A Life-or-Death Race in the North Realm - The Emperor Among the Crystals

There are four opponents.

4v4.

Although they were very unfriendly, they didn't take us seriously.

If you're going to take action, now's the time.

"What's wrong, Ally? Answer me!"

Kilga persisted, his expression extremely arrogant, while his three teammates snickered, making everyone furious.

"My answer? Of course... No way! A Ye!"

"That's exactly what I was waiting for!"

Blood Shackles!

The surging tide of blood rushed forward like a ferocious beast, engulfing the four in the blink of an eye! Considering that the other party was, after all, a world-renowned celebrity, it would be difficult to handle if someone were to die, so I only restrained them and did not kill them.

"Tsk tsk, that's really scary. I thought it was a kitten, but it turned out to be a lion."

The blood that had enveloped them suddenly dried up, turning into dark red residue that peeled off, leaving the four golden figures unharmed.

It wasn't that simple after all...

"My special ability is to absorb the 'nutrients' of living things I come into contact with and use them for my own purposes. Your pool of blood is quite delicious."

The man wearing gold-rimmed glasses—Technician Paul— was moving his hands; his complexion was now very rosy, it seemed my blood had truly nourished him.

"So, Ally, can I take this as a breakdown in negotiations...?!"

With a wave of his hand, Kilga sent the green-haired youth—combatant Apar—leaping into the air. In the instant he moved, his originally fair skin turned completely green! Tender green shoots sprouted from his bare arms, growing in the blink of an eye into vines as thick as his thighs!

"Vine Whip!"

"Child's play!"

A Blood Blade flashed, instantly severing the vine in two. Green, sticky sap oozed from the cut, yet Apal showed no sign of pain.

"Child's play... that's you!"

A scream suddenly came from behind me. I quickly turned around, and the severed vine did not wither as I expected. Instead, it suddenly stretched out countless tendrils and tightly bound Ailin!

Where are you looking?

A voice rang in my ear, and at the same time, two strong hands gripped my shoulders. The space distorted slightly, and two people appeared beside me— Paul and the navigator Creed.

I see.

Using the broken vine to distract me, Creed used his invisibility to bring Paul closer to me, and now Paul has made contact with me—

"It's just taking your nutrients, it won't hurt. I'll make it up to you later... with high-protein, white fluid, hahahahaha!"

Quiet--

"Huh? What's going on? Why can't I absorb it?" Paul was incredibly surprised. Even through the clothes, the ability to absorb nutrients was enough to activate at this distance. He thought this girl with her face covered but a stunning figure would immediately collapse, but—

"Who's taking whose drugs is still up in the air, you idiot."

The voice was incredibly beautiful, yet it contained a chilling killing intent. Paul immediately felt his arms rapidly losing sensation. Looking down, he saw that his once strong arms had become skin and bones, as if all the blood had been drained from them!

To be honest, this is my first time using lifesteal in actual combat, and it feels pretty good.

Paul screamed in horror. For him, a technician, these hands were his livelihood, and now they were gone...

"I advise you not to move! Even if the vine leaves my body, I can still remotely control it to strangle her..." Seeing that things were not going well, Apar immediately threatened, his tone quite harsh.

"Strangle her? You can try."

To be honest, I wasn't worried about Ailin at all from the beginning, because--

"Whew, finally opened!"

The strong vines had been broken into countless small pieces, with tiny green screws scattered all over the ground. Using screws to represent the 'joints' between the vines, and then breaking them apart by removing the screws, was one of Ailin's specialties.

"You really have some nerve to play bondage on my precious little sister!!!"

Enraged, Ally lifted a large stone brick, and the instant her palm touched it, a golden circle appeared on the back of the brick.

"Injection!"

A transparent wave erupted from the circle, and the stone bricks, propelled by the powerful force, shot out like cannonballs, flying towards Apar's face! Apar frowned, and countless vines appeared in front of him, weaving a large net that barely managed to stop the cannonballs.

"It seems I underestimated you... Apar, don't hold back, I'll allow you to go all out!"

"Receive!"

Apar immediately bent down, plunging his arms deep into the soil.

"The Great Forest!"

Countless plants sprouted from the ground, pressing towards us like a tsunami. I dared not be careless, and I also plunged my hands into the ground, using my signature technique.

"Earth Spike!"

Looking back on that battle, I'm always glad I took that action.

Sharp Crystal Spike pierced from the ground, meeting the fierce green tide; red and green, at the very moment they were about to intersect.

-- Boom!

The ground suddenly trembled, and caught off guard, I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

Boom! Another tremor erupted, and several cracks appeared on the ground in the center of the ruins. The ancient floor tiles bulged upwards, as if something underground was about to emerge.

At that moment, the blood in my body surged with unprecedented agitation. I could clearly feel something from underground resonating with my blood—

The ground shook for the third time, sending a large number of bricks and stones flying into the air. The incredibly hard ancient bricks were smashed to pieces, and countless fragments were scattered. "Something" emerged from the ground!

Is this... a tree? Or a crystal?

Judging from its shape, this thing is a strange plant that is over twenty meters tall, with thin branches intertwined and narrow leaves arranged in a linear pattern covered with intricate patterns. Overall, it looks like a twisted giant fern.

But to say that this is a plant material is far from accurate.

This "plant" is entirely crystal blue, with both its branches and leaves composed of crystals. Under the light of the pendant, the color of its delicate and translucent branches and leaves constantly changes between blue-gray and light blue, emitting a faint blue glow, which is both eerie and extremely beautiful.

We were stunned for a moment, only Givinia murmured softly.

"My God, it's Crystal Tree... and a Royal-level one at that..."

Crystal Tree are unique organisms found only in the center of the North Realm Continent, existing somewhere between plants and minerals, making them extremely peculiar. Crystal Tree are also graded, including ordinary Crystal Tree, King-level King Crystal Tree, Emperor-level Crystal Emperor Tree, and the legendary World Crystal Tree. The fruits of Crystal Tree are called Crystal Fruit, extremely rare natural treasures, and each Crystal Fruit is a highlight of major auction houses.

However, the value and danger of Crystal Tree are directly proportional. Ordinary Crystal Tree become extremely ferocious when encountering external enemies, launching a frenzied attack on anyone who gets close to them. King-level and even Emperor-level crystal trees have the ability to crystallize the surrounding environment, making them extremely dangerous.

Judging from the patterns on the leaves, what appears before us is a Crystal Emperor Tree.

"""..."""

Everyone stood frozen in place, unsure how to react.

"I said, boss..." Apar broke the silence.

"... What's up?"

"Isn't the Crystal Emperor Tree incredibly valuable? Should we...?"

"What the hell do you want? Get out of here!!!"

Kilga leaped into the air, grabbed his three teammates, and flew away recklessly. At the same time, the Crystal Emperor Tree emitted a sound wave that was inaudible to the human ear, and I, who was closest to it, immediately felt a sharp pain in my brain!

"A Ye, run!!!"

But it was too late.

Accompanied by the sound of metal rubbing together, ribbons of light emerged from around the Crystal Emperor Tree. These lights, with a texture that resembled both crystal and metal, focused towards us.

"Quick, dodge—" Clang!

The Crystal Tree emitted a clanging sound like a blade being drawn from its sheath. At the last second, I rolled to the side, and right where I had just been standing, a huge... wall appeared out of thin air?

No, it wasn't a wall, it was a crystal blade! The countless bands of light condensed into a giant, deep blue crystal blade hundreds of meters long, instantly cleaving the nearby stone mountain, which was hundreds of meters high! The crystal blade stretched across the mountain, looking at it at first glance like a huge crystal wall!

However, the attack did not stop. The crystalline light condensed again, and countless giant Crystal Spike immediately emerged from the ground. Each one was like a towering pillar, piercing through the mountain with unstoppable force! Not only was the mountain turned into a beehive, but I also missed the best opportunity to escape because of the obstruction of the Crystal Spike!

"Hurry up, A Ye, come out quickly!"

"Sister Ye!"

From a distance, I could see that the other three had already reached the tunnel exit and were jumping around anxiously, but due to the Crystal Emperor Tree's frenzied attacks, they were unable to come to my aid.

"I'm fine! You guys go first! I'll be right there!"

Take a deep breath, and give it your all!

I took off running, not towards the exit, but towards the Crystal Emperor Tree!

The attacks just now were incredibly fierce, but they all occurred around the Crystal Emperor Tree —meaning that the Crystal Emperor Tree itself, which launched the attacks, was actually a blind spot! Breaking through directly would be too dangerous; it would be better to try breaking through from the blind spot!

I was only about twenty meters away from the Crystal Emperor Tree. At that distance, I was confident I could kill it with a single blow!

"Blood Crystal Spiral!"

Spiral-shaped crimson blood crystals shot out, and at the same time, crystalline light reappeared around the Crystal Emperor Tree, condensing into a shield.

Did my attack arrive first, or did it complete its defense first?

This is a do-or-die situation!

Clang!

In the final instant the shield solidified, my blood crystal slammed into it! The red and blue crystals clashed violently, and in the next instant, they were embedded together.

"What the hell!?"

I couldn't help but yell, "What the hell is going on?! I can't go forward or backward!"

Just when I was caught in a dilemma, a new change occurred.

Hiss hiss hiss--

My blood crystal and the blue crystal of the Crystal Emperor Tree emitted a faint fluorescence. The red and blue light intertwined, making both crystals transparent and extremely dazzling, surpassing all the jewels and diamonds in the world. Through the brightly lit crystal layer, I vaguely saw a fist-sized sphere peel off from the Crystal Emperor Tree, pass straight through the incredibly solid crystal wall, and slowly float in front of me.

I withdrew my hands from the blood crystal and carefully cradled the strange sphere. The instant my palms touched the sphere, the Crystal Emperor Tree stopped attacking, the dazzling crystal light disappeared, and the giant Crystal Spike and blades it had created all crumbled and disintegrated, turning into a pile of crystal sand.

How did it end like that?

"A Ye! It's stopped attacking, quick!"

I heard Ally shouting outside, so I quickly hid the sphere on my body and ran outside.

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Long-awaited bonus chapter! Still over 3000 words! Monthly Votes, monthly Monthly Votes ~

By the way, are there any readers at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu?