Chapter 685 - 684 - The Siege pt 30 (1/2)

Grove Keepers were unreasonably strong. How exactly they were born, the Legion wasn't sure. They weren't monsters, as such, none of the bruan'chii were. They were not sp.a.w.ned of the Dungeon and unlike the ants, they weren't created by a 'parent' monster through the traditional means. This was why the Legion didn't really have a problem with the wood people per se, but rather their murderous, meddling parent. Naturally the bruan'chii were unwilling to sit by and allow the Legion to destroy the source of their entire race, and so conflict had ensued. Throughout the decades of battle, the Legion had learned many lessons, one of the most important being: Grove Keepers were unreasonably strong.

The gigantic tree creature brought one ponderous wooden fist down in an overhead smash that would collapse a house but t.i.tus was undaunted. Timing his footwork perfectly, he Dashed to one side before pivoting and Das.h.i.+ng once more, forward this time, his axe raised to strike. The Keeper moved with deceptive speed and grace, pulling his left leg back and rotating his body to sweep his left arm in a wide arc to catch the commander before he could unleash his blow.

Without pause, t.i.tus brought the axe down, using the enormous power of his wrists to divert the blade to the side where it collided with the offending arm, releasing a shockwave that rumbled the stones around him.

”Haaaa,” the tree rumbled with its impossibly deep voice. ”You are a strong one.”

t.i.tus reset himself, his eyes absorbing everything in an instant. The blow had been shallow, without the full weight of his Skills or Might behind it. Even so, he had carved a deep wound through the bark of his opponent from which leaked a thick, golden sap. The commander breathed deep, soaking the mana surrounding him into his body and sending it circulating through his mana channels at a furious pace. As if awakening to a craving he had long put behind him, no matter how much energy he poured into his body, it still wanted more. The amount wasn't the problem, but the purity. Once he had become acclimated to the mana in the deeper strata, the thin stuff this high up would never be enough to truly top him off. Nevertheless, he would make do with what he had.

He approached the tree with caution, unwilling to be caught off guard. With a flick of his wrist, his axe ignited with red light, a powerful aura rising from the blade. In an instant, the vines and growth around his feet lashed out from the wall, a thousand barbs reached for his flesh and sought to twist within his armour.

”HAH!”

With a mighty roar, energy exploded from t.i.tus' body and the vines were incinerated to ash before they could reach him. Seeing the green growth burn sparked anger within the eyes of the Grove Keeper for the first time and he stepped forward, his body suddenly illuminated with thousands of runes and shone with green energy.

”This place has been claimed by the mother-tree!” the giant roared, pus.h.i.+ng forward with both hands.

A wave of energy erupted from the keeper and the growth around them went mad as it drank in the power he emitted and exploded with growth. Twisted shapes of flowers filled with fanged jaws and vines as thick as a man with barbs that dripped with virulent, orange poisons erupted all around t.i.tus within seconds, yet he did not retreat. He took a deep breath and poured his energy into the axe in his grip before he swung it in a wide arc around him.

A wave of force erupted from the edge of the blade that annihilated the growth in a ten metre radius centred on the heavy armoured Legionary. The Keeper hummed out a low growl and stepped forward again, drawing his hand back for a mighty blow. t.i.tus' face bore no expression, still carved in lines of iron as it always was and he watched the strike come before he s.h.i.+fted his feet again and prepared to intercept it. The demon sealed within his weapon howled with glee as he slashed out once more, putting the weight of his armour behind the blow and grunted with satisfaction as he felt the weapon bite deep.

Still, Grove Keepers were known for their potent regeneration and t.i.tus knew it would take too long for him to bring down the bruan'chii to stop his Legionaries from falling at the hands of the others. Instead, he delayed and hoped that the battle within the nest went well for his people. Determined, he raised his axe again and waited for the other to make the next move.

Within the egg-laying chamber, the Queen was stuck in a battle for her life. The enraged bear, though smaller than the Queen in her war form was still significantly stronger, the power of her rage driving her might to incredible heights. Whilst the giant ant was permanently on the defence, unwilling to unleash any bite that would deal significant damage to her opponent, Sarah did not hold back, attacking in an endless, mindless rush that never ceased. The Queen knew that this couldn't go on forever, there was only so much ground she could give, only so long she could drag out the fight, before her larger form expired and she would be reduced to her normal size. Without the bonus stats she gained from drawing on the strength of her children, she would fall quickly to the bear.

”Whatever it is you want to do, you need to do it fast, my Queen,” Brendant warned her from nearby. ”We will not sit by and watch her destroy you, friend of the Colony or not.”

”There must be something we can do to reach her,” the Queen argued, ”haven't you done so many times before?”