Volume 7: The Terrifying Forest Conspiracy Chapter 16: The Tree Spirit Troops Encircling the Woods

Deceived by the Deep Sea Solitude, Li Bin felt deeply resentful in his heart. Yet, once spoken, his words could not be taken back. To exact revenge on Deep Sea Solitude, Li Bin resolutely summoned all the troops in the city, including the rarely recruited Winged Butterfly Elves—usually mere servants in the villages, now all purchased outright. Of course, the funds used for these acquisitions were temporarily withheld from Deep Sea Solitude. After leaving Jiyè Village, Li Bin immediately began classifying the newly acquired forces. Those that could be transformed were swiftly turned into undead; those that could not were handed over to the tavern keepers for management. By the time they approached the city indicated on the map, Li Bin’s forces had grown considerably: a squad of phantom undead archers converted from Wood Elves, a company of skeleton soldiers formed from assorted miscellaneous troops, five squads of corpse soldiers from Dwarf Warriors, and five battalions of winged ghost servants transformed from Winged Butterfly Elves.

The arrival of these troops not only replenished Li Bin’s depleted forces but also gradually slowed the progress of Bai Lingyu’s Dragon Chariot. Eventually, they were forced to disembark fifty kilometers from the city and proceed on foot. Yet, they had hardly traveled a couple of kilometers when the keen-eyed Armu sensed something amiss. Following his lead, the group realized that the forest within a fifty-kilometer radius had been encircled—a ring of Treants. Treants, ninth-level nature troops, though slow-moving, possess formidable offense and defense, notably wielding the ability to ensnare all enemies within ten meters through their controlling roots. They are often hailed as the finest natural defenders.

However, to surround a forest fifty kilometers in diameter would require an unimaginable number of Treants. Li Bin could scarcely believe these Treants were real.

Yet, as they made a small circuit outside the forest, they discovered that no matter where they went, a Treant stood guard every five meters, motionless yet vigilant of the forest’s interior. “Are these real?” Li Bin swallowed hard facing such a predicament. “If they are, then the Green Leaf Alliance is truly terrifying.” Even the usually lighthearted Armu turned serious, shaking his head. “No, even if the entire Green Leaf Alliance’s Treants were gathered here, it wouldn’t be this many.” At this moment, the usually calm and quiet Bai Lingyu suddenly lost her composure and shouted, “There’s no use discussing here; just attack!”

With that, she unleashed her corrupted battle beasts—mechanical dogs wielding double-edged swords—that quickly lunged at one of the Treants, fiercely attacking it.

To Li Bin’s surprise, the Treant merely entangled all the beasts with its roots, doing nothing else, standing passively as the beasts struck against it. Checking the system prompt, they spoke in unison, puzzled: “Treant Domain, this is insane.” According to the system, what they were attacking was not a true Treant but an illusionary effect known as Treant Domain—a special skill exclusive to Treant players. The player can consume one Treant to create a ring of fake Treants around a sixty-kilometer radius forest. These illusions only entangle enemies but cannot attack. All these fake Treants share a single health pool; until that pool is depleted, any movement into or out of the forest is blocked.

Bai Lingyu analyzed this terrifying skill and guessed it was likely employed by a cautious player to defend a city. With only twenty or thirty Treants, one could hold a forest city for over a hundred days. Yet, the current user had repurposed the Treant Domain not just as a defense but as a trap, preventing escape. Li Bin had to admit the imagination behind this was remarkable.

Knowing what they faced, Li Bin and his group decided against a direct assault on the Treant Domain. They understood that even the strongest defenses have vulnerabilities within and that their goal was to lure out the player controlling this domain. They believed that defeating this player would cause the Treant Domain to collapse on its own.

To prevent the player from hiding or delaying, they tasked Bai Lingyu with devising a way to tunnel underground into the domain to notify the city’s lord they intended to rescue. The rest stood just beyond the domain’s range, leisurely launching various ranged attacks at a chosen fake Treant.

Time passed, though how long they fought was unclear. Li Bin felt his magical energy drain thrice, yet the Treant Domain showed no sign of damage or disturbance. Not a single break, nor did the controlling player appear. The restless Armu, unable to endure the tense atmosphere, wandered off to the rear seeking his beloved lady.

Soon, he ran back shouting, halting the assault. The startled Crusader asked, “What is it, Armu? Did some dinosaur lady scare you?”

“Quick, prepare defenses! The enemy is coming!” Armu cried urgently.

Li Bin and the others leapt up excitedly, quickly organizing their forces to charge toward Armu’s direction. To their surprise, the incoming force was not the expected Treant troops but a squadron of Silver Pegasus cavalry.

Li Bin watched these silver-armored winged horses galloping toward him, inexplicably feeling a wave of unease. Then, he heard a delicate command: “Encircle them all and await the main force.”

Immediately, Li Bin ordered Lide to take the Bone Dragon aloft to engage the Silver Pegasus, while he maneuvered the main force in another direction to avoid encirclement.

Shortly after moving out, they sensed something was wrong. Armu slapped his thigh, exclaiming, “Damn, we’ve been tricked!”

“Explain, Armu, what happened?” Li Bin urged.

“That woman used Mind Fear to make us believe a massive enemy force was closing in, causing us to flee,” Armu said bitterly. “I knew it! When I saw such a beauty, my first instinct wasn’t to approach but to run!”

“But this can’t be right. Our undead should be immune to fear effects,” Li Bin said skeptically.

“That only means immune to fear, not to psychic magic,” Armu shot him a glare.