CHAPTER 92
A Proposal to Join Forces

The colossal sword was lifted. And then it fell.
As it descended, cleaving through the atmosphere, it looked like a meteor plummeting to earth.
The elves had already begun to evacuate, and the orcs had abandoned their siege and fled in all directions. Jinwoo willingly took the God of the Moonlight Forest’s advice and immediately ran.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The sword fell, shaking the very air, and split the forest in two. It was no use, even if the forest was protected by the aura of a spirit.
On one side was a forest receiving minor assistance, while on the other was the spirit itself, descended.
In a single strike, the forest was bisected. Trees were either split apart or ripped out by the roots and sent flying. The mere impact of the sword strike completely obliterated the Moonlight Forest. At this point, the temple must have been annihilated without a trace.
“Ah!”
There were elves who couldn't escape in time. They had run as fast as they could, but carrying the injured had slowed them down.
Debris—uprooted trees and shattered rocks—rained down upon them. Jinwoo, who was near them, quickly stood in front and gripped his sword.
The sword he held this time was not the white jewel sword, but the Ego Sword.
‘Can you do it?’
I can!
It was more of a “I don’t know, but I’ll try.” That was the right answer. There was no time to weigh the options in this situation.
The rusty, chipped sword was not suited for cutting, but it housed the contractor of a spirit. The Wind Spirit. A cluster of green light gathered, blooming along the blade like an aura.
He swung it toward the debris pouring down from the explosion’s aftermath.
The air split, and the swirling debris was instead scattered outward. A new current of wind, originating from where Jinwoo had cut, pushed all the debris away, protecting the elves.
The elves behind him gasped, watching the scene unfold. They stared at the back of the human who had deflected a disaster with a single swing of his sword.
“What are you doing?! Run!”
Jinwoo’s shout snapped them out of it. The elves came to their senses and scrambled to escape, and Jinwoo, after assessing the situation, also retreated.
As soon as he was gone, the current returned to normal, and trees and rocks slammed into the spot where they had just been.
Soon, the aftershocks subsided. The debris stopped flying, and the shockwave, which had felt like a blast of hot wind, disappeared.
The elves who had ducked for cover slowly raised their heads one by one. On the other side were the surviving orcs, who also cautiously got to their feet.
Jinwoo kept his guard up, watching the Lord of War—or more accurately, his arm—for its next move.
Fortunately, the arm was not raised again.
‘Did it run out of time?’
The arm released the sword and retreated back into the rift. The sword sank back into the ground like a ghost, similar to how it had been drawn, and the rift rapidly shrank until it closed completely.
For a long time after, no one could make a sound. No one knew how long that silence lasted.
“W-We survived…”
Finally, someone’s murmur broke the silence in an instant.
“We survived! We survived!”
“Damn it! I thought I was really going to die this time! For real, for real!”
The joy of survival welled up, and the area instantly became noisy.
In this moment, neither elf nor orc fought. The first reason was that they were drunk on the joy of being alive, and the second was that they had no energy left to fight.
Eventually, the orcs scattered in all directions. Gractar, who had led them, was dead. Uncontrolled, the orcs prioritized their instincts and judged that it was best to flee the area.
Having driven the enemy into retreat, it was as good as a victory. But the elves could not rejoice freely.
“We survived, but…”
“The forest…”
The Moonlight Forest that had embraced them was now unrecognizable. Someone who didn't know would have a hard time even guessing that this place was once a forest.
The Moonlight Forest was the entity that protected them, provided them with food, and shared its nutrients. Without it, they would have to worry about their very next meal.
“Excuse me, who was the leader in charge here?”
Just then, Rona stepped forward. Jinwoo took a step back, not interfering in their affairs.
“That would be me. And who are you?”
The one who appeared at Rona’s words was Ipril. She saw Jinwoo behind her and her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak to him right away.
For now, everyone wanted to get the situation under control.

The surviving elves gathered to check their numbers and tend to the wounded. A few of them collected the dead, gathering their souls.
It was to return them to the World Tree and honor their spirits.

Rona and Ipril were sharing their respective situations and discussing what to do next.
"A Royal Knight! Did you come to save us?"
"To be honest, I didn't come here to save you. I simply followed him."
"That in itself is surprising. To think that a Royal Knight and my Master are acquaintances."
Somehow, Jinwoo had naturally found himself in the middle of their conversation. He couldn't help but join in while gathering food to distribute to the starving Elves.
Rona, being an Elf who didn't eat much, didn't have a lot of food in her inventory. Jinwoo, on the other hand, prioritized food above all else, and his inventory was stocked like a small supermarket.
Some of it he had bought and stockpiled in advance, and he had also held onto almost all the ingredients he had gathered while crossing through Gates, rarely selling them.
He distributed it all without asking for anything in return, allowing the famished Elves to eat their fill. In the end, however, it wasn't entirely without a reward. With that act, Jinwoo's influence within the Elven group had become too significant to ignore.
"Ipril. How are Poldre and Gorong?"
"Poldre has minor injuries, but Gorong is wounded very deeply. He probably won't be able to fly long distances for a while. Still, Poldre is taking good care of him, so his life isn't in danger."
Poldre had poured all the Nectar he kept as a spare life into Gorong. Not stopping there, he went around looking for any Elf with leftover Nectar and bought it all at a high price.
Given the circumstances, many were reluctant to part with the precious healing potion, but Poldre poured out all the money and magic items he had earned, bowing his head to the ground and begging.
For a merchant like him to give up his entire fortune, combined with his desperate attitude and the fact that Gorong was injured while saving them, a considerable amount of Nectar was gathered.
With all the collected Nectar being used for his treatment, Gorong was expected to recover soon.
"The other Elves are also regaining their strength thanks to the food Master provided. Many have already died... but it's a blessing in disguise that we can at least retrieve their souls. When we return, we will offer their souls to Mother World Tree and honor their spirits."
"Right, do that."
"Uhm..."
Rona glanced furtively at Jinwoo. She had already heard that the God of the Moonlight Forest was the World Tree. From what Ipril was saying, it seemed they had no idea. Was it okay to tell them? It was a difficult decision to make on her own, so she looked at Jinwoo, but he didn't seem to have any intention of speaking up either.
In truth, the reason Jinwoo remained silent was because of the God of the Moonlight Forest's own wishes.
[The God of the Moonlight Forest requests that you keep the secret.]
'Why? Wouldn't telling them boost their morale? Make them feel they have to protect her no matter what.'
[That's why I don't want to.]
If the Elves learned that the God of the Moonlight Forest was the World Tree, their morale would soar through the heavens. They would rush into any danger without hesitation, driven by the need to protect Mother World Tree at all costs.
Religion was a factor that could make soldiers bolder and more reckless than anyone. But she said she didn't want that.
‘Alright, I’ll keep it a secret. I’m sorry for telling Rona. It was because of that guy, the Dark Elf King.'
The God of the Moonlight Forest replied that it was fine, as it couldn't be helped. That concluded their conversation for now, and he focused on the immediate future.
"What's the plan now?"
At Jinwoo's question, both Elves fell silent.
It was a question with no easy answer. Now that the Moonlight Forest, their only home in this desert, had been obliterated, where were they supposed to go?
Rona, who had come to the 3rd Floor for the first time in a long while, naturally didn't know, and even Ipril, who was practically a native, had no answer.
"Do you think there are other forests elsewhere?"
"A place large enough to be called a forest will be hard to find. An oasis, perhaps."
"For now, we should try to find one. Let's move out once everyone has recovered their strength."
Worrying about it now wouldn't yield any better solutions.
There was no point in staying here, so the first step was to move.
Fortunately, Rona and Jinwoo had joined their party. Their group's strength, which would have been somewhat 불안한 on its own, became considerably more reliable with the two of them.
Even those seeing Rona for the first time did not doubt her skills upon hearing she was a Royal Knight. Only the special, the stronger and nobler among knights, could become a Royal Knight.
In the first place, being a knight acknowledged by the stubborn High Elf elders in the royal palace meant she was an elite that ordinary people couldn't even dream of becoming.
The same went for Jinwoo. Most of the Elves here had stayed on the 3rd Floor for a long time.
Naturally, they knew that Jinwoo had brought down the Sky God's Temple and had accumulated nearly 200 million contribution points in the Moonlight Forest.
At least to the Elves present, he was an even more famous figure than Rona.
"It is shameless of me to ask, but may we request your help? If we travel on our own, there will surely be many more casualties."
Ipril asked with a dark expression, and Jinwoo and Rona nodded without much hesitation.
Rona, as a Royal Knight, would protect her kinsmen, and Jinwoo had accepted the request from the God of the Moonlight Forest.
Even without the request, he wouldn't have abandoned people in danger anyway.
"Anyway, let's get some good rest for now and discuss which direction to take later. Do you know what's in this area?"
"Embarrassingly, I don't know well. I know the immediate vicinity, but the parts we know are only desert.”
"So we need to go further..."
It seemed this journey would not be over in a day or two.
It felt like just yesterday he was leading the Elves of Velen Village on a march, and now this was happening again.
He seemed to have a persistent connection with Elves. He had been entangled with them ever since his awakening.
With that settled, Jinwoo also took a rest. He needed to get his mind and body in top condition, and moreover, having witnessed the God of War's power firsthand, he had a few things to ask the God of the Moonlight Forest.
After about two days, the party's condition had recovered to a certain extent. As they were all used to operating within Gates, they regained their stamina quickly.
Just as they were discussing the possibility of moving out, a visitor arrived.
It was a small crow, but unlike an ordinary one, it had five eyes and thin claws growing from the tips of its wings.
It was a monster.
—I have come from the Temple of the Afterglow (餘光).
A deep, stately voice, completely at odds with its appearance, flowed from the crow's throat.
A messenger sent by the God of the Afterglow, commonly known as the God of Light.
—If you have no suitable place to go, how about coming to our side? We are always recruiting powerful individuals to counter the God of War's schemes. Of course, we will also provide definite protection for those who are not strong.
It was an unexpected offer to join them.