Lian placed the ice claw on the gate’s roots. The cold spread from the point of contact.
The roots moved to regenerate, but their moist tissue froze one after another. A white and transparent layer covered the entire door’s surface.
He stepped back and punched the center of the frozen structure.
The roots shattered like glass. Frozen pieces scattered on the ground. The metal plates behind them also came loose under the impact’s pressure.
’Finally opened. If it weren’t for these damn Suppression seals, they would have broken much sooner.’
The path opened.
"At least that one involved a little thinking." Aren, who was still holding part of his weight on the wall, said.
"I froze it and broke it." Lian shrugged. It wasn’t always about brute force. Sometimes you had to use your mind.
The fourth gate was much thicker than the previous three.
He struck it several times with the chain, but only a narrow gap formed between two plates.
He released the chain and inserted the fingers of both hands into the gap.
"What are you doing?" Aren asked upon seeing his movement.
"Opening it."
"With your hands?"
Lian didn’t answer. He planted both feet firmly on the ground and activated Iron Fortress once more.
He pulled his hands in opposite directions. The metal plates didn’t budge at first. The red veins on the door lit up, and the surrounding roots twisted tighter.
Lian increased the pressure. The muscles in his forearms bulged, and the wounded skin on his wrists split again, spilling blood on the black metal.
The plates trembled for a moment, and then the gap between them widened slightly.
Aren watched in disbelief.
Lian let out a short shout. The two plates separated, and the internal locks broke one after another.
The gap opened wide enough for one person to pass through.
He first pushed Aren through the gap, then entered the next corridor himself.
They had now passed four gates, and finally, only one remained.
The fifth gate was at the end of that same corridor, but before reaching it, the sound of heavy footsteps was heard from the opposite side.
A large number of soldiers were approaching.
"They’re here."
Lian picked up his chain from the ground. The lights were still off. The entire lower part of the Rootspire was in complete darkness.
For him, Night Eyes showed the corridor, walls, and objects clearly.
But the soldiers had to use the small flames on their armor and weapons to see.
Orange light appeared from behind the fifth gate. A few roots moved aside.
The gate opened, and twelve Rootbound Wardens entered the corridor. Large shields were in the front row.
Spearmen stood behind them, and four other warriors raised their flaming weapons.
"Return the prisoners to their cells!" the group commander shouted.
Lian sat Aren behind one of the broken plates of the fourth gate.
"Stay here." Without waiting for an answer, he entered the darkness.
The guards only heard the sound of a chain being dragged on the ground.
The commander raised his hand. One of the soldiers created a large flame on his spear’s tip, and the light illuminated the entire corridor for a moment.
But Lian was no longer in front of them. He had moved from the right side, near the wall.
The first Warden only noticed his presence when the chain wrapped around his leg.
The young Vorhelm pulled the chain. The soldier was lifted off the ground and fell face-first onto the corridor floor. Before he could raise his shield, Lian grabbed his body.
He lifted the heavy, armored Warden off the ground and then threw him like a human hammer at the two nearby soldiers.
All three hit the wall together. A spear came from the darkness toward his side, but Night Eyes allowed him to see its direction.
Lian moved his head and shoulder aside. The blade passed by his body. His hand closed around the spear’s shaft, pulled it, and the weapon’s owner came toward him.
Lian’s knee strike hit the soldier’s chest center.
His armor bent, and a muffled sound came from his throat. He fell to the ground.
The soldiers, with shouts, created more flames.
The corridor filled with orange light. Two waves of fire moved toward Lian from both sides.
He had an escape route. He could step back or take cover behind the wall.
But he didn’t. He kept Diamond Skin active.
He walked directly into the fire. The flames caught his clothes. Parts of his armor turned red, and the heat burned the skin on his face and hands.
But his steps didn’t stop. The soldiers standing behind the fire stepped back for a moment.
Lian’s silhouette emerged from the flame wave. The golden chains were still wrapped around his body.
Fire burned on his shoulders and back. Blood ran down from his nose, ears, and the wounds on his arms.
But his gaze remained cold.
"Is this really Human?" one of the Wardens said in disbelief.
"He’s different from all the humans we’ve seen before! Damn it, he’s like a monster!"
"Capturing him without harming him is impossible!"
"Commander, please give the order to kill! If we don’t kill him, we’ll be killed!"
Lian’s fist hit his helmet before the sentence ended. The metal dented, and the soldier fell unconscious on the ground.
The group commander took a broad sword with both hands. He activated his Skill, and a layer of compressed fire formed on the blade.
With a shout, he attacked. The strike came down from above, and Lian wrapped the chain around his forearm, placing his hand against the blade.
The sword hit the chain. Sparks and flames scattered in the corridor. The impact pressure bent Lian’s knee slightly.
But his hand didn’t lower. With his other hand, he grabbed the commander’s throat, slammed him against the wall.
The stone behind the man cracked, and then, without releasing him, he slammed him against the wall once more.
The commander’s eyes closed. His body remained motionless. He was dead.
The remaining soldiers hesitated for a moment. Terror had taken over their beings. They didn’t want to fight a monster.
And that moment was enough.
Lian entered among them. He swung the chain horizontally. Three Wardens were thrown back at the same time.
He picked up one of the spears from the ground and struck the fourth soldier’s knee with its blunt end.
The man lost his balance. The next strike hit the side of his head and knocked him unconscious.
The battle lasted less than two minutes, but when the last soldier fell on the ground, the corridor floor was covered with armor pieces, broken weapons, and unconscious bodies.
Aren came out from behind the door plate. His legs were still unsteady, but he moved using one of the fallen spears as a cane.
He said nothing. He had nothing to say. He didn’t even want to grumble anymore. Perhaps even he instinctively feared this fellow human of his.
Lian said nothing either. They passed through the fifth gate.
After a few short corridors, they reached the secret elevator, but before Lian could get close, several flames lit up in the space ahead.
Tharos stood in front of the elevator. Six Guards were on both sides of him.
But it was clear these were not ordinary soldiers. Their armor, unlike the Rootbound Wardens, was dark gray, and a layer of black ash-like mist moved around their bodies.
With just one look, Lian realized all six of them were Level 29. The strongest soldiers he had encountered so far.
The prison head dragged his long robe on the ground. The black lens on his left eye was lit with a narrow light.
The orange veins on his face had also intensified with anger. His gaze first fell on the unconscious and dead guards behind Lian.
Then he saw Aren, and the calm on his face completely shattered.
"What was all this for?"
"I’m going to get my friends and leave this place." Lian gathered the chains around his hands.
"Do you think I’ll let you reach the upper levels? If you don’t surrender right now, this will be your grave!" Tharos stepped forward.
"Of course, do you have any other choice?" Lian said with an indifference full of contempt.
"Human, I warned you!" The veins on Tharos’s face lit up. Black ash came out from his sleeves and around his robe.
The particles spread in the air, filling the corridor with the smell of burning and hot metal.
[Ashen Inquisitor.]
The Guards moved forward at the same time, and Tharos raised his hand.
The ash rushed toward Lian. Black particles settled on his skin, armor, and chains, and a burning pain began from the points of contact.
But that wasn’t their only effect. The ash entered his Mana channels, making the energy flow heavier.
Vague images formed at the corner of Lian’s vision.
Soldiers that didn’t exist. Walls moving toward him. Voices shouting his name from behind.
He understood. This prison head had the ability to create illusions and false pain.
The ash created hallucinations, weakness, and sensory disruption.
But unfortunately, this fool had chosen the wrong enemy today. The illusions of such a weak creature had no effect on him.
[True Sequence Anchor]
All the illusions disappeared, as if they had never existed.
Lian moved straight forward. Tharos closed his fingers. The central Suppression seal on the young Vorhelm’s chest lit up with intense light.
Unbearable pressure spread through his body. All his Mana channels contracted simultaneously.
Diamond Skin flickered off for a moment.
Iron Fortress trembled.
Lian’s knees bent. One of his feet hit the ground.
’Damn it! This seal is more annoying than I thought.’ The Suppression seals, although they couldn’t completely disable him, were enough to weaken him.
And it was slowly becoming more and more annoying.
"Lian!" Aren shouted in worry.
"Did you think that because you defeated a few ordinary soldiers, you could leave the Rootspire?" Tharos came closer. This time, it was he who spoke with contempt.
"I thought this damn thing was bothering me too much." Lian raised his head. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
He activated Cataclysm Pulse.
Not toward Tharos, not toward the guards, but directly into the lock on his chest.
The Suppression seal immediately reacted.
The pain he was about to feel was probably enough to make him wish for death... but nevertheless, the time had come to destroy the Suppression seal at any cost!