The Tree Sentinel's Here to Give You a Back Massage

While Van Eyff was fighting the White Mask.

Savis City, tavern.

"Sister Lu Lu Wo, I lost the invasion again. Can you tell me how to fight again?"

A local hunter from Red, looking resentful, brought over two glasses of fine iced beer, squeezed through the crowd, and sat down in front of Lu Lu Wo, who was surrounded by people.

This adventurer named Lu Lu Wo has recently become very popular in Reed, and the reason is naturally because she is willing to selflessly teach people combat techniques, especially how to invade and counter invade.

Being invaded is an inevitable part of the journey for everyone new to Sein. The Reids have been numb from the invasions these days, unable to fight back, and were just looking for someone to ask for advice Lu Lu Wo popped up and naturally became popular.

Thanks to her, the strength of the Red people has increased by leaps and bounds to the point where they can no longer be easily manipulated. She is truly a great benefactor.

"Lost again? Seriously, don't tell anyone I'm your master when you get out of here," Lu Lu Wo downed her ice-cold beer in one gulp, letting out a satisfied "ha" like a tomboy, and confidently laughed, "Then I'll teach you a forbidden technique. All of you come over here and listen to me. Today I'll only teach it to those who are destined to learn it, don't pass it on to outsiders."

Everyone crowded around excitedly, and she shook her slender fingers as she said:

"What I'm going to teach you today is a technique derived from long-distance running, called—"

She paused deliberately, and seeing that everyone had been piqued, she smiled and said:

"Dive into the monster pack!"

The Zane Dungeon, Limgrave.

"Snap—"

Fan En loaded the pistol, aimed at the White Mask man, and was ready to fire. He was confident he could hit the man, or at least hit him in the back.

But just before he could fire, a long gun was placed in front of him, preventing him from pulling the trigger.

"What's wrong?" Fan En asked You Fei.

"Don't attack yet. Do you see that Heavy Armor Knight?" You Fei stared intently at the Tree Sentinel, quickly assessing its strength.

"I saw him, but my aim is excellent, I won't accidentally hit him."

"No, that's not how it works."

You Fei shook her head. "That guy is watching us. I think if we do anything out of line, like if your bullet hits the White Mask next to him, even if it doesn't hit him, we'll still be attacked by him."

She continued, "The knight looks like he's on patrol, maybe he has his own area of responsibility. As long as we don't step into his patrol area, we probably won't be attacked—provided we don't provoke him."

You Fei's words were not deduced out of thin air, but were heard from some adventurers who studied the behavior of monsters in the Zane Dungeon. The adventurers used the Caria Knight, Mugram, as an example.

Since they were both knights, she thought that this rule might also apply to the Tree Sentinel.

So they chose to remain still, and even took a few steps back.

And so, something that adventurers would love to see happened.

"Neigh!" The horse beneath the Tree Sentinel neighed, and the Tree Sentinel turned sharply, his gaze fixed on the White Mask!

With a thunderous crash as the Golden Halberd struck the ground, the Tree Sentinel chased after the White Mask, disappearing from sight in no time.

The angry voice of the White Mask could be heard from not far away.

Monsters fighting each other is a scene that adventurers really enjoy.

You Fei smiled, a smug smile.

Unsure of the consequences of firing his gun, Fan En felt things were fine as they were.

"When did you get here?" he asked You Fei, who replied:

"I wasn't that much earlier than you; you can guess from the battle just now."

The two returned to the cliff, where a golden light floated silently; this was called a blessing.

As the two approached, streams of light would extend towards them, as if guiding them towards them.

Euphemia knew more information than Vane. When she saw the blessing, she immediately thought of something, such as one of the signs of the Sien Dungeon: the campfire.

Without hesitation, she touched the blessing, and a golden ball of light splashed out dazzling light in all directions. She took out the Flask of the Sacred Chalice and saw that, sure enough, it had been automatically replenished.

"It really is a different kind of campfire now," she muttered to herself.

"What?" Fan En asked.

So You Fei told him all her speculations, and Fan En took some time to process them before the information gap between them was bridged.

"So this is the Zane Dungeon."

Looking at the scenery of Limgrave that he had never seen before in his life, Fan En said regretfully, "I imagine the scenery in the other areas of this underground city must be spectacular as well. It's a real pity that I was unable to explore it during that time due to illness."

"Is it spectacular?" You Fei thought of the Farron Keep, which was full of poisonous mud, and ultimately did not say anything to shatter the other person's beautiful reverie.

After all, in some ways, the Farron Keep is quite "spectacular", isn't it?

"Since we have met here, then Yi Sha and Mr. Basque should also be here," she said, sitting down before the blessing and letting the warm light bathe her. "Let's rest here for a while and wait."

The two chatted while waiting, and naturally, the conversation revolved entirely around the underground city, especially the images they had just seen.

The initial discussions were more serious, such as where the Lands Between might be located in the outside world, the most likely historical time for the Shattering, and what the Greater Will and the Elden Ring are.

However, when they realized they couldn't reach a conclusion, the topic veered further and further off course, for example:

"Starscourge General must be the strongest, he looks so brave and handsome."

"Don't you think ominous signs sound incredibly ominous?"

"I think that Dung Eater is quite good-looking."

When they finally ran out of things to say, Fan En finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask since the beginning:

"Are you sure that White Mask was an enemy, and not some kind of afterimage?"

You Fei was silent for a moment, her face slightly flushed, and she murmured softly, a rare occurrence for her:

"Spilled water cannot be gathered up again."

Okay, she seems to be starting to realize it.

Just then, the door opened again, Te Pi staggered out. He almost fell to the ground when he saw the two unharmed people.

"What's wrong, Mr. Basque?" Fan En quickly helped him up.

"I, I," Te Pi gasped for breath before saying, "I've seen too much today, good and bad, and my mind is a bit tired."

After watching him sit down and rest for a while, You Fei asked with interest, "Mr. Basque, what do you plan to do with this underground city?"

"What should I do? Just don't get rid of me!" he cursed. "I'm so unlucky to have built my mansion on top of the Zane Dungeon."

"You also know this is Sai'en?" Fan En asked, puzzled. It seemed like only he and his sister didn't know this was Sai'en.

"Of course. At first, we fought the Grafted Noble, and the one who told us the story was Princess Ranni of the Moon. The nameless portrait that looks exactly like Radahn is still hanging in Raya Lucaria. If it weren't for Sain here, I would donate all my assets!"

He spoke with great confidence, as if no one present knew Sain as well as he did.

Although he said he hated Leon and Thane, he still studied Thane thoroughly and understood You Fei even better than Euphemia, since the latter spent most of his time in Lake Liurnia.

In short, he is now a know-it-all about Sion—at least on paper.

"Do you know him?" You Fei pointed to the Tree Sentinel had returned to patrol at some point.

"I recognize it. It's a monster that appeared on the day it went berserk in the Zane Dungeon." Te Pi recognized it at a glance.

He looked around, stood up and said, "The Tree Sentinel is a monster that only appeared on the day of the rampage in the Zane Dungeon and has not been seen since. There is not much information about it, but according to the testimony of those who witnessed everything at the time, a girl wielding a greatsword was able to fight a Tree Sentinel alone. That girl was later confirmed to be the Hero Elsa."

"There are also a few reports that the two elite captains of the Light Eagle Legion and a group of mercenaries are able to hold off a Tree Sentinel for a short time."

Te Pi changed the subject, saying, "You're going to wait here for the little girl who's with you? In that case, why don't we find something to do? How about the three of us take care of the Tree Sentinel?"

"Are you really that brave?" Fan En was surprised and turned to look at You Fei, who actually nodded in agreement!

"I could take on two captains of the Light Eagle Legion with one hand."

You Fei stood up, looking spirited and said, "Since we have nothing better to do, let's take care of the Tree Sentinel!"

"Don't you want to think about it some more?" Fan En thought it was better to be cautious.

"Don't worry, the Tree Sentinel are very strong, but," You Fei said confidently, giving herself a thumbs-up:

"The monsters placed where adventurers first enter the dungeon can't be too outrageously strong!"

A moment later.

The Tree Sentinel rode his horse leisurely along the path.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, Quicksilver Bullets exploded on his helmet, with some debris grazing through the gaps and getting inside.

It stung a little; he was angry!

The Tree Sentinel immediately spurred his horse towards Fan En, who was alone and firing at him from a distance, like a speeding, out-of-control tank, raising his Golden Halberd high.

"Thump!"

The ground was smashed into a huge crater in an instant. Before Fan En, who had successfully dodged, could catch his breath, the mud kicked up by the halberd had not yet completely settled when the attack from the Tree Sentinel came again!

Fan En flew high into the air, and luckily he grabbed a nearby pole to avoid falling flat on his face.

The Tree Sentinel relentlessly pursued him, while he tried to dodge their fierce attacks and look for an opportunity to strike once or twice, but he couldn't find a chance at all.

"Are you guys done yet?!" He was about to collapse.

In an instant, arrows formed from a mixture of magic and battle aura rained down, a genuine attack that could hurt them. The Tree Sentinel immediately raised its shield to defend itself.

Not only did it raise its shield to defend, but the shield even shone with a golden light. At this moment, the Weapon Skill [Golden Retribution] was activated, and the cannonball formed by absorbing magic smashed into the bushes that looked like a place to hide. The explosion leveled the area.

But no one was hiding in the bushes.

"Now!" Te Pi's voice suddenly came from the other side.

"Drink it!"

A strong gust of wind swept in from behind the Tree Sentinel, carrying a spearhead that was enormous in both size and lethality. If it hit, it would surely cause considerable damage to the enemy.

The Tree Sentinel only had time to turn around and raise his shield before the spear tip was already upon him.

It was a success! Te Pi clenched his fist; his tactics had worked!

Using Fan En to draw attention, he unleashed a barrage of magical Arrow Rain to ambush the opponent, forcing him to Golden Retribution. Then, he had You Fei unleash her long-charged attack on the Tree Sentinel.

Common sense dictates that Weapon Skill always have a gap in their use. By forcing out the Golden Retribution in advance, there's no need to worry about You Fei's charged attack being blocked!

This attack is sure to hit!

When Te Pi smiled.

"Buzz!"

The buzzing sound of the Weapon Skill suddenly rang out.

The golden shell rushed towards them in the blink of an eye, and the explosion completely enveloped him and You Fei!

"Hello!"

Fan En was shocked by this unexpected situation. What had he just seen? The Tree Sentinel had used the Golden Retribution a second time in a very short period of time.

You Fei's attack has been completely neutralized!

"Cough cough cough, what's going on?"

You Fei emerged from the dust, covered in soot and carrying the heavily injured Te Pi. She was astonished by the speed at which the Tree Sentinel unleashed its Weapon Skill.

Moreover, the power of the Golden Retribution seems much stronger than what Te Pi described!

That's right. Considering the abundant military strength of the Warrior Country, and to ensure that adventurers truly experience the feeling of meeting the king upon leaving home, the Tree Sentinel here are stronger than the original ones!

Before You Fei could recover and reorganize his tactics, a new Arrow Rain formed above the Tree Sentinel' heads.

This was a timed spell that Te Pi had set up in advance, designed to repeat the planned attack sequence.

However, now, the good plan has led to bad results.

While the Golden Retribution cannot be used consecutively, the interval between attacks is extremely short. The Tree Sentinel only needs to slightly adjust the angle, and with the support of the Arrow Rain, it can unleash its full power.

The golden Gatling was thus created!

"Boom boom boom—"

The "shells" chased after the crowd, and everyone scrambled to cover their heads and run away in a panic. For a moment, the air was filled with a bittersweet atmosphere.

Te Pi couldn't understand how the Tree Sentinel had become so strong.

As Fan En fled, he felt only relief; his current state was utterly humiliating, and thankfully Yi Sha wasn't there.

"Awoo!"

A few wolf howls rang out, startling Fan En, who almost thought the Farron Guard had returned.

But when he looked up, he saw three azure spirit wolves suddenly appear out of nowhere and bite the Tree Sentinel's arm, finally stopping the Golden Retribution.

But where did the wolf come from?

"Brother? Why are you fighting?"

The person Fan En least wanted to see appeared: Yi Sha ran from the direction of a church, clutching Spirit Calling Bell in her hand.

Clearly, these three wolves were summoned by her, and their identity is something unique to Sion—ashes!

"Yi Sha!?" Fan En even had the urge to burrow into the ground. "What are you doing here? Where did you get that thing in your hand?"

Yi Sha blinked, raised the séance bell, and said:

"Obtained by defeating a blue-skinned monster with four arms."

"What?"

"Just kidding, it was a gift from an older sister~"

She stuck out her tongue. "Let's not talk about that anymore. Why are you fighting this guy? You can't beat him at all. Let's run!"

People immediately listened to the advice and ran until they reached the cliff where the blessing was located. Only when they were sure that the Tree Sentinel were not chasing them did they dare to catch their breath.

Just then, Yi Sha looked at the empty cliff and asked in confusion:

Where did that kind uncle with the White Mask go?

Upon hearing this, You Fei's body immediately stiffened.

In Savis City, at the tavern, Lu Lu Wo is sharing his unique expertise with the people.

"Do you know what the dumbest thing an adventurer can do is?"

Faced with the questioning looks from the people, she solemnly said:

"That means you can't resist attacking anything that looks like an afterimage!"