Volume 8: The Super Mission 'Life Force vs. Death Intent' Chapter 1: The Greatest Weakness of the Treant

Realizing the situation, Li Bin immediately led his troops back to their original position. The Silver Pegasi had already departed, leaving behind only a peculiar scent. Li Bin and his companions searched the area and discovered a collection of strange medicinal herbs beneath the fake Treant they had initially attacked. It became clear that the Silver Pegasi had come for no other reason than to drive them away and replenish the Treant Domain.

It could be inferred that their previous assault had brought the Treant Domain to the brink of collapse, but with this intervention by the Silver Pegasi, there was no telling how much longer the battle would drag on.

Just then, a large group of Treants emerged from within the domain. Leading them was a tall Treant whose leaves had withered into a sickly yellow. He wore a battle flag composed of a dozen leaves draped over his chest like a garment, and the leaves on the Treants behind him were mostly a mottled mix of yellow and green.

Upon seeing Li Bin and his group, the withered Treant bellowed, "Are you the ones attacking my Treant Domain?"

"What choice did we have? We came looking for you, but since you refused to show your face, we had to resort to such measures," Almu replied with a smile.

Seeing that Almu was an Elf, the Treant’s expression softened slightly. "You seek me—what for?"

"Come out, and I’ll tell you," Almu said, gesturing to the Treant.

The Treant immediately caught on and roared in anger, "You want to trick me into coming out so you can attack! Don't dream of it; I won't step outside."

Seeing this, Li Bin shouted, "If the soft approach won't work, then we'll use force!"

At his command, the assault resumed. Gelu struck first, his arrow scattering the medicinal herbs piled under the fake Treant. Subsequently, Li Bin’s ranged units unleashed a barrage of fire at the real Treants positioned behind the fake one.

Initially, the Treant was tense, but upon seeing that the arrows fired by Li Bin’s troops lacked the power to penetrate the domain, he stepped boldly to the edge of the perimeter. "Well? If you’re so capable, why don't you come over here?"

This infuriated Li Bin and his men. The impulsive Ted wanted to charge straight at them, but Li Bin held him back.

Li Bin glared at the Treant and said, "State your name. If you are ever caught alone, I will make sure you pay."

"My name is Gaia. If you have the skill, come and find me!" Gaia laughed triumphantly.

Just then, the situation shifted. Six massive drills erupted from the ground less than fifty meters behind Gaia, followed by a gargantuan mechanical vehicle, over three hundred meters long and thirty meters in diameter, bursting forth from the earth.

Before Gaia could react, Li Bin and his group cheered. Almu turned and dashed toward the rear. Realizing what was happening, Gaia frantically led his troops toward the giant machine behind him. It was then that Li Bin identified the Treants' greatest weakness: their agonizing lack of speed.

It took Gaia and his followers at least twenty minutes to cover a mere fifty meters. That was more than enough time for Bai Lingyu to lead her troops out, and even for Almu to emerge from the tunnel that had been cleared.

Seeing this, Li Bin stopped attacking the domain. He led his troops to the location Bai Lingyu had specified and quickly entered the Treant Domain through the newly excavated tunnel. However, Li Bin had to complain that the tunnel was far too long; his troops marched for over forty minutes without reaching the end.

When they finally emerged, Bai Lingyu and Almu were nowhere to be seen, while the slow-moving Treants were still trudging along about a hundred meters ahead. Li Bin finally understood why it had taken so long for anyone to investigate his attacks: it wasn't that they didn't care about the safety of the domain, but that it simply took them an eternity to move from their original positions to the perimeter.

Watching the Treants’ sluggish progress, Li Bin laughed loudly, "Gaia, let me tell you this—I am here to rescue the city you have trapped. Try to stop me if you have the ability."

With that, they bypassed Gaia and sprinted toward the city. Gaia looked anxious, but no matter how he urged his troops, their speed remained pathetic, and he could only watch as Li Bin’s forces vanished from his sight.

Most infuriatingly, a drunken Dwarf lingered in front of him for ten minutes, hopping about before remarking, "You’ve grown so tall for nothing; you can't even catch someone with short legs like me."

After shaking off Gaia, Li Bin and his group raced toward the city and soon caught up with Bai Lingyu, who had entered the domain earlier. Upon seeing Li Bin, Almu called out, "Li Bin, don't be so anxious. There's no need to rush; even if we gave Gaia a head start, they wouldn't be able to catch us."

"Forget it. I’d rather check on the besieged city. Once my business there is done, I’m leaving—I have other matters to attend to," Li Bin replied, clearly dissatisfied. To him, rescuing the city was merely a formality; he had no intention of squandering his time on it.

Bai Lingyu and the others, understanding his intent, said nothing. Since leaving the city that had once held them captive, they had nowhere else to go. Helping Li Bin or helping this city made no difference to them; either way, they were opposing the Great Alliance of Green Leaves.

Before long, they arrived at the location specified by Deep Sea Solitude. However, there was nothing there but a swamp stretching about ten kilometers in diameter.

Had the city been destroyed? Was their effort all in vain?

Just as the group was about to turn away in frustration, a voice emanated from the swamp: "Who are you?"

Li Bin and his companions turned to see a Slime, its body shimmering with the shifting colors of a rainbow, hopping toward them through the marsh.