Lacerating Impulse

Eiji recognized Tahrren's voice. He was standing up there, leaning against the edge of the wall.

"Be careful! It's not an easy opponent!"

Although everyone heard him, no one paid him any attention. He was a stranger and an elf at that. Why should they listen to him? None of them had ever faced a dryad before, so they didn't know what to expect. But what did it matter? Was she so dangerous? After all, they weren't even sure if she was a dryad. These creatures were so rare and inconspicuous. How could they have come across one and recognized it so easily?

Eiji himself paid little attention to the words of his mentor. He refused to back down from a threat he thought he could handle.

The rumbling of the earth became more and more intense. The horde was only a few hundred meters away. Concern could be seen on the faces of the soldiers. Those who wore helmets closed their visors, but against the monsters, most did not. It blocked their view and slowed them down.

The grunts of the creatures were now clearly audible. Even the air seemed to twist under their screams. They were only a hundred meters away. Fifty meters. Ten meters.

"Men of the East! For Ophelia!"

As the first orcs reached the shield line, the Ophelians lunged forward, shouting a mighty war cry that could not match the roar of the creatures before them. Accompanied by a volley of precision arrows and powerful fire spells aimed at the horde's secondary and rear lines, the first men were able to hold the front.

Still, the first casualties came quickly. One was crushed by an orc, while another was bitten by a wolf. The Ophelians struggled to fight back.

They quickly realized that these wolves were much tougher than they looked. They were fast and their fur was so strong that the Ophelian swords were useless. Only Eiji was able to get rid of them. After all, Higashito swords were much sharper than Ophelian swords. Eiji was also more comfortable with the sword.

Each of his strikes hit its target, effectively slashing their flesh and organs. He quickly eliminated an orc and a wolf, which impressed his fellow soldiers.

Fortunately for the other men, the rear support was very effective. It separated the horde and isolated many of the monsters. The fire spells were effective against the treants, and the wolves were so afraid that some fled at the sight of the flames dancing at the whim of the mages.

Among the other men who fought, some were better off than others: Captain Jaera sneaked up on the creatures, slashing at their weak points with his sword. Wolves, Orcs, Nixians... No creature was spared from his blade. Suddenly, he called out to his comrades.

"Ophelian brothers! We must not weaken! Let us fight to the death!"

The battle seemed to be won in advance. Though the casualties were heavy, the Ophelians' morale was high.

Soon, only the Treants, a few Nixians, and the Dryad remained in the rear.

"Brothers! We are almost there! One last push!"

Jaera shouted at the top of his lungs. Every man on the ground could hear him. Even the men on the ramparts could hear him.

As one, all the men charged the last of the creatures that walked the same ground as they did. The last of the Nixians were quickly eliminated.

Since the Treants were huge creatures and extremely resilient, the men had to join forces in groups of ten only to bring one down.

Eiji lunged at one of them. Quickly, he sliced through the finest parts of the stinking tree.

Enraged, the tree swung its branches along the main trunk and sent the young swordsman tumbling. Eiji fell heavily to the ground and somehow managed to hold on to his sword. He got up with difficulty, his breathing quick and deep. Although he was scratched in many places, he had no serious injuries.

He lunged at the treant a second time. It deftly dodged the treant's first attack before retaliating with a violent horizontal slash at the main trunk.

He continued his attacks, slicing the creature right through its heart. He finished it off with a final blow. It collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Slowly, with their swords and fire spells, the last creatures fell, leaving only the dryad. Its body was made of wood, surrounded by roots that snaked around a common trunk and seemingly moving with a common mind, allowing the body to perform simple actions such as attacking or defending itself.

Jaera jumped in first. With both his hands on the hilt of his sword, he charged directly at the creature's main trunk.

"No! Stay back! You can't defeat it like this!"

Tahrren's voice rang out again, but the captain didn't hear anything, focused on his move. As he quickly approached the dryad, it sensed his hostility and began to move.

The roots snaked faster as the captain approached the wooden creature. He was only a few feet away when a thin root quickly emerged from the ground and ran in his direction. Unable to stop running to avoid it, he was stabbed in the chest.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Jaera lay there, her armor pierced, her blood dripping down the root. As the root retreated, it dropped the knight's body heavily to the ground, bathed in a large pool of blood.

All the Ophelians stood still, gazing at their unmoving leader. Morale was shattered in an instant, and the cohesion of the army vanished. Some lost their will instantly as they saw their leader, the strongest of them all, slaughtered in one move. Others felt their anger rise. They grabbed their weapons and threw themselves body and soul at the dryad.

In one fluid motion, she pushed them all back, using her roots as a whip. In the chaos that reigned on the battlefield, Eiji stood and analyzed the situation. He quickly realized that the creature only attacked those who were hostile to it. He and those who were analyzing the situation or those who had given up the fight out of desperation were still unharmed.

He decided to wait and turned back to watch his teacher. At the top of the walls, he noticed a bright greenish light. Even he, who had only recently learned to feel his mana, could feel the enormous pressure surrounding the battlefield. Someone was about to cast a powerful spell. One of the mages on the ramparts shouted at the top of his lungs.

"All of you! Stand back! Someone's summoning superior magic!"

With barely enough time to comprehend the message and retreat, the dryad was enveloped in a giant ball of wind. A wind so powerful it was capable of tearing the dryad's roots and trunk. The hum of the wind was so strong that the men closest to the creature had to cover their ears. After a few seconds, the orb shrank before exploding in a powerful shock wave that knocked the men to the ground. Like a tree uprooted by the storm, the dryad lay on the ground, her bark scattered about.