[Vol. 8] Chapter 13: The Bone-Forged Dragon, Tree of the Dead
Right after Miss Rene shouted in surprise, a huge figure suddenly broke free from the heavy earth and rose into the sky from the thick forest in the distance!
It was a massive undead bone dragon, over 100 meters long, made entirely of pale bones!
Unlike normal dragons, this one had three terrifying white skull heads, sharp bone spikes all over its body, and was covered in dark blue ghost flames instead of scales or flesh. It looked evil and scary. Even from across half the forest, the cold, deathly air that came from this high-level undead creature washed over them like waves, making the living feel a deep chill in their bones.
Without saying a word, the bone dragon lifted its three heads. With a horrible, raspy roar, it opened its huge mouths and breathed out waves of deadly fire toward the group of people far away!
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!”
Three streams of dark blue flames shot through the sky from three directions like falling waterfalls. Dust and wind flew everywhere, and countless skeleton soldiers were burned into ashes instantly. These attacks didn't care about friend or foe. In just a few seconds, the flames were about to reach the Holy Empire’s group and completely swallow everyone!
“Holy Radiance Slash!”
At that critical moment, the Judgment Saintess, who had stayed quiet until now, finally stepped in. Her [Judgment Holy Sword] was drawn from its sheath, shining with a bright light!
She swung the sword upward, and that blinding light turned into a giant sword over 100 meters long. Like a divine blade cutting the world in two, it sliced through the blue ghost flames, destroying them completely, along with the air and magic in their path. The sword light didn’t stop there. It continued forward at high speed, heading straight for the terrifying bone dragon that had just risen from the ground!
“ROAR!!!”
The dark blue soul fire burning deep in the dragon’s empty eye sockets flared up. It had clearly sensed the huge power of that holy sword attack. Its three bony heads quickly joined together, and with a loud roar, it spat out an even colder and stronger blast of undead dragon fire!
The two forces collided in the air above the forest, the holy sword light and the powerful undead fire. Only then did they cancel each other out.
The bone dragon stared down at the people below, as small as ants in its eyes. Then, without hesitation, it turned around, spread its huge wings made of bones and thin skin, and flew away at high speed, helped by magic.
“It… ran away? What just happened…?”
“Master, I’ll go after it—!”
“No. That’s enough. Let it go.”
Frederica, who had been ready to fight, paused for a second. The light on her [Judgment Holy Sword] slowly faded. She looked confused, but she put her sword away. She watched as the priestess stopped the golden-haired girl beside her from chasing the dragon. Feeling something wasn’t right, Frederica glanced around carefully.
She soon understood, with the bone dragon gone, all the undead skeletons that had been charging at them, including the huge skeleton warrior fighting Leila, suddenly lost power. Their soul flames went out at the same time, and their bodies broke apart and fell to the ground, unmoving.
The holy knights, priests, and top academy students from the Holy Empire looked at each other in shock. None of them dared move, afraid the skeletons might suddenly come back to life again.
They waited nervously, until Violet and the dragon girl whispered to each other and seemed to agree on something. Violet patted Frederica on the shoulder, and only then did Frederica give the order.
“Rest, treat the injured, and clean up the battlefield.”
This sudden and confusing undead attack… ended just as strangely as it began.
Leila, also full of questions, quickly came back to Violet’s side. Even though she was now part of the powerful mythical-being Angels, she was still young and not very experienced. Strange undead creatures like that bone dragon, she had probably never seen or even heard of them before. So it wasn’t surprising that she looked confused.
In front of everyone, the priestess didn’t explain much. She simply asked the two sisters she trusted most to take the captured Lorga somewhere safe. After greeting Frederica, she quietly left the group with her dragon and went alone into the depths of the Forest of Death.
There was still an answer waiting for them there.
Just as Violet understood, the Forest of Death or Hellwood Forest was known around the world. Inside it, cold air and ghostly energy filled the area. Even though it was daytime, the thick, tall trees blocked most of the sunlight. The forest was still dark and silent due to the strange environment.
Unlike normal forests, only a few types of trees could survive and grow in this place full of negative energy. Over time, a certain kind of tree called [Ghostwood] became the main species here, making up over 90% of all trees.
[Ghostwood] contains a faint undead energy and is a useful ingredient for some kinds of magic potions. Other than that, most people didn’t think it was very special.
After all, the tree is very rare, and there hasn’t been much research on it. So very few people know that [Ghostwood]’s real use is far more dangerous.
It’s also known as the [Tree of the Dead]. It naturally absorbs and traps the souls of the dead around it, turning them into restless spirits that can’t move on to the next life.
If something dies near a [Ghostwood] tree, its soul will likely be captured by the tree. Over many years, that soul can turn into a vengeful ghost. If someone skilled in necromancy or soul-binding magic comes by, they can easily pull out that soul and turn it into a powerful undead creature.
The older the [Ghostwood] tree is, the stronger the undead it can produce. That’s why some long-living and ruthless people plant these trees on purpose to raise undead servants. That’s how it got the name [Tree of the Dead].
Of course, this isn’t how it’s described in official books. This version was personally translated and simplified by the priestess to make it easier to understand.
This knowledge came from a secret memory of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden. These Trees of the Dead also grow in the Ancient Spirit Realm, and most likely, they were first brought from there to the original lands.
According to Violet, about 100 years ago, when the Austre Empire and a local kingdom fought a bloody war in this area, Hellwood Forest was not yet a forest. It only became one after someone started planting a huge number of trees here, saying it was to calm the dead and clear the negative energy. Over time, this grew into the forest we see now.
So Violet had every reason to believe that those people planted the trees on purpose, because they knew there were countless dead soldiers here, and they wanted to use their souls to create an undead army.
That’s why the Forest of Death is always filled with hatred and ghostly energy. It’s not because of some natural "death energy" seeping into the land, like the official explanation claims. It’s because these trees, the forest itself, are trapping the souls of countless fallen warriors.
That explains why there were so many skeleton soldiers, why there were so many necromancers like Lorga, and why that massive bone dragon even existed.
The entire Forest of Death is actually a base where someone has been growing and strengthening an undead army, and that bone dragon is their most powerful creation so far, the final product, at least for now. That’s why the bone dragon was actually the real leader of this attack. Lorga Blanca was just a distraction, a fake king used to fool others.
With the current information, this seems like the most reasonable guess.
“So that’s probably the truth. I think the so-called [Undead Legion] was actually just built from the leftover parts when they created the bone dragon. That’s why it fell apart as soon as the dragon left.”
“In other words, that bone dragon probably has the same resurrection ability as the rest of the undead. It’s going to be really hard to kill. Even so, when it realized you were too strong to deal with, it immediately chose to retreat. That kind of high-level undead… might be close to understanding some basic ‘law’.”