An Old Friend

"Release! Damn it. No! Cursed tree." A young man was using all profanity words he know under The Legendary Golden Apple Tree. He was in despair. Still his fingers didn't stop for single second to save everyone.

The unique and mysterious apple tree, Marwa, sunbathed and absorbed the essence of nature, as it does every day. His gigantic body where energy was collected had reached a height of 200 meters and a width of 75 meters.

Tiny Red Scorpion was on the apples as usual. As the size of the tree increased, the number of apples on it increased as well. Therefore, it took hours for this bright red creature to come back to its starting point.

Perhaps the only creature Marwa care about was that tiny colourful bug. He no longer cared about what the humans around him were doing. These people were no different from the worms in his body. Yet they were more useful than a herd of wild animals. Their daily lives helped him to remember some memories from his previous life.

Marwa could no longer see himself as a normal tree or a normal human. All the other trees around him were under his shadow. There was no second entity that reached the same size. But he was no complainant, he was pleased with that. Part of his body was in the soil and the soil was comforting him. He was like this in his previous life too. He was able to remember this feeling.

Feeding with the sun's rays his leaves collected with and the mineral waters coming from his roots, golden apples were making drool people's mouths and also were emitting a pleasant smell to nature.

After giving many benefits to the humans, he was getting some kind of respect too… until today.

Marwa looked down the young man who trying to control one of his roots to run away with it. It was okay to cut tree parts, collecting fruits or something else but controlling one of tree parts while still he can feel it? He couldn't allow that. Even though he was no more human, he couldn't ridicule a human's effort because he was a weak human… "What a weird feeling."

"Tiny Red, how are you today? Did you check all the apples?" Marwa ignored the noise and looked at the tiny red scorpion standing quietly on one of its leaves. This little creature had never changed. As usual, it was coming back in the early morning after hovering over all the apples. Marwa accepted its meaningless behaviour as a kind of habit.

Even though he had no interest in the shamans anymore, another man appeared near tree. He was lacking a leg. His green robe was full of tears, drenched with water, blood and sand. He leaned on his cane to lift his tired body and shouted with all his rage.

""WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!"

"Leader Chen!"

"Aaaah! Leader Chen your leg!"

"Leader Chen you are injured!"

"What should we do?!"

The young women guardians and servants rushed to his side.

Everything progressed so suddenly when Shaman Alliance forces appeared before the date they predicted and launched a violent attack. At least, the protective formations and arrays were working successfully they blocked them for two days. However it was obvious two days were not enough for Rikka's treatment. Xiao Chen ordered his wife's brother Meng Hao to lead his people to escape with his wife and went to delay all strong shamans himself alone.

Meng Hao was a rare water and earth combination energy user that can create plant armors which also known as plant puppeteer. He of course wanted to use best material he can find and chose to raise this body using the mysterious golden apple tree's roots around his sister's body.

A three-meter puppet slowly appeared. He had a skeleton made of hardwood. Veins from plant roots covered the skeleton. Then extra branches and leaves appeared on its head and they grew longer. It was no different from other trees unless it was moving.

Creation of full body armor was successful. However he couldn't control as he always do! Lady Rikka was in puppet. There is no way they could leave her here.

Xiao Chen had no time to spare for his wounds or reply others.

"Rikka, are you okay?!" He called out to his wife in the plant puppet. He couldn't see her, but at least he needed to hear her voice.

"Xiao Chen! I'm fine! You?! Your leg! What happened to your leg?!" Lady Rikka began to cry.

*Crackles*

Suddenly a blue phantom whip appeared wrapped around his arm and lifted Xiao Chen to the air and hit the ground with momentum. Xiao Chen had no power to resist. This was already suprising he was able to delay all alliance forces and it's leader which is strongest shaman known for days and be able to come back alive.

"Did you think I'll let go your soul? Just rest in peace in my collection" A blue haired man in white robe appeared. His eyes were just black holes with blue soul flames in it. He stepped on Xiao Chen's unconscious body on looked down on everyone. "Ru, clean up this place" he said and inspected the colossal tree in front of him. "Such a pure soul wasting here in your unskilful hands"

A wind wave cutted everyone's feet off the ground and flew until everyone hundreds of meters away from the tree writhing in pain. A ghost at the sky which no one realised completed her mission and returned back to eyes of The Alliance Leader Li Qi Ye. He looked down the unconscious Xiao Chen and said "Just disappear forever" his phantom whip transformed to a thin sword-like shape and stabbed it down.

Everything happened so fast. Rikka barely understood what is going outside when she heard last words of Li Qi Ye. "Xiao Chen!!"

*Bang*

"What is this?!"

She could feel it! The thing she is inside moved! And she could hear confused voice of her husband's enemy. This mean… This thing saved Xiao Chen?

Marwa could no longer feel and think like a human being. This was same when he was shaman too. Noone else could live long as much as he did and it was meaningless to fix some goods and bads every century. People changes but they always same. There was no way he can make friends or foes. Respect or face were meaningless.

Still, for some reason... He did not want Xiao Chen to die here, who fed his wife every day with his own hands. Xiao Chen had lost very quickly and his wife was not able to move in the puppet.

That somehow made Marwa think. His instincts were saying he had a similar experience.

"Oh yes. Those little birds... I also felt something similar at this time... Despair. This should be... Poor woman... Just this once... For you"

Li Qi Ye stood up. His clothes were covered in dust and bloodstains were discernible on the edge of his mouth. He hadn't seen who attacked him. Stupidly, he looked at the opponent in front of him, the puppet that held Xiao Chen who could not move. This was just a puppet!

Marwa was aware that the newcomer had evil thoughts for the tree, but did not care. In his eyes, this man was also no different than the ants who wanted to gnaw his body.

And he had no interest in listening his new words.

The Puppet suddenly bent down and take Xiao Chen's body from ground. Then the puppet kicked the ground with all its strength. There was no sound…

However Li Qi ye could feel the concussions. Dozens of phantom creatures and soldiers surrounded him. Suprisingly, no matter how serious he was prepared, there was no following attack. "Everyone come out!" In the end, defensive arrays and formations couldn't last and broken, Shaman Alliance's armies and summons one by one approached the huge tree.

The puppet's attack was just a bluff to scare him?

Though that was just actually a rustle for people who heard, Marwa still talked.

"Treat nature kindly at your next life"

*Ba-thump*

While Li Qi Ye was talking, the ground shook again. But the puppet wasn't doing anything. He frowned. He sensed a strange danger approaching him, he could sense. His eyes began to glow purple.

"It's the tree! Such a soul power! So you were the one using that weird puppet"

*Ba-thump Ba-thump*

*Crackles*

Suddenly, little black holes appeared on the ground, and thousands of majestic white snakes appeared in the sky. They had been under the ground for a long time, accustomed power inside of them was circling around each of them. They were all annoyed and hungry.

"These? Are these laddons?" Li Qi Ye had come across a scenery he had never expected.

The Laddons were lightning type creatures and just a touch to their enemies was enough to defeat them. Even the biggest monsters were afraid of laddons.

The fight didn't last long.

Li Qi Ye's souls were at losing side. He used his title to command the mighty shaman leaders who watching from afar. And they just contributed with sending huge slave beasts. Noone was willing to have human loss on their way to a safe place.

The puppet at that moment carried by some apple tree's branches to main body with unconscious Xiao Chen with it.

"Where are you going?"

*Buzz*

A yellow beam suddenly passed through the battlefield and hit to left side of puppet and also the Golden Apple Tree's trunk. This beam was so unstoppable everything it contacted evaporated immediately.

"Elder Li Qi Ye, I have no time to play games here. Please finish your business in hurry." A blonde young girl said with gentle face while her still shining fingertip towards the tree leaving trails of smoke behind.

*Gulp*

"Everyone! Destroy the tree trunk! I'll deal with the soul" Li Qi Ye shouted. His selfish hunt for tree was already at the level that would offend the Immortal. He couldn't afford to displease it's envoy.

Laddons disappeared at the depths of the forest or dug in ground after sensing the danger from that yellow beam. Also Golden Apple Tree's main trunk damaged and short time later, top half of tree fell down. The puppet successfully pulled and bound on the tree but there was a huge hole on the center of it. Rikka was quiet and her situation was unknown while Xiao Chen was still unconscious.

Marwa also surprised to witness such a weird power. She didn't make any preparations. Just point your finger and boom. What was that he really had no idea. Around twelve huge beasts as taller as the current tree itself moved towards to the golden apple tree with huge steps.

So you want my body? Sure, start from apples. Even though Marwa never fought anyone in this form, he wants to try too. All tree branches started to move as arms of an octopus. He lead his energy to apples and turned them towards to huge beasts almost near the tree.

Golden apples became brighter and more golden then suddenly exploded all of their juices on the beasts. This attack was like throwing huge energy balls and the beasts which couldn't endure this invisible energy thrown back to where they came crushing countless human soldiers following them.

Marwa prepared his whip like long branches and roots, made them more sharper and sturdier. He cannot wait to test them. However, those beasts who endured the previous attack didn't move again. Even their summoners were confused. The beasts were still able to fight and but just watching towards the tree with blank eyes as if they lost in their dreams.

"Are they in an illusion?"

"No, they still must be able to move if they were in"

"Then what is happening to them? Petrify?"

"This… No… This more like… Bewitching effect!"

Some wise shamans discussed among them.

"Bewitching?" With his roots everywhere, it was not possible to hide any conservation from Marwa. He also became like the beasts who under bewitching for a moment and lost in thoughts.

Where they did heard that. Bewitching. Bewitching. This.

Ten seconds later, an invisible wave spread from The Golden Apple Tree terrified everyone and an inhuman roar followed it which is actually not a natural sound but a sound directly they can hear with their souls.

"THIARA!"

***

Countless miles away in a jade temple, benevolent looking lady adjusted her glasses carefully and a small smile appeared on her smooth and cute face.

"Looks like an old friend survived"