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Chapter 131 The Black Apple Tree (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

That tree is strange.

It always gives people a sense of foreboding.

It stood silently behind the flickering campfire, like a terrifying monster lurking in the shadows... its entire body was pitch black and deep, without a trace of any other color.

This is not because of the darkness of night.

It is its original color.

Like a three-dimensional shadow, it swayed and danced in the night breeze. Twisted branches were laden with jet-black apples, like black tumors, gleaming eerily in the moonlight.

The black apple tree mentioned in the "Seclusion Preview"?

Wang Xi stared at the tree, thinking to himself.

He secretly used Caius to conduct further investigation.

"Black Apple Tree: An apple tree corrupted by an unknown force. It constantly exudes an ominous aura, and its invisible power influences the surrounding things, continuously polluting and causing them to turn black."

After reading the information, Wang Xi was startled.

Are these black apple trees, like the black lake in the Magic Forest, sources of pollution?!

He also noticed that a ring of clustered crystals was growing under and around the black apple tree.

It is not large in scale and is sparsely populated.

"Immature Ether Crystal: A crystalline mineral formed under the influence of some mysterious force, which is not yet mature."

Wang Xi looked surprised.

Ether crystal...

Could it be that these energy crystals were created due to the influence of black pollution?

This speculation is reasonable.

After all, the ether crystals in the main world all come from the labyrinth, and the labyrinth is filled with corruption and contamination.

Wang Xi suddenly connected some of the previous clues and figured something out—

Could the shipment of ether crystals transported by the Spinning Wheel Merchants have been found in this area?
Furthermore, in the description of "photosynthesis," the reason why that "weak goblin" mutated was because it ate a black apple...

Could it also originate from that black apple tree?
As he pondered, Wang Xi's gaze swept back and forth through the crowd, searching for Sera's whereabouts.

However, she was not found.

Just then.

I could faintly hear a scream of alarm and anger from a woman.

Take a closer look.

On the other side of the campfire, in a small cave, a young woman was being carried out by two old women wearing fur and crowns.

It's Sera.

Her appearance at this moment was very different from what Wang Xi remembered—her usually pinned-up blonde hair was now braided into thick braids, her body was wrapped in heavy, snow-white animal hide, and a wreath woven from withered branches was pinned to her head.

On that face, etched with terror, several streaks of brightly colored paint snaked like venomous snakes, standing out starkly in the firelight.

"Counting it up, this is already the seventh day of their ceremony..."

Wendy, who had been well-behaved and silent the whole way, suddenly moved closer to Wang Xi and said in a low voice with her head down.

"Today is the day of the blood sacrifice."

Her gaze drifted to the campfire, landing on the familiar figure bound as a blood sacrifice, a complex, indescribable look flashing in her eyes.

Wendy knew all along and had thought about rescuing Sera, but ultimately she was powerless to do so.

After Sera was dragged out of the cave, she was forcibly tied to the black apple tree. No matter how much she cried out, the female shamans and northerners around her remained unmoved.

The Northern warriors' singing, dancing, and prayers continued, their voices growing louder and more excited, even creating a resonance that echoed over the lake.

While the northerners were focused on the ceremony, Wang Xi realized this was a good opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

"Miss Bev, Miss Sophia, I'll need your help later."

Wang Xi turned around and said to the two witches.

Sofia crossed her arms and gave a curt snort in response. Bev smiled and nodded, saying:
"Mr. Gai, please rest assured, we will do our best to help you."

"Thank you," Wang Xi said, then looked at the others. "Pinocchio, you launch the first attack, followed by Godariel and the witches' ranged magic."

He also patted the calico cat on his shoulder, inviting Ruri to join the battle.

"Yes, Master." Liuli nodded obediently.

After quickly setting up their offensive strategy, Wang Xi led his team to close the distance again.

Seeing that the time was almost right, he said in a deep voice:

"Do it!"

Almost the instant he gave the order.

Pinocchio had already raised his right hand, his left hand gripping his wrist, and launched a cannonball at the frenzied, dancing crowd—

Boom! !
Blinding flames erupted.

With a loud bang, the singing and dancing came to an abrupt halt.

The earth shook and mountains trembled, dust and debris flew high into the air.

Limbs and severed arms exploded in the crowd amidst a spray of blood. The screams, shouts, and roars of the northerners mingled together, and their formation collapsed into chaos.

Wang Xi had no idea how many people Pinocchio had killed with his "Dawn Roar." Immediately afterward, he saw a barrage of arc-shaped wind blades raining down on the scattered crowd and dust, their ear-piercing whistling sounds echoing through the air.

Interspersed among them were streaks of scarlet laser bullets, accompanied by a constant beeping sound.

This series of relentless attacks completely stunned the people of the North.

In an instant, the casualties were heavy.

By the light of the fire and the moon, a group of northern warriors could be seen protecting their leader amidst the chaotic crowd. The shaman team, consisting of only five or six people, stepped out from the crowd and began to cast a spell together.

They chanted incantations, their magical power surging, instantly forming a thick ice wall three meters high and over ten meters long in front of them.

The wind blades unleashed by Godariel and the nature witches were all intercepted by the ice wall, striking it with a crackling sound and scattering countless ice shards.

Even the laser pistol in Liuli's hand could not penetrate the ice wall and kill the northern warriors behind it.

Just as the enemy had reacted and was preparing to launch a counterattack, a loud wolf howl pierced the night sky.

A whoosh—a red afterimage flashed by.

Bang! ! !
A loud bang was heard.

The thick ice wall suddenly shattered and burst open from the middle—like a giant ice snake that had been blasted in half.

It was the wolf witch Sophia who made the move.

Her bright red cloak fluttered in the night wind, and she grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth; her eerie green eyes gleamed with a fierce light.

With a single punch, he shattered the defensive barrier created by the Northern Shamans!

This is the power of the Wolf King of the Magic Forest!

'No wonder it has a silver-framed five-star rating.'

Wang Xi raised an eyebrow, secretly marveling.

This was the first time he had ever seen Sophia take action.

Ouch!

Ouch! !
The howls of wolves rose and fell.

Then she saw more than ten tall gray figures rushing from behind Sophia, passing her and heading straight for the Northerners.

The Moonburg wolves under her command have revealed their true forms—those men and women in elegant robes have all transformed into werewolves over two meters tall.

Its snout was long and narrow, its eyes sharp. Its gray-black fur danced wildly in the wind, every bulging muscle exuding wild power, and its claws moved with a primal and precise rhythm of killing.

Even the elite troops of the North could not withstand the charge of these werewolves, leaving behind more than a dozen mangled corpses in a single encounter.

But the people of the North were not without a defense.

Soon, the most outstanding warriors among them, wielding long-handled axes or swords and shields, roared as they charged out. These were the Northern Warriors whom Wang Xi had previously scouted, possessing strength reaching three-star elite and basic four-star levels.

Their current state is strange.

His skin was bright red, with prominent veins, and his whole body swelled up like an inflated balloon, with bulging muscles.

Wang Xi felt as if he had gone berserk.

These twenty or thirty berserkers from the North, undaunted by death, charged into the wolf pack with their weapons, fighting fiercely.

Their blood surged, and waves of heat and white mist rose from their bodies. At the same time, the shaman squad behind them cast spells again, conjuring blood-red totems above the heads of the berserkers—wolf heads, bears, tigers, leopards, and other ferocious beasts.

Immediately afterward, the berserkers' momentum surged again, becoming either more powerful or more agile. In short, their strength ratings were temporarily raised by a whole level.

Samsung elites become Samsung heroes.

A blank 4-star character becomes a 4-star elite.

After this set of battle buffs, it was the werewolves' turn to be unable to withstand it!
Within just a few breaths, a demon wolf was wounded by a sharp axe, blood gushing out, howling incessantly.

wow-

Sugar Witch Bev raised her hand and blew.

With a crisp, bell-like sound, the sugar powder she blew out of her hand transformed into colorful, flying candies in mid-air.

They flapped their sugar-coated wings at high frequency, like a swarm of dragonflies flying low before a storm, as they swam toward the battlefield.

puff!
Puff puff!
These flying candies streaked past at high speed, striking the Northerners on the head before they could react—exploding into syrup that completely enveloped their heads.

"Well!"

"Uh-huh!!"

One by one, the warriors of the North were unable to breathe and struggled in agony.

Some people had their throats torn apart and chests ripped open by the wolves, while others suffocated and fell, struggling and kicking.

Bev's sugar magic was both a wide-range attack and a precise, targeted kill, causing heavy casualties among the Northerners.

Wang Xi even felt that even if he didn't intervene, the outcome of the battle was already a foregone conclusion.

But he had to act.

If we don't act now, all the kills will be taken!

Bang!
He pushed off with his feet and darted away.

During this process, he had already donned a black cloak and was dragging a gleaming silver broadsword thorned with thorns.

Wang Xi streaked past in a crimson blur, plunging into the crowd and wielding his broadsword to slay the northern warriors.

——"Elegy for the Blood Orchid"

In a single exchange, he used his unparalleled swordsmanship to deflect the short sword and axe blade, and with a twist and turn, he instantly severed both arms.

Amidst the gushing blood and screams, a flash of sword light severed two heads.

"The target has been killed!"

Two kill notifications popped up, and Wang Xi responded positively, continuing his charge. A green orb of light chased after him from behind, disappearing into his brow.

He killed several more people without stopping.

One man and one sword pierced through the battlefield.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the wolf witch Sophia hadn't transformed; she was simply standing atop the pile of corpses, arms crossed, looking down at me with disdain.

'That's really fast!'

Wang Xi panicked.

He simply followed his teacher Isabella's example, conjuring horizontal ice mirrors in mid-air to serve as steps, and in a few strides, he reached the sky above the battlefield.

—"The Snow King"

Wang Xi held a sword in one hand and spread his five fingers with the other, pointing downwards.

Magic power surges.

Whoosh! !

A vast array of snowflake-shaped ice blades, interspersed with ice arrows as fast as lightning, rained down upon the elite troops of the North.

He is now brimming with magic, sparing no effort, and unleashing his full power.

In an instant, screams filled the air.

Green orbs of light continued to rise and converge on him.

(End of this chapter)