Chapter 134: Don’t Touch My Mate

Underground, the Obryx who had gotten so close to the Mother Tree and intended to cut its roots finally found themselves in trouble.

They were no longer trying to break through the barrier. Instead, they were stepping away from the invisible walls as they realized those walls were slowly closing in on them.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere for them to go because Axan had trapped them from every direction.

"What’s happening?!"

"The wall is moving!"

"Break it!"

The muffled voices coming from underground were difficult to hear, but Axan could feel their panic through the barrier.

One of them slammed his weapon against it again.

BANG!

Axan didn’t even make any spesific reaction. Instead, he strengthened the barrier even more.

"You shouldn’t have tried to touch the Mother Tree," Axan murmured.

The barrier then shrank again. This time, the Obryx were forced closer together.

Axan wasn’t planning to crush them to death. He simply made the space small enough that they could no longer properly move their arms or use their weapons.

Within moments, the violent attacks against the barrier completely stopped.

Axan finally opened his eyes. "Much quieter."

Meanwhile, Maeve had absolutely no idea that Axan had trapped several Obryx underground.

She was far too busy terrorizing the ones fighting Ikarus.

[There!]

WHOOSH!

Another vine shot forward, making an Obryx warrior immediately jumped backward, narrowly avoiding it.

Unfortunately, Maeve had already learned that she didn’t have to control only one plant at a time. [Then how about this one?]

The moment the man landed, a root rose behind him and slammed against the back of his knees.

"ARGH!"

His legs gave out and before he could stand again, three vines immediately wrapped around his arms and waist.

Maeve’s smile grew wider. [Got you.]

The vines violently pulled him backward and slammed him against a tree.

BAM!

The Obryx groaned in pain. Ikarus glanced toward him before quickly cutting down another enemy in front of him.

By now, he had already realized that every vine, root, and branch around him seemed to be helping him.

And after seeing the plant root form a small heart, he finally knew that the person helping him was Maeve.

He couldn’t help but feel proud of her.

"Thank you, Maeve," he said warmly as he gently patted the plant root that had risen from the ground earlier.

When Maeve controlled the plants, she also became one with them. That was why, when Ikarus patted the root, she felt as though he was patting her head.

She then moved the root toward Ikarus, nudging his cheek and acting like a puppy that wanted to rub its head against his cheek.

His lips slowly curved into a smile. "Let’s finish these people as soon as possible, so I can see you sooner."

After all, nothing could compare to touching his little wife.

On the other side, the Obryx were beginning to realize something was wrong too.

"Stay away from the plants!" one of them suddenly shouted.

The others immediately looked around. "These plants are moving!"

"The Sylvara are controlling them!"

"I don’t think it’s just the Sylvara Tribe!"

Another Obryx stared at the vines wrapped around his companion. His expression slowly changed. "The energy... the energy feels different."

Every tribe always had different Aether Energy. Although they could draw Aether Energy from anywhere, the energy they released still felt different.

That was why the Obryx people could sense that something was wrong.

Maeve wasn’t from this world, so naturally, her energy felt completely different to the people on this planet.

"Whoever it is, that person also has a hint of the Azuryn people’s energy!" Someone spat in Ikarus’s direction. "I heard they’re able to have children now, which means their leaders must have found a mate."

"The mate probably came from another world!"

Maeve’s eyes widened because the Obryx people had managed to figure it out so quickly and accurately.

[The ritual to summon a mate from another world isn’t exactly something new, Host,] Pinky said. [But your husbands are the only ones who have successfully done it.]

’And apparently, they figured it out just from my energy,’ Maeve thought.

[It makes sense,] Pinky replied. [Your Aether Energy has mixed with your husbands’ energy many times. Especially after you formed your bonds with them.]

Maeve understood what Pinky meant. Ever since she came to this world, she had been surrounded by Ikarus, Cerus, and Axan almost every day. More than that, she also took all of their seed, sehingga her body benar-benar telah menjadi bagian dari mereka.

Unfortunately, the Obryx figuring out her identity wasn’t exactly good news.

One of the Obryx suddenly shouted, "Then we have to find the mate!"

"If we kill her, the Azuryn won’t be able to produce another generation!"

Another Obryx immediately looked toward Ikarus. "But the Mother Tree comes first. We destroy it, then we find the mate."

"Exactly." The first Obryx tightened his grip around his weapon. "If we destroy the Mother Tree and kill the Azuryn Leader’s mate, we can wipe out two tribes at once."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere around Ikarus completely changed.

His golden eyes turned cold. Until now, he had been focused on stopping the Obryx from reaching the Mother Tree. But hearing them openly discuss killing Maeve was enough to make the last trace of calm disappear from his face.

Even from this far away, Maeve could feel the sudden rise of Aether Energy around Ikarus through the plants.

[Oh.] Pinky immediately spoke. [Host, your husband is angry.]

[Of course he’s angry!] Maeve replied. [They’re talking about killing me right in front of him!].

More importantly, Maeve herself wasn’t exactly happy about it.

They wanted to destroy the Sylvara by killing the Mother Tree, and then they wanted to destroy the Azuryn by killing her.

All because both tribes had finally found a way to survive.

Maeve’s earlier playful mood completely disappeared.

Meanwhile, Ikarus slowly stepped toward the Obryx who had spoken. "You want to kill my mate?"

His voice wasn’t loud, and yet something about his calm tone made the Obryx instinctively take a step backward.

Ikarus tightened his grip around his weapon. "You shouldn’t have said that in front of me."

The moment those words left his mouth, a powerful wave of Aether Energy suddenly burst from Ikarus’s body.

WHOOSH!

The grass beneath his feet flattened, while the leaves above him shook violently.

The Obryx closest to him immediately stepped back, thinking Ikarus was about to attack them.

But strangely, the energy didn’t strike anyone. Instead, it spread.

It rushed through the battlefield like an invisible wave, passing through every Sylvara warrior around him.

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the Sylvara warriors felt their bodies becoming stronger.

The exhaustion they had felt after fighting for so long suddenly faded, while the Aether Energy inside their bodies grew stronger.

"What is this?"

One of the Sylvara warriors stared at his hands in surprise. He had already used a large amount of his energy during the battle, but now, he suddenly felt as though he could keep fighting for much longer.

Another Sylvara quickly tried using his ability and several vines immediately rose from the ground.

His eyes widened when he realized that he could control the plants much faster.

Not only that, but the vines were also thicker and stronger than before. "My ability became stronger!"

The others quickly realized the same thing.

Their movements became faster, their bodies felt lighter, and the abilities they had been using against the Obryx suddenly became much more powerful, even those who had been injured felt as though they could move more easily.

The Sylvara people looked toward Ikarus in shock.

They knew the Azuryn Leader had the ability to strengthen other people’s Aether Energy, but knowing about it and experiencing it themselves were completely different things.

"Don’t waste it!" Ikarus shouted. "Finish them!"

His words immediately pulled them out of their surprise. "Yes!"

The Sylvara warriors rushed forward again. This time, the situation changed almost immediately.

An Obryx tried to disappear into the shadow of a tree, but a Sylvara warrior controlled several vines to block his path.

Another Obryx jumped backward, only for a thick root to burst from the ground and force him to change direction.

The Sylvara people who had been struggling to keep up with the Obryx’s strange movements could finally fight them more evenly, but they weren’t the only ones affected by Ikarus’s ability.

Far away beside the Mother Tree, Maeve suddenly felt warmth explode inside her body.

The energy flowing through her connection with the Mother Tree suddenly became much stronger.

Before, Maeve had needed to focus carefully whenever she wanted to move a plant far away from her.

Now, she could feel them as clearly as she could feel her own hands.

[Host!] Pinky immediately shouted. [Ikarus’s ability has the strongest effect on his mate and his brothers. You have to use it properly. Don’t waste it!]