Chapter 154: The Blood Giant Tree
By the time the Alchemical Golem had finished harvesting the spoils, Leon’s mana had almost fully recovered. He glanced at the loot this time—around thirty Life Crystals. That was a remarkably high yield; not all Necro-Ents are created equal. The taller the Necro-Ent, the easier it is for it to condense a Life Crystal.
Most of the hundred Necro-Ents Leon had just destroyed were only twenty or thirty meters tall. Only a handful met the standard for condensing Life Crystals. Thirty or so was already a great result…
Leon pocketed the thirty-odd Life Crystals, gave the Alchemical Golem its follow order, and crossed the scorched earth—hundreds of meters wide—heading for the depths of the Bloodwood Forest.
Along the way, Necro-Ents twenty or thirty meters tall kept appearing, and occasionally, he’d run into one or two that towered over fifty meters. But it was fine—Leon now had five Magitek Array Armors and two Soulbound Artifacts at his disposal. Compared to his last trip into the Bone Plane, his fighting power had increased tenfold, at least.
The Alchemical Golem led the way with its adamantine spear, while Leon wielded the Lava Dominator in one hand and his Soulbound Staff in the other. He looked like a lumberjack—if lumberjacks hacked their way into the heart of the Bloodwood Forest by sheer force.
Stepping into the heart of the Bloodwood Forest, Leon could feel the pressure intensify.
The tallest Necro-Ents in the entire Bloodwood Forest were all gathered here. Groups of them, sixty or seventy meters tall, appeared together. Leon could still handle them, but it was obviously much tougher now. And he knew—behind these Necro-Ents, a truly powerful presence was waiting for him…
And that truly powerful presence… was one he couldn’t avoid facing.
There was no way around it. That was the source of the Bloodwood Forest’s power—the ancestor of all Necro-Ents. The Blood Giant Tree, a terrifying entity born alongside the Bone Plane itself.
If Leon wanted to take a shortcut to obtain the Death Tome, he had to destroy the Blood Giant Tree. There was no way around it—no matter what.
"Strange..." An hour later, Leon’s pocket was stuffed with nearly two hundred Life Crystals, and his feet had carried him to the very core of the Bloodwood Forest.
The ground beneath him was a deep crimson, as if soaked in blood. The air was thick with the stench of blood—standing there, Leon felt as if every inch of him was drenched in it. The area was empty, not a single Necro-Ent, not even a blade of grass.
That made sense. The Blood Giant Tree was the ancestor of all Necro-Ents, the source of the Bloodwood Forest’s power. Where its roots took hold, nothing else could exist—not even other Necro-Ents.
But something was off...
Leon searched for ages, but couldn’t find the Blood Giant Tree.
"What’s going on?" Leon was stunned. Every record described the Blood Giant Tree as a colossal monster, hundreds of meters tall, its crown piercing the clouds, its roots reaching deep into the earth. Each time it moved, storms would rise; each time it raged, the ground would quake.
"Is this an illusion?" A chill ran through Leon as he quickly cast Mindguard.
These days, Mindguard was woven into Leon’s Mana Harness, and with the Wraithwalker’s boost from the ring on his left hand, his mental and soul defenses were at Magus-level.
"Strange, it’s not an illusion..." Leon’s Mindguard revealed no change. Everything was real—the legendary Blood Giant Tree simply didn’t exist.
Leon’s face gradually darkened.
He sent out two Wizard’s Eyes, searching the blood-red land for a kilometer in every direction…
Nothing. Nothing. Still nothing…
"How is this possible…" Leon was losing his composure. Normally, if he’d entered the Bloodwood Forest and found the Blood Giant Tree missing, he’d be delighted—no need for a brutal fight.
But this time was different…
This time, Leon had come to the Bloodwood Forest for the shortcut to the Death Tome. He remembered clearly: only by destroying the Blood Giant Tree could he obtain the Bloodheart. It was both the essence of the Blood Giant Tree’s power and the source of life for all Necro-Ents. The life force it held could instantly regenerate an entire Bloodwood Forest.
Only that level of life force could open the Ghostriver, where countless wraiths gathered.
Once there, he could ride the Ghostriver’s current straight to the Death Tome’s resting place.
It had been a perfect plan.
But now, the first step of the plan—the Blood Giant Tree—was missing…
Which meant the rest of the plan was nothing but dust.
How could Leon possibly keep his cool now?
Wait—Bloodwood Forest…
A thought struck Leon. The Necro-Ents he’d encountered in the Bloodwood Forest weren’t as strong as he’d expected. Even the tallest ones were barely a hundred meters, and their fighting power was far below that of a Bone Demon. This didn’t match the legends of the Bloodwood Forest at all…
And he could clearly sense that the entire Bloodwood Forest seemed to be in a state of slumber. Only when he startled the Necro-Ents did they attack in swarms.
Did that mean the Blood Giant Tree was also asleep?
Proving it would be simple enough…
Boom!
Leon raised his Soulbound Staff, Mana Harness spinning rapidly. He unleashed an Elemental Blast—within seconds, the ground for dozens of meters around was torn apart, stones flying, earth raining down. The force was almost divine.
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Leon didn’t stop for a second.
His Mana Harness spun wildly, unleashing one Elemental Blast after another. Mana surged like floodwaters, each explosion thunderous, until the blood-red earth for a kilometer around had been utterly torn apart.
On the seventeenth Elemental Blast, the ground finally shuddered. Hundreds of branches, as thick as barrels, burst from the earth like giant serpents, tearing through the crimson soil—each one plunging a hundred meters deep.
Then came a rumbling sound…
Leon sensed danger instantly. He poured mana into the Lava Dominator, igniting its twin flame wings, and shot into the sky…
And then, Leon saw a colossal shape rise from the ground.
The Lava Dominator’s flame wings were fast—almost as quick as Leon’s Elemental Avatar. But this time, the rising giant was even faster. Leon had barely reached a few dozen meters above the ground before the thing had already soared past him…
"Shit…" Leon’s heart lurched. Against all odds, he twisted his flame wings, pulling off a midair ninety-degree turn that defied physics.
Almost at the same moment, a dozen shadows whipped past Leon, missing him by a hair.
For a split second, cold sweat drenched Leon.
Each of the Blood Giant Tree’s branches packed the force of a Bone Demon’s full-strength blow. With a dozen attacking at once, it was like facing a dozen Bone Demons—terrifying. If Leon hadn’t reacted fast, twisting his flame wings just in time, he’d be skewered like a pincushion.
But before Leon’s cold sweat could even drip, those branches, having just missed him, twisted in midair—defying physics—to chase him down again…
The air shrieked as Leon cursed, pouring even more mana into the Lava Dominator.
Fueled by that surge of mana, the flame wings kicked into a second burst of speed, barely letting Leon dodge the branches’ pursuit.
By now, the Blood Giant Tree had fully emerged. Towering hundreds of meters high, it was just as the legends described—a monstrous crown spanning a hundred meters, countless branches like giant serpents, each attack suffocatingly powerful.
One glance told Leon: this Blood Giant Tree’s power was at least on par with a sixth- or seventh-tier Magus. If he fought it head-on, he’d be doomed. His only hope was the Lava Dominator necklace—the flame wings were his ticket to dueling the giant in the sky.
Leon knew that patch of crimson earth beneath the Blood Giant Tree…
That was the birthplace of the Blood Giant Tree. After countless ages, it had become part of the tree itself. One misstep, and Leon would be like an insect caught in a spider’s web—the Blood Giant Tree would drain every last drop of his blood without mercy…
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Once again, I’ve overestimated my writing speed. Alright, I won’t say when the next chapter is coming—anyway, I’ll finish it before I sleep. Shouldn’t be later than six… I think?