The elusive [Shadow Mist] spell and the mighty [Granite Wall] were in place as they worked in tandem to disrupt the group of stone trolls by bewildering illusions and infuriating obstacles. At the same time, Emery gathered and focused all his concentration to control the dozen [Shadow Root] he had summoned, trying to further obstruct and immobilize the trolls.

However, one root was simply not enough to hold one troll. With the level of strength those creatures inhibited, Emery would need at least half a dozen to completely stop one troll from taking any actions.

Luckily, the stone bridge where the challenge took place had limited space, only 8 meters wide. Thanks to that, only four to five trolls were able to attack the group at the same time from each side. Otherwise, Emery was sure they wouldn't be able to survive the onslaught of the dozen stone trolls.

Still, even though the environment had somehow restricted their opponents' actions, the number was still not added up in Emery's side.

As he struggled fiercely against the stone trolls besieging his spells with all they had, Emery noticed that Thrax and Julian were in predicament. Both seemed to find it difficult to fight even one stone troll. Therefore, he quickly used his [Fey Transformation - Shaman Form]

His body immediately started to transform, a black tattoo emerged on his skin and crept up to his neck and into his face, creating a fang shape under his eyes. His brows then formed together while the pupil in his eyes turned bright yellow.

Emery's entire demeanor also slightly changed following his transformation. The valiant air around him got tainted with a tint of wildness, giving those who saw him a subconscious chill on their back.

Aaargggghhhh!!!!

The Shaman Form designed a harmonious relation between his blood and spirit cores, granting an explosive increase of power to his entire repertoire of spells. At the moment, Emery felt as if a wave of his hand casting a spell would be enough to stop these rampaging stone trolls.

Without further ado, he raised both of his hands while urging the spirit energy within his body according to his will. In an instant, the dozen shadow roots multiplied and became really fierce as they quickly swirled around all the stone trolls at the frontline of the two sides, immobilizing half a dozen while restricting the movement of the others behind them.

Julian and the others knew that Emery's Fey Transformation had its limitation in duration. Hence, they immediately went all out and used all the strength they had in order to finish this battle as soon as possible.

"HAAAHHHHH!!!"

[Mighty Swing]

A streak of flash colored Thrax's glaive as he sped ahead and swung it horizontally toward the two trolls that were not immobilized.

BAM! BAM!

Two consecutive loud sounds rang in the air as the attacks of the tier 4 glaive was able to leave a crack on the trolls' hard skin. Unfortunately, the attack was apparently not enough to completely stop them as the two trolls only fell to one knee and quickly rose again to launch their retaliation.

On the other side, Julian decided to choose a different approach than what Thrax used. He used his [Quick Step] battle art technique to slip through the narrow gap between the two trolls that were moving toward him and charge at the one being restrained by Emery's spell.

He lifted the tier 4 hammer high to the air and brought it down forcefully while also using [Majestic Smash]. A faint luster of light could be seen on the hammer's head as it struck squarely at the immobilized troll's head.

Julian's battle power was not comparable to Thrax, as the latter has surpassed him. But at the moment, the weapon he used was clearly much more effective to fight against heavy defense creatures.

Bammmm!! Bammm!!!

Looking at the numerous cracks on the troll's head, Julian was not going to waste this golden chance. Even though the two trolls that he evaded earlier had turned back and charged at his direction, he acted as if the two didn't exist and used the battle art as he brought his hammer up and down once again.

BAM!!! BAM!!!

The strike had successfully sealed the troll's fate. Its head was completely smashed into unrecognizable pulp, signaling the death of one of these seemingly unkillable creatures.

Julian didn't have a chance to be happy though, as the two trolls who chased after him had arrived and brought a present with them, a swing of their fist that caused wind to blow on his face.

The Roman, however, didn't panic even though these attacks were capable of sending him straight into the death's door if they connected. He once again used [Quick Step] to dodge the two blows, simultaneously slip past the two trolls again, and run back to the center where his friends were.

But then, as he dashed past the two massive figures, his instincts told him that something was wrong. This hunch of his was immediately reinforced by Emery's shout aimed at him. Knowing that he might be in danger, Julian quickly turned around while also positioning his shield to cover his body.

Right after Julian did those actions, he peeked from behind the shield and saw a sight that made the hairs on his skin stand. The massive frame of the stone troll was rapidly approaching, and a faint layer of red could be seen on its body.

The troll was using a skill! [Charge] skill, to be exact!

This skill allowed the huge monster the ability to utilize the entire weight of its body and launch one powerful tackle at those it locked.

BAAAMMM!!!

Julian wasn't even given the chance to do anything beside holding his shield even tighter before the large troll body crashed on him. Upon impact, his body was immediately thrown back a dozen steps.

Struggling to stand up, Julian could feel his internal organs churning violently as a result. A horrified expression appeared on his face when he imagined what would happen if he didn't react fast enough. As if that wasn't bad enough, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood which made the others who saw it worry.

It was obvious how strong the stone troll's attack was. One had to remember that Julian's tier 4 shield had acted as a buffer between them. Even his tier 3 armor wasn't able to completely absorb the residual force as he could see some cracks on its surface.

[Tower Shield - Tier 4]

[Height 1.2 meters, weight 15 kilograms]

[Skill - Absorb Damage]

Apparently, without his shield, Julian would be incapacitated already by such an attack. Even now, they could see how his hand holding the shield was still trembling.

Emery seemed to want to go and check on Julian, but was quickly stopped by the latter's words.

"What's with that face, Emery?! Aren't you underestimating us too much?!" said the Roman with a wide smile on his face.

He then turned and shouted at Thrax who was still struggling with his own portion of stone trolls. "How are you managing there, champ?! I killed one already!"

Thrax's battle intent soared to the sky when he heard such words. Immediately after, he started to go on a rampage, attacking the trolls with all his strength like a fiend.

In the meantime, the situation unfolding high in the air was not much different. Klea and Chumo were in a similar life and death battle against the wyverns, and the worst thing was there was not much Emery could do to help them with.

At the moment, his [Shadow Root] spell was the best assistance for the team.

Emery obviously understood this fact very well, hence he concentrated all his attention on both his nature core and dark core, tightening the restriction imposed upon the trolls and making sure no more than two would attack Julian and Thrax at the same time.

However even with such strategy, the two fighters would eventually be cornered and defeated as they couldn't keep using battle art continuously. After the two have killed another two trolls each, Emery knew they had to bring a new strategy.

Things got even worse when Emery noticed that the bodies of the trolls who were immobilized by his shadow roots were glowing and covered in a red layer. He immediately knew they were about to use the [Charge] skill that almost sent Julian out of this level. Worse, they were about to use it concurrently.

It didn't even take Emery a second to shout and told Julian and Thrax to retreat back to his location. As if it was already orchestrated, the six restrained stone trolls broke free from the shadow roots holding them back and came charging in Emery and the others' direction at once.

Seeing that his shadow roots' effect had become minimal, Emery quickly dispelled it leaving only two which he used to pull his friends back. While doing so, he also quickly cast another magic.

[Spatial Gate]

He grabbed his two friends' bodies by their collar and threw them into the open gate before he quickly entered it as well. In the next second, three figures of youth disappeared from the middle of the bridge.

As for the stone trolls, they weren't able to cancel their skill although their targets disappeared. As a result, they couldn't escape the inevitable and crashed into each other in a resounding sound.

BAM!!!

The collision between the monstrosities had hurt and injured all six stone trolls. One even unlucky enough to lose its balance and be thrown off the bridge.

On the other hand, Emery and his two friends reappeared at the end of the bridge, where one of the stone gates were.

The Roman could be seen smiling as he eyed Emery. "Why didn't I think of this? ..You are a genius, my friend!!"

Now that there was only the stone gate behind them, the three only needed to pay attention to their front and didn't have to worry about pincer attacks.

Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,