Faced with the tense situation with Ed, Cuiske displayed unprecedented composure (in reality, he had no other choice).
Through the bond of blood, Cuiske sent a message to Adelaide:
"Father, things might need to be expedited on your end."
Adelaide is locked in a fierce battle with the King of Domination and has not responded to Cuiske as quickly as before.
The next moment, a blade soaked in the sap of the Upas Tree tree was already in front of Cuiske, forcing him to focus all his attention on fighting the enemy before him.
Bang bang bang!
A series of clanging sounds rang out; Ed had never expected that a battle between High Tier would be so simple and unadorned.
But when Ed thought about how Noya's main offensive tactic was simply to pounce on the enemy with her massive dragon body and then perform a death roll like an otherworldly crocodile, Ed immediately felt relieved.
If they were outside, they might fight even more freely.
But this is hundreds of meters underground in the Klaf City, and all the High Tier involved in the battle are consciously or unconsciously avoiding using moves with enormous power and range.
Just like Seraphina, the Red Dragon did not Descent in its complete form, partly because Ed was truly distressed about the mercenaries who charged by the move.
Another reason is that the Red Dragon's body is so enormous that it might not even be able to lift its head here.
Moreover, the fire-based attack method could easily turn the Rotting Corpse Dark Lake into a giant pressure cooker. If it were to explode, none of the three parties present would benefit.
Another series of continuous sounds of weapons clashing rang out. Although Ed's body seemed tiny compared to the half-tree man, every player who tried to join the battle was cut into pieces by Cuiske.
Ed frowned, analyzing the power of Cuiske's previous attacks as he fought alongside him.
"This is your true form."
Ed said with certainty.
Cuiske, standing before him, did not deny it, but responded frankly:
"I'm not that arrogant, and you don't deserve it."
"Then let's try this!"
Ed fired two shots in quick succession from the plant cannon in his palm, launching two uniquely shaped seeds.
The two seeds, with their oval, flattened structure, flew towards Cuiske like two flying saucers.
Cuiske dodged, but only managed to avoid one of the shots before being hit in the forearm by the second seed.
The other seed, which he had dodged, struck the ankle of his giant clone behind him.
The two seeds burrowed into the skin and began to grow rapidly.
"What are you up to?"
Sensing something was wrong, Cuiske dodged repeatedly. Looking at the symbiotic plant he had never seen before, Cuiske gritted his teeth and, with a thought, issued a death command to his arm.
Apoptosis is a common mechanism in plants; diseased leaves, Fragility branches, and malnourished roots...
Many components that are not beneficial to the whole can be actively eliminated through apoptosis.
This ability is naturally widely used by mid- to High Tier plant-based ability users.
Now, Cuiske believes that this arm is no longer of any use to him.
Almost instantly, noticeable signs of dryness appeared around Cuiske's elbow.
The next moment, his left elbow snapped off like rotten wood and fell to the ground with a thud. Ed could even see the horrific sight of rotting flesh and withered roots fused together on the broken surface.
New willow branches Spread from Cuiske's wound and almost instantly formed a shape resembling an arm.
Ed's previous attack seemed to have had no effect, only causing him to switch hands.
For Cuiske, who has already reached High Tier and possesses both plant and Blood Corpse abilities, let alone replacing a hand, even if his entire body is reduced to just a head, he is confident that he can survive and return to his original state.
But at that moment, he suddenly heard the whistling of the wind, as if some heavy object was tearing through the air and falling.
He suddenly took a step forward, feinting at Ed, but actually dodging an attack that was falling from the sky.
Cuiske dodged and pulled away from Ed again, turning his head to see one of his giant clone's arms crashing to the ground.
Noya and the players, who formed a half-tree entity, were all stunned on the spot.
That arm was clearly not attacked, so how did it break off on its own?
The plant dragon quickly realized this must be Ed's doing, and the players also noticed something amiss from Cuiske's changed health bar—
Cuiske has been weakened.
But who did this?
The battle between Ed and Cuiske's true forms was so insignificant compared to the half-tree beings that for a moment no one looked down to watch.
However, the players weren't taking it too seriously. [ Zhongde ] was the first to shout loudly in the channel:
"Whichever kind-hearted passerby helped weaken Cuiske, we have to lend a hand!"
The other players echoed loudly in the channel, their fighting spirit immediately rising, and they let out low roars from the half-tree man's large mouth.
"This!?"
Cuiske was momentarily stunned and speechless, while Ed wore a thoughtful expression:
"So it can only synchronize one hand?"
"What?"
Cuiske looked at Ed in astonishment, only to see Ed toying with a disc-shaped plant fruit in his hand as if it were a coin.
Seeing this, Ed smiled and explained:
"This plant came from a Stained Ones bishop, and I call it [ Empathic Dill ]."
"I found it amazing that the bishop used this plant to send messages to his subordinates over long distances."
"However, after obtaining it, I discovered that it seems to have many more functions that can be developed, such as..."
Ed made a gesture of waving a knife:
"The death command you just gave to your left arm was also transmitted to your clone by that already sprouted seed before it died."
"No matter how powerful that giant is, it's still just an avatar. Do you think it wouldn't obey commands from the main body?"
Cuiske clenched his teeth, his face flushed an unhealthy red, as if he were getting a little too hot.
He took a deep breath and looked at Ed, saying:
"I never imagined... that such Aberration plants had evolved outside."
"Like this? Then I have many more."
Ed, like a magician, flipped his hands over and crossed them in front of his chest, and eight seeds of different sizes, shapes and colors appeared between his eight fingers.
Some of these seeds resemble fluttering snowflakes, others are dart-shaped or spindle-shaped, and still others are spherical, disc-shaped, or even teardrop-shaped...
The young "magician" smiled:
" Cuiske, you keep weakening me, and I keep analyzing your Aberration plants. If we continue like this, which side do you think will give out first?"
Cuiske remained silent, while Ed pressed his advantage:
"Stop hiding it, let me see what a ' Oathbreaking Cardinal ' really is."