the space it cut through seemed to twist, as if reality itself was being torn apart.

With each strike, invisible blades of force carved through the room—slicing stone pillars cleanly in half, shattering reinforced targets into fine powder, leaving thin black lines in the air that lingered a moment too long before fading. It was as if his sword was trying to erase anything it touched from existence.

The door slamming open made Marcus slow his motion, though he didn't fully lower his weapon.

"What is it?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice. "It had better be worth something. Or you will die."

The follower swallowed hard, feeling his knees threaten to give out under that gaze.

"M‑My lord," he managed, "there is a security breach. Someone has attacked us."

Marcus's eyes sharpened.

"Who is it?" he asked.

A holographic screen flickered to life in front of him, summoned by one of the room's embedded devices. The projection stabilized, showing a live feed from outside the base.

On it, a silver‑haired boy stood below the colossal tree, surrounded by elves and facing an army of newly summoned golems. Even through the projection, that familiar, infuriating presence was unmistakable.

Alex.

Marcus's jaw tightened.

"Damn it," he hissed.

But then his expression shifted.

The anger smoothed into a cold, sharp smile filled with malicious anticipation.

"So you've found me, huh," Marcus murmured.

He lowered his sword fully now, but the deadly energy around it didn't fade—it simply coiled closer, waiting.

"Come, then," he said, eyes gleaming. "I've also prepared a few surprises for you."

----

A/N:

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