008 Druid Rage

The woman behind me pressed closer, her voice trembling yet respectful. “Senior, they’re all Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

I recalled Xing Ning’s lecture. It was the third major realm of cultivation. They should be powerful enough for sustained flight, advanced techniques, and extended longevity.

One of the black-robed figures sneered. “Not all of us.”

A figure wearing a grotesque demon mask materialized from the haze. His presence matched Guo Yupin’s, which meant he was at least Core Formation. “This doesn’t concern you, hermit. Li Ming, come to us.”

The woman behind me cried out. “No! My name is Li Qing. Li Ming is my grandmother!”

The masked man chuckled softly. “A clever ruse—swapping names to fool our spies. But it ends tonight. The deceiver is already dead. The sell-swords your village hired will soon join her. Don’t make this difficult, Li Ming. Surrender your life, and no one else needs to die. Your village may yet see another dawn if you simply forfeit yours.”

He drew a dark sword from his own shadow, the blade humming with malice as he leveled it at us. “Come now. I won’t ask twice.”

A strange compulsion stirred inside me. The druid within surged forward, demanding balance be restored. These abominations had to be destroyed.

Druids were natural enemies of anything eldritch, irregular, or disruptive to the world’s order. While their targets could vary from humans, demons, and even angels, one constant remained. They hunted chaos incarnate. Mind flayers, beholders, and other extra-dimensional horrors were their specialty. In Earth terms, druids were pest control for invasive species from beyond the veil. They would exorcise gods themselves if the World’s Voice deemed them corrupt.

And right now, Nevle Drol Diurdhcra, the druid half of my soul was screaming that these people fit the code perfectly.

Why?

That question bothered me. It slowly registered to me as I stared at his sword. That blade… it was straight out of Legacy World Online. What the hell was it doing here? My gaze flicked to the others. They were probably carrying similar items.

I feigned nervousness, steadying my breathing, then spoke with deliberate calm. “Hello. Name’s Wally… or Wo Li, if that’s easier. Shall we all introduce ourselves?”

“This is none of your business, hermit,” the masked man growled.

In a single bound, he appeared before me.

I responded in kind.

“Entanglement!”

Roots erupted from the earth, wrapping around his legs. He phased straight through them and thrust his sword at my chest with blinding speed, only to strike a decoy. My Shedding ability had triggered successfully, passing the combined Dexterity and Wisdom check.

I reappeared right beside him and pressed the end of my staff against the side of his mask.

“Sunlight Orb.”

A blazing sphere of condensed nature energy erupted, carrying radiant and fire damage. The masked man instantly swapped places with one of his subordinates. The spell slammed into the cultivator he swapped with instead, vaporizing the poor cultivator’s head in a searing flash of light and flame.

“Activate the Heaven-Locking Formation,” the masked man ordered, his voice cold and commanding. “Seal the area. Prepare the soul-binding chains. Do not let her escape again.”

I glanced at the woman beside me. “Stay close. I might not be able to protect you otherwise.”

She nodded frantically, fingers clutching my robes. The air thickened with oppressive energy as the black-robed figures moved in eerie coordination. Sinister runes spread across the forest floor like a glowing net, constricting space itself and making escape far more difficult.

I tightened my grip on my staff and scanned the tightening circle. At least a dozen more Foundation Establishment cultivators had emerged from the shadows.

The masked man floated a few feet above the ground, his dark sword humming with void energy. “Interesting tricks, hermit. But you’re only delaying the inevitable. Hand over the girl and I’ll grant you a quick death. Continue this foolishness, and your soul will feed the formation for the next century.”

“Big words for someone who just used his own men as a meat shield,” I shot back.

He didn’t reply with words. Instead, he raised his sword. The formation flared to life, and chains of dark energy shot toward us from every direction.

I slammed my staff into the earth. “Verdant Barrier!”

Thick walls of living wood and thorny vines exploded upward, forming a protective dome around us. The dark chains hammered against it with bone-rattling force. The barrier held, but I could already feel the strain. This formation drew power from something far more sinister than ordinary qi.

The woman behind me whispered, her voice shaking. “Senior… there are too many. Even Elder Guo Yupin couldn’t hold them off for long. You shouldn’t risk yourself for me.”

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I kept my eyes locked on the masked man. “Too late. They already woke me up in the middle of the night and turned my forest into a battlefield. I take that kind of thing personally.”

Another wave of chains crashed against the barrier. Cracks spiderwebbed across the wooden surface. I poured more qi into the spell, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.