Steel Wolves of Craedia (Realm of Arkon, Book 3) (3 page)

"I got the same," Luffy echoed. "A pity none of us have picked up tailoring."

"No big loss. We'll sell it all once we get to a city," Masyanya sniffed. "Coin is always useful."

Letting the others take care of the looting, Max proceeded to round the shrine carefully, halting near the remains of a small enclosure. The trees behind it were totally scorched, their shapes resembling twisted human figures roughly ten feet tall.

"Lycarnae..." a voice at his back startled him.

"Keep sneaking up on me like that, and I'll be stuttering soon," he snapped at the assassin.

"Just keeping you on your toes, boss," the rogue grinned, slipping through a gap in the fence and into the improvised garden. "Whoa! One of them is still alive."

"Come again?"

"These are elven war trees. I've heard about them, but have never actually seen them until now," the assassin muttered in awe, rounding one of the trunks jutting out of the ground. "They grow like regular trees at first, but at some point they acquire the ability to move, just like guardian trees. If these had been fully mature, I doubt the attackers would have been able to take them down with magic from behind the fence."

By then Max had also noticed the yellow-colored health bar above the surviving tree—lost in thought, it had escaped his attention initially. The tree was level 57, and had less than two percent life left.

"Why didn't it heal over time? Shouldn't it have passive regeneration?"

"Don't you see the debuff?" the assassin pointed at a dark dot over the health bar. "It's probably using all its energy just to stay live."

"You mean it's been suffering here for centuries?" Max mumbled in shock. "We wouldn't be able to heal it either with this debuff... Maybe watering it would help? Or digging around it?"

"Naw," Donut shook his head. "It won't help. I've read up on this stuff. But there is one thing we can try. Stand here, I'll be right back."

"What do we do with the defenders' bodies?" Rexar asked in the raid channel. "There are eight of them."

"Bury the defenders," said Max. "We've come here to restore their goddess' shrine, after all. Giving them a proper burial seems like the right thing to do. As for the disavowed, burn their remains."

"But we can loot the defenders first, right?" Ellanca asked.

"If their weapons or armor can be of use to us, I don't think the goddess will mind."

"We won't be burning anyone," Donut emerged from behind the shrine, dragging one of the skeletons in rusted iron chainmail behind him.

"What are you up to?" Max gave him a quizzical look.

"You'll see." Donut released his grip on the skeleton as they neared the lycarn, letting the bones fall with a rattle at the base of the trunk.

For a while, nothing happened. Then the tree shuddered, twisting, and covered the disavowed's corpse with its naked branches the way a mother hen might shield its chicks from danger. Barely a minute went by before nothing at all remained of what had just been an armored skeleton. The lycarn snapped straight, its HP bar several percent higher than before.

"It devours metal too..." the assassin exhaled in awe, then looked at Max, who was just as stunned. "I heard that lycarnae deal physical and Nature damage, and can feed on their enemies' corpses to regenerate their own strength, but I didn't expect this... Praise Hart this thing is neutral to us."

"The other advantage being less hassle for us with the bodies," Max noted philosophically. "We'll need to cleanse the territory anyway—I suspect it'll take us more than a day to restore the shrine."

"Max, we've got one and a half gold and two uncommon pieces to grow into," Masyanya reported, walking up to them. She had assumed the role of quartermaster and treasurer some time ago. "Anything of interest here?"

For the next hour the entire raid would drag dead skeletons scattered in the area over to the lycarn, then watch as the tree devoured them, gradually restoring its health bar and forming a thick coat of dark-green needles.

"Ay!" Masyanya recoiled from the tree when the trunk's upper section suddenly assumed the shape of a human face. Its two large round eyes blinked open. "I had a hard enough time sleeping in Talyan with these things," she muttered. "And here we are growing our own."

In the meantime, the lower section of the lycarn's trunk split, and the fully healed tree now resembled a ten-foot-tall spiked orangutan rearing on hind legs. With a great crashing sound, the tree broke free of the ground. The dark icon of the debuff disappeared, and the HP bar turned from neutral yellow to friendly green. The tree looked around the astounded elves with unblinking eyes; then, with a heavy step, it moved toward its closest fallen comrade.

"Well, Dr. Frankenstein," Helliona gave Max a sly wink. "We've got reinforcements. Tank material, you think?"

"Somehow I doubt it will tank for us," said Max, watching the tree as it went. "I do wonder what it's programmed to do, however..."

The tree, in the meantime, had made it to one of its brothers that had perished in the flames. Reaching out with its boughs, operating them like massive paws, it drew and pressed the deceased to its trunk. With a crash, the dead tree burst and crumbled in a cloud of dust, while the lycarn's level jumped from fifty seven to fifty eight.

"No fair! Why can't I do that?" Luffy exclaimed in indignation.

"You want to do
that
with those trees?" Ellanca drew away from him, wide-eyed, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You're just full of surprises!"

"Oh, come on!" the mage turned sharply toward her. "That's not what I meant and you know it..." But his words were drowned out by roaring laughter.

"Are we going inside the shrine or what?" Alyona asked Max. "It's midday already, and we're nowhere near done!"

"Let's wait and see what it'll do next," the warrior gestured at the tree that was gradually growing in levels. "You don't often get to see stuff like this. And oh," he turned to the rest, "let's gather all the dead skeletons here for the tree feast on."

The lycarn, in the meantime, had finished making the rounds of its fallen brothers, and was now a healthy level eighty four. Casting another glance at the elves with its unblinking lime-green eyes, it turned and started toward the entrance to the ruined shine, limbs screeching as it went.

"Hey, where are you going?" Luffy yelled, then turned to his companions.

"Prayer time, maybe?" Bonbon guessed. "Let's go and see?"

Before anybody could answer him, there came a bone-chilling roar. At that very moment, a gray beast the size of a bull emerged from the darkness of the shrine's entrance. Without missing a beat, the monster charged the lycarn, knocking it to the ground, sunk its fangs into the tree and started dragging it on the ground. The treant's HP bar dropped by a quarter.

"Bonehound!" Donut screamed, the first to recover. "Heals on the lycarn! Everybody else, focus fire on the boss! Try to break its joints or we're all finished!"

The sight of the level 190 monster and its near 120,000 hit points had plunged Max into a stunned stupor, which, thankfully, did not last long. The next moment, the warrior Charged the beast's side and drove his two-hander into one of the joints on its right hind leg. The blade smashed into the gray bone, knocking two hundred health off the hound. Luffy's fireball crashed into the boss, leaving a dark stain on the bones and dissipating helplessly into the dark-green moss.

Having gotten back on its feet, the warrior tree managed to clench the beast's throat with one paw, leaving the other to deal heavy blows upon the massive triangular skull, its eye-sockets oozing a sorcerous glow. It was hardly making a difference, however, as the boss kept eviscerating the lycarn's trunk with its giant fangs, sending chippings and slivers flying every which way.

"We can't heal him fast enough!" Alyona's panicked scream sounded in the raid channel. "And besides, our mana isn't infinite!"

"Maybe we should bolt? I'm barely making a dent with my nukes!" Luffy yelled, loosing another fireball at the monster.

"It won't work!" the assassin hissed between heavy breaths. Radiating a greenish smoke, his daggers moved like lightning, slicing and dicing at the same exact spot Bonbon and Max were focusing on. "This is a hound!"

Suddenly the ground around the boss began to darken, as a black blob covered the moss and proceeded to gradually spread.

"Bitch! Aura of Death! All melee, get away from the boss!" Donut bellowed with despair, leaping away from the monster, its health bar still nearly full. "I don't think we're going to make it!"

The lycarn, in the meantime, had been brought down to less than fifteen percent life. Its movements had slowed, and it was no longer attacking. Crossing its paws in front of itself and sprouting a coat of six-inch thorns, the treant had shifted to blind defense.

Mad felt a wave of apathy wash over him...
What the hell?!
The thought flashed through his mind.
I've led these people to certain death—we never stood a chance against this bastard!
Two emotions began to crystallize inside him: trepidation for the people who had entrusted their lives to him, and hatred for this monstrosity that was so easily dispatching with their unexpected ally. What happened next, Max himself couldn't entirely comprehend. Before the incredulous eyes of his companions, the warrior tossed aside his two-handed sword, whipped out the fragment of the Inexorable, radiating an emerald glow, and brought it down mightily on the monster's hind leg with a bestial roar. There was a sickening crunch as the bonehound's paw was severed from its leg, and the boss at once lost roughly ten percent of its HP. With a ferocious growl the monster tried to turn toward its offender, but then the lycarn threw itself forward and snatched the boss' neck in a death grip, giving the warrior the precious moments he needed.

"Heals on Max!" Donut bellowed, panting. "Bonbon, be ready to intercept the bastard!"

Max wasn't hearing any of that, however. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his legs, he was raining down blow after frenzied blow upon the boss, fearing one thing and one thing only—that he would pass out before the nasty beast drew its last breath. With the last of his strength rapidly waning, he glimpsed through the bloody haze a pair of massive fangs set in a gruesome jaw alight with an eerie bluish glow. With one final unimaginable effort he brought the fragment of the great sword down onto the bonehound's skull.

Your Toughness skill has increased to 12%.

You have gained a level! Current level: 35.

You have 1 talent point to allocate.

Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to earth magic.

Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

You have 3 stat points to allocate.

…………………………………………………………………

You have gained a level!

You have gained a level!

…………………………………………………………………………

You have gained a level! Current level: 39.

You have 5 talent points to allocate.

Racial bonus: +1% to resistance to earth magic.

Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

You have 15 stat points to allocate.

You have earned a new title,
Protector of the Great Forest.

The party under your command has defeated a boss whose level was greater than three times the level of your highest party member. You and the warriors under your command receive:

3% increase to physical and magic damage,

3% to the effectiveness of healing spells,

3% to armor class and all resistances,

1% to hit critically with a physical or magic attack, or healing spell,

5% to critical hit damage with a physical or magic attack,

5% to effectiveness of critical healing.

You've earned a unique achievement,
Gaerryon's Slayer
. Gaerryon is a unique boss that can only be killed once. You and your allies have been granted a permanent 2% increase to your physical and magic damage.

The message was the last thing the warrior's mind registered before succumbing to darkness...

"Wake up, Max! Wake up!"

Consciousness rushed him back into reality. Feeling the cool waves of healing spells wash over his body, the warrior smiled at the friendly and concerned faces standing over him, and staggered up to his feet.

"Damn, bro! That was pretty epic," Donut smacked him on the shoulder. "I didn't think anyone could keep standing—much less fighting—at thirty percent HP with only eleven Toughness. We all rose five levels with a single kill!"

"Probably because it was a unique boss. I heard those grant double the XP," Rexar added.

"You really scared me, Max," Alyona looked at him, barely holding back tears, then turned away.

He fought back the mad urge to hug this girl, press her to his chest for all eternity, caressing her silky hair and feeling her soft breath on his neck. Barely managing to keep control of himself, he gave Alyona a reassuring smile, then lumbered over to the perished lycarn.