"Boom!"
A heavy wooden club slammed into the soft snow, gouging out a huge crater and sending snowflakes flying in every direction. Though called a club, it looked more like a wooden hammer, with a massive burl swelling from its tip like a hammerhead.
The shaft of the club was not held in any wizard's hand. Instead, it grew from a large tree.
Yes, this wooden club was a treant's weapon.
When the red-eyed Bull-headed Man began uprooting trees in a frenzy, the young wizards did not stop him. Instead, they cautiously constructed defensive magic arrays and watched his movements warily. To them, his behavior seemed more like some aftereffect of losing control.
Besides, come on, he was just a fellow with a bull's head. Could anyone really expect some deeper meaning behind his every move?
Soon enough, they paid the price for their prejudice and carelessness.
The Bull-headed Man uprooted the trees, the turtle-backed figure inscribed runes on their trunks, the Beautiful Snake Woman sprinkled potions over them, and finally, the glittering golden figure bestowed souls upon them.
It was not traditional druidic magic, but its scope was broader—another reason the teaching assistants had failed to react immediately. Even saplings less than fifty years old were successfully awakened.
"Watch out!"
"Boom!"
An arm reached out from behind and yanked hard, nearly pulling the young scholarship student to the ground. At the same moment, the enormous burl whistled past, grazing his scalp, and smashed squarely into a shield raised by the nearby teaching assistants. The shield flickered wildly under the blow and nearly shattered.
"These mutant treants aren't just tough. They're surprisingly agile, too... you'd better not stand still preparing spells the way your textbooks taught you." Teaching Assistant Hilda cast a Binding Spell at the treant while turning back