Chapter 236 — The Growing Fury

The battle had grown increasingly brutal.

Across the Southern Region, the undead army clashed with the Terra Bears in a struggle that was gradually consuming both sides.

Undead bears tore into their living counterparts while Skeleton Warriors swarmed around their legs, striking at exposed joints and exploiting every opening they could find.

Yet the living bears fought back. Their tremendous strength and Earth Elemental abilities continued to break through Evan's formations, leaving shattered bones and ruined bodies scattered across the battlefield.

Evan had little time to watch any of it.

His attention remained fixed on the Ironhide Bear standing before him.

The enormous beast growled, its gaze locked onto him. Its eyes had grown increasingly bloodshot, thin red streaks spreading across their surfaces as though something inside it were driving it toward madness.

Beneath the dense Earth Elemental armour covering its chest, tiny cracks had begun to appear. A faint crimson light pulsed through them at regular intervals.

Evan's expression tightened.

He had already suspected that the markings were connected to the strange curse lines he had seen on the totem earlier. The same blood-crimson light had been present there, and now it was emerging from the Ironhide Bear's body.

Whatever the connection was, he couldn't imagine it bringing anything good.

The beast's aura continued to intensify. Its claws scraped across the ground, tearing through stone without any deliberate effort, and the earth beneath its feet fractured under the pressure.

'If this is some kind of curse-related enhancement, I doubt it'll come without a price. The real question is whether that price matters to the beast at all.'

Evan glanced toward the battlefield.

The ground was littered with the remains of Terra Bears and his own summons. Several corpses had accumulated while he was occupied with the Ironhide Bear, and leaving them there would be a waste.

He immediately activated [Raise Undead].

Dark mana flowed from his body, reaching toward the fallen creatures. Broken bones began to move, while the corpses of several Terra Bears twitched as the necromantic energy entered their bodies.

But before the resurrection could finish, a massive shadow fell across Evan.

His instincts screamed.

He looked up.

The Ironhide Bear was already above him, its enormous forelimb raised high as its claws descended toward his back.

Evan moved without hesitation, throwing himself sideways.

The beast's claw struck empty ground.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact sent a powerful gust sweeping across the battlefield. Loose stones scattered in every direction, and Evan was forced several steps farther away as he struggled to regain his balance. His boots carved shallow grooves through the earth before he finally stopped.

He glanced at the enormous claw embedded in the ground.

'When did it get that close?'

The Ironhide Bear had attacked while he was concentrating on his skill. Although Evan had escaped, the timing had been dangerously close.

He looked back at the battlefield.

The bodies he had targeted were rising again, filling gaps in his army. Satisfied that the skill had completed its work, he turned toward the Ironhide Bear, only to find the beast already looking down at the fighting below.

Its gaze swept across the battlefield.

Then it roared.

Earth Elemental energy revolved around its body, gathering above its head as several enormous boulders formed in the air. Their rough surfaces compressed and hardened, growing denser as more energy poured into them.

Evan followed their trajectory.

His expression changed when he realised the targets were not random.

Several undead Terra Bears were clustered near the front line. Among them was the One-Eyed Terra Bear, whose exceptional strength had made it one of the most valuable members of his army.

'You bas*ard!'

Evan immediately tried to interrupt the attack, but the boulders had already finished forming.

They shot forward.

"Retreat! Move aside!"

His command rang through the battlefield as he ordered the undead to scatter. He specifically directed the One-Eyed Terra Bear to withdraw at all costs.

The living Terra Bears reacted to the incoming attack as well, some breaking away from the engagement to escape the boulders' trajectory. However, the battlefield was too chaotic for everyone to respond in time.

Several unfortunate creatures were caught beneath the falling rocks.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The impacts shook the ground. Terra Bears and undead alike were crushed beneath the enormous boulders, their bodies disappearing under the rubble.

Evan's eyes narrowed as he watched two of his undead bears get smashed apart.

Fortunately, the One-Eyed Terra Bear had escaped the attack unharmed.

He clenched his fist.

Rock fragments gathered around his hand, rapidly forming a thick gauntlet. Ice spread across its surface, binding the stones together and reinforcing the crude structure until it resembled an enormous boulder wrapped around his fist.

Lightning crackled around his legs.

In the next instant, Evan vanished from his position.

He reappeared directly before the Ironhide Bear, which was still watching the One-Eyed Terra Bear retreat.

The beast sensed him.

But it was too late.

Evan drove his reinforced fist straight into its face.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact forced the Ironhide Bear backwards several steps. Its enormous body shifted under the blow, and loose stones scattered around its feet.

Evan, however, felt a sharp jolt travel through his arm.

Pain shot through his fist as though the bones inside were on the verge of breaking. He immediately pulled back, only to see the boulder gauntlet crumble apart. The rock fragments fell away, and the ice coating them shattered into glittering pieces.

His eyes widened.

The Ironhide Bear's face remained almost unscathed.

A few minor cracks had appeared across its armour, but even those were already closing as fresh Earth Elemental energy flowed through the damaged sections.

Evan stared at the creature for a moment before his expression hardened.

Now he understood why it was called the Ironhide Bear.

Its armour was so tough that even a gauntlet made from reinforced rock had failed to inflict meaningful damage. Worse, the beast's own elemental energy could repair the damage before he had a chance to exploit it.

'That defence is ridiculous.'

He flexed his aching fingers, trying to ignore the pain.

Then the atmosphere changed again.

The crimson light beneath the Ironhide Bear's chest armour pulsed more brightly. The faint glow spread through additional cracks, while the beast's aura surged with renewed intensity.

Evan's tension deepened.

He still didn't understand what the markings were doing, but their increasing brightness seemed to coincide with the creature's growing strength.

And he had no intention of waiting around to discover the limit.

His attention shifted back to the battlefield.

The situation was deteriorating faster than he had anticipated. His undead Terra Bears had increased to more than a hundred through continuous fighting and resurrection, but the Skeleton Warriors were suffering catastrophic losses. Their numbers had fallen from over five hundred to fewer than two hundred, and they were still being destroyed at an alarming rate.

The living Terra Bears had also taken considerable damage. Many were bleeding, limping, or struggling to keep their footing, and only around a hundred remained in fighting condition.

Even so, the battle was far from over.

His summons were steadily wearing down their enemies, but every moment he spent fighting the Ironhide Bear allowed more of them to fall.

Evan glanced toward the One-Eyed Terra Bear.

The undead beast was still performing exceptionally well. It was fighting two Terra Bears of roughly its own size and overpowering them through sheer strength, its earth-coated claws crushing their defences whenever it landed a clean strike.

At least that one was holding its ground.

Evan turned back to the Ironhide Bear and activated [Necro Heal].

Necromantic energy spread across the battlefield, restoring damaged summons and reinforcing those that had nearly collapsed. The skill consumed a considerable amount of mana, but he couldn't afford to let his remaining army be overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, Necro Heal wasn't the only drain on his reserves.

[Corrupting Touch] continued consuming mana at a rate of one hundred MP per second. The skill was the foundation of his current strategy, empowering his summons and allowing the corruption to eat away at the living bears' vitality. Deactivating it now would mean throwing away the advantage he had fought so hard to establish.

His mana reserves were steadily emptying.

'I need another source of mana, and I need it now.'

Evan's gaze settled on the Ironhide Bear.

He had anticipated this problem before the battle began. His original plan had been to sustain himself by siphoning mana from his opponent, using the beast's own reserves to fuel the prolonged fight.

It was time to test whether that plan would work.

He raised his hand.

[Mana Siphon]

A thin, dark strand emerged above his palm and shot toward the Ironhide Bear. It pierced the gaps in the beast's armour, connecting Evan to the elemental energy circulating within its body.

A steady flow of mana began entering him.

Evan felt the pressure in his reserves ease as the stolen energy replenished what he had spent. He continued siphoning until he had absorbed approximately two thousand MP.

Then the connection abruptly broke.

The dark strand dissolved, and the mana flowing into Evan stopped.

He looked up, sensing the energy gathering above the Ironhide Bear's head diminish slightly.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

'So it works. Two thousand MP should buy me some time.'

It wasn't enough to solve his problem permanently, but it offered a way to sustain the battle as long as he could find opportunities to drain the beast.

His relief lasted only a moment.

The crimson markings beneath the Ironhide Bear's armour began pulsing even more intensely.

A violent surge of Earth Elemental energy spread across the battlefield, making the surrounding ground tremble. Rock fragments rose into the air around the beast, spinning as they gathered together.

Then their shapes changed.

Long, sharpened spikes began forming from the fragments, their tips turning toward Evan.

His eyes twitched.

There were at least fifty of them.

And judging by the density of the earth compressed into each one, a direct hit would inflict serious damage even through his Bone Armour.

'Of course you have another trick.'

Lightning surged around Evan's legs.

The Ironhide Bear's gaze fixed on him.

The spikes launched.

They shot through the air with terrifying speed, tearing toward Evan from multiple angles. He immediately dashed aside, narrowly escaping the first wave, but his relief vanished when the projectiles changed direction.

They were following him.

Evan's expression grew grim as he accelerated across the battlefield.

He dodged one spike, twisted around another, and raised an earth wall to intercept several more. The barrier formed just in time, but the projectiles pierced through it, blasting apart the compacted stone.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Fragments scattered around him.

Evan ducked beneath a descending spike and changed direction, forcing the pursuing projectiles to follow his movements. More than twenty were destroyed when they collided with the walls and rocky outcrops he used as obstacles, but the remaining spikes continued chasing him.

He couldn't keep this up indefinitely.

His legs were already straining from the repeated bursts of lightning-enhanced movement, and every second spent evading the attack was another second in which he couldn't do anything about the Ironhide Bear.

His eyes narrowed.

'If those spikes are being controlled through its mana, then...'

Evan abruptly changed direction and charged toward the beast.

The Ironhide Bear responded immediately. It raised a massive forelimb and slammed its claws down toward him.

Evan slipped past the strike by the narrowest margin, feeling the force of the impact shake the ground beside him. He continued circling the beast, keeping close enough to force it to adjust its aim.

Then he activated [Mana Siphon] again.

The dark strand shot forward and pierced the gaps in the Ironhide Bear's armour.

Mana began flowing into Evan.

The effect was immediate.

The pursuing spikes faltered. Their movements became less coordinated, and several dropped from the air before crumbling into fragments. The remaining projectiles lost their momentum and crashed against the ground.

Evan's eyes brightened.

It had worked.

By siphoning the beast's mana, he had disrupted its control over the attack while replenishing his own reserves.

The Ironhide Bear felt the loss of energy.

Its gaze shifted toward the dark strand connecting them, and its expression twisted with fury.

It finally understood what the intruder was doing.

The beast roared and lunged.

Evan immediately released the siphon and retreated, barely avoiding a sweeping claw that tore through the ground where he had been standing.

The Ironhide Bear pursued him.

Its enormous body moved with frightening acceleration, its claws smashing through rocks and tearing open trenches as it chased Evan across the battlefield.

Evan dodged from side to side, using lightning to evade each strike by inches. The beast's reach was overwhelming, and its reactions were becoming faster with every exchange. Even when Evan managed to predict an attack, he barely had enough time to escape its path.

The crimson light beneath the armour continued to pulse.

With every pulse, the Ironhide Bear seemed to become more ferocious.

Its strength was increasing.

Its speed was increasing.

Its movements grew increasingly difficult to read.

Evan's position became more precarious with every passing moment. He could no longer maintain a safe distance, nor could he risk standing still long enough to launch a sustained counterattack.

He needed a way to stop the beast before its growing power overwhelmed him.

But no matter how he analysed the situation, he couldn't find a reliable opening.

Then, beneath the thunderous clashes of the battlefield, he heard something.

A faint roar.

It came from below.