The deeper Liam and Triss ventured into the Frosted Highlands, the more the land seemed to reject them. Snow piled high on ancient, gnarled roots, making each step a careful tread. As they went deep into the place, through the ancient path that had almost gotten covered by the foliage, the trees grew taller, their branches intertwining. Even the air felt heavier, charged with something old—something watchful.
"This place feels… unnatural," Liam murmured.
"Not unnatural," Triss corrected. "Ancient. This is sacred ground for the druids. It belongs to something older than Kovir itself." Triss walked beside him, her own discomfort evident in the way she kept glancing at the shadows between the trees.
"Yeah, well, whoever it belongs to, they're not making visitors feel welcome."
Their horses had refused to go further an hour ago. Forced to continue on foot, they moved cautiously, with the eerie silence. The only sounds were their boots crunching against frozen leaves and the distant cawing of ravens.
Then, without warning, the ravens fell silent. Liam stopped.
"Triss," he said quietly.
"I feel it too." She turned, her breath forming mist in the cold air.
A guttural, inhuman growl resonated through the trees. The ground trembled slightly, as if something massive had stirred beneath the surface. Then, out of the shadows, a leshen emerged.
It stood at least twelve feet tall, a monstrous entity of bark and shadow. Its elongated skull bore twisted antlers, adorned with the remains of past victims—bones, bits of fur, remnants of armor rusted by time. Vines slithered across its wooden frame like living veins.
Its empty eye sockets locked onto them.
Then, it raised a clawed hand.
The forest erupted to life.
Roots burst from the snow-covered ground, lunging at them like serpents. Liam barely managed to jump back in time, unsheathing Vigilance in a fluid motion. The sword's runes flickered to life as it sliced through a writhing vine. Triss wasn't idle either. Flames erupted from her hands, searing the encroaching roots
"Liam! We need to move!"
Liam didn't need to be told twice. He twisted to avoid another strike and proceeded to summon the Interceptor. The Javelin armor surged forth from the separate dimension he had stored it in, assembling around him in seconds.
But then the leshen's clawed hand came crashing down at that exact moment.
Liam raised his armored gauntlet to intercept the attack, and the impact sent a shockwave outward. Snow and dirt exploded into the air as Liam stood his ground, his enhanced armor absorbing the force.
"Alright, you big bastard," Liam muttered. "Let's see how well you burn."
Liam darted forward, Dominion now in his left hand, and slashed at the leshen's leg. Sparks of lightning flew as the enchanted steel bit into the wooden flesh, leaving a deep, smoldering gash. The monster screeched a reverberating sound that sent shivers down he two's spine.
But it wasn't done.
The leshen thrust its clawed hand forward, and suddenly, blackened crows burst from its body, a swirling mass of wings and talons. They rushed toward Liam.
Liam activated his Javelin armor's shield, the energy air barrier flaring to life just in time to deflect the first wave of birds. Still, some managed to claw at him. He swung Vigilance to disperse the swarm. This sent fiery explosions and thus killing most of them.
"Triss!" he shouted.
"Already on it!"
A fiery explosion detonated mid-air, incinerating a portion of the monstrous flock. The leshen recoiled. Taking advantage of the moment, Liam activated his armor's ultra high speed movement, instantly behind the creature. He slashed at its spine with Dominion. This sent a huge surge of lightning attack on the body of leshen.
The leshen let out an enraged shriek.
In retaliation, the monster vanished into a cloud of black mist.
Liam barely had time to react before the leshen reappeared right in front of him, slamming its massive arm into his torso. The impact sent him flying into a tree, the force knocking the air from his lungs.
"Liam!" Triss called, but she had her own problems. The leshen's roots erupted beneath her feet, forcing her to leap back and hurl a blast of fire to keep them at bay.
Liam groaned, pushing himself up. His Javelin armor had absorbed most of the impact, but his ribs still ached.
"Fucking trial." In normal times Liam would have just given up and come the next day. But here he couldn't give up. "Alright, you ugly bastard. No more playing nice."
He activated Predator Mode, a combat enhancement in his armor that increased his reaction speed and attack precision. With a flick of his wrist, he sent his grappling line forward, wrapping it around the leshen's antlers and yanking himself forward at incredible speed.
Mid-air, he flipped over the leshen, twisting his body to land a powerful downward slash with Vigilance straight onto its skull. The blade cracked through the wood, sending fiery doom crackling through the air.
The leshen reeled, and at that moment, Triss unleashed her most powerful spell yet. A pillar of fire erupted from the ground, engulfing the leshen in blinding flames. The creature thrashed, its wooden body blackening almost instantly.
Liam didn't hesitate. He activated his thrusters both on the feet and his back, propelling himself forward one final time in extreme high speed, amost like teleportation. With both hands gripping Dominion, he drove the sword deep into the leshen's chest, piercing straight through its heartwood, sending another wave of lightning attack through the inside of the wood. One had to understand how potent Dominon was, since it was able to send lightning attack on a wooden man.
The monster let out a final, ear-splitting wail before its body shuddered and collapsed. The forest then fell into silence. Liam pulled Dominion free, breathing heavily. His armor was fine since it was made of silver and every attack of the leshen was an attack of Liam itself, but his body ached from the sheer effort of the battle.
Mind you, this was after his body was enhanced by the rings. No wonder leshen was such a high level contract in the game. This thing was terrifying.
----
Read 95 chapters ahead on my [email protected]/thelightedghost