F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 348: Life and...Death

"Oh..."

Daru muttered as he turned his head to the left.

"Well, that was anticlimactic..." Elara chuckled, but she was visibly relieved that they were not randomly spawned in the next level.

They quickly understood why as they noticed something behind them — a Verdant Nucleus.

It was impossible to be separated, because they would be transported to the nucleus where the one on the lower level was connected.

Reaching the same conclusion, the two began looking around

It was impossible not to notice the odd skies. While there was still sunlight, it was weak, and the shadowy, dark-aquamarine clouds contributed to the grim atmosphere.

The dead forest, stretching for as far as their eyes could see, and the thin, translucent black mist in the air only reinforced this feeling.

This...was a land of death no doubt.

Daru and Elara came to the same conclusion.

"Shall we move?" the former suggested, to which the latter hesitated, for some reason, but chose to nod in the end.

"Have you noticed something?" Daru asked, noticing the hesitation. His comrade’s brain had always worked well to their advantage.

Perhaps the quick-witted princess was already onto something.

"No, let’s look around for now." Elara shook her head.

They simply looked at the nearest tree and followed the direction the hollow was facing.

For five whole minutes, all they saw were dead trees, odd bushes, growths...and what seemed to be a burrow.

The two of them moved warily around it, deciding to invest time and investigate.

But they found nothing.

It seemed to be a natural burrow, and there were no signs that anything — not even a small Swordspawn — dwelled there.

So, the two moved on.

They were starting to feel the physical toll of a lack of sleep and the exertion they had done earlier during the short but intense battle.

Still, it was within the realms of what they could ignore, and they did, though both were secretly already looking for locations where they could rest.

The natural burrows were uncommon.

However, if one traveled for five or so minutes, there would easily be one of them around.

Daru and Elara inwardly pondered whether they should use the cavities with barely enough space to rejuvenate themselves with rest and meals before proceeding deeper into the dead lands.

It was the logical course of action.

Although it still wasn’t noon, the princess suggested that they rest in the next burrow. Daru agreed.

After a total of around fifteen minutes since they arrived on this level of Yggdrasil, the two had decided on their first resting place.

It was an unassuming burrow like the two others they spotted prior to it.

Daru received the Dark Sentries from Elara and headed off to plant them fairly close to where they were.

The moment he placed the first one, however, his eyes widened.

"Elara!!" he roared to his comrade, who was neatly laying out her camping items close to the burrow.

It was truly a blessing that the princess’s mind worked like the engine of a top-of-the-line sports car.

Just from hearing her name called, she had instantly determined that there was danger, and that danger could only come from the burrow barely two meters away from her.

The tone of her comrade wouldn’t be so alarmed, otherwise.

Still, Elara was displeased at the sudden increase in heart rate, clicking her tongue as she summoned her blade and turned to face the burrow. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She was half a second too late.

The long, gray, thin blade cut through her left shoulder to her right waist like a hot knife through butter.

...Then, she pivoted her foot, slashing at the hairy root of the long and thin leg-blade.

Gray blood splattered out of the wound.

Elara’s eyes widened as she barely dodged them. It was a good thing that, by default, she would always dodge colored liquid, as they would sully her beauty and cleanliness.

There was definitely something wrong with that blood.

While a small amount probably wouldn’t kill her, she felt that something greatly undesirable would happen if they touched her.

She jumped back, observing the Swordspawn...then paled.

Elara abhorred creepy crawlies, but as a Bladeborn, especially one who was a future champion of her race, destined to lead human legions, she must train her heart to face everything, spiders included.

Thankfully, it was already a sword leg down.

A few meters behind her, Daru was already rushing, leaning forward like a panther as he sprinted to help his comrade.

The Rotblade Burrower was nowhere near as tough as the Runebarks.

Yet, the duo felt that it was more dangerous, not only because it was of a higher level at 86, but because they, by instinct, knew that even a minor mistake could be their deaths.

Still, since the crawly spawn wasn’t tough, their seamless coordination led to the quick deterioration of the Rotblade Burrower’s situation.

It was now three legs down.

But then, it suddenly scrambled back to its burrow, as if panicking. It was easy to think that it was because they were winning, and the crawly spawn was losing.

But no...

The duo was certain this wasn’t the case as they, too, sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

In the distance, silhouettes were scrambling to hide in other types of cavities, but not a single one of them chose the tree hollows, for some reason.

Daru and Elara hesitated.

Should they pursue the spider, slay it, and take the burrow for themselves?

As more time passed, the feeling grew stronger, and the two felt it again. The threat of instant death — just like that time with the Trapper Tree.

Unease growing in their hearts, they stopped dallying, nodding at each other and immediately circling to the entrance of the burrow.

Then, they hurled every projectile they had in their arsenal — Crescent Dicer, Full Moon Assault, and more from Elara.

She even dropped a huge silver sword at it.

Some were deflected back, but after a while, everything was entering, and nothing was exiting.

The ground they were standing on mildly rumbled.

After a sweet notification that confirmed their kill, the duo hurried towards the burrow.

Daru didn’t even have time to think about the Dark Sentry he left behind.

The sensation only grew more intense, to the point that it was suffocating.

But after the two slid into the burrow, the feeling vanished as if a bubble popped.

A few unsettling seconds later, in which Elara did everything in her power to distract herself from the disgusting corpse just a meter away behind her...a gray lid unfurled and sealed the burrow entrance shut.