The sun was now nowhere to be found, the bright light of the moon had engulfed the surroundings.
Trees were now starting to look scarier than before, and the darkness inside the forest had deepened even more.
The carriage suddenly stopped, and the horses made a loud SCREECH sound. Leon peeked through the window as he looked at the coachmen.
The coachman's face was completely covered in sweat, the whites of his eyes had widened slightly, and his skin looked pale.
'What happened to that man?'
His voice came out loud, tone was firm. "Hey, are you fine?"
Coachmen didn't reply to him, he just kept staring at the front.
"Tch... what's wrong with this man?" He muttered under his breath.
"Are you in your senses? Do you want any kind of help, eh?" Leon shouted.
Leon's voice was so loud that it made both Maya and Synthia come back to their senses.
Synthia rubbed her eyes slightly, opening one of her eyes as she said. "What's going on, Newbie? Are we still inside that forest?"
He didn't say anything for a while, but then his voice came once again. "Let me go and check what happened to that man."
He slid his hand to the door handle and pulled it. The door opened as he got out and made his way to the coachman.
Eyes were scanning the surroundings thoroughly. Small strips of mana started to form around his palm and slowly covered it completely.
When he reached the coachmen, the thing which he saw made his blood become cold.
His eyes widened slightly, lips parted as he staggered backwards slightly. The sweat started to well up on his forehead.
'What the hell?'
The coachman was still sitting upright. A jagged branch had pierced him through his chest, and blood was spilling endlessly through his mouth as his dead eyes remained wide open.
Leon gulped, hand of his hand raised as he kept it on his mouth. "Draviel, we were correct about that."
"No time for chit-chat, look behind you." Draviel's voice rang loud inside his mind.
Leon didn't waste a second, his body moved instinctively after he heard the voice of Draviel.
His gaze shifted to his back, the trees no longer looked natural. It seemed as if their roots were plucking out through the ground, their bark splitting open as glowing eyes awakened beneath.
Twisted mouths appeared on their trunks, turning the forest into something straight out of a nightmare.
A system window suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and the rays were flashing on his face.
═══════════════════
◈ MONSTER STATUS ◈
═══════════════════
[Name] – Rootbound Treant
[Race] – Forest Entity
[Type] – Living Arboreal Colossus
[Level: 50]
[Health: 750]
───────────────────
[Description]
An ancient tree awakened by dense forest mana.
Its roots merge with the land itself, allowing it to control terrain, bind prey, and regenerate while standing on corrupted or mana-rich soil.
───────────────────
[Threat Classification]
└ Zone Guardian
└ Extreme Territorial Hostility
───────────────────
"Well, we're cooked." He muttered under his breath.
'A level 50 beast in here? No wonder this forest is known as 'Never Return Jungle.'
He didn't waste more time, sprinted straight towards the carriage.
One of the trees which was on his left didn't let him go through easily, the bark of its branches came shooting towards him.
But he ducked, and slid to his right and sprinted straight towards the carriage, using the muscles of his thigh to their complete capacity.
The moment he reached the carriage, his eyes fell onto Maya and Synthia, who were sitting inside as if nothing had happened.
Synthia and Maya were gossiping, but when Leon approached them in a hurry, Synthia's eyes fell onto him.
Leon's breaths were ragged, his body heating up to the point where sweat began to steam off his skin.
"Why are you breathing so heavily? And why is the carriage stuck here?" Synthia's voice came out low.
He looked her straight in her eyes, and his voice came out firm. "Well, the thing is..."
A small pause came between his words, but he continued. "The coachman is dead, a branch had pierced right through his chest."
Maya gasped, her eyes twitched slightly as she grabbed the arm of Synthia, and leaned in slightly towards her.
Synthia's attitude didn't waver even for a slight second, her voice came out low. "A branch? Ambush from the bandits or something?"
Leon shook his head lightly. "I think it's because of the Treants."
Synthia hummed slightly, hand raised as she put it under her chin. "Driads? In here? It can't be true because Treants can't be in this forest."
"I think that too, but here they come." He pointed his thumb to his left, and two of the treants came rushing towards them.
A/N
This is where our free chapter journey ends, my readers. It was a nice ride. The opinions, powerstones, and the help that you all showed me were nice.
Now, I will tell you why you should purchase the further chapters:
1] Epic arcs filled with horror, ups and downs, a rollercoaster of emotions.
2] Epic fight scenes, and a bunch of epic subordinates.
3] A bunch of summons, epic backstories, and the reveal of the true power of the necromancy.
4] The character development of the MC, and many more things.
I hope that you all keep supporting me like you did till now, and here... I'll pay my regards once more, and end this chapter. And please do drop your thoughts about the stories in this chapter, whether the story is good before, or needs any kind of improvements.
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