Chapter 16: Clash
Chapter 16: Clash
At this distance, Zhai Guangyi could also use Appraisal on them. To avoid being targeted as a two-hundred-meter-tall tree, he had activated the Stealth Skill when the Storm Demon Wolf was in trouble, concealing his form and aura. Combined with his natural stillness as a tree, the effect seemed even better.
The others were all around Level 20. The weakened male Mage, Jielude, was Level 31 with a fairly high Magic Power of around 2000, but he was now too weak to pose much of a threat.
The attributes of the others were quite average, mostly at similar levels, but two individuals had notably higher attributes and posed significant threats. Zhai Guangyi quickly warned Xiong Da to be cautious of these two.
One was Mark.
Race: Human
Level: 40
Life Value: 100
Magic Power: 400
Strength: 1200
Defense: 50
Speed: 270
The other was a Forest Elf wearing a hood.
Race: Forest Elf
Level: 39
Life Value: 100
Magic Power: 3000
Strength: 150
Defense: 20
Speed: 600
Among Zhai Guangyi’s group, Xiong Er’s speed was likely the highest at 320, but this Forest Elf’s speed reached 600. If she wanted to leave, Zhai Guangyi’s side probably had no way to stop her.
The standoff didn’t last long before the Adventurers began attacking Xiong Da. With only one Demon Human in front and another in the chaotic forest behind, along with a pack of wolves, prolonging the stalemate was not to their advantage.
Luqi’s three fireballs spun rapidly as they shot toward Xiong Da. Xiong Da wasn’t foolish enough to take them head-on. Using Wind Control to lighten his weight, he quickly found a rock for cover, dodging the three fireballs.
Xiong Er, hiding in the woods, also made her move. Lightning coiled around her front paws, and her movement trajectory was like lightning—swift and zigzagging. The Shield Warrior couldn’t block her at all, and she instantly reached the two Mages’ side.
Two Thieves simultaneously grabbed the two Mages and pulled them back. An arrow from the Forest Elf was already in front of Xiong Er, and Luke crouched and swung his sword, aiming to slash at Xiong Er’s body.
However, whether it was the arrow or the slash, all attacks passed right through her. Her figure vanished like an illusion.
Xiong Er’s talent was exceptional. With just Level 1 Spirit Magic in her hands, she had developed multiple uses for it.
“It’s an illusion constructed with Spirit Magic. It seems I came here for the right reason.”
The Forest Elf’s expression turned serious. Her purpose in coming here was also to investigate the Demon Tree. Her former home, the Spirit King Tree, had developed many issues and had begun to wither, with Demon Trees emerging everywhere.
Perhaps these Demon Trees held clues to solving the Spirit King Tree’s problems. Gazing at the Demon Human before her, she decided not to hold back any longer.
Mark also stopped waiting. He strode forward, instantly arriving in front of Xiong Da. Beams of various colors began to emanate from Mark’s body as the Priest behind him finished chanting, casting Buff Magic on him.
A slash aimed straight for Xiong Da’s head.
Xiong Da’s animal hide was instantly shredded by the powerful slash. Dozens of trees behind him were cut in half in an instant, and two Storm Demon Wolves within the slash’s range were also sliced in two.
Xiong Da’s Life Value instantly dropped from 1800 to a single drop of blood. Covered in bloody gashes, he still stood before Mark. With a straight punch, Xiong Da struck Mark directly in the chest. Mark was somewhat caught off guard; though he swung his sword to block, he was still knocked back over ten meters.
When Xiong Da saw Mark appear before him as if teleporting, Undying activated immediately, saving him from being cleaved in two.
Undying could sustain Xiong Da’s life until his Magic Power was depleted.
However, Xiong Da’s Magic Power was inherently limited, and a single use of Undying consumed 200 points of it.
Zhai Guangyi immediately cast healing on Xiong Da, and his wounds began to rapidly close. At that moment, Xiong Batian also appeared behind the Adventurers.
After using magic, Zhai Guangyi’s form became visible to everyone—a towering giant tree two hundred meters tall, directly blotting out the moonlight from this patch of night sky.
Zhai Guangyi simultaneously summoned a Fire Spirit to handle long-range attacks.
Facing the encirclement of Xiong Da, Xiong Er, Xiong Batian, and the Fire Spirit, along with a pack of Storm Demon Wolves, Zhai Guangyi stood behind them, healing their injuries.
It was then that the Adventurers realized they had walked into a trap. The two-hundred-meter-tall giant tree was likely their target this time, completely different from the situation Luke had initially described.
“Is this the Demon Tree? What an exaggerated growth rate.”
Mark gazed at the suddenly appearing towering tree, his eyes filled with horror.
“This… this is impossible. Why!”
The Forest Elf was suddenly dumbfounded. Why would a Spirit Tree appear here? Not only could this tree use advanced Spirit Magic, but even its healing magic was of a high level. Coupled with seeing the fruit in Xiong Da’s hand, she was absolutely certain—this was a Spirit Tree.
“This isn’t a Demon Tree; it’s a Spirit Tree!”
The Forest Elf looked at Zhai Guangyi, her eyes filled with longing.
“Impossible. This is the Demon Tree. It can summon skeletons and even absorb Human Souls. I saw it with my own eyes. This cannot be a Spirit Tree.”
“This must be an illusion. Snap out of it, Liya!”
Luke roared at the Forest Elf Liya. They were now in grave danger; only by uniting and cooperating could they eliminate this Demon Tree and escape.
“This is absolutely not a Spirit Tree. Everything is an illusion.”
Luqi also refused to believe it was real. The same location, the same place, especially that Thunder Battle Bear—she remembered it vividly. This was exactly where that Demon Tree was located.
Xiong Batian and the others wouldn’t give them time to argue. Activating Berserk and Stealth, they charged toward Luke and his companions. Luke and Jielude once again coordinated to hold off Xiong Batian.
The two Thieves and Luqi, along with the two Shield Warriors, began to maneuver against the wolf pack, preventing their attacks.
The Priest and Mark simultaneously confronted Xiong Da and Xiong Er, who were assisted by the Fire Spirit.
The Forest Elf Liya was now somewhat confused, unsure of what to do. A Spirit Tree should only be born in the homeland, yet this tree gave her the feeling of a Spirit Tree. She should be protecting it, that was right.
But now, her teammates were fighting against it.
The battle erupted instantly. With the Fire Spirit’s explosive output, combined with Xiong Da’s resilient physique and Undying’s life-lock, even the powerful Mark temporarily found him difficult to handle.
Xiong Er would occasionally appear to harass Mark and the Priest, preventing Mark from focusing on dealing with Xiong Da. He could only frustratingly maneuver around the Priest.
However, Luke and Jielude were struggling. Xiong Batian had become much stronger than before, each punch leaving a dent in Jielude’s shield, while Luke’s attacks could hardly inflict any fatal damage on Xiong Batian.
Moreover, Xiong Batian could turn invisible. If they were even slightly careless, a single punch from her could end their lives. As the saying goes, Xiong Batian had many chances, but Luke had only one.
Without the storm’s enhancement, the Storm Demon Wolf was unable to cause any substantial damage to these Adventurers. It could only linger nearby, occasionally harassing them, while letting the others support their companions.
Zhai Guangyi was responsible for healing the Followers. His healing was key to maintaining the battle. Whenever Xiong Da suffered a critical injury, his healing spells could immediately catch up.
However, if things continued like this, the stalemate would eventually break. Xiong Da’s Undying Skill required a large amount of Magic Power, and Mark’s attacks were deadly with every strike, so Skills were quickly being expended.
“I can’t hold on anymore, Chen Dabai! If you keep slacking off, I’m going to die!”
Xiong Da suddenly shouted at Xiong Er. Xiong Er stopped creating illusions to distract Mark, and bolts of white lightning shot from her bear paws.
The speed of the lightning was something no Human could dodge. Even faster than the lightning was the deafening thunder that echoed around. Mark could only rely on the sound of the thunder to predict and block.
Although Xiong Er’s Lightning Strike consumed a huge amount of Magic Power, its attack power was extremely high and carried a paralyzing effect.
Although Mark could rely on his enhanced body to swing his sword and block the Lightning Strike, the numbing sensation left him briefly unable to move flexibly.
Xiong Da quickly distanced himself from Mark. Fighting Mark was truly agonizing for him. Mark’s combat skills were something Xiong Da, as a modern person, couldn’t match.
When his punches landed on Mark, it often felt as if he hadn’t exerted any force. Yet, Mark’s slashes felt like a truck crashing into him—shocking and terrifying.
Although he wouldn’t die, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel pain. Every slash hurt like hell. After creating distance, Zhai Guangyi immediately healed him, restoring his injuries.
Zhai Guangyi faintly heard the name of his High School good friend, Chen Dabai, as if shouted by Xiong Da. However, the thunder was too loud now to hear clearly, and there was no time to think about such things.
After healing Xiong Da and the others, he channeled even more Magic Power to make the Fire Spirit release more Fireball Magic, covering the Adventurers with a barrage of attacks.
Fireballs fell like meteors, one after another, crashing into the midst of the Adventurers.
A pale blue hemispherical barrier enveloped the Adventurers. Fireballs struck it one after another, generating waves of scorching heat.
Just as everyone inside caught their breath, cracks began to appear in the barrier. Then, another wave of fireballs surged forward. Luqi hurriedly drank a blue potion and quickly increased her Magic Power supply.
But relying on Luqi’s Magic Power alone was clearly insufficient to sustain the barrier against so many Fireball Magics, amidst the continuous roars of explosions.
The barrier exploded with a deafening roar, followed by countless fireballs crashing into the crowd. Shield Warriors who still had their shields raised their large shields to cover their teammates nearby, but one Shield Warrior’s shield had long been lost among the wolf pack.
Amid the explosions, two Thieves and a Shield Warrior were blasted away, sent flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily to the ground. They rolled several times and were already unconscious.
Seeing this, Mark hadn’t expected his party to be in such a sorry state. Being ambushed in the Forest was one thing, but the initial lightning strike had rendered Jielude in their team unable to fight. Now, a Demon Tree that had transformed into the appearance of a Spirit Tree had sapped Liya’s will to fight.
With four more members lost, escaping this encirclement was nearly impossible. Yet, if this threat wasn’t eliminated, how could the town ever be safe? Mark thought of the ruined state of neighboring Banye City, once a place brimming with happiness, where residents now dug through the rubble for the bodies of their loved ones.
According to Luqi, this tree hadn’t been guarded by Demon Humans before. But now, not only had the tree evolved to this state, even the guarding Magical Beasts had evolved into Demon Humans. The Demon Tree had to be destroyed first.
“Luqi, no matter what, you must hold off those Demon Humans!”
Luqi had already lost the will to fight, but escaping alone was impossible. However, Mark’s strength might still offer a glimmer of hope.
Gritting his teeth, he channeled red Magic Power into his longsword.
“Let’s go all out!”
The two of them charged forward one after another, bursting through the dust raised by the fireballs.
Mark’s longsword began to emit a purple glow, the gem embedded in it shining brilliantly in the night sky. Holding the sword, Mark charged straight toward Zhai Guangyi.
Xiong Da and Xiong Er had both exhausted their Magic Power and were now extremely weak, unable to stop Mark.
On the other side, Xiong Batian fought alone against the remaining Adventurers. Two Shield Warriors coordinated with Luqi to block Xiong Batian’s attacks.
Luqi was now very weak, her Magic Power depleted. She could only lie on the ground alongside Jielude, unable to help fend off the Magical Beasts.
Zhai Guangyi used Spirit Magic to summon an Ice-Element Spirit, attempting to block the charging Luqi. Walls of ice, two to three meters thick, suddenly appeared in Mark’s path.
But Mark didn’t slow down in the slightest, still sprinting forward. With each swing of his sword, the ice walls ahead shattered instantly. Even when fireballs came at him, they were obliterated in mid-air by his purple Sword Qi.
Zhai Guangyi quickly used Wind Control, mimicking the Wind Demon Panther Leader to create Wind Blades resembling Sword Qi, launching them at Mark.
But a distance of fifty meters took Mark only three seconds to cross. In an instant, he leaped into the air, arriving before Zhai Guangyi’s massive tree.
In a flash, he raised his longsword, and a forty-meter-long purple Sword Qi shot straight into the sky. Without a moment’s hesitation, Mark slashed toward Zhai Guangyi. Sword Qi of this length could likely split Zhai Guangyi in two.
But Zhai Guangyi couldn’t just let him attack freely. The Wind Blades released earlier, along with the Ice Spirit and Fire Spirit behind him, simultaneously struck at Mark.
Mark’s Sword Qi tore through Zhai Guangyi’s trunk, carving a ten-meter-long, three-meter-deep gash.
Mark was also sent flying by Zhai Guangyi’s Wind Blade. It was precisely because Mark was knocked back that his 40-meter-long blade did not slash too deeply; otherwise, Zhai Guangyi might have been done for.
Mark landed with a spin, and a crack appeared in the purple gem on the long sword in his hand.
“It should still work two more times. This time, I will definitely succeed.”
Looking at the mark on Zhai Guangyi’s trunk, Mark firmly believed there was a chance.
But just then, Mark felt a chill behind him.
“Don’t move anymore, or you’ll have an extra hole in your head!”
Liya appeared directly behind Mark, holding a massive bow, the tip of the arrow already pressed against the back of his head. If he moved even slightly, Liya would release the arrow. At this distance, Mark would undoubtedly die.
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Honestly what kind of demon tree that able to produce fruits that could be seen in naked eyes to heal the one who ate it dawg