Weapon Steps. Charging forward Zane lifted up his axe and brought it down on the neck of the purist while using Sever. A head was sent flying into the air and Zane moved toward the next target. The special effect, rapid strikes, allowed Zane to use the Sever skill three more times without channeling any additional energy.

Heads continued to fly into the air as Zane repeatedly used the Sever skill. Zane killed twelve people before he met an enemy that could put up a proper defense. At the same time, Zane was paying attention to his other teammates.

Britney, Diana, Old Saber, and Luna charged forward with Zane. All of them were as fast or faster than Zane and managed to kill a dozen or more enemies. Brad and Shane staid back to provide defense for Jason and the others.

Lana and the others didn’t unleash any attacks on the defenseless enemy. Instead, they focused their attacks on the Bloody Tempering Fruit tree. Arrows and spells bombarded the tree, creating craters and burn marks on the trunk of the tree.

Jason noticed that the purist sitting on the ground were protected against spells and long-range attacks. During their discussion, the group decided to split into three groups. One group would attack the purist, another group would attack the tree, and the final group would be in charge of defending the second group.

Looking up, Zane could see that the streams of red energy weakened after the initial assault on the purist. Although the purist tried to fight back, Zane and the others were able to quickly kill the remaining purist. When Zane looked up again, he saw that the red streams had completely vanished.

Turning to Jason and the others he could see the purists that were fighting against Bruce’s group charging toward them. Running toward Brad, Zane swapped his axe for a spear and took out a shield. Britney and the others followed behind him as they all prepared to face the incoming threat.

Evil Human Lvl 62

Evil Human Lvl 64

Evil Human Lvl 70

Human Lvl 60

Evil Human Lvl 65

After using Identify on the purist, Zane began to frown. Like the purist that were sitting around the tree, all of the purist in front of him submitted to the system. Working with the system went against the core beliefs of their group, so it was hard for Zane to believe that the people he was fighting were real Purist.

In fact, he was still unsure if the tree that they were trying to destroy was a real Bloody Tempering Fruit tree. Looking back Zane could see the tree rapidly healing from Jason and the other's attacks. Something the tree shouldn’t have been able to do.

“Kill!”

Turning back around Zane could see the purist or fake purist were about to enter his attack range. Zane gripped the shaft of his shield and took a few steps forward. Once the first enemy was in his attack range Zane lunged forward and used Penetrate.

Skill: Penetrate

Level: 27, 27%

Tier: 1

Effect: By channeling internal energy deliver an attack capable of ignoring defenses and piercing through all things. Damage 185 – 400,

Special effect: Burst

Cost: 100 stamina

Zane’s spear pierced through his opponent’s source field and penetrated his throat. Using the special effect of his skill, Zane let his energy burst outward and destroyed most of his opponent’s neck. Zane easily retracted his spear and thrusted it toward the neck of the man to the side of his first kill.

Surprised the man hastily tried to parry Zane’s attack with his shield. Zane allowed the man to push his spear away and he delivered a slash to the man on the other side of his first kill. Zane’s opponent’s source field slowed down his attack and the wound Zane left in his neck wasn’t as deep as Zane would have preferred. The enemy covered the wound and hastily backed away.

Working with the momentum Zane spun around and stabbed toward the enemy that parried his attack. The man crouched down and used his shield to block Zane’s spear that was aimed at his gut. Zane’s attack forced the man to take a few steps back, but the man withstood the attack with no visible damage.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Once the man recovered his footing, he gave Zane a menacing grin. That grin was quickly destroyed by an arrow that smashed apart his teeth and pierce the back of his head. The man floundered as he expelled blood from his mouth and Zane directed his attention toward the next opponent.

Compared to Bruce’s group, the purist didn’t pose a challenge to Zane’s group. Unlike Bruce’s group Zane’s group had mages. If Zane and the others only attacked the purist at close range, they would struggle to kill them without using a lot of effort. With the help of Jason, Luna, and the others, Zane only needed to create an opening for an arrow or spell to hit the enemy.

“Wait, wait, wait!” The man with the scar on his eye started shouting.

Bruce’s group and Zane’s group worked together to slaughter the remaining purist. A group containing more than a hundred people were quickly reduced to eleven. All of them were injured, tired, and had a desperate look in their eyes.

“We surrender! Don’t kill us.”

“Fuck you, Darrel” A man next to Bruce said. “Because of you five of our brothers are dead. Do you really think you get to live? Keep fucking dreaming.”

Bruce placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and pulled him back before speaking. “When you approached me a few days ago I really thought you only wanted to protect the corpses of the fallen until it was time for us to return home. I never thought you would do something so despicable.”

“I’m a druid,” Darrel said. “Druids are one with nature. Nature is a source of life, but it’s also a source of death. Since I walk with nature it’s natural that my actions are aligned with it. So, what if I used a few corpses! There are people that have done far worse than me! Everything I did was to push my path forward! If you were in my position, you-”

“I don’t give a shit about your path. Although your actions are disgusting, using the corpses that people trusted you to protect isn’t deserving of death. What is deserving of death is actively working to get people killed.”

Bruce lifted his hand and pointed at the pile of corpses by the tree. “The blood of every single corpse in that pile is on your hands. If you didn’t interfere with reinforcements going toward the elven, most if not all of those deaths could have been avoided. Not to mention the shit that was set up by the meeting area.”

Darrel put on a guilty expression when Bruce mentioned the many deaths that he was directly or indirectly a part of. He read some books about having a strong will and remaining true to one’s path. Therefore, he confidently and proudly told Bruce about his nature path even though he didn’t strongly believe in it. Most of his understanding of nature was told to him by others and his belief easily crumbled under Bruce’s words.

“It wasn’t my idea,” Darrel said. “I didn’t plan for so many people to die.”

“You think I don’t know that. The only reason I’m talking to you is because I want to know who was behind all this. I want a name and I want it now.”

“I can’t tell you. None of us can. We signed an agreement under the system, and we’ll die if we say anything.”

“There’s no way you’re going to walk away alive. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Keeping quiet only helps the people that put you into this position.

Darrel eyes began to fill with panic. He began moving his head back and forth from the left to the right. He tightened his grip on the magic staff in his hands and the panic in his eyes rapidly grew.

“You can’t do this. You can’t just kill us. That’s murder! Cold blooded murder!”

Many people in Bruce’s group chuckled at Darrel’s hysterics. They felt absolutely zero sympathy for him and the men next to him. In fact, all of them were eager to finish them off.

“There might be a chance for you to survive, if your able to give me information. How about we do this. The first person that give me useful information gets to live.”

Multiple eyes lit up when they heard Bruce’s word. Six mouths opened to speak, but the eyes above those mouth quickly dimmed and the bodies collapsed. The people in Bruce’s group were shocked by what happened, but Zane and a few others in his group weren’t as surprised.

“The system takes contracts made in its name very seriously,” Diana said.

“I have a question,” Jason said. “Do you know if someone was helping from inside the ritual area? Back at the meeting area I sensed there was a connection to the area inside and the magic staffs outside.”

Nobody said anything. The remaining people were too terrified to say anything. After a few seconds passed, a few people in Bruce’s group got tired of waiting. Bruce did nothing to stop them as they charged forward to finish off Darrel and the others.

“Thanks’ for the help,” Bruce told Zane’s group.

“Don’t mention it,” Brad replied as he walked forward to shake Bruce’s hand. “We got lucky and managed to escape from the area. Helping other people get free was the right thing to do.”

“So, are we going to chop this tree down or what?” Britney asked

“I checked it’s stolen healing,” Jason said. He launched a mana bolt at the tree and the tree proved his point by quickly healing from the damage.

“I see people heading this way,” Brad announced. “We can try again once they get here.”

“Should we be trying to destroy the tree?” One of Bruce’s men asked. “Shouldn’t we figure out what it’s for first?”

“The tree is evil. Hundreds of people died for it to be created. I don’t care if it's useful. Something like this should be destroyed.”

“You’re not in charge here. I listened to your speech and saw the show you put on. Don’t think you have the authority to say what is and isn’t evil because you had some weird dream”

“Enough.” Bruce commanded. “We’re going to wait until everyone arrives, so there’s no point in fighting now. We’re all about to get sent home soon so let’s try to make our last moments peaceful.”

Before anyone could respond to what Bruce said, the tree began to release a bright red light. The menacing and hungry presence it released began to rapidly increase in intensity. Zane and everyone became alarmed and ready their weapons.

A few seconds later the group felt a pulling force drawing them toward the tree. Everyone was already prepared for an attack, so they easily managed to resist the pulling force. What failed to resist the pulling force was the dead bodies on the ground.

Looking up, Zane could see the return of the red streams of energy. The pulling force continued for a few more minutes before it abruptly stopped. The red light faded and revealed a tree covered in dark red energy.

A new creation is in the process of being formed. As a witness to this process the system offers you two quests. You may only choose one.

Quest: Protect the New Creation

Quest: Destroy the New Creation