Imprisonment

It was already dawn outside.

Then, within several hundred meters of the area, every tree that had regained its vitality yesterday had withered and died completely. Even their leaves had fallen away. A single chop of a blade revealed that the trees were hollow inside, as if something vital had been sucked out of them.

As for the Root Monster, there was not even a trace of its shadow.

But that was not right. Last night, Zhang Yang had clearly heard a series of cracking sounds coming from afar, enough to prove that the Root Monsters had been drawn here by something in the distance.

Yet he had received no kill notification. So without question, either the Fantasy Village Building Order had bugged out, or those Root Monsters were still alive.

That would not do. Those bastards had destroyed his temporary base overnight and killed so many of his soldiers. No, he had to find them and kill them!

Zhang Yang directly activated Level 2 Vision to search, but the result left him both stunned and surprised. Within the two-kilometer-diameter search range, there was not a single yellow dot. Could such a vast area really contain not even one monster?

This was far too bizarre.

"Search. See if there are any clues nearby."

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Yang led his remaining soldiers in pursuit. The Root Monster had definitely been badly injured by the spider venom; otherwise, it could not have fled so thoroughly.

Also, looking at these completely withered, hollow trees, he felt that the Root Monster must possess some kind of spell that could drive tree roots to attack. It first endowed the trees with lush vitality, then used them to launch attacks.

Before long, Zhang Yang and the others had tracked it five or six hundred meters away. During this process, he activated Level 2 Vision once more, just to prevent a sudden ambush.

But this entire area was truly deathly silent. There were no insects, no birdsong, no ordinary monsters. It was as though they had all been frightened away by something.

The situation made Zhang Yang increasingly uneasy. Reason told him that now was not the time for revenge. The most important thing was to leave this Primeval Forest as quickly as possible, then raise every soldier's strength.

"Forget it. Stop searching. We're withdrawing."

Making a prompt decision, Zhang Yang led the soldiers back along their original route.

But after they had gone less than a few dozen meters, he suddenly felt his scalp tingle and chills race down his spine. On instinct, he immediately activated Level 2 Protection, covering himself and all soldiers close enough to enter its range.

Almost at the same time, amid a barrage of swishing sounds, an unknown number of sharp root spikes burst from underground, skewering three soldiers who had not entered the protective barrier in time like candied hawthorns.

The ground all around them rumbled without end. Before long, under the dumbstruck gazes of Zhang Yang and the others, a gigantic monster rose from the soil thirty meters ahead of them.

The monster was as tall as a five-story building and required dozens of people to encircle it. Its entire body was formed from arm-thick roots. Those roots gleamed with a bluish-black luster as they constantly writhed and twisted together, utterly revolting.

However, Zhang Yang also saw that at least one-third of the monster's roots had rotted away and could not move. They dangled limply across the ground, looking exactly as though they had been corroded by spider venom.

Before they could even attack, the monster lunged at them itself. Thousands upon thousands of roots blotted out the sky as they coiled around the Level 2 Protection barrier, continuously compressing the space within.

Sure enough, it was the same old trick it had used underground. But it was truly effective. Once the space around Zhang Yang and the others was compressed and sealed off, even the Level 2 Protection barrier would not be enough.

Besides, he did not have much energy left.

"Attack its main body!"

Zhang Yang shouted wildly as he unleashed the spell he had mastered.

"Bind!"

He did not know how strong the Root Monster's soul was, but at this point, he could only take the risk and try!

In an instant, Zhang Yang felt half of his core Soul Power being forcibly pulled away, transforming into countless threads of soul. It was as if he himself had become a monster with innumerable tentacles, wrapping around and engulfing the Root Monster. At the same time, a strange pattern flew from his body and branded itself directly onto the Root Monster.

It was incomparably miraculous. At that moment, Zhang Yang even felt as though he had touched the depths of the Root Monster's soul. The sensation was crystal clear, far more profound than anything visible to the naked eye. To put it improperly, it was like a mingling of spirit and flesh.

Truly, everything about the Root Monster seemed to fall within Zhang Yang's understanding and control. He could even clearly grasp its true weakness.

Naturally, he also sensed the Root Monster's struggle—its frantic struggle. But it was useless. Zhang Yang's B-rank soul crushed down upon it. In just one second, the Root Monster stopped struggling, and the Imprisonment Spell finally succeeded completely.

At that very moment, time seemed to freeze. The roots that had been wildly lashing and twisting through the air were all imprisoned, utterly motionless.

For their side, this was a tremendous advantage.

"Kill!"

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan roared and charged out first. His spear moved like a dragon, smashing through countless entangling roots and blasting straight into the Root Monster's main body in a single strike.

Splinters flew everywhere as dozens of roots were blown apart. A bucket-thick wound instantly appeared in the Root Monster's body. The combat power of a Captain-Level Soldier was indeed brutally fearsome.

At the same time, the other soldiers charged out with shouts. Four Elite Spearmen followed Wu Yuan in thrusting directly at the Root Monster's main body, while four Elite Sword and Shield Soldiers swung their long blades, madly chopping through the immobilized roots.

The ordinary soldiers did the same.

Only the Longbowmen dealt scant damage at this moment, because the Root Monster's defense was extremely high. Even Elite Sword and Shield Soldiers had to chop with all their strength to sever its roots.

As for Zhang Yang, he had entered another kind of state.

He had previously thought that once he successfully cast the Imprisonment Spell, he would not need to do anything else, just like in a game. But that was not the case at all. He had to remain completely still and maintain the spell's operation. If he relaxed even slightly, the Root Monster would struggle free from its imprisoned state.

So he had to maintain it with all his might. The sensation was immensely exhausting and consumed Soul Power at a terrifying rate. In only a few short seconds, Zhang Yang felt as though several days had passed. The deep exhaustion that seeped from within to without was enough to drive a person to collapse, making him desperately want to give up.

But Zhang Yang held on. Or rather, more precisely, his B-rank soul gave him the foundation to keep holding on.

Three seconds,

Five seconds,

Ten seconds,

Fifteen seconds,

Twenty seconds,

Watching the soldiers madly chop off every external root tentacle of the Root Monster, watching Spearman Captain Wu Yuan forcibly blast a huge cave into its main body and yank out a green tree heart the size of a human head, Zhang Yang finally let out a complete sigh of relief. The Imprisonment Spell ended at the same time.

"Clang!"

An indescribable wave of exhaustion erupted like a volcano. Zhang Yang did not even have the chance to inspect the results before he completely passed out.