Chapter 16 - Once upon a time, in the dark forest....

Chapter 16 - Once upon a time, in the dark forest....

On the wooden wall, the elves were anxious. Gluttonous formed a barrier against the spiders, but they knew that at some point or another the arachnos would start to act, and as powerful as the carnivorous plant was, it would have little chance against them.

Also, they saw Ed disappear behind the plants, heading towards the forest. Part of the elves were nervous that he had abandoned them, while another part believed that he was going to face the arachnos alone.

Only Luh and Gih knew who was right, and what tricks Ed had up his sleeve against the greatest danger that threatened the village: the elder's possession.

- Don't you think there's something strange about Ed? - Luh asked her sister with an intense look.

- Uhn? The elder is possessing his body, do you want something stranger than that?- Gih replied, with a frown, while trying to find Ed from a distance.

- Of course, the elder possessing him is something unusual. But even though she can use it as a medium to cast spells, this ability is still limited by the object of possession. Ed said that on Earth there is no magic, in theory his body shouldn't have the ability to retain vital energy, and using magic only with the energy he absorbs at the time would put a heavy burden on the casting; let's not talk about casting powerful spells, even the simplest one should take more time tan usual.- said Luh, trying to put her thoughts in order.- However, seeing the sequence of spells she cast, including the activation of the spores and seeds, and the fact that she was able to use cloaking magic perfectly with him as a medium, tells me that there is something different about him. - completed the elf.

- The guy crossed dimensions to get here, of course he's different. We can't know what the crossing caused. Besides, when the elder cured him, she didn't find anything different between him and the humans of Arkron; and we know that although humans don't compare to the elves, there are humans in Arkron who can use magic.- replied Gih.

- Also, there is more than one theory about the expansion of Arkron. In one of them, Arkron doesn't bring whole people here, but only their souls; their bodies are rebuilt during the migration. Ed said that he remembers dying, he felt the life leaving his body, and yet he arrived here alive, weak but with one last breath of life. In my opinion, Arkron, guided by Arboreus, just brought his soul from the dimension he came from, and rebuilt his body in the condition it was in before the loss of life. It gave us a chance to save him.- Added Gih.- In that case, he is an inhabitant of Arkron as much as we are. He just hasn't had time to learn how to use magic, but his ability is still there.

- Maybe you're right. As someone Arkron brought here across dimensions, guided by Arboreus, with an obsession like his and a faith like the elder's, cannot be normal. Surely, by your theory, the body that this world created is not going to be normal either. Thinking like that, I'm curious to know what his future will be after this battle.- Luh said, with a glint in his eyes.

Gih, hearing her sister talk like that, felt that something was different. Luh clearly had an idea in her mind that she didn't want to say. But she knew Luh well enough to know that she had already made up her mind, whatever it was.

....

In the woods, Ed was looking around him.

The trees grew tall and dense, roots protruding from the ground like snakes, forming a crooked terrain to walk on; the canopies next to each other created a closed cover, making the environment dark and humid.

- It's no wonder that most of the creatures around here are insect-type. This is the perfect environment for them to proliferate.- Ed thought.- Even if we tried to set fire to the forest to scare away the arachnos, it would probably be impossible with so much humidity.

As he thought, a wave of disapproval surged through the elder's consciousness at that moment, which caused Ed a bit of tension, and the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.

- I'm just analyzing, of course I never considered this possibility.- he thought, quickly, calming the elder.- This is a normal tactic among users of [Chaos] decks. They use spells that destroy forest-type terrain and increase fire-type damage. This prevents an opponent using a [Life] decks from summoning spells and creatures, as well as deals damage.

- Of course, using these types of spells has its cost. If the amount of forests in game is too many, the spell will not take effect. If any of the forest-type [Terrain] have water-type characteristics, they can also carry immunity to this spell. I believe this is the case with the Umbra forest where we are. Dense and tall treetops create excess moisture. In my world, some insect-type creature cards have the feature of gaining bonuses when these types of [Terrain] are in play.- Ed added.

- Do you think the arachno might have these characteristics? Or the spiders? - asked the elder in thought.

- Yes. Before, our plan did not involve entering the forest. Staying away from that terrain these advantages count for nothing. Now that we're here, it's good to take that into account. Not that it will make much difference, since we got little choice.- Ed concluded.

With a grunt of consent, the crone continued to control his body to advance deeper into the forest. After a few meters, she stopped near a tree, and touched its trunk with her hands, moving vital energy between both. In a few minutes, the tree began to move vital energy in the tree trunk and return it to Ed's hands.

-The general didn't bother to hide its presence. I already have its position. After gathering the spiders, he walked halfway following the army, and stopped, leaving the commanders and soldiers to lead the spiders to the edge of the forest.- summed up the elder, after communicating with the tree's consciousness.

- Considering its position, and the situation of the battle of the village being in an impasse, there are two scenarios. If we attack now the arachnos on the edge of the forest will have time to go back and help the general. If we wait for the arachnos to take the initiative to attack the carnivorous plant you grew, we will have more time to kill the general, but maybe his death is not enough to stop the attack after they have already started.- Ed said.

- This is your body, the one in greatest danger is you. Make the choice.- replied the elder.

- Danger makes no difference to me, it's a matter of dying sooner or later. If we can't kill the general before his reinforcements arrives, they'll kill me and advance towards the village; its game over. If we wait, we have more time to kill the general, but if his death doesn't stop the army, the village will be destroyed, I lose connection with you and I'll be alone in the woods, dying later due to lack of experience in this place.- summed up Ed.- So, the question is: do you think you have the capacity to defeat him before he gets help, or not? If the answer is yes, we don't have to wait any longer, let's end this. But if the answer is no, we have to plan and act before the arachnos attack the village.

- He is in the middle of the trees, space is restricted, which means it will be difficult to use the bow to fight. Those insect legs easily reach the entire perimeter around him, which makes hand-to-hand combat difficult. We're going to need a strategy.- Said the old woman.

-Yeah, so let's start thinking.- Ed said.

...

Fifty meters from the edge of the forest, among the trees, the arachno general was standing with his humanoid arms crossed in front of his chest, while the insectoid legs on his back were lightly closed around him, like a protective shield.

The crystal on his forehead glowed with starlight, partially illuminating the dark environment around the general. His eyes were closed, his senses apparently focused elsewhere.

A few minutes ago he was calm, sure of victory. But he felt a change on the battlefield. Several spiders died, an intense surge of life energy manifested in the battlefield, than he felt that something began to impede the advance of his subordinates. This made the general frown, trying to decide whether to wait and see if the spiders manage to break through the barrier and create a breach in the village's defenses, or if he would command the arachnos to step forward, and deal with the problems once and for all, risking losing more of it's own kind.

Suddenly, three buzzes were heard, *zum zum zum*. Three arrows shot past him and hit three trees around the general. Before he could react, one more buzz came from the forest, and a fourth arrow shot, this time towards him; on its shaft, emerald veins gleamed.