Demon Tree Jungle, Dark Demon Tree
Privately, the apprentices mostly guessed that Archmage Black Crow had chosen this relatively safe place when he built the castle.
In any case, the outer forest around the castle could generally be considered a safe zone. Beyond it, once the team entered the depths of the Dark Forest, they would have to kill the Dark Demon Tree in one go, complete their mission, and return quickly.
As the vastest primeval jungle stretching between the northern and southern continents, this land was said to hold countless treasures, and all manner of terrifying monsters naturally lay in wait here as well.
The warning adventurers left most often was: never close your eyes in the Dark Forest, no matter when.
Otherwise, you might never have another chance to open them.
The boundary between safety and danger was Breeze Path.
This path could be called a boundary drawn with the lives of countless adventurers since humanity first ventured into the Dark Forest.
At the scout Little Eleven's suggestion, the team would rest here for the night and set out again at sunrise.
Duo Gu pitched a luxurious tent for the young master, then built a cooking hearth, lit a fire, and began preparing food.
Young Aili, who came from a merchant family, also took her little tent off her summon and ducked inside, leaving only her skeleton to stand guard.
Little Eleven pulled out a sleeping bag and began gnawing on the dry rations he had brought.
Chen Mo was the worst off of all. He had nothing.
After struggling to take off the bundle tied to his body with grass rope, Chen Mo pulled out a bag for gathering herbs and slowly approached the fire Duo Gu had built. He made one last attempt.
"Captain Gaoshi, with your strength, taking care of the Dark Demon Tree will be easy. I'm only a beginner, so I really can't be much help. Could you let me gather some herbs nearby instead?"
"I'm willing to hand over every herb I gather for you to distribute."
Little Goldie, leisurely savoring his hot meal, turned slightly. One corner of his mouth lifted in a strange smile.
For some reason, of all his potential rivals in love, Little Goldie hated the fellow before him most.
He hated those black eyes, so calm and utterly lacking in reverence when they looked at him; he hated that yellow-skinned face, which always wore an inexplicably sunny, confident expression despite its owner's lowborn origins; and he hated even more the way Chen Mo remained neither servile nor overbearing, treating nobles, commoners, and servants alike.
He loathed him-the kind of loathing that made him physically ill at the sight of him.
He deliberately ignored Chen Mo for a few seconds, then raised his voice and called toward the little tent nearby. "Hey, Aili, did you hear that? It seems the young fellow you admire doesn't really want to go adventuring with you!"
The tent remained silent, with no response. Only then did Little Goldie turn back, a mocking smile on his face. "See, Black Eyes? Your goddess can't bear to let you leave."
"Unfortunately, the Demon Tree Jungle needs you. Put those thoughts of your lousy herbs away and follow along like a good boy. Otherwise..."
"I don't mind teaching you a little lesson!"
Chen Mo nodded to show he understood, then turned and walked away.
Failing to see Chen Mo lose his composure, Little Goldie lost a little of his own.
Brushing the blond hair from his forehead, the humiliated and furious young master couldn't resist adding, "Hey, little thing, you don't even count as a mage yet. The forest's so dangerous-did you prepare a will in advance?"
"If anything happens to you, I, your captain, can show you some mercy and take it back for you!"
As though he had suddenly remembered something, he slapped his forehead dramatically. "Oh, right! I almost forgot, there's no one left in your family, is there? Tsk, tsk. That idiot skeleton standing stupidly beside you is your only 'relative,' isn't it?"
"Want me to do you a good deed and bury you together? So it won't be lonely?"
Chen Mo looked back at him calmly.
This young master seemed to be getting a little carried away.
From his perspective, Chen Mo really had no room to resist. The only difference was whether he died sooner or later, and whether his death was presentable or ugly.
In the eyes of these second-generation nobles, who had always stood above others and never suffered a setback, everything in the world could be defined by rank.
When someone above raised a hand, those below would be like insects pinched in their grasp, able to do no more than squirm a few times before dying helplessly.
He didn't know that the country Chen Mo had once lived in was especially good at dealing with nobles like these.
Tsk, tsk...
Chen Mo walked back to the spot he had chosen, sat with his back against a large tree and faced the others, then pulled out his ragged backpack to use as bedding and curled up to sleep.
Duo Gu, who had been busy all this time, had already glanced at Chen Mo several times, a hint of worry in his eyes.
The experienced middle-aged warrior knew, of course, that such humiliation was pointless.
Chen Mo would rather turn his back to the darkness than entrust it to the team. Clearly, he was on his guard.
Although the young master had ordered him to arrange an accident at the Dark Demon Tree, Duo Gu couldn't shake the feeling that Chen Mo wouldn't be so obliging.
"Young master, Eleven and I will take turns keeping watch tonight. You mages should get a good rest!"
Though he had said they would take turns, Duo Gu didn't sleep a wink all night. He worried that if the youngster ran away and spoiled the young master's fun, the young master's thunderous wrath would fall on him.
All night long, the middle-aged warrior stared without blinking at the dark shape beneath the tree.
To his surprise, Chen Mo slept soundly the whole time.
Curled up beneath the tree, he would occasionally twitch, and each movement tugged at Duo Gu's frayed nerves.
As for the skeleton spearman, it too was wrapped in rotten scraps of cloth dug up from who knew what cellar. Holding a bone spear noticeably much shorter than those of other skeleton spearmen, it stood motionless before Chen Mo.
Time passed in tense silence. The darkness between the trees gradually receded, and the red sun finally struggled above the treetops.
The first rays of sunlight pierced the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground.
A new day had arrived.
Or rather, a bloody day had arrived!
Chapter 6: Demon Tree Jungle, Dark Demon Tree
The stars gradually faded from the sky as the morning light illuminated the boundless sea of trees.
The team maintained the same formation, as though they wanted nothing to do with one another for the rest of their lives, and entered the inner reaches of the Dark Forest.
The first thing that came into view was a heavily corroded signpost.
The large characters for Demon Tree Jungle on the sign were barely legible, but below them were quite a few crooked little inscriptions, presumably left by earlier apprentices.
"Dark Demon Tree ahead. Two lives consumed per round."
"I went in with two zombies and came back with three. Unfortunately, one couldn't walk on its own."
"The land of evil welcomes you, walking nutrients."
You had to admit, those adventurers had a pretty good attitude, perhaps because the ones who made it back here to carve their words were all survivors.
From then on, Little Eleven was visibly on high alert.
He carefully strapped on his bracers and moved his short blade to the front of his belt, off to one side. His right hand gripped a three-shot hand crossbow, while his left held an arm-length swallowtail blade, which he used now and then to hack through branches blocking their path.
Chen Mo struggled somewhat through the dense forest. This untouched jungle, with no paths to speak of, would have challenged even an experienced hiker, let alone a silly, clueless college student who rarely exercised and only liked infantry.
As for Little White.
The poor skeleton had already tripped over roots hidden beneath the dead leaves several times. Each fall sent a clattering of things knocking together inside his tightly wrapped rib cage, making Chen Mo's heart race for quite a while.
Eventually, Chen Mo had no choice but to support his own summon and feel out the path for Little White with his own feet.
Chen Mo couldn't help feeling that he, a necromancer who spent all day cleaning up after his skeleton, had strayed a little too far off course.
They walked for a while, then rested a spell. By the time the sun was nearly overhead, the group had finally drawn close to the Dark Demon Tree's lair.
The terrain ahead changed abruptly.
In the dense forest, the leaves blocked the sunlight, so lush weeds couldn't grow on the ground. But here, the trees gave way to an almost circular opening, as though someone had dug a hole a hundred meters across in the woods.
Fine, soft grass carpeted the ground like a thick green rug, encircling the great tree in the middle.
Little Eleven signaled everyone to stop. Next, they would engage according to the guide.
According to legend, the Dark Demon Tree was the demonized result of a night elf Ancient of War being corrupted. The thing was tough, slow, and immensely strong. Its most distinctive trait was its ability to resurrect repeatedly on this corrupted land, making it impossible to wipe out for good.
Useful materials could be extracted from certain parts of the demon tree and used to make spellcasting implements or carve small magical ornaments. With that profit to be made, its ability to regenerate became an advantage instead, so Black Raven Castle had fenced it in and made the place a private monster-farming ground.
The strategy was actually very simple. Zombies were the demon tree's natural nemesis: their speed and reactions were just a tiny bit better than the Dark Demon Tree's, allowing them to circle behind and attack.
They were tough and thick-skinned, too, so being struck once or twice wasn't much of a problem.
Zombies didn't have to worry about ugly scars, either.
Skeletons were another matter. One hit from the demon tree would shatter their bones.
Under Little Goldie the captain's command, Chen Mo's Little White, Aili's skeleton, and Little Eleven formed an equilateral triangle around the outside of the clearing.
Once the fighting started, the demon tree would call the various beasts living in the jungle to reinforce it. The main task of the two skeletons and the scout was to deal with those lesser enemies.
Little Goldie's iron-barrel zombie stepped into the clearing.
The Dark Demon Tree began to shake.
Perhaps its roots ran too deep, for when the creature slowly pulled two thick, root-covered "legs" from the soil, the ground across the entire clearing seemed to tremble slightly.
The Dark Demon Tree really was slow. By the time Little Goldie's iron-barrel zombie limped up from behind and to one side and brought its blade straight down, the tree hadn't even turned around.
The demon tree let out an indistinct roar, though it was anyone's guess where the creature kept its vocal organs.
Wolf howls rose and fell through the forest.
This was a pack of wolves infected and tamed by the demon tree. It used the clearing to attract small herbivores, then used the infected herbivores to attract carnivores, eventually raising this group of enforcers.
The creatures this Dark Demon Tree controlled were a pack of short-eared gray wolves.
More than a dozen gray beasts sprang from the forest. The creatures were a meter and a half long, with crimson eyes and gaping, bloody maws, and Chen Mo involuntarily took half a step back.
Little White thrust his spear at one of them. The infected short-eared gray wolf seemed to have lost its instinct to dodge; without slowing, it viciously bit down on Little White's bone spear.
In that head-on clash, teeth against bone, hydroxyapatite against hydroxyapatite, neither side gained an advantage.
But Little White was hard all over, while the gray wolf's flesh was soft.
Little White showed no mercy, thrusting his bone spear into the wolf's torso and twisting it. The dying wolf let out a desperate howl.
The battlefield was divided into an inner and an outer ring.
In the inner ring, Little Goldie's two summoned zombies took turns drawing the Dark Demon Tree back and forth. Whenever the demon tree charged at one zombie at roughly 0.25 miles per hour, the other would chase after it and hack away at its back.
The polished cleavers left deep gashes in the bark. You might say they were chopping down a tree, but the tree was running away; you might say they weren't, but it really was a tree.
Unable to catch its target, the demon tree laboriously turned around, only for the other zombie to put on a chopping-board vegetable-cutting show.
It was roughly like two old men on crutches ganging up on an even older man in a wheelchair.
Though the demon tree's branches were like enormous, elongated hands, and it occasionally seized a chance to slap a zombie several meters away, it was no use. Zombies could take a beating.