A war broke out with Arnold and his summons on one side, and the minions of the tree on the other. It looked like the Vassals and the Paladins were able to deal more damage to the minions of the tree than most of the summons. Which was something Arnold had already foreseen. He expected something similar to happen since the leaves were once a part of the tree and thus it was possible for them to retain some of the characteristics of the tree, meaning only the contestants could inflict major harm to them. However, that wasn't going to last for long.
Nicole and the others were fighting against the minions when suddenly, they stopped. The Wooden Golems were frozen in their places. It was a welcome surprise for the gods chosen team. However, only the golems had stopped and not the undead people. The Vassals and the Paladins were a bit confused why it was happening as none of them was paying attention to Arnold since they were kind of preoccupied with the minions.
Still, without the golems who had been tanking all the damage, it was fairly easy for them to take care of the undead troublemakers. But just as they were about to get rid of the undead, Arnold's voice boomed over the battlefield.
"Don't waste your energy on these small flies." He said, "Concentrate your efforts on taking down the tree. I'll handle the rest."
[The Raging Minotaur is in awe of your leadership skills. Quest points +100]
[The One with Luscious lips finds you unsettlingly desirable. Quest points +100]
[The One Ruling the Sun finds you interesting. Quest points +100]
Arnold didn't pay any attention to what was written in front of him. Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't afford to. It was taking every ounce of his mental prowess and every fibre of his being to be able to control the golems and if he was to stray away even for the slightest moment, chaos would once again befall on the battlefield.
Nicole and Johnny saw Arnold and couldn't even look at him for long. His eyes were too bright and so was the aura circling around him. He appeared to be enigmatically divine. As if he had already completed his journey to godhood.
"Arnold what are you-"
"Just do as I said, Nicole." Arnold had only whispered but to the others, it felt like he was speaking through the world's largest loudspeaker, "Do not waste time! Go!"
None of them said a word after that and quickly made their way towards the world tree. The undead sprung into action to try and stop them, but before they could do anything more than to take a step, the golems began crushing them along with Arnold's summons.
"What the hell..." Sonya mumbled when she saw four wooden golems running by her side, tackling anything and everything down that came in her way.
It was the same for everyone else. The golems that had been trying their best to kill them a couple of minutes ago, were not defending the contestants with their lives. But this led to a complication. Arnold couldn't even bear to move a step and thus was left defenceless as everyone else charged towards the tree.
Someone had already noticed it and was about to end Arnold once and for all when Talos' gunshot ripped the man's hand in half. It was one of the two twins who decided to attack Arnold in his vulnerable state.
If it hadn't been for Talos and Tiamut, who were the first ones among the summons to notice Arnold's vulnerable state, Arnold might have been gone for good. At first, they thought he would be safe since friendly fire was prohibited while the contest was still going on. But they didn't want to take any chances and hence had rushed back to help their master.
[The One who sees everything shakes his head disapprovingly.]
The following moment a portal opened right before the twin with the ponytail. The portal was large enough to fit only one person in there and the next second, the man was gobbled up by the portal.
[The One who sees everything, warns the contestants to focus on the task at hand.]
Arnold could not even spare a moment to thank his saviours. He was solely focused on controlling the wooden golems. But he made a mental note to do something good for his summons. After that, both Tiamut and Talos refused to leave Arnold's side as they wouldn't be able to do anything else to help him either way.
Soon the undead had been massacred by the joint effort of the golems and the summons. Also, the vassals were about to reach the foothold of the tree where they had attacked it before. Arnold was still required to help them take the tree down, but to do that, he would have to relinquish his control over the golems, which would cause unnecessary problems. But rather than doing that, Arnold decided to let them fight amongst themselves and die, that way he would be able to gradually rid himself of the golems without spending much effort.
However, before he could put his plan into action, blood came pouring out of his nose like a broken faucet, as his feet gave out. He began coughing with blood coming out of his mouth as well. His body could no longer take the strain Arnold was putting it through and gave up. Controlling something that not even the lesser gods could control, had its consequences. One of which was unbearable pain. Thankfully, Arnold could not feel pain, but that didn't mean his insides weren't a wreck.
As a direct result of his failure, the tree regained control over the golems and attacked the vassals and paladins. It was god's grace the summons were crowded by their side and immediately went into action to stop the golems so things were still under control.
As for Arnold, he was still suffering from overexertion. But his mind wasn't as big of a wreck as his body. He quickly took out a large HP and mana potion and drank them in huge gulps. It took a moment for him to get back to his normal self but his vitals had stabilised.
[The Arrogant One spats in anger that you're still alive.]
[The Mischievous One nods in agreement.]
"You want me to kick your as.s?" Arnold flipped both his middle finger towards the sky.
[The Gods can't help but snigger.. Quest points +450.]
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