The trolls noticed him within moments.

  And the swamp colossus’ attention soon followed.

  Even as Miguel charged, Trevor’s hooves kicking up black dirt along the way, the colossus let out a gurgling roar that very nearly burst Miguel’s eardrums. He leaned forward, urging Trevor to speed as he drew his sword. They covered the ground in seconds, lancing into the enemy with ruthless precision.

  A troll’s arm went flying, accompanied by a spray of blood and a cry of pain. The colossus swiped, but Trevor nimbly leaped over the thing’s twisted arm, narrowly avoiding the intended blow. So close to the creature, Miguel could feel the dense humidity surrounding it in a haze of moisture and swamp rot. He aimed his next attack at the ethereal chain binding the colossus to the trolls, but his sword passed through without consequence.

  And the trolls had not remained idle. Even the one with the suddenly missing arm sprang into action, though they leveled no physical attacks in his direction. Instead, they gathered ethera, which coalesced into a series of red balls of roiling liquid, and hurled them at him.

  He dodged three and blocked another with his sword, but he couldn’t avoid the fifth. It hit him in the leg, burning through his armor and his flesh, cutting down to the bone. He grunted in pain, though he didn’t let the agony affect him. He’d long since learned that his body wasn’t necessarily powered by muscle alone, so while his leg was damaged, it would remain functional – at least for a while.

  If he didn’t get healing soon, that would change.

  But Miguel couldn’t concern himself with that, because the swamp colossus was still very much a threat. It let out another wet roar, then threw its hands in Miguel’s direction. At the apex of the motion, a series of moist vines leaped from the extended appendages, rocketing toward Miguel.

  Trevor dove.

  Right into another trio of roiling red balls of blood. Miguel leaped free, hitting the ground in a roll. Meanwhile, Trevor dashed in the other direction, avoiding the attack. He followed it up with a beam of moonlight that hit the already injured troll blood priest in the chest. It seared through flesh and bone, filling the air with the smokey odor of burning flesh.

  Miguel barely noticed it.

  Instead, he flitted forward, summoning Bulwark to block a fourth ball of caustic blood. Then, he embraced Quiescence, which would provide a little healing. Next, he used Protection of the Forest, and a hand of mud erupted from the ground, wrapping its fingers around one of the trolls.

  Trevor lanced in, his antlers blazing with Spirit of Wildfire. He impaled the injured troll, which immediately burst into flame. By that point, Miguel was among the trolls, his sword glistening green with Bite of the Viper, which was an upgrade to Bite of the Cobra. A barrage of attacks fell upon the wounded troll, one after another. Miguel moved with alacrity and precision, and in only a couple of seconds, he managed to cut the creature to pieces.

  Bite of the Viper enhanced each attack, adding damage and tacking on an affliction that slowed regeneration. Without it, the troll would have recovered very quickly. However, with that, combined with the volume of attacks and Trevor’s fire, it soon succumbed to its wounds.

  Which left only four.

  Plus the swamp colossus.

  He dove to the side, barely managing to dodge another volley of boiling blood. When he rolled to his feet, it was in the shadow of a massive, descending foot. Miguel raced to the side, but even as he did, he knew it wouldn’t be fast enough.

  Fortunately, he was not alone.

  Trevor rammed the swamp colossus’ foot, knocking it just off track, allowing Miguel to avoid being splattered.

  It was expected, largely because he could feel the stag’s intentions through their bond, but appreciated nonetheless. Miguel turned his dodge into a Knight’s Charge. It affected both him and Trevor, increasing their speed by more than five times. So, he hit the next troll like a runaway train.

  The creature’s bones broke under the weight of his charge, but Miguel knew they would soon heal. However, it was briefly stunned, which allowed him to embrace Companion Spirit.

  Like most of his abilities, the description was extremely vague, though the actual effect was simple enough. His sword burst into flames in mimicry of Spirit of Wildfire, so when he rammed the blade into the troll’s chest, the creature caught fire.

  At the same time, he thrust his palm against the creature’s forehead and let loose with a moonbeam of his own. The front quarter of the blood priest’s skull disappeared under the focused attack.

  But even then, it wasn’t dead.

  Not until Miguel repeated the combination a half-dozen times in the space of a few seconds. Multiple stab wounds spread the fire across his foe’s entire body, while each successive moonbeam destroyed another piece of its skull.

  By the time Companion Spirit faded, the thing was little more than a headless and charred corpse.

  Miguel didn’t have time to admire his work, though. The swamp colossus had recovered from its near tumble, and judging by its gurgling roar, it was far from happy with its lack of success in its quest to turn him into paste. It bore down on him with all the fury a thirty-foot-tall monster could muster.

  Meanwhile, the remaining trolls surrounded him. Each one had conjured a blade of red energy, though they moved extremely cautiously. Miguel didn’t blame them. He’d already proven himself capable of killing them, so they weren’t going to take any chances.

  The colossus showed no such caution.

  With another roar, it lumbered toward him. Thankful that the creature seemed low on the dexterity scale, Miguel deftly darted to the side, targeting another one of the trolls. He used another instance of Protection of the Forest, conjuring a hand of mud and roots to wrap around one of the trolls. It tried to fight free, just like the last one, but doing so would take precious time.

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  Miguel used the distraction to his advantage. He charged close to another one of the blood priests, though when he swung his sword, it barely managed to parry with its own energy blade. That opened Miguel up for reprisal as the last troll lanced in, ramming its blade into his torso.

  He gritted his teeth as the red energy seared through his flesh and tore through his organs. A normal person would have died, then and there, a victim of massive internal damage. Yet, Miguel’s constitution kept him upright long enough for the combination of Quiescence and Warden of the Wood went to work on the wound.

  The spell, which was dependent on Miguel’s proximity to the forest, had saved him more times than he could count, and this case was no different. The increased regeneration added to the healing of Quiescence to mend the damage. He knew it wouldn’t be enough to offer full recovery – he wasn’t a Healer – but it would keep him going well past the point where most other Warriors would have long since fallen.

  The other benefit was the fact that the seemingly mortal wound had failed to even slow him down was quite a surprise to the troll. Its eyes widened as Miguel returned its attack with one of his own. Its head went tumbling to the ground a second later, while its red blade winked out of existence.

  Its body remained upright, mindlessly flailing about as its face contorted in pain and anger. It tried to scream, but detached from its larynx, that just wasn’t possible.

  Miguel stumbled, and that laid him bare for an attack from the colossus. Its foot took him directly in his wounded chest, and he went skipping across the rocky ground. Every rib on that side of his torso broke immediately, and many of the shards ripped into his lungs. The tumble didn’t help matters, either, and every impact further shattered his bones.

  He didn’t stop until he hit an outcropping of rock nearly forty yards away.

  His breath came in ragged, gurgling gasps as he tried to pick himself up. Blood spouted from his mouth as an agonizing cough racked his body. In his dazed state, he could only think of one thing – he’d somehow lost his grip on his sword. Frantically, he searched for it, but he couldn’t see where it had ended up.

  That was when he felt the thudding footsteps of the enormous colossus shaking the ground.

  He looked up just in time to see it charging in his direction. In the couple of seconds since he’d come to a stop, his wits had returned. He didn’t care about his sword anymore. Not with that huge and dangerous creature bearing down on him.

  He rose, and slumping to the side because of his now-deformed torso, he faced off against the creature. His right leg was broken. His left wasn’t much better off, but it still bore his weight.

  He embraced Unbreakable Will.

  Instantly, his pain faded to nothing. The strength in his muscles surged. His mind cleared, and he felt the ethera in his core churn. The ability wasn’t meant to repair damage. Instead, it merely let him push it aside and stand strong, regardless of his condition. So long as he was alive, Unbreakable Will would force him to remain steadfast in the face of any danger.

  It was the fuel he needed to make a last stand.

  Even as the swamp colossus closed on him, its long strides eating the distance far more quickly than its languid movements suggested was possible, Miguel used one last ability.

  His body stretched. His skin turned to bark. And his limbs sprouted with leaves as his eyeline shifted to meet the colossus’ on its own level. It was his latest ability, so he had no idea what it would do. However, the second the transformation took hold, he recognized it for what it was.

  He had become a tree. If he’d had a mirror, he suspected that he wouldn’t look so different from Nerthus. But where the spryggent was a tree-like humanoid, Miguel had become a humanoid tree, with an emphasis on the latter.

  When the colossus hit him, he met it strength-to-strength, and though he was pushed back a few dozen feet, he managed to dig his roots in and halt his skid. Then, he battered it with his limbs. Each blow was powerful enough to crush a car, but the colossus’ body was soft and squishy, cushioning it from each attack.

  Yet, it was still affected by inertia, and Miguel was an experienced enough combatant to use that to his advantage. He battered the colossus until it staggered to the side. That was when Trevor showed up, hitting it at full speed and sending it tumbling to the ground.

  Miguel resisted the urge to fall upon it with his full fury. Despite his brief success, he knew he couldn’t finish it off. It was too strong. Too durable. So, he turned his attention to the troll still holding the thing’s ethereal leash.

  There was only one left. Trevor had destroyed the other.

  Miguel charged. Under the effect of Avatar of the Grove, he was much larger and far stronger. He didn’t have the focus to spare to look at his attributes, but he could feel that they were much increased. Still, he was slower. Much, much slower. So, by the time he covered that ground, the spell had begun to fade.

  He felt his body returning to normal with every passing second, and with that came the realization that his wounds had not faded. Not entirely. He still stood a good chance of living, but only if he received healing in short order.

  But if he fell, he fell.

  So long as he accomplished his mission, he could die happy. There were much worse things than giving his life to help save the world – and all the people he loved – from excisement.

  His uncle would agree, he was certain.

  Secure in that knowledge, he threw himself into the troll. It dodged, its blade arcing out like lightning. Miguel felt it bite into his shoulder. Under the effects of Unbreakable Will, he ignored it entirely, and he tackled the troll to the ground. His hands burst into flame, courtesy of another cast of Companion Spirit, and he fell upon the troll with all the fury he could muster.

  Each attack scorched its dense fur. When the creature tried to push him free, Miguel bit off its fingers. That, too, spread the flames. Over and over, Miguel tore into the creature, and in the back of his mind, he was very much aware of Trevor peppering the colossus with his moonbeams.

  Miguel used that distraction to his advantage.

  The troll didn’t go down without a fight. Miguel took more and more wounds until his entire body was coated in blood and mud. Yet, he didn’t let up. He refused to fail his mission.

  And then, at last, the creature died, a charred husk of burnt flesh and broken bones.

  Miguel very nearly collapsed, but he narrowly managed to remain upright long enough to look back at his companion. The troll was furious, and it had made itself known through its persistent attacks against the stag. A few had landed, too, as evidenced by the blood coating Trevor’s white hide.

  It only took a second for Miguel to see the bone jutting from his thigh.

  That infuriated the young man, and he arduously climbed to his feet. He made it one step before he fell to his knees. Refusing to allow himself to fall, he once again forced himself upright. He took an unsteady step. Then another. And another after that. Through sheer momentum, he broke into a jog that sent agony jolting through his body with every footfall.

  He would not let it matter.

  Unbreakable Will surged alongside his iron resolution.

  He hit the colossus in a shoulder tackle that managed to send its foot skidding out from underneath it. It fell with a massive thud.

  So did Miguel.

  He hit the ground face-first, and when he tried to rise, his muscles refused to obey.

  “Stupid kid,” came a familiar voice. “You were only supposed to lead them away.”

  A rough hand grabbed the back of his shirt, and suddenly, Miguel felt weightless. A second later, he was staring at the ground as it disappeared behind him.

  It took him a few seconds to realize that Solomon had turned him into just another burden to carry.

  Miguel struggled to lift his head, and when he finally managed it, he saw the distant shape of the colossus. Familiar moonbeams flashed as Trevor kept its attention and led it away.

  His initial reaction was to shout for them to head back, but if anyone could outrun the colossus, it was Trevor. Even injured, he was fast enough to lead the thing on a merry chase, which had been the original plan. However, it had quickly become apparent that the trolls wouldn’t allow the thing to abandon its post.

  “Had…to…make a tactical decision,” Miguel managed to mutter.

  “Stupid. Should’ve retreated.”

  “It worked.”

  “Just because something works doesn’t make it not stupid,” Solomon grunted, the chest on one shoulder while Miguel slumped over the other. Helen remained nearby, silent as she concentrated on ensuring their escape.

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