A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

However, he didn't dwell on it too much. If he couldn't kill it in one go, he would just kill it a few more times. Anyway, it would only take a moment.

Immediately, Zhou Ke'er launched another attack on Aegno. With a few casual swings of her right hand, she severed all the vines and thorns that Aegno had released to try and block her path. The Azure Sword appeared in her hand, and spiritual power mixed with evil energy was poured into it, causing it to emit a sharp sword cry and bloom with a dazzling light that intertwined black and white.

Then, as Aegono tried to swing the scepter again, he belatedly discovered that his scepter had broken in two, and the malfunctioning magical energy within it almost backfired.

Although this minor accident itself wasn't a difficult problem for him to solve, the issue was that when it occurred during a battle, it could be fatal.

A flash of black and white light streaked across the sky, and Aegono's head flew off instantly, his body severed from his head.

Zhou Ke'er clutched her chest and gasped for breath. The stronger his power was now, the faster the backlash would come.

This body is different from Zhou Ke'er's own body. Although it is very strong, it is still irreversibly mutated and degenerated when faced with the situation of being infused with countless evil beings.

In other words, Zhou Ke'er must completely destroy this body before she can leave in peace, otherwise it will give rise to a monster that no one can resist.

It should be noted that this body, which has not yet been completely corrupted, is already able to overwhelm these two elves. When Zhou Ke'er leaves this body and is completely controlled by the evil, she will only become more powerful.

Zhou Ke'er took a deep breath, and gray-black smoke rose and swirled around him.

We can't delay any longer. Although Zhou Ke'er's time with the real man is a little longer than Ultraman's, it's still only a limited amount.

Zhou Ke'er stretched out her left hand and tightly gripped Aegno's head, which had flown into the air. With a sudden burst of force, the fine head exploded in her hand, and the filth that flew out was blocked, deflected, or swallowed by the evil aura surrounding her.

To Zhou Ke'er's astonishment, Aegno, whose head had been crushed, didn't seem to be completely dead yet. His headless body swayed slightly, and he grasped the two pieces of the scepter with both hands, piecing them together. Immediately, a burst of green light erupted from the top of the scepter, and a trajectory appeared in mid-air, one end connecting to Aegno himself, and the other end rapidly extending outward, connecting to... the ancient elven tree!

Zhou Ke'er instantly realized that this guy wanted to sacrifice himself! After all, this guy was indeed worth the sacrifice of an entire city, and this sacrifice might actually open the passage to the Ancient Elf Tree.

That won't do. If the Elf Forest is really connected, even if not all elves have the strength of Aegno, just using cannon fodder to buy time would be enough to wear Zhou Ke'er down to death.

Zhou Ke'er gritted her teeth and swung the Azure Mark Sword in her hand again. This strike was even more potent with evil than the previous one, a lethal dose that would be enough to corrode thoroughly with just a scratch.

"Pfft"

The expected sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out, but it wasn't Aegno who was hit, but Alatalier, who suddenly lunged forward to block the way.

At the same time, Alatariel, who had somehow picked up the scepter, stubbornly endured being pierced by Zhou Ke'er's sword and pointed the scepter at Zhou Ke'er. A dazzling green light burst forth and slammed into Zhou Ke'er.

Unfortunately, this attempt to exchange injury for injury failed. The green light landed in the black mist surrounding Zhou Ke'er, like a small pebble thrown into a lake; it created a small ripple, but quickly subsided.

On the contrary, he himself was shattered into pieces by Zhou Ke'er's sword, which fell to the ground one by one.

Incidentally, Zhou Ke'er also destroyed Aegono's scepter once again.

However, this did not stop the sacrifice. Even though Aegno had lost his breath and the scepter was destroyed, the trail connecting to the ancient elven tree still existed, and even the corpse of Aratarel beside him became a sacrifice.

That leaves only one option: destroying the Ancient Tree of Elves...

Zhou Ke'er was breathing with difficulty, black blood overflowing from all seven orifices, feeling quite dizzy. Although the evil influence wouldn't affect his thinking, it would affect the brain of this body, thus having an impact on him as well.

With a sudden flap of her wings, Zhou Ke'er flew rapidly toward the ancient tree of spirits.

Time is running out for him.

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635. A sword shattering an ancient tree? Tortured by five horses?

Without dawdling, Zhou Ke'er hurried along and soon arrived in front of the ancient tree of spirits.

As the ancient tree gradually absorbed the two elves, Aegno and Alatariel, who were offered as sacrifices, specks of emerald green fluorescence began to appear on its massive trunk, like fireflies constantly rising into the sky.

But now Zhou Ke'er is facing a difficult problem - this ancient tree of elves can be described as immune to both physical and magical attacks. All kinds of energy will be absorbed to accelerate its process, while physical attacks seem to be deflected and will not cause much damage.

However, there was no extra time for Zhou Ke'er to think about what to do. He could only take it one step at a time and see what happened next.

These thoughts flashed through Zhou Ke'er's mind in an instant, but in reality, his figure did not stop for a moment. He poured a huge amount of spiritual power mixed with evil into the Bihen Sword, and used the evil as a tool to boost his speed to the extreme.

"boom!"

A dull thud rang out as the Azure Mark Sword slammed into the trunk of the ancient elven tree. Although it didn't bounce off as the worst-case scenario had predicted, it only penetrated to a depth of less than a finger's length.

Just then, something unexpected happened. The ancient elven tree that had come into contact with the Azure Sword, which was covered in a huge amount of evil energy, actually made a sound that looked like a scream, and the entire trunk began to tremble slightly, as if it had come into contact with some kind of poisonous substance.

This startled Zhou Ke'er—the ancient elven tree was actually afraid of evil spirits? But... Zhou Ke'er had always thought that the reason this royal capital could control the timing of evil spirit outbreaks was because the ancient elven tree absorbed evil spirits dissipating from other parts of the central continent, waiting for the opportune moment to release them...

But now it seems that's not the case, which means they have other ways to do this in secret?

These questions flashed through Zhou Ke'er's mind all at once, but unfortunately there was no time to ponder these possibilities anymore. Zhou Ke'er simply increased the force in her hands and poured the evil energy within her body into the ancient elven tree through the Jade Trace Sword as if it were free.

The ancient tree of elves let out an even more violent scream. The area that had been touched withered rapidly at a chilling speed and pace, and the damage spread quickly outwards from the point of contact.

Although the dried-up parts are now just a drop in the ocean compared to the whole.

Compared to the tree trunk, which was originally incredibly difficult to cut, the dried-out part became unexpectedly fragile. The original stiffness on Zhou Ke'er's sword disappeared without a trace, and now it was as if she had plunged the sword into a pile of withered branches and leaves without feeling any resistance at all.

Zhou Ke'er suddenly raised her sword, and a large piece of dry tree wood floated into the air with the blade, then turned into ashes in mid-air with a "whoosh," leaving only a pile of dust.

Then why bother with a sword? Zhou Ke'er simply put the Jade Mark Sword back into her system inventory, wrapped the evil spirit in her hands, and fiercely grabbed the dry part of the tree trunk. Soon, countless dust particles began to rise from there, just like snow falling.

But that's still not fast enough—the ancient elven tree is simply too vast, and such a small wound is nothing. Even if the evil could spread from this small area to the entire tree, it wouldn't take Zhou Ke'er long enough. Not to mention, there might be others in the capital who could manipulate the evil. If Zhou Ke'er allowed the evil on the tree to run rampant and left, it would be eliminated very quickly.

Perhaps because a large amount of evil energy was extracted from her body, Zhou Ke'er's physical collapse was slightly delayed, and she also regained a little bit of useful cognitive ability.

Zhou Ke'er suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with a brilliant idea.

Embed yourself inside the ancient tree of spirits!

By dismembering one's body and placing the remaining fragments of flesh in various locations within the ancient tree of elves, it's equivalent to placing numerous malevolent production machines within the tree. This not only accelerates the process of malevolent corruption within the tree but also makes it more difficult to stop.

Furthermore... once a body is torn apart by five horses, it's unlikely to be resurrected by evil spirits and become a new, troublesome entity. Surely, something broken into pieces can't just reassemble itself and revive, can it?

Thinking of this, Zhou Ke'er didn't hesitate and immediately took action, manipulating the evil energy around her into sharp blades. First, she cut off her left hand, and then her whole body was enveloped by the evil energy and disappeared into the ancient elven tree, looking for a suitable place to put herself.

It gives me this feeling that collecting all the sealed limbs would allow me to summon Exodia...

Leaving aside Zhou Ke'er, who dismembered herself, let's turn our attention to the capital of Wright, to Long Aotian.

"what?!"

Long Aotian stared at the two mages in disbelief. "You're saying they disappeared? What happened? Explain in detail!"

At the same time, Long Aotian was also glad that he had been cautious. When he saw the two mages rushing back, he summoned them privately first, without calling anyone else. If Elon, Sion, or Loyal were here now, things would probably be in chaos.

The two mages exchanged a glance, and one of them quickly explained, "Lord Red Crane and Lord Memoride made an agreement with us that once they sent a signal through the magic circle, we would input magic power to activate the reverse teleportation magic circle and send them back."

But for some reason, we waited for a long time without receiving a signal. We began to wonder if we had missed it or if something unexpected had happened to them. So we quickly decided that one of us would stay behind while the other would teleport over to check the situation.

But when I teleported there to check, I was shocked to find that... the entire human alliance camp was completely deserted. Everyone had vanished, even the hero, not to mention Lord Red Crane and Lord Memoride!

Afterwards, I went to check inside and around the camp. The traces inside the camp were very messy, as if a riot had occurred, but there were no traces of any large troops around the camp, which meant that they had not left the camp and had just disappeared into thin air!

Seeing this situation, we were unable to determine what had happened, so we came to report to you immediately.

Long Aotian frowned deeply. Although he initially suspected that Zhou Ke'er had planned it, he thought she wouldn't do something so inexplicable under these circumstances. It must have been an accident, and one that was completely unstoppable.

We need to think about this carefully and come up with a solution...

Long Aotian pondered for a moment, then waved for the mages to leave.

But he was so focused on the magicians' conversation that he didn't notice... Loyal, who had listened to the whole thing from the shadows by the door.

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636. By chance

"Something happened to Memoride?!"

Luo Ye'er stood there, stunned, muttering in disbelief, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused. She had only come back from the city wall and, after finishing her preparations, had not seen Zhou Ke'er. That's why she came here to look for Zhou Ke'er, and planned to ask Long Aotian if she couldn't find her. However, after searching around, she couldn't find Zhou Ke'er and had no choice but to ask Long Aotian.

I never expected to hear this news by such a coincidence!

Loyer was stunned for a long time before he finally came to his senses. He staggered back a few steps and ran outside in a daze, shouting, "Impossible! Impossible!"

Moreover, from the words of those two mages, we know that not only Zhou Ke'er and her group, but also all the soldiers of the human alliance have disappeared without a trace—and the demon army she led before was also stationed there!

Loyal couldn't accept it; it was as if she had been told in an instant that she had lost everything.

Confused and intense thoughts constantly drew in the malevolent aura emanating from within her. Loyer ran for a while, then suddenly stopped—why was she running? She should turn back and find out what was going on! And she needed them to send her to the Human Alliance camp too; she wanted to see for herself what was really happening!

With that thought in mind, Loyer turned back again.

Soon they returned to Long Aotian's room. Luo Yeer pushed open the door and saw Long Aotian sitting in his seat, his brows furrowed, deep in thought.

"You were the one outside the door just now."

Long Aotian spoke as if asking a question, but in the tone of a statement.

"...yes."

Loyer nodded in agreement, barely managing to suppress his emotions: "I want to know what exactly happened."

Long Aotian sighed and rubbed his forehead: "I wish I knew! If I knew what was going on, I wouldn't be sitting here racking my brains right now."

However, despite this, Long Aotian was quite certain of one thing—Zhou Ke'er was definitely not dead yet. Although she might be in some kind of danger, she was definitely still alive. After all, that was Zhou Ke'er. From Long Aotian's experience, her survival skills were absolutely top-notch.

But even if you don't die, being trapped in a dangerous situation is still a difficult thing to deal with.

"I want to go to the site myself to check the situation."

Loyer's eyes were firm, and she spoke without hesitation. She had no doubt that Long Aotian didn't know anything more—both she and Long Aotian knew about this matter through the accounts of those two magicians. Unless Long Aotian had orchestrated this whole thing, he couldn't possibly know more than she did.

Long Aotian clearly had no reason to do such a thing.

However, Zhou Ke'er returned to the Human Alliance camp without even telling her; she only found out just now. If she had gone with her...

Long Aotian sighed and nodded, "Okay, go find those two mages, they'll use the teleportation array to send you there. But I suggest you bring one or two companions with you..."

Loyer interrupted without hesitation, "I can go by myself! I don't need anyone's help."

"Perhaps this is for your best, but don't forget we're here for you."

Long Aotian shook his head: "There are definitely unknown dangers over there right now. It's not that I don't trust your abilities, but if you take a few more people with you, even if something happens to you, at least someone should bring back information and tell us what happened! Otherwise, you'll just be throwing your lives away in vain and won't be able to help Z... Memoride at all!"

-----------------

Back to Zhou Ke'er, he had lost both his hands and feet, leaving only a torso and a head. He used his evil powers to manipulate his body as he traversed through the ancient elven tree.

Just then, the path ahead suddenly made a "pop" sound, and Zhou Ke'er actually cleared a space—a space within the ancient elven tree.

Upon closer inspection, several warriors were found imprisoned here. It seemed that because the ancient elven tree had been absorbing their magical energy for a long time, they all appeared somewhat listless and failed to notice Zhou Ke'er who had just entered.

It wasn't until Zhou Ke'er poked her head out of the hole that a few warriors finally noticed her.

Taiga Aisaka stared in astonishment at Zhou Ke'er's current state and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Memori?! What...what happened to you? Did they subject you to inhumane torture?!"

Zhou Ke'er paused for a moment, composed herself, and then shook her head with a solemn expression, saying, "No, they can't catch me yet. This is the only way to prevent the passage to the Elf Forest from being opened—and I'm here to save you."

The remaining heroes exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what it meant. Taiga Aisaka had no choice but to press further, "What...what does this mean? What does it have to do with your current appearance?"