Chapter 35 – Crazy Preparations

“What did you have in mind?” Franko asked excitedly.

“I can plant some plants that will explode on touch. We can sow the whole field,” Maximus said, smiling.

“Wow, I’ve never heard of such an ability. Let’s do that!” Franko clapped.

“We can also dig ditches and holes and fill them with water if we have a water mage, and then I could sink my vines into it and electrocute anything that falls in,” Maximus explained. “If we then litter the holes with sharp stakes or earthen spikes, we can cause additional damage!”

“Hmmm, we have mages. I’ll have to check if we have any that can cast earth and water spells. Good ideas. Alright, I’ll go and look for mages. Can you go plant your exploding plants?” Franko asked as he stood up.

“We have ourselves a plan, then!” Maximus clapped and let Franko out while he headed to the backyard to let Silex know he was leaving for a bit.

***

“So…?” Maria tapped her foot nervously against the cobbled ground.

“That odd dude will help us tremendously. He has some very useful skills, and I even got us some of his bombs. We might actually survive all this,” Franko said with a long sigh.

“I still think that he is strange and suspicious, but as long as he is willing to help…” She turned and stared at the door for a moment before leaving with Franko to start the preparations.

***

Twenty minutes later, the guards stood atop the fortified walls, observing a redheaded man summoning thick roots and carving ditches into the massive field in front of the settlement.

He continued to dig countless holes and trenches for almost an hour before sitting down to meditate for half an hour, then rising to repeat the process.

An hour later, the man created a man-sized pile of red, glistening seeds, and from his shoulder, a plant leapt off and sprouted vines, using them to plant the seeds and assist him.

Like that, the two planted hundreds of seeds before sitting again to rest and meditate.

“What is that guy doing?” One guard asked.

“That’s the druid who arrived a few days ago. I think he’s planting something. God knows what,” the other guard shrugged and continued watching.

Then, as the man stood up, he began shouting something, and the entire field shimmered crimson, almost as if set ablaze. Suddenly, deep red plants burst violently from the earth, each as thick as an arm, and then they bloomed, releasing a dense, crimson mist-like energy across the field.

As the flowers opened, the wind carried a faint scent of lilies into the settlement.

“Mmm… That smells nice. Like a summer evening.” One of the guards muttered, his eyes growing distant.

“I’m not sure what he’s doing, but the sight and the smell take me back to better times. Jorge… do you remember how simple everything was before all this insanity?” The guard asked.

The second guard turned, his eyes wet with tears. “I remember, Jay. It was summer, just before the first news broke about the disappearances. I was sitting on the porch at my grandma’s place in Málaga when she suddenly vanished. I’ll never forget that day,” Jorge said quietly, leaning against the wall as he looked over the sea of crimson blooms.

***

A good distance from the town gates, Maximus stood in front of his trap field, smiling in satisfaction. “Sprout, my friend… doesn’t this look beautiful? Yet such beauty carries death. Life truly is mysterious.” He muttered softly and turned to head back toward the settlement as he noticed groups of people watching from the walls.

Looks like I have an audience. He smiled faintly and nodded solemnly toward them just as the gates opened and Franko stepped out with Maria and a handful of robed figures carrying staves.

“You really did it! So, these flowers will explode like mines?” Franko asked as he approached.

“On a single touch, they will ignite the fire mana and erupt with immense heat. In nature, the only way to harvest them would be to freeze them, then cut the roots to stop the mana flow,” Maximus explained.

“Aren’t you a clever one?” Maria chuckled.

“Anyway, these are mages who can help with the preparations. George, please assist Maximus with what he has planned,” Franko instructed before leaving with Maria back toward the settlement.

***

“Hello there, my good men. I’m Maximus. So, this is what I had planned. Do you think you can help me with that?” Maximus asked as he explained his plan.

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“Oh, that’s smart. Just like those traps in games. You got it from there, right?” George the mage asked, clearly amazed at the idea.

“Ah, yes. From the games! Indeed!” Maximus nodded. What in the nine hells are these ‘games’?

The mages then followed Maximus’s instructions, using earth spells to carve out deep holes and split the ground to create large ditches, linking them together in an intricate web.
The others assisted by filling everything with water and earthen spikes.

Once the mages were finished, Maximus summoned regular Thorn Whip vines, dozens of them, and tied them together before submerging them. He also crushed some of the thorns on purpose, letting their poison slowly drip into the water.

Then he planted Seedlings from his enormous storage, using their leafy bodies to cover up the traps and surround the whole field with thick mist-like energy.

By the time he was done, the sun was already beginning to set as he dragged the last vine closer to the gates.

“So, you can then channel electricity through the connected vines and create electrified water?” another mage asked.

“Yes, that is the plan. The vines are also dripping poison into the water, so hopefully the combination of poison and electricity will deal significant damage to the beasts. And that’s if they don’t already die from the explosions and the poison bombs,” Maximus said seriously.

“Haha, you are crazy. I love it! We will work together once the battle starts. Let’s make it rain, buddy!” George slapped his back firmly as he led the mages back into the settlement to rest.

“Sprout, buddy, we did the best we could. I have no other ideas that my current spells can help with. Let’s just hope we can deal with the wolves before the horde arrives.” He petted Sprout on the shoulder and left the fields as well, exhausted.