Chapter 30

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Chapter 30: Soldier

Druids are easy to kill, once you know how.

The Captain was sleeping soundly in his tent, just a shout away from being awakened, a habit developed in military school. He reviewed in his dreams what he had learned at Aryan Military Academy, about their tactics, about Druids.

In the textbooks of Aryan Military Academy, there was a book that documented all sorts of Hybrids. This encyclopedia categorized these Hybrids, recording their identification methods, countermeasures, and histories of defeat, every future officer would memorize this book inside out – not just for passing exams, as there were not many leisure reads in the academy.

The Captain read about the terrifying power of the Hybrids that were almost unbeatable, feeling the sacrifices of countless humans in the past and their ultimate victory. He learned the most important lesson from this book: the strongest thing is not invincible, as long as you know the right countermeasures. Just like his father taught him, use worms for fishing, and use a gun to hunt wolves.

The Druid was a typical example. These nature cultists were passionate environmentalists, and the use of "Wither Gas" against them was quite effective. In two large-scale battles with Druids in history, most Druids would try to protect nearby plants when facing "Wither Gas", making them easy targets. This time, they faced a typical Druid: survivors recalled a violent forest, walking trees, controlled animals, and an overgrown forest… It was just like a military drill.

So, after all preparations were made, all they had to do was wait.

The effective infection period of "Wither Gas" is five days, with lingering effects lasting even longer. In this situation, Druids would only react in two ways: either they would come out and fight desperately to stop the release of more gas, or they would hide in the forest and try to save the withered trees. The former was like walking into a trap, while the latter meant that the army could attack after five days. By then, the weakened Druids in the forest would be easy targets.

Many junior soldiers were nervous, having heard about the recent encounter of their colleagues a few weeks ago, they saw the Angaso Forest in front of them as a dangerous place. However, the officers were as calm as the captains, some were even excited. It had been over a hundred years since the last encounter with Druids, turning these unbelievable cultists into legendary figures. Most of the teachings in encyclopedias had become unnecessary, most were like dragon-slaying skills, mere stories. Humans were proud to be the only masters on earth, but sometimes the younger ones with hot blood felt that heroes were obsolete.

They discussed the era hundreds of years ago where a hero could go out and eliminate goblins with ease, imagining what epic they could create if they were there. It was nothing like now, where most textbooks seemed like fantasy novels, a group of people digging deep into the ground only to find a few Hybrid offspring who could cry.

It was the first time for everyone to face Druids and see "Wither Gas". The weapons against Hybrids were incredibly expensive and controlled by the higher-ups. Bringing out these precious weapons just to impress new recruits? Even the Aryan Military Academy did not have such luxury. The officers stretched their necks, watching the withering color spreading before them in the morning light of the next day, gasping in amazement, believing they had something to talk about for a while.

This was the first time in nearly a century that Aryans had used "Wither Gas", which had been shelved just like the Druid’s case files. Perhaps only the captains among the officers were somewhat worried. He heard some rumors saying that this weapon was a relic from the previous century. Although all Hybrid weapons were properly sealed, after a hundred years, some doubted if they were still reliable.

As he stood on the other side of the trench watching the withering spread, he began to tremble, feeling like an ordinary person standing in front of an incoming tornado.

Thank goodness, the trench was as useful as described in the books.

The Druid did not come out immediately, it seems they chose a different path. This is good for humans because it will take less effort to win the battle and they might get a big advantage. The Wither Gas will pollute the land, making it useless for years, but with the Druid’s tricks, they might find some areas that can be used the following year.

The next day was calm, but the soldiers remained on high alert. The captain felt relieved that their unnecessary tension, their fearful eyes not missing any clues, documented that Druid could transform into many animals. On the peaceful third day, the lieutenant started to feel suspicious, wondering what plan Druid was up to.

"Captain, can the Druid be infected by the Wither Gas?" he asked.

"Yes, we just need to wait," the captain replied.

"If they charge over within five days, won’t this infection spread to our soldiers?"

"The Wither Gas can infect animals but only spreads through plants," the captain reassured the worried lieutenant, quoting from the textbook.

"But what if the Druid controls the plants?" the lieutenant asked anxiously, "They have the ability to manipulate plants, like walking trees… If they make trees cross the trench, won’t we be exposed to danger?"

"That’s impossible," the captain said confidently, "They are Druids."

For the followers of the Druid cult, they naturally worship them as gods. It is impossible for them to manipulate plants to get close to the Wither Gas. If they could do that, they would not qualify to be Druids. And if they aren’t Druids, they can’t control trees.

The night was very quiet, the sentry did not see any enemies. The morning was very noisy, some soldiers were shouting in the dawn, waking up the captain. As he stepped onto the ground, he heard the dry crunching sound.

The withered grass crushed under his feet.

He felt a shiver, images of the Wither Gas effects flashed in his mind. He took a few steps out, mounted his horse, feeling a false sense of security without his feet touching the ground. Looking around, all he saw was a yellowish landscape.

The captain quickly made a decision, determined to abandon the hidden Druids in the forest, not to investigate the cause of the withering vines spreading, and to leave now. He loudly ordered the soldiers to break camp, leading the fast cavalry to charge towards the town. Less than ten kilometers away from the city, they saw the edge of the withered grass. He ordered everyone to dismount and dig trenches, working tirelessly to complete the isolation barrier before the withering vines crossed the line.

"Sir, this goes against military orders!" a young man under his command questioned with a furrowed brow.

The troops gathered here for the withering vines and the captain’s unexplained retreat order, whispers filled the air. The young man who just graduated from military school, still green, asked many questions on behalf of others.

"I will take responsibility," the captain said briefly.

The order was to hold Angaso Forest and eliminate the Druids within, but the situation had changed. He didn’t know if the spread was due to weapon failure or some other mistake, but he wasn’t going to let his soldiers pay the price. In his forties, with a family and declining health, he was past the age of hot-bloodedness. To the captain, such a major mishap should be thrown back to the higher-ups; a few cultists were not worth so many soldiers’ lives.

The captain ordered the army to retreat another kilometer and camp a few kilometers outside Deer Horn Town. He commanded the officers to count the soldiers and send back anyone feeling unwell for examination in the town, along with a brief report. "Most are just cowards faking illness out of fear," the registering adjutant grumbled. The captain smiled, finding it amusing.

He remembered reading that Druids infected with Wither Gas would dry up and die. The book warned human soldiers to be very careful too, or they would die even faster than the Druids. The captain was unharmed and none of the soldiers who camped on withered grass for the night were injured. Maybe the power of the Wither Gas had really faded over the long years, and now it only affected plants.

On that night, the trenches were lit up brightly. The captain ordered the soldiers to fill the trenches with dried branches and leaves, then set it all on fire. The flames burned all night long, and under this tight defense, the withering did not cross the line.

On the fifth day, the last day the Wither Gas was effective, someone collapsed.

It started with some weak people staying in bed. Their colleagues or superiors would kick them out of bed, thinking they were just being lazy. But would lazy soldiers suddenly collapse while walking? By that night, those who couldn’t get up early in the morning had sunken eyes, looking dried up, as if they had been starving and unable to sleep for a long time.

The weak or sick people were the first to collapse, and before nightfall, the captain ordered a group of them to be sent back to Deer Horn Town. But after nightfall, more people collapsed. This process continued intermittently, with various stages of this situation found in the camp at the same time. Late at night, people carrying lanterns on horseback ran back in a panic, incoherently begging the army to leave.

"That thing! Those things, they, they’re on the street!" he said hysterically.

The captain couldn’t calm down the terrified person, but soon that wasn’t a problem anymore. Among the group that couldn’t be sent away in time, soldiers with sunken cheeks stood up straight, their faces dried up like grass, their teeth protruding from their cheeks. These strange patients came out and bit the nearby guards.

The crazed soldiers were quickly killed, thankfully they were a minority. The patients were locked up in temporary cells, and when the sun came up, several more dried-up living dead appeared in the camp. They were quite similar to the zombies described in the records, except the decay manifested as dryness in them, as if their bodies had turned into withered plants. The captain and officers tried hard to suppress the panicked soldiers, and the whole army withdrew to Deer Horn Town.

There were many wandering living dead in the streets, and every household kept their doors and windows tightly closed, afraid to go out. It took the army a whole day to clear out the troubles hidden in every nook and cranny, accompanied by countless disturbances. After everything settled down, the captain began to write a report to report this terrible accident to the higher-ups. Fortunately, on the sixth day, no new patients appeared, the troubled people in the army had turned into the undead, and the remaining people should no longer be in danger.

While Captain was writing quickly, the bitten soldier let out a big yawn and felt thirsty.

The doctor in Deer Horn Town was fast asleep, not even having dinner. His daughter tried to wake him up but he wouldn’t budge. "Let him sleep," said the doctor’s wife. "He encountered a monster and got hurt."