Aksai stood at the ready as three of his Sentient Scarecrow Puppets materialized before him, joined by Lini Lowanfield, who appeared mid-action, as if plucked from her daily work.
She was still wearing gloves smudged with soil, her hair slightly disheveled from tending to plants in the Enchanted Everwood Farm.
Lini looked around, momentarily flustered. “You could have at least given me a heads-up!” she complained, tugging off her gloves and straightening up, clearly bewildered by the sudden change in scenery.
“Sorry,” Aksai replied with a shrug, though a hint of amusement crossed his face as he watched her. It seemed that this disciple of a Core Formation Lord had found her true calling in being a farm girl after she became Aksai’s modified puppet.
He gestured to the large platform around them. “Your farm duties can be done later. Right now, you should really focus on what’s in front of you.”
Lini’s gaze followed Aksai’s point. A chill ran down her spine as five spectral, twisted figures started materializing, each one donning the tattered remnants of a druid’s robe.
A sinister, dark energy surrounded them, and their eyes glowed with a hostile malice. Recognizing the unmistakable aura of corrupted druids, Lini’s face twisted in disgust.
“Is this… that mysterious place Haitin kept going on about?”
Aksai nodded just as the array finished its summoning process. “That’s right. No time to discuss it further—move!” he barked as the first corrupted druids charged forward.
Lini shook off her initial shock and readied herself for combat, her hands already moving through the air as she prepared her Spirit spells. Aksai’s three Sentient Scarecrow Puppets, armed with their respective elemental energies, took positions in front of three Spirit Refining Realm druids, while Aksai and Lini squared off with the two that carried the distinct, oppressive energy of Foundation Building Realm experts.
The battle erupted into motion. Aksai’s scarecrow puppets, despite lacking advanced spells, moved with a mechanical precision that made up for their limitations. They each took on Spirit Refining druids, engaging them with basic but effective elemental spells that filled the platform with flashes of light and dark energy.
Meanwhile, Aksai locked eyes with his opponent, a Foundation Building corrupted druid. His own Spirit energy flared around him, taking on the form of a shimmering silver aura that wrapped him like armor.
With a swift step, he closed the distance and unleashed a quick but powerful strike, a burst of wind energy that sent the druid staggering back. The druid retaliated with a blast of dark flame, blackened by its own corrupt essence, but Aksai dodged easily, sidestepping with a fluidity that came from years of training.
Lini, on the other hand, faced her druid opponent with a different approach. Her Foundation Building Realm Spirit energy radiated outward, giving her an almost unbreakable shield of blue-green light.
As Aksai battled, he kept a close eye on his puppets, ready to jump in if any were overwhelmed. The Sentient Scarecrows held their ground with admirable tenacity, each one blocking attacks and countering with quick jabs of fire and wood energy.
One of the Spirit Refining corrupted druids swung a withered claw at one of the scarecrows, but the puppet deflected it with a burst of fire, sending the druid reeling back. Another scarecrow seized this opportunity, charging up a blast of wood-element energy and sending a barrage of thorn-tipped vines into the corrupted druid, pinning it down.
Lini’s opponent finally managed to break free of her vine spell, letting out an ear-splitting shriek of rage. Dark energy pooled around its hands as it cast a spell that sent jagged shards of corrupted earth flying at her.
Lini narrowed her eyes, quickly activating a shield that absorbed most of the damage. She then retaliated with a Spirit blast that sent the druid staggering back.
Aksai didn’t hold back in this battle. Unlike before, he decided it was time to unleash his full potential, blending his Argent Body Realm strength with the refined control of both his Qi and Spirit Essence.
Swoosh. Boom. Bang.
Each of his attacks became a powerful mix of physical prowess and precise Spirit spellcasting, striking with a force his previous teammates had never seen. Every punch or kick carried the weight of his Qi, while the air around his fists shimmered with the energy of his druidic spells, enhanced with wood-element Spirit magic. His movements were fluid and intense, every step a testament to his full power.
The corrupted druids, sensing that they were losing ground, shifted tactics. Recognizing Aksai and his puppets were overwhelming them, they grouped together in the center of the platform.
Dark tendrils of corrupted energy spiraled upwards, and a grotesque seedling began to form at their feet, quickly sprouting into a skeletal trunk—the early form of a Demon Tree. Aksai’s eyes narrowed.
He’d encountered a Demon Tree before and knew all too well the dangers of letting one fully form. Once established, it could summon hordes of Tree Devils.
Not wasting a second, he pulled out three of his rare explosive talismans, each one capable of a significant blast, and affixed them to his three Sentient Scarecrow Puppets. He issued a quick mental command, and, without hesitation, the puppets surged forward with a newfound, almost reckless purpose.
Two of them threw themselves directly into the fray, blocking the corrupted druids’ attempts to strengthen the growing Demon Tree and enduring brutal, heavy attacks in the process.
The third puppet, battered and nearly falling apart, pressed on until it reached the still-forming trunk of the Demon Tree, clinging to it as if in a final, desperate embrace.
A moment later, the talismans detonated.
Boom!
A massive burst of energy erupted from the center of the platform, sending dark energy scattering like dust in the wind. The incomplete Demon Tree was obliterated, its formation halted in a flash of searing light and broken wood.
The explosion’s impact jolted the two remaining Foundation Building corrupted druids, making their spectral forms flicker and waver, their connection to the cave’s formation visibly weakened.
‘I wonder if I can receive more rewards this time… perhaps something better than the potion.’
Aksai thought to himself and smiled before making his move.
