Based on the distances on the signs, they’d made it about halfway to Sylethanas before trouble finally struck. The first sign of trouble was a crashing sound somewhere to the left of the trail. Another one echoed through the forest just a moment later, this sound louder than the first. Before long, there was another loud crash as what looked like a log appeared in the midst of some saplings. Another thud. Another log appeared just to the right of the first. Another thud. Saul’s bow appeared in hand and he drew an arrow, quickly willing his power into it. He placed it against his bowstring and continued pushing his will into the arrow.

At that moment, what appeared to be a living tree burst through the trees, its yellow eyes tinged red. There was a gap roughly a meter below its eyes, with a few vaguely teeth shaped pieces carved. A strange roar emerged from that maw as the beast began to charge them. ‘You will pierce the enemy.’ He told the arrow. As more of his energy entered the arrow, it seemed to resonate with his intent.

‘I hope this works…’ He thought, considering trying to use his spear against the massive beast. If the wood was as hard as it seemed, he couldn’t imagine something other than an axe hurting it. Ishan’s magic seemed like it would work well, but the wizard wouldn’t have time to cast any spells if Saul couldn’t distract it.

He drew in a breath and let fly, his arrow soaring to thud against the beast’s eye. A health bar appeared overhead, reading:

‘Ent. Level 9’

Its health bar showed that the arrow had some effect, reducing the Ent’s health by a sixth. It didn’t do anywhere near the amount of damage Saul expected. He dismissed his bow and summoned his spear. ‘I’ll just have to stay out of range and hit it until it’s dead… No big deal…’ The Ent seemed to focus on him after he shot it, so he jumped backwards and tried to draw it away from Ishan. ‘Basi, stay out of this one, I don’t think you’re suited for this.’ He felt dissatisfaction through their bond, but the lizard seemed to agree.

Saul stayed close enough to the Ent to jab at it with his spear here and there, his Qi infused strikes needling a small amount of health with each attack. He tried to focus on the same spot, hoping that he might be able to break through its trunk. The strikes didn’t seem very effective, with the Ent’s overall health reduced by just over 22% after several strikes.

Finally a red light shone around the Ent’s form, this attack obviously that same devastating technique Ishan had used previously. Saul danced out of the way, moving towards the wizard in case the Ent wasn’t defeated by the blow. The Ent had just enough time to turn around before the light seemed to solidify and the air itself seemed to warp, a devastating wave of energy eating away at its bark. Its health bar reflected the damage, a huge chunk fading away. It seemed to have about a third left. Unfortunately, when he looked back at Ishan he saw what he expected - The wizard was huffing and puffing in an attempt to catch his breath. “Get behind something sturdy!” Saul called back to him.

He’d handle it from here. The Ent’s bark seemed to be degraded in some way. He stepped forward, just close enough to stab forward with his spear, and found it sank deep into the wood that time as if he were stabbing a decaying log. The damage was more what he expected this time, the Ent’s health bar showing about a fifth remaining. Saul delivered one more powerful strike and the light seemed to fade from the tree’s eyes, the massive creature slumping forward. Saul dismissed his spear to ensure it wasn’t snapped by the falling tree. The resulting thud was so loud it seemed to echo for miles and miles, the sound deafening to his ears.

Exp Gained: 900! Your share: 450 Exp!

Saul didn’t see any signs of drops. He turned to face Ishan, huffing and puffing from his own exertion, and moved to take a seat against the tree trunk the man had ducked behind. “Let’s take a few minutes here… I’m not ready for anything else like that, yet.” When the wizard agreed, they both settled down, breath coming in short supply following that fierce battle.

They weren’t aware that the trials that awaited them would be significantly more challenging than this battle.