Unas was now completely certain that the concealed mage was indeed the Purple-robed Person, because the other man was speaking as if he were the master, and the master of this forest could only be the Purple-robed Person.
No one could pinpoint the Purple-robed Person's location; he vanished after uttering those words.
Blue Dragon withdrew his gaze from the surroundings and asked, "Shall we accept his invitation?"
"Of course." Unas plunged the Firekiss into the head of the Vine Spider Monster, instantly gaining 15% of his current level's experience. Killing bosses really does give you a lot of experience.
Masa's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally settled. He had been ready to fight to the death if the Paladin had dared to say a word against him.
Natasha said, "It's clearly a trap. Are we going to walk into our own graves?"
"But we have to go save them! We have to!" the Druid cried hysterically, nearly collapsing under the immense pressure.
Unas reached out and pressed down, "Don't get agitated, Masa. It's not just your compatriots who have been captured; Perella is also one of my most important comrades. I will definitely go to rescue them. Besides, the Purple-robed Person is right in front of us; no one will give up."
"Are you sure the Forest Monk is the Purple-robed Person?"
"I can't be 100% sure, but it's pretty close."
"But how can we, a defeated army, possibly break through his trap?" Huoye interjected.
Unas looked around. The Night Elves had only Masa left, the Argent Dawn had lost a young elite Warrior, Ashina was taking care of the old Druid outside the woods, the two Dwarf Warriors were exhausted, the two Priests were only providing support, and only Huoye was still capable of fighting. The phrase "a defeated army" was a perfect description.
The two dragons were unharmed. The Purple-robed Person must have been wary of them, which was why he hadn't shown himself directly. The two dragons were now their protective charms, and they couldn't afford to be harmed.
"Let's rest for a while. Captain Silver Shadow and the others might be on their way back."
Unas couldn't believe his own words. With such a large battle raging here, the Watchers should have returned long ago if they were going to. They were nowhere to be seen now, either killed in battle or trapped and captured.
Suddenly, a rustling sound arose, and the Purple-robed Person's words, "I will open the door for you," were not just empty words. All the trees in front were moving to both sides, quickly forming a wide and straight road, but the darkness at the end of the road made people feel uneasy.
These trees can open up paths, but they can also close them off. If people enter the heart of the woods, they will surround the group, and the spiders at the top of the trees will weave large webs, which could very well lead to their deaths.
Everyone understands this principle, but it takes courage to force your way through the gates of hell, and the crowd's resolve began to waver.
Unas said, "The only way now is to use fire, to burn down all the trees within our line of sight. They're like the tentacles extending from the Purple-robed Person, ready to harm us at any moment."
Huoye asked doubtfully, "If it causes a big fire, it might be difficult to handle..."
"Don't worry, it won't. These trees can be moved. As long as they create a firebreak, the fire won't get out of control. The Purple-robed Person won't let them burn to death in vain."
That made sense, and everyone quickly agreed to the fire attack tactic. Masa didn't dare to mention protecting the innocent trees at all.
With Unas's fire energy exhausted, the main force behind the fire was the Little Red Dragon and the Huoye. The first to suffer were the large trees on both sides of "Kangzhuang Avenue".
Unas handed the Crimson Diamond to Huoye. With this energy source, the Blood Elf mage's firepower was even stronger than that of the Red Dragon. The temperature of the magical flames might not be as high as the dragon's breath, but they had the advantage of a wider range and a longer burning time.
As expected, the trees began to move. Most of the flammable trees retreated, while the highly fire-resistant spotted trees stood in front, trying to block the fire.
These spotted trees have undergone some kind of mutation; each one is scorched black, but not a single spark can be emitted, thus the fire has been largely contained.
In the brief interval between the Red Dragon and the Huoye setting off fire, the Blue Dragon suddenly swung its head and spewed out a large cloud of freezing air. The hot spotted trees were suddenly hit by extreme cold, and the intense thermal expansion and contraction completely destroyed their structure. The muffled thuds were endless, and the inside of the spotted trees began to crack.
Then the intense heat returned, and even steel couldn't withstand such a drastic change in temperature. The thick bark of the spotted tree finally cracked open, and the flames found a way in and began to burn from the inside of the tree.
The fire could no longer be contained; the burning trees either retreated or tried to rush forward and perish together, but two giant dragons stood in front of them, posing no threat whatsoever.
The blue web-weaving spiders jumped down from the treetop like dumplings being dropped into a pot. They didn't want to be burned to death along with the tree, so they scattered in all directions as soon as they landed.
Following Unas's orders, the Red Dragon and Huoye, one on the left and one on the right, burned or drove away all the trees within their field of vision, eliminating them all. The wide forest road and Forest disappeared, leaving behind a flat area covered with charred remains and ashes.
With the left and right directions secured, Unas shouted "Forward!" and the team immediately set off towards the center of the woodland.
As they continued burning, perhaps following instructions from the Purple-robed Person, the trees along the latter half of the path all retreated to a distance on their own, allowing the group to reach the center of the forest without incident.
The Purple-robed Person's reliance also appeared before everyone's eyes: an exceptionally thick black giant tree, almost ten meters in diameter, with a dense and enormous canopy covering the sky within a hundred meters radius.
The most bizarre thing is that each branch of the giant cypress has a long, razor-sharp spider leg at its end, which is the most distinctive feature of the Blade Spider Blade Legs.
The giant tree has thousands of branches, which means it has thousands of venomous Blade Legs. There is no wind in the Forest, but the thousands of drooping Blade Legs sway slightly at the same frequency, as if they are breathing.
The Blade Spider Giant Tree is clearly a product of artificial splicing; it is impossible for nature to evolve such a bizarre and deformed creature.
The Purple-robed Person finally appeared. He was at the very center of the heavy barrier of blades—on a branch that grew horizontally from the middle of the main trunk of the giant robe, with all the captured people around him.
The three young Druids, the three tall and slender Watcher, and the petite Perella did not see Silver Shadow. This was bad news; Silver Shadow might be dead, or he might have escaped.
The prisoners were all unconscious and their bodies were tightly bound by strong vines. Each of them had two long Blade Legs around their necks, and with the sharpness of the Blade Legs, a slight pull would separate them from their heads.
"It's been a long time since anyone has visited the Forest. How about we play a game?"
Alexstrasza had no time for games, and roared, "Shameless thief, where are my children?!"
"Don't worry, I've taken good care of it. Dragon eggs are incredibly valuable." This statement confirmed that he was indeed the thief who stole the dragon eggs.
Before the Little Red Dragon could even react, Masa mustered his courage and shouted, "Was it you who bought the Night Elves at such a high price?!"
(P. S., I only updated 30,000+ words this month. According to the rules, I can't update less than 60,000 words per month, otherwise there will be no bonus. So I will post a few copied chapters later to make up the word count. I will correct it in the next day or the day after. Please do not subscribe yet. I am very sorry.)