218 - The Ironwood Colossus

The first settlement beyond Emberwatch was already preparing to evacuate when Subin's team arrived.

Ironwood stood at the edge of a broad forest where enormous, iron-barked trees grew among exposed veins of dark mineral. Its inhabitants had built their homes around an old timber-processing yard, supplying beams, charcoal, and treated wood to the mining communities farther south. Now, carts crowded the central square, families packed their belongings, and workers hurried to dismantle equipment they could not afford to leave behind.

A woman in a leather coat approached the expedition before they reached the square.

"Are you Awakeners? Please tell me you're travelling north."

Subin nodded. "What's happened here?"

"The northern forest has become dangerous. Three logging teams disappeared, and yesterday something destroyed the eastern watchpost. Our guards found enormous footprints leading toward the settlement."

"Have you seen the creature?"

"Only from a distance. It looks like a walking tree covered in iron."

Jae-hyun glanced toward the forest. "That sounds pleasant."

The woman ignored his remark and introduced herself as Elwen, the settlement's administrator. She explained that Ironwood's people had attempted to withdraw from the forest, but the main timber road was blocked by fallen trees. Clearing it manually would take days, and the creature had been seen near the work crews.

Subin looked at the waiting carts. "How many people are still inside the forest?"

"Eight workers and two guards. They were sent to recover equipment from the eastern yard before the evacuation. They haven't returned."

"How long ago?"

"Since yesterday afternoon."

Subin exchanged a glance with Yerin. The missing workers might still be alive, but waiting another day would reduce their chances.

"We'll look for them. Keep the evacuation moving, but don't send anyone else into the forest."

Elwen gave them a map of the logging roads and pointed out the eastern yard. The team left the settlement immediately.

They found the first abandoned cart less than an hour later. Its cargo had been scattered across the road, and one wheel had been crushed beneath a heavy impact. Beyond it, the trees bore deep gouges where something large had pushed through the undergrowth.

Ara examined a broken branch. "The damage is recent. Whatever passed through here was much larger than the Stoneplate Crusher."

"Any sign of the workers?" Rafael asked.

A faint whistle sounded from the trees.

Subin raised his hand, and the group stopped. The whistle came again, followed by a distant shout.

They found the survivors inside a timber shed near the eastern yard. Six workers and one guard had barricaded themselves behind a reinforced door. The remaining guard was missing, and one worker had a deep cut across his forearm.

Yerin treated the injured man while Subin asked what had happened.

The workers had been loading treated timber when the creature emerged from the forest. It had smashed the yard's crane and overturned the carts before pursuing the workers into the shed. The guard had drawn it away from the entrance, giving the others time to escape inside.

"Did you see where he went?" Subin asked.

The injured guard pointed toward the northern slope. "He ran that way. The creature followed him, but we heard another crash after that."

Subin looked toward the slope. "We'll find him. Stay here until we return."

The team left the workers with enough supplies to last several hours and followed the trail uphill.

The forest opened into a clearing where several ancient trees had been uprooted. At its center stood the creature.

It was nearly twelve meters tall, with a body resembling a massive tree trunk wrapped in black metallic bark. Thick roots formed its legs, and branches covered in iron-like growths extended from its shoulders. A cluster of amber crystals glowed in the hollow of its chest.

Beside a fallen tree lay the missing guard. He was alive, but a heavy branch had pinned his lower body.

Ara's scanner registered Level 261 — A-rank: Ironwood Colossus.

The Colossus turned toward the approaching team. Its branches rose, and the metallic bark along its torso shifted with a grinding sound.

"That crystal cluster is drawing mana," Ara said. "It may be a natural core, not an artificial component."

Subin watched the creature lift one enormous arm. "Can we remove it without killing the thing?"

"There's no guarantee. The core appears integrated into its body."

"Then we deal with the immediate danger first."

The Colossus brought its arm down, splitting the ground where Subin had stood a moment earlier. He cut through the lower section of the limb as it rose again, but the bark was so dense that his blade barely penetrated. Yerin's spear struck the same damaged area, opening a narrow gap between the metallic layers.

The creature swept its other arm across the clearing. Rafael pulled the trapped guard away from the impact zone while Liu Wei severed a thick branch before it could strike the wounded man.

Subin realized the Colossus was not moving randomly. Its attacks concentrated around the clearing's center, where the exposed roots crossed beneath the soil. Whenever it turned, those roots tightened around the ground, drawing mana from the surrounding trees.

The creature was defending something beneath the clearing.

"Don't attack its chest," Subin called. "Its roots are anchoring it here. We need to break that hold."

Jae-hyun moved toward the exposed roots and struck one with a heavy downward cut. The root resisted, but a second strike split its outer layer. Yerin and Liu Wei attacked two more roots while Rafael carried the injured guard beyond the clearing.

The Colossus staggered as the damaged roots released their grip. Its next movement became slower, and the amber crystals in its chest dimmed slightly.

Subin used the opening to reach the creature's leg. He cut through the joint where the metallic bark overlapped, then stepped away before the Colossus could crush him. The weakened limb buckled, bringing the enormous body down onto one knee.

A deep crack spread through the ground.

Ara shouted from the edge of the clearing. "The roots are connected to an underground mineral deposit! If we keep breaking them, the whole clearing may collapse."

Subin stopped. The Colossus was dangerous, but the ground beneath it was equally unstable. A prolonged fight could bury the rescued workers and destroy the route back to Ironwood.

"Can we draw it away?" Yerin asked.

"Not while it's anchored," Ara replied. "The connection is strongest beneath the clearing."

Subin studied the amber core. The Colossus had attacked the logging yard and chased the workers, but it had not pursued them beyond the forest. Its behavior suggested territorial defense rather than deliberate hunting.

He lowered his sword slightly.

The creature raised its head. Its amber core brightened, and the roots beneath the soil began to shift.

Subin concentrated on the flow of mana rather than the creature's body. The current feeding the roots was powerful but uneven, branching through the mineral deposit before returning to the core. He could not control the entire network, but he could recognize where the flow became concentrated.

"Everyone back away from the roots," he said.

He approached the nearest exposed connection and placed the flat of Simple Edge against the mineral-coated surface. Instead of cutting through it, he released a controlled pulse of sword intent along the blade. The vibration travelled through the connection, disrupting the concentrated flow without severing the root.

The Colossus shuddered.

Its amber core dimmed, and the roots loosened their grip on the ground. The creature withdrew its branches and rose unsteadily, no longer fixed to the clearing.

Subin stepped back and waited.

For several seconds, the Colossus remained still. Then it turned toward the deeper forest and began to walk away. Its enormous steps shook loose leaves from the surrounding trees, but it did not attack again.

Yerin watched it disappear between the trunks. "You let it go."

"It wasn't protecting the settlement for no reason," Subin replied. "The logging crews may have disturbed the deposit beneath its territory. Killing it wouldn't repair that."

Ara checked the exposed roots. The mana flow had weakened, but the underground deposit remained intact. The clearing was still unstable, and no one should attempt to extract its minerals until the ground had been examined.

They returned to the fallen guard. Rafael had stabilized his injuries, and the man was conscious enough to stand with assistance. He identified himself as Hobb and thanked the team before asking whether the creature had been killed.

"No," Subin said. "It has left the clearing. You won't be returning to work here today."

Hobb looked back toward the forest. "If it comes back, the settlement can't defend itself."

"Then the settlement shouldn't build its safety around fighting it. The eastern yard needs to be abandoned until the deposit is understood."

It was not the answer Hobb wanted, but he accepted it.

The expedition escorted the survivors back to Ironwood. Elwen was relieved to see them alive, though her relief faded when she heard that the eastern yard could not be used again immediately.

"We depend on that timber," she said. "Without it, the mining settlements will have to find another supplier."

"Some of the equipment can be recovered later," Subin replied. "But the clearing is unstable, and the Colossus may return if the deposit is disturbed again."

Elwen considered the cost. "Then we'll move the processing yard south and use the smaller forest until we can assess the damage. It will slow production, but it won't put more workers at risk."

Ara gave her a concise report on the mineral deposit and the creature's behavior. She emphasized that the Colossus had not been killed or captured and that the team had no evidence it would attack Ironwood if the clearing remained undisturbed.

Before leaving, Subin asked Elwen to send a warning to any logging crews working near similar deposits. He did not claim the same creatures would be found elsewhere, only that unusual mana concentrations beneath forested ground deserved careful inspection.

Elwen agreed.

That evening, the expedition rested in Ironwood while the settlement reorganized its evacuation plans. The rescued workers were reunited with their families, and the injured guard received proper treatment. The eastern yard would be lost for the foreseeable future, but the settlement had avoided further casualties.

Yerin found Subin outside the guesthouse, watching the dark line of the forest.

"You could have killed it," she said.

"Probably. But that wasn't the only way to stop it."

"You've been choosing that more often lately."

Subin considered her words. "A strong sword should let me choose how to end a fight. If the only solution I can find is killing whatever stands in front of me, then my swordsmanship is incomplete."

Yerin smiled faintly. "That's a better answer than saying you wanted to test your control."

"I wanted to test my control too."

She laughed, and the tension between them eased.

The next morning, Elwen provided directions toward the settlement of Redwater, the final major stop before the northern uplands. She warned them that its people had recently reported problems with the river supplying their farms, though she had no details about the cause.

Subin thanked her and secured the new map.

They left Ironwood with the Colossus still alive in its forest and the eastern clearing closed to workers. The settlement had lost an important source of timber, but it had gained time to adapt without forcing its people into another battle.

Ahead, the road descended toward Redwater, where the next problem awaited.