'Damn it! I can't move my body at all!' Dean thought. His hand lost its grip on the sword and it fell to the ground.
'Even if I come back in the last second I won't be able to defend now!' He looked in despair at the branches of the second tree going in his direction. However, he remembered the Iron serpent, Rick's ability.
Just as he supposed, Rick wouldn't wait there while his best source of money was going to die in front of him. When he saw that Dean was getting targeted, he already activated his skill.
Swiftly, the chain stretched even more, running across the body of that tree and attaching itself more tightly, but this time on its branches. The attack stopped inches away from Dean's body, who was sweating coldly while seeing closely the sharp tips of those branches.
'I would be impaled... No, maybe not, but I would surely lose my eyes. It was precisely aiming at them. They don't have consciousness, right? Was it just luck?'
"Retrieve now, Dean!" Rick yelled at him, while his chain was untying from the Screamer and attaching to his right arm again.
Dean didn't hesitate and followed him, getting out of the trees' range.
"Rick, I think that they aren't completely dumb. Those trees were aiming at my eyes. And before, the other was targeting your heart and lungs. Isn't it strange?"
"More or less. For some reason, Dreads instinctively know how to kill well humans. It's their instinct, only."
Dean found it to be frightening. Every day, he learned a different thing about Dreads that made him hate them even more.
However, the same goes for humans. After all, most of his suffering started also because of them.
"You go in front. I won't save you anymore. You will be my meat shield."
Dean felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he heard that order.
"You don't want me to die, though. Am I wrong?" He looked with hatred towards Rick, who just raised a brow.
"None of your business. But today I won't let you die. However, every damage is for you and the slave. I don't want to spend too much "Willpower" as well, so just obey me!"
Dean gave up on trying to change something there. He knew that Rick's ultimate ability wouldn't let him do the contrary of what he was ordering.
The boy gritted his teeth and breathed in deeply. He was trying to prepare himself mentally for the pain that he knew would come soon.
'Paul is still waiting on the other side. We can expect at least one more surprise attack to help us. If that's how it is, then we can buy more time. The difficult thing is that one minute in a fight seems to be more than an hour. It's hard to measure how much time we could save until now, even.'
Rick gave to Dean his long sword since the boy lost his own. He could fight just with the chain, so it wasn't a disadvantage for him.
Not letting the fear dominating him, Dean coldly advanced toward the Dreads again.
The Screamers were focused on them and prepared their branches for another assault.
The previous harm that Dean and Rick caused on them was healed. That was another annoying part of the Screamers: just fire damage could hurt them permanently.
Dean approached enough for the enemy to begin his flurry of blows, attacking with the branches nonstop. That felt like he was fighting against multiple opponents because of the numerous pairs of "arms", which was overwhelming.
He didn't know for how long he would hold like that.
From behind, Rick swung his chain, using it as a whip to punish the Dreads and sometimes deflect a blow that aimed at vital parts of Dean's body. His skill "Iron serpent" made it more precise.
While their fierce battle occurred, with an impetus of courage, also prompted by the spell "Emperor's touch", Paul got out of the edge of the glade and helped Dean in his clash against the Screamers.
Even though it was three against two, the battle was even.
Rick wasn't going to full power because he wanted to save energy for later battles, so Dean and Paul needed to give their all there to keep the Screamers busy. The good thing was that Paul's surprise attack left those Dreads confused for a while.
While leaping and running to all sides, Dean could feel those branches piercing through his flash during the fight. They were as tough as spikes and painful as such. Soon, after one minute exchanging blows, or rather, surviving, his body had holes thoroughly.
The same applied to Paul, and he was even worse because of his lack of swordsmanship skills.
Nonetheless, Rick was doing a good job defending them against the attacks aimed at dangerous spots.
'Just when all this struggle will end!?' Dean screamed in his mind pushing his body to its limits.
His response came when two figures appeared, entering the glade in a crazy rush.
Clay and Hector were both holding huge torches embedded with "Willpower".
'Ah! That's why they lasted so long to appear! They needed to put high quantities of "Willpower" on these torches. After all, Dreads won't die with common techniques. This energy is the basis to kill them, together with petroleum-metal!'
Dean used the last remnant of energy in his body to jump backward, avoiding the attacks of the Screamers.
Paul, clumsily, did the same, followed by Rick who had now a faint smile on his face.
Hector and Clay, closed their distance quickly, throwing the torches near the Dreads.
That fire embedded with "Willpower" acted differently than usual. It ignited their wooden-made bodies in less than a second. Just approaching it already made some effect.
Those animated trees didn't have time to scream now. Before they could open their mouths, their bodies were completely covered in flames and being reduced to dust in a matter of seconds.
The victory was for Rick's group.