CHAPTER 1036: RED TREE

They began moving as a group. The morning mist shifted away from their steps as they closed in on the strange tree with crimson trunk.

Lyrel and Caelthar fanned out slightly, their sharp Elven eyes scanning the undergrowth. Their ears strained for even the faintest sound in the air.

A tree like this could not be natural. It stood like a monument, a marker of something bigger more than a tree. And markers in forests such as these were rarely unguarded.

Monsters, curses, or strange lingering Magic often clung to them.

Their caution was meticulous. They studied every root, weighed every rustle of leaves, and they even judged every gust of wind.

But in sharp contrast, Eccar and Krono walked straight forward without the faintest hesitation.

To the Elves before they knew their true strength, they would look at them like they were just being reckless and even foolish. They seemed to ignore every unspoken rule of survival in a hostile forest.

Yet the truth was far different.

Eccar’s eyes carried no fear because he had already swept his senses through the land around them. There was no threat within a wide radius. There was nothing hidden in the brush, no ripple of hostile presence in the air.

And Krono, with his unshaken calmness, moved as if the tree had been waiting for him all along. He knows the mystery of this tree.

They stopped directly before the trunk. The crimson bark seemed to pulse under the filtered light.

Eccar’s gaze lingered on it, confused. He had never seen such a thing.

He turned to Krono with a brow furrowed. "What now?"

Krono’s eyes did not leave the tree.

"We wait for a few minutes." His tone was quiet and certain.

Eccar frowned deeper. He didn’t understand. Neither did Lyrel or Caelthar, who remained standing in a half-guarded posture behind them. Their bows and blades at the ready.

Confusion flickered across their faces and unease made their hands twitch.

Before any of them could press further, Krono suddenly drew back his fist and struck the tree.

The impact wasn’t loud and his movement didn’t seem full of force. But the entire trunk shuddered violently, sending ripples through its crimson grooves.

Leaves shook loose in a sudden cascade and drifting down through the mist like falling embers.

In the next second it seems like the forest itself answered.

"GROAAAAHHH!!!"

A deep loud roar tore through the silence. The sound was so powerful that it reverberated through the ground and rattled their bones.

The soil trembled, the surrounding plants shook as though caught in a storm, and the mist itself seemed to quiver.

Lyrel instinctively pulled her bow free, her breath sharp.

"What was that?!"

Caelthar mirrored her. An arrow nocked quickly and his eyes narrowed toward the unseen direction of the sound.

"It’s the creature that will take us to the Ice Dragon’s lair." Krono said. His gaze stayed steady and his voice carried no worry, only fact.

Eccar gave a single silent nod, accepting the answer without question.

But behind them, Lyrel and Caelthar shared a glance filled with unease.

Their grips tightened on their weapons.

THUMP!

THUMP!

THUMP!

The sound of heavy thumps shook through the ground, each one louder and closer than the last showing that the creature coming closer to them fast.

The forest groaned under the weight of the thing approaching, the mist rippling like disturbed water.

Huge trees around them trembled as if under siege, branches snapping, roots quivering, the earth shuddering with every step.

Eccar glanced from where he stood, his hand resting on his hip, his eyes narrowing toward the shifting fog.

"Should we kill him when he arrives?" he asked.

Krono’s answer came calm and steady, without hesitation.

"No. We don’t need to kill. We only need to show him we are strong enough, stronger than him. That alone will make him listen. Then we ask where the Ice Dragon hides."

Eccar’s mouth tightened into a thin line. "I’m not sure we can just... ask a creature like that. He doesn’t sound eager to chat. He sounds angry."

Krono finally turned his head toward him, his expression was calm and even he showed him a little bit of a smile, but his words were certain. He said, "Don’t worry. He will want to talk."

Eccar let out a low sigh and shrugged, rolling his shoulders as sparks of faint Magic energy licked across his arm. "Alright then."

The thundering steps grew into a violent crash of movement and then the trees split apart.

Massive trunks that looked thicker than a dozen men together were shoved aside as if they were mere reeds.

Leaves exploded into the air, branches cracked, and through the breach a monstrous figure stepped forward.

He emerged from the vegetation and showed his towering colossal body that was covered in rough crimson hide that gleamed as if wet with blood.

One enormous eye located in the middle of his face, glowing with hostility, and a pair of thick twisted horns curved back from his skull.

His jaw was wide. His teeth sharp and uneven, his breath steaming in the cold morning air.

He was clearly not just a simple beast. His presence carried the aura of something ancient from the mountain itself.

Standing five to seven meters tall, he loomed above them.

His single eye swept across the group, lingering on Eccar, then Krono, then the two Elves before narrowing with a menacing glare.

The air turned heavy, pressing against their chests.

Lyrel and Caelthar tensed, their weapons raised at the giant but their breaths tight, caught between fear and disbelief.

The giant lowered his head slightly, his voice booming like rolling thunder.

"WHO DARES STRIKE THE BLOOD TREE?"

"It was me," Krono said while raising his hand. His voice was calm and he even smiled faintly.

The giant pointed at him with his clawed finger. "YOU!!!"

"Yes, me," replied Krono.

Without saying anything anymore the giant lunged at them and jumped into the air with the clear intention of stepping at them.

Lyrel and Caelthar were alarmed.

But then they saw the giant stopped mid air.

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