Act 39: The Death of the Golden Demon Tree

A roar echoed from the south, followed by another about half a minute later. Brando pricked up his ears, confirming that the Stone Cone Worms had passed through the valley filled with sharp stones and were now moving inward. The creature, clad in rock armor, had a vortex-shaped mouth filled with thirteen thousand needle-like teeth—capable of easily piercing the soil and grinding even the hardest rock.

Brando had seen adult Stone Cone Worms before; they were about thirty meters long, requiring three people to encircle. These creatures from the Stone Pivot had astonishing defensive capabilities. Even Brando's greatsword, with its 40 Oz of strength, couldn't break through their outer chitin, let alone inflict damage.

The Golden Demon Tree BOSS allowing the Stone Cone Worms to advance so far indicated it had shifted its defensive focus to them. Brando couldn't help but curse under his breath.

The Stone Cape area was about a mile from the center of the Forbidden Orchard where the Golden Demon Tree was rooted. Even at its fastest, a Stone Cone Worm would need over two minutes and thirty seconds to travel through the earth. The three of them had already entered the core of the Forbidden Orchard. If the Golden Demon Tree didn't interfere, they would see its main body after bypassing the fragmented, undulating terrain ahead.

They had two minutes left.

But Brando knew, even with his eyes closed, that the Golden Demon Tree wouldn't refrain from obstructing them. As expected, before he could finish his thought, the solid ground beneath their feet groaned and fractured. At such close range, it was already within the Golden Demon Tree's root system, meaning its movements were completely unpredictable, and Romane's abilities were useless.

All three felt the ground sink beneath them simultaneously. Brando, prepared for this, plunged his elven sword downward, steadying the merchant lady with one hand. He glanced to the side; Freya had also half-crouched, stabilizing herself.

However, before the three could relax, the ground sank again, this time clearly tearing open a rift on the surface.

"What does it want to do?" the ponytail girl asked nervously, nearly toppling backward.

"It wants to kill us. Stay close to me," Brando said, pulling Romane up from the ground. He then drew his sword, half-embraced the merchant lady, and leaped forward, rolling twice to avoid a chasm created by the Golden Demon Tree's roots underground.

Romane, protected beneath the young man, blushed like a ripe red apple, her eyes wide, not daring to breathe.

On the other side, Freya seemed to want to jump over as well, but the Golden Demon Tree wasn't to be trifled with. It pulled the ground down further with its roots, causing her chest to collide with the shifted strata. If Brando hadn't quickly pulled her back, she might have sunk along with the soil and rocks.

"Thank you," Freya said, pulling her hand free and looking down.

"Now is not the time for that," Brando said, drawing his sword and slicing a whip-like root that swept towards them into two pieces.

But more snake-like roots quickly appeared ahead, and the rift behind them tilted further downward, widening. It seemed the BOSS was determined to teach them a lesson. However, Brando was used to these tricks. He couldn't help but think that this wooden post, aside from the initial surprise in the first phase, didn't seem to have any new tricks up its sleeve.

This ability to tear the ground apart was a large-area AOE in the game, but it wasn't without its weaknesses.

"Watch this!"

He said to Freya, gripping Romane tightly and keeping his eyes fixed on the incoming roots. He sidestepped, letting the 'whip' pass in front of him, then reached out and grabbed it firmly. The Golden Demon Tree clearly hadn't expected this and quickly coiled its roots, trying to fling Brando away.

But the young man held on tightly, rising and falling with Romane in his arms. The BOSS of Xavier Mountain Pass finally lost patience, raising its root high to smash Brando to death. But Brando seized the opportunity, let go, and leaped backward, landing thirty-four meters away from the rift.

His strength of 3.7 Oz gave him nearly four times the power of an ordinary person, and his agility of 2.9 Oz made him more nimble than a mountain ape treading the treetops as if on flat ground. These attributes made completing this series of actions not difficult. He landed, his strong muscles, bones, and internal organs absorbing the impact layer by layer. An ordinary person would have likely had their internal organs shattered, but for him, it was only a slight discomfort.

This was the benefit of improved physical attributes. Brando knew that everything he had done was not in vain; he had accumulated attributes little by little for this very moment.

As soon as Brando landed, he turned back and shouted to Freya, "Keep up!" Without stopping, he pulled the stumbling merchant lady along, and the two of them, sword in hand, charged towards the Golden Demon Tree.

"Brando, wait!"

"I can't keep up."

But Brando didn't care what the merchant lady said at this moment. He rounded a corner, and the ground suddenly split open with a "whoosh." A large net made of numerous roots shot out from underground—the Golden Demon Tree was behind this net.

Less than a minute remained.

Brando paused, and Romane, following behind, also stopped, gasping for breath. She looked up curiously at the Golden Demon Tree behind them—she couldn't help but think it must be a divine golden apple tree.

Brando surveyed the net, identical to the one in the game. He drew a circle in front of himself with his elven sword, and two sweeping vine-like roots immediately ignited, splitting into four sections. His Military Swordsmanship was broad and powerful, with few defensive moves, but the few techniques he did use were highly refined.

Then, he let go of Romane, took a step back, raised his sword with both hands, and took a step forward: "Power Burst—!" Brando felt an excessive amount of power being drawn from his upper arms, forearms, trapezius muscles, and latissimus dorsi, causing his elven sword to carve a beautiful silver arc. The sword moved forward, carrying 7.7 Oz of power, and struck the net.

Freya, limping as she caught up from behind, witnessed this scene. Every time before, she thought she had seen Brando's limit. The last time, it was understandable that he had used that magic card as a trick, but this time, she truly saw that power erupt.

The sword's edge compressed the air on both sides, creating a rapid sonic boom. As if tearing through rotten wood, the Golden Demon Tree's root net tore open with a "sizzle," creating a large gap and collapsing in the middle.

The trapped beast of Xavier Mountain Pass could no longer stop the three, only watching them break through. As soon as Brando entered the core area of the Forbidden Orchard, he shouted to Romane and Freya, "You two attack its main root trunk. I'll handle the main body—"

With that, he took out his Fate Card and silently thought, "Reveal Sacred Sword!"

*********

Even in summer, Winterclaw Castle was shrouded in a thin layer of frost. Originally built in the high-altitude mountainous regions of Kolkova to monitor the barbarians in the northern forests, it later became one of the royal villas after the establishment of the Barta province.

In the castle's diamond-shaped courtyard stood an ancient pine tree. It had miraculously survived a fire in Winterclaw Castle the previous century, emerging from the charred remains. The castle's lord considered it a good omen, thus rebuilding the fortress and preserving the tree.

And now, beneath this pine tree, a solemn atmosphere was spreading.

The little girl, clad in thick knight's armor, had beautiful silver hair. Her slightly pointed ears confirmed a non-human lineage. But unlike the aloofness and grace of elves, this fifteen-year-old girl wore a solemn expression, her hands tightly gripping a dark, heavy longsword. Her stance was the starting defensive posture of Eluin cavalry swordsmanship—

She pursed her lips and commanded the younger boy in front of her, "Haruze, attack me—!"

Simple and unquestionable.

"Sister..."

"Attack!"

The boy could only brace himself and thrust his sword forward. But the girl calmly pressed down his sword with her own, then stepped forward and pushed him onto the ground with a hand on his chest.

A gasp rippled through the surrounding servants.

"Again!" the girl said, her expression unchanged.

"Sister, I..."

"Get up, and try again."

The little boy could only stand up and take a step back. Gritting his teeth, he charged again, but the girl in knight's armor switched her sword from her right hand to her left and casually swung it, knocking his sword flying.

"What are you spacing out about?"

"Sorry."

"Again."

Ten minutes later—

The girl approached the dressing room, letting two maids remove her heavy knight's armor. The rising steam and sweat misted her beautiful silver curly hair. Without looking back, she asked, "Where is Father King?"

"Madara's envoy has arrived, Your Highness, the Princess."

"His Majesty is in a secret meeting with Marquis Kluger," another maid replied, lowering her head.

The girl glanced at herself in the mirror, her face as cold as ice, devoid of any unnecessary expression. She changed into a dress, ran her hand through her long silver hair, tossing it back. Tilting her head up, she answered:

"Take me to Gemmel." She thought to herself that the war might turn, but that cunning old fox, Marquis Kluger, was not to be trusted. Of course, some things were not meant to be said in front of servants; she needed to find a trusted confidant.

"Yes, Your Highness."

This day was the Year of Flowers and Summer Leaves, early June—

*********

Brando watched as the branches of the Golden Demon Tree gradually darkened and drooped powerlessly, knowing that this terrifying monster had finally reached the end of its life. He felt a bit tired; paying two points of mana to maintain the Sacred Sword's effect had nearly drained his entire mental capacity.

After all, he was a warrior, not a mage. Even a mage at this level would only have ten or so points of mana.

Freya and Romane sat to the side, both exhausted. Freya had a minor arm injury, but it wasn't serious. Besides, such a small wound was nothing compared to the joy of defeating a powerful enemy; the latter's elation was far more uplifting. They couldn't help but look back at Brando.

But then they saw Brando take a step forward, swinging his elven sword in a wide arc and striking the main trunk of the Golden Demon Tree.

Power Burst—

The dying Golden Demon Tree, stripped of the power of divine blood, was nothing more than an ordinary ancient oak. It was utterly incapable of resisting the terrifying power of 7.7 Energy Levels. The tearing force directly ripped away its upper canopy, leaving the crown snapped flat and flying off.

The two girls gasped, not understanding what Brando was doing.

However, Brando knew that the Golden Demon Tree would hang the creatures it killed in its canopy, slowly draining their magic. Over time, some spoils could still be found.

Although most had long since been drained of magic and turned into waste.

Brando walked over, and the first thing he saw was a card lying on the ground—