While Leo descended into the heart of the Heartwood Tree, Scott remained at the lookout post, his eyes locked on the raging monster below.
He also saw the terror on the faces of his people, peeking from their homes. Waiting was not a plan; it was a slow torture.
A hard resolve settled in his heart.
He couldn't let them all cower in fear, it's his duty to protect this tree, this family.
Aunt Jorunn was busy organizing the defenses below while intercepting the Zombies attacks with her arrows.
There weren't many armor piercing arrows left.
Anyway if she knew what he was about to do, she wouldn't approve.
But he had to buy more time till the elders could reach here.
"Scott, what are you doing?" Elara's voice was sharp beside him. She had climbed back up, her own bio-spear in hand.
"I'm going down," Scott said, his voice flat, as he prepared to step down.
"Don't be a fool!" she argued, stepping in front of him.
"The barrier can only keep the decay out, until the Heartwood Tree is not destroyed, but then what?" he said, finally meeting her worried gaze.
He gave her a grim, small smile. "Someone has to stop it sooner or later… before we get into deeper trouble.."
Before she could protest further, he turned and moved. He didn't climb down the ladders.
He leaped from the high platform, landing silently on a lower branch, then another, his movements as fluid and sure as a falling leaf.
In moments, he was at the base of the Great Tree, near the ancient, moss-covered stonegate that marked the edge of their safe zone.
He took a deep breath, the air inside the barrier clean and tasting of pollen. Then, he stepped over the line of stones, out into the area outside the wind barrier.
The change was instant. It felt like walking out of a warm house into a freezing storm.
The air outside was thick, heavy with the stench of pollen, rotten spores and death.
Already accustomed to it as a First Ordered Lifeform, his body was adapted by the [Foundation: Mycelial Heart] gene, enabling him to survive in such toxic environments for short periods without being poisoned.
However, the giant, tiger-headed zombie stopped its pacing.
Its glowing orange eyes snapped to Scott's small figure.
The low growl in its chest deepened, turning into a sound of guttural pleasure. Fresh meat had just walked out of the cage.
From the treetop homes, gasps of horror echoed down. "Scott! Get back here!" someone screamed.
But Scott stood his ground, planting the butt of his spear into the soft earth.
Following behind him, two others first ordered middle aged sporeborn, Uncle Jin and Uncle Mark, stepped outside the wind barrier ready to fight alongside him.
Scott didn't look back, but he could hear the heavy crunch of their boots on the dead leaves.
"I didn't call for backup," Scott said, his voice low, eyes never leaving the monster.
"And we didn't ask for permission, Lord Scott," Uncle Jin grunted. He was a burly man, holding a heavy iron-wood shield reinforced with sporebeast bones. "Your father would haunt me for the rest of my days if I let you play hero alone."
Uncle Mark, leaner and holding a pair of jagged, short Mico-blades, spat on the ground. "Besides, that thing is too big for one person to handle alone"
"Listen to me," Scott said, his knuckles tightening on his weapon. "Don't charge recklessly, we just need to keep it busy. The Elders are coming."
Looking at the prey, the tiger zombie took a step, then another, its huge muscles bunching.
Then it charged.
It was terrifyingly fast for its size. It lunged, covering the distance in a single heartbeat, its massive claw swiping down where Scott had been standing a fraction of a second before.
BOOM!
The ground shook as the claw tore a deep gash in the earth, throwing up a cloud of dust and rock.
Scott had rolled to the left, coming up in a crouch. He thrust his spear forward, aiming for the creature's thigh.
The sharp, hardened tip hit the rotting flesh with a solid thwack, but it was like stabbing a thick slab of rubber.
It barely pierced the skin.
The zombie roared in annoyance more than pain and backhanded him.
"Hey! Ugly!" Jin shouted from the right. He slammed his heavy mace against his shield, creating a metallic clang that rang through the clearing.
The zombie's head snapped toward the noise. Its orange eyes narrowed, fueled by a mix of confusion and rage. It roared, and swung a backhand at Jin.
Jin tried to leap away, but the blow caught him in the chest. It felt like being hit by a falling tree.
The air exploded from his lungs, and he was thrown backward, tumbling through the dirt and moss.
The impact sent him sliding backward five meters, his boots carving trenches in the dirt, but he stayed on his feet.
A sharp pain shot through his ribs; he was sure at least one was broken.
He could hear the screams from above. The zombie loomed over him, its jaw hanging open, drool thick with black blood dripping onto the ground.
The battle turned chaotic in seconds.
"Keep moving!" Scott roared, lunging at the creature's flank.
He drove his spear into the rotting meat, the thick sludge of fungus knitted the wound shut before Scott could even pull his weapon free.
Black blood sprayed, but almost immediately, the green moss on the zombie's back began to wiggle and glow, knitting the wound shut.
"It's healing too fast!" Mark shouted, slashing with his dual blades.
The zombie ignored the small cuts. Its eyes, burning with a mix of confusion and predatory rage, locked onto Jin.
"Hey! Ugly!" Jin slammed his mace against his shield again, trying to draw aggro.
The creature didn't just swipe this time. It spun with terrifying speed for something so massive. Its fist, heavy as a boulder, smashed into Jin's shield.
CRACK!
The iron-wood shield splintered. Jin was lifted off his feet and thrown backward like a ragdoll.
He hit the ground hard, rolling through the dirt until he slammed into a protruding root, groaning in agony.
"Brother Jin!" Mark turned, distracted for a split second.
That was all the monster needed. It backhanded Mark, sending him skidding across the mossy earth, clutching his shoulder where the bone had clearly snapped.
"Fall back!" Scott screamed, standing alone now between the monster and his fallen friends. "Get back to the barrier!"
The zombie loomed over Scott, drool dripping from its tiger jaws. It raised both fists for a crushing blow.
Scott braced himself, knowing his spear wouldn't stop this weight.
Suddenly, a blur of motion shot past him. Then another, and another.
Three figures, old but with surprisingly sturdy frames, landed between Scott and the falling fists.
It was the Elders.
"Take them!" one of the leading Elders, Leo's grandfather Alistair, with steel-grey hair, shouted without looking back. "Get Mark and Jin inside. Now!"
He slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, and a thick root erupted from the soil, catching the zombie's wrists mid-swing.
Scott didn't waste the opening. He grabbed the collars of the two injured men, dragging them back toward the safety of the wind barrier.
"Help them!" Scott yelled at the terrified faces peering from the gate. Jorunn and two others rushed out, grabbing the wounded men and pulling them across the line of mossy stones.
Scott turned back, his breath hitching in his throat.
The zombie, confused by these new arrivals, paused. It tilted its head, sensing the density of the Life Energy flowing inside the three old sporeborns.
With a unified cry, the three Elders moved as one. They were far more powerful than Scott.
Their bio-spears glowed with a bright, concentrated light, and when they struck, they didn't just pierce the skin—they carved deep gashes into the monster's hide.
"Hold it down!"
Roots, thick as a man's arm, erupted from the ground at their command, wrapping around the zombie's legs like pythons.
The battle became a blur of violence. The Elders were incredibly fast, their strong Life Energy compensating for their aged bodies.
They moved around the roaring beast, striking at its joints, its eyes, any weak spot they could find.
But the zombie was unnaturally strong.
SNAP.
It tore the roots from its legs with ease, shredding the wood like paper. It roared, a sound that shook the leaves off the trees, and the gashes on its skin knitted back together with a sick, squelching sound.
It swatted the second Elder aside, sending him crashing into the mountainside.
"This is no ordinary creature!" the third Elder shouted, barely dodging a swipe that cracked the rock behind him. "It should be evolving to become a Second Order creature!"
Leo's grandfather landed next to Scott, who had rushed back to the front line. The old man's grip on his spear was surprisingly strong, but his chest was heaving.
"He is right," the old man Alistair spoke, his voice grim. "We cannot hold it back for long. Its regenerative power is endless."
They watched as the zombie threw the third Elder off its back and let out a triumphant roar that echoed off the mountain peaks. It was toying with them now.