Chapter 221: The Intruder of the World Tree (2)
The unicorn was shaking its horn menacingly, trying to shake off the elf rangers, while the elf rangers were struggling to bind it with golden ropes instead of shooting it.
Even though I had seen over a hundred horses at the centaur village and in the knight order, this one was different—its sleek coat, glossy mane, sapphire-blue eyes, and not an intimidating muscular build, but a body with graceful curves like something out of a painting.
Its appearance was as beautiful as the unicorns of legend, but its mouth—no, the sounds coming from it were nothing more than typical neighing and snorting, and the telepathic messages it sent directly into our minds were nothing short of vile.
[Hey hey! Back off! Especially you—how dare a non-virgin try to touch me!]
Though the elf rangers were known for their agility, they couldn't carelessly approach the unicorn, which used feints and had human-level intelligence. A single hit from it could be fatal.
"Can't we just shoot it?"
"No. The unicorn is also under the protection of the forest. Other humans might not fear the returning curse and try to kill or harm it, but elves can't do that. Besides, elf arrows made of wood are ineffective due to the forest's blessing."
Professor Pandel tried to subdue the unicorn using magic, and Pai attempted to bind it using spirit arts. But the unicorn sensed their intentions and dodged immediately, swinging its horn through the air, dispersing the magic and neutralizing the spirits.
[Hmph! Not a chance!]
"Iris, Pai, you came to support us?"
As we stood wondering what to do with the unicorn, a voice called out from behind us, and when I turned around, I couldn't help but gasp.
"A d-dryad?"
An elf woman who looked just like the dryad I had just chopped down and sealed in a jar was standing behind us.
Of course, the dryad's body was more mature, while this woman had the typical elf figure—flat chest and hips.
"Elder!"
"Greetings, Elder."
Apparently, she was one of the elf elders.
Considering how ancient the dryad was, this elf must be quite old too, but she showed no signs of aging, only extremely long hair reaching the ground that hinted at her long life.
"But I can't bring myself to look her in the face..."
She must be the one who raised that great dryad. If she heard I had chopped it up for sap extraction and took the limbs away, she'd definitely be furious...
"Though it's an emergency, I'm glad to see children from the outer village."
Even with the World Tree's barrier shattered and the unicorn rampaging, she and Iris were chatting calmly.
"Do these elves really think this is the time to be having a casual conversation?"
"Take this rope. It's enhanced with spirit energy using my hair. It should let you capture the unicorn without harming it."
Iris and Pai took the hair rope the elder offered. She then looked at me silently, as if demanding an explanation, and Iris spoke up.
"He's a knight dispatched from the kingdom."
"You reek of dryad scent."
That's because I was just having my way with a dryad that looks like you... But I couldn't say that to her face and just looked away.
"Human child, will you help us?"
The elder offered me a rope made from her hair, and I accepted it without a word.
"Please have everyone fall back. I'll handle this."
I asked the elf rangers to back off—they'd just get in the way. When the elder signaled, they quickly retreated from the unicorn.
"Snort!"
[Hmph! Not a chance! I'll protect my sister!]
'Oh, so there's an accomplice.'
I held the rope made of the elder's long, smooth hair, tied a loop at the end to form a lasso, and started approaching the unicorn, swinging it.
[Ew...? I smell something filthy...]
With the others gone, I naturally got the closest. The unicorn raised its horn and glared at me with a face full of disgust.
[The stink of a filthy male is all over you!]
Of course, it would hate me. Unicorns only like virgins, and I've got plenty of experience.
'Well, I'm used to breaking wild ones like this.'
I stepped in slowly, planning to throw the rope and catch its neck once I got close enough. The unicorn was watching me, preparing to charge.
'Hm?'
Even though we were still 20 meters apart, my instincts screamed at me to raise my hand immediately.
'Something's coming!'
In situations like this, I trust instinct over reason.
I threw an uppercut into empty air—and at that moment, the unicorn's form blurred and lunged at me.
Wham!
My fist, wrapped in the elder's hair rope, connected cleanly with the unicorn's jaw.
"Neighhh!!"
Boom!
Like a bullet tearing through air faster than sound, the unicorn accelerated and lunged at a completely unexpected timing.
But what it hadn't expected was that the moment I sensed something off, my punch was already flying. As I felt a throbbing pain in my jaw, I understood why the elves didn't use arrows, and why the unicorn was so confident under the forest's protection.
'Is this counter-damage magic?'
I could bear this much pain. My head rang, but while the unicorn staggered from the direct hit, I threw the noose over its neck and climbed onto its back using the rope.
My experience riding Eileen came in handy—this unicorn was smaller than her, so mounting it was easy.
[Oww! You climbed on my back! Only pure maidens are allowed on my back!]
"Sorry I'm a sweaty man!"
[Get off me now!]
The unicorn kicked and thrashed to shake me off, but like with Eileen, I endured its bucking and locked my arm around its neck to choke it.
'If I can subdue it like this...'
Though I was short of breath, I figured the unicorn, tired from rampaging, would tire out faster. But then, its thick neck suddenly shrank, slipping out of my grasp.
"Ugh! The smell! I'm suffocating!"
The unicorn turned into a woman with short hair, blue mane becoming hair, and a horn still on her forehead. She screamed and tried to flee.
But the rope around her neck stayed tight through the transformation, and as I tried to stop her like I had with Silvia...
Boom!
A massive burst of mana erupted inside the barrier. Not from the hole that had been opened earlier, but a different spot.
Sssssss!
It wasn't fire or explosion.
Just the mana release alone had enough destructive power to burn the surroundings.
That kind of mana—I had only seen something similar when the guardian dragon Seyra descended.
"Fire!"
The elf rangers, wary of a unicorn accomplice, immediately began shooting at the intruder who shattered the barrier.
[Ugh...!]
"Neighhh!"
The unicorn transformed back, glowing horn and all, and leapt forward to block the incoming arrows with her body. The rangers had to divert their shots to avoid harming her.
"..."
Only Iris had waited until now. She fired a perfectly curving arrow through the shimmering haze, striking the accomplice beyond.
[No! Sis, run!]
The other rangers tried to fire again, but the unicorn turned human again and charged forward to block them physically.
"Uni!"
"Don't get in the line of fire!"
"Everyone back! I'll protect my sis..."
That was when another mana blast flew from beyond the haze, likely to save the unicorn.
Weaker than before, but still strong enough to incinerate the elf rangers.
'But!'
Slash!
I swung my mana saber, charged with energy, and sliced through the mana blast.
Both were made of mana, so they canceled each other. The saber's thin, precise strike cut through the broad mana blast like scissors through cloth, shielding the rangers.
'Now to chase them...'
"Ugh?!"
Whoosh!
A delayed recoil hit the rope I was holding. The space restored itself and pulled me toward the unicorn.
'Damn... I lost them.'
As I saw the accomplice escape, I shifted focus to the unicorn I could still catch and reactivated my mana saber while flying.
Whirrr!
"Ack?! That filthy male scent is coming again...!"
Ssssh!
I flew in and slashed at the unicorn's horn.
Boom!
The horn, seemingly mana-coated, deflected my saber. But the high-pressure mana strike caused her eyes to roll back and collapse on the spot.
Sssshhh...
Her scorched horn hit the ground, burning the grass. I pinned her down underfoot to keep her from moving.
"Ban! Is your forehead okay?"
"I don't have a horn, so there's nothing there to hurt."
"You figured that out that fast?"
Or maybe just figured a little burn wouldn't matter. Not like this was my first time getting hit with a mana saber.
"Now then..."
I turned to the elder elf, who had been silently watching everything from afar.
"What should we do next?"
"First, let's bind her and discuss how to handle this."
"Hmm."
Time to pass judgment?