Ultimate Technique

I couldn’t afford to create new Wood Golems through my Tree Planting aptitude every time — not when quick response could mean the difference between life and death.

Fortunately, I’d found a way around that by combining my other skills.

Amazingly… the Wood Golems could actually be stored inside the Harvest Pouch!

Apparently, since Wood Golems were made of trees, they also counted as “harvestable products.”

I activated the Harvest Pouch.

Just like the time I’d dropped a mountain of fruit in front of Jinga-san, several Wood Golems materialized out of thin air.

More than ten Forest Wolves were charging in from the other side.

So, I called forth twenty Wood Golems — double their number.

This time I prioritized quantity over quality, summoning standard, unbred Wood Golems.

I commanded the horde to advance toward the oncoming Forest Wolves.

“Grrraaah!”

“Rrrgh!”

The Forest Wolves set their sights on the Wood Golems that had taken the front line.

They weren’t particularly intelligent monsters.

So instead of attacking me — the summoner standing behind — they simply went for the closest visible enemy.

Exactly as planned.

The Forest Wolves were merely extensions of the Tycoon Wolf’s will — mindless, instinct-driven creatures. They could only charge at what stood directly in front of them.

For now, I had to conserve my strength.

I wanted to save my strongest Wood Golems for the real fight against the Tycoon Wolf.

“Grrr!”

“Grrraah!”

The Forest Wolves adjusted their positions, circling their wooden opponents.

The Wood Golems lumbered after them, heavy steps shaking the sand, but their speed couldn’t match the wolves’ agility.

Taking advantage of that, the Forest Wolves darted around, snapping and slamming into them.

At first, they used body tackles — but that wasn’t enough to damage the wooden giants.

Frustrated, they switched to biting attacks.

Their jaws were powerful; some Wood Golems had their arms punctured by those sharp fangs.

But until their cores were destroyed, Wood Golems would not stop moving.

Even as one had its arm trapped in a wolf’s jaws, it used its free hand to deliver a crushing blow to the attacker’s head.

“Kyann!!”

“Grruh!?”

The results were immediate — the wolves’ skulls shattered under the sheer force of the strikes.

Wood Golems were slow, yes — but their blows were devastatingly heavy.

The Forest Wolves’ heads snapped sideways, their glowing red cores flickering out as their bodies crumpled.

Like the Golems, their weak point lay within those red cores. Destroying the core — or at least severely damaging the area around it — was enough to kill them.

Within moments, the Forest Wolves were down.

I advanced to close the distance between myself and Nadja, ready to support her while also helping Aira coordinate her magic more precisely.

And then I saw it — the realm that only those who had mastered the path of the sword could reach.

The domain of a true Sword Saint.

“Grrrrrrrhh!!”

The Tycoon Wolf lunged, its massive jaws snapping toward Nadja.

Despite its enormous frame, its speed was shocking.

CLACK!

But its fangs closed on empty air. Nadja was already gone.

“Too slow!”

One of the Tycoon Wolf’s human-sized ears flew off into the air.

“Grrrraaahh!”

It retaliated furiously — slashing with claws, ramming with its huge body, biting again and again.

But Nadja slipped through every single attack, her movements flowing like water.

No matter how strong an attack was, it meant nothing if it didn’t connect.

The Tycoon Wolf’s onslaught missed entirely, while every one of Nadja’s strikes hit home.

A swift slash as she turned — the monster’s claws flew off.

Landing lightly atop its back, she sliced off a strip of bark-like hide, then severed its toes in a single motion.

Her movements were featherlight, but each swing of her sword gleamed with lethal sharpness.

Yet… I noticed a flicker of frustration on her face.

The reason was clear.

With her current flurry of small, precise attacks, she couldn’t deal a decisive blow.

Even when the Tycoon Wolf was split in half, it regenerated almost instantly. Unless its core, likely hidden somewhere in its head, was destroyed, it couldn’t be truly killed.

And that head… was massive.

Worse, it seemed intelligent enough to reinforce that area — concentrating its internal wood structure there to both protect its core and conceal its location.

But that didn’t make it invincible.

The damage was definitely getting through. Its movements had slowed after Aira’s large-scale spell, and Nadja’s strikes had drawn pained roars.

Still, its endurance far surpassed any normal monster.

Only Nadja’s incredible skill allowed her to stand against it. Any ordinary adventurer would’ve been torn apart by now.

That meant my role was clear.

I had to create an opening.

“Alright then… time for an all-out assault!”

I pulled out every Wood Golem and Element Fruit I had stored in the Harvest Pouch.

From this point on, no more holding back.

Even if it meant burning through every last Smile Point, it didn’t matter.

I’d carve out the chance Nadja and Aira needed—to unleash their ultimate techniques!