Wood Demon Tower

Zhang Yang had no idea how long he had been unconscious. When he woke again, his entire head felt as though it were about to explode. He tried to recall what had happened, but his mind was a pot of porridge. Even his eyes would not focus, as if he were rolling them white.

It took him more than ten minutes to recover somewhat. He found himself inside a dim cave. Hmm, it looked a little familiar.

Looking more closely, wasn't this the Root Monster's true body?

It was quiet outside. He could see soldiers patrolling, as well as Spearman Captain Wu Yuan standing guard at the cave entrance.

But Zhang Yang had no time to ask what had happened. He hurriedly felt for the Village Building Order. Though it was the chief culprit behind his arrival in this damned world, without it, he truly would not be able to survive.

"Village Chief, you're awake?"

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan asked from outside the tree hollow.

"What's the situation now? How long was I unconscious? This thing is really dead, right?"

Zhang Yang asked.

"Village Chief, it is very safe outside now. No traces of other demons have been found. You were unconscious for approximately one shichen. As for this tree demon, it is indeed dead. Also, your condition earlier was very bad. Only after I placed you inside this tree hollow did you begin to improve, because I discovered that the tree demon's corpse seemed to have some healing effect."

Wu Yuan answered in a rigid, methodical manner.

Zhang Yang nodded and began examining the information projected by the Village Building Order. Yet no matter how he searched, he found no kill notification, much less the tree demon's demon soul. What was going on?

Had Wu Yuan pocketed it for himself? He vaguely remembered seeing Wu Yuan tear off a green tree heart before he lost consciousness.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Zhang Yang saw a familiar flash of white light, followed by several messages appearing before his eyes.

Successfully strangled a Level 15 Earth-Walking Wood Demon.

Because you used the Imprisonment Spell on the Earth-Walking Wood Demon until its death, the Village Building Order cannot obtain energy.

Because you used the Imprisonment Spell on the Earth-Walking Wood Demon until its death, the Village Building Order cannot obtain a demon soul.

Because you used the Imprisonment Spell on the Earth-Walking Wood Demon until its death, the Village Building Order cannot obtain materials.

You have obtained a special item: Level 1 Wood Demon Tower (view attributes).

Wood Demon Tower, Level 1.

Effect 1: Carry the Wood Demon Tower through the forest to gain the passive trait Disguise, with a high chance of avoiding enemy searches. The effect is strongest when stationary. If there are no trees within one hundred meters, this effect will disappear.

Effect 2: The Wood Demon Tower can slowly heal wounded soldiers until they fully recover.

Effect 3: The Wood Demon Tower can accelerate the recovery of Soul Power.

Note: The Wood Demon Tower exceeds the capacity limit of the Village Building Order's storage space. Please upgrade the quality of the Village Building Order.

"There's such a good thing?"

Zhang Yang was very satisfied—he could not possibly have been dissatisfied. This had been a Level 15 demon. If he had not used the Imprisonment Spell to hold it fast from beginning to end, the soldiers under his command would never have been able to kill this Wood Demon.

Even the two Spider Lords had needed venom just to keep the Wood Demon at bay.

So, he was truly content with this outcome.

Besides, he had also tested another use of the Imprisonment Spell. To be honest, he was very surprised.

Really, he had not thought much of the Imprisonment Spell at first. He had assumed it was like a crowd-control skill in a game, one that merely stopped a target from moving for a few seconds.

But damn, this Imprisonment Spell could actually imprison a target's body and soul indefinitely. Calling it domineering did not begin to cover it—it was simply a god-tier skill.

Its only drawback was that the caster's soul strength had to surpass that of the target. Otherwise, it was practically useless.

Even Zhang Yang felt lingering fear. How fortunate he was. If he had not possessed a C+ soul, if he had not stubbornly refused to sell his soul all this time, those two Spider Lords would probably have turned him into a special item long ago.

If I get the chance in the future, I must prioritize upgrading and strengthening my soul. Otherwise, I might die without even knowing how I died.

With that thought, Zhang Yang simply continued lying inside the Wood Demon Tower. He felt that his Soul Power had not yet fully recovered.

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan took the initiative to report, "Village Chief, during the battle just now, I tore out that tree demon's heart. But before I could react, the tree demon's heart vanished from my hand. But I—"

"It's fine. The disappearance of that tree heart was related to my spell."

Zhang Yang reassured him. That tree heart must have been valuable, but under the Imprisonment Spell, no material could escape.

It was not until a full hour later that Zhang Yang emerged from the Wood Demon Tower, refreshed and invigorated. Now, he felt this special item was even more valuable.

Because it could accelerate the recovery of Soul Power, it meant he could increase the number of times he could cast the Imprisonment Spell.

Then, even if he encountered another boss like the Earth-Walking Wood Demon, he would have nothing to fear.

"Come to think of it, doesn't that make me a mysterious, noble, terrifyingly powerful mage now?"

Zhang Yang was delighted just thinking about it.

Look, Level 2 Vision could be considered a long-range detection spell.

Level 2 Concealment could be considered an invisibility spell.

Level 2 Protection was a shield spell.

And with an Imprisonment Spell on top of that, what else could he be but a mage?

As for building villages and farming? Hmph, farm my ass! He would never farm in this lifetime.

But after letting his imagination run wild for a while, Zhang Yang soon became downcast.

The reason was simple. First, he had no energy left. It had all been used up earlier, so he could not activate Level 2 Vision. Naturally, he could not determine where demons were.

Second, the Wood Demon Tower was far too enormous. It stood a full ten meters tall and would probably take seven or eight people linking arms to encircle it. Though it had already shrunk, with such volume and such weight, how was he supposed to move it?

Or even if they could move it, this was the Primeval Forest, with its complex terrain. What if demons ambushed them? What if the soldiers were exhausted and then demons appeared?

"Looks like this thing isn't suited for moving. It can only be used in a fixed location. How about I build a village here? This place looks fairly flat, anyway."

"No, no, I can't build a village. My Village Building Order only has nine slots left, and those need to be used to replenish soldiers at critical moments. Building a village here would be a road to death. I won't make that mistake."

Just as Zhang Yang was caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to decide, his heart suddenly jolted. The soldiers also drew their weapons and shouted. Raising his head, he saw an enormous black deer elegantly walking out from the depths of the forest.

But this deer was far too huge—or perhaps it was not a deer at all. It merely had an enormous stag's head. It was likely fifteen meters tall overall, though half that height came from its massive antlers.

Even stranger, all sorts of bizarre things hung from the branches of those antlers: an Azure Wolf's head, Red Eagle feathers, blue fruits, wild ox horns, black mushrooms, bright little flowers, and more. Its body was covered in dark green moss. From afar, it resembled a mountain god—assuming it hid motionlessly in deep grass.

The deer-headed monster swaggered to a stop a hundred meters away from Zhang Yang and his group. The emotions shifting within its eyes were as human as any person's, and its gaze was fixed on the Wood Demon Tower. Clearly, it had come for it.

"Village Chief, this is likely a lord-class demon, and a very mysterious one."

Spearman Captain Wu Yuan said in a low voice, his expression more solemn than ever.

Zhang Yang felt even more bitter inside. Was his luck really this bad? He killed the little spiders and the big spiders came. He killed the big spiders and then the Earth-Walking Wood Demon came. He had finally dealt with the Wood Demon, only for the tower made from its corpse to attract this mountain-god-like monster.

"Everyone, form up! Keep your backs to the Wood Demon Tower. This thing won't be easy to deal with."

That was the only order he could give. There was no way he would retreat and abandon the Wood Demon Tower just like that.

Seeing Zhang Yang's group form a defensive formation, the Deer Beast Demon actually revealed a trace of disdain in its eyes. Then it opened its mouth and let out a wolf howl. At the same time, the Azure Wolf head hanging from the branches of its antlers turned into a cloud of black smoke and vanished.

This seemed to be an even more mysterious kind of sorcery?

As Zhang Yang was making his guess, wolf howls suddenly rang out from every direction. In the blink of an eye, more than fifty enormous Azure Wolf Demons charged out of the forest. Their target was not the Deer Beast Demon, but Zhang Yang and his group.