I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL LIFE

"T-this is a fifth-grade monster." said the soldier.

A fifth-grade monster, a monster that managed to evolve its core five times. This kind of monster is at an entirely different level than the monster below its grade.

Monsters are stronger and have special abilities that make them superior to other races. Usually, other races need at least one grade above the monster before they can finally beat them.

Sometimes fifth-grade monsters are hailed as walking disasters, a catastrophe, since the sixth-grade monster is very rare.

Furthermore, fifth-grade monsters could be hailed as kings or queens that command a horde of monsters. Many small ancient kingdoms were destroyed in the past because of these fifth-grade monsters and their army.

Fear and hopelessness emerge inside the soldier's heart. The soldiers in the fortress already give up fighting, knowing it is the fifth-grade monster. Only the general Borkins still try to fight the monster horde.

*RROOAARRR* During this moment, the soldier heard a beast's roar but not from the forest direction. The loud cry of the beast is from behind the fortress.

Then, a massive dragon made of fire descended from the sky burned all the evil treant and monster hordes that tried to scale the fortress wall.

Another huge mana aura is released from the sky. The aura disrupts the corrupted mother treant's suppression. Looking at the source of the mana aura, the soldiers reignited their fighting spirit and morale.

"Duke Victory!!" a soldier shouts loudly towards the man that descended from the sky.

"Hahaha… Brat, You are late." Said the dwarf general while keeping smashing the monster around him.

The duke arrives near the dwarf general and flicks his finger. From his flick appears a massive wall made of fire [2nd circle - Fire wall].

The firewall burns and fends off all the monsters that are approaching general Borkins. The dwarf general felt relief after finally taking a breather since the fight began.

"Borkins, are you alright?" Asked the Duke.

"Ptuih… Yes, still alive and kicking." As the general spat mouthful of blood from his mouth.

"Alright, what's the situation?" As the duke also keeps burning the approaching monster.

"As you can see, it's the fifth grade of a corrupted mother treant. However, I found this monster horde is weird."

"The monster horde should be more than this if it is a true fifth-grade monster. Not that I complain if they are fewer." Said the dwarf general before charging towards the incoming monster again.

"Alright, leave the mother treant to me. Make sure to hold the monster horde as long as you can." As the duke flies away, approaching the fifth-grade beast while burning all the monsters on the way.

Feeling a dangerous presence approaching it, the corrupted mother treant released some massive wood tendril towards the duke.

Anticipating such an attack, Duke Jacob flick his finger rapidly and create a transparent red barrier around him [3rd Circle - Fire Barrier]. *Blam* *Ssshhs* *Blam *Ssshhs*

All the wooden tendrils that meet with [Fire Barrier] burned into ash. Then, the duke clasps his arm and creates a large magic circle with complex runes all around it in front of him.

A moment later, a massive burst of fire appears from it [4th Circle - Inferno]. The [Inferno] burns everything in its path towards the fifth-grade monster.

Receiving such a strong devastating attack, the mother treant could only hide behind its countless wooden tendrils. Smoke rises from the fire and begins to cover it. *GGRRTT*

As waiting for the smoke to clear a little bit, the duke once again gathers his mana while clasping his hand to prepare another spell. At this moment, a few huge wooden tendrils appear below him and try piercing him.

However, they are stopped by the [Fire Barrier] that surrounds the duke. Suddenly, the duke saw many black wooden spikes flying towards him from inside the smoke at fast speed.

His battle instinct is tingling, and he immediately throws his overcharge [Inferno] towards it. But, the wooden spike managed to penetrate it and the [Fire Barrier] altogether. *Swosh*

Luckily, the duke managed to react properly and avoid a fatal wound. Still, the duke got pierced in his left shoulder.

'Shit, what the hell is this black wooden spike?' Thought the duke while trying to burn the black wooden spike.

However, the wooden spike remains intact even after burning it for a while. Left with no choice, he grabbed the wooden spike and pulled it from its shoulder. *GRRTT*

The mother treant didn't give him time to recover and kept attacking the duke using a combination of black spike and wooden tendrils.

The duke is not just sitting like a duck and moving away in a random pattern using [Fly]. Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice beside the mother treant. Then, from the wound in the duke's left shoulder grew a small black plantation.

The duke feels his energy get absorbed and decides to burn his entire shoulder while avoiding the attack from the mother treants.

But, even after he burned it. The plantation seems to keep growing and weakening him while he finally sees a female humanoid creature covered in black leaf keep singing and dancing around the mother treant.

'Shit.. it's Dryad.' Curse the duke inwardly.

During his worst moment, A loud war cry is heard from behind the duke. "HIAAAA" As general Borkins flying towards the dryad using powerful [Leap].

Didn't expect the sudden appearance of general borkins, the dwarf general managed to hit the dryad using its mighty hammer [Hammer Art - Thunderclap]. *Blaamm*

The attack made a huge sound that reverberated towards the surrounding area. The strong attack also damaged part of the mother treant and instantly killed the dryad.

The moment the dryad died, the plantation in the duke's shoulder stopped growing. After burning it for the last time, The Duke said, "Borkins, get out of here. I will use a huge spell."

Hearing this, Borkins immediately uses another leap to get away from the area. Duke Jacob began his chanting, "Roses are red. Blood fire eternity…"

The duke keeps his chanting while avoiding all the mother treant attacks and keeps flickering his finger. With every flick of his finger, he creates more magic circles in front of him.

After a while, the duke finishes his chant, "....Come forth my soul fire" [5th Circle - Fire Dragon Rampage]

From the magic circle appear a colossal fire dragon engulfing and burning the corrupted mother treant. Unlike before, the fire dragon keep attacking the mother treant and seems alive

*GRRTTT* After making a huge sound, the monster horde retreats to the black forest while the corrupted mother treant manages to escape after using its countless tendrils as a sacrifice to fend off the fire dragon.

Looking at the mother treant retreat, the fire duke finally relieved and collapsed to the ground exhaustedly after having a difficult battle.