Withered Trees

After entering the valley, the farther they went, the more desolate the surroundings became. There was scarcely any vegetation on the ground. The uninhabited mountain path wound through jagged, tooth-like rocks, with only withered grass and thorny bushes growing from cracks in the cliff faces. In the distant darkness, there seemed to be some dead branches, and the cold mountain wind passed through them like black smoke, making creaking, rasping sounds.

Brando knew it was because the Demon Tree had absorbed the nutrients from the land. His torch illuminated the surrounding rock walls, where pale white skeletons occasionally lay in the shadows. They appeared to belong to goat-like animals that had wandered into the forbidden zone and become food for the Golden Demon Tree.

Romane followed close behind with her torch. One hand protected her bag as she nervously yet curiously looked around. This was the first time she had traveled so far from home. It was as though a merchant's dream was about to come true from this very moment onward—the dangers and thrills of the trade routes, and the wealth and treasure waiting at their unknown ends, had always been what allowed merchants and adventurers to thrive across this continent.

Besides, following Brando made her feel safe.

The two pools of firelight passed through the gorge one before the other. Brando rested his hand on his sword hilt. In the game, crossing this area meant entering the territory of a certain kind of monster: Withered Beasts.

The Golden Demon Tree was a terrifying monster—or rather, a category of monster: the Golden Tree species. Its original form might have been an elven sacred tree such as an oak or holm oak, but after the Tree Shepherds implanted it with God's Blood, it awakened as a Golden Tree. The Tree Shepherds were one of the major cults in the game. In this war-torn world, darkness festered wherever the fire of civilization could not reach. It was not merely the undead faction that existed; cults had fertile ground to survive as well. In the game, villains such as the Tree Shepherds acted in secret and left traces of themselves everywhere, like a thread running through everything. It made people realize they had a definite purpose, yet no one knew what it was.

Brando was no exception.

The Golden Demon Tree had two abilities. The first was animating plants. It could turn shrubs growing on land under its control into humanoid monsters known as Withered Beasts. Withered Beasts were like the Golden Demon Tree's tentacles and scouts, spread throughout this gorge.

A single Withered Beast was level seven in the game, with combat strength roughly equal to the Guard Detachment members Brando had encountered earlier, though they possessed low Intelligence. Stronger Withered Beasts exceeded level thirteen. Having awakened the first level of power, they were troublesome opponents even for Brando.

Its second ability was Demonization Fruit. When the Golden Demon Tree's fruit fell to the ground and split open, furry, savage-looking creatures emerged from within. They would grow to two meters tall within a day. These were the Golden Demon Tree's offspring and elite guard, ranging from level twenty to level twenty-two. Brando's only reliance against them was the Wind Queen Ring.

After decades of accumulation, there was already a considerable number of these demonized creatures and Withered Beasts in the gorge. If Brando did not have something to rely on, it would have been utterly impossible for him and Romane to pass through this gorge safely. Of course, the Golden Demon Tree itself was no weak opponent either. It was, after all, a monster that had entered the second level of power. But Brando had no intention of provoking it—he knew where it was, so naturally he would not go near it.

As they traveled onward, only the soft rustle of their footsteps remained, making the lonely silence somewhat frightening. Yet Brando felt a trace of familiarity. In the past, he had also entered alone like this, carrying coils of rope, torches, oil lamps, hooks, and rations, then following a route he had walked hundreds or thousands of times to trouble the Golden Demon Tree.

The Golden Demon Tree dropped equipment in the 20 Oz to 30 Oz power range, and those drops had been among the best available at the time. Back then, any player with a bit of skill would choose to do this—especially for the rumored Golden Tree Heart. Recovering 1 point of Health per minute, it had been a divine artifact in the early days of the game.

Still, the only difference now was probably that he had a future Merchant's Daughter behind him. Brando suddenly felt as though he were taking a girl he liked on an adventure through the mountains and forests. An adventure for two—when he put it that way, it sounded rather romantic, didn't it?

"Brando?" Romane suddenly reminded him in a low voice.

Brando turned around and noticed that her gaze was fixed on his hand. He froze slightly, then saw that Gleaming Thorn was seeping a faint white glow from its scabbard.

Undead nearby! He was startled, then immediately realized that even if Madara did not control this region, it might still have sent a small squad here to keep watch and ensure that no fish slipped through the net. But just a small squad... At that thought, Brando relaxed a little. A few low-level undead were not even worth his attention, though he had to be careful not to alarm the Withered Beasts in the gorge.

He drew his sword. When Gleaming Thorn pointed in one direction, the light on its blade clearly became brighter. Brando immediately knew that the undead squad was in that direction. He reached back to signal Romane to stay farther away, then extinguished his torch and moved forward step by step.

There truly was a small undead squad in the gorge, though these Bone Frames had run into a bit of trouble as well. Their leader was none other than Kabuka the Lich. Its performance in Buchi had not only allowed that human scout to escape, but had also caused one of its colleagues to disappear. Rosko had assigned it here—first, to punish its disappointing performance, and second, to remind it not to be so eager to appear overly clever before its superiors or master.

Kabuka understood, of course. But the more pressing matter was how to fend off the attack of the three monsters in front of it.

At first, it and its Skeleton Soldier subordinates had killed a creature in the gorge covered in thorny branches, like a humanoid shrub that had risen to its feet. Now, its kind apparently had come looking for them. There were three of them. Beneath their heads, shrouded in dead branches, two faint flames stared at the undead creatures. Several scattered Bone Frames lay around them.

Battle seemed ready to erupt at any moment.

What were these roots-and-turf things? The green flames in Kabuka's eye sockets flickered.

Seeing the enemy about to attack again, it could only grit its teeth and order its Skeleton Soldiers to switch to heavy bows. They drew out blue Soul Fire to ignite the arrowheads, then sent a volley of arrows flying out—unexpectedly, two Withered Beasts burst into hissing screams the moment the flames touched them, turning into two burning masses on the sandy ground.

The Lich immediately let out a cackling laugh. These things were stronger than its Skeleton Soldier subordinates, but as long as they were plants, they would fear fire. Right, why had it not thought of that earlier? What a blunder. Kabuka raised its Bone Staff, and with a bang, half of the last Withered Beast's body exploded, sending wood chips dancing through the air.

Watching the Lich below wave its arms about in triumph, Brando, who had climbed onto a protruding pale rock behind it, could not help finding it funny. What a creature that did not know the meaning of death—using magic here of all places. Magic was one of the Golden Demon Tree's favorite nutrients. Its craving for it was like an addiction; the slightest magical fluctuation within this region would be detected immediately, yet that Lich was completely unaware. It truly wanted nothing more than to die.

But Brando had a problem too. After all, he and Romane were here as well. They had to find a way to get to higher ground quickly, or they would likely be buried alongside these empty-headed undead.

He turned back and pulled Romane up from below. Seeing the small undead squad beneath them, the Merchant's Daughter could not help blinking. There was no fear in her bright eyes, only curiosity.

"I recognize that Lich," she whispered.

"Shh!"

How could undead possibly be so easy to tell apart? Brando merely took Romane's words as a joke. Between Skeleton Soldiers, and between Liches, there was almost no difference in appearance aside from slight variations in Soul Fire. This was true not only for low-level undead; even when distinguishing higher-level undead, people relied on their ornaments or certain obvious traits.

"I really do recognize it, Brando. I saw it from afar at your house last time," the Merchant's Daughter said insistently.

"Mm-hm, keep your voice down. If we alert them, we'll be in serious trouble."

Brando narrowed his eyes. He had already seen shadows moving through the darkness with faint rustling sounds. Judging by their manner of movement, they should all be Withered Beasts. He stopped counting after thirty. There were too many, and it was too dark. Yet the Lich had not ordered the Skeleton Soldiers to extinguish the Soul Fire on their arrowheads. Plants were drawn to light, and Brando had already concluded that he could consider the Lich nothing more than a Bone Frame scattered across the ground.

"There seem to be a lot of things around us, Brando," Romane said.

"Mm. Follow me. Keep low and don't alarm them—"

The two continued climbing higher. Brando led the way while Romane crawled forward inch by inch on her knees across the rocks. He was beginning to see the benefits of bringing the Merchant's Daughter along. Even in an environment like this, she was not panicking at all. That was something ordinary people found difficult to do.

He remembered that in the game, when he entered particularly frightening places with female teammates, he often encountered shrieking and yelling. That was not even the most embarrassing part—the embarrassing part was that some men acted the same way.

As he thought this, he silently looked down—

Centered around the Lich and its few Skeleton Soldiers, the Withered Beasts had already gathered into several torrents. Kabuka finally sensed that something was wrong. It instinctively began chanting the spell for Dark Curtain, but before it had even reached the halfway point, it saw two dark-red monsters rush from gaps in the rocks and tear its Skeleton Soldiers to pieces.

Martha above, Lord Rosko! What in the world were these damned things? This place did not need watching at all!

Kabuka did not feel the slightest attachment to its subordinates. There was no mercy in Madara's army. Of course, preserving oneself was still permitted, so it sprang onto the rocks behind it in one leap. Liches possessed no low amount of Agility or strength, though ordinary people were easily misled by their mage-like appearance.

But Brando was in no mood to appreciate the sight, because he saw that the Lich was actually scrambling up in his direction.

Damn it, couldn't you pick a better direction?

At this moment, he did not even dare draw Gleaming Thorn. Otherwise, in this sea of darkness, holding something like a glow stick in his hand would make him a target for everyone immediately, wouldn't it?

But then he saw a dark-red Withered Beast suddenly leap up and grab the Lich by its lower leg bone, dragging it down with a violent jerk. By now, the gorge had been completely surrounded by Withered Beasts. The Skeleton Soldiers had likely been torn to pieces long ago. If Kabuka hesitated for even one second, it would immediately share their fate.

Kill it! Brando shouted heavily in his heart.

At the same time, he felt Romane tightly gripping his shoulder from behind, apparently just as nervous as he was. Anyone could see that if the Lich came any closer, the Withered Beasts would likely discover them as well.

Yet the girl's breath was fragrant as orchids, and Brando could not help feeling distracted. He turned back for a glance, only to find that the Merchant's Daughter was staring blankly in another direction.

Huh?

Brando instinctively followed her gaze, then suddenly sucked in a cold breath.

(PS: Ta-da, a new week has arrived. Please support me.

Tomorrow, Little Decadent's Rebirth of the Demon Hunter goes premium. Legend says every monthly ticket lets him release one extra chapter?)