Amidst the rumbling earth-shaking, the matured Mist Tree Spirit completed its growth and pulled its leg roots coiled like roots from the ground, while its tree crown bumped against the top cover of the castle's guardian barrier. An invisible halo squeezed and deformed its tree crown, making this siege-class giant beast emit a struggling roar.
Another bump, and the castle's guardian barrier directly displayed unstable violent fluctuations, while the core gemstone in the basement showed a hint of a crack.
"What?!" Tiran, without hesitation, fully unleashing his Frost Chi, stood on Aya's back. As he hovered past the tree spirit's trunk on the side of the pale dragon, a forty-meter-long sword light shot up.
The Holy Rank Chi, when facing the Mist Tree Spirit, was truly able to destroy rotting wood, as the frosty sword energy shredded the bark and wooden structure, effortlessly severing nearly one-third of the tree spirit's thickest part at its waist.
"Tsk, a bit shallow, didn't judge the distance right."
It had been a while since he had taken down such a huge enemy, so his touch felt a bit rusty.
However, following closely behind, Little Angel raised the Angelic Sword imbued with the flames of the sun and launched another strike. The high-temperature holy fire, stronger against the tree spirit than Frost Chi, directly scorched the tree spirit's core, engulfing almost half of its massive body in raging flames.
But it had to be said, despite not being the top in terms of killing power among creatures of the same level, the Mist Tree Spirit's vitality was definitely among the top. Withstood by two Holy Rank slashes, it remained standing, becoming even more ferocious.
Ding—
The distorted face at the center of the tree spirit's body, composed of tree cavities and skin patterns, suddenly shimmered, immediately catching Tiran's attention with its high-energy wave.
The emerald light condensed, leaving the princess slightly dumbfounded.
A beam cannon? Hey hey, are you the Mist Tree Spirit? Last time we met, you didn't have this skill!
Pure life force converted into magic power for a pure energy blast, somewhat similar to Arcane Magic. Though not attribute-specific, the immense energy conversion released heat enough to produce formidable lethal force.
Most importantly, this fellow's target was the main tower of the castle?
"Aya!"
"I'm ready!"
Their mental connection showing full effect, Tiran, riding the dragon, swiftly transformed back into human form, appearing multiple times in a flash to defend between the tree spirit's beam cannon and the castle.
The Golden Dragon's full elemental affinity abilities were vividly displayed here. The magic elements in the air converged towards Aya, forming a shield with various elemental properties under Aya's mental manipulation.
Storm ramparts, rock barriers, and cross-shaped shields, three large Magic-grade defensive spells, directly resisted the beam cannon's bombardment. While the light energy eroded and dissipated rapidly under the onslaught, it did manage to deflect the beam just like sturdy rocks.
Following the quality-over-quantity principle, Aya unreservedly drew on the surrounding elements to strengthen and reinforce the crumbling parts, determined not to let the attack breach her defenses.
"Well done, Aya! I'll reward you later!"
Tiran praised Aya and then unfolded his ice crystal wings, dashing straight towards the Mist Tree Spirit.
At this moment, the castle's guardian barrier could no longer withstand the high-intensity impacts from three Holy Rank attacks plus the siege-class creature, dissipating as the energy depleted gradually.
With its massive form no longer constrained, the Mist Tree Spirit's movements quickened. Though Tiran, who had been descending towards it, was pushed back by the vines, the main body seized the opportunity to move outside the castle, seemingly with escape in mind.
Unexpectedly, this actually put Tiran at ease, as due to the fact they were in their own territory, he dared not go all out in combat — otherwise, with Holy Rank abilities, he could have easily cut this beast in half like the mountain giant before.
"You've chosen the wrong path this time."
As the Mist Tree Spirit dashed out of the castle towards the distance, transforming back into a dragon form, Aya chased after it with Tiran.
The area near Gilliast Castle was mostly farmlands and vast plains with sporadic settlements, providing a wide-open stage for Aya to unleash her powers freely. Their concern now shifted from the giant creature to the fellow fleeing with Vivian.
"The direction indicated by the crystal ball is the same as the tree spirit's fleeing direction, both seem to lead to Beacon City."
"Huh?"
Despite Beacon City being Tiran's stronghold, where organizing a search party under his command was easy, it was also the only large port nearby. Given Vera's unreliability in providing help, bypassing a search in the shortest time by sailing would be Johannes' most straightforward choice.
Thus, Johannes, with the still-ensorcelled Vivian, was furiously riding away from the castle.
"Although it's not the time to think about these messy things..."
Johannes glanced back at the queen behind him, still under the spell.
Moving after being ensorcelled was similar to being in a sleep-like state. Vivian's eyes were half-closed, breathing steady, as if dreaming. Her soft body pressed tightly against Johannes' back as they galloped, and every curve of her body was clearly felt through the jolting of the horse's movements.
"What am I even thinking!"
He shook his head vigorously to clear his mind of these strange thoughts and refocused on the road ahead.
Sullivan had delayed him for a long time, but now, the outlines of Beacon City were dimly visible on the horizon across the vast plains.
This news relieved Johannes, yet before he could relax, a sense of danger crept up from behind.
Not equipped with the sharp senses of seasoned fighters to discern one's presence through the air, Johannes was alarmed by the ground vibrations becoming too obvious.
"What the heck is this!"
Johannes couldn't believe his eyes.
Hey, this isn't within the kingdom's borders, is it the territory of the Second Princess? Moreover, it's near the core area of Beacon City. Why would a creature of that level appear here?
With a towering height of a hundred meters, even from several kilometers away, its massive stature appeared immensely robust. Despite the common perception of gigantic creatures being cumbersome, each of its steps covered tens of meters, and with its not slow pace, its running speed was much faster than it seemed.
Equally astonished by the Mist Tree Spirit's speed were Tiran and Aya in the sky closely pursuing. To prevent possible mischief from Vera inside the castle, Little Angel was temporarily left behind, ready to use Holy Rank rules directly to thwart the creature's plans once they were far enough from the castle. However, the unexpected speed and incredible regeneration of the tree spirit kept delaying this plan.
During their pursuit, Aya and Tiran attempted with various skills to kill or restrain the tree spirit's movements, but all of their attempts proved ineffective.
"At this rate, we'll reach Beacon City. That place doesn't have the castle's guardian barrier; it'll be problematic."
"I know. It's my city after all; there's no way I'll let it get there."
Tiran clicked his tongue, raising the long sword in his hands. "Let's do it!"
