Chapter 15 - The older the ginger, the spicier. The older the person, the wiser.

Chapter 15 - The older the ginger, the spicier. The older the person, the wiser.

The elder moved Ed's body down the wooden wall. The 15-meter fall blew his hair back, while causing 'butterflies' in Ed's stomach, a very strange feeling for a nerd.

-The only time I felt like this was when the girl from the comics store hit on me.- Ed thought as the adrenaline pumped through his body.

As soon as the elder jumped, while Ed was excited with adrenaline, she performed quick movements and murmured incantations, releasing a violent gust of wind at least ten times stronger than that summoned by the other elves. When the gale hit the battlefield under the wall, Ed's body was thrown into the air again, while the spiders that were direct hir by it were crushed by the force of the wind, and the others in the affected radius were thrown beyond the moat.

During the ascent, the elder reached for her belt, took some materials from one of her pockets and began to inject life energy into them with her closed hand. When her hand opened, a gentle wind scattered what appeared to be white sand across the battlefield.

Afterwards, as they started falling again, the elder took several seeds from another pocket, and after injecting energy into them, she threw them towards the pit with another breeze.

Ed's fall ended up with him back at the top of the wall, a breeze dampening her landing, as he descended next to some archers.

After a few moments, a wave of energy spread through the field due to the vital energy injected into the first substance scattered; and seconds later something that looked like mold came out of them. The battlefield, which was initially covered in bodies, appeared to have been covered by a fluffy white sheet.

- Arboreus' retribution!- Exclaimed some of the elves, while the others were paralized by surprise. How did Ed manage to get spores of Arboreus' retribution? These spores are sacred to the elves, only used in especial rituals.

- Now!- shouted Ed, snapping the elves out of their stupor.

Several mages, pulling themselves together, began casting growth-accelerating spells. As soon as the magic hit the ground, the bodies covered by the fungus immediately began to decompose, while the sheet quickly turned into a thick blanket, some mushrooms and other fungi started to sprout.

- Another wave of magic, in the moat.- The elder said to the elves, who immediately complied with the order.

With fungi and decay, the first impression was that the pit, once full of bodies, had emptied. But as soon as the spells hit the moat, immense life force surged, and plants began to sprout. First thorny vines thick as tree trunks, then several grayish-silver colored leaves with serrated edges, finally several flower buds emerged from among the leaves and blossomed into what appeared to be flowers; except that there were only two large petals, which were full of protrusions that quickly grew into teeth.

- Serrated-blade gluttony! - exclaimed the elves of the barrier, while their minds tried to understand how Ed got his hands on the elder's stock of rare seeds; worse, how did he activated the seeds and spores?! Only the elder knows the technique to activate these rarities.

The decaying spiders became food for the carnivorous plants growing in the pit, which along with the elves' magic, grew big and menacing enough to become a new barrier against spiders and arachnos.

It didn't take the spiders long renew their march towards the wall, but they were delayed long enough for the plants to grow. But when the spiders tried to overtake the plants that kept growing from the moat, they were killed by the plant barrier; the ones that weren't minced by the serrated leaves that looked like they were made of metal, were grabbed by the flowers and swallowed, becoming nutrients so that more leaves and flowers would appear.

With the new nutrients, longer vines grew and began to actively sweep across the battlefield, snatching spiders or decaying corpses into the pit, as the spiders were swallowed alive by the flowers, the decaying bodies were thrown into the pit.

- Is this plant so intelligent, that it's self-planting?- Ed thought.- If the village had this ace up its sleeve, how did no one tell me about it? We could have used those seeds from the beginning!

- I didn't mention anything because the conditions to make them bloom are incredibly hard to meet. The amount of nutrients, blood and iron, besides the energy for it to sprout is incredible high, especially since we needed it to grow very fast. Even on that battlefield there was not enough to germinate these seeds. I had to use Arboreus's Retribution spores, a fungus considered sacred by the elves, used in sacred rituals to nourish the forest. Only with them it was possible to gather all the necessary conditions to make this plant bloom.- replied the elder through thoughts, with a tinge of sadness.

- If Arboreus really sent me here in order to save you, it means that you are worthy to be saved. Using the spores was certainly in His plans to save the village. Also, the sacrifice has been made, new plants will appear in this field after we leave the village. They were not wasted, nor did you commit any sin. - comforted Ed.

The old woman didn't respond, but from the telepathic connection Ed could see that her mood had improved.

Looking at the nearest elf, the elder ordered the defense to continue to monitor the spiders and especially the arachnos.

- And try to use this time to rest and recover. When they realize that the spiders won't get past the serrated-blade Greedy, the arachnos will move forward to open the way. - Said the elder to the elves.

- And are you ready? We've already done the stretching and warm-up, now it's time for the true fight.- thought the old elf, communicating with Ed. Then without waiting for an answer, she again controlled his body to jump over the wall, using magic to land without getting hurt. Afterwards, she began to run towards the forest, while circulating the vital energy through his body.

- The plant will not eat or attack us, right?- asked Ed.

- No, as long as we keep the vital energy coursing through your body in a specific path, it will recognize us as another plant of its kind. Like an animal that has just been born and recognizes the first energy it felt like its parents. So the activation of the seed was done with this energy path and then I used the other elves to feed and make it grow. As long as an elf gets close to it, it won't attack as long as they use the same path to circulate their energy.- explained the elder.

Coming close to the moat, the newly grown vines approached it. A slight tremor passed through the back of Ed's neck, but the elder used her consciousness to calm the shivering and continue to circulate the vital energy through his body. With the circulation of energy, the vines stopped and after a few seconds they moved away from Ed.

Entering the field of vines, leaves and flowers, walking slowly so as not to attract the attention of enemies, the elder began to cast yet another spell. This time, it was as if the lights around them had changed; also, their scent disappeared; eventually, her body temperature dropped to room temperature, though it didn't cause Ed any discomfort.

After emerging from the midst of the plants, they walked calmly across the field, nimbly avoiding the spiders. The creatures that ran towards the village passed them without even hesitating, as if Ed were air.

- Camouflage spell! - Ed thought. - Incredible, that's why Luh said she could reach the general with that much conviction.

- Yeah, it's the camouflage spell. But mine is more advanced than that child's.- replied the elder, with a tone of pride.- Luh still can't keep the temperature right. For a perfect camouflage, the temperature must fluctuate according to the environment, if a warm-blooded creature comes close it should increase slightly, if more creatures arrive the more the temperature rises; Luh can only keep the temperature stable.

As the conversation took place in their consciousness, the body moved closer and closer to the forest. The elder swerved a little out of the way to avoid the arachnos at the edge of the forest.

- We are officially in the enemy camp. Now the real adventure begins.- Ed thought, trying to remain calm. On the other side, the elder's consciousness was a well of tranquility; the closer to the forest, the calmer it became, like a lake without riples. Ed's impression was that he was sharing his body with an ice cube; an arrow locked on a target, ready to be fired.