The World Is Mine For The Taking

These Dryads don't need physical contact to drain their prey—through their twisted vines, they can suck the very essence of their victims, consuming them without ever laying a finger on them. That's why this Dryad was employing her vines, trying to drain me dry with every tightening wrap.

"Burrrrrrrrrp~!"

The Dryad suddenly let out a thunderous burp, the sound echoing through the air. She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in surprise.

"H-Huh?"

She stared at me, confusion etched across her face.

"W-What?"

"You full already?" I asked. "If so, could you please get these off me?"

"H-How did you... No, wait. I was sure I was hungry before I started this, so why the hell do I feel so full already?"

She was visibly stunned by the unexpected turn of events. Normally, a Dryad could easily have enough capacity in her stomach to absorb the life forces of two or three men. This one, in particular, seemed to have an insatiable hunger and was particularly voracious. Yet, the problem with me was that I wasn't an ordinary male.

I stayed calm, knowing that if I were truly in danger, the Guardian would have signaled me. But there was no such warning. So, even if the Dryad managed to suck out my life force, it wouldn't have any real effect on me. It was likely that my life force was so vast and powerful that she couldn't store much of it, preventing her from fully draining me and leaving me high and dry.

"As I suspected, you're not normal," she said, her voice laced with cruel amusement. "But I'm sure you've been drained quite a bit from my sucking. So, why don't we go ahead and drain you a little more?"

In an instant, another set of vines snaked around me, their coils tightening with a sickening squeeze. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw two more women at a distance, their eyes locked onto me with predatory intent. They shot their own vines towards me, wrapping me in an even tighter embrace. The draining sensation intensified, every inch of my life force being pulled away.

"Hehehe," the Dryad's laugh echoed with a sinister edge. "Even though I couldn't completely gobble you up, at least you'll provide some delicious nutrients for my sisters."

The sisters finally made their appearance. They looked strikingly similar to the Dryad, with vibrant green hair cascading around them, their private parts modestly concealed by clusters of leaves. The only notable differences were their hairstyles: one had short, tousled hair, while the other sported long, flowing locks with one eye partially hidden by her bangs.

They perched on the branches of the enormous tree, looking down at me with amused smirks as they contributed their own vines to the drain.

Despite the situation, I didn't panic. I knew this wouldn't affect me much. Was it my lineage to the Great Red that granted me such immense life force, or the succubus blood within me that made it impossible for them to fully drain me? Either way, they couldn't drain me completely.

"S-Sister Lixis?!" the short-haired Dryad suddenly gasped, her voice filled with panic.

"Uuuu... I-It's not working...!" the long-haired one echoed, her frustration evident.

"W-What?!" the initial Dryad shouted, her confusion escalating. "Almea? Morthea? What the hell is going on?"

"I can't... suck him dry...!" the short-haired Dryad stammered, her voice trembling.

"It's too much... I'm getting full...!" the long-haired one groaned, struggling to keep her composure.

"W-What?! How is this possible?! We're the leaders of the Dryads! We have the strongest life force-sucking abilities among our entire kind! How can we not drain him completely?!"

"Didn't I tell you already? What you're doing is pointless," I said with a smirk. I set the vines ablaze with a flash of searing magic, watching as they writhed and turned to ash. Using Levitation Magic, I floated gracefully down to the ground.

"N-No...! No one ever escapes us...! No man has ever..."

Suddenly, all the surrounding trees began to move. They were all Treants, huh? Considering all the vines on them seemed alive, it didn't surprise me that the trees themselves were Treants. Their massive forms creaked and groaned as they came to life, their branches twisting and reaching out like monstrous appendages.

"If you don't dry up for us, we'll kill that woman over there...!" she threatened, her voice cold and resolute.

"Why don't you give it a try?" I replied, unruffled.

"You think I'm bluffing? Even if she's the elven princess, do you really think I won't follow through?!"

"S-Sister Lixis, w-what are you planning? You can't go against the elven princess like this. You're provoking a full-blown war with them!" the short-haired Dryad protested, her voice trembling with fear.

"Shut up, Morthea!" Lixis roared, her voice slicing through the tension. Her eyes burned with a fierce, unrelenting anger. "I don't give a damn if I invoke the wrath of that elven queen. No male has ever escaped me in my entire life!"

"B-But...!" Morthea stuttered, her voice cracking under the pressure.

"I said shut up!" Lixis bellowed again. With a decisive wave of her hand, the vines sprang to life, slithering with predatory speed. They coiled around Morthea, their grip relentless as they bound her tightly. The vines wound around every inch of her body, constricting with a cruel, unyielding pressure. They even covered her mouth, silencing her with a suffocating embrace.

"M-Morthea?!" the remaining Dryad cried out, her face a mask of shock. If this one was Lixis and Morthea was now bound and gagged, then this must be Almea.

"You will regret ever being born!" Lixis spat, her voice seething with venomous fury.

The Treants surged forward, their massive forms casting ominous shadows over Artemis, who lay in blissful slumber. They gathered their vines and branches, twisting them into a colossal, menacing fists. With a thunderous creak, the fists were swung down toward Artemis with earth-shattering force.

But just as the enormous fists were about to smash into her, they were abruptly halted by a shimmering barrier created by the Guardian.

"W-What?!" Lixis shouted, her shock evident as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Destroy that barrier!"

The Treants obeyed Lixis's command, pummeling the barrier with relentless fury. Their massive fists crashed into it over and over, but despite their overwhelming strength and repeated assaults, the barrier remained unscathed. The Guardian's barrier was the strongest in existence, seemingly impervious to all attacks. Even my most concentrated mana blade failed to slice through it.

No matter how hard the Treants hit, nothing could penetrate the shimmering shield.

"W-Why?" Lixis cried out, her shock and frustration palpable. Her eyes darted around in disbelief as she struggled to comprehend the situation. "W-Why is nothing going my way?"

As Lixis clutched her hair in desperation, I decided it was time to take action and put an end to this chaos. I focused my mana, channeling it with intense concentration. The energy coalesced in my hand, swirling and hardening until it formed into a sleek, deadly blade that perfectly fit my grip.

Lixis was so consumed by her own anguish that she didn't notice the shift in the atmosphere or the deadly mana blade I held. I sprinted toward her with determination.

"S-Sister Lixis!" Almea cried out, rushing to protect her sister. But her attempt to block my attack was futile. I swiftly moved behind her, transforming the edge of my blade into a blunt surface. With a powerful swing, I smashed the blunt edge against the back of Almea's head. The impact might not have been sharp, but the force behind it was more than enough to knock her out cold.

She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"W-What?" Lixis finally snapped back to reality, her attention drawn by the commotion. Before she could react, I was already behind her. With a decisive motion, I brought the blunt edge of my blade crashing down against the back of her head. She toppled forward, collapsing face-first onto the ground.

Seeing both her sisters fall, Morthea was stunned into shock. As Lixis crumpled to the ground, the vines binding Morthea slackened and then released her entirely. She hit the ground and scrambled to her feet, desperate to flee.

I swiftly transformed my mana blade into a mana bow. The arrow I notched was blunt, designed solely to incapacitate rather than inflict lethal damage. I drew back the mana string and released it with a precise flick. The mana arrow streaked through the air, striking Morthea squarely at the base of her skull with a resonant thud.

The force of the impact was enough to send her collapsing to the ground, her body going limp as she joined her sisters in unconsciousness.