Diablo in A world of infinite possibilities

The three armies

Quartierlatin, mountain

There were ten-odd parties pulling an all-nighter on the mountain containing the ruins. They were all Masters on a quest to kill and collect the Prism Soldiers near Quartierlatin.

"Aaaand that's seven. Damn, we makin' mint here," said a member of one such party.

"Honestly, that's pretty freaky," another replied.

"The three of us ran into a whole seven of them. Imagine how many there are on this entire mountain! Gives me chills, man."

One party member was a Strong Lancer, another was a Strong Bowman, and the third was a Bishop, making it a well-balanced group. Thanks to the vigorous work of this and other parties, the Prism Soldiers in the mountain were gradually dropping in number.

"You said there's gonna be a quest to stop the ruins, right?" one of them asked.

"We taking it?"

"Damn right we are. Just think what'll happen if these things keep pouring out. Our town will be gone!"

"True. They're only about as strong as Demi-Dragons, but that's still a bit much for tians..."

Talking about this and that, they walked around in search of more Prism Soldiers. Instead, they stumbled upon a strange sight. It was a space in the forest where the trees had vanished, as though pulled out of the ground by the roots.

"Hold on... What the hell's this?" one of them exclaimed.

"The trees are just... gone?" another said, stunned.

"Did the machines dig them up?" the third asked.

"Or was it some other monster?"

"No clue. Though, looking at what's going on, we should be careful."

The Strong Lancer and Strong Archer stood at the opposite sides of the Bishop and watched for any threats. They were now ready for attacks from any visible direction. 

The Bishop also prepared to use the relevant support skills. They were cooperating well. Any proper party with a support would've done the same, but that was exactly what made them so easy to take advantage of.

"Phase one."

In a split-second, a creature burst out of the softened ground below and grappled the Bishop.

"...Eh?"

The creature looked like a tree, twisted into the shape of a marionette — in fact, that was exactly what it was. It used its arboreal weight to drop the Bishop to the ground and cut his throat with the knife in its hand.

"...!"

The Bishop couldn't speak any of his skills now. The puppet took advantage by stabbing his crown, spine, and heart, quickly ending his life. 

The immense damage to his body didn't allow for a long resurrection period, so the Bishop quickly turned into particles of light. The marionette worked absurdly fast.

"HUH?!" yelled one of his party members.

"YOU BASTARD!"

The Strong Lancer and Strong Archer finally reacted to the marionette and quickly destroyed it, but their Bishop had already gotten the death penalty. 

Both sides had only a single casualty. However, the enemy's loss was only some strange marionette, while the heroes' loss was the lifeline of their party.