The Labyrinthine Forest, Secret Valley

Azathes gazed at the filthy, foul-smelling savage before him, feeling nothing but disgust.

"Tell me, who gave you the gold?"

His voice was deep and guttural. Though he spoke the common tongue of the Golden Lands, his accent was strange, as if his tongue was frozen stiff.

Hom lay curled up on the ground like a newborn babe, trembling uncontrollably.

"I don't know! I really don't know!" he wailed. "All I did was lead them to the abandoned campsite in the woods, then they let me go!"

He was terrified, and understandably so. For looming over him was a massive brown-black bear, its head several times larger than a man's, its forelegs thicker than a man's thighs. One huge paw rested on Hom's head, a single claw covering half his face.

Before this giant bear, even the burly Hom seemed as helpless as a newborn babe.

Azathes did not believe anyone could lie under Eva's threat, but this greedy man's actions had landed him in peril.

In the Frostlands, he would have gladly fed this wretch to Eva for breakfast. But here in the Northlands, realm of the Golden Serpent God, he had to tread carefully.

"Now tell me, what did these lords look like? What powers did they have?"

Hom immediately sang like a bird, giving all the details he knew.

Hearing they had only brought one warrior, Azathes relaxed slightly.

He did not fear warriors. He and his Eva could easily best most in combat.

No sooner had he thought this when a shrill whizzing split the air. Before he could react, a distorted bear's roar sounded from above.

Looking up, he saw Eva clutching its face with its paws, thrashing and howling in agony.

Hom had no idea what had happened, but his survival instinct kicked in. He scrambled away as fast as he could from the maddened bear.

Azathes reacted faster. Diving forward, he barely dodged the bear's bulk and rolled towards the valley wall. His speed far exceeded any normal man's, the mud clinging to him protectively.

Two more iron balls shot down from above. Though they struck true, the thick mud cocoon shielded Azathes from harm.

"Eva! My eyes are your eyes! Kill the ambusher!" the savage shaman roared.

At his command, the mud rapidly covered the giant bear in flawless, thick armor, even shielding its eyes and nose expertly. In place of its real eyes shone two glowing red orbs, granting it virtual sight.

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The blinded Eva reared up with an earth-shaking roar, quickly locating the attacker atop the right valley wall. Charging forth, it leapt an astonishing thirty meters up the sheer cliff face. Its claws sank deep into the rock like a hot knife through butter. Like a gigantic, hyper-charged badger, it clawed its way up the vertical wall with terrifying speed, reaching the clifftop in seconds.

Meanwhile, Azathes conjured up a thick earthen shield before him, ensconcing himself securely.

Just then, a white-hot fireball shot down from above, smashing into the wall below the bear.

BOOM!

The explosive blast hurled the bear back several meters, causing it to lose its tenuous grip. At the same time, the searing flames engulfed its armored head, incinerating the conjured eyes instantly.

Blinded once again, the giant bear crashed heavily to the ground, but quickly righted itself with an angry roar and charged the cliff again. Stumbling over a wooden stake, it faceplanted hard.

Watching this, Azathes' heart pounded wildly. A human medium-tier mage was a dangerous foe in complex terrain when ambushed unawares.

Seeing Eva thrashing blindly below, Azathes knew he had to act fast or they would both die in this foreign land, failing his General's plans.

He roared, "Eva! Bring down the frost!"

Eva loosed another earth-shattering bellow. Rising up on its hind legs, forepaws lifted high, its huge body glowed deep ochre, brightest around the paws like blazing torches.

ROAR!

The ground shook violently as the paws smashed down, sending visible ripples through the earth emanating out with tremendous power from the point of impact.

Their passage shattered boulders, collapsed wooden sheds, and triggered widespread cliff collapses. Hom was lifted high into the air by the ripple's edge and twisted horribly before crashing down dead.

Watching this display of power from atop the cliff, Rosen's eyes narrowed sharply.

The giant bear clearly had high-tier strength, its body harder than iron. Direct confrontation would certainly lead to utter defeat.

The shockwaves reached the nearby cliff walls, triggering massive collapses and violent tremors as if they were water. Had Rosen been standing atop the cliff instead of flying, he would have shared Hom's fate.

But mages could fly, and flight spells were a staple skill.

With a quick Celero boost, Rosen shot up nearly eight meters to avoid the shockwave. Though it struck only air, the lingering vibrations still battered his hovering body violently, nearly knocking him from the sky.

Rosen was shocked. 'Such a powerful seismic spell!'

Another Celero boost propelled him back eight meters, finally escaping the spell's effects.

Azathes, tracking Rosen closely, bellowed "Eva! Bring down the frost..."

As he prepared to cast, Xapolerei's war blade pierced Azathes' thigh, stirring his flesh viciously before he could react.

Agonizing pain exploded in Azathes' mind, obliterating his focus. Mana raged unchecked through his body as all active spells collapsed instantly.

Vomiting blood violently, Azathes blacked out and collapsed. The severed Eva reverted to its bestial nature, pawing at its blinded eyes.

SWISH! A black orb shot down from above, drilling through the bear's throat and brainstem. The giant bear convulsed once before going limp, dead in an instant.

The battle was over.

Rosen gently floated down to Xapolerei's side with a Featherfall spell.

"Nice timing Uncle! That was clutch."

"Of course! I'm a high-tier warrior after all," Xapolerei laughed. But Rosen could see the lingering shock in his eyes.

"That bear was crazy strong though. I doubt I could've withstood its paw solo."

Wiping his blade clean, Xapolerei examined their captive closely as he removed his mask, revealing an alien, pallid face.

Seeing the ugly visage, Xapolerei laughed loudly. "Hah! Finally someone uglier than me!"

Rosen said nothing as he verified their target's identity. After considering the clues, he concluded:

"Uncle, this is an ice dwarf from the Frostlands. I believe he's a Beast King."

Xapolerei's laughter cut off abruptly, his face clouding over.

"An ice dwarf Beast King? Are you sure, Rosen?"

"The books don't lie, so neither do I."

Xapolerei's expression darkened. "Oh no, this is far more serious than I thought!"