After Lian’s words echoed through the area, Caelus only stared at him, the strange confidence that had been on his face since he entered the Forgotten Tree had still not disappeared, but now something could be seen behind it.
Anger of course not explosive anger, not the kind of anger that made him lose control, but a cold kind of anger that came from being humiliated.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Human..."
But Lian did not even let him finish the sentence, and the ground under Caelus’s feet started to shake.
[First Root Dominion.]
The dead roots around the Dead Zone reacted at the same moment, first one of the gray roots beside his foot moved.
Then a second one, then dozens of roots came out from under the ground. Some were thicker than a human body, some were thin and sharp.
Some were white and some had strange black lines moving across their surface.
The Cindari leader raised his hand, the roots started wrapping around the battlefield, it was clear that he intended to do the same thing he had done to Seris again.
Taking full control of the Battlefield, limiting the escape routes and forcing the enemy to fight on the ground he had chosen.
But Lian had no intention of giving him such a chance.
[Thunder Step.]
Blue light exploded.
Caelus had not even finished First Root Dominion when Lian appeared directly in front of him.
The distance went from twenty meters to less than half a meter, his right fist pulled back.
[Thunder Calamity.]
Caelus immediately brought his hands in front of his body.
[Crown of Thorns.]
Black and white roots quickly wrapped around his chest and face, creating a thick Barrier.
Lian’s fist hit it.
BOOM!
The first layer of the Barrier cracked at that moment, the Cindari opened his eyes slightly wider.
The young Vorhelm pulled back his second fist, this time there was no pause between the two attacks and the second hit landed exactly on the same spot.
Lightning passed through the cracks.
The Barrier exploded and pieces of Root Armor scattered in every direction.
Caelus stepped backward.
But Lian was not finished yet.
[Iron Fortress Charge.]
His shoulder hit the Cindari leader directly in the chest and the heavy sound of something breaking came from under the man’s clothes.
Caelus left the ground, his body passed through one of the thick roots.
The root broke, taking a second one with it and finally he rolled several meters away across the dirt.
Lian stood there, his expression was cold.
A few minutes ago, Caelus had been a real Boss for Seris.
To defeat him, Seris had been forced to use almost all of her Skills one after another.
Even so, she had lost.
But to him, this man was still only a strong enemy, nothing more, not strong enough to become a threat to him, although he could still cause some trouble.
Caelus stood up from the ground, Father’s Blood immediately reacted.
The blood that had fallen from under his robe onto the dirt separated from the ground, like red threads returning to his body.
Two broken ribs in his chest returned to their places with an unpleasant sound. The damaged tissues started repairing themselves and before they were completely fixed, he suddenly disappeared.
[Rootless Step.]
His body sank into one of the roots under his feet.
Predator’s Instincts reacted at the same moment, a very clear warning of danger came from behind.
Lian did not even turn around completely and moved his right elbow backward, lightning gathered around his arm.
[Thunder Calamity.]
Caelus came out from the Root directly behind him, and at the same moment the young Vorhelm’s elbow hit his face directly.
The sound of the hit was dry and brutal and the Cindari’s head turned to the side and blood sprayed from his nose, his body passed beside the human and slid across the ground.
"Your attacks are too predictable, don’t tell me this is all you have." Lian calmly turned around and said with mockery.
"Shut up!" Caelus pressed his teeth together and opened his hands.
[Crown of Thorns.]
This time the Barrier was not for defense and the roots closed around Lian from four sides, one around his ankle, the second around his arm and three thicker roots rose around him like a cage.
In less than a second, his body was almost hidden inside a mass of Roots.
"Crush him!" Caelus closed his hand.
The roots contracted and seemed to want to crush the thing they had trapped! But before the pressure reached a dangerous level
[Cataclysm Pulse.]
A short wave was released from inside Lian’s body, compressed and controlled and all the energy went directly into the Roots holding his body.
For a fraction of a second, the roots remained still and then... they cracked from the inside.
Their pieces exploded in every direction and he came out through the dust, completely unharmed and only the armor he was wearing was damaged.
Caelus raised his other hand, six Root Spears formed behind him.
The tip of each one was covered with white and golden Mana and with a movement of his hand, they all shot forward.
Lian moved, all of his senses had now reached a level where he could easily see each of these spears.
The first passed beside his head, the second passed beside his side and he bent under the third, he jumped over the fourth but caught the fifth.
His fingers closed around the body of the Root Spear and the Momentum of the spear made his foot slide several centimeters across the dirt.
Then he stopped and gave it a short look before squeezing.
CRACK.
The Root Spear broke in half, he spun the broken piece in his hand like a real spear.
Then with one thousand Strength he threw it toward Caelus and the air split along the path of the Projectile, the second one moved his head to the side.
And the Root Spear passed only a few centimeters from his face and hit the ground with destructive power, creating a large crater... he slowly breathed, if it had been only a few centimeters closer, his head would have been crushed right now!
But at that exact moment—
[Thunder Step.]
Lian appeared on the same side Caelus had chosen to dodge toward.
It was as if even escaping only brought him directly to the next punch.
A punch to the stomach, a knee to the face and then a left punch to the side... three attacks in less than one second!
Caelus tried to activate Rootless Step again but unfortunately, he grabbed his wrist and did not let him do it.
[Glacial Reaper Claw.]
Ice spread from Lian’s fingers across the Cindari leader’s wrist, reaching his elbow and completely freezing that part.
Caelus exploded his Mana and freed his hand, but at the same moment the young Vorhelm placed his foot on his knee and threw him backward with force.
The Cindari was dragged several meters across the ground and pain spread through his body.
"Damn it! Where did this human come from...-"
Every Exchange... every time he used a Skill... every time he tried to create distance, Lian found a way to break his rhythm.
The problem was not only the difference in their stats, because in that aspect the advantage was almost his.
It was that the human he was fighting had Skills that created a direct answer to almost all of his strengths.
Rootless Step?
Predator’s Instincts sensed the danger before the movement was completed.
Crown of Thorns?
Cataclysm Pulse or raw power could break it.
First Root Dominion?
Thunder Step did not allow Lian to stay inside the controlled area.
Regeneration?
Glacial Reaper Claw slowed down the healing process.
Caelus stood several meters away, his breathing had become heavier, he realized that if the battle continued like this, he would definitely lose.
And on the other hand, this time Lian did not attack, not because of mercy but only because he wanted to see his reaction.
But at that moment, behind him, the sound of metal against the dirt was heard.
Lian understood who had moved without turning around.
Seris.
The Potions she had drunk a few minutes ago had finally started to work.
The wound on her thigh was still not completely closed, the left side of her face was still covered in blood and her left eye could no longer open, her remaining Mana was also nothing compared to what she had before the battle.
But her hand was once again wrapped around the handle of her sword.
"Stay there." The young Vorhelm said with a frown.
"No." But the young and stubborn Dragon simply stood up and walked toward him.
"You only have one eye and the condition of your body is not good, you should rest."
"But I still have one eye and it is enough." Seris answered with the same expression as always.
"Do whatever you want." Lian stayed silent for two seconds and then turned his head.
"That is exactly what I’m going to do."
Caelus looked at both of them, this time there was no sign of the confident smile from a few minutes ago and he put his hand on his chest.
Father’s Blood was still repairing his ribs.
But it was clear that the process was not as fast as before, every time Regeneration used a considerable amount of Mana and Mana was not unlimited.
Lian activated Thunder Step again.
The Cindari leader raised his hand and Lian’s fist hit his defense.
"Ughhhhhhh!" The second hit came from below and Caelus’s chest made another sound, this time one of his ribs completely broke and he had no choice but to move backward.
Blood ran from his mouth, Father’s Blood activated, but for the first time, he stopped it in the middle of the healing.
Something in his eyes had changed, it seemed that he had finally accepted the result he did not want to accept.
With his current power, he could not defeat this human and he placed his hand on the center of his chest and something under his clothes started to glow.
"Congratulations, Human, you deserve to face Father’s wrath!"