Chapter 642: Chapter 666: Burning Wood

Perhaps Sonam’s threat was a bit too terrifying, the two half-demons were clearly scared out of their wits, even the sound of their incantations trembled audibly. The spells they managed to cast were like tossing a bowl of water onto a burning house–its effect almost negligible. Of course, amid the roars of the six-armed serpent demon, they immediately started a second attempt.

At that moment, Lancelot suddenly smelled a particular foul stench. He turned back to find that the figures of Coward Devils had significantly increased in the crowd. The Demon Legion at the rear was unaware of what was happening at the front, still pressing forward relentlessly, causing the density of the surrounding crowd to increase at a dangerous pace.

“General Sonam!” Lancelot called out without hesitation, “There are too many people here! Order everyone to spread out the formation!”

The six-armed serpent demon turned its head back violently, its face almost twisted in anger. Although Lancelot was a man favored by Tijana, he had no right to speak to her in such a tone. Like all High Rank Demons, she could take the slightest offense as a serious insult and respond with the fiercest of reactions.

However, at the same time, Sonam was also a battle-hardened Commander, with a keen eye for observation and tactically trained thought. As soon as she saw what was happening behind her, she immediately realized Lancelot was right; if a battle were to break out at this point, most would not be able to wield their weapons without harming their comrades.

‘Everyone, spread out!’ the voice of the six-armed serpent demon echoed in everyone’s minds through mental command, ‘Quick, quick, quick! Get moving!’

“We’ll need to have a serious talk about your tone after this, Lancelot,” Sonam glared venomously at the Human Knight, then turned her head to roar at the two beautiful half-demon Spellcasters, “Did I give you permission to stop? Continue trying! Keep at it until you succeed!”

Meanwhile, the mercenaries who received the order also began heading toward the open space on the left side of the road. The crowd wasn’t too dense yet, so it wasn’t difficult to move, though everyone proceeded with extreme caution, fearing that the Demons might have set traps on this side as well.

However, less than half a minute after the crowd began to move, the forest some hundred feet in front suddenly echoed with a series of strange screeches. The sound was similar to the whistling of arrows with whistles tied to their shafts, but they were not flying toward the crowd’s location, instead, they streaked across the forest in front.

The next second, a series of booming sounds erupted, and the tall Fang Tooth Shirt treetops suddenly burst into raging flames, as if they were torches soaked in oil. The fierce flames leapt into the sky, and in front of the crowd, it was as if a flame wall over a hundred feet tall had been erected, the heat wave scaring the mercenaries from moving any further.

While everyone was in a state of panic, trying to understand what was happening, another strange noise came from the forest ahead. Different from the sharp screeching before, this time the sound was very deep, like giant boulders that were asleep underground, starting to snore, even drowning out the crackling sound of the flames consuming the branches.

“Ah, this is bad.” Lancelot suddenly sheathed his longsword and tightened the sword belt across his chest, “Put away your weapons, and when it’s time to run, stick close to me…”

“What?” Bruto asked subconsciously, “Where is the enemy?”

“The enemy can’t be defeated with weapons,” Lancelot shook his head, eyes fixed on the burning forest ahead, “Musk, you were right…”

“Look at those trees!” he exclaimed, and at the same time, a terrified scream rose from the crowd, “The trees have come to life, they are moving!”

As the scream spread, the strange transformation had become all too apparent. Human-like faces, contorted with pain, emerged on the previously bare trunks of the Fang Tooth Pines, while several thick, grotesque branches that resembled arms stretched out from their sides. They creaked and bent down, pulling their roots out of the ground–now turned into two long legs.

The burning treants emitted a deep, oppressive, desperate, and frenzied roar, taking large strides towards the crowd. The sight was profoundly horrifying, for each treant towered over fifty feet in height, twice as tall as the Frost Giants, and capped by a blaze of fire raging through their treetops, planting the same word in everyone’s mind.

Doomed.

However, among the mercenaries and demons, there were those whose thinking was not of the common kind, madmen who, far from dodging, charged towards the treants. Facing those giant legs that swung like battering rams, they struck out fearlessly with their weapons, like brave lumberjacks–then were flung away like bugs.

The luckier ones landed in the clearings beside them, with the worst injuries being just a few broken ribs, and were quickly helped up by other mercenaries; the less fortunate landed directly in the path of another treant, making a sound akin to a pizza dropped on the ground and stepped on by bare feet, before turning into pulp; or they stuck to the soles of the treants’ feet, leaving a trail of horrifying bloodstains with each step they took.

Despair sunk deep into everyone’s hearts; that kind of power was simply not something muscle and steel could contend with, at least not with their mortal forms.

“Don’t panic! They are not coming for us!” Lancelot suddenly shouted, his voice filled with a special kind of power that drowned out all the surrounding noise, “They are heading for the Stygian River! Don’t fight head-on, just clear the path!”

In their panic, people subconsciously followed the orders they heard, especially since the voice sounded so stable and calm, it inspired trust. But as simple as the words were, the execution was not so easy. With the thick, choking smoke and the crowds in panic, avoiding the mad treants was easier said than done.

Fortunately, the mercenaries had deployed in formation ahead of time, giving them some room to maneuver, and although the treants charged like massive windmills with intimidating momentum, their paths were not hard to predict. If they could remain calm, there was still a good chance to survive.

But the demons left standing in their place, packed tightly together, were not so lucky. The rampaging treants swept through them like harrows plowing through the ground, scattering groups of demons into the raging Stygian River, then leaping in themselves. The submerged demons, like stones tossed into the water, were swallowed by the waves without a chance to struggle; most were lowly Coward Devils, but among them were also a number of Middle Rank Demons, who made no difference in their end, except for causing larger splashes.

The mercenaries who had escaped death by a hair’s breadth had no time to feel thankful; a new threat had already emerged. As the Fang Tooth Pines morphed into treants, many burning branches broke off from their bodies, leaving behind a swath of roaring flames. From within those flames, portals appeared, and numerous Serpent Demons in red cloaks emerged. They formed neat lines, and with confident strides, swiftly closed in on the mercenaries.

“Mercenaries!!” Sonam’s shout, accompanied by the buzz of blades being drawn, rang out, “Kill them all!!!!”

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