Chapter 44: Unexpected help

(Bon POV)

The battle was one-sided.

It was not just the Paladins being counter against us by nature; they also had some elemental resistance enchantments on their armor, which made the battle much more complicated.

My most potent fire and lightning spells barely do any damage to them.

I was about to shout an order to retreat in random directions. Our survival chances will rise if we run in different directions, in my opinion.

But before I was able to give out the order,

Trees suddenly joined the fight. Living and fighting trees!

Bon: "Living trees..."

The Searcher: "They're Elder Trees, Head Wizard."

The searcher told me a brief history of these "elder trees." Neutral towards any race, but once they have been disturbed, they will excuse no one in their wrath.

In this case, the humans, in general, have a lot of transgressions against the treants, and this makes them hate humans.

That's good, but is that the only reason these guys woke up from sleep? Additionally, he informed me that treants only awaken when they cause excessive damage to nature or when druids, who serve as its steward or protector, call them.

As I was thinking about this, someone riding on top of a tree was shouting and waving at us.

Bon: "What is that?"

The Searcher: "He looks like a Forest Guardian. A human."

What is he doing? Is he trying to destroy us along with the Paladins? Or are they working together?

But instead of standing around and wondering what their intentions were, I decided to work with them.

If I can't explain this situation, surely Lord Idmon can.

Bon: "Everyone! Work with the treants for now! Try to push them towards the treants and take cover! Minimize our casualties!"

The soldiers quickly followed the orders. Some were taking cover behind the treants, and it was working since holy attacks have little to no damage against treants.

Screams and panicked voices can be heard from the Paladins.

Paladin 1: "Arghh!"

Paladin 2: "Huwahhh!"

Paladin 3: "We aren't prepared for this! Our hammers are not doing any damage to their trunks!"

The high defense of the treants and their imperviousness to holy elements gave the Paladins no option but to defend. The equipment that the Paladins brought was specialized in undead subjugation. They did not expect to fight elder trees.

Paladin Officer: "Sir! Let's get out of here!"

Vice-Captain: "But... Lord Gerald..."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

A Paladin, who was second-in-command, is the current commander of this group. He was a vice captain who aspired to be a captain.

Paladin: "He's gone for a while now! He must've been taken out by a trap in the cave!"

Paladin Officer: "Sir, we have to leave! We lost 20 already!"

Vice-Captain: "What!?"

The Paladins' shield wall was slowly collapsing, and gaps in the battle line started appearing.

The elder trees were unforgiving in their attacks. They were crushing the Paladins along with their armor with pure strength.

Strong blows rendered some unconscious, and the nearby undead finished them off.

Vice-Captain: "Grr. The commander will not be pleased with this. Paladins, gather around! (This certainly is a setback for our forces, but if this means that I get to be a captain, it's all worth it."

!

A light descended upon the Paladins that gathered.

Their bodies glowed, and after a few seconds, they vanished.

They left them dead, but the wounded were still able to escape with them.

The Searcher: "Hm. That was an ancient spell. Was it ?"

Usually, group teleportations require long rituals and chanting. However, ancient methods of group teleportation can allow instant teleportation.

The searcher was still thinking about the spell when the "Forest Guardian" person approached us. It seems he recognized me as one of the officers and approached me.

Bon: "First of all, thank you for your help."

I bowed my head to express my gratitude.

Forest Guardian: "It is but a small payment to the debt I owed from your master."

Bon: "Master? Is it Lord Idmon?"

Forest Guardian: "His name is Idmon, then? I am deeply indebted to him. He would not tell me his name before, and I referred to him as "Mister" or "Old Man."

Bon: "Haha! How wrong you were."

Forest Guardian: "Uh, yes. I'm sorry if I offended him in any way. He helped me out even when I was such an annoying brat."

Bon: "When was this?"

Forest Guardian: "4 years ago."

Hmm... 4 years? Was it when we were still in the northern region? I forgot to track time, as Lord Idmon did not give it importance. Starting now, I'll write down the dates so that we won't get our memories jumbled.

Bon: "Mr. Forest Guardian."

Souta: "Call me, Souta."

Bon: "Okay, Master, Souta. Can you tell me what year and month it is?"

Souta: "It is the year 1245, and we are currently on the 25th day of the 11th month."

Bon: "I got it. The Searcher!"

The Searcher: "Hmm... Ah, yes! Head wizard?"

He looked so interested in the Paladin corpses. He must be itching to start his experiments.

Bon: "Mark the date as the 25th day of the 11th month of the year 1245."

The searcher: "I got it. I was also not able to track the dates in my research before. Tracking dates is a good thing, and now we can mark the dates for important discoveries and events. Brilliant!"

It seems the searcher is happy with the new information. Now it's time to check Lord Idmon's state.

From the beginning of the battle, he got thrown back into the cave along with the Paladin captain. I was not that worried for Lord Idmon because I believed he would take out the captain easily.

But he has not come back yet. The moment the paladins ran away, Lina rushed into the cave, looking for Lord Idmon. It seems she was distraught. Was the captain strong enough for me to worry about it? I probably had the wrong idea of it being an easy fight.

Lina is the Ice Witch now. That's why I'm not that worried about Lord Idmon since she followed them.

I signaled the Dread Heroes to follow us inside. The Army will pick up the bones of the fallen warriors. We might be able to bring them back later.

Bon: "Souta, you and your group can come with us. Lord Idmon is inside the cave."

Souta: "Okay. What is your name, Mr. Head Wizard?"

Bon: "It's Bon."

When we went inside, the large area inside the cave was ruined, and traces of energies, holy and dark, were still burning. A giant battle occurred between the two of them.

I see Lina cradling Lord Idmon in her arms. It's a good thing his body is still intact; this means Lord Idmon won the battle.

It was not an easy one, though; only the torso and the head of Idmon remained. The other limbs were severely damaged, including the armor and his Void Lance.

We checked the area one last time and hurried to Lord Idmon's side. I was not too nervous because this has happened before in his battle against the black goblin king, but Lina thinks otherwise.

Lina: "Hurry! Cure him or do anything you can to heal him!!! We—I can't lose him!"

She was screaming. Souls were coming out of her scream and were surrounding her in the form of an aura. She was getting too worked up. Even the spirits inside her were nervous.

It was not too apparent at first, and even Lina herself might not have noticed it yet, but she holds most of the spirits that resided in her village.

These spirits were the source of her large energy pool and magic prowess.

Bon: "Don't worry. I'll do my best."

I focused on the task at hand and started the restoration of Lord Idmon.

Never panic. Once you lose composure, you are already defeated; this is my motto.