The Terrifying Forest (1)

He wasn't clear on the situation and was worried it would cause huge damage. The robots, however, weren't a problem. They lacked intelligence; if one was lost, the Little Black Cat could simply manufacture another batch, without affecting the overall strength.

"Understood." Upon hearing this, the Little Black Cat did not hesitate and immediately released five hundred robots. After giving the order, the robots flew into the distance.

"Sit down, it will take some time," Fanxin said, looking at everyone.

The robots have a limited scanning range, so they can't scan everything at once. They need to proceed step by step.

This will take a considerable amount of time, and he can only wait.

Without hesitation, everyone immediately sat cross-legged and took out food to replenish their energy.

"Boss, what do you think is in here? Could there be a Peng Bird?" the Little Black Cat asked curiously.

"That's hard to say, but I'm certain there's something terrifying inside, otherwise the robot wouldn't have been attacked," Fanxin said calmly.

The fact that something is attacking the robot shows how terrifying this place is. He just hasn't figured out what exactly is inside yet.

"Yes, it seems we should be more careful, otherwise we'll suffer losses," the Little Black Cat said.

"Well, let everyone get some rest. We're probably going to have a big battle later," Fanxin said.

He had a feeling that this place was dangerous, and if he wasn't strong enough, he would definitely suffer losses.

However, he was not afraid, because he was strong enough that no matter how powerful the opponent was, he could go all out and defeat them.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and settled down to rest.

Two hours later, the Little Black Cat, who was resting on a leaf, suddenly jumped up and started meowing loudly, as if it were very angry.

"What's wrong?" Fanxin was taken aback and asked, puzzled.

"Three hundred robots lost contact with me instantly. They were all destroyed," the Little Black Cat said dejectedly.

"What?" Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious. They understood that there must be something terrifying inside the forest.

"Boss, what should we do?" the Little Black Cat said, feeling distressed.

Although it can manufacture another batch of robots, it needs to find new raw materials, which will take a long time—it can't be done in a day. Losing so many robots will reduce its combat effectiveness.

"Immediately recall the remaining robots," Fanxin Xin said after a moment's thought. "Then, present everything the robots have seen. I want to see what's inside."

The robots have been attacked, so there's no point in them staying there any longer.

Therefore, he had no choice but to recall them to minimize the losses.

Upon hearing this, the Little Black Cat did not object and immediately issued its command.

Soon after, the robots took to the air and began to fly towards them.

However, the instant they took flight, an invisible force rose from the ground and acted upon the robots.

Soon, the robots descended rapidly and disappeared into the forest.

At the same time, the Little Black Cat screamed again, "I've lost contact again! My robot is gone again!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression turned serious. This time, they had clearly seen the robots take off, but this unexpected turn of events left them speechless.

"Let's go, let's go straight inside," Fanxin said with a gloomy expression.

He decided to investigate what was inside that had caused him to lose five hundred robots, a loss that even he found painful.

Robot manufacturing is extremely complicated; losing even one means losing a combat unit. This is a significant disadvantage for them.

"Okay." The Little Black Cat took the lead, jumping onto Fanxin's shoulder, ready to explore together.

Those robots were painstakingly created by it, and the loss of five hundred of them drove it mad. It was ready to settle accounts with the guy who destroyed its robots.

The other two naturally had no objections and immediately followed suit.

Fanxin leaped down from the height and quickly landed on a rock in the forest.

The Little Fox and Sun Zhijian used their Flight Armor to steadily arrive behind Fanxin.

"Activate your Haki," Fanxin uttered softly.

They don't know what's inside, and if they don't keep their Haki active, they might be attacked at any moment.

No one objected, and everyone unleashed their Haki.

Fanxin Xin led the way, Sun Zhijian walked in the middle, and the Little Fox brought up the rear.

They maintained this formation without changing it.

As he traveled, Fanxin remained extremely cautious, worried that something might launch a sneak attack, but after a long time, he did not notice anything unusual.

He extended his Haki throughout the entire forest, but found nothing unusual, which made him even more puzzled.

"How is this possible? There isn't a single living creature left?" Fanxin was puzzled and couldn't understand what was going on.

If there are no living beings, why would the robots be attacked? That's so strange.

"I didn't notice either," the Little Fox said.

Sun Zhijian nodded, indicating that he did not.

"Strange, really strange." Fanxin shook his head, truly puzzled.

"Boss, you're from the Soul Clan, perhaps you can use the Soul Clan's secret techniques to investigate properly," the Little Black Cat said.

If Haki didn't work, they had to find another way. Fanxin abilities weren't limited to Haki; the Soul Clan Secret Technique could also detect their surroundings and locate targets.

"You see, I'd completely forgotten about my own abilities." Upon hearing this, Fanxin paused for a moment, then nodded silently.

If he couldn't detect it with his Haki, then he would have to use his Soul Skill, which was much easier to use than Haki.

"Since that's the case, then hurry up and explore. Damn it, I'm so angry! We lost five hundred robots, I'm really not happy about it," the Little Black Cat said helplessly.

Fanxin Xin nodded and immediately used the Soul Clan Secret Technique.

Moments later, countless wisps of black mist burst forth from his body, spreading outwards and soon enveloping the entire forest.

The Fanxin carefully analyzes and investigates.

A short while later, he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "I understand!"

"What do you understand?" the Little Black Cat asked curiously. The others also looked at him.

"These trees are what attacked us," Fanxin said.

"That can't be right. The trees are alive, but they can't move." The Little Black Cat was puzzled. It had carefully examined the trees beforehand and found no signs of them moving.

Moreover, if it really was the trees that launched the attack, with so many robots, they would surely send back some reliable information.

However, it received no response whatsoever, which was quite unexpected.

"Absolutely right," Fanxin said.

Upon hearing this, everyone was still somewhat skeptical, finding it rather unbelievable.

However, it didn't take long for them to believe it. Several trees were wrapping around them, their intention being to kill them.

"Damn it, I knew it!" the Little Black Cat yelped.

"This is troublesome; we're right in the heart of the forest," Sun Zhijian said with a wry smile.

"In that case, let's go on a killing spree!" the Little Fox shouted.

They have no way out; they can only go all out, otherwise, they will likely face certain death.

"If Wang Yan were here, that would be great," Fanxin said with a wry smile.

Wang Yan's power is magma, which is effective against these trees. If she uses magma, this entire forest will be destroyed.

"It's impossible to go back for help now; the exit is blocked by trees." Sun Zhijian, with his sharp eyes, noticed the situation behind him.

"Just as I expected."

"Heh, it seems there's no turning back. We have no choice but to go all out and fight to the death."

"In that case, let's go."

No one was thinking about how to retreat anymore, because their escape route had been blocked.

"I'll take care of the front," Fanxin said. "Little Fox, you take care of the back. Sun Zhijian, the middle area is yours."

"Understood," everyone shouted.

After that, Fanxin said no more. He took out the Dragon-Slaying Sword and threw it into the air. Moments later, countless small blood-red dragons appeared and began to attack in all directions.

The blood-red dragon may look small, but its attack power is extremely strong. As it passed by, all the trees exploded one by one.

Fanxin Xin, wielding two diamond knives, also began his attack.

He wielded his twin swords, their blade energy crisscrossing and scattering in all directions.

Wherever it went, everything was Destruction; its momentum was unstoppable.

The Little Black Cat also made its move. It took out a firearm and started breathing fire at the trees, preparing to burn them to ashes.

Through their combined efforts, a great many trees in front of them were destroyed.

In the middle area, Sun Zhijian also took action, using his abilities to uproot the trees one by one and then destroy them.

The ground was littered with tree debris.

Behind it, the Little Fox activated its nine tails, which began to spin, unleashing countless wind blades that hurtled towards the forest behind it.

Soon, a large open area appeared.

By this time, there wasn't a single intact tree left within dozens of miles of them; they had all been destroyed.

Without these trees, they breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, they could have been attacked at any moment.

"Alright, now we have a battlefield," the Little Black Cat said.

"Yes, but our troubles are about to get even bigger," Fanxin said.

"Oh, why do you say that?" the Little Fox asked, puzzled.

"We've destroyed so many trees, which must have angered those guys. They'll definitely retaliate fiercely. So, we need to go all out now, or we might be surrounded and wiped out," Fanxin said with a grave expression.

He takes everything seriously, and he will give it his all regardless of the strength of the enemy. He doesn't want to be caught off guard and suffer a crushing defeat; that feeling is unpleasant.

"Don't worry, we know," everyone nodded in agreement.

"In that case, let's fight with all our might," Fanxin said. Then, he slowly walked forward.

The others followed behind.

The trees that hadn't yet been destroyed suddenly began to move. A moment later, to everyone's astonishment, they transformed into people—a truly bizarre sight.

There were many of them, no less than several hundred.

As soon as they appeared, they surrounded the crowd.

"Have you ever seen trees turn into people before?" Fanxin asked.

"No." Everyone shook their heads upon hearing this.

"Huh, I think I know that person." Sun Zhijian glanced around, and was about to launch an attack when he suddenly saw one of the people and froze.

"Oh, you know him? What do you mean?" Fanxin asked, puzzled.

"That man in red was one of the Big Mom's subordinates. He targeted me as soon as I entered the New World. Later, I escaped from him at the cost of losing half of my crew. That guy is very strong. I thought he was still sweeping across the seas, but I didn't expect him to be here," Sun Zhijian said. His expression was very bad, probably because his crew members had died at the hands of the other man.

"When did you fight him?" Fanxin asked curiously.

"A year and a half ago," Sun Zhijian said.

"Yes, this man has no soul. He's dead; he's a puppet." Fanxin nodded, having used Soul Clan Secret Technique to examine him, and said.

"Dead?" Sun Zhijian said upon hearing this, "That's good, saves me the trouble of taking action."

He originally wanted to seek revenge, but he didn't go because he was too weak.

He planned to wait until he was stronger before targeting his opponent.

"Hehe, don't be too happy yet. Although he's dead, he's now controlled by the trees and is still our enemy. We're probably in for a tough fight. These people must be from different eras. After arriving here, they were ambushed by the trees and turned into puppets," Fanxin said. "Those who can get here must be quite capable; their strength shouldn't be weak."

"Yes, that makes sense." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, enough talk. Let's take care of these guys first, otherwise we won't be able to move an inch," Fanxin said.

These people came out of Ali specifically to stop them. If they don't deal with these guys themselves, it will indeed be difficult for them to leave.

"Understood. You all wait here. I'll make a move first to test their strength," the Little Fox said.

No one objected upon hearing this. The Little Fox's ability allowed for ranged attacks, so even if they failed, they wouldn't suffer a great loss.

Without hesitation, the Little Fox instantly shrunk to the size of a human. Then, it began to attack the puppets frantically.

Countless puppets were blasted away, their bodies exploding, and the surrounding area suddenly became much clearer.

However, the Little Fox's expression turned grim the next moment, because the puppets immediately reformed their bodies and charged at them once more. These guys seemed unlikely to be easy to kill.

This will only make things more complicated for them.