F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 332: Only To Be Swooped

"Why, you’re learning to be quite the handsome devil..." Elara remarked from behind the beech tree, impressed and delighted that she did not have to worry too much.

It was the Verdant Runebark who brought the most danger to the brown table.

With that thing taken care of, even if only temporarily, they would have more time to work with, which she definitely needed to make this dangerous trip worth it.

She had to gather as much Life Sap as she could.

Only, she didn’t know that Daru was not yet sure whether the Golden Sap was indeed Life Sap.

It was good that Elara didn’t know this, as it would only plant a seed of hesitation in her heart.

She watched for a while longer, waiting until Daru was about to disappear with the Runebarks.

Then she moved.

The Verdant Runebark and the swarm of Sabre Aphids were fighting close to where she was headed, but they seemed busy.

Elara didn’t even have to gather up her courage.

A few moments later, she arrived at the cluster, taking out empty potion vials and filling them up with Golden Sap.

She had a lot on her, as she had never thrown a single one away after using potions.

Elara’s hands worked efficiently.

***

Daru’s chest rose and fell as he ran with everything he had.

He needed to open his mouth so his breathing could catch up, though with his dwindling speed, it was only the Runebarks that were catching up.

It had been a few minutes since he disappeared from the Golden Sap Tree Cluster.

While it was reassuring that the Verdant Runebark was no more, there were still around five Runebarks — two oaks, two birches, and an unexpected spruce that was larger than the other four.

One of the creepy flowers was also still somehow keeping up, even though it was the accursed thing that was the slowest among his pursuers.

’Ah...I’ll run out of stamina soon...’

Whether he fought or kept fleeing, he would need stamina.

Daru pulled out one of his last few standard stamina potions, downing it in one gulp, storing the empty vial back in his inventory, and chose to stick to running.

For now...

Elara was a smart young lady. If no other problem arises, she would be able to harvest a lot of those Life Saps — if they were even Life Saps — as long as he gave her more time.

He didn’t know what her plan was, but she promised she would come and save him as long as he performed as he always did... though he didn’t know exactly what the standard was.

Thus, Daru planned to just do his best and trust his comrade, even though he didn’t know how she would do it.

After another while, he pulled out another standard stamina potion and consumed it.

It was rather unfortunate that the land ran out first.

Daru could now see the other edge of this strange land, and he would either have to stop and fight his pursuers or take a decisive turn and run along where his feet still had something to step on.

But he feared that Elara wouldn’t be able to find him if he ran too far.

Furthermore, there was a chance that he would rouse another Verdant Runebark, or some other kind of more horrifying Swordspawns.

Daru glanced behind him.

The Runebarks were still there, though he had gained a fair bit of distance from them. The creepy flower was also gone.

’Finally...’ he breathed a sigh of relief.

Daru didn’t feel confident standing his ground with that thing around.

’A wider space to move around would also be to my advantage...’

He had some experience fighting multiple enemies alone, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve that would allow him to survive five Runebarks.

The keyword, though, is survive.

Daru didn’t think for a second that he would win. But he didn’t need to. All that was required of him was to stay alive, perhaps give Elara a bit of direction through a noisy battle, and wait until she came to save him through whatever method.

Reaching close to the edge, Daru turned and dashed at the five Runebarks.

The Swordspawns of Life were surprised.

However, their maddened minds did not have the capability to overthink, simply rushing at him faster.

The two sides were soon within striking distance.

Daru burst forward with Swallow Step, then jumped with all the momentum it brought, spinning faster and lashing down stronger with his tachi.

[-85]

Onimaru Kunitsuna clashed with the sword arm of the Oak Runebark, throwing him far behind the cohort of pursuers.

Landing with grace, he was surprised to find that roots were upon him.

’The Spruce Runebark?’ he thought inwardly, forced to employ Mountainsplitter to sever them, then he jumped back.

Unfortunately, the roots merely constricted their own wounds until they were back in business.

’How annoying...’

The Oaks and the Birches were upon him. With the roots of the Spruce Runebark attempting to sneakily catch him, things were turning out to be far more difficult than he expected.

"Tch." Daru clicked his tongue, pulling out a precious vial of Greater Stamina Potion and downed it, acknowledging he might not have a chance later.

Then, wooden sword arms fell.

He evaded the two, faster Birches with a slick Swift Tumble, then used Double Strike to fend off the Oaks, though he was pushed back.

The roots would’ve caught him had Daru not somersaulted backward immediately, utilizing the small, insignificant slash mark to stall the bothersome constrictors.

But the slightly faster Birches quickly rushed to warmly receive his return to the ground.

Their sword arms — a jian and a falchion, swept at him like a baseball bat...and Daru was the ball.

He gritted his teeth, angling his tachi to block.

In the next moment, a heavy clack and subtle clang sounded as he was sent flying some distance away, forced to roll off the momentum to recover his footing faster.

The battle continued like so.

Daru did his best to dance around the humanoid trees even though he was struggling, sometimes managing to use a Runebark to block the path of another.

This allowed his skills to barely go off cooldown in time.

He had somehow lasted an entire minute this way, but it was only a matter of time before he blundered...and Daru did soon enough.

Given ample space, he used Havoc Rush once more, but for some reason, this ability hadn’t been effective against these Runebarks.

The Oak he was targeting easily determined which one was his true body.

But Daru jumped, transitioning into a Tornado Slash. Only, his target spawn seemed to have the capacity to learn patterns, too.

The Oak Runebark didn’t block his attack and just took it with its tough head.

As a result, Daru didn’t get the extra momentum he needed. He...was falling right in the middle of the Runebarks, in the roots’ waiting arms.

"It has gotten smarter!" he remarked cursingly.

He could use Stoic, but he was unsure if it would be enough, likely not.

He messed up badly by underestimating the humanoid tree’s intelligence.

But then, a shadow loomed above him, and by the time Daru turned to look. It has already caught him.