Unexpected Dangers

The troops on Richard’s side had been training for this exact situation over the past two weeks. One warrior jumped across the steel barricade and struck the woodpecking crow with his axe, the sheer force almost splitting the creature in half. He didn’t even check to see whether it had perished before jumping back to the safety of the steel wall.

Seeing the strategy working, Richard suddenly felt a wave of relief.

The silent forest erupted into chaos. Flocks of woodpecking crows suddenly charged out from the treeline, circling around the Tree of Life. Their ear-piercing shrieks covered the entire area, the sheer volume leaving some of the soldiers dizzy. Many couldn’t help but drop their weapons, blocking their ears to muffle the cacophony.

The number of crows grew quickly until they seemed to cover the entire sky. The whole forest seemed to be shrouded in darkness in a few minutes,...