Chương 69: [BL] 68. Spell Blade [1]

The battle arrangement was set up with the middle unit marching ten lines deep, with ten Tier-threes in the front. The First Sword divided the formation into three units: the middle and its two wings, which were intended for flanking. Derrick's plan was simple: have the middle hold while the wings swing up and envelop the Treants' army. Essentially, the wings would act as a sword, with Willow placed on the right; to her surprise, Leynah was in charge of leading the right.

Since each wing only had two tier-threes, those selected needed to be fast and lethal, unlike the [Royal Guard], who, while powerful, were slow. This was why Leynah and Drey spoke to each other in whispers right in front of the thirty of their unit. They stood just below an overarching branch, with Leynah crossing her arms and leaning against a stout trunk.

"We wait until the middle makes contact! So relax, don't be tense, you fools!" Drey shouted. Willow was not tense, but those around her were. Well, to be honest, she was just level ten, so maybe she was a bit tense, but in the back of her mind she knew she could switch classes anytime she wanted. Leynah crooked two fingers at her. Willow tilted her head.

She wanted to examine the battle, but decided it was better to listen to the commander, so she walked over to her, jumping off a bulging root that spread like a stretching spiderweb. This root could easily trip someone, and to think they would fight here… She had been briefed that the area they would be fighting in had pools around the trees, making it much more difficult.

"Sup—""Those two look too nervous. Talk to them," said Leynah, pointing at Krywen and Rudo.

"Aren't you the commander here? Besides, I'm not exactly sure what to say."

"That's the point," Leynah chided with one hand fisted at her hip. She was about to say something, but her attention was taken away by the five fireflies flying around her. It was strange. Willow could sense them, a warm glow she could feel even as they flitted away from her. In fact, she could even command them. One flew close to Leynah, and the woman mumbled.

"So you're not joking when you said your rune has a physical manifestation."

"Why would I joke about that?" Willow grumbled.

"Anyway, back to the point. Look, you're in the same position as them. You just started fighting like what? A week ago? They'll feel a sense of camaraderie. Besides—" The sound of a trumpet blared across the sky, cutting Leynah off. The sound of fighting followed almost immediately. Willow could hear trees creaking and slamming down, kicking up dust. Distant figures were fighting. A wave of force rattled the forest. More and more trees were downed by axe cuts.

"Our turn," Drey said, unsheathing his axe and sword. The man tossed his weapon around, switching grips, and with a grin, he raised his axe and roared out a scream that rattled Willow's ears, even pushing her hair back. What a waste of an ambush chance, she thought. Drey moved before anyone else. The man ran across gnarled roots and let out a battle cry. Leynah let out a curse, muttering something about how he always did this.

"Go! Just turn to your other class if it gets dangerous. Prioritize saving the Count's granddaughter if you have to make a hard choice." That's… Leynah drew her rabbit sword. Rabbit fur grew across her body, and she crouched with elongated white, furry legs. Leaving a blast that billowed Willow's tabard, Leynah burst forward, almost catching Drey in one go. The tier-three woman planted her feet on a tree and darted again straight at the battle in a zip. Both tier-threes slammed right into the Treant's formation.

Willow looked back, and Krywen approached with the rest of the unit—none of the legionaries bothered with their spears; they wielded their gladius since they were committing to a full attack. Deciding to boost their morale, Willow unsheathed one of her two swords, the one that Rom had given her. It was slightly longer than the legionaries' gladius, and the tip was pointier than broad. She held it up high and charged after Leynah and Drey.

Cheers followed her, and she did not think to slow down to let others catch up. After all, if there was an ambush, she was probably the only one who could bail herself out— [Treant—Level 12] A tree moved, a treant that had been lying against a tree trunk. It hid itself, camouflaging against a tree, and that saved the Riftborn from the tier-three's ire. Willow's eyes narrowed on it. As she passed by it, ignoring it, Willow suddenly skidded to a stop and whirled her sword two-handed right at the Riftborn.

The monster reacted in time, lifting both wooden arms and catching her strike in its palms, but Willow's attack dug into its bark. Creaking wood groaned, and she gritted her teeth, repositioning her feet and trying to power through. The Treant did not give her a chance to saw her sword as it rumbled at her with its splitting mouth. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. A wooden spike spun inside it, gathering force and soon to pierce her.

With reluctance, Willow let go of her sword. She drew her arms back and swung, swordless at first, but then two fireflies zipped while she was mid-motion. The Sword of Light brimmed with intense orange and cut the Treant's hand in one slash, freeing Willow's other sword. Somehow, the Treant still had enough awareness to aim its mouth at Willow. Willow hadn't expected to defeat it in a single blow.

She drew back her sword for a thrust and jabbed at the Treant's neck, piercing the creature and then angling her blade upward to slice through its wooden body and disrupt its forming spell. [You grow stronger] [Strong Strike (2)]—Increased the Guard Strength by 1% for every strike connected. Strength +2. She brushed off the status and ignored the collapsing Treant. Willow reached down and pulled the sword, tugging it twice to get it off the Treant's body.

"My lady!" Krywen called for her.

"I'm fine, go!" Willow shouted. She rejoined the unit, and along their path, the tier-threes had killed most of the Treants, leaving some dying across the ground. The Legionaries offered no mercy, killing them as they passed. They reached the main battlefield where the battle of tier-threes was being fought. Thin treants, armed with different weapons—some with two arm-spears while others with bladed arms and shields—exchanged blows with the humans.

Their wooden weapons could stand against the [Royal Guard] armor, as one of the Treants raked its bladed arm along the dark steel, drawing blood as it finished its arc, before Leynah pounced on it, carving its arm off with her rabbit sword. The Treant spun around, parried Leynah's strike once, and slid through the ground when another guard slammed his axe down. It steadied itself and pushed out another bladed arm, this time with brimming green toxic bubbles around the edge. Poison.

Willow wrested her attention from the tier-threes fight. The middle legionaries unit was fighting in melee, bashing their shield walls against the tier-one and tier-two treants. The legionaries were on the back foot as the Treants used their magic—summoning twisting roots beneath the legionaries' legs, breaking apart the shield walls.

"In! We go in!" Krywen commanded. Since Leynah and Becks fought their tier-three opponent, the rest of the wing took responsibility for the other tiers. Krywen's legionaries obeyed her, screaming out a loud war chant. [War fever called upon!] [+50% Strength to the Legion!] [War Haste called upon!] [+70% Dexterity to the Legion!] An almost electric fever rumbled through Willow's body as she ran along with the first line.

The nearest Treant had both of its arms pressed to the ground, firing brambles of thick roots that trapped five legionaries—through the roots, thin green vines reached down, looping around the legionaries' necks, who cried out for help. [Bramble Treant—Level 21] The Treant's trunk was enormous, like a tankard. Its arm resembled a hammer, wielding magic instead of simply smashing foes. Its massive body blocked Willow's view of the smaller Treant beside it, which fought with a bladed hand.

Willow doubled her pace and dashed right at it with her sword swung to decapitate its much smaller head, but then its shoulder broke apart as it had suddenly pulverized, and a twisting spear-like vein shot out. She barely dodged the projectile, her sword drawn down with her body. Gathering strength across her legs, Willow pounced, throwing her body forward with her sword in a jabbing motion. She had meant to target its neck, but it shifted its shoulder up in the very last second.

Her sword gored in, but not deep enough. She wrested her Sword of Light away and tried to slash down at its neck again before another part of the Treant—across its bottom neck pulverised in again, and another vine shot at Willow, only for it to suddenly stop dead as the Treant's body moved. The tangling bramble of roots died away as the treant lifted its magic unwillingly because the Legionaries had come. Krywen tried to smash her mace right at it, and it worked.

The Treant barely caught the mace blow with its hammer hand and blew Krywen backward. Around them, the legionaries skipped over their battle and charged at other treants, each taken by surprise. This Bramble Treant had been the only one to react well to the humans' attack. Not intending to let the Treant smash Krywen to death, Willow waded in. She jumped back when the Treant tried to make her a pancake. Its hammer hand ended up slamming down to the earth instead.

Just as Willow shifted, a tangle of thick roots sprang around and trapped her. The magic twisted around her, trapping her in a prison the Treant made in an instant. She bit her lip, drawing her Sword of Light close. Above her were three roots, and from each, a vine shot downward, straight at her neck. Willow swept her sword above her head and severed the vine; she then whirled to gather force and cut a downstroke to her right, slicing three roots.

With her right hand, Willow pushed the dying roots apart and was about to run into the Bramble treant to cut its neck. She pleasantly found five legionaries and Krywen surrounding it. The Olympyas she had left with the middle unit also joined the battle; the executioner drew its attention and slammed its golden axe, which the treant blocked with its hammer hand. Twisting vines grew from its palm, entangling itself around the axe's ax head.

Despite being able to hold back the Executioner, it simply didn't have the means to deal with all of them. It barely lifted its other hand that trapped Willow. Krywen landed a satisfying hit with her mace, cracking the Treant's feet, forcing it to stumble. Legionnaires from the middle unit got their revenge and buried their spears right at its trunk, limiting its movement as their spears bit deep.

Then, as Willow was about to finish the creature—she considered extending her sword of light or even using another firefly to boost her spell sword—until a blur drew her attention. She stopped her strike and turned to her right. A Treant with a blade-like wooden arm leaped at her with its thin, vine-twisting body. Every step it took covered a great distance, and Willow barely raised her sword to block the Treant's strike.

And it was not over yet, as the Treant lifted its other hand, which formed like an axe head to hew above their locked blades, right at her head. I hate close combat. Willow telepathically ordered her Fireflies to fly close to the Treant's eyes, making it take a startled step back. Willow took advantage and charged right in. Her shoulder lowered, and Sword of Light pulled back for a strike. She had ordered one firefly to be ready just behind her.

The sword pierced through the fireflies, and an orange gleam spread through her spell blade. [Fire Light blessed your Sword of Light] [+ 20% Arcanic to the Sword of Light]