688 FAFO 4


    Aron stood unmoving as his shield effortlessly tanked the barrage of attacks—fireballs, wind slashes, earth spears, magic missiles, and lightning bolts—all basic but potent spells.


    Despite the shield''s ease in absorbing the hits, the surrounding landscape bore the brunt of the onslaught, with the damage inflicted on his surroundings telling a very different story.


    The fireballs, each the size of a bowling ball, detonated against the shield, leaving behind craters several meters wide, some with glassy reflections at their centers from the intense heat. And that was just the beginning—other attacks gouged the ground, leaving deep fissures and scorched earth, revealing the true power behind the seemingly basic spells.


    "Each of them should be at the level of the strongest known awakeners," Aron mused, assessing the power of their attacks as the first barrage subsided. He hadn''t just tanked the attacks for the sake of it; he was using this initial round to gauge how much mana each strike drained from his reserves, allowing him to determine the strength of each humanoid''s assault accurately.


    "Time to get to work," Aron said, shrinking the shield until it was skintight and then immediately springing into action.


    He vanished in an instant, and by the time the sonic boom of his movements echoed through the air, seventeen of the nearest humanoids had already collapsed to the ground. Some of their bodies were engulfed in flames, others frozen solid, but all shared a common fate: each had been sliced into at least seven pieces.


    As the remaining humanoids quickly spread out, they continued their barrage of attacks, each one more desperate than the last.


    "Futile attempts," a few of the humanoids taunted, their voices carrying a forced calmness. "No matter what you do, you won''t be able to take down all of us. We brought more than enough to overwhelm you, and anything you''ve destroyed can be replaced."


    Despite their confident words, the tree folk controlling them were beginning to feel the weight of doubt. Though the situation still appeared to be in their favor, and they remained convinced of their eventual victory, they were now forced to consider the possibility of losing more than they had originally anticipated. Their calm fac?ade was cracking, revealing the underlying tension as they watched Aron slice through their forces with unnerving precision.


    What gave them pause was seeing Aron effortlessly slice through the first seventeen humanoids, despite the fact that they were shielded at maximum strength. It was as if those powerful shields were nothing more than paper to him. Even more troubling was the realization that their humanoids couldn’t keep up with Aron''s speed.


    This forced the tree folks to take action, using their main consciousness to guide the humanoids’ attacks.


    Yet, even with their intervention, the humanoids still had limitations, and despite their increase in awareness compared to previously, Aron was quick enough to evade and counter every strike, proving that their efforts were still not enough to stop him.


    “Give me what you have so far, and continue to update me with new information as it comes in. I don’t have time to waste; they might be planning something more. This can’t be even half of what they’re capable of.”


    {Here’s what we’ve gathered so far: The so-called Timeless Meadow is where they gather mana, meaning their actual consciousnesses are spread far apart from each other.


    Their bodies are structured with layers of roots, categorized into outer roots, inner roots, and core roots. The strength and number of humanoids they can create depend on which root is used.


    The more powerful the root, the fewer humanoids they can create at once, as there’s a limit to how many times they can split their consciousness.


    The outer roots are the weakest, and the humanoids you’re fighting are from this layer.


    Additionally, they can use magic through their actual bodies, which would be stronger than what the current humanoids are using. We don’t yet understand why they’re not using their actual bodies to deal with you.........}


    Upon hearing the last part of her explanation, Aron paused and said, “Ask if the humanoids need to be controlled by the main consciousness or if they can act independently,” as he grabbed a humanoid and used it as a shield against an incoming lightning bolt.


    {She said that the humanoids can act independently. But, they can also shift their focus to directly control the humanoids with their main consciousness.}


    “They must be planning something,” Aron said as he processed the information.


    “Find out where the core roots of the two are located,” he instructed, preparing his sword.


    As he held the sword with both hands and swung it in a horizontal, circular motion, he declared, “Severance.”


    Before the humanoids could react or question his unusual movements, all those at his altitude were sliced in half.