The fire at the center of the village had pulled most of the attention inward.
Guards moved in hurried rotations, carrying water and shouting over one another while the burning structure creaked and shifted under the strain. Druids stood closer to the flames, drawing thick vines from the ground to tear apart weakened sections before the fire could spread further. Even the more experienced among them were focused on containment rather than awareness.
Because of that, the outer paths were left thinly watched.
Five figures emerged from the tree line and advanced at a steady pace, neither rushing nor hesitating as they approached the boundary markers. The carved sigils along the perimeter remained unchanged as the figures passed between them, offering no resistance and no sign that anything unusual had crossed into the village.
By the time anyone might have turned their attention outward, the figures had already moved deeper inside the settlement.
They separated once they entered. Each one took a different path through the outer ring, navigating between homes with quiet precision as if they already understood the layout. Their movements did not falter, and there was no sign of uncertainty in the way they chose their routes.
They entered the houses without forcing entry, and there were no raised voices or signs of struggle as they moved inside empty homes.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then a faint glow began to form beneath the surface of their bodies, subtle enough to go unnoticed amid the noise from the center of the village.
Outside, attention remained fixed on the fire. Commands overlapped, wood cracked under heat, and the urgency of the moment kept everyone facing inward.
The outer homes remained undisturbed. Until they weren't.
*BOOOOM*
The first explosion tore through a house near the eastern edge of the village, arriving without warning and splitting the structure apart in a single violent burst. Wooden beams shattered outward while flames forced their way through the opening almost immediately.
A guard passing nearby was caught at the edge of the blast, and the force threw him off his feet while the bucket of water he carried slipped from his hands and spilled across the dirt.
The sound and shockwave carried across the village and cut through the noise at the center. People turned, confusion briefly replacing focus as they tried to understand what had happened.
Then a second house exploded, far enough from the first that it could not be mistaken for spreading fire. A third followed soon after, reinforcing the pattern.
The fires were not moving from one structure to another; they were appearing in separate locations.
"We're under attack!" the guard shouted as he forced himself upright, his voice breaking through the hesitation that had settled over the crowd. That was enough to shift the atmosphere.
The focus on the central blaze fractured as people began looking outward, searching for the source of the new threat.
A lieutenant pushed forward, his gaze moving quickly across the outer ring as he tried to make sense of the spacing.
"It's not spreading," he said, more to confirm it to himself than to inform the others. "They're placing them...what the hell is going on here"
Jennifer heard him and immediately shifted her attention, not toward the flames themselves but toward their distribution.
"Break formation," she ordered, her tone controlled but firm. "Pull from the center and contain the outer ring before it closes in."
The druids responded without hesitation as vines redirected toward the newly ignited structures, while others began moving civilians away from the outer paths to prevent them from being trapped.
Alyssa had already moved. She cut across the path toward the nearest destroyed house, slowing only when the heat forced her to shield her face. Smoke pressed against her lungs as she stepped closer, scanning through the remains.
There was nothing left of whatever had caused it. No fragments or residue she could identify.
Only fire and the collapse it had triggered. She crouched briefly, studying the damage rather than the flames themselves.
"It's almost controlled like a precise attack, first the council room and now this," she said under her breath as she took in the pattern of destruction. "This isn't random."
*BOOM BOOOM*
A fourth explosion followed from further along the outer ring, drawing attention even before the sound had fully faded. Then a fifth. With that, the pattern became clear.
The outer edge of the village burned in separate points, each fire contained to its own origin yet close enough to threaten everything between them. This wasn't chaos but deliberate engineered attack on their outpost.
Jennifer stood still for a moment, observing the placement rather than reacting to the destruction itself.
"They're not trying to kill," she said, her voice quieter now but more certain. Her father standing just behind her, followed her line of sight before responding.
"No," he said after a brief pause. "They're breaking infrastructure and forcing diversion and panic."
Alyssa returned from the edge of the flames, her expression set with raspy breaths and intense sweating, she eventually caught her breath. "There's nothing left at the origin points," she said. "Whatever caused this is gone, I think....."
Jennifer sighed. "That means multiple sources," she replied, her gaze shifting outward toward the dark line of the forest. "Assume there are more."
She turned back toward her lieutenants. "Set a perimeter," she ordered. "No one moves alone, and if anything else enters the village, I want it seen before it reaches another structure."
The lieutenants moved immediately to carry out the command, pulling guards away from the center despite the instinct to continue fighting the original fire from destroying crucial material from the council hall.
The village was still burning, but now the flames were only part of the problem.
----------------------
The first wave of explosions was still burning when another set of figures emerged from the forest. Five more suicide bomber driods stepped onto the village paths, moving with the same quiet precision as before, but this time they were seen.
"Contact!" a guard shouted, dropping the bucket he had been carrying, and the others around him immediately raised their weapons. Bows lifted, vines trembled beneath the soil as the druids prepared their defenses, and summoned beasts snarled, circling the approaching shapes.
The constructs didn't hesitate. They advanced steadily, then accelerated as the distance closed. One leapt forward with unnerving speed, trying to pierce the line of defenders.
"Hold them!" a lieutenant yelled, and the ground answered. Thick vines shot upward, coiling around the nearest figure and locking its limbs mid-motion. Another tried to twist free, its body bending unnaturally, but a summoned beast collided with it, slamming it to the ground.
"Fuck, they're fast," one guard muttered.
"Not fast enough," another replied, loosing an arrow that grazed the construct's surface, slowing its movement. Others followed, striking with precision rather than force, enough to disrupt but not destroy it.
One of the constructs managed a brief escape, shifting just enough to reposition, and then the faint glow in its chest began to flare.
"Get Back!" Alyssa shouted as she ran towards them to assist, but before anyone could react further, the first detonation went off.
The shockwave tore through the perimeter, sending dirt and splinters flying. Guards were thrown off their feet while others pressed against each other instinctively to avoid the blast. Another construct ignited in response, then another, creating a chain reaction that sent several more explosions ringing through the outer ring.
"Form a barrier!" someone shouted, but Jennifer was already moving. Her hand rose and the air thickened, coalescing into a translucent wall that formed just as another explosion struck. The force hammered against it, distorting the surface, but the barrier held.
The ground trembled under the repeated detonations, and when the blasts subsided, only the crackling of flames and strained breathing remained. Several guards were down, and others cradled with burned arms where the barrier had not yet formed.
Alyssa pushed herself upright, eyes scanning for any movement. "Where are the rest?" she asked, but there was no answer. The constructs were gone, or hidden, leaving only the aftermath in their wake.
Jennifer stepped forward, her expression hardening as she surveyed the destruction. Anger replaced the momentary disbelief in her gaze.
"They brought this into our home," she said quietly, and her father beside her only nodded. He knew what would come next.
Jennifer closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached outward—not with her hands, but with the aura of the forest itself. The ground shivered beneath their feet as roots twisted and shifted, sending tendrils through the soil. Trees within a wide radius groaned and heaved, rising not to sway but to move, their massive trunks bending and splitting along natural seams as limbs reformed into shapes closer to arms than branches.
One by one, the trees transformed into giant guardians emerging from the earth. These were not the mundane guardians like the antlered creature but something older, tied to their ancestors and Gods.
Within a three kilometer radius of the settlement these being rose and mobilized like an army, approximately over 150 of them were present
"Find them and destroy them before they reach the village," she commanded, and the trees surged outward, moving slow at first before accelerating to a speed unnatural for their size.
They swept across the forest, rooting out hiding Droids, and moments later, explosions echoed from deeper inside the forest. The detonations were not inside the village anymore—they were outside, buried, and triggered as the guardians struck with great force, the droids stood no chance against these heavy large beings, crushed before they can initiate self destruction. The forest was cleansing itself.
Darrius watched from the distance, cloaked in the shadows, his presence masked by the trees and branches. Fires reflected faintly against his eyes as they consumed the visuals of destruction, and the drone feed flickered as units were destroyed or went offline during the chain detonations.
"Jennifer-Hero rank. She poses the highest threat, Master should refrain from any confrontation with her at the current moment" the AI reported, but he made no move to reply. Another flash of fire briefly illuminated the forest, and then darkness returned.
"That escalated faster than projected, " the AI continued.
"Yes, beautiful isn't it" Darrius said, voice calm and measured, devoid of surprise or frustration. He had tested them and their capabilities and coordination, and now he understood. They were not passive, they could fight, and reach further than anticipated.
He lowered his gaze, acknowledging the losses, and then the remaining signals cut out. Silence returned to his interface. He pulled his mask and cloak fully into place, erasing any trace of identity, and stepped deeper into the forest.