After Kevin sacrifice himself to hold the roots, Rick and Dean began to advance again. Their pace was faster than ever before. They were eager to end that battle as soon as possible.
Those Screamers were doing too much noise, so a lot of Dreads could come to see what was happening.
Also, despite the noise, they would be attracted by the "Chaos" and "Willpower" arising on the air. They could feel it from far away, after all.
It wasn't a difficult feat for them to sense high quantities of those two energies from dozens of kilometers away. Depending on the type of Dread, their senses would be even sharper, enabling them to feel it from hundreds of kilometers away.
That's why engaging in a fight against Dreads happened so often while on a long journey. The more you fight, the more "Willpower" and "Chaos" were released, and more Dreads would appear eventually and start to round the region where you were.
Rick was in front of the group and was the most determined to end that battle. Screamers were types of Dreads that weren't known just for the danger they represented in a fight, but also because most of the travelers died even after killing with them.
Those hateful beings didn't do their screams on purpose, but in the end, it was their most annoying weapon. A call for other Dreads to come quickly and kill their opponents.
Soon, in front of Rick, Paul, and Dean, a glade appeared. The sound of the Screamers was louder there, and the "Chaos" was stronger.
"Dean, you circle this glade to the right, Paul to the left, and I will go in front to clash directly with them. If you delay even a second to give any support, you will need to face the most torturing time of your lives, and I won't hear any excuses. Do I make myself clear?" Rick ordered in a severe voice.
Just when Dean was thinking about going against his orders and see if those Screamers were capable to kill that disgusting man, he felt a strong pressure on his mind and heart, like chains were squeezing it.
It was the effect of "Emperor's touch".
"Yes, master." He answered instead, even though inside he was mad for saying it.
"Yes, master." Paul also replied in his usual monotone voice.
Rick didn't feel safe needing to rely on those scums, but he didn't have any other choice. After all, the objective there was just to hold those people and try not to die. They should fight with them until Clay and Hector could catch up with the fire, which wouldn't last too much.
The trio began to charge and get into position. As planned, the first one to enter the glade was Rick. He made his way quickly through the last bushes and trees until he got there. Right off the bat, he spotted two alone trees, both of them clearly moving and with cracks all over their bodies that emitted a red light.
There was no mistake, those were Dreads.
Rick advanced at the defenseless Screamers. Since their roots were occupied dealing with Kevin now, they wouldn't have that kind of weapon to fight him.
The Screamers didn't have the time to react. The man going their way was too fast. Soon, one of them was attached with a chain that moved like a serpent, while the other received a slash on its trunk.
At the center of the tree's trunk, a crack similar to a mouth opened, and from there a roar of pain and anger.
The leaves and branches of that tree shook as if they were limbs.
The scream had enough power behind it to nearly make Rick's body fly backward. However, his chain was attached to the other Screamer, so he could hold himself on his feet. It was impossible to deliver any attack for the time being, though.
'Where are those damn brats!?' He thought, angered.
Meanwhile, Dean was finishing to circle the glade. He saw that Rick was passing for a harsh situation, but he knew very well that there was a right time to do everything in a battle, so he should wait for this right time.
He learned this kind of fight sense after several battles being beaten because of mistakes made out of despair and hurry. Dean became a cold fighter.
'Iron serpent is one of the abilities of Rick. It makes him control metallic objects as he pleases, but he seems to have a better time when dealing with malleable things like chains or metal strips. Emperor's touch is his ultimate skill. Anyway, it didn't work in Dreads like the Screamers. I never saw the third myself, nor the others of the group, except Clay. I am curious to know what it is.'
In the middle of his train of thought, Dean saw the perfect opportunity to act.
That Dread stopped to scream like crazy and was going to take advantage of Rick's dizziness to attack him. Its branches worked well as arms and were powerful enough to harm a human just like a spear.
Even though Rick had hard leather armor, it wouldn't be enough to save him.
Dean knew that Paul would be the last one to do something. He was a coward, after all, but Emperor's touch wouldn't let him back away for too much time.
'Let's go!' Dean controlled his "Willpower" in order to boost his physical prowess and then charged into the glade.
He wasn't as fast as Rick, but since the trees were too busy aiming at him, they didn't see the boy coming.
The Screamer that just got hurt by Rick sent its branches towards him as if they were spikes. It didn't have the same speed as the roots, nor were as lethal, but it would cause huge harm.
However, Dean could get there before the branches even scratched Rick, swinging masterfully his sword and cutting all its stretched branches, making it scream again.
That loud sound made his mind get numb.
The second Screamer saw that opportunity, this time aiming at the paralyzed Dean in front of it.