The sensation of paralysis was agonizing. Everything around him started turning blurry and his heart was on the verge of exploding out of sheer fear and tension.
However, it lasted only for a moment. Liam managed to fish himself out of the brink of ultimate desperation in the next second.
This trick might have worked on someone else but for him, rock bottom was not a new place. He had visited this spot plenty of times that he no longer had the tourist status. He was regular. This much pain was nothing for him.
Seeing that he couldn't get a grasp of anything and was simply drowning in the overwhelming sense of danger, he allowed himself a breather and closed his eyes.
The first breath then made the second breath easier and soon he calmed himself down. He was once again calm and collected as he looked around.
Surprisingly, his surroundings were now a lot clearer and he was able to see everything. He was in the same lush forest region with towering trees and no end in sight.
Liam frowned. What was happening? There was clearly no beast or elf near him and yet the danger he had felt was palpable. It was a mental attack of some kind. He had no doubt about it.
But the question was… whose attack was it?
Before Liam could answer this, all of a sudden a white fog started seeping in around him.
Liam's senses sharpened as the fog enveloped the forest floor, crawling upwards like a living thing. He tightened his grip on his sword. Was this another attack?
The fog thickened, reducing his visibility to mere feet. The silence was back, but this time it felt different—oppressive, like a weight bearing down on him from all sides.
But Liam stood his ground, trying to pierce the veil of fog with his eyes, straining his ears for any sound that might betray the presence of a hidden threat.
Then he heard it—a soft, haunting melody that seemed to emanate from the fog itself. The notes wove through the mist like ethereal threads, pulling at him, and drawing him into their hypnotic dance.
He shook his head vigorously, breaking the momentary trance the melody had put him in. This was no ordinary fog, nor was the song a random occurrence.
Someone or something was manipulating his senses, trying to lull him into a false sense of security or perhaps into madness.
What was happening? Why was he suddenly facing a streak of mental attacks?
He then suddenly remembered something Eldrin had mentioned to him. The elf told him that there were parts of this forest that one should not step into.
The forest was not an ordinary forest. It had a life of its own. It could even be called an extension of the guardian itself. In that case…
Liam had a frightening thought. Was he getting attacked by the guardian itself?
In reality, whatever Eldrin told him, was all based on rumors and pure conjectures. So he couldn't be sure about anything. The elf was very clear about that.
So right now, Liam could only rely on these things to guide his path. If the information he had was correct then right now he should be facing his biggest fear?
Or perhaps the enemy that he feared the most? The divine temple high priestess?
Or the last thing that the elf told him about. The spirit of the powerful ancient elven ancestor who was the first to bind the world tree of this world?
What was going to happen now?
His heart rate spiked again as anxiety filled him. He knew that the enemy this time wouldn't compare to the enemies he had faced until now.
This one was going to be powerful.
Beyond something that he could handle.
For this fight, he definitely had to place his life on the line.
Liam already started tapping into his dao seed of ice elemental, prepared to attack with his strongest attack right from the get-go, surprising and taking the enemy by a storm before they had a chance to make their move.
He probed the foggy areas extending his [Mana Sense], another skill that he had picked up from the basic tool kit that the fairy had provided him. This enabled him to get a more clear picture of the surroundings, in a way that was different from mere visibility.
It took him a couple of seconds but then Liam saw it.
Bingo! He was correct!
His enemies were lying in wait for him!
In fact, the entire forest was filled with numerous powerful creatures!
What the hell was happening? He could perhaps fight and win against a single creature but these many?
Should he flee already?
Liam was not willing. He hadn't even neared the world tree and he was already forced to flee for his life?
"Come!" He dashed forward with determination. He wanted to defeat at least one of them.
As he swung his sword down at the first enemy that was waiting for him, Liam caught a glimpse of the person before his sword met the flesh.
The person dropped dead in an instant and shock was plastered on Liam's face. The person he had killed was neither powerful nor an elf.
It was a human being.
Liam stumbled as he was utterly confused about what was happening. He paused for a moment before dashing towards the next being and the next and the next.
His sword danced around without any obstacle as he carved a path of blood in the midst of the fog. And the creatures that he thought were powerful, who had an aura as if they could end his life, were all dropping dead one after the other.
More shockingly, each and every single one of these 'powerful' figures was a member of the Gu family.
Gu Change, Gu Yan, Gu Niye, Gu Hao, Gu Loshan…
Liam had once slaughtered these exact people and he did the same all over again.