Chapter 19: Closing In For The Kill

Cassian immediately understood where Nyxara was coming from.

​Every summon possessed its own mana reserve. Under normal circumstances, once a summon exhausted its energy, its combat effectiveness would plummet.

​Worse still, if it attempted to continue using Skills or Authorities beyond its limits, the burden would automatically shift onto the Lord, draining their mana to sustain the summon. It was one of the fundamental laws connecting Lords and their forces.

​For most Lords, this was a serious concern. Mana was precious, and running dry during battle could easily spell disaster.

​Unfortunately for common sense... Cassian wasn’t most Lords.

​He turned toward his Champion and lightly patted her shoulder.

​Nyxara visibly stiffened at the sudden contact.

​"You don’t have to worry about drawing my mana," Cassian said, smiling warmly. "If necessary, use as much as you want."

​Nyxara froze, her violet eyes blinking in stunned disbelief. The statement was so absurd that, for a brief moment, she genuinely thought she had misheard him.

​Lords treasured their mana more than their lives, yet her master was casually telling her to spend it without restraint.

​She opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance.

​BOOOOM!

​The forest suddenly trembled. Trees shook violently and the ground rumbled beneath their feet as hundreds of Umbral Bats exploded from the canopy, flooding into the night sky with shrill, piercing cries.

​Moments later, another tremor followed. Then another, each one stronger than the last.

​Nyxara’s expression sharpened instantly, her gaze snapping toward the source of the disturbance. Cassian followed suit.

​In the distance, ancient trees began falling one after another, as though some enormous force were simply bulldozing its way through the forest.

​Then they saw it.

​A colossal figure emerged from the darkness, standing nearly nine meters tall. Its body resembled a dead, ancient tree twisted into the shape of a humanoid titan, covered in thick black bark that served as natural armor.

​Massive roots protruded from its legs, tearing through the earth with every step, while its arms rivaled the trunks of ordinary trees, ending in jagged, claw-like branches capable of shredding solid steel.

Thick vines wrapped around its frame like living serpents, and pulses of dark-purple energy traveled through cracks in the wood, illuminating the beast from within.

​Its face was perhaps the most terrifying aspect: a grotesque wooden visage carved into the trunk, with hollow eye sockets burning with eerie violet flames and a gaping mouth filled with splinter-like fangs resembling sharpened stakes.

​Everywhere it stepped, death energy gathered, causing nearby vegetation to rapidly wither into ash.

​The creature came to a halt, its blazing eyes locking onto the two figures standing in its path.

​[Shadow Treant]

Grade: Advanced ★★★

​Cassian’s eyes narrowed. A 3-Star Advanced-Grade monster, the first creature they had encountered that could genuinely be considered a threat.

​Beside him, Nyxara lowered her stance and tightened her grip around her scythe, shadows churning violently beneath her boots.

​The Shadow Treant observed them for a brief second before its massive wooden jaw slowly creaked open. Purple light gathered deep within its throat, making the surrounding forest vibrate.

​A split second later—

​ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!!

​The roar exploded across the Umbralwood.

​Trees shook violently, branches shattered, and the very air seemed to ripple under the sheer force of the shockwave. Countless beasts fled deeper into the night as the ground vibrated beneath their feet.

​Cassian felt his grip tighten around the Refined Bone Blade, a slow grin spreading across his face.

​Finally, something worthy of being called a Death Zone monster had appeared.

....

Nyxara no longer hesitated, as she shot forward.

​Shadows surged beneath her feet, coating her boots like a second skin. The darkness compressed, then exploded, turning the undead elf into a violet blur streaking across the battlefield.

​The Shadow Treant reacted instantly, swinging its massive wooden arm downward with enough force to flatten buildings.

​FWOOSH!

​The air screamed beneath the descending fist.

​Nyxara’s eyes narrowed, as a thick shadow tendril erupted from beneath several nearby trees, shooting upward to wrap itself tightly around the Treant’s wrist.

​The giant fist was stopped, but only barely.

​The earth beneath Nyxara’s feet suddenly cracked, and her expression stiffened as she felt the immense drain. Holding back such tremendous physical force caused her mana reserves to plummet.

​Even so, she didn’t waste the opening she had forged.

​Another tendril burst from the darkness, wrapping itself around the Treant’s neck. Using it as an anchor, Nyxara launched herself into the air.

​The Treant roared, its free arm swinging wildly toward her, but Nyxara was already moving. She swung around the anchored tendril, her body dancing through the air with impossible agility as the massive hand missed her by inches, exploding splintered bark where it passed.

​Using the momentum, she circled the creature—one loop, two loops—before abruptly releasing her grip.

​Her body shot skyward, rising several meters above the monster’s head. Moonlight reflected off her scythe as shadows gathered along the crescent blade, compressing, darkening, and sharpening layer upon layer.

​Below, the Treant looked up, raising its free arm once more to swat her from the sky.

​Nyxara remained eerily calm. The tendril anchored around its neck reattached to her hand and snapped taut as she pulled herself forward, causing the giant hand to sweep harmlessly past.

​Then, she descended.

​Spinning faster and faster, she resembled a violet drill falling straight from the heavens.

​SHRRRRRK!

​Nyxara landed behind the monster, her boots skidding across the soil as the tendrils restraining its limbs vanished.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

​Then—

​BOOM!

​The Treant’s head exploded into countless wooden splinters as the colossal body collapsed forward, crashing heavily onto the forest floor.

​[+240 Experience]

[+500 Lord Coins]

​Nyxara exhaled heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.

​The battle had lasted only moments, but the mana expenditure had been enormous.

Nearly all of her reserves were depleted. Her vision blurred slightly, and her breathing grew heavy under the weight of severe mana exhaustion.

​’The mana drain is far too severe...’

​She steadied herself, but her dulled senses barely processed a distant, muffled voice calling out to her.

​Turning slowly toward the sound, she saw her Lord running toward her. His face carried an expression she had never seen before, sheer alarm and panic.

​Then the words finally broke through the haze.

​"WATCH OUT!"

​Nyxara’s eyes widened. Primal instinct screamed in her ear, as she threw herself sideways without hesitation.

​BOOOOOOM!

​A massive object slammed into the earth where she had stood a split second before, shattering the ground into a massive crater. Shockwaves blasted outward, sending Nyxara rolling across the dirt.

​A dense cloud of dust and debris filled the air, rapidly expanding to obscure everything, including Cassian.

​"My Lord!" Nyxara scrambled to her feet, staring into the haze, but she couldn’t see him.

​A cold chill ran through her chest, as in the next moment heavy, rhythmic thuds came one after another.

​The creature that had ambushed her stepped out of the settling dust. It was another Shadow Treant, identical to the first.

​Nyxara’s expression darkened, but before she could act, another materialized from the haze. Then another. And another.

​Her grip on her scythe tightened.

​By the time the dust fully cleared, her surroundings had completely transformed.

​Eight colossal Shadow Treants stood in a tight circle around her. Eight 9-meter-tall monsters, each radiating the exact same Advanced ★★★ aura as the first.

​The nearest behemoth advanced, followed by the second, and then all of them as one. The ground trembled beneath their synchronized footsteps.

​Nyxara clenched her fists around her haft. Her mana reserves were practically empty, her Lord was nowhere to be seen behind the wall of monsters, and eight Advanced-grade monsters were closing in for the kill.