"Hey, Compley, could he have detected us?" the harsh - toned female voice probed tentatively.

"Most likely not. He's merely suspicious at present, and suspicion doesn't equate to discovery," the shrill voice responded.

"What shall we do now? Not launch an immediate attack?" the deep - toned voice inquired.

"Let's not be hasty. Observe what he intends to do," the shrill voice advised with composure.

Unfettered by the fear of their voices carrying, they conversed freely.

Glen circumnavigated the towering tree before him, scrutinizing it from top to bottom. Eventually, his gaze alighted upon the tree's base.

The roots of this tree appeared to have freshly been inserted into the earth, and the upturned soil was conspicuously fresh.

There's undoubtedly something amiss. Could this be a mobile tree?… A smile played upon Glen's lips as a sudden inspiration struck him.

Under the inquisitive gazes of the three individuals concealed within the tree, Glen encircled the trunk with his hands in a posture reminiscent of one attempting to uproot it.

"He wouldn't be planning to..."

The shrill voice had scarcely begun when an overwhelming pressure assailed the tree's midsection, inducing a sensation of asphyxiation in all three.

Glen's arm muscles rippled, veins stood out in relief, and his feet gradually sank into the soil.

Despite the tree's roots striving valiantly to burrow deeper into the ground, Glen managed to wrench it out of the earth with brute force!

The roots, upon emerging from the ground, thrashed about like the tentacles of an octopus.

"As I suspected, it's animate. I've got you now," Glen declared triumphantly, hoisting the tree above his head.

"Attack!"

The tree, no longer feigning normalcy, emitted the shrill voice from within. In an instant, the entire tree transformed from its erstwhile rigid state into a pliant, fleshlike form.

The branches on the crown curled towards Glen like the gargantuan fingers of a colossus.

Moreover, the surrounding trees seemed to be affected as well. Their trunks bent, and their branches intertwined and converged.

With Glen at the epicenter, everything in the vicinity coalesced into a cage, contracting rapidly in an attempt to entrap him.

After a cacophony of creaking sounds, the forest lapsed into silence, and a structure resembling a bird's nest materialized.

Subsequently, three individuals attired in black robes oozed out from the gaps between the densely packed branches and took their positions upon the "nest."

A diminutive, slender man, a woman with a visage marred by pustules, and a tall, slightly corpulent man.

"The strength of an apprentice is astonishing. I was nearly strangled to death by him just now," the diminutive man remarked, rubbing his waist with a shrill intonation.

"We must subject him to severe torment upon our return and then document his pitiable state to present to Daof. He'll surely be in for a 'pleasant surprise,' hehehe..."

The woman's voice was so repugnant that it could have induced tears in a child.

"And ultimately, transform him into a culinary delight. I'd relish that," the corpulent man opened his mouth, revealing his uneven, dark - yellow teeth, with vermin faintly visible within his gums.

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"So, you're adversaries of Teacher Daof," a faint, muffled voice emanated from beneath the trio.

"He can still speak? Evidently, we haven't compressed him tightly enough!" The diminutive man extended his right hand, palm upward, and clenched it with force.

The nest - like structure below contracted abruptly!

Upon perceiving the cessation of sound, the diminutive man chortled with satisfaction. "Hehe... Don't expire so readily. Otherwise, I'll be quite vexed, for we shan't be able to savor the pleasure of torturing you, hahahaha..."

The three erupted into simultaneous laughter.

However, at that moment, the diminutive man felt a tap on his back.

He halted his laughter and turned around, his expression quizzical.

He beheld Glen exhale upon his fist and then launch it forcefully towards his visage!

The diminutive man, upon being struck, exploded into a pool of inky liquid on the spot.

His two companions were splattered with the substance.

This was the diminutive man's unique life - saving stratagem, rendering him nearly impervious to all physical assaults.

The woman and the corpulent man, sensing the impending danger, instantaneously transformed into a miasma of black mist and vanished, only to reappear at a short distance away.

The diminutive man, who had been reduced to a puddle of black liquid, also coalesced into a mass of black mist and re - formed in the distance.

"You! How dare you assail me?!" The diminutive man seethed with rage, his finger trembling uncontrollably as he pointed at Glen.

But in the next instant, Glen closed the distance between them with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

The startled diminutive man split in two on the spot to evade Glen's second blow.

This is truly exasperating... Glen abruptly halted, on the verge of resuming his attack, when the magic of the other two assailed him!

A colossal maw seemingly emerging from the air yawned open, its maw filled with menacing fangs, descending upon Glen.

Simultaneously, a magical array materialized beneath his feet.

He had no choice but to abandon his pursuit and evade this coordinated assault.

"Hehehe... You're doomed! There's no escape!" The woman cackled malevolently, heedless of the saliva dribbling onto her robe.

Glen noted that the magical array under his feet doggedly trailed his every movement. Before he could formulate a response, three yellow - green spines spiraled forth. Glen immediately leaped upward to avoid them.

However, a trap had been laid in the air.

Countless thorny vines, adorned with barbed spikes, instantaneously enwrapped Glen, forming a sphere.

Six skulls of unknown creatures materialized around him, their jaws gaping wide as they spewed forth searing flames, engulfing the thorny sphere that encased Glen in a conflagration!

Just as the three dark mages believed they had grievously wounded Glen, a beast's claw, bearing a metallic - sheened wrist guard and the remainder covered in jet - black fur, rent asunder the inferno.

Subsequently, a ferocious werewolf burst forth from the conflagration.

"This lad's a werewolf!" the woman exclaimed in astonishment.

Yet, the diminutive man betrayed no signs of alarm. "Merely a werewolf. My laboratory is replete with materials fashioned from their appendages."

However, the disdain on his visage dissipated swiftly as he was jolted into consternation by the werewolf's onslaught.

He witnessed the werewolf lash out at them with a claw, and in an instant, five devastatingly powerful flame blades hurtled towards them at an unevadable velocity!

In a desperate bid, they could only evoke their most potent defensive magic to repel the attack, but to no avail.

The so - called defensive magic crumpled like a flimsy sheet of paper in the face of the five flame blades, tearing at the slightest contact.

The three dark mages were subjected to the excruciating agony of their flesh being consumed by the inferno, yet the searing of their souls was a hundred - fold more excruciating.

Three ear - splitting shrieks rent the air, and the three dark mages were sent hurtling backward.

However, they were not yet deceased. The potency of the Blazing Fang appeared to be contingent upon Glen's form.

At this juncture, he was employing this technique in his third - level werewolf form, and its power was manifestly far weaker than when he had utilized it in his seventh - level form previously.

The three dark mages were consumed by an illusory conflagration, writhing in agony upon the ground. Nevertheless, regardless of the plants they encountered in their vicinity, none would ignite.

This inferno was solely designed to incinerate its intended target.

Glen approached the diminutive man, crouched beside him, and stated, "Reveal to me the location of your lair and the whereabouts of all your wealth, and I shall grant you a swift demise, sparing you further torment."

Ordinarily, he would have intended to hand them over to Daof for disposition, but upon reflection, he deemed it unnecessary. He could simply apprise Daof upon his return.

Mages of level four such as these were certain to have amassed a substantial fortune. He intended to seize the opportunity to confiscate it, ensuring that it didn't fall into the hands of others.

The diminutive man continued to shriek, as if oblivious to Glen's words.

"Sigh," Glen sighed. "You leave me with no choice but to resort to inhumane methods..."

As he spoke, wolf claws sprouted from the tips of his fingers, and he gently pressed one against the diminutive man's forehead.