Chapter 37: Helping Hand!
Hydra cut through the sky like a living emerald comet, wings beating in smooth, powerful rhythms as the island faded far behind them, re-entering the mainland and swooping towards the Dark Elf Clan.
Below them, the terrain quickly changed from rocky coastlines to various rolling hills, and then finally it transformed into dense forests that stretched endlessly.
The trees were absolutely gigantic, many times bigger than they were back on Earth, and their leaves were enough to blot out most of the sky, mana flowing through them steadily.
Hydra loved it.
She laughed again as she dipped slightly, banking through a break in the clouds just to feel the wind rush along her scales.
"I’ve flown this route before," she said proudly, voice carrying easily back to Jax, "It’s where I came to relax and clear my head," She explained when Jax raised an eyebrow.
"The Dark Elves guard their borders well. Paired with the Treants, their forests don’t welcome intruders at all," She said.
Jax rested comfortably against her neck, one hand braced between her scales, golden eyes calmly scanning the world below.
"I wouldn’t expect anything less, Lyla is very intelligent after all," he replied, and they continued like that for a while, Hydra flying quickly towards their destination.
Then, after a while, Jax’s gaze sharpened as he sensed something down below. "Hydra," he said suddenly, "Drop altitude."
Her wings twitched instantly, responding, "What is it, My King?"
"I sensed something below us, so go down," Jax said, and Hydra immediately angled herself downward, slipping beneath the upper canopy layers as the forest swallowed the two of them.
"Yes," he replied. "Ahead. And below."
The air grew heavier, saturated with mixed mana. As Hydra lowered herself, Jax finally saw what had been prickling at his senses.
A beautiful Dark Elf woman was sprinting through the forest below them, her long silver-black hair flowing behind her as she ran through multiple branches. Her skin was deep obsidian, gleaming faintly with moonlit undertones, and glowing violet eyes burned with desperation as she ran.
Blood trickled down her thigh, and Jax could spot multiple cuts and bruises across her skin. He could also hear her erratic breathing, and the way her mana flared frantically as the woman pushed herself beyond her limits.
~ROARRR~ROARRRR!~
Behind the woman was a swarm of twisted forest abominations that chased her relentlessly. The monsters had wolf-like bodies, that were fused with tree bark and bones. Their eyes glowed sickly red and their jaws were dripping with corrosive spit.
Above them skittered insectoid horrors with bladed limbs, clicking as they leapt from tree to tree.
At least two dozen.
"They’re not natural monsters," Hydra growled, poison flaring along her wings as she explained, "They were fused into this using Magic. Unleashing these kind of alchemically created monsters was outlawed long long ago,"
After Hydra explained, the Dark Elf stumbled, almost falling to the floor as one of the monsters viciously lunged towards her.
"That’s enough," Jax said calmly and Hydra didn’t even ask. She folded her wings and dove downwards, slamming through dozens of branches and trees as she shot towards the ground like a falling star.
~BOOM!~
The Dragon’s massive body crushed dozens of monsters instantly as her emerald poison detonated outward in a controlled shockwave.
Dozens of trees in the surrounding area bent but did not break, Jax’s aura threading perfectly through the blast to prevent collateral devastation.
Jax leapt from her back mid-descent and landed in front of the Dark Elf with a thunderous impact, the ground fracturing beneath his boots as raw pressure erupted outward.
The monsters froze for half a second, and during that time, Jax had already moved, a wave of oppressive mana aura crushing the entire swarm of beasts flat.
~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM!~
Some of the weaker creatures immediately imploded as their bodies were reduced to pulp, their blood and guts splashing across the various trees and vines around them.
The stronger creatures tried to resist, claws digging into the earth, only for Jax to raise one hand and close his fingers into a fist.
~CRACK~BOOM!~
Every remaining monster detonated simultaneously, their warped mana torn apart and erased, leaving nothing but leaves drifting back and forth on the forest floor.
"Woah, thank god you two appeared," The Dark Elf groaned as she saw all of this, finally dropping to one knee, her chest heaving as she looked as Jax.
"Damn you’re strong," Was all she said as the Dark Elf felt Jax’s aura pressing down onto her, while simultaneously not harming her in any way.
Hydra shifted behind him, lowering her massive head protectively as she stared at the Dark Elf, waiting for Jax to act.
Jax turned, kneeling slightly so he wasn’t towering over the Dark Elf.
"You’re safe," he said calmly, "For now."
The Dark Elf took a deep breath and swallowed hard, "I, " her voice shook. "I thought... I thought I was dead."
"You were close," he replied honestly, "What happened?"
She hesitated, then forced herself to meet his eyes.
"I’m a scout," she said quickly. "From the Dark Elven border settlements. We’ve been losing patrols. Monsters like these started appearing three nights ago, very aggressive and poisoning the forest,"
Her hands clenched, "With everything that happened, we know this wasn’t an accident. Someone is driving them toward us."
Jax’s gaze hardened.
Hydra let out a low, dangerous hiss. "That forest is under Dark Elven protection. Someone’s testing their defenses."
Jax straightened.
"Looks like we picked the right time to visit," he said.
He turned back to the Dark Elf, extending a hand.
"I’m Jax," he said simply. "Demon King."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"You... you’re—"
"The same," he confirmed. "And you’re coming with us."
She stared at his hand for a heartbeat longer, then grasped it tightly.
"...Thank you," she said, voice steady despite the fear still lingering in her eyes.
Hydra lowered herself further, careful and gentle.
"Climb on," Hydra said warmly. "You won’t be chased again."
As the Dark Elf mounted carefully and Hydra spread her wings once more, Jax looked ahead toward the deeper forest, excited to figure out who is testing his people!