Chapter 8

The remaining humans who were still alive were scared; you could see the terrifying expression on their faces, just as they were about to panic.

Then suddenly...

"I am a holy knight of one of the human kings; show yourself!" The holy knight stood out and spoke with boldness.

Not only did the holy knight want to see who was behind the attack, but so were the others.

"First, tell me, is this the human empire's order or just the doing of the northern region's human king?" Dryad, who hasn't revealed herself yet, questioned.

"You can say it's the northern region's decision, but it's certainly for the good of humanity," the leader of the adventurers answered.

"That's enough; I believe we have no obligation to answer her questions, especially with the fact that she's an enemy." The holy knight reprimanded the leader of the adventurers.

"Now show yourself, or we will continue to destroy this forest until we are done with our goal," said the holy knight.

Dryad didn't respond, instead she just casted one of her magic skills; huge plant monsters came out of the ground, swallowing a bunch of humans standing there in the process.

"Tsk, damn it!. I guess we have to intervene," the holy knight told the man in charge of the adventurers.

"Yeah," he said, smiling as he held his big ax tightly.

"You assist the others; I will take care of this mysterious person," the holy knight told the adventurers' commander.

"Be careful" the commander of the adventurers told the holy knight.

The holy knight dug his sword into the ground, closed his eyes, and said, "Holy light search," sending light waves across the forest.

"Found you"

The holy knight dashed forward, severing every root attack that came his way.

He leaped to his feet and launched a powerful sword attack into the forest.

( Boom!) A loud bang could be heard, and dust was everywhere. When it was all over, there were enough tree roots to form a wall that barely protected a certain beautiful green-haired woman.

Dryad frowned, and she quickly dismantled the walls of roots.

The two stood calmly as they faced each other.

Tree roots appeared from the ground once more, speeding towards the holy knight.

"Holy light boots." Dazzling lights shone underneath his feet. He dashed real fast, using his swords to cut some roots, but the bark of the roots was tough.

He noticed that he couldn't cut the roots completely, only causing slight scratches against them, so his best option was to try and get close enough to the girl to attack her.

He switched his pattern from attack to defense, avoiding the roots as much as possible. He kept running and would sometimes run on the roots, but the roots were way too fast for him to keep up, as more and more were coming, keeping him at bay until he was hit and sent flying away.

The holy knight crashed on the ground hard, so he was bleeding.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and stood up, but unknown to him, little green vines wrapped themselves around his foot from the ground.

Dryad stretched forth her hand, and a huge tree in the shape of a palm appeared in front of the holy knight, ready to smash him into meat paste.

"Shit" He wanted to move out of the way, but he couldn't because of the vine that gripped his leg to the ground.

The holy knight closed his eyes, ready for the impact, but nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the adventurer's commander had stopped the tree with his ax.

The adventurer commander, nicknamed Brute, was stopping the palm tree with his ax.

"Argh, quickly free yourself!" Brute grunted; the tree palm was already weighing him down.

The holy knight quickly picked up his sword from the ground that was close to him, and just as his sword hit the vines, it broke into two.

He was surprised that it didn't work. He looked at Brute, noticing that Brute couldn't last any longer, and quickly formed a sword made entirely from light elements, resembling a lightsaber.

Trying his luck, he used it to cut the vines, and it worked.

The holy knight didn't jubilate nor waste any time; he quickly went to help Brute out.

( Slash!) The tree palm was sliced in two by the knight's lightsaber.

"Are you alright?" The holy knight asked Brute, who was panting.

"Yeah, but she's a tough one," he responded.

I know it's going to take the two of us to beat her. I have an idea, but I need your help," the knight explained to Brute.

"Alright," he responded.

The two of them looked at each other's faces and nodded; this made Dryad curious about what the two were planning.

The holy knight dashed forward once more, but this time Brute was right behind him as they both ran toward Dryad.

Dryad was angry. Why won't these humans just learn to leave the forest alone?

She summoned a plant monster to stop them.

The sound of swords slicing and cutting could be heard continuously.

The holy knight kept advancing closer since most of the attacks were dealt by Brute.

"Tch" Dryad was annoyed, so she quickly changed her attack pattern.

More tree roots emerged from the ground, but this time the knight was prepared.

His light sword easily cut the tree roots; he looked at Dryad and smiled.

Dryad still looks calm on the surface, but she keeps attacking with all she got.

The fight went on until the holy knight had gotten closer to where Dryad was standing.

"I got you now, haha." The holy knight jumped up, ready to slash Dryad.

Dryad stomped her feet lightly on the ground.

(Boom) Four pillars of tall tree roots with sharp pointy ends appeared at the side of the holy knight.

"Huh?" The knight was scared because he couldn't dodge this in mid-air.

(Bam)

(Bam)

(Bam)

(Bam)

The roots pierced the holy knight one after the other.

This scene shocked everyone who was still alive and fighting the plant monsters; even Brute was shocked.

But something unexpected happened: Dryad coughed up a mouthful of blood.

She has been pierced in the back by someone she didn't expect.

She looked back and saw that it was the knight she just killed, now smiling at her.

She then looks at the dead body hanging on the root, which is now dissolving into light particles.

"A clone?" She was surprised when, instead of the knight replying, he pushed the light-element saber further into her, making her cough up more blood.

Dryad died as a result of the holy knight's skill, and her body gradually vanished into thin air.

With Dryad dead, the roots, and the plant monsters all began to wither, which was a huge relief for everyone fighting against them.

Back where her main body, the tree is located, it also began to grow old and fall apart.

The surviving team all jubilated, and although they suffered some major casualties, at the end they won.

Brute came closer and helped the holy man stand up.

"I believe we should turn around and report to his majesty," Brute said as he looked at the entire forest and the damage they had done.

"We are still not sure if we have eliminated whatever threat his majesty ordered us to kill," the holy man said as he struggled to stand properly because of his injuries.

"Look around; I am certain we have eliminated all the beasts that might be a threat to humanity; also, do you think any beast could survive this level of damage to the forest?" Brute went on, "You are injured; we lost more than half of the team, and those who are still alive are tired, and some are injured."

"Alright, I guess you're right," the knight agreed, believing what Brute said was logical and likely the best option at the time.

****

Far away in the sky, tears began to drop from Elvis' face.

He felt his heart gripped like he had lost something important; 'I hope she's alright '.