10

I would have screamed in frustration if it weren't for the air being driven from my lungs over, and over again. My lungs were screaming for breath, but I couldn't inhale with spiked clubs being slammed into me repeatedly. I grabbed a branch, and dropped to the ground as quick as I could. Propelling myself to a space on the ground that didn't appear to have any roots, and ducking low so the branch that followed me would miss. Nearly falling on a root in front of me as I did. 

The branches froze above me for a few moments. Then slowly drew back until they were back as they were before. Then the growling started. The beasts now knew where I was because of the commotion I'd caused with the trees. The beasts were incredibly light on their feet. 

The trees didn't appear to notice them. I found it hard to believe that the trees would choose not to attack the beasts. I needed to test that theory. I pushed myself back to a standing position using two fingers. Then I held the soul fangs in front of me. Ready to counter whatever attack came my way next. 

I planned to throw them into the trees as hard as I could. Then let the trees do the rest for me. If I was right about the trees attacking indiscriminately then I had a chance to survive this after all. I tensed slowly. Lowering my stance a bit to plant my feet a little better. 

I just needed to wait for them to make the first strike. Then react. Patience was the key to surviving this particular nightmare. My muscles relaxed as I settled into my stance. Ready to strike when the first creature lunged at me. 

I didn't know why these creatures were so patient at the moment. They were waiting for me to do something. I didn't know what. I was standing on a very small patch of safety so I couldn't move much. The ring shrunk a few feet as the beasts behind me closed in while I was facing the ones in front of me. 

They were waiting for me to look away or something like that. I scanned the world around me. Locking eyes with the beasts I could see. They were all fluffy, and resembled cotton balls in appearance. That is if the cotton balls had long teeth, and claws. 

They looked similar to killer poodles really. Extra muscular, black, fluffy killer poodles. I frowned to myself as I waited for the attack to begin. Even if it meant taking a few wounds I had to stay standing on this safe little plot of land. My muscles were tensing slowly. 

I was worried about what would happen next. I needed to relax a little. If my muscles got too tense then I wouldn't be able to react when something attacked me. I waited for them to come after me. They creeped closer slowly bit by bit. 

I frowned to myself as I looked for the one that would attack me first. It was just a guessing game at this point. I licked my dry lips slowly, and listened to the angry grumble of my stomach. I needed something to eat, and I was getting thirsty. This whole thing was making me impatient. 

I frowned to myself. All I had to do now was wait. An idea popped into my head in that moment. My fingers dug into the soil around my feet a moment later. Finding a single rock before throwing it at the branch of a nearby tree.

The trees branch swung towards where the rock had hit it. Brushing the back of one of the beasts, and it reacted to the brief moment of contact. Changing it's swing to a downward strike that impacted several of the beasts. The spikes didn't cut into the beasts like they had me, but that didn't matter to me. What mattered to me was the fact that one of those beasts was now well within range of my next strike. 

I slammed my blade down into the beasts neck. Mana seared out through the blade, and cleanly cut into the beast. Severing it's spine at the neck. The tree root reacted to the body being slammed into it with violence. I jumped back. 

Landing on a clear spot that was about ten feet behind me. I'd spotted that particular spot when I looked around at the beasts a few minutes earlier. Now the beasts were angrily snapping at the branches of the two trees that had been set off. Only a few of the ones behind me had managed to remain free, and clear of the attack were still focused on killing me. I waited for one to attack me, but they were surprisingly patient creatures. 

They knew I couldn't move so they were observing. Our strength had to be close to equal or those beasts wouldn't be hesitating to attack right now. The soul fangs were probably the main reason they were hesitating to attack right now. My weapons granted me an advantage that the beasts were trying to calculate knowing full well I was stuck in place for the most part. That irritated me. 

I reached into the dirt around my feet, and found nothing. No rocks. Just soft smooth soil. I pretended to throw a rock behind them, and they flinched away from where it would have landed. They weren't stupid, and they were tough enough to take a few hits from that tree. 

I wondered what I would do to draw them close this time around, but they weren't stupid. They were waiting for something to change, and I was hungry. Whether that was reinforcements or for me to falter I didn't know. I didn't have enough patience to wait for them to come to me, and I'd gotten the gist of how the trees moved now. They didn't know that though.