Several hours had passed since the destruction of the Advance Legion.
One was running at full speed through the eastern part of Emberroot, and every time his powerful legs hit the ground, piles of dirt and dry leaves were thrown into the air behind him.
Lian had not looked behind even once.
Vhalaris had disappeared among the huge trees hours ago.
Time was putting pressure on them from both sides, so the journey no longer looked anything like the calm trip from a few days ago.
Even at night, they did not stop for long, One would rest for a while and then they would continue the journey.
Seris was used to this rhythm, Lian had no problem with it either.
Aren had also lived in this forest for years, and a large part of that time had been spent running away from the Cindari.
Because of that, none of them had a problem with not resting or stopping, and everyone preferred to move toward the tree at full speed.
On the very first day, Predator’s Instincts gave several short warnings, in the past, Lian would have moved toward the Monsters at the first chance.
EXP.
Stats.
Skill.
Talent.
Every Kill was an opportunity for him, but things were different now.
His Level was locked at 20.
Any new EXP was only being stored.
And after massacring the Cinderhold army, he had also reached the temporary Stats limit.
For now, the Monsters they found on their way gave him almost no direct benefit.
But Seris was still not Level 20.
When Predator’s Instincts sensed the presence of several Monsters to the left of the path for the fourth time, Lian put his hand on One’s armor.
The giant ant slowed down.
"What happened?" Seris looked at him.
"Several Monsters are coming closer, I don’t need to kill them, they’re all yours, I’ll only take the corpses." Lian pointed toward the black bushes.
Even though he no longer needed to kill them, their corpses were still useful to him.
"All of them?"
"Until you reach Level 20." This girl had still not reached Level 20, and she was still a good distance away, it would be good if she could reach Level 19 or 20 before they reached the tree.
"You’re being generous." A very small smile appeared on Seris’s face.
"They’re no longer useful to me." Lian answered.
"I understand, I’ll try to finish it quickly." The young Pendragon jumped down from One.
A roar came from between the roots.
The first creature jumped out of the darkness with a high leap.
It was four-legged, its skin was black and rough, its jaw was too large compared to its skull, and orange lines moved under the skin of its neck and shoulders.
The System showed the Monster’s name.
[Ember Maw Hound]
[Lv.18]
[Rank: Normal]
More creatures appeared behind it.
[Ember Maw Hound — Lv.19]
[Ember Maw Hound — Lv.18]
[Ember Maw Hound — Lv.17]
In the end, fourteen Monsters covered the path, and among them, a larger creature with two rows of red lines on its body stepped forward.
[Ember Maw Alpha]
[Lv.21]
[Rank: Normal]
The Alpha lowered its head, and a weak flame came out from between its teeth.
Seris calmly took one step forward.
"Are you not going to help her?" Aren, who was still sitting on One, asked.
"No."
"But there are many of them, are you sure it’s not dangerous for her?"
"I know, but don’t worry, she’s strong, after me, she’s the strongest among all the humans you’ve seen."
"You two really have a different idea of what danger is." Aren looked at Seris.
The first Hound attacked.
Seris waited until the last moment.
When the Monster’s claws were almost at her face, she moved her body half a step to the side.
Her sword moved only once, the blade entered the Hound from under its jaw and came out from the top of its skull.
The Monster did not even have a chance to land.
Seris pulled out her sword and with a short turn, threw the dead body toward the second Hound.
The two creatures crashed into each other.
The young Pendragon moved forward, put her foot on the second Monster’s shoulder, pressed it against the ground and brought her sword down along its neck.
The third one came closer from the right.
Without fully looking at it, Seris pulled her blade back, the tip of the sword entered the Monster’s open mouth.
A moment later, it came out from the back of its neck, her movements were fast, but there was something more than speed in them.
Economy of movement, no extra attacks, no wasted Mana, no unnecessary moves and only the most deadly path between the starting point and the ending point.
Four more Hounds attacked at the same time.
Seris planted her feet firmly on the ground, Mana gathered around her sword and a bright arc formed in front of her.
Two Monsters were thrown back at the same time, the third received a deep wound on its chest and the fourth attacked from above her head.
She lowered her body, the Monster passed over her and she stood up at the same moment and pulled the blade from its stomach to its chest.
The Alpha finally moved, its mouth opened and Mana gathered deep inside its throat.
Seris noticed the change and changed the direction of her body.
A moment later, a concentrated flame was fired toward her.
She rolled across the ground, the explosion happened right behind her, dirt and pieces of roots were thrown into the air.
The Alpha did not wait, it came out of the flames and charged toward Seris with all its weight.
Seris held her sword in front of her body, the impact pushed her several meters back and her boots made lines in the ground.
The Alpha attacked again.
But this time Seris had understood its path, at the last moment, instead of moving backward, she moved directly toward the Monster.
She passed beside its shoulder, her sword made a deep line on its front leg.
The Alpha lost its balance.
Seris turned back, the second strike hit the same leg and the Monster fell onto one knee.
Seris put her foot on its skull, raised the sword with both hands and drove it directly into the point where the neck and skull connected.
The Alpha’s body shook for several seconds, then became still and she pulled out her sword.
The remaining Hounds lasted only a few more minutes after the Alpha died, when the last Monster fell to the ground, Seris took several calm breaths.
Blood had gathered on the edge of her sword.
System panels appeared in front of her eyes.
[You Have Killed Ember Maw Hound Lv.18.]
[EXP Acquired.]
[You Have Killed Ember Maw Hound Lv.19.]
[EXP Acquired.]
...
[You Have Killed Ember Maw Alpha Lv.21.]
[EXP Acquired.]
"Was that good?" Lian asked from a distance.
"I got closer." Seris closed the panel.
"Good."
Then the girl cleaned her sword and sat on One again, and the journey continued.
On the second day, the forest was still alive, but less than before, the Ember Crystals that could be seen between the trunks every few hundred meters on the first day were slowly disappearing.
The red light around them became weaker, the humidity was higher and low steam moved between the huge roots.
Around noon, a heavy sound came from ahead of them.
One stopped, ahead of them, a huge root had broken across the path.
At first, it looked like part of a fallen tree, but then that "root" moved.
The ground shook, and a huge creature rose from behind the tall plants.
Its body was as large as a two-story house, it had thick brown skin with natural iron plates growing over it.
Two huge tusks came out from both sides of its head.
[Rootbreaker Mammoth]
[Lv.24]
[Rank: Normal]
The Mammoth roared when it saw One.
One immediately lowered his body, his jaws opened, ready to move forward.
Lian gave a command through the Hive Link to stop.
One moved his antennae in annoyance, Lian gave the command again.
No.
One made a rough sound.
Seris jumped down from his back, she was going to face this one alone again.
"You’re really letting her go alone?" Aren said in disbelief.
"Yes." Lian said.
"So apparently you’re not the only crazy one." Aren looked from the Mammoth to Seris.
The Mammoth lowered its head, its tusks became covered in orange light.
Then it attacked, the ground shook under its feet.
Seris could not stop the attack with raw strength this time, at the last moment, she moved out of its path.
The Mammoth’s tusk passed only a few centimeters from her body and hit the tree trunk behind her.
Part of the trunk split, the young girl attacked its front leg at the same moment and her sword hit its thick skin.
A short spark appeared but it only created a shallow wound and the Mammoth turned its body, its heavy trunk came toward Seris like a whip.
She held her sword in front of herself, the hit lifted her off the ground.
Seris was thrown several meters through the air, before hitting the root, she turned her body and landed with her foot on its surface.
She did not retreat either, this time instead of attacking the protected skin, she moved around the Mammoth.
She looked at its joints, under its stomach, behind its legs and places where the iron plates were thinner.
The Mammoth attacked again, Seris deliberately allowed it to get close and at the moment when the tusks passed from both sides of her, she slid under the Monster’s head.
Her sword hit the soft part of its throat from below, creating a deep wound and the Monster screamed.
It raised its head, that was enough.
Seris stepped on one of the tusks, climbed up it, jumped onto the Monster’s head and held her sword with both hands.
Mana gathered on the blade, the Mammoth tried to throw her down, but the girl kept her balance.
She put the blade into the same wound under its jaw, but from a new angle.
Once.
Twice.
The third strike hit the main nerve.
The Mammoth suddenly stopped, its front legs bent and its huge body fell to the ground with a heavy sound.
Seris jumped down from the Monster’s head.
[You Have Killed Rootbreaker Mammoth Lv.24.]
[EXP Acquired.]
She looked at the panel for several seconds.
"I’m much closer, I should be able to reach Level 19 soon." She then said.
"We won’t be short of Monsters before we reach our destination." Lian answered and then got off to take the corpse.
The days continued like this.
On the first day, the forest was still green and red, on the second day, the light became fewer and on the third day, the water changed.
The narrow rivers that passed between the roots were no longer clear, their color had become dark brown.
Sometimes black spots moved across the surface.
Every time One was about to reach the water, he slowed down and chose another path.
On the fourth day, the sounds disappeared.
First the birds, then the insects, then the small creatures among the bushes.
The forest was still full of trees, but there were no sounds of life anymore.
A silence that seemed to force all living creatures to leave this area.
"I don’t remember this part." Aren looked around for a long time and then said.
"Because the path changed?" Lian asked.
"No." His eyes fell on a tree whose trunk was completely gray on one side.
"Because it was still alive back then."
That sentence made Seris also look around more carefully for a moment.
Lian also looked more carefully, now he could understand better what death meant ... they were slowly reaching areas where the forest was practically dead.
It was as if even living creatures were afraid to live in these areas.
That afternoon, Emberroot opened for the first time.
One climbed up a high slope, at the top, a huge root continued for several kilometers like a natural Ridge.
Lian stood up from One and saw the city in the distance.
Rootcrown.
Even from several kilometers away, it was clear that this city was different from Vhalaris.
Vhalaris was a living and military city, its lines were organized, its towers were active and the lines in all its walls were glowing.
But Rootcrown looked more like a part of the forest itself that had been turned into a city over hundreds of years.
Buildings had been built inside giant roots.
Some towers came out from the trunks, as if they were artificial branches made of Heartwood and stone.
Very old bridges had been built between the high roots.
In the center of the city, there was a huge Heartroot whose very weak golden light could be seen even from a distance.
"Rootcrown." Aren said quietly, it had been a long time since he had last come here, but it was still amazing as always.
Lian moved his eyes across the city, but the eastern part of Rootcrown was different from the rest.
It was darker, several towers were turned off, some walls were cracked and entire districts had no light at all.
The old gates were closed or covered by dry roots, as if part of the city was slowly being swallowed by death.
"Are we passing through here?" Seris asked.