Chapter 484: Echoing Willow
The Echoing Willow hadn’t reacted much to Derek and the rest of his group’s approach. Why would it? There was no telling how long it had lived in the abyss, and there was also no telling how long it had been since a legitimate challenger—or group of challengers—had attacked. So, while it had tried a couple of times to wrap its roots and vines around Derek and the others, those times had been done very casually, like someone shooing a fly away from their food with their hand.
There was no real intent in anything the willow had done so far. Yes, Avery’s arrows had split a few roots, but, other than a quick, albeit overwhelming, screech, the willow tree had not initiated any real attacks. However, Derek knew that all of that was about to change as he watched the ball filled with stars and space fly slowly forward—becoming bigger and bigger as it built momentum.
“Prepare yourselves,” Derek shouted.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Edgar replied, then jumped into the air with a pair of lightning wings on his back.
“Right behind you,” Avery said. A pair of dragon wings sprouted from his shoulder blades, and the archer also took flight.
“Since I’m not sure if I’ll be able to provide adequate offense, I’ll keep an eye out on everyone,” Alanah said, after which she slowly transformed before his eyes. Then, in her intense but sultry voice, said, “If I see anyone in danger, I’ll rush over to support them since I’m the fastest here. I’m also carrying a large supply of potions on me, just in case we need them.”
“Good idea,” Derek replied. With Alanah playing the role of support, he could rest easy knowing that he wouldn’t need to worry about anybody—not that he thought he would need to, anyway. After all, he trusted everyone he brought with him to be able to take care of themselves for the most part. But there was always a chance that things wouldn’t go as planned. “In that case, I’ll recover my mana, then go see what else I can do.”
“Then I’ll go get a better view,” Alanah, in her siren form, said, then disappeared from sight.
‘Neat trick,’ Tyron said via Telepathy, since he had his ears covered and was unable to hear anyone.