Rhunok's massive body was shaken, causing him to roll again, but the fatal impact was blocked.
Fandral Staghelm's figure appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
He maintained his casting posture with both hands, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face showed tension and a hint of pride at successfully blocking the attack.
The Druid team members behind him also quickly spread out, beginning to channel natural energy, preparing for subsequent support.
Nefarian glanced at Vandal, nodding slightly, an expression of gratitude for the timely intervention.
He seized the monster's brief stun caused by its stomping attack, dove down, and his Dragon Claw, imbued with shadow energy, aimed for the monster's left shoulder wound, which was charred and damaged by the breath.
The goal was to completely tear through its defenses!
Vandal cast another spell almost simultaneously.
He intended to control the monster's movements, but the timing and position he chose were nothing short of disastrous. Several thick, spiky thorns burst from the ground, their target, surprisingly, the monster's left shoulder!
The trajectory of the intertwining thorns precisely blocked Nefarian's diving attack path!
"Idiot!" Nefarian cursed inwardly, forced to abruptly pull back his strength.
His Dragon Claw brushed past the suddenly appearing thorn spikes, and the sharp claw wind severed a few thorns.
His deadly strike was completely interrupted. He had to make an emergency turn, his movements slightly awkward.
The monster, meanwhile, was entangled by the remaining thorns, but Nefarian's offensive had made this restraint fragile.
"Roar!" It let out a furious roar, its left arm suddenly exerting force, forcibly snapping the remaining thorns.
Vandal's 'assist' not only failed to effectively restrain the monster but also interfered with Nefarian's decisive opportunity!
The fierce light in the monster's eyes intensified, seemingly thoroughly enraged by the continuous harassment. Its massive body, with an aura of crushing everything, ignored Nefarian and Vandal, and once again pounced on Rhunok, who was protected by vines but still extremely weak!
Its rhinoceros-like giant hoof was raised high, preparing to completely crush the White Bear Loa into a pulp!
"Wrath of Nature!" Vandal's face changed, and he suddenly pushed his hands forward, a yellow energy shockwave shooting towards the monster's back, attempting to stop it.
"Annoying!" Nefarian's low growl sounded almost simultaneously.
He had clearly lost patience with Vandal's utterly uncoordinated "help."
His Dragon Wings flapped with full power, his speed exploding to its maximum, arriving before the monster!
He did not directly attack the monster but instead spewed a torrent of flame Dragon Breath onto its inevitable path.
The goal was to create a blocking zone.
Whoosh—!
Flames instantly covered the ground in front of the monster, forming a burning death zone.
Unexpectedly, it had no thought of dodging, directly plunging into the fire with a thick skin, charging straight towards the White Bear behind the inferno.
The energy shockwave unleashed by Vandal also crashed into the swirling flames along with the monster!
Screech—!
The shockwave of natural power and the shadow-infused Dragon Breath reacted unexpectedly, clashing violently!
They fiercely canceled each other out, annihilated, erupting in blinding light and chaotic energy turbulence!
Their combined attack did indeed stop the monster's charge, but it also created a small-scale energy explosion!
Chaotic airflow and energy surged outwards!
The core of the explosion happened to be the back of the monster's head.
It was blasted away by the impact, violently crashing into Rhunok.
The White Bear's massive body absorbed and alleviated the remaining impact.
"Ah—ah—.." It struggled to get up, letting out a bizarre sound that was no longer merely a beast's roar, but more like a Troll's painful groan!
Its deformed head shook, and a faint flicker of lucidity instantly flashed in its eyes, the madness and greed within gradually receding.
In its place was pain, confusion, and a hint of fear!
It seemed to recognize what the White Bear in front of it was, and also what kind of monster it had become!
"No—what did Quesh'ruun—do to me?!" Some fragmented and blurred Trollish words were laboriously squeezed from its torn lower jaw, immediately drowned out by even more painful roars.
The fleeting spark of sanity, as fragile as a candle in the wind, was instantly re-devoured by the violently conflicting Loa essence powers within its body!
But it was this brief, almost negligible moment of clarity and fear that made the monster choose a completely different path.
It no longer attacked Rhunok, nor did it even glance at Nefarian and Vandal again. With a desperate, frantic urgency to escape, it abruptly turned!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It crudely smashed aside obstructing trees with its rhinoceros-like giant arm, its snake-scaled right arm flailing wildly to ward off non-existent enemies, and without looking back, it charged into the depths of the dark dense forest from which it came.
The Dragon and the Elf both moved, but their attacks remained uncoordinated, each fighting their own battle!
"Stop it!" Fandral Staghelm's sharp cry was heard first.
He had evidently also caught the monster's momentary strangeness, and he slammed his hands onto the ground!
Several thick thorns, like venomous snakes, burst from the earth, aiming directly for the monster's hind leg ankles!
At the same time, he chanted rapidly, attempting to channel a more powerful natural restraint.
Nefarian would not sit idly by while a valuable experimental subject escaped. As Vandal made his move, he too acted.
His Dragon Wings burst with powerful airflow, and his body shot forward close to the ground, aiming directly for the monster's back!
His Dragon Maw opened, and a dark red glow rapidly condensed deep within his throat.
Because he didn't want to damage the experimental subject too severely, he also aimed for the monster's hind legs.
Vandal's animated thorns were incredibly fast, instantly wrapping around the monster's thick hind leg joints!
The sharp thorns dug deep into the grayish-white keratinous layer!
This indeed caused the monster's escape momentum to abruptly halt!
But just as the thorns wrapped around it, Nefarian's flame breath also arrived!
This was originally a perfect opportunity for a finishing blow.
But Vandal's second spell followed immediately!
More thorns burst from the ground at the monster's feet, wrapping upwards!
Screech—!
Nefarian's flame breath precisely collided with Vandal's thorny vines!
The result only served to help the monster break free from the thorny restraint.
Seeing this, the monster also realized it couldn't escape this way. It raised its rhinoceros leg and kicked, and a circle of shockwaves immediately rippled out.
Nefarian, who was diving and breathing fire, had to close his mouth and stop, protecting his vulnerable oral cavity.
It was this brief moment of delay that gave the monster an excellent opportunity to escape!
Ignoring the wounds on its hind legs, it moved with unprecedented speed, crashing through all obstructing trees in its path, rapidly moving away and disappearing into the depths of the dense, dark forest, leaving behind only a messy path carved out by brute force.
Nefarian felt he could still catch up, but he was so infuriated by Vandal's "cooperation" that he simply stopped.
He looked in the direction the monster had fled, then cast a warning glance at Fandral Staghelm, who was hurrying over.
His face remained expressionless, only emitting a very light, disdainful snort from his nostrils, full of the implication, "Is that all?"
The interception thus failed.
The reason was still that damned coordination problem.
Nefarian ignored Vandal, who was about to say something, and turned his attention back to the White Bear Loa—Rhunok—who lay amidst the shattered vines, his breath still as faint as a thread.
He should know what exactly happened.
But to save him—it wasn't that Nefarian looked down on Vandal, but with such injuries, there were probably only a few beings who could save him.
Fortunately, he happened to know one.
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