Crack... rumble!
A majestic ancient tree, hundreds of years old, tore itself from the rich forest soil and charged at the Aberrants pouring out from the passage. Amid a series of grinding wooden creaks, its heavy branches crashed down from above, smashing those twisted monstrosities into pulp. Behind the ancient tree, elite rangers had already drawn their bows. Runes gleamed across the surfaces of their specially made enchanted longbows, while three flickering cyan vortices rippled around the tips of their precision-crafted arrows. A humming resonance filled the air.
"All units, charge—aim, fire!"
The commander's voice rang out from the high ground. More than a dozen arrows brimming with Arcane Energy swept over the scorched canopy of the guardian ancient tree, borne along by cyan wind blades. They descended in arcs upon the far end of the passage. A group of monsters that had narrowly escaped the tree's crushing blow had only just staggered back to their feet when the arrows pierced through them one after another. The energy within the arrows then triggered a succession of explosions inside their bodies. Amid rising smoke and raging flames, this wave of monsters that had burst from the dense forest was finally wiped out completely.
"First squad, rest in place! Second squad, retrieve the arrows! Medics, tend to the wounded!" A human commander came down from a nearby rise, issuing orders among the soldiers. His head was wrapped in bandages, the once-white cloth now stained blackish red by blood and smoke. His Enchanted Longsword was covered in gore, and its formerly brilliant magical glow had dimmed to almost nothing. He was exhausted, his eyes bloodshot, but his voice remained loud and clear—at this moment, that voice alone was what kept the soldiers fighting on.
Not far away, the towering guardian ancient tree let