810 Grendel Part 2 (1/2)

'Either their plan is so important that they can afford to sacrifice him or the undead know that such attacks can't kill the thrall.' Lith thought while taking his acorn out of the sealing box he had stored it into.

Undead couldn't use dimensional magic inside Laruel, but thralls could and he had no idea if there were others in the crowd if not even disguised among the angry mob. What happened next took him by surprise.

The thrall roared, emitting a pulse of darkness magic that combined with the raw strength of his shapeshifting body was enough to ward off his attackers. The leaves and bark had disappeared, replaced by a dirty brown thick fur that covered the entirety of what had been a Treantling just a second before.

The creature in front of them had a round head, with feral eyes as big as a saucer. It had bright red irises and vertical pupils that looked at the crowd with a mix of hate and spite.

Its maw was lipless and so big that it took all the lower half of his head. The mouth was filled with sharp, long fangs, each one about ten centimeters (4”) long. All the damages the thrall had sustained were gone and his arms were now even more muscular than before, ending with razor-sharp claws.

”By the Great Mother! The spawn of a Grendel is not something plant folks can take. If we get surrounded, prepare to run.” Kalla said while preparing for the fight. The thrall of a Grendel alone was already a tough opponent, but she was even more worried about what the other undead would do.

The plant folks did their worst, but air, water, and earth magic just bounced harmlessly on the creature's fur, nor any of their attacks left so much as a scratch on him.

The thrall laughed his heart out and then began to literally mow down his opponents, cutting through wood, vines, and flesh as if they were just paper mache.

”What's a Grendel?” Friya asked while unsheathing her weapon, quickly followed by Lith and Phloria.

”A very rare and dangerous undead. They are nigh-invulnerable due to their iron skin. Neither magic nor blades can usually harm them. Their only weaknesses are darkness magic and blunt weapons.”

”What's the catch?” Lith asked. Grendels were considered barely more than a myth and the information about them in the bestiaries stored inside Soluspedia was centuries old. He trusted Kalla more than a collection of hearsay.

Also, there had to be a reason he had never heard about them. If Grendels were that strong, they wouldn't have gone almost extinct.

”They can't stand sunlight, can't use any magic outside of the darkness element, and they can't heal. A Grendel can only replace their wounded parts with healthy ones taken from their victims….” Kalla's reply was cut short by the thrall appearing in front of Lith with lightning-fast movements.

Yet the thing in front of them was just a thrall, not a real Grendel. The powerful blood core the Treantling's sire had gifted him with allowed Illum to borrow the form of a Grendel and some of its abilities, but that was it.

Otherwise being out during the day would have been fatal for him, nor the Treantling would have healed so easily from Lith's previous attack. Lith sidestepped the lunge and struck at the extended arm after infusing Ruin with as much darkness magic as he could.

The thick fur covering the arm sizzled and burned as the chaotic energies turned it pitch-black, but neither the spell nor the blade nicked the underlying flesh. The impact sent waves through the blade and Lith's arms, making him feel as if he had struck a rock.