Escape to the Village Entrance

Just as Zhou Xiaoxiao was begging Chen Ye for help...

A roar shook heaven and earth.

Then the ground began to quake, as though a great dragon were roaring and thrashing beneath it.

The corpse puppets bound by willow branches swayed and shook wildly.

All the survivors turned to look.

Beneath the Big Willow Tree, which seemed as vast as a world, the three-meter-tall giant's muscles bulged. His enormous fists hammered its trunk like battering rams. Wood chips flew, and crimson blood flowed from the tree.

The Long-Legged Girl held her longsword aloft in one hand, murmuring some mysterious incantation. The sword grew increasingly powerful, Sword Qi swirling around her body. Her long hair fluttered without wind, making her look like a goddess.

Yet her face grew paler and paler, until not a trace of color remained.

This was the Sword Qi strike she had used against the Hunchbacked Old Puppet earlier, but this blow was far more powerful.

"Strike!"

With a sharp cry, she brought her longsword down lightly toward the Big Willow Tree before her.

Dazzling Sword Qi enveloped the blade, extending what had been a little over a meter of steel to more than ten meters.

Even from this far away, Chen Ye felt a chill in his heart.

The longsword descended.

A terrifying sword gash appeared on the Big Willow Tree, and crimson blood poured down its trunk.

Strange, eerie sobs and screams rose from underground.

The strike had clearly injured the Big Willow Tree. Its trunk twisted frantically, shaking the village's central square along with it.

At that moment, it seemed as though an earthquake had struck the entire village.

It happened at the very moment Zhou Xiaoxiao begged Chen Ye for help.

The survivors stared at the Big Willow Tree in horror.

Even the corpse puppets seemed gripped by panic, as though something truly terrifying were about to arrive.

"Run!"

Chen Ye shouted!

The survivors around him snapped out of their daze, turned with their backpacks, and fled madly toward the village entrance.

Chen Ye could no longer afford to worry about anything else. He could sense that the Big Willow Tree's injury had torn open a gap in some taboo within the village.

The backpack on his back did nothing to slow him down. Wishing his parents had given him another pair of legs, Chen Ye sprinted toward the village entrance like a madman.

Chen Ye's shout failed to rouse the berserk big lug. The muscle-bound brute, over three meters tall, still had blood-red eyes, and his iron fists pounded the Big Willow Tree's trunk relentlessly like hammers.

Among all the sequences, the Titan Sequence was a powerful combat sequence.

But it did not come without a price.

For instance, awakening the Titan Sequence caused a person's intelligence to decline to some degree.

A Titan Transcendent in combat mode could easily go berserk. Unless either they or their opponent fell, it was difficult for them to regain their reason.

"Big lug! Move!"

The Long-Legged Girl swayed on her feet, but what reason she still retained told her she had to snap the big lug out of it.

Otherwise, they would all be in trouble.

But the big lug ignored Long-Legged Girl's warning completely, attacking the Big Willow Tree like an enraged male lion.

"Chen Ye!"

With no strength left in her body, the Long-Legged Girl could only turn to Chen Ye for help.

Chen Ye's pupils contracted slightly. Even without understanding the Titan Sequence, he could tell that the big lug was trapped in some kind of emotional state.

The Long-Legged Girl's plea was different from Zhou Lan's or Zhou Xiaoxiao's. These two were Sequence Transcendents.

Besides, the big lug had been friendly toward him.

Should I save them or not?

That was the question.

If it were Zhou Lan or Zhou Xiaoxiao, Chen Ye would never have saved them.

But these two were Sequence Transcendents. They were worth saving!

In just 0.01 seconds, Chen Ye made his decision. Gritting his teeth, he stopped retreating.

He aimed his hand crossbow at the big lug's arm and fired.

Chen Ye had no idea whether his bolt soaked in black dog blood would actually work. He only hoped the pain would restore a shred of the big lug's reason.

Only the bolt's tip sank into the broad muscles of the big lug's back.

That absurd mass of muscle stopped Chen Ye's bolt.

Chen Ye was inwardly stunned. The big lug had such formidable defenses through muscle alone.

The Titan Sequence was terrifying indeed.

"Roar!"

In his rage, Iron Lion felt the attack strike his back. He turned and saw a short human sprinting away.

With a roar, Iron Lion charged after Chen Ye in great strides.

Chen Ye inwardly cursed.

Motherfucker! Big lug! With that look in your eyes, you're not planning to kill me, are you?

Iron Lion's eyes were blood-red, and he looked like an enraged mammoth.

The Long-Legged Girl felt a little relieved at the sight. Pushing off with her legs, she landed lightly on Iron Lion's shoulder.

Even on the verge of exhaustion, Long-Legged Girl found something like this no trouble at all.

As they passed the mountain-sized bundle of supplies, the Long-Legged Girl flicked out a rope, hooked the bundle, and tied the other end around Iron Lion's arm.

And so the group charged straight toward the entrance of Longevity Village, trailing clouds of dust.

From high above, they would have looked like a long snake rushing toward the entrance, with trails of dust streaming behind its tail.

Chen Ye was now sprinting with every last ounce of strength he had.

Meanwhile, the whole of Longevity Village awakened from its slumber.

Starting from the village center, countless willow branches surged madly toward the fleeing survivors.

"Aaaah! Save me! I don't want to die! Save me!"

A survivor who had fallen a little behind screamed in terror as the Willow Branches caught his ankle and dragged him into the darkness.

The other survivors were scared out of their wits at the sight and ran even more desperately.

Another two or three survivors were snared by willow branches and dragged into the darkness.

Several willow branches snaked around the houses, creeping out of the darkness on either side of the street and into Chen Ye's path.

Chen Ye raised his hand and fired a bolt.

The bolt soaked in black dog blood pierced the Willow Branches.

Amid faint, barely audible screams, the Willow Branches quickly withdrew into the darkness.

Suddenly!

Chen Ye felt something tighten around his ankle. Before he could think, he lost his balance and was hoisted upside down.

My turn at last?

Chen Ye's hand crossbow was empty now, leaving him with no other options.

Even if Long-Legged Girl wanted to help Chen Ye, she was still too far away.

Chen Ye yanked the Woodcutter's Knife from his waist and hacked viciously at the Willow Branches.

Ever since acquiring the Woodcutter's Knife, Chen Ye had frequently soaked it in black dog blood.

There was no reason to soak his bolts in black dog blood but not the Woodcutter's Knife.

In truth, Chen Ye had no idea whether soaking the Woodcutter's Knife in black dog blood would work. He had merely decided to give it a try.

To his surprise, the Willow Branches let out a faint scream when the blade struck.

Overjoyed, Chen Ye hacked at it another two or three times.

Although the survivors had no firearms, many had managed to obtain sharp weapons.

Earlier, those survivors' blades had been completely useless against the willow branches.

Yet now, the Woodcutter's Knife soaked in black dog blood actually worked.

How could Chen Ye not be delighted?

The Willow Branches snapped, and Chen Ye fell to the ground.

Chen Ye rolled and sprang to his feet. Ignoring his disheveled state, he broke into a sprint.

"Ye, hop on!"

A large hand scooped Chen Ye up and lifted him onto something soft.

It was a mountain-sized backpack.

The very backpack the big lug, Iron Lion, had been carrying!

The blood-red color had faded from his eyes, and he had hoisted the mountain-sized backpack onto his back again.

Chen Ye had just been tossed onto that enormous backpack.

"Hold tight! I'm picking up the pace!"

With that, Iron Lion abruptly accelerated. Chen Ye frantically grabbed the backpack, barely keeping himself from being thrown off.

The village entrance was right before them!