Kale stood on the battlefield, experiencing a battle of this scale for the first time. He was deeply shaken.
He had studied nature magic under his teacher, Matt Hardwood, for decades. He'd been out on a few missions, but those had only involved fighting a handful of beasts. He'd never witnessed anything like this.
He thought about how fierce the battle against the furbolg was, and wondered what it would be like to face brutal Orcs, vast numbers of Undead, and endless demons in the future. It was almost impossible to imagine.
He wanted to raise his staff and join the battle at once, but he held back.
He knew he wasn't fighting alone. He was part of a team, and he had to follow the team leader's orders.
Like him, two novice Druids and Jinli Darkriver had yet to join the fight.
Kale had never met Jinli Darkriver, but he knew she was powerful even without checking her status panel—more powerful than Arenia.
"Little one, it's not polite to sneak a look at a lady."
Damn, this woman's senses were sharp. Kale had only glanced at her, but she'd noticed him.
His face reddened. He quickly turned away and stopped looking.
"Hehe, little one, this is a battlefield. Don't let your mind wander. Pay attention to what's ahead. It'll soon be your turn to fight."
At Jinli's reminder, Kale snapped back to attention and looked ahead. The battlefield had changed again.
A low, distant howl rose from behind the furbolg.
The furbolg, who had been charging desperately, heard the sound and immediately retreated, heedless of their own safety.
Seeing this, Kale felt a stir of understanding. He'd suspected from the start that the furbolg's attack on the Night Elves wasn't just due to the influence of dark powers. They were likely acting of their own volition. Now it seemed he'd been right.
But why were they attacking the Night Elves? Did they already hate the Elves? Had they willingly given themselves over to darkness in exchange for a chance at revenge?
It wasn't impossible. After all, many years ago, the furbolg had lived in this warm, comfortable valley.
The Night Elves had driven them out for the sake of security, but the furbolg might not have understood. Perhaps they'd harbored resentment, and someone had taken advantage of it to lure them in.
As Kale pondered, the furbolg attacked again.
This time, they changed their strategy, sending two powerful furbolg ahead to lead the charge.
The two furbolg stood three meters tall, their bodies covered in tough, thick hides. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they ran like rhinos.
The Night Elves knew these massive furbolg well. They were berserkers from the furbolg tribe, descended from the Wild Demigod Ursoc.
Ursoc had been a natural ally of the Night Elves. It was hard to believe that after his death, most of his descendants had become their enemies.
Kale quickly checked the two furbolg berserkers' strength. One was level 48 and the other level 51, nearly matching Arenia in level alone. With their racial traits and the shadow energy inside them, the group was in serious trouble.
As the two berserkers led the other furbolg toward them, everyone felt immense pressure.
Arenia remained remarkably calm. She glanced at Kale and the two other Druids. "I don't care what method you use. Slow those two berserkers down. Can you do it?"
The two novice Druids exchanged glances, then shook their heads. One of them said, "No. We could use Entangling Roots to slow them down, but we don't have enough mana, and our casting speed is too slow. We can only cast ordinary Entangling Roots. It won't stop them."
By then, the two berserkers had built up a full head of steam. They were fast on their own, and they used their Mass Enrage skill to speed up the other furbolg as well.
As the furbolg drew closer, the pounding of their feet began to echo across the battlefield.
Everyone understood that if they couldn't stop the berserkers' charge, the defensive line would be shattered. They'd have to fight the furbolg at close quarters, and casualties would climb sharply.
Arenia sighed and turned to Kale. "Kale, do you have a way?"
Watching the furbolg approach, Kale wanted to curse. He'd only just made a huge leap in level and hadn't had time to learn or train his skills before this happened. Wasn't this asking too much of him?
The furbolg hadn't trained in any profession, but their racial traits gave them strength to rival professionals.
The two furbolg berserkers were especially dangerous. They wielded Ursoc's power and had been strengthened by shadow energy. Even an ordinary high-level professional couldn't handle them, let alone Kale, a newly promoted mid-level Druid.
But he'd already boasted to Arenia. Now all he could do was steel himself and nod. "I'll try."
Arenia looked surprised, but still praised him. "Good. Hold them back."
Kale took a deep breath, raised his staff, pointed it toward the battlefield, and began gathering nature energy.
At first, everything went smoothly. He quickly formed the spell model for Entangling Roots. But at the moment he was about to cast it, he hesitated.
He knew the spell would definitely snare one of the furbolg berserkers. But what about the other one? Would he have time to cast a second spell?
Thoughts spun through his mind faster than ever as he calculated the furbolg's distance and speed, along with the time it would take to cast. He realized he wouldn't make it.
The furbolg were charging closer and closer to the front-line Warriors. Anxiety gripped him, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
What should he do?
What could he do?
Just as he was about to give up thinking, a flash of inspiration struck. If he didn't have time for a single-target spell, why not turn it into an area spell?
He was startled by the idea. When teaching him the ways of the Druid, his teacher had warned him several times never to alter a completed spell model while casting, lest it lead to unpredictable consequences.
But Kale couldn't worry about that now. He focused his mind and, as if by sheer force of will, split the Entangling Roots model he'd already constructed into dozens of identical models.
By the time he finished splitting them, his mind was nearly spent. He had no choice but to release the spell at once.
"You have learned the intermediate skill Mass Entanglement. This skill can ensnare enemies within a certain area."
"Your current skill: Mass Entanglement (8/100)."
As Kale released the spell, dozens of furbolg, led by the two berserkers, charged up to the Night Elves' defensive line.
The front ranks were about to be overwhelmed when dozens of green lights suddenly flew through the sky, passed over the shield wall, and landed on the furbolg.
Beneath them, the flowers and grass trampled into the ground suddenly grew into enormous vines. The vines seemed alive as they wrapped tightly around the furbolg one by one.
The ordinary furbolg couldn't break free from the vines and were left helpless. The two berserkers managed to tear loose, but their speed was greatly reduced, and they were no longer nearly as dangerous.
Seeing this miraculous scene, the Night Elves knew a powerful Druid was holding the rear. Their confidence soared, and they cheered in unison, calling on Elune's name as they pursued the furbolg.
The furbolg's second charge was stopped just like that.
Arenia hadn't expected much from Kale and had already prepared her next move. She hadn't imagined he would surprise her.
In high spirits, she praised him loudly. "Well done, Kale. You've completed your task. Rest in the rear. We'll take it from here."
She said to Jinli, "Sister, it's our turn."
Kale had transformed Entangling Roots into Mass Entanglement on a sudden impulse. The effort had nearly drained his mana and left him mentally exhausted.
He only had time to glance at the information about Mass Entanglement on his status panel before lying down to rest on Big Black's back. Arenia's praise barely registered; he only nodded mechanically.
At Arenia's summons, Jinli Darkriver rode her silver-white Saber forward. As she passed Kale, she smiled and said, "Not bad. You actually managed to turn Entangling Roots into Mass Entanglement by force. Very impressive, though you were a little reckless."
Kale glanced at Arenia and, seeing that she wasn't paying attention, sat up and whispered, "I had no choice. She backed me into it."
Jinli was startled, then smiled in understanding. Indeed, anyone would feel pressured under a leader as stern as Arenia, let alone a child who had only just come of age.
Jinli laughed twice and said nothing more, riding her mount over to Arenia.
The two women warriors exchanged a glance without a word. They raised their longbows, each nocking an Explosive Arrow, and drew their bowstrings.
By then, the rear archers had shot all the ordinary furbolg at the valley entrance dead, thanks to Kale's spell. Only the two furbolg berserkers were still going strong.
They had broken free of Kale's spell and were charging over in fury.
Whoosh, whoosh. Jinli and Arenia released their arrows almost simultaneously.
The arrows flew left and right, one white and one green, blazing toward the two berserkers.
The arrows pierced the furbolg berserkers' tough bodies without resistance. The force of the impact drove them back two steps.
The two berserkers were enraged. Flames of fury blazed in their eyes, but they endured the pain and kept charging.
Then the two arrows embedded in them exploded at almost the same time.
Arrow fragments and great chunks of flesh flew everywhere, blasting the two three-meter-tall berserkers to the ground.
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