Nidalee retrieved her light crossbow, turned, and with a single leap, her body shifted into leopard form. She dashed into the woods ahead, sprinting at full speed on all fours.
Charles followed in her wake. Under the effect of the "Longstrider" spell, he managed to keep pace with Nidalee's leopard form. He wasn't sure exactly where the edge of the trap was, so he simply kept to the route Nidalee took, running at a breakneck pace.
Behind them, the Earth Dragon thundered after them with unbridled fury. Despite its massive size and somewhat sluggish movements, its overall speed was still formidable. It crashed into the woods, snapping through trees that stood over ten meters tall, which from a distance fell one after another like dominoes.
With such a terrifying behemoth on their heels, Charles naturally ran for his life. Yet, as he ran, some old sensation returned to him: back in the days of the South Harbor District slums, he'd run like this, desperately fleeing from the crazed Ruth, "Longstrider" cast on himself, racing through the alleys for dear life...
But he was no longer that person. He no longer felt his heart and lungs threatening to explode after only a few paces.
Nor did he fear that being caught meant certain death—he was more than capable of protecting himself now, with plenty of means to deal with such a foe.
He could keep running like this as long as he needed!
The thunderous chase, the tremors underfoot, the snapping of trees all behind him—these sounds filled him with a subtle exhilaration and delight. He seemed to merge with the earth itself; as long as his feet struck ground, his strength felt inexhaustible.
But this state came and went swiftly. Ahead, Nidalee suddenly called, "Master, we're here!"
Charles snapped back to attention, finding himself opposite the pit trap Hattie had prepared. Hattie stood there, a little pale—setting up this trap had clearly cost her considerable effort.
He glanced back—it was a natural pit, roughly thirty or forty meters across. In summertime it was probably a pool, but now the bottom was parched and bare.
Currently, the pit was filled with vines, indistinguishable on first glance from a heap of tangled weeds. True, on a closer look, the difference would be obvious, but Charles was certain that an enraged Earth Dragon wasn't going to care for a second glance!
He looked back along the path. Sure enough, the beast had taken the direct approach, charging straight at them as it barreled forward.
Over five meters tall and hundreds of tons in weight, this massive behemoth radiated a terrifying sense of oppression. Yet Charles and Nidalee showed no panic—instead, faint smiles appeared at the corners of their mouths.
Because in the very next moment, this massive creature's foot landed on nothing—
"Rooaar—!"
A muffled roar rumbled from its throat. Having charged so fast, it had no chance of stopping itself. Its entire upper body tumbled into the pit, head plunging into the mass of vines!
Endless vines began to writhe as if alive, frantically winding around the Earth Dragon's four limbs. These were Nidalee's traps, enchanted vines strong enough for a single strand to restrain an elephant!
Unfortunately, this beast was an Earth Dragon, its strength far beyond that.
Riiip—
It thrashed its limbs, still not recalling its refined command over Earth Elementals. But even by brute force alone, it could rip apart the vines with ease!
Yet the team never intended to restrain such a powerful Earth Dragon with merely vines. Their true goal was just to hold it in place long enough to activate their real trap!
Whoosh—
The soil churned, and then hundreds of inky-black tentacles burst up from below!
Hattie had prepared this pit most meticulously; hundreds of terrifying magical tentacles now sprang up, lashing around the Earth Dragon's limbs, tail, neck, and jaws—immediately immobilizing it!
The trap worked brilliantly for a moment, but Hattie suddenly grew even paler.
"Master!" she called, "Please calm it quickly—I can't hold much longer!"
Charles took a deep breath—though he needed no reminder. The Earth Dragon might be maddened, but as a creature of the elements, once it realized brute force wouldn't free it, it would surely begin to cast and command Earth Elementals against them!
These tentacles wouldn't restrain the Earth Dragon for long; he had to restore its senses immediately!
"Nidalee, send me up!"
He called, and Nidalee immediately chanted an incantation. New vines burst from the ground—not toward the Earth Dragon, but to wrap around Charles!
Charles offered no resistance. He spread his arms, allowing the vine to seize him, then, with a powerful heave, flung him skyward—
Whoosh—
His body arced through the air and crashed onto the Earth Dragon's back, rolling several times before coming to a dazed, spinning halt. Its scales were as hard as stone—impacting them was even rougher than tumbling over rocks!
Luckily, with Eldritch Mind, a flash of clarity remained even at that dizzying moment. Although battered and bruised, Charles managed to clutch a jutting stone scale, stopping his roll.
Thankfully, the Earth Dragon's armored hide meant it hardly noticed the new weight on its back. The monstrous elemental, still raging, strained fiercely against the tentacles' bonds.
Charles seized the chance, gripping tight to a stone spine, and chanted softly, "Purified!"
Buzz—
White radiance began seeping into the Earth Dragon's body, driving back the madness and pollution in its soul.
Simultaneously, the raging Earth Dragon began to command every Earth Elemental around it!
Buzz—
The soil nearby rapidly turned to sand, the pit filling with quicksand in moments. The binding vines withered and died, Hattie's summoned tentacles swept away in a tide of sand—dissolving in seconds!
"Master!"
Seeing the great dragon break free, Hattie cried out in alarm. She frantically attempted to cast again, summoning new tentacles to bind the beast, but each new wave was shredded by the rushing sands the instant they appeared—lasting barely a second!
Not only that—the pit's rim began to collapse and sink, earth and stone sliding inwards. Hattie had to pull back to avoid falling into the quicksand herself.
Nidalee was equally desperate. Her vines lasted even less time against the deadly sands; faced with such a terror, she could do little but look to her own survival.
Both spellcasters were useless now; they could only watch as the Earth Dragon rolled in the quicksand like a monstrous crocodile, thrashing in a deadly spin!
Charles clung to its back as it turned, getting buried in soil!
"Woo—!"
Eyes closed, mouth tight shut, Charles pressed himself flat against the Earth Dragon's back as sand poured in from every side. The churning sands scraped his skin raw; the backs of his hands and his neck were left burning!
He dared not move—the sand had completely enveloped him, and even a small slip would fill his body with quicksand.
He couldn't even speak the incantation for Shield, fearing that opening his mouth would immediately flood him with sand!
He could only endure—!
Hold on!
Hold on, and you win!
The purified white light had engulfed the entire body of the Earth Dragon.
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