Unas gripped the Firekiss, which was covered in golden-red flames. With each swing, he could sever five or six vines, but these vines had the ability to regenerate. They would shrink back and quickly grow back, then wrap around him again.
The fact that no experience was gained from cutting down numerous vines indicates that these vines are not isolated organisms, but rather part of the body of one or more enemies.
They were also difficult to ignite, greatly reducing the power of the Huoye spell. Unas and several Warriors tightly protected the mage and Priest, managing to hold out for the time being. Only the younger brother among the Dwarf Warriors was scratched by the poisonous stinger and his steps were unsteady, but with the Dwarf's stamina, he could still hold on.
The surrounding dark Forest resembled a hellish abyss, and no one knew what strange traps awaited them. Unas dared not rush out to find the vine controller; wandering aimlessly in this dangerous and eerie woodland like a headless fly would only hasten their death.
The Night Elves were in a bad situation. The giant bear Druid at the forefront had many stab wounds all over his body, and his two bear legs were tightly bound by thick vines. He couldn't break free no matter how strong his poison resistance was. He was starting to feel the strain.
His Druid comrades were also preoccupied with their own problems. Unas glanced at them but did not step forward to help, because he saw that the Watchers were handling things with ease, but Captain Silver Shadow had not ordered anyone to help his trapped comrades.
Although Silver Shadow had a terrible personality, she wouldn't stand by and watch her fellow countrymen die. Unas immediately understood her thoughts: the Watchers wanted to find the monster controlling the vines.
Following the clues, the Giant Bear Druid is being gradually drawn into the dark Forest. By following him, they may find the real enemy. It's just a tough situation for the Giant Bear Druid, but since he's tough and resilient, he's the perfect candidate for a self-inflicted injury.
The giant bear roared to the sky, mustering its last bit of strength to smash the vines on its body. The next moment, its will to resist was overwhelmed by the intense dizziness and the vines that wrapped around it again. In an instant, it was wrapped up like a big dumpling and dragged into the forest on the left.
With a sharp cry, Silver Shadow bent her long legs and pushed off the ground, chasing after him like a cheetah. The other three Watchers flashed by and disappeared into the darkness behind her.
Unas had considered hitchhiking to catch up, but seeing their speed, he gave up the idea; losing them and getting lost would be a complete disaster.
He had actually thought of a way to pinpoint the location of the vine controller: using Natasha's Shadowfiend to explore the target's mental core. However, that would expose Natasha's identity as a shadow priest, so he decided to avoid using it if possible.
After Silver Shadow chased after them, the frequency of the vines' attacks began to decrease. It seemed that the monster controlling the vines was distracted by dealing with the Watchers, and the rest of the group relaxed. After a quarter of an hour, all the vines quickly retracted and disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant.
The only sound in the sudden silence was the intermittent panting. Even though they felt exhausted, no one dared to relax and they huddled together again.
After waiting a while, the vines didn't reappear, nor did the Watchers return. The silent Forest seemed to have turned into an abyss, swallowing them whole. Perhaps they were engaged in a fierce battle with the vine controller?
Unas didn't want those women to risk their lives while he waited for the outcome. "Namelia, come with me to check. The rest of you, stay on guard!"
The reason for bringing the Shadow Priest was to prevent them from getting lost. The Argent Dawn members all nodded in obedience. The Warden's authority was still very strong in their hearts, and no one dared to voice any objections during the battle.
The young Druid Masa exclaimed, "I'll go too!"
Unas glanced at him, not wanting to waste time arguing, and reluctantly nodded. The two of them, one in front and one behind, sandwiched Natasha in the middle and quickly ran towards the direction the Watchers were pursuing.
Following the drag marks, a figure suddenly appeared on the ground ahead. Behind them, Masa, now a Nightsaber, whispered, "It's Rudel!"
That was the name of the giant bear Druid. He had probably reverted to his original form after being severely injured and unconscious. The young Druid rushed over to check on his unconscious companion.
This scene was all too familiar. Unas remembered that a young man he encountered when he first transmigrated had been lured and killed in the same way. He quickly grabbed Masa, "Be careful, there might be a trap!"
At this moment, Rudel, who had been unconscious, let out a groan and woke up, looking in their direction with pleading eyes.
"The giant bear Druid woke up at such a convenient time?" Unas wondered, not immediately approaching, but the Druid beside him couldn't help but whisper, "Druul, how are you?"
Druul didn't reply, his mouth agape as if unable to utter a sound. Masa broke free of the Paladin's grasp and ran forward quickly.
Unas and Natasha exchanged a glance, both sensing something was wrong, and neither followed.
The idea of learning from history is utter nonsense, because people keep repeating the same mistakes.
Before Masa could reach his companion on the ground, Rudel suddenly sprang up, and countless blood-soaked vines burst forth from his body, instantly binding Masa tightly to him.
Unas's "Hammer of Justice" and Natasha's "Mind Blast" were unleashed simultaneously. The Hammer of Justice stunned Rudel, while the Mind Blast prolonged the stun effect.
It only took about three seconds, but that was more than enough for Unas. He rushed forward and beheaded Rudel with a single sword stroke.
The severed neck of the Great Bear Druid was not filled with blood and bone, but with dense vines; his flesh and blood had long been devoured by the evil plants.
Unas swiftly severed the vines binding Masa with a few sword strikes, then kicked Rudel's body away and followed up with a cross slash that cut him into four pieces.
Masa watched helplessly as his companion was dismembered, and suddenly felt nauseous, but anger overwhelmed all other feelings. "Why did you do this?! He might still have been saved!"
"Open your eyes and look! He's a dead man."
Indeed, what flowed from the fragments of Rudel's body was not blood, but wriggling vines, a sight both disgusting and horrifying. Had Unas not acted decisively, who knows what might have happened.
Masa forced himself to calm down. Although he knew that Unas was telling the truth, he couldn't help but feel resentful about the actions of the humans in front of him. Of course, his greatest resentment was his dissatisfaction with his own powerlessness.
"Thank you for saving my life." Despite these words, there was no gratitude in his cold eyes.
"Ungrateful bastard, "Druid Unas cursed under his breath, looking around at the surrounding woods.
The vines abandoned the giant bear Druid's corpse here, leaving no trace of dragging it on the ground, and the three of them suddenly lost their way.
"Take your companion's corpse and return the way you came." Unas wanted to send the Druid away, then have Natasha transform into Shadowform to cast a spell to search.
"No, without my guidance, how would you have found Captain Silver Shadow and the others?" Masa was unwilling to return; he was determined to avenge his comrades.
Can you give directions?
"The Watchers leave marks wherever they go; it's their way of preventing them from getting lost and guiding reinforcements. I recognize Captain Silver Shadow's mark."
Unas remembered that when Nightmoon had served as his scout, she had left her unique mark on him, and he immediately believed the Druid's words.
Masa ran to a large tree and pointed to a small, curved mark three inches above his head. "That's what Captain Silver Shadow left behind."
Unas approached and saw that the marks did indeed resemble those made by a sharp blade; they were almost invisible without close inspection, and only the Nightsaber's eyes could see them clearly in the night.
"Then let's get going. We can deal with Rudel's body when we get back."
After following Masa's winding, circuitous path for over half an hour, the Druid suddenly stopped, circled around, and said, "I can't find the next marker!"
The surrounding Forest was eerily quiet. There were no sounds of the Watchers fighting, no birdsong, no insect chirping, only occasional rustling sounds, whether it was the wind rustling through the trees or something darting around in the woods.
Unas sensed something was wrong. After walking for so long, the Watchers couldn't have left no trace of their battle. Silver Shadow, though impulsive, wouldn't have chased this far. There was only one answer—they had taken the wrong path.
"Did you really confirm the Silver Shadow's mark the whole way?"
Masa hastily swore, "I swear in Cenarius's name that I absolutely confirm the mark left by Captain Silver Shadow!"
"Then take us back the way we came."
"Shouldn't we continue pursuing the enemy?"
"What's the point of chasing after them? We might already be lost."
Masa was about to retort, but remembering the eeriness of the woods, he quickly turned back.
But as Unas had predicted, the three soon found themselves in a dead end again, Druid could no longer find the mark.
"How is this possible? I clearly saw a mark on this tree when I came here, and you all saw it too. It couldn't be faked, so how could it just disappear into thin air?!"
The Druid seemed to have thought of something, and raised its paw to strike the large tree in front of it. The Nightsaber's claws tore at the bark and scattered leaves, but the tree did not retaliate, and the wound showed no signs of healing quickly.
"You don't look like a nature protector at all," Unas, still in the mood to mock the Druid.
The Druid didn't get angry; Unas's composure was infectious. "You know what happened, don't you?"
"I really don't know. Maybe someone removed the Silver Shadow's mark, or maybe we were hallucinating and saw it wrong. But whatever the case, don't forget you can fly. You fly up and check the location, and we'll walk back in a straight line following the general direction."
"But I've lost track of where we were originally."
"Look at the stars and the moon, figure out the direction first, that should be easy, right?" Unas said casually, though he himself didn't really understand the star charts of Azeroth or the moon's position at all.
Night Elves call themselves "Children of the Stars," and their lifestyle is nocturnal, so they naturally know how to use celestial bodies to find their way.
The Druid transformed from Nightsaber into Thunder Raven and soared upwards with a whoosh.
With only the two of them remaining, Natasha leaned in to listen and said to the Paladin, "Listen."
Another rustling sound came through, almost imperceptible unless you listened carefully. Unas, his hand on his sword hilt, asked, "What's wrong? Enemies?"
Natasha gestured for him to be quiet, and the two waited a moment. The sound disappeared, and then nothing happened.
What do you think that is?
Unas asked curiously, "Isn't it just the sound of the wind?"
"No, I've been listening to this sound for a while now. Unlike the sound of the wind, which has regular durations and intervals, it always comes and goes suddenly. I feel like something is moving around us."
"But I didn't sense any murderous intent, nor did I feel like I was being targeted by the enemy."
"Yeah, neither did I, so I think it was these trees that were moving. They couldn't possibly be releasing any murderous intent; they were just trying to mislead us and make us lose our way."
Unas thought for a moment, "But that doesn't explain the disappearance of the Silver Shadow's mark. We did see her mark on that tree when we arrived."
"Are you sure this is the same tree we saw earlier?"
Unas thought carefully. They hadn't brought torches. Another function of the Sacred Shield was illumination, allowing clear visibility within a radius of twenty meters. However, the trees in the dark Forest all looked similar, so it was really impossible to be sure.
Natasha's guess might be correct; the tree marked with the Silver Shadow had run away, and the one in front of them had come to impersonate it.
Unas examined the tree's roots; they were mostly buried deep in the soil. Perhaps these trees possessed the ability to burrow underground?
As he was pondering, the flapping of wings descended from the sky. As soon as Masa landed, he reverted to his original form, kneeling on the ground, his chest heaving violently, panting heavily and unable to utter a single word.
"What's going on? We've encountered enemies in the sky too?"
The Druid took a few deep breaths. "A huge web covered the entire woodland, I don't know how big it was. The gaps between the treetops were completely blocked. I tried to withstand it for a while, but it immediately attracted the attack of several spiders. I barely managed to escape their entanglement. I was afraid of getting lost if I continued to fly out, so I had to come back."
Unas looked up at the dark treetops. "A giant web? A spider? Didn't you say there were no other living things in this forest besides trees? How come you didn't notice such a huge web above your heads before?"
"We were afraid of alerting the enemy, so we only dared to scout from the outside and didn't notice the lush treetops. That was our mistake."
"It's good to know it was your mistake. As compensation, you must keep what happens next a secret. Can you swear that?"
Masa hesitated, "I don't know, as long as it's not something extremely heinous..."
"Don't worry, it's not what you're thinking. It's this lady's hidden profession, and you must swear you won't reveal it!"
"Okay, I swear on my life I will never reveal any information about this woman to anyone!"
Unas didn't know if there would be any punishment for breaking an oath in Azeroth; he was just seeking peace of mind. Masa was a religious person and should have believed in oaths.
"Namelia, transform!"
Natasha nodded, silently chanted an incantation, and quickly switched to Shadowform, transforming into a "little black man" covered in black light.
Masa was surprised; he was completely unfamiliar with the history of the Holy Light among humans and was learning of the existence of the Shadow Priest class for the first time.
Natasha closed her eyes and cast a spell. Countless points of light slowly appeared in her mind; these were the soul fires she had searched for.
"Everyone's in trouble, there's fighting on both sides. Which side should we go to first? Go back or support the Watchers?"
"Going back, the Watchers are highly skilled and should be able to escape unscathed. I'm afraid Huoye and the others won't be able to hold out."
Unas grabbed Natasha around the waist, almost lifting her up. At this moment, he disregarded the difference between men and women and sprinted back with Natasha at top speed. Masa also transformed into Nightsaber and followed.
With Natasha's guidance, they could proceed in a straight line, but suddenly the trees in the forest began to move, forming a wall of trees that blocked Unas's path.
Natasha was right; these trees could actually move! Although they weren't offensive, they were still very annoying. After Unas swung his sword and cut down several rows, he had to take a detour. Cutting them down like that would deplete his stamina too quickly, and he might collapse from exhaustion by the time he got to the battlefield.
The trees were moving and arranging themselves faster and faster. Unas kept cutting and circling, but he felt like he was getting further and further away. Just as he was about to explode, a sparse ray of light shone down from above.
Then a deafening roar came from the sky, the pre-arranged signal— Huoye unleashed a Pyroblast, and two giant dragons swooped down to attack the source of the flames.
Huoye wouldn't release this signal unless it was a critical moment. The dragon was reserved as a secret weapon for a fatal blow. Releasing the signal meant either the Purple-robed Person had appeared or the battle had reached a point of life or death.
Unas decisively tossed Natasha onto the back of the Nightsaber, drew two saw blades, roared, and frantically spun the two weapons like Warrior unleashing a "Bladestorm." Amidst flying sawdust, rows of trees blocking the way fell down.
Unas, leading the Nightsaber and the Shadow Priest, broke through one wall of trees after another until there were no more obstacles in front of them, leaving behind a pile of broken wood and branches.
Unas threw away the two heavy, broken weapons and channeled his Holy Power to cleanse his arms, eliminating fatigue and restoring his strength.
After a short rest, the three prepared to set off again, when a young man suddenly emerged from behind a tree.
All three were startled. Natasha pulled at the Warden's cloak, reminding him that something was wrong with the other party.
"Andrew, how's the battle going?" Unas drew his Firekiss.
The young man was one of the elite Warriors brought by Unas. He didn't reply and walked forward expressionlessly. Unas fired a Flame Slash directly. With a loud bang, Andrew was blown in two. Vines were coming out of his stomach. He was already dead, becoming a puppet of vines like Rudel.
The young men were the elite of the Argent Dawn. Unas was feeling heartbroken when Andrew's severed body suddenly spoke—it was definitely not his voice—"Ruthless Paladin, you don't even spare your own men?"
"Whoever you are, stop with your clumsy tactics!"
"Hehehe, the game has only just begun..."
Unas rushed forward, chopped the corpses on the ground into pieces, and then burned them to ashes. He would not allow the bodies of his Warriors to be used and desecrated again.
"Is that the voice of the Purple-robed Person?" Masa's eyes widened, excited to hear the voice of an enemy for the first time.
"Whether he's a Purple-robed Person or a blue-robed man, I will tear him to pieces!"
Unas charged forward, sword raised, ready to unleash his fury upon his enemy.
Without any further obstacles, Unas and his companions finally arrived at the battlefield. A long, Blue Dragon and an octopus-like monster filled their entire field of vision. Their own group was behind the Blue Dragon, and they couldn't see the Little Red Dragon.
Seeing that everyone was injured from afar, the three quickly rejoined the main force. Natasha had already switched back to normal mode and immediately began casting healing spells.
Masa turned and looked around, but couldn't find the three Druids who had stayed behind. He cried out in panic, "Where are my companions?"
Unas also noticed that Perella was missing and quickly asked, "What happened?"
"They've all been arrested..."
It turned out that after Unas and his two companions chased after the Watchers, the countless vine attacks returned shortly afterward.
This is a terrifying outcome. The vines will return, meaning either all those who chased after them will be dead, or they will all be shaken off. Those who remain naturally hope for the latter.
The group struggled to hold on, but this time the vines had help. Ice spells came from the surrounding darkness from time to time, clearly indicating that a spellcaster was assisting the vines in their attack.
The elusive spellcaster quickly disrupted the balance of power between the two sides. Three Druids were successively swept away by the vines, their fate unknown. Perella took a hit for Huoye and was also dragged away by the vines. Seeing that they were about to be wiped out, Huoye had no choice but to send a signal to summon a dragon.
The two dragons swooped down, but a giant web and swarm of spiders at the top of the tree were already waiting for them. The Little Red Dragon crashed directly into the web and got entangled by the spiders.
Taking advantage of the situation, Mati'gosa transformed into human form and rushed down through the gap created by the Little Red Dragon, blocking the way for the group and luring out the vine controller—the octopus vine monster.
The Blue Dragon's freezing air is the bane of vines; frozen vines lose their resilience and can be easily shattered into pieces with a single blow.
Since the appearance of the Blue Dragon, the spellcasters in the Forest have not made a move, whether they were scared away or waiting for an opportunity is unknown.
The one who spoke through Andrew's corpse must be this mage. Unas looked around, seemingly trying to find him.
Masa had no time to admire the scenery; he was frantic with worry. First, he was poisoned by the Oakleaf, then Rudel was killed, then three of his companions were captured, and the fate of the Watchers was unknown. The Night Elves were almost completely wiped out.
"My companions, which way were they dragged?!" the Druid cried out in anguish.
Unas was also anxious; comforting others seemed to be a way of comforting himself. "Calm down, think about it. Those being dragged away are all Elves. The Purple-robed Person loves to collect Elves. Although we don't know what he wants to do, they should be safe for now."
The Druid held his head in his hands, completely disoriented, nodding incessantly as the human Paladin spoke, seemingly oblivious to whether he was actually listening.
At this point, the octopus vine monster finally began to retreat. It was completely outmatched by the Blue Dragon, and the regeneration speed of its vines could not keep up with the breaking speed. If it continued to fight, it would surely die.
Unas wanted to help but found it difficult; the octopus monster was no smaller than a dragon, and he couldn't see any weakness in it.
Despite being called an octopus monster, its true form cannot be found. Its body seems to be entirely composed of various vines, like a tangled mess, with no discernible shape.
Helping the Blue Dragon is better than helping the Red Dragon. The Little Red Dragon is blocked in the air. If she can come down, she can definitely block the vine monster that is trying to escape.
"Everyone be careful, the monk in the forest might still be there."
After reminding everyone, Unas raised his sword high, then activated the Wings of Vengeance, soaring into the sky like a rocket.
With his Holy Power at its peak, Unas could maintain the Wings of Vengeance for about three minutes. It only took him three seconds to soar into the sky, and the spider web at the top of the tree was melted by the flame blade extending from the tip of the Firekiss Sword.
The Little Red Dragon was attacking a group of small blue spiders on the treetops not far away. Her hind legs were tangled in a mess of spider silk, and her body was covered in strands of silk, making her look a bit disheveled.
The greatest skill of those blue spiders is web weaving. They don't directly confront the Red Dragon; instead, they spread out and continuously weave webs, quickly repairing any gaps left by the Red Dragon's burning.
The main reason why the Little Red Dragon couldn't get down was its enormous size. The trees in the Evil Woodland were already quite dense, and the thick branches were natural obstacles. In addition, the spiders' large webs were interspersed among them, leaving very few gaps for the Little Red Dragon to pass through.
The appearance of the Paladin, this little golden figure, immediately attracted the attention of several spiders, who unleashed a barrage of spider-like jets of energy without hesitation.
This silk was both sticky and extremely tough, and Unas had no desire to get it on him. He flapped his wings to nimbly dodge, while rushing forward to kill all the exposed attackers, one by one with a single sword strike, quite easily.
"Ms. Red Dragon, over here!"
Although Alexstrasza disliked this human, especially the way he held the Firekiss, she knew now was not the time to throw a tantrum, so she flew over to join him.
Unas first swung his sword to cut the spider silk binding the Red Dragon's hind legs, then gave her a general cleaning.
The two exerted their strength simultaneously. The Red Dragon spewed out a blazing breath at its strongest limit, Unas also released all the energy in the Fire Ring through the Firekiss. The out-of-control fire energy almost backfired on its master, but fortunately Unas was in the air and flew back a few steps to avoid being hit by the backlash.
The flames from both sides merged into a vast sea of fire, engulfing the entire area chosen by Unas, instantly burning a large hole in the central tree branches and spider webs.
The Red Dragon swooped down, burning all the surrounding spiders to death. Those further away didn't have time to catch up. Alexstrasza entered the forest almost without any hindrance, and Unas followed behind her tail and flew in as well.
This landing point was precisely behind the octopus monster, blocking its retreat—a choice Unas deliberately made.
Unas landed on an open ground to the side, folded his wings. He had only flown for one minute and thirty seconds, and still had most of his Holy Power left, but he was no longer needed in the battle.
Surrounded by two giant dragons, the octopus monster tried to escape to the side, which hastened its death. The Blue Dragon's freezing breath froze all its remaining vines, and the Little Red Dragon pounced on it, fighting fiercely until all the octopus monster's vines finally shattered, revealing its true form.
It turned out to be a spider, with eight legs and a huge abdomen as its most distinctive features. Unas seized the opportunity and rushed forward, "Could you two give me the glory of delivering the final blow?"
"What a weakling! All you know is to covet cheap honor. I can already see the face you'll wear when you boast to your fellow countrymen." The Little Red Dragon roared disdainfully, but made no move to stop the Paladin.
Seeing that the Blue Dragon didn't object, Unas was about to shamelessly deliver the final blow when the voice of a mage, seemingly the Purple-robed Person, came from the forest.
"Well done. If you want to save your companions, come to the heart of the woodland. I will open the doors for you."