Crack!
Boom!
A massive tree crashed heavily to the ground, blocking the fleeing Camel Beast. Dead branches and broken leaves flew everywhere, and the impact echoed far through the woods, startling flocks of wild birds in the distance.
"Yoo, yoo!"
The Camel Beast cried out in alarm and fury. It braced the broad, four-toed feet of its forelegs against the fallen trunk with all its strength. At the same time, its long, snakelike tail whipped sideways and coiled around another Soul-Returning Poplar nearby.
Crack!
The beast's immense weight and forward momentum traveled through its thick tail into the Soul-Returning Poplar. The tree immediately groaned in pain, its entire trunk dragged askew by the tremendous force as leaves showered down.
With that push and that coil of its tail, the Camel Beast finally managed to halt its charge.
Yet there was not a trace of relief on its face. Instead, it grew even more frantic. The feelers around its mouth flailed helplessly, and the sharp golden horns atop its head blazed with dazzling light, instantly becoming the brightest thing in the woods.
The next moment.
A gale descended from the sky, carrying an aura that inspired sheer panic as it swept in every direction. The insects that had kept singing unperturbed through the wizards' advance and the Camel Beast's frantic flight now fell silent together, as though something had seized them by their vital points. For a moment, the crowded woodland held no sound but the beast's labored breathing and the branches and leaves battered by the wind.
"Merlin above!"
Nicholas stared at the enormous azure figure slowly descending on the gale and groaned under his breath, "...How can it be so big!"
The descending creature was a little over forty feet long—more than ten meters—with azure scales, a white belly,