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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 13 (Book 1)
🕑 Added 2024-02-13 13:58:06 +0000 UTCThe deeper Zayn traveled into the Arylin Forest the denser the population of monsters and plants grew. He found a few interesting herbs that could be of use for later, so he harvested them. But other than pursuing his part-time occupation as a passionate Herbalist, Zayn focused on avoiding the monsters around him.
He spent traveling almost two hours until he reached an area overflowing with large dark-green oaks. Their trunks were thicker than Zayn’s waist and their bark was rough and highly durable. That was something one could easily see by watching a small horde of BlackBelly Boars trying to destroy one of the dark green oaks.
Why would a boar do something like that? It was not trying to use the bark to scratch its back, but charging head-front at the nearest dark-green oak to destroy it.
The answer was unveiled to Zayn as he saw a dark green, almost black, root coiled around a little boar. It was still a piglet and struggled helplessly against the tightening grip of the roots.
Three boars charged at the culprit, the nearest dark-green oak, whereas the rest trampled on the root, trying to rescue their little one in a desperate attempt. But despite possessing enough intelligence to pinpoint the culprit and come up with a strategy to rescue their piglet, the boars ended up forgetting something even more important.
There was not only one dark green oak near them. The BlackBelly Boars were in the range of five dark-green oaks, also known as Demura Rootaer. Zayn got to know these trees as Lesser Demonic Treants, a special kind of oak that developed sentience after demonic energies had been infused into their essence.
The Lesser Demonic Treants were semi-sentient and had only one goal in mind; drain their enemies lifeforce and grow sturdier and stronger. At some point the Lesser Demonic Treants would evolve into proper Demonic Treants, granting them the ability to retract their roots and escape the restriction of their location. They would be able to move through the Arylin Forest.
Fortunately, that was not something Zayn had to worry about right now. The outskirts of the Demura Rootaer’s territory had only young trees. They may look imposing given their height and sturdy bark, and their Foundation was not low, but all they could do was control their main roots – only one or two, at that – to slow down their targets and drain them slowly. It would require weeks, if not months before a young Lesser Demonic Treant could control multiple roots.
One or two main roots may not seem like a lot, yet it was just enough to tie the Blackbelly Boars’ legs together and start draining their energy.
The scenery in front of Zayn was quite interesting. Seven roots slithered above the ground like snakes. They surrounded the Blackbelly Boars and coiled around them, forcing the monsters to the ground. Some roots were crushed underneath the tremendous weight of the oldest boars, but most of them failed to counter the incoming attacks.
Only two Blackbelly Boars were left unrestrained. They charged at the Inferior Demonic Treant and smashed into them with tremendous force. Unfortunately, their attacks failed to harm the target. The Inferior Demonic Treant’s bark was as durable as iron. There was a small dent in the bark, but that was all the boars achieved. The two remaining boars charged twice at the Inferior Demonic Treant before they were finally restrained.
By the time all boars had been restrained the Inferior Demonic Treants began to drain their lifeforce. Simultaneously, some Inferior Demonic Treants used their roots as a whip, smashing the heavy roots down on the poor monsters’ heads. The roots coiled around the boars’ legs tightened and they began to pull in different directions, slowly tearing the monsters apart.
The Blackbelly Boars began to squeak in unbearable pain, and it was at this point that Zayn decided to join the chaos in front of him. The Shanyt Axe grasped tightly, Zayn crossed the remaining distance to the open-view slaughterhouse within seconds.
He considered attacking the boars for a second, but he didn’t want to waste this perfect opportunity. The Blackbelly Boars were not his targets, after all! The main roots of the Inferior Demonic Treants were already fully occupied with taking care of the boar threat. Therefore, Zayn had an easy time lifting the Shanyt Axe high above his head before cleaving downward, cutting through the first root with a single strike.
The roots were quite tenacious since they were harder to cut through than the Players’ bodies, but their tenacity was not high enough to resist the Shanyt Axe’s horrifyingly high sharpness. The blade cut through the first root, however, that was not enough. It was just the beginning.
He cut through two more roots in the following seconds before he was forced to use Blink. The fabric of space around him twisted, teleporting him to the other side of a tied-up Blackbelly Boar right before a thick root could smack his head.
Zayn moved rapidly, cutting through a few more roots in the next few seconds, freeing a few Blackbelly Boars. He thought about killing them, hoping to procure some Soul Essences that he could invest in his Strength and Agility Foundation, but Zayn chose against it. Inferior Demonic Treants could sense them through the energy and heat their bodies emanate naturally. Making use of his knowledge, Zayn freed the Blackbelly Boars to use them as decoys as he continued to cut through the roots.
The only uncertain variable in this tactic was the next course of action from the Blackbelly Boars. Would they be stupid enough to attack their savior? Would they run away now that their little piglet had been saved, or would they join their savior to kill the Inferior Demonic Treants?
Zayn left two Blackbelly Boars tied up by their hooves because they were not only a little bit too far for him to reach, but also because he wanted to force the other boars of their horde to make a decision. Abandon their brethren to run for safety, or attack the Treants?
The choice was made quickly. The Blackbelly Boars were loyal to their horde. They charged toward their tied-up brethren and worked together to free them. Because of their movements and the crowd that formed around them the surrounding Inferior Demonic Treants focused their attacks on the Blackbelly Boars rather than paying attention to the real threat.
Zayn cut through enough roots to render the closest Inferior Demonic Treant defenseless. Its main roots had been severed and the surrounding Inferior Demonic Treants were busy paying attention to the horde of Boars. Therefore, all Zayn had to do was to turn into a professional logger…and fell the Demura Rootaer. The first of many.
The Inferior Demonic Treant in front of him was one of the weakest, but that didn’t mean it would go down easily.
Zayn raised the Shanyt Axe and went into position. He changed the angle and slashed down diagonally. The tremendous power of his Strength Foundation came finally to use. Combining his Strength and the momentum the Shanyt Axe accumulated, it was no wonder that the razor-sharp blade cut through the iron-like bark. The first burst of bark chipped away and a deep diagonal gnash formed in the tree trunk. Zayn used his high strength to pull the axe head out of the wood and raise the weapon once again.
This time, Zayn channeled bits of energy into the Sharpness Enchantment, temporarily increasing the blade’s sharpness by a large margin. His veins popped up and the muscles all over his weapon arm contradicted as the axe cleaved down onto the defenseless Treant.
The tree trunk tremored wildly as the blade cut deep into it. Zayn expected that channeling some energy into the Sharpness enchantment would increase its sharpness by a fair amount, but he didn’t anticipate dealing so much more damage to the Inferior Demonic Treant.
His Strength Foundation was a little bit lower than he wanted it to be for his first encounter with the Treants, but the change of his plans allowed him to save several hours of Soul Essence grinding. And it was all because of the Shanyt Axe. It was naturally sharp and durable already, but the Sharpness rune was the dealbreaker.
Zayn pulled the blade smoothly out of the Treant’s trunk and readied the Shanyt Axe once again. His eyes gleamed brightly and he felt a rush of energy passing through him as he executed the third attack.
‘This felt good!’
As the Shanyt Axe pierced into the wood, Zayn could instinctively tell that the attack was a great success. He felt some resistance near the end of the attack, but the sound of something cracking ringing through his ears erased all doubts. It was the Inferior Demonic Treant’s Core!
Zayn’s muscles bulged as he put more strength into the attack. The crackling grew louder and it didn’t take long before the Tree Core shattered into smithereens.
Inferior Demonic Treant has been slain. +1 Soul Essence
The Inferior Demonic Treant’s life and sentience were attached to the Tree Core. Destroying the Core was equivalent to killing the Treant.
“Yes!” Zayn exclaimed, not hesitating at all as he integrated the Soul Essence into the Star of Strength.
[Star of Strength– Inferior 9/10]
‘One more. Just one more, and I’ll get y’all!’ Zayn shouted in his mind, a burst of exhilaration passing through him as he sensed the Soul Essence integrating into the Star of Strength. The muscles underneath his skin squirmed and moved around, altering Zayn’s body structure. The flaws within his body were removed slowly but steadily, and his physical strength increased once again.
Zayn had to retreat after he’d killed the Inferior Demonic Treant. The tree lost the majority of the power that had coursed through it and crashed into the Inferior Demonic Treants behind it. Sensing the energy the dead Inferior Demonic Treant released into the world the other Inferior Demonic Treants began to work.
Their roots shot outward and coiled around their brethren’s trunk, slowly sapping on the last remnants of energy within the tree trunk.
Zayn considered this a little bit barbaric, but it played in his favor, just like expected. The Blackbelly Boars were still busy rescuing their brethren. That was good since Zayn had now two types of decoys – the boars and the dead Treant. He charged at the next closest Inferior Demonic Treant and repeated the same tactic from before.
However, this time, Zayn’s physical strength was higher than before, and bits of mystical energy had already been channeled into the Sharpness Enhancement.
“Will I crush your core first, or will I cut you down in the old-fashioned way before?” Zayn asked quietly, readying the Shanyt Axe.
The Inferior Demonic Treant tried to attack Zayn but it was also one of the five Treants, whose main roots had been severed earlier. It was defenseless.
All the Inferior Demonic Treant could hope for was their brethren’s help. But their help wouldn’t come. They were busy draining the energy of their dead brethren, after all.
