Evolution begins with an ant colony

Chapter 161: Testing The Waters

The full moon hung overhead, casting a silvery glow upon the dryad tribe, which was slowly being reduced to ruins.

Aeryn’s breaths came out in ragged gasps as she clutched in her hand the broken remnants of her metallic wooden sword. She gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed on the dark swords hovering around her and her sister, who sat on the floor behind her, gasping for air as she bled out from her tigh.

Aeryn mused inwardly, her gaze lingering on the hovering dark silver swords covered in Akun’s aspect power. "With the way things are going, I don’t think either my sisters or I are getting out of this alive. Although I’ve been trying to hide it, I sprained my ankle as I was evading all of those swords that came flying at me earlier. It happened because I misplaced my step on a piece of rubble."

Sweat streamed down her face as she wondered what her next move would be, and the pressure was on her to make a quick decision.

Suddenly, Akun’s voice rang out, catching her off guard. "I’m honestly impressed you all survived this long," he said. "The way you three were able to always keep dodging my attacks, no matter how impossible they seemed. But now, I must bring this little show of yours to a close.

I can’t keep wasting any more time." Akun then stretched out his hands as his eyes shone even more brightly from the visors of his helmet.

The dryads, their hearts pounding with fear, braced for impact as the dark silver swords, enhanced by Akun’s aspect power, descended upon them. In that harrowing moment, they could feel a huge rush of wind.

Time seemed to slow down as Akun couldn’t help but muse inwardly about the situation. "It’s kind of disappointing to see things play out like this," he thought. "One would think that since they are dryads, all of them should be dishing out nature-type attacks, like making huge roots sprout and tying up their enemies with vines or something." Akun let out a sigh inwardly, reflecting on the situation.

"Guess expectations can’t always match reality," he concluded.

In a sudden twist of fate, a massive root shot upward from right beneath Aeryn and Aria’s feet, sending them soaring into the air, away from Akun’s incoming attack. Their hearts raced as they ascended on the sturdy platform of the root, and once it came to a halt, they found themselves perched safely on top, a newfound sense of relief washing over them.

The root then proceeded to carry them both a safe distance away and gently set them back on the ground.

As the whole event unfolded, it left Akun with numerous questions. Due to his heightened perception, he could easily discern that it wasn’t Aeryn and Aria who conjured the massive root to ensure their safety. Puzzled, he pondered inwardly, "What’s going on? I’m almost certain those two didn’t cast any spells, nor did I sense mana converging around them, signifying the use of a skill.

So, someone else must be responsible."

In the midst of the chaos, a voice cut through the tension like a blade. "This should be our first meeting, but I’m already infuriated by just looking at you, let’s get this over with quickly."

The voice belonged to the Dryad elder Aelorin, flanked on her left by Nyressa and on her right by elder Thalanor. Each of them bore a profoundly intense look in their eyes.

Stay tuned with empire

Akun then thought to himself, "Dragon eyes." Instantly, his Dragon Eyes activated, and he gazed at their status windows.

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- Name: Aelorin

- Species: Dryad (Female)

- Grade: Dragon (2nd Stage)

-Age: 6,566

Attributes:

- Strength: 2,500

- Agility: 2,200

- Stamina: 2,300

- Intelligence: 7,100

- Wisdom: 2,300

- Mana: 2,400

Skills:

- Nature’s Blessing

- Woodland Affinity

- Ancient Wisdom

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- Name: Nyressa

- Species: Dryad (Female)

- Grade: Dragon (2nd Stage)

- Age: 4,677

Attributes:

- Strength: 2,300

- Agility: 2,400

- Stamina: 2,200

- Intelligence: 5,100

- Wisdom: 2,500

- Mana: 2,300

Skills:

- Shapeshift

- Forest Guardian

- Elemental Mastery

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- Name: Thalanor

- Species: Dryad (Male)

- Grade: Dragon (2nd Stage)

- Age: 4,679

Attributes:

- Strength: 3,400

- Agility: 3,100

- Stamina: 3,500

- Intelligence: 5,300

- Wisdom: 2,200

- Mana: 2,100

Skills:

- Tremor Control

- Stone Skin

- Rockslide

- Dryad swordsmanship

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Meanwhile, Akun focused his gaze on their status windows. Elder Aelorin’s thoughts raced as she muttered to herself, "I finally see why our people stand no chance." Sweat slowly trickled down her cheeks, ran beneath her chin, and fell to the floor. She continued to think, "This man, the aura that surrounds him is very similar to the ones dragons had thousands of years ago.

No wonder his core is sought after by that demon."

Akun’s thoughts raced as he gazed at their status windows. "They have decent stats, but the only thing they seem to be lacking are skills," he noted. "Well, I guess they make up for that with experience. This age stat, sometimes it doesn’t appear, sometimes it does. But is it even accurate? I mean, these three don’t look a day over twenty.

Well, it doesn’t matter how old they are. The fact is, I need them for Evolution points."

Akun then addressed them with his cold, deep tone. "So, are you all going to introduce yourselves before battle like a certain dryad, or are you going to get down to business? Just standing and gazing at each other isn’t going to prevent your tribe from being eradicated."

Thalanor gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he narrowed his gaze. "Why you..." he said as he propelled himself forward with a huge force that left a crater where he was standing, charging in to throw a simple punch with his right hand.

Time seemed to slow down as Akun, observing this, mused inwardly. "This is weird. All the other Dryads either came with weapons or some sort of strategy, but this guy is just charging in with only a punch. What’s even more weird is the way the other Dryads seem so chill about it." Akun then mused further.

"His status window says he can control the earth and should be good at wielding a sword, so why would he head into battle without wielding one? Obviously, this is a diversion made with his skill. They want to have an idea of what my capabilities are before heading into battle themselves... Okay, I will humor them." Akun then stretched out his hand and cluched it, in mid-air, Elder Thalanor imploded.