John and Tony moved carefully through the dense foliage, their boots sinking slightly into the soft, mossy floor. The glowing moss underfoot pulsed with faint light, while strange vines dangled above them like silent watchers. Tony kept scanning the area through his drone feed while John focused ahead, his senses sharp and ready.
Suddenly, a soft growl echoed through the trees.
They froze.
From between two large tree trunks, a shadow emerged—silent, graceful, and dangerous.
A wolf.
It was unlike any wolf John had ever seen. Its fur was a dark, metallic silver that shimmered faintly with green undertones. Muscles rippled beneath its skin as it stalked forward, silent as death. Its eyes glowed softly, not with hostility, but with alertness—like a predator aware of another predator nearby.
Tony raised his hand to reach for his weapon, but John motioned for him to wait. He stared at the creature.
"Hey, John, do you think it's a wolf? But why is it so big?" Tony asked in a slightly confused tone. He had seen wolves before, but this thing in front of him was on another level.
"I don't know what kind of monster this is," John whispered, "but I can feel its power. It's dangerous."
"Fine, let's call it Big Bad Wolf then," Tony joked and prepared himself for the upcoming fight.
The wolf growled again, its hackles raised—then suddenly stopped. Its ears twitched.
Then, it turned—not toward John or Tony—but toward the forest behind them.
Its pupils shrank. Its tail tucked.
And it ran.
No hesitation. No warning.
Just a burst of speed as it vanished into the trees.
John and Tony stood frozen for a moment, exchanging a look.
"Did… did it just run away?" Tony muttered.
"Yeah…" John replied, his voice low. "Something scared it. Something strong."
Without waiting, John extended his spiritual sense, pushing it deeper into the forest in the direction the wolf had been looking.
What he felt made his heart skip a beat.
Rustling. Hissing. Movement. Lots of it.
Hundreds—maybe more.
A swarm of life signatures, all low-grade but fast and numerous, slithering with synchronized malice.
"Tony," John said, stepping back. "Snake tide. Hundreds of them… heading our way."
Tony blinked. "Snakes? Are you serious?"
"Tier 1 mostly. They're not too strong individually, but this many… it's a problem."
"Damn." Tony tightened his gloves and pulled out two short-range blasters from his belt. "Guess it's time for some pest control."
"What? No armor?" John smirked.
"It's fine. They don't deserve it," Tony said confidently.
John looked up at the canopy above them.
"We use the trees. Stay above ground. Don't let them surround us."
Tony nodded. "Let's make it loud."
---
The rustling grew louder—hissing sounds coming from all sides.
From beneath the moss, between the roots, through the leaves—they came.
Snakes.
Some as small as vines. Others thick as tree trunks. All glowing with eerie wood-element energy—bright green lines etched across their scales. Their movements stirred the wind, stirred the trees, even stirred the forest floor itself.
"They're using the environment," John muttered, already leaping onto a thick branch. "Some kind of forest-based synergy."
Tony followed him, activating the control pad on his wrist. Two of his drones flew out, hovering beside him, each locking onto the wave of snakes below.
The battle began.
John threw out his hand. "Fireball!"
A flaming orb shot forward, exploding as it hit the ground. A group of snakes burst into flame, thrashing violently before crumbling into ash.
But more replaced them.
They slithered faster now, some burrowing into the mossy earth. Others opened their jaws and spat green projectiles—sharp, thorn-like needles of wood-element energy that shot toward the trees.
John reacted quickly. "Earth Cage!"
The ground split open, jagged walls of rock shooting upward to trap dozens of snakes trying to flank them.
Tony, meanwhile, was moving quickly along the branches, dual blasters firing in controlled bursts. Each energy shot pierced through a snake's head or body, burning cleanly through.
"You weren't kidding!" he shouted over the chaos. "They're organized! Almost military!"
"Yeah!" John shouted back. "Something's controlling them. But I can't sense anything big… not yet."
Suddenly, a group of snakes launched themselves upward, twisting together like a rope and latching onto a tree branch.
"Watch out!"
Tony turned just in time to kick one away, but another latched onto his arm.
"Gah! You little—"
He yanked it off and smashed it against the tree. Another drone zapped in and shot two more off his leg.
"Tch. They're coordinated all right. This isn't a mindless tide."
John summoned a water arrow, spinning it in his hand before releasing it. It spiraled like a drill and pierced three snakes in a single line, pinning them to a trunk.
He turned toward Tony.
"Don't waste energy. Focus fire. Hit clusters!"
Tony nodded, flipping down his targeting visor. "Got it. Grouping southeast!"
He aimed one drone in that direction and unleashed a burst of rapid fire. Explosions of green light followed as snakes fell in dozens.
But the ground began to shift.
Vines crept upward—slow, steady, deadly.
John felt the shift.
"They're calling vines to trap us!"
He slammed his hand against the tree trunk. "Green Vine!"
Thick vines burst from his palm, controlled by his will. They wrapped around the incoming forest vines and snapped them apart like brittle twigs.
"Use your strongest firepower!"
Tony grinned. "Been waiting for that!"
He pulled a small orb from his belt, injected origin energy into it, and threw it into a cluster of snakes below.
Boom!
A shockwave pulsed through the trees. Dozens of snakes were flung into the air. Some hit branches, others burst mid-air from the energy pulse.
John's eyes narrowed. He raised both hands.
"Fireball! Earth Spike! Water Arrow! Green Vine!"
Four elemental skills surged at once.
Fire exploded into a group on the right.
Spikes of stone burst through the earth to impale others near the roots.
Water arrows whizzed through the air, precise and deadly.
And vines—his own—snatched up a group trying to climb and crushed them mid-air.
The tide finally began to slow.
The numbers thinned.
Ash, green blood, and shattered bark littered the forest floor.
John leapt down, stabbing a still-living snake with a flame-covered dagger.
Tony landed beside him, panting. "That was… intense."
"It's not over," John muttered. "This was just a scout wave. I could feel it."
Tony looked around at the scattered bodies.
"So what do we do now?"
John looked up into the glowing canopy, the wind swirling oddly through the branches.
"We fight. What else can we do? But keep the destruction to a minimum. We don't know what else is here in this forest."
Tony checked his drones—two damaged, one lost.
"Fine. But next time, I'm bringing more grenades."
They both laughed, but only for a moment.
Because deep in the forest… something was still coming.