“Let go of me! Let go!”
Inside the potion shop, little fairy Riel was suddenly seized by animated branches around her ankles and dangled upside-down in mid-air, flailing in panic.
In desperation, she grabbed the silver spoon beside her, scooped a ladle of half-congealed potion still glowing faintly from the crucible, and flung it at the branches binding her!
With a hiss of corrosion, the branches snapped.
Riel fell “plop” face-first onto the floor. Blood instantly poured from her nose. Splashed potion also hit her calf, leaving a red burn mark.
Poor Riel had no idea what was happening.
Sobbing, she tried to crawl toward the cabinet for a healing potion, only to see two more twisted branches slowly creeping toward her!
She turned to flee the shop, but the doorway was already blocked by newly sprouted limbs.
In fact, the entire potion shop had been built among the branches of a giant tree; now every part of it was coming alive!
The tree activation was not limited to the Sacred Tree Dungeon.
With global vision, Lin Jun saw it clearest: the anomaly radiated outward from the dungeon as the center, already affecting more than half of Ysil Doline and still expanding!
Distance, however, seemed to make some difference.
Inside the dungeon, the giant trees were utterly berserk. They attacked Puchis and other monsters indiscriminately, even uprooting themselves and rampaging, destroying vast swathes of fungal mat.
Fortunately, Lin Jun had built an extensive underground network in advance, barely preserving vision inside the dungeon.
In the elven city above the trees, the giant trees had so far only animated smaller branches.
Thicker trunks showed only faint movement, nowhere near uprooting and running wild. Whether that would change with time remained unknown.
Inside the shop, Riel was backed into a corner behind the counter, frantically hurling potion bottles at the approaching branches.
The potions did work. Though utterly lacking combat ability, Riel somehow managed to fend off two or three branches.
“Help! Is anyone there? Help me!” Riel cried out between sobs, hoping nearby elves would hear.
But her voice was quickly swallowed by the cacophony outside.
Every tree had come alive. She was far from the only one in danger.
Even if someone heard, they might not be able to help; not every elf was a trained warrior.
Then a branch struck from directly above, wrapping around her neck and hoisting her into the air.
Riel clawed at the branch around her throat, but couldn’t pry it loose.
The limb tightened. Her breathing became ragged gasps. Her little face turned red from lack of air.
Worse, other branches coiled around her limbs like serpents.
“Gr… grandpa…”
As consciousness faded, tears and drool ran uncontrollably. Just as she was about to black out…
BAM!
The window exploded inward. A round, plump figure burst into Riel’s blurring vision.
A Puchi!
Though it got stuck in the window frame again, Lin Jun had no time to worry about property damage.
The Puchi’s body contracted and sprang. Razor-sharp spines burst from its surface!
Then a [Blade Storm] shredded the window and several nearby branches into flying splinters, some of which smacked Riel in the forehead.
[Assault Ejection LV8]
With just two leaps, the Puchi reached Riel.
Blade light flashed. Every branch binding her was severed!
Riel fell “thud” to the floor, clutching her throat and coughing violently.
“Big… Big Mushroom?” Looking at the Puchi bristling with murderous spikes, Riel wasn’t entirely sure.
The Puchi’s body pulsed again. The blades retracted neatly.
Only when it returned to its familiar appearance did Riel confirm.
The little fairy, having survived disaster, sobbed and threw herself at it, wrapping it in a tight hug.
Her face was a mess of blood, tears, and snot; her cuteness halved.
But this time the Puchi didn’t push her away. It let her cry for a little while.
He had promised to protect his elf pet, yet nearly let her get strangled. Lin Jun felt a bit awkward.
But it wasn’t his fault!
He had been cautious enough to patrol nearby and scan panels for suspicious people. Who would’ve thought the enemy would spawn right inside his own home?!
Anyway, the result was fine. Riel was alive and had all her limbs. No big problem!
He controlled the Puchi to interrupt the still-sobbing fairy. More branches were activating; staying was trouble.
The Puchi neatly sliced several approaching branches and carried Riel out of the shop.
Only then did Riel see the horror outside.
Several elves hung from trees across the street; some motionless, some still struggling, including faces she recognized!
On the platforms, elves ran in panic. Some fought back with weapons.
From afar came the screams of falling victims, abruptly cut short.
Most residents of the elven city were civilians. Though rangers and druids were rushing to help, they were overwhelmed!
Riel was still stunned when the Puchi acted without hesitation.
It leaped onto her head, fixing itself with its short legs. Mycelial tentacles wrapped around her arms. Its little wings flapped furiously, slowly lifting her off the ground!
Fortunately, Riel was tiny. Though flight was slow, the Puchi could just barely carry her.
Suddenly airborne, Riel froze in terror. She watched helplessly as a familiar neighbor desperately fled through the branches, wanting to help but powerless as the Puchi carried her farther away.
Lin Jun had no attention to spare for random elves.
Under normal circumstances, if it was convenient and wouldn’t draw notice, he wouldn’t mind helping; he had a decent impression of elves overall.
But now was clearly not convenient. Protecting little Riel came first.
After safely delivering her to a clearing below with fungal mat, several cannon-fodder Puchis immediately surrounded her, forming a protective ring.
Both bodyguard and anti-wandering measure.
This sudden chaos clearly wouldn’t end quickly.
Lin Jun had tried having a Puchi cast Purify on the Sacred Tree itself, but the effect… well, better than nothing, but pure mana waste.
Meanwhile, Airaven’s situation was completely different.
Though socially anxious and often spacing out, Airaven was solidly Gold-tier.
She currently rode on the broad back of her earth bear Douding, hugging the fluffy Furball, with the shadow-swamp python Paopao slithering behind and the chubby blue bird Feifei perched overhead.
This bizarre human-beast squad formed a rescue team, shuttling through the lower forest and already saving many elves!
Lin Jun’s scout Puchi followed quietly from afar. For now, her safety didn’t seem to need worrying.
…
On the high terrace of the elven royal city, two figures silently overlooked the chaos-stricken city below.
Down below, palace guards had been urgently mobilized and were rushing to rescue people everywhere.
Ilos stepped forward, voice heavy with sorrow. “Your Majesty, Ysil Doline has been suddenly attacked. The ranger forces in the dungeon have lost contact. Eko and the others are trapped in abnormal space. It appears the Sacred Tree has completely lost control. If left unchecked, we will suffer devastating losses…”
Elven King Auriel turned, gaze falling on the Chief Mage who had served him for centuries. “You mean…?”
“We must use the divine artifact!” Ilos’s tone was grave and resolute, yet beneath his bowed face, not a trace of worry showed; only calm.
(End of Chapter)
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