Accidental Healer-Chapter 66 - Treemen

As the timer wound down, I stepped closer to the front-line. This fight had the potential to push some of the wolves over the threshold for their class evolution, and I knew that Sadie and Xander were on the cusp of evolving as well.

Since being freed, they were the only two from their group who had consistently joined our fights. The rest still struggled. According to Jared, most of them remained shell-shocked, lingering on the edges of our settlement, hesitant to pick up weapons or face combat again.

Who could blame them?

If it had been me, if I had been the one chained up like that, forced into helplessness—

No.

I wouldn’t let that happen to me. Ever.

And I think Sadie and Xander felt the same way.

They were growing into their roles fast. Xander’s path especially intrigued me. His class mirrored mine in some ways—he wielded fire in his attacks but also fought with a sword, focusing heavily on agility. Meanwhile, Sadie was evolving into a pure spellcaster, she conjured earth with devastating force.

I was excited to see where they would go from here.

Class evolutions fascinated me.

The first 25 levels were so basic, so foundational—everyone started from the same building blocks. But once evolution hit? The paths branched into infinite possibilities.

Take Stetson, for example. He started as a simple gatherer, a support role that provided resources. Then, at level 25, his class evolved into Golemmancer. Now he could craft and command golems to do his work for him.

I loved my own progress, but there was something deeply satisfying about watching others reach their full potential—about helping them reach it.

One by one, we were all growing into something greater.

But my thoughts were cut short.

The timer reached zero.

Immediately, our entire force tensed.

The strategy was straightforward, Muscle in the front. Rangers and spellcasters in the back. Agility-based classes played disruption, harassing enemy flanks and intercepting stragglers.

Mischief, Nick, and the wolves were especially deadly in this role—shadows in motion, always in the right place at the right time. If any of our fighters got overwhelmed, they would be there in an instant.

I lifted my hand.

The portal flared open.

And as the first enemies emerged, I cast my Dome of Protection.

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A group of twenty-foot-tall tree monsters lumbered through the portal.

Their bodies were twisted masses of bark, roots, and thick vines, and rather than wielding conventional weapons, they carried massive boulders wrapped in tangled roots, turning them into brutal makeshift clubs.

I had asked Ellison to attempt diplomacy, though he had been adamant it would be a waste of time.

“They won’t listen,” he had said. “Even if they did, they wouldn’t believe.”

I still wanted him to try.

So, he did.

Ellison cupped his hands to amplify his voice. “Welcome!” he called across the open field. “Please, wait! We would like to disc—”

A massive boulder hurtled through the air, cutting off his words.

It struck my Dome of Protection with a thunderous crash, exploding into a thousand fragments. The entire dome warbled and shook, but it held.

Ellison gave me a deadpan look. “I tried.”

I sighed. Another senseless fight.

Still, we didn’t charge. We held our position, waiting as the treemen advanced.

They were slow and lumbering, thick bark encasing them from head to toe like natural armor. They had power, that much was obvious. Their stats likely leaned into Strength—and possibly magic. But agility?

Not their strong suit.

Yet, they didn’t continue their boulder assault, which told me something important—they weren’t mindless.

Instead of wasting their ammo, they closed the distance, preparing for close-quarters combat.

Ellison barked a command, and our ranged fighters let loose.

Arrows and spells rained down in a relentless volley. Would this be over before it even started?

To my surprise, the treemen countered.

A massive translucent green barrier shimmered into existence—a wall of conjured vines and bark, almost like stained glass woven from plant life.

Our attacks struck the wall with incredible force, sending shockwaves rippling through the valley, bending the grass in all directions—but the wall held.

From behind it, one of the treemen took a massive, ground-shaking step forward.

Then, it slammed its foot into the earth.

The ground rippled like water, and a tremor shot outward.

A second later, an eruption of roots and jagged stone exploded from beneath our ranks.

Screams filled the air as several of our fighters were thrown into the sky—some landing dozens of feet away.

Dirt and shattered rock pelted my back, and I twisted to assess the damage.

Elise was already moving.

Her hands glowed with golden light, and she sprinted toward the injured, casting healing spells with swift, precise motions.

I turned back to the fight.

“Keep hitting the barrier!” I shouted. “Do as much damage as possible!

ALEX! We need to break through! Ellison, tell Durkil to follow! We’re going in!”

Another volley of arrows and magic slammed into the barrier ahead of me, and I saw it begin to splinter, cracks spiderwebbing outward.

A second explosion erupted behind us, another devastating root attack from the treemen.

No time to think. I moved. Instinct took over.

I didn’t hesitate. I charged.

My sword stayed sheathed—I didn’t need it for this.

Lowering my shoulder, I slammed into the green wall with everything I had.

A deep, cracking groan echoed from the barrier, but it didn’t give.

Then—A second impact.

A massive force crashed into the wall beside me, a metallic clang reverberating through the air.

The barrier shattered. Beyond it, the battlefield was chaos.

At least twenty of the treemen were engaged, but—only two root attacks had been cast.

Something wasn’t adding up.

Why?

And then I realized—

While I had gone through the barrier, Mischief, Nick, and the wolves had simply gone around it.

I wanted to slap myself for the sheer stupidity of not anticipating that.

But there wasn’t time. I drew my sword.

A massive tree limb swung toward me—I twisted, letting it whistle past my head, and retaliated with a brutal slash to the first leg that crossed my path.

Just like every other raid before this—once we closed the distance, the fight was over.

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Even before we had broken through, Mischief had tore through the battlefield, chunks of bark flew from treemen’s bodies, it caused havoc among their ranks.

Arrows stuck from the trees like pincushions smoking strange black smoke while the wolves weaved in and out of the long tree trunk legs they ripped and pulled at them.

Their moans and wails filled the air as Guildians flooded in behind me, Alex, and Durkil.

They were overrun. And minutes later—

The raid was over.