Earth trembles. The dirt seemingly turns to water as it tries to pull the goblin into its depths. Gwen, quick to protect, grabs hold of him and pulls him to the safety of the stable grounds of the forest with her web. The rest of his queens regroup by his side while they watch the devastation of his army. The liquid-like soil finally stops drowning the struggling spiders when a monster of a demon tree erupts from the ground.
Growing from the earth is a monster tree with human features. Tangled branches and willow vines cover thick stumps that form into two legs sprouting roots as its feet. The main trunk has more branches and tangles up its body, where it splits into two elongated arms that stretch to the forest flow. The branches shoot out into massive hands with ten spear-like fingers on each.
Demonic yellow and brown energy forms into glowing eyes just above the demon tree's shoulder line. Flowing from the eyes is a few smaller branches that spread into strands of willow vines. When the monster is entirely out of the ground, it stands twenty feet high and is thicker than any tree he has yet to encounter.
From the energy, he learns the tree has a name and a rank: Hanger Rotts, Templar Priest, Earth-Binder Dryad. The tree is a templar at the second rank! The goblin is in complete shock. Rotts four stages of cultivation ahead of him. The gap between templars and lancers alone is a canyon in itself. As a lancer, he has control of his own mana, templars have control over surrounding mana — a pit forms in his stomach.
"You think you can destroy me?" The demon tree rumbles as it laughs at the thought. "This is my forest. These are my spider. I am the god here."
This is all too familiar for the goblin. Everything is going so well, and then a stronger opposition comes and destroys everything he worked for. Everything he earned. "No," his insignificant voice rejects the demon tree monster. In his defiance, he feels the strands of his spiders. Each and every one of them. They are not dead yet. And they are still his.
"You have no place here. Now rot in your greed." The words are full of his power, his emotion. Everything he wishes he could have said to those in his past is put into those few words. They are inadequate for his feelings but enough for his soldiers. Life mana spreads from the druid deep into the grounds.
Bolstered by the strength of the life mana, spiders crawl out of the ground. As the monster tree laughs, eighteen-hundred spiders crawl from their tombs to fight for him. Unfazed by the threat, Rotts continues to laugh.
The laughing doesn't stop when the spiders launch their coordinated assault. Just as before, they work as a unit. Shields lock providing cover, blades cut, spinners support, and the commanders guide. The tree keeps laughing while the blades rip into its roots. "Now you will see the power of a real god. Behold and despair."
As the laughing increases, the devastation grows. Twenty spears from Rott's hand strike down. Despite the shield's best attempt, the force of the blow is too much. The spiders’ defenses crack. Life severs, and spiders die. Rott’s hands don't relent, nor does the laughing. Again and again, the spears crush down. The pit in his stomach swells.
Flee, he commands his remaining few hundred spiders. Like his bear, the spiders don’t flee when faced with certain death. They can’t, they’re trapped in this forest, and Rotts attacks hungrily. Each impact from Rotts' hand rumbles the ground causing the spiders to stumble. As they struggle, they die. The fight is over before it began. Still, the demon laughs.
"This will be a feast. Consider it a small payment for the damage you caused to my back. Now, will you run?" Rott’s possessed eyes fall on him as it kills the last spider. "Or will you die as well?"
His stomach is sick, and he must fight back the urge to vomit. Returning to the dungeon after all he has been through fills him with dread. But letting this bastard get away with taking everything from him makes him equally sick if not more. All his frustration, anger, and despair fuel his fire to fight. He is no longer the helpless runt he was back home. He is a god.
The druid and his queens rush in to challenge a demon's might. He tries to get his queens to leave his side. They will not. They will fight for him. They will die for him. Invigorated by their devotion, he surges his mana into a barrier of life. Together they meet the demon head-on and prove that they are far more than their low ranks.
Gwen shows the strength of a hundred spiders. She takes spear after spear and never wavers. Shelby uses whips made of webs to strike at the demon and tangle the many limbs together. Trish is quicker than any fighter the goblin has ever seen. She dodges attack after attack. When she gets her opening, she cuts deep into the roots of Rotts. Through it all, Diti offers support with barriers and energy.
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The life druid unleashes his passionate fury into the roots as well. He hacks and hacks, cutting off the footing as much as possible. A fallen tree is a dead tree. Heavy plating covers his body, acting as a backup shield. His life barrier continues to radiate around him, supplying him with greater protection. This is his domain.
Rotts doesn't stop laughing. It is losing, yet it still thinks this is a joke. Rotts still thinks the goblin and his queens are a joke. A force not to be taken seriously even as they cut her down. The passion grows stronger inside him. He is no longer a joke and will not be treated as such. A shift in his life mana can be felt as it evolves and adapts to his needs. Life is his to give and take. He has the command and control to take what belongs to him.
The increase in understanding is applied to his attack at once. He can feel the energy from the demon absorbing into his life shield. Each time he cuts into the roots, he gains a significant boost in life mana. Life is his to take.
He heard about warrior-classed life lancers unlocking this life-drain ability in his previous world. The method was never taught to him, and he never thought he would develop it. But here, facing a templar as a rook, he learns the skill. His efforts redouble, and he almost has to hold back a laugh of his own as he shreds roots and drains life from the demon.
Suddenly the laughing stops. "I have had enough. You are strong. Yet you are still too weak to face me." The spears no longer fall on the druid and his queens. Dirt and rocks form around the demon instead. The queens and he must retreat to avoid getting hit by the boulders flying around Rotts.
Three boulders form into earth golems that charge the spiders. The remaining boulders are thrown at them. Rotts throws rocks and strikes out with his spear. As if that isn't enough, leaf blades are brought into the fight again.
The queens hold firm for a time. Gwen and Trish do their best against the golems. Each one fights one alone and trades blow for blow. Shelby and Diti work together to tie down the other. The druid continues to push the fight against Rotts. He cuts through roots and drains life as fast as he can while spears and rocks crash into his barrier.
Finally, the impact of a successful attack hits him. It isn't him who receives the blow, though. Shelby's life is lost, and the bond severs. Quickly after her death, Diti falls as well.
"No. No. No," he yells as he lashes out at roots. Suddenly the planted leg before him lifts. He thinks he has cut through enough when he realizes this is another attack.
Growing tired of the spears and rocks that won't penetrate the barrier of the goblin, the tree lifts its mighty foot and shifts its strategy. Narrowly avoiding the stomp, he rolls out of the way and continues to swing at any exposed part of the tree. When the foot rises again, he makes sure to dodge quicker. This time though, he is not the target. Pulled closer to the demon than she was aware of, Gwen, now facing two golems, is crushed.
Trish tries to roll out of the way of the next stomp and is successful. The golem she is fighting is not. However, the stomp is only a ruse by the demon, and twenty spears strike the nimble sword queen. She is not fast enough to dodge them all. The druid feels each loss just as he felt each loss of the thousand spiders that died before. A part of his soul is shredded, and he spits out bile he can no longer hold back leaving a rusty iron taste in his mouth.
How is this fair? One demon tree, and now his army is gone. He wants to call upon the forest for help, for some added strength. This forest has no power to give, though. This demon dryad had taken it all just as it had taken everything he had. It’s all lost now.
Lost in his remorse he commits to cutting this tree until he dies. Maybe he will be able to come back stronger and bring the demon down then. For now, he might as well hack away.
His strikes are savage, chunks of wood are flying after each cut. Rotts is just as fierce, and the goblin is crushed by the demon’s stomps over and over. Each time he gets back up and keeps fighting. He no longer cares about being careful. He just wants to inflict as much pain and damage as possible. With the life he is draining from the demon, he has plenty of mana to spare for his barrier. So, he cuts, gets knocked down, gets back up, wipes himself off, and hacks at the demon again.
Rotts continues to laugh as it repeatedly stomps on his much smaller frame. Under the weight of the heavy steps an idea finally clicks. It is thought the druid had long ago before this fight started. He is nearing his next stage of progression. The idea was forgotten when he was consumed with rage and anger. His empty strategy of draining life to inflict pain has a new purpose. He just needs to last a little bit longer. His barrier can hold, but his stamina to keep fighting is spent.
Whack. Still. This is just another tree.
Whack. Just another task.
Whack. He may be tired, but he has been tired his whole life.
Whack. If he can do one thing in life, just one thing, that is completing the task before him. It didn’t matter how insurmountable the task before him is. It never did before. The he is weak and drained of stamina, his fortitude is resolved. One more job needs to be crushed. That’s all. Just one more.