Crash!
With Bradley's final strike, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the air. A dazzling light erupted from the previously indestructible barrier.
"Did we succeed?" Bradley muttered in surprise.
"Looks like it," Orson replied, though his voice lacked excitement.
A fleeting vision of the Earth Elf Queen appeared, her tearful eyes carrying a serene smile. Her image dissipated like a gentle breeze.
Moments later, the [Tree of Rebirth] began to wither rapidly. Its vibrant branches and leaves fell away, and the once-majestic tree started crumbling, rotting into fragments of decayed wood.
"What the hell?!" Orson practically screamed, his composure breaking. "That's my golden goose!"
The scene defied logic—why would the tree crumble after they'd gone through the painstaking process of breaking the barrier?
Bradley and Orson exchanged stunned glances. All their hard work seemed wasted.