Epic Of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2350: Oda Nobunaga’s Endless Castle [68]

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Root wasn't exaggerating. The Nature Dragons had carefully prepared Nefeil's skeleton for Yggdrasil's grand plan. Long ago, Nefeil sacrificed his life to heal Alfheim after the cataclysm unleashed by the Vampire Venerable. That event had devastated the land thousands of years ago, but Nefeil's lifeforce and divine power had restored the continent's lush forests, breathing life back into a dying world.

To truly awaken the skeleton's dormant power, Root had imbued each bone with his own divinity and soul. His energy reawakened the bones' original strength, and now they gleamed with radiant white light, pulsing with sacred energy.

These bones were no ordinary relics—they were Divine Treasures. Root was using them as his vessel; his body forged from sacred remains. It was well known among the divine that such Treasures responded to divine power as if they possessed souls of their own.

"Hmph, everything has its limits," Toyouke-Ōmikami snarled. "Even you will fall. No matter how fiercely you resist, you will join my army of Withered and Decayed!"

"{Abyssal Black Forest of Withered Decay}!"

Toyouke-Ōmikami roared, her Dominion trembling as giant black trees surged forth, merging into a massive forest of writhing branches, roots, and spectral fruits. The fruits detached from the trees and flew toward them, exploding like grenades.

Alma raised her Mana Shields to block the blasts. Hermes unleashed Spatial Shockwaves, repelling and destroying the trees. Callon transformed his remaining arm into a cannon, firing beams of charged electricity that tore through the corrupted vegetation.

But the enemy kept coming. More creatures emerged without end, pushing them back. Toyouke-Ōmikami was confident she could win this battle of attrition, even if it meant endlessly summoning familiars.

"HAAAAH!"

Root stepped forward. Opening his skeletal jaws, he unleashed a colossal breath attack of pure Life and Nature, refined and compressed to its maximum potency.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

The beam bombarded the Withered Nature. Their decaying bodies crumbled into dust as Toyouke-Ōmikami realized Root had weaponized his power against hers. Their elements were complete opposites.

Normally, her corruption would absorb his energy. But Root wasn't using a physical form to channel his element. His breath attacks were composed of flame and light—forces she couldn't absorb.

"Y-YOU DAMNED—!"

Toyouke-Ōmikami's flawless face twisted with rage, growing uglier as her fury intensified. Her sharp, elongated nails sliced through the air, creating ten spatial cracks from which black plants surged.

"{Abyssal Withered Forest Gates}!"

Ten gates appeared, unleashing hundreds of black trees that merged into massive, corrupted masses. They struck Alma's barrier, shattering it instantly and sending her and the others flying.

"Damn it!"

Alma quickly caught the twins with her Mana Aura, shaped like long hands, shielding them as they healed. Callon crashed headfirst into the ground, tumbling down a hill. Hermes landed on his feet, using spatial magic to stabilize himself.

"Ugh?! Ahhh?!"

Alma heard Callon's scream. He was surrounded by dozens of giant black treant monsters, roaring and attacking from every direction. He activated his mechanical armor and fired at the creatures with his arm cannon, trying to reach his sister—only to be grabbed and dragged back into the forest.

"Callon!"

Alma rushed down the hill, transforming her Mana Aura into over a hundred massive fists. She pushed herself to her absolute limit, roaring with determination.

She wasn't going to lose her brother—not after everything it took to find him and free him from Greenwood's brainwashing.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM!"

Alma screamed, her soul surging with divine blessings, buffs, and the soul gear she had equipped.

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

The gray Mana fists pummeled the forest and its monsters, crushing them one by one. Explosions of raw Mana erupted everywhere. Callon was barely saved—his armor reduced to fragments, but it had protected his life.

"Alma... you saved me...!"

"Stay with me, Callon!"

Alma enveloped him in her Mana Aura, which continued to evolve as she fought and pushed beyond her limits.

The forest pursued her, but Root charged through it with his skeletal body, crushing the devilish plants and incinerating them with his breath.

"She's hiding beneath the plants—we need to break through!" he shouted.

"Perfect. That's my specialty! Where's Hermes?!" Alma called.

"Right here!" Hermes teleported to her side.

"You can teleport again!" Alma exclaimed.

"Only short distances I can see with my own eyes," Hermes replied. "But it should help. I think I can even teleport others now... Logi taught me a bit about spatial magic."

"What?! When?!"

"I had a private lesson with him before we left for Vanaheim. It wasn't long, and he's not a great teacher... but I think I understood some of it," Hermes said. "Root, you holding up?"

"I am! I'll be your shield—stay behind me!"

Root charged into the mass of withering plants, roaring as he released spectral curses to weaken and destroy them.

"RAAAAHHH!"

He tore through the vegetation with his skeletal hands, his claws blazing with golden fire. The monsters burned to ash as his breath carved a corridor through the forest for the others to follow.

"YOU WON'T BREACH MY FORTRESS!"

Toyouke-Ōmikami's voice echoed furiously. The twins and Callon were down—Callon wasn't unconscious, but he was in no condition to fight. His nanomachines, injected by Kate, were repairing his body and weapons.

The twins were still healing, cradling within Alma and Root's Aura. They were barely stable, and any sudden movement could destabilize them. Alma focused half her mind just to keep them alive.

Meanwhile, Root roared. His soul was under constant assault, the abyssal darkness trying to corrupt him through Toyouke-Ōmikami's authority. But his willpower held firm—he resisted as much as he could.

RUMBLE!

The abyssal forest trembled. Alma and Root watched as the plants twisted into grotesque forms—giant creatures with massive wooden claws, cursed miasma flowing from their bodies, and crimson, eye-shaped fruits hanging from purple and red leaves.

"{Abyssal Decaying Treant Sentinels}! Destroy them!"

Toyouke-Ōmikami commanded her titans. Over two hundred meters tall, they swung their colossal limbs, shaking the earth and creating massive craters with each blow.

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