The group hurriedly followed their commands. The builders gathered together and stood behind the wagons. However, amongst the shuffling chaos unfolding, two figures in hooded robes moved slowly, as if unconcerned with the approaching battle.

"If they can’t handle whatever approaches, I want you to handle it." the shorter figure said, her eyes lingering on the forest brush.

The man nodded and took a step forward, standing in front of Elspeth, and with a swift movement, he revealed his twin swords, readying himself in case the time ever approached in which he had to take action.

"Haha! Finally a little bit o’ action! I don’t like this travelin’ stuff, it’s way too boring for my taste, aye Mestin, don’t ya agree? Just sat on our arses watchin’ trees pass by! Give me a good scrap any day over this bleedin’ walkin’—at least when you’re swingin’ steel, ye actually feel alive!" Telarin’s laughter rang out as he took his place next to Mestin.

Nothing was said, but a grunt of agreement followed Telarin’s words.

The thundering racket from the forest grew as something approached swiftly. Within seconds, shadows moved in the canopy of trees.

"From above!" Resven shouted. Mestin and Telarin jumped aside just in time.

Boom!

A loud crashing sound impacted the earth and from the rising dust a beast appeared, standing at a height of 9 feet, a silver white coloured ape appeared. The beast looked like a massive silver-furred gorilla fused with the lean athleticism of a gibbon.

"It’s a Dread Ape! Why in the abyss would they be here?" Telarin shouted in alarm, but his voice was soon drowned out when another voice called out. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Above you!"

Telarin was just in time to see a shadow falling towards him. He had no time to move and instead raised his shield and braced for impact, ’OH shit! This is gonna hurt’ he muttered softly.

The impact never came, only the ringing of steel meeting bone. He quickly propped his head out from underneath his shield to see the towering figure of Mestin standing above him. The ape is nowhere to be seen.

"Be careful! Their dark reds!" his thundering voice echoed through the forest air. He rushed off towards the ape he sent flying.

As the group continued to evade the falling beasts and engage them in combat, the builders had to scurry away, moving away from the fights as best they could. They were like ducks running this way, then that way. Finding almost no place to hide.

"Why in the abyssals would there be a whole group of them?!" Telarin’s curses rang out as he swung his axe, chopping away at the beast he was facing, all the while raising his shield as the massive forearm of the beast came clobbering down upon him.

The impact of the beast’s swing sent a shudder through Telarin’s body, his arms visibly shaking. With a swift and practiced movement, he turned his shield to the side, and the arm moved away, creating an opening.

With a shout, Telarin chopped down in a diagonal motion with his axe, and the beast stumbled backwards. A thick line of blood appeared across the body as the beast moved. It made a retched screech, and with another swift movement, it lunged towards Telarin in what could be called a fit of fury.

Meanwhile, Mestin approached the ape he sent flying.

The dread ape hit the ancient pine tree back-first with a sound like a fracturing glacier. The massive trunk sheared half-twain under the impact, sending a heavy cascade of shattered branches and pine needles exploding into the damp soil of the forest.

Mestin didn’t waste a heartbeat. Stepping through the falling foliage, his colossal frame parted the branches like a moving mountain. His fierce amber eyes burned with an intense heat, and the deep-copper mane of his battle-braided hair whipped against his massive, scar-covered shoulders.

He gripped the haft of his monolithic black-iron warhammer as he approached, his expression cold and fierce. This wasn’t the sub-alpine ice the creature was built for; here, under the sharp, filtered beams of highland sunlight cutting through the dense green canopy, the beast looked out of place.

With a guttural roar that rattled the loose gravel on the slopes, the dread ape exploded from the ruins. It scrambled to its feet, its massive nine-foot frame trembling with wounded pride.

As it rose, the bruised-crimson tattoos patterning its heavy shoulders began to pulse violently. Suddenly, the air behind the creature warped and fractured, coalescing into a towering, flickering phantom. The spitting image of the creature itself.

With its phantom roaring in tandem, the dread ape launched itself forward in a low, chaotic, terrifyingly fast rush, its ice-blue eyes fixed entirely on Mestin.

Mestin didn’t retreat an inch. He planted his massive boots into the mossy earth and channeled his Vitre inward.

The dread ape closed the gap in a single, massive bound. Using its terrifying momentum, it grabbed a fallen, iron-hard pine log, swinging it like a club in a brutal horizontal arc that whistled with lethal force, tearing up chunks of green turf in its wake.

Mestin didn’t duck. He brought the massive head of his warhammer around in a brutal, bracing counter-swing. The collision was cataclysmic. The sheer physical power of Mestin’s Vitre-enhanced strike shattered the iron-hard log into hundreds of flying splinters. The concussive shockwave of the impact blew a violent screen of dried leaves, dirt, and dust fifty yards in every direction.

Seizing the microsecond of the beast’s recoil, Mestin pivoted his massive hips, using the momentum of his heavy follow-through to drive his fist straight into the dread ape’s exposed ribs. The impact produced a loud, sickening crack that rippled through the beast’s dense fur as the raw force of his hardened knuckles rattled its skeleton.

The beast, driven mad by pain, didn’t even flinch.

Its flat, chisel-shaped canines bared in a horrific snarl as its jaws unhinged. Ignoring the shattering blow to its chest, the beast’s massive leather pad snapped shut around Mestin’s left forearm.