Cha Haeul grimaced as she extended her hands upwards, and a bunch of vines shot upwards from the ground. Dodak dodged and sliced with his dagger while Jisung ran sideways, aiming for a rake at the side of the pavilion.
Concentrating, Dodak injected his poison into the cut on the vine, the green gas blending in with the vines and mixing with the juices of the plant. The vines melted like paper and dissolved, causing a cry from Cha Haeul.
"That's her weakness! Attack her plants."
Dodak screamed at Jisung, gesturing for him to go for the pomegranate shrubs instead.
The latter steadied the rake and executed a forceful swing at the shrub, erecting it from the ground and scattering the leaves and roots across the floor.
"Oh you've done it. No more playing nice Hye Dodak."
She lunged forward, using her vines as a makeshift sword. She pierced and stabbed, her swings amateurish and clumsy. Dodak dodged them with ease and kicked her in the knee, causing her to fall to the floor and yelp in pain.
She snapped her finger and caused a burst of spore sacks of the ferns on the pavilion ceiling. The spores made Dodak cough uncontrollably as they entered his body.
"My neurotoxins will make you listen to whatever I say. And I'm thinking you should attack your best friend there."
Dodak's eyes turned green as he fell on the floor, still coughing. Within seconds, he got up and readied his dagger.
"Oh shit."
Jisung could only mumble those few words as Dodak stared at him mindlessly, his green eyes gleaming in the sunlight.
SWING
The sound of Dodak's blade was clean and crisp, cutting straight into the ripe, human flesh.
"You little shit."
Cha Haeul muttered as Dodak's dagger plunged into her abdomen. There was no blood leaking from her body, but a golden dew-like liquid flowed from her instead.
"I'm immune to poisons, you bitch."
She fell to the floor as she grabbed her abdomen, her face mangled in pain. Dodak grabbed the hilt of her chin, glaring deep into her eyes.
"I know that won't kill you. But I can do much, much worse. So stand down."
She matched his intense gaze, her green, emerald eyes glistening against the sunlight. She simply shrugged and grinned, laughing loudly.
"Fine, fine. I'll just poison those two when I get the chance."
She extended her hand out, signalling for Dodak to pull her back up to her feet. He obliged and brought her back to her throne, letting her sit to catch her breath. Squeezing her hand into a ball, a faint, green glow emanated from her hand. Within seconds, her wound had healed and the only trace of an injury was the golden dew.
"Sorry dude. We didn't know you could feel what they felt. We just wanted to vent a little. Especially Jiwoo."
"Whatever. Just don't do it again. Or else I'll actually poison you."
The two chuckled and shook hands on the truce.
"Speaking of, where is that prick?"
Realising how much time had passed, Jisung panicked as he noticed that the woman was still not back.
"Shit. I left her outside. Something might have happened."
Jisung sprinted out of the greenhouse and away while the other two scrambled to follow him. They turned a corner and came face to face with Song Jiwoo's back.
She still radiated that intense yellow aura, but it faltered at a fixed interval.
However, the intervals revealed a terrifying sight in front of her. There was a horde of about 50 goblins, with one too many variations. There were some regular goblins, some of the previously seen mage goblins and a few goblins riding on wolves. To add on to the horror, there was one goblin that was significantly larger than the rest, towering above the hoard and being as tall as some of the buildings.
"What the actual fuck."
Jisung had walked past the yellow glow to see the horrifying sight, catching a glimpse of Song Jiwoo, who was standing motionless at the sight.
"We should run."
Dodak had placed his hands on the other two, waking Song Jiwoo from her daze.
"Not to be a killjoy or anything, but there's no way out but the way they're coming in from."
Cha Haeul flashed a cheeky smile, having finally caught up to the group after strutting out from the greenhouse.
"Then we hide."
"You can try. But I think the glass walls might just be a tad bit too revealing."
"So we have to fight."
Song Jiwoo had broken her silence by breaking up the little squabble between Cha Haeul and Dodak.
"Finally you say something logical. A fight it is."
Cha Haeul smirked as she strutted forwards, her hands twirling as if she was casting something. She walked past Song Jiwoo and took a knee, closing her eyes as she placed her palms onto the floor. She tilted her head slightly as her eyes were still closed, her arms releasing green particles. The ground rumbled as she groaned, her body trembling from her channeling.
Thick vines then burst from the ground and uprooted the ground. The thorns pierced into the goblins, painting the greenish-brown vines with a black hue. The goblins tripped, stumbling and stabbing each other as they fell. It was a massacre.
The goblins on wolves screeched, shouting out war cries as they charged. The wolves accelerated as the goblins whipped them using the leash, their bloodthirsty fangs on full display.
Song Jiwoo leaped forward, her signature energy blade materialising from the yellow particles around her. She dashed straight at the charging wolves, brandishing her sword and making a clean slice, causing a wolf to open up like a flower, the halves of its body dropping on either side.
She stabbed forward, her energy particles propelling her as she pierced the temple of another goblin. She was like an executioner, each of the goblins all succumbing to the death verdicts from Song Jiwoo.
Meanwhile, the mages had managed to get closer to the group through a teleportation spell. Now, they were meters away from the duo, their sinister faces plastered with a smirk as they conjured up their spells.
"Jisung, duck!"
Dodak threw his dagger at one of the mages, the dagger flailing before landing a small cut on its arm. The mage laughed at the weak throw for a few seconds before it clutched its throat, foam rising from the mage as it gasped for air and fell to the ground.
Running forth towards the other mages who were launching fireballs at him, he ducked and rolled, evading them ever so slightly as the fireballs collided with the greenhouses. As he ran for his dagger, a fireball grazed by his arm, scalding him.
He fell to the ground as he clutched his arm, the pain searing into his arm. Taking advantage of his pain, a mage sent forth an orb of darkness, sucking in all that stood in its path. The whirlwind of grass, debris, bugs and bodies flew towards him, increasing the pressure in the area drastically.
The ball was about to hit Dodak when Jisung ran in and tackled the aforementioned out of the way, dodging the orb successfully.
"Come on man, get up!"
Jisung then used the wooden staff of a mage as a baton, running forward and swatting at the mage.
He pushed himself back up, ignoring the pain as he charged towards the smirking mage, who was conjuring yet another spell. He yelled as he leaped towards the mage, the impact causing them to crash on the floor as he injected poison into the nostrils of the mage. Dodak groaned as he released all the poison he could conjure, the green gas flowing out of his mouth. It kept spewing out, causing the mage to choke as the foam leaked from its mouth.
The once saggy, green skin of the mage's head had now dissolved into a pool of greenish-black liquid as it laid motionless on the ground.
Dodak plopped himself onto the floor beside the headless body as he panted heavily, recuperating his energy.
He looked around to see the remnants of the battlefield. Bodies were splayed on the ground, coating the green grass with a black tint. Yellow flashes could still be seen in a distant corner of the field, but came to a stop as Song Jiwoo stepped out, her long, flowing hair blowing with the wind.
Turning his gaze to the greenhouses, he looked on in horror at the greenhouses, which had been destroyed in the crossfire of the battle. The beautiful vines that wrapped around it had now been burnt, and the glass walls that covered it were now cracked and destroyed. Inside, was a faint, green figure, kneeling on the floor as she grasped onto whatever that was left of the pomegranate shrubs.
"Humans… Strong?"
The low, grumbly voice was foreign to Dodak. He turned his head to see the massive goblin at the entrance of the greenhouses, unscathed.
The booming voice caught the attention of the others, causing them to jolt their heads towards it.
"Ready yourselves!"
Song Jiwoo held up her sword, pointing it towards the huge goblin as Dodak and Jisung linked back up with her.
The goblin extended its hand out as it spoke.
"No fight… Friend."
"Impossible. The goblin just said 'friend'."
Song Jiwoo lowered her sword cautiously. Her sultry eyes were still fixed on the goblin.
"It seems to have a higher level of intelligence than its subordinates. We should still be careful."
What happened next made Dodak's body tremble.
The goblin then raised its finger and pointed it at the trio.
"Want… Flesh."