I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 458: The Battle of the Seven Roots (2)

Ventmin Lifrey lay down as if sinking into a pond and connected with the World Tree.

Right now, she was looking down at the battle situation through the World Tree's eyes.

On the eastern wall were the Three Noble Families and on the western wall was the neutral faction.

Just looking at the state of the troops, the opponent was already fully prepared.

They knew this side was planning something, and they had been preparing for quite some time.

'From now on, it's purely a battle of time. The moment either side gets caught up in a minor mistake, everything will be over.'

The circumstances were currently favoring Ventmin's side.

Everything they needed was already in place and since all the main forces were pushed into the inner castle, there was no need to worry even if the outer castle was breached.

Rather, considering the complex structure, the inner castle was much more favorable for defense.

They didn't need to block completely. As long as they could buy time, victory would be hers.

If she could fully possess the power of the World Tree, then the seven families would no longer be needed in this kingdom.

A single tree standing tall.

The birth of an Elven king.

'How long have I waited to get here?'

Ventmin, still with her eyes closed, thoroughly scanned the battle situation.

Among them, what particularly stood out was the neutral faction.

Ambella Burke.

Her figure was clearly visible, standing at the head of the lined-up soldiers with the bearing of a general.

Quite some time had passed, but rather than aging, her bearing had improved and her momentum had grown stronger.

She had an appearance that could blend in even if placed next to a fierce beast-folk warrior.

Though one eye is said to be hidden behind an eye patch, her remaining eye was full of spirit.

She was absolutely not an opponent to be taken lightly, just looking at her appearance proved that.

As if knowing she was being watched, she wore a provocative, spirited smile.

'Yes. You too have been a constant thorn in my side.'

During the racial war, Ventmin had hoped Burke would be completely swept away by the flames of war but those persistent ones became even stronger by uniting through the war.

Now they were even actively engaging in exchanges with the outside.

In some sense, they were a shame to the elves.

That must be why they could get along with that wicked Plante.

'But Burke moving so suddenly like this is concerning. Is it because of Dentis?'

To check Dentis, she deliberately leaked Plante's information to the Three Noble Families.

She hoped they would fight each other and wear themselves out but Dentis handled it better than expected and even brought in Burke.

As far as Ventmin knew, there had been no connection between Dentis and Burke.

As someone who regularly connected to the World Tree, there couldn't have been any missing information in this regard.

Moreover, it was concerning that Dentis' response was too excellent when she had used the Three Noble Families to check him.

'Vierano Dentis. Was that man such an outstanding head of family? No. I understand that he's an exceptional powerhouse. But he wasn't someone who could achieve this level of results in this kind of situation.'

This wasn't just Ventmin's judgment alone.

This was a conclusion reached after much deliberation, combining opinions and materials through regular reports from the Shade Wardens.

Nevertheless, that prediction went quite astray.

Ventmin felt a tingling in her temples, like the feeling of a tiny bug secretly crawling somewhere on her body.

'How did the head of Dentis enter the forest?'

She tried to read this using the World Tree's authority but no matter how much she looked, there was no trace of Vierano Dentis entering through the forest entrance.

As if he had just fallen from the sky.

'Fallen from the sky?'

Recently, there was an incident where the Shade Warden observers guarding the border of Dentis family territory were completely wiped out.

All traces of the corpses showed they were killed by swords but at the time, she thought it was done by Dentis' soldiers.

The slight sense of discomfort when receiving that report and the current situation.

'Vierano Dentis is a professor at Theon and Plante's bloodline was also John Doe's subordinate. She was certain John Doe would come to save her. John Doe's current public identity is a Professor at Theon.'

The scattered puzzle pieces came together to form a single picture.

Why did she think all these events only involved elves?

The spotlight on the stage was too bright, making even Ventmin forget that behind the stage, in the dark shadows, someone was hiding who created this stage.

And now the one who orchestrated this situation was in the forest.

'John Doe.'

This method of indirectly instigating people and organizations to escalate situations without revealing himself.

Wasn't this the most frequently used technique of Black Dawn's First Order, John Doe?

'It was you. You came here.'

Was she too hasty with the great work right in front of her?

She shouldn't have carelessly overlooked even small things, but she made a mistake.

If there was any consolation, it was that she noticed before reaching the point of no return.

'Where? Where are you hiding, John Doe?'

Someone like him would certainly look for an opening to enter.

He would quietly strike at the vital point at the most secretive and sharp moment.

Ventmin, who thoroughly scanned the surrounding area through the World Tree, soon smiled inwardly.

'So that's where you were.'

John Doe was in between the forces led by Ambella and Vierano.

Next to him were the human men he had brought with him.

Was he planning to sneak in after the war started?

It might have been the best choice in the given situation, but sadly, it wasn't the right answer.

'Come if you can. This place is already my domain.'

No sooner had that thought ended than the legion lined up outside the castle began to move.

The war was about to begin.

* * *

Sedina unconsciously tensed at the ominous signs felt from outside.

Peeking through the only window, she could vaguely see armies lined up beyond the pure white castle walls.

'What's about to happen now? A war?'

It was easy to tell that forces of that scale hadn't gathered for nothing.

‘The forest is afraid now.’

Sedina could feel the forest's emotions directly.

It was a mysterious sensation.

She had faintly felt it when tending to small flower beds in the teaching assistant's room, but after coming to the elven forest, that sensation was much more intensified.

Beyond the life force felt from plants emotions were transmitted.

This familiar sensation wasn't much different from when she used paper folding magic.

Just like folding cut paper and making it move with magic and wishes.

She had an inexplicable confidence that if she asked the plants, they would listen well.

'If I use this, maybe...'

Something is about to happen right now.

Sedina seriously considered whether she should attempt an escape alone even now.

That's when the door swung open and soldiers rushed in.

The one leading them was the gray-haired elf with the taciturn impression she had seen before.

He stared at Sedina with cold eyes.

"Come with me."

"..."

Sedina pondered.

She didn't know why they were calling for her at this exact moment, but it certainly wasn't with good intentions.

Normally, refusing would be the right choice.

'But would that be possible?'

She had virtually no combat ability.

On the other hand, the opponent was a well-armed force.

Even if she resisted, she could easily imagine being dragged away by force.

Sedina thought for a brief moment and it was almost instinctive when her lost gaze turned toward the window.

Sedina saw the figure of a crow watching her while flying in the air.

"...Alright. I'll go. Please lead the way."

"..."

As if he hadn't expected Sedina to say such a thing so confidently, the gray-haired elf wore a surprised expression.

Whether she had some plan, or was just agreeing to go without knowing anything.

However, that doubt didn't last long.

Even if Sedina had some scheme, there was nothing she could do anyway.

"Let's go."

Following the man's order, Sedina left the tower under the surveillance and escort of the elven soldiers.

* * *

"Found her."

Alex and Bellaruna nodded at Hans' words.

They had finally located Sedina's position, who had been imprisoned somewhere in the Serendel Royal Castle.

"Currently, she is moving inside the royal castle under the surveillance of the Lifrey family elves."

"Did you confirm where she's going?"

"It's difficult to track further with the crow, and now I'm checking through small animals and birds living inside. Looking at the approximate location, it seems she's heading toward the depths of the royal castle."

"Combining everything we've discussed so far, it looks like they're trying to make contact with the World Tree."

Bellaruna carefully offered her opinion.

"The World Tree. Isn't where we are also the World Tree?"

Alex chuckled while looking around.

Where they were was underground, where sunlight couldn't reach, a place full of black rocks and wet mud, with an unknown stench wafting through.

It was a huge cavity existing beneath the roots of the World Tree.

They were moving by stepping on the World Tree's roots like stairs in the cavity.

"This is truly a three-dimensional maze like no other. Is this what they called the labyrinth that existed in ancient times?"

One small mistake and you would fall down.

Although it was an underground cavity, its size was impossible to estimate.

Just looking down, nothing could be seen except pitch-black darkness.

That's when Bellaruna, who was moving at the front, stopped her steps.

The rest of the party also stopped moving and held their breath in sync.

-Rustle rustle.

Along with the sound of something crawling, a huge shadow briefly passed through the dim darkness.

Six legs, black armored scales and sharp lower jaws, it was a ground worm parasite to the World Tree's underground roots.

In a way, it was natural for insects to live off a tree as large as the World Tree.

However, when the insect is as big as a forest bear, then it's a different story.

The worms that had been living by sucking the sap from the World Tree's roots were no longer ordinary insects.

They were no different from beasts that had evolved by fully absorbing the mana of the Kasar Basin, or cryptids created by the condensation of negative forces.

The reason why the World Tree's underground cavity was dangerous lay in these worms.

It's a dangerous place that's dark and damp, and if you slip, you fall into an endless abyss.

In such a place, insects as big as bears crawl around making sounds from all directions, making it impossible to endure with ordinary mental fortitude.

Moreover, those worms weren't simply creatures that sucked the World Tree's sap.

They were omnivorous, eating both humans and elves indiscriminately.

Naturally, they were the most dangerous element to avoid in this root cavity.

"It's really spine-chilling. If we didn't have our reliable guide, we would have met a terrible fate long ago."

Hans shuddered as he watched the huge ground worm disappear into the darkness.

It was all thanks to Bellaruna that they could safely find their way through this complex maze of roots.

"Yes, I've been here a few times before, so don't worry."

At the time, Bellaruna was able to easily escape through this root cavity when fleeing from the royal castle.

"But what kind of mindset made you think of coming to a place like this?"

While now it's different because Bellaruna is experienced, there must have been a first time even for her.

Unless someone's head wasn't right, they wouldn't even think of crawling into this hell-like place voluntarily.

"Well, I just wanted to get closer to the World Tree somehow, so I wandered around here and there...hehe."

"..."

‘Ah. This elf's head was already not right.’

Hans shook his head.

Still, thanks to Bellaruna's eccentricity, they could now move without being detected by anyone.

However, there was one thing that bothered him.

"Why did brother made us move separately?"

Rudger wasn't here.

Currently, only Hans, Alex, and Bellaruna were moving.

"It can't be helped. The leader is busy in his own way. Let's just focus on reaching our destination first."

"Then let's go right away. I want to get out of this terrible space as soon as possible."

"I agree with that part."

Even for Alex, who was quite strong-hearted, seeing this underground root environment and the huge insects made him feel mentally drained.

The only one who seemed fine was Bellaruna, who was eagerly leading the way.

"Still, don't forget. The role we've been given is very important."

"I know."

Hans muttered while slightly glancing at his own chest.

In his inner pocket was the Tiger's Tooth that Rudger had given him.