Temporary fountain, resurrection discount, boss overseeing the battle.
Ed's three-pronged attack dramatically increased the players' combat efficiency, and by the time dawn was approaching, most of the Half-Tree people in the Fir City had been defeated.
These incredibly strong and towering monster warriors had initially formed an encirclement around the players.
From a certain moment on, whether it was because their numbers had decreased to a certain critical value or for some other reason, these half-tree warriors suddenly switched from offense to defense, and instead of surrounding the players, they were surrounded by the players.
Now, the number of half-tree people has dwindled to less than a hundred, and they cannot hold out for much longer under the attack of thousands of players.
With the situation in Fir City largely settled, Ed immediately issued new instructions in the form of game progress:
The Half-Tree army is about to be completely wiped out. The next available mission routes are:
1. Complete the encirclement and eliminate the half-tree warriors.
2. Enter the city and search for Archbishop Antiya Lisi.
3. Surround the knightly order that is still on standby inside the city, and attack or force them to surrender.
4. Occupy important areas such as city walls, military camps, and churches of all sizes.
*Note: Do not attack or otherwise act unfriendly towards residents of Fir City who have not shown hostility, as this will lower your personal trust level and the reputation of the player community.
The game progress indicator reappeared before them, and the players, excited, chose their desired game routes and disappeared with their companions into the Fir City before dawn.
At this point, Ed was actually a little confused. Antiya Lisi, who defeated Antos, was not seriously injured at all. At most, he was just weak for a while because a part of his body had been taken away.
But why doesn't he return to the battlefield?
Could it be because he chickened out at the crucial moment? That completely contradicts the persona he's projected...
Ed turned to look at Duma:
"Commander, where do you think Antiya Lisi might be?"
Duma smiled sheepishly upon hearing this:
" My Son of God, why do you still address me as Legion Commander?"
"Not the commander of the Holy Crusaders, but the commander of the Soul Returner ' legion, is that alright?"
Duma scratched his demon horn with the hand on his upper right:
"Actually, there's a problem..."
He thought for a moment and said:
"Your reputation among these Soul Returner is unparalleled, and their faith in you is nothing short of fanatical. Even I don't have complete confidence in such a group of warriors..."
"Are you afraid you can't control them?"
Ed interrupted Duma, and the demon nodded to indicate that this was exactly what he meant.
Ed waved his hand:
"You're mistaken. The Soul Returner are unlike any other intelligent being; even I cannot control them."
"So what did you do?"
"I was just guiding them."
Ed wanted to pat Duma on the shoulder, but considering the height difference between them, he ultimately abandoned the idea of humiliating himself.
"As a demon who has lived for thousands of years, you should know how terrible boredom is."
Duma nodded, Ed continued to impart his experience:
"They're the same, only a little different from you."
You find life boring because you live a long life; they find life boring because it's unimportant.
"Some things may be commonplace for you, but they may have never encountered them before."
"Although they don't live as long as you, their endless lifespan can bring them almost limitless possibilities."
"So my advice to you is to treat their lives as a consumable resource, to give them unprecedented experiences, and as long as your inspiration hasn't dried up, they will follow your lead."
After teaching Duma the "Burning Technique" for interacting with players, Ed looked at Duma with anticipation for his future performance.
At this moment Duma's face was full of enlightenment, as if he had once again been captivated by the wisdom of the Tree God.
Although Ed only said a few words, he gave Duma countless ideas.
Upon seeing these almost irrational berserkers, Duma initially doubted his ability to complete Ed's mission.
But with that prompting from the other party, he felt his mind was now full of ideas, just waiting for the next battle to arrive so he could fight alongside these Soul Returner.
Just as Ed and Duma were about to exchange some more tips, several players suddenly ran towards Ed. Although they were all heading in the same direction, the expressions on their faces were quite different.
Some people looked surprised, some were excited, but others seemed angry and resentful.
As the group approached, Ed immediately recognized them as [ Bread Knight ], [ Butter Archer ], [ Ham Warrior ], and [ Lettuce Priest ], who had led the way for him not long ago.
" Son of God!"
[ Bread Knight ] was the player with a look of mixed surprise and joy. He shouted breathlessly:
"We've found Antiya Lisi..."
His heavy breathing choked him up, and [ Butter Archer ] beside him added at the opportune moment:
"... the corpse."
The corpse?
Antiya Lisi is dead?
Ed's expression froze; he immediately understood why the players in front of him had such different expressions.
Some were excited because they found the mission objective, some were happy because the big boss was dead, and some were annoyed because the boss seemed to be a weakling, turning into a corpse before they even had a chance to fight.
Could it be that the final boss of Fir City Operation was never Antiya Lisi, but rather one of three group bosses: the Fir City Half-Tree Chapter, the main Holy Crusaders lingering in the Second Holy See, and the elite Tree Worship Church group deep within Valhalla?
Ed was also quite puzzled by this, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"Where is it? Take me there."
"It's in an alley not far away, less than two hundred meters from the battlefield."
Less than two hundred meters?
Ed was even more puzzled; this was tantamount to someone silently killing Antiya Lisi while the Soul Returner and the Half-Tree were locked in fierce battle.
This development is far too bizarre...
Led by the four players, Ed and Duma arrived at the alleyway.
This is just a narrow alley, barely wide enough for one person, with only one exit at the front. More than an alley, it's a friendly gesture of the homeowners on both sides yielding to each other.
Although it was still dark at dawn, Ed was already able to see clearly what was happening in the alley.
He slowly walked into the alley and saw Antiya Lisi's body.
It was an old man dressed in a thin shirt, sitting at the end of the alley with his head tilted to one side and his legs casually spread apart in front of him, looking more like a vagrant than an archbishop.
Ed was absolutely certain that the person in front of him was dead, but his identity...
He stepped forward and straightened the corpse's head, but the sight before him made even the usually cautious and composed Ed take a deep breath.
The corpse was indeed Antiya Lisi, but his eyes had been gouged out and replaced with something else. With Little Green's identification abilities, he quickly saw everything clearly before him—
The archbishop has an oval seed in his left eye socket; [ the Aberration plant—the upas tree, Upas Tree ].
The archbishop has a spherical gem in his right eye socket, [ Territory Secret Pact--Fir City ].