Chapter 21: Gardener of the Earth Mother God (3)
For the next half day, an endless wave of monsters continued.
But there wasn’t much for me to do.
“Eh, Divine Throne. In the case of the Chicken King just now, it would have been better to just roast it completely.”
“Uhoh. This won’t be enough. We need to fill this area before the next wave arrives.”
“Ah……! That’s not how you use Enchanting Arin.”
Following the altered mission, I tilted the cup containing World Tree Sap and offered guidance.
The Gardener of the Earth Mother God took my advice precisely as instructed.
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God delivers a new deployment map.]
“Oh, this time there isn’t a single gap. Divine Throne, you must have done well with MonMonMak too?”
And quickly, progress was made.
As expected, the Divine Throne was indeed the Divine Throne.
Alone, it performed well, and when taught, it excelled even more.
In other words, teaching it was enjoyable.
Because of that, I could give guidance enthusiastically.
Perhaps thanks to the sap’s effects, I didn’t even feel tired despite staying awake all day.
[The 100th monster wave is approaching. Prepare!]
Finally, it was the last wave.
“This is the final one.”
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God is burning with determination.]
Good.
Judging by the Divine Throne’s reaction, it seemed this could end with mere guidance until the very end.
“Check wave info.”
But right after checking the wave info,
I couldn’t help but frown.
“Hmm.”
So the last really is the last, huh.
This time, it seemed it wouldn’t end with mere guidance.
***
Kuuung!
A monster the size of a house, resembling a mammoth, entered the garden entrance.
Behemoth.
A calamity-class monster with an S-level threat rating, assigned by the Management Bureau, appeared exactly as its terrifying appearance suggested.
Even with more than three S-rank Hunters attacking, it wouldn’t be easy to handle. It smashed through the garden entrance without hesitation.
Plants in its path occasionally fired acidic spores, but—
“-----!”
It trampled the garden as if it were weeds, breaking through the grass-wall corridor.
Truly an unstoppable force.
But even such a monster couldn’t surpass the plants that had fully taken over one garden room.
Shurrrk!
Passing through the garden corridor, the Behemoth reached the “Giant Monster Room” prepared by the Divine Throne and me.
The numerous vines pre-installed immediately entangled its legs.
Made from World Tree roots, the Behemoth could not easily escape.
“------!”
Tududuk!
Of course, the vines alone couldn’t fully control the Behemoth’s movements.
As it thrashed, the stubbornly entangled vines began tearing off bit by bit.
But at that moment—
Pyubyubik!
Thousands of round, bead-like projectiles rained on the mammoth-sized body from all directions.
They were sticky bombs released from Beadweed.
“Gwaaaaak!”
The Behemoth screamed with bloodshot eyes.
It probably hadn’t taken any real damage.
Vines and bead bombs alone couldn’t scratch its tough hide.
No plant in the garden could damage a calamity-class monster like this.
Still, it flared as if injured.
That much—the combination of bead bombs and vines fixed the house-sized Behemoth so firmly that it thrashed violently.
“Good work, Divine Throne. The idea of combining bead bombs with World Tree vines was excellent.”
I gave a thumbs-up to the floating Beholder.
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God lifts its shoulders.]
‘Let’s leave praise at that.’
I wanted to praise the Divine Throne’s rapid adaptability even more, but time was limited.
Tududuk!
Its movement was slowed by the sticky bombs, yet the Behemoth remained the Behemoth.
Each time it shifted, the vines shook dangerously.
We needed to finish this quickly.
And that final action wasn’t the plants’ responsibility—it was mine.
I asked Gono beside me:
“Gono, will your club even affect that stupid elephant?”
“Kirrk.”
Gono scratched his head.
It meant he wasn’t sure.
Well, even if Gono was overpowered with items, the Behemoth was a monster of a different tier.
And a new problem appeared immediately.
“--------!”
Amid a ground-shaking roar, something began falling from the fur covering the Behemoth.
“…What’s that?”
It looked like fleas being shaken off.
Indeed, insect-type monsters resembling fleas fell from its fur.
The problem? Considering the Behemoth’s size, the “fleas” were as large as goblins.
Quickly donning the Silver-Rimmed Glasses, monster info appeared in my vision.
[Blood Flea]
[Type: Normal Monster]
[Rank: 2-star, MonMonMak Standard]
[Stats: Strength 10, Agility 25, Stamina 5, Intelligence 3]
[Skills: Vampirism Lv.1]
[These monsters live in the Behemoth’s fur. When threatened, they expand their bodies with sucked blood.]
Ssss!
Over a hundred blood fleas descended in an instant, charging forward.
Jumping and dodging vines and bead bombs, their grotesque movement was horrifying.
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God is flustered.]
Judging by the reaction, even it hadn’t expected this.
But there was no time to blame the Divine Throne.
Plop!
A leading blood flea leapt high toward me.
“Kirrk!”
Crack!
Before it could squash me, Gono’s club traced a sharp arc.
Ssshk!
Hot blood splashed across my face.
Through the blood-soaked vision, I focused straight ahead.
Gono was swinging his club like a whirlwind, destroying fleas one by one.
Each swing burst a droplet of blood in the air, smashing a flea.
But—
‘Gono alone isn’t enough.’
They kept emerging from the Behemoth’s fur relentlessly.
Even if Gono swung endlessly, he couldn’t handle them all.
Then—
“Odolf!”
It was time for total war.
Wiping blood, I quickly rolled the orb in my hand.
Puhong!
From the rolling orb, an Ogre wearing a wizard’s hat appeared.
Puhak!
Fleas that foolishly charged the Ogre became pulp against the massive log.
Odolf shook off the residue on the log and asked:
“Master, what are these insignificant creatures?”
“Questions later. Deal with all the bugs approaching me.”
“As you command. Go!”
Odolf swept the surrounding fleas with his Magic Rod.
I stared at the DOT status window.
Total war wasn’t over yet.
Total war meant throwing all manpower and resources into the fight.
“Castle, you prepared the Gold, right?”
[4,000 Gold deposited from Zen Karuk’s Soul Stone at Dream Lord’s Castle.]
I adjusted my earlobe with lightning-fast motion and tapped the DOT window.
[Activate Trade with the Lord Lv.1]
[Spend 2,500 Gold to hire Lizardman High Priest Zen Karuk.]
Woong!
Zen Karuk’s orb bounced from the crack.
Transparent with swirling green energy.
I threw it onto the floor littered with remains of blood fleas.
[Summon Lizardman High Priest, Zen Karuk!]
Smoke spread, revealing a Lizardman with feather ornaments on his head.
“Kii, Kiit?!”
Zen Karuk looked bewildered.
“Hey, High Priest!”
“Kit!”
He turned at the call, eyes wide.
Apparently, he remembered the moment Odolf smashed his head.
Chwaak!
I avoided a blood flea flying from Odolf’s log and shouted urgently:
“Hurry, try that, that thing!”
“Kit, Kiit?”
“Make a splash!”
“Kit!”
Only then did Zen Karuk notice the garden swarming with blood fleas and understand the situation.
He also realized who his master was.
[Zen Karuk casts Tears of the Ancient God. Power reduced by 40% due to hiring.]
He planted his staff on the ground.
At the same time, water spiraled around it.
The water quickly became a hurricane, engulfing the garden interior.
Kwaaaah!
Not comparable to what I experienced at the Lake.
A mild rainstorm at best.
But enough to destroy the chitin of the blood fleas.
Szzzt!
Fleas torn apart by the water fell to the ground.
Even those trapped in Behemoth’s fur were washed out.
“---------!”
The Behemoth roared in anger.
Even after all blood fleas were annihilated, the calamity-class monster remained.
But there was nothing else to do.
The Divine Throne’s “Bead-Vine” still held it firmly.
How long it would last, no one knew.
We had to deal with the Behemoth before the vines tore away.
“Zen Karuk, can you focus the water from that staff into a single spot?”
“Kiit.”
The Lizardman nodded.
“Good. Odolf!”
I called Odolf, still killing remaining blood fleas.
“Yes, Master!”
“Place Gono on Behemoth’s head and throw him.”
“Did I hear that right?”
Odolf blinked.
“Kirrk?”
Gono beside him tilted his head.
A simple attack wouldn’t pierce the thick Behemoth hide.
We needed an attack capable of penetrating it.
“We’re going to use Gono like a magic projectile.”
“Magic projectile…?”
“Yes, I’ll explain.”
I explained for about a minute.
After the explanation, Odolf scratched his head.
“Possible? With my strength, it might not be impossible…”
“Ki, Kirrk.”
Gono was completely lost in thought.
“It’s fine, Gono. If the timing’s right, it’ll work.”
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God makes a regretful expression.]
Divine Throne, don’t interfere.
Finally, Gono climbed onto the Ogre’s massive hands with a resigned expression.
“Prepare yourself too.”
“Kit.”
Zen Karuk planted his staff in the ground.
“--------!”
The Behemoth roared, almost tearing off a vine.
I pointed at it without hesitation.
“Go!”
“Sorry, Goblin friend!”
“Ki, Kirrk…….”
Odolf charged forward, holding Gono in one hand.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The giant steps shook the ground.
At the peak of Odolf’s acceleration—
“Throw!”
Odolf hurled Gono toward Behemoth’s head.
The tiny goblin surged toward the monster like a baseball.
When the distance closed to about one-third—
“Gono!”
[Goblin Slave activates 「Raven Set Effect - Raven’s Wingbeat (A)」]
Paang!
The goblin accelerated midair again.
A green meteor streaked toward the house-sized monster.
“--------!”
Only then did Behemoth notice the object flying toward its forehead and screamed.
It swung its log-sized nose to protect its forehead.
But that wasn’t enough.
“Zen Karuk, cast it!”
[Zen Karuk activates 「Tears of the Ancient God - Shield」]
The green meteor was suddenly covered by a wandering blue water stream.
The terrible hurricane of Tears of the Ancient God engulfed Gono.
“------!”
Behemoth screamed with bloodshot eyes.
Before the death throe ended—
Kwaddeudeuk!
A blue concentric circle formed.
Its huge nose shattered as if hit by a large-caliber shell.
Immediately, the teal meteor penetrated Behemoth’s forehead and emerged from the back of its head.
The monster froze briefly.
And then, its massive body collapsed helplessly.
Kuuung!
Its body, filling the garden, crashed to the ground, shaking the earth with a bursting sound.
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God sighs.]
Well, one garden area was destroyed—it was expected.
Still, what does it matter?
[Congratulations. You passed the “Garden” test.]
What was preserved can always be restored.
[You cleared the Garden of Mind. Final reward is issued.]
And I could just leave after collecting the reward…
But wait a minute.
[Final reward: ?-grade item issued.]
The item grade seems strange.