He slammed his fist into his shield. The metallic sound echoed through the clearing like a war gong.
"DON'T RUN!! HOLD YOUR GROUND!" his roar cut through the panic. "IF WE WORK TOGETHER, WE HAVE A CHANCE!"
He drove the shield into the earth, creating a visual anchor amid the chaos.
"TRUST YOURSELVES! WE END THIS FLOOR TODAY!"
Darren advanced, taking a flank.
Ethan met Jay's eyes and nodded, fear giving way to focus.
"MAGES!" Ethan shouted, turning to the remaining casters, hands already glowing. "THOSE WITH FIRE AFFINITY! YOU'RE OUR TRUMP CARD!"
Around one hundred and ten mages stayed.
Not out of courage.
But because they looked at that golden wall…
…and chose to fight.
The Warden turned its head toward Jay.
Not with anger.
With interest.
As if that loud human was the only one worth analyzing.
The core in its chest pulsed once.
At the same instant, its body branches rearranged violently, snapping like bones being reset.
"GO!" Darren shouted. "FORMATION! NOW!"
Chaos tried to obey.
Tanks rushed forward, forming an uneven line beside Jay, shields of bronze, iron, and reinforced wood raised. Some trembled so hard their edges clashed together.
Healers grouped behind them, trying to anticipate the inevitable.
Mages spread into a half-moon, seeking angles, space, time. One mistake now would be fatal.
Archers climbed elevated positions—rocks, thick roots, fallen trunks—and quickly realized the cruel truth: normal arrows were nearly useless.
Elenya was among them.
And for the first time, she felt it.
This wasn't a "map."
It was an abyss.
Too many people.
Too many screams.
And the monster… was far too large.
She drew an arrow, tried to measure the core. But the shifting branches in the Warden's chest changed position with every pulse.
How do I hit that in the middle of all this…?
She swallowed hard.
For the first time, she didn't know what to do.
Sienna reacted. She summoned spirit wolves—one, two, three.
Before they could reach, the Warden's branches extended and shredded them midair, dispersing the summons like smoke.
She tried again.
Failed again.
In that moment, arrogance gave way to something she hated to acknowledge.
Desperation.
Jay noticed and stepped forward.
"WITH ME!" he roared.
The Warden answered.
It joined both hands above its head.
The wood fused, densified, grew.
The arms became a colossal hammer, massive and heavy, the size of a car.
Then it fell.
BOOOOOOM!
The earth exploded.
A crater opened. Dust and root fragments flew like hail. Players were thrown backward. For a second, sound vanished, as if the clearing had been submerged underwater.
Ethan raised his arm, heart frozen.
For an instant, he thought Jay had been erased.
But at the center of the cloud…
A golden dome of light pulsed.
Jay was on his knees, buried up to his thighs in the ground.
Both hands held the shield overhead.
His arms trembled as if about to snap. Veins bulged in his neck. His teeth clenched so hard they looked ready to shatter.
The shield… was still intact.
But the human body behind it was being crushed by tons of force.
A low sound escaped Jay's chest.
Not a scream.
Pain leaking out.
"DON'T FALL BACK!" he roared, blood spraying from his mouth.
Marcus didn't hesitate and charged.
Darren pointed with his sword.
"HEALERS! FOCUS JAY! DON'T LET HIM FALL!"
Twelve green beams struck the tank's back simultaneously.
The healing glow wasn't beautiful. It wasn't holy.
It was desperate.
Regeneration mana stitching micro-fractures in real time, holding tendons on the verge of tearing, preventing his body from collapsing from within as the Warden tried to crush him.
Marcus surged forward.
"DON'T LET IT PIN JAY!"
He cut a spear-root from the side. The blade bit in… and the wood closed around the metal, trying to trap it like a living snare.
Marcus yanked hard and tore free.
"AGAIN! HELP ME!"
He used a tank's shield as a step and brought his sword down with everything he had.
The cut was deep. Nearly severed the hammer-arm.
Five remaining swordsmen jumped in, striking what remained.
Repeated blows.
The wood cracked. Darkened.
Boiling resin flowed like blood.
The Warden recoiled, slowly regenerating the damage.
That's when it changed.
Branches tore loose… twisted… and fell.
Then they rose.
Smaller creatures—deformed, made of living wood with glowing blue eyes.
Mini-arborets.
They leapt onto players, grabbing arms, backs, necks, biting like plagues.
"IT'S SPAWNING MINIONS!" Marcus shouted. "HOLD THE BACKLINE!"
The screams multiplied.
"CAN'T HOLD!"
"I'M DONE!"
"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"