The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Wants to Retire – Chapter 78

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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To elves, trees were a sacred symbol.

Trees and vegetation combined to create the forest, and it was in these forests that elves were born and able to live.

Thus, to elves, lumberjacks were enemies to be defeated and essentially villains.

Yet Cluna, a forest guardian, had directly summoned a lumberjack.

Soon, a giant made of earth and vegetation emerged from beneath Cluna’s feet.

Somehow, I ended up standing next to it.

Cluna looked at me and said,

“I express my gratitude, Commander.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve been able to end this long-standing feud.”

“I’m glad if I was of help.”

This time, even I, thick-skinned as I was, felt many pangs in my conscience.

That was because I truly hadn’t done anything this time.

At most, I had just rolled around on the ground…

Moreover, because I had even used time acceleration in the middle, I really couldn’t be of any help now.

Forcibly swallowing the blood that had filled my mouth, I said to her.

“Do we have a chance of winning?”

“At best, maybe a 40% chance.”

“Hey.”

For a moment, I almost swore out loud.

You made me suffer like that for just a 40% chance?

Are you crazy?

However, for safety’s sake, I couldn’t blurt that out.

I first calmed my emotions and searched my mind for words that were as similar as possible to what I wanted to say, but wouldn’t provoke her.

Since I was weaker, I had to be the one to watch my words.

What a dirty world.

“40%, that doesn’t seem like enough.”

“The opponent is still the World Tree. It has magical power accumulated over eons.”

“Is it difficult to handle that?”

“Yes, but the Giant Woodcutter should be capable enough.”

I nodded.

After all, the Giant Woodcutter was a spell Cluna had created over hundreds of years solely to defeat the World Tree.

At least, that was what she claimed.

Of course, Cluna wasn’t a professional mage, but she was still a companion of the first hero, with knowledge, experience, and magical power enough to easily crush any ordinary mage.

To begin with, the Giant Woodcutter she had just created was a monstrous spell that defied common sense in this world.

Soon, the Giant Woodcutter Cluna had created immediately began to act.

The Giant Woodcutter swung the massive tree it held in its hand, cutting off the roots of the World Tree.

The World Tree’s roots, which had been regenerating so well before, were now completely severed by the axe and no longer regenerated.

“Does it have the power to suppress regeneration?”

“It’s a spell created by analyzing the traces of the World Tree. I’ll explain the details later.”

“You don’t have to explain later, it’s fine.”

I wouldn’t understand anyway.

Besides, if we defeated the World Tree, there would be no reason to use this spell again.

The Giant Woodcutter enthusiastically continued to chop and chop at the tree roots.

“In the end, a tree is a tree. If you completely destroy the roots, it has no choice but to wither.”

“The problem is that the World Tree won’t just watch this happen.”

“That’s right.”

Well, it was already trying to kill me, so how could it be a corrupted World Tree if it just stood still?

If it had even a bit of sense left, the World Tree might have chosen to die, but unfortunately, according to Cluna’s explanation, the World Tree before us had already been corrupted by pollution and was merely continuing its life activities.

In other words, its mental faculties were already dead.

That was why it kept consuming sacrifices so grotesquely to continue its life activities, but now, that too would come to an end.

Surely the forest giant Cluna had created would definitively cut off its lifeline!

“Cluna.”

“Yes?”

“It seems the giant’s arm has been cut off.”

“That’s correct.”

I turned my head.

I could see where one arm had been severed by the World Tree’s counterattack.

Why did we lack regenerative abilities while only the enemy had them?

I sincerely wished for a balance patch.

The World Tree, which would obviously never comply with such a patch, wielded its roots even more vigorously.

Now it deliberately used its roots to completely bind the body of the giant Cluna had summoned.

What did that mean?

It meant we could no longer do anything.

I looked at Cluna, who had been worryingly silent for a while.

Please, say something, anything.

“The World Tree’s resistance is much fiercer than I expected.”

“Is there another way?”

“Yes, there is. I didn’t use this spell for nothing, after all.”

“Right, of course.”

Of course.

This was a spell Cluna had created specifically to counter the World Tree.

It couldn’t possibly end in such a state.

So please, use it quickly.

The giant was still being bound by the roots.

Damn it!

“Commander, excuse me for a moment.”

“What?”

“This is just in case. There are no personal feelings involved.”

“Wait, hold on…!!”

I wondered what she was suddenly talking about, when Cluna suddenly embraced me.

That itself wasn’t a problem.

The issue was that it was in a princess carry position.

As a result, it was embarrassing.

Because I roughly knew what Cluna was trying to do, I didn’t resist.

And, as expected, Cluna threw herself from atop the giant towards the ground.

I couldn’t even scream.

I was so shocked that my heart nearly stopped.

Of course, Cluna easily used magic to land on the ground.

A gentle breeze lightly prevented our fall to our deaths.

Damn it.

“Whew, somehow it’s been resolved.”

“Yes, thanks to you, Commander.”

“What are you suddenly saying?”

“Thank you for believing in me until the end, Commander.”

“Ah.”

I looked up.

Cracks began to appear in the giant that had been half-consumed by the World Tree, light began to emerge, and soon a massive explosion occurred where the giant had been.

If it weren’t for the barrier Cluna had created, I would have used time stop with this broken body, carried Cluna on my back, and run like hell.

I had expected it, but to think it was really self-destruction.

The World Tree, which had half-absorbed the giant, was completely caught in the self-destruction and perished.

Moreover, for the scale of the explosion, the damage to the surroundings was very minimal.

Of course, there wasn’t zero damage.

“What kind of power did you use?”

“I developed magic that’s antithetical to the corrupted World Tree. I just packed the formula for that magic inside the giant.”

“So the cracks appeared, and the suppressed magic burst like a bomb.”

“That’s right. And this is the result.”

Cluna and I searched the area where the World Tree had been, just in case.

The roots of the World Tree might still be alive, but no roots of the World Tree remained.

After confirming the complete annihilation of the World Tree, I finally relaxed.

And because of that, I could confirm that my current physical state wasn’t normal.

My legs lost strength, and my posture collapsed.

“Commander!!”

“I-I’m fine. *cough*”

“You don’t look fine at all!”

Unusually, the smile had disappeared from Cluna’s lips.

She must have been tired herself, but despite that, she used healing magic to treat me.

Thanks to that, the pain was greatly reduced.

“There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you take care of your own body, Commander?”

“That’s…”

“Of course, I know you have your circumstances. But… please value your body a little more.”

Suddenly saying that, I had merely suffered self-harm as a penalty for using time acceleration.

Other than that, I hadn’t been hit even once.

If I had been hit even once, I would have died instantly.

However, because Cluna persistently kept demanding an answer, I had to give at least a perfunctory response.

Anyway, after dealing with the World Tree, we walked back towards the elven forest.

“Mother!! Commander!!”

“Clara! You’re safe!!”

“That’s a relief.”

Soon, we saw Clara running towards us from not too far away.

Once the situation had ended and things had calmed down a bit, it seemed she had run here from the village without resting.

I took a step back.

I didn’t want to unnecessarily interfere with the touching mother-daughter reunion.

Just as Clara and Cluna’s reunion was taking place, a shout was heard from behind.

“Cluna! So you’ve finally ended us!!”

Though their appearance was relatively young, judging by their manner of speech, they seemed to be the elders Cluna had mentioned.

Since they rudely interrupted the mother-daughter reunion, I had no choice but to step forward and block them.

“And who are you?!”

“Don’t interfere as you please.”

“Ridiculous! Because of those people, we’ve been put in a position where we have to worry about tomorrow!”

“…”

“Then what are we supposed to do?!”

It was a sincere cry of despair, but I couldn’t understand.

Was it right to continue sacrificing living people, intoxicated by the false peace obtained through offerings?

“Do it yourself. Whether it’s managing the forest or protecting it.”

“What?”

“Stop relying on others.”

I coldly rebuked them.

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[i think this is the first time ive read a novel where the world tree is evil]