Chapter 444: 《A Chinese Ghost Story》: The Tree Demon

Garp happens to be a brute with purely strength-based attributes and a forthright personality, so he feels instinctive disgust and repulsion when he sees Orochimaru.

"Don't say that, Vice Admiral Garp."

Smoker, chewing on a cigar, shook his head helplessly, reminding Garp, who was speaking recklessly.

The Navy Intelligence Department had long since informed them of Orochimaru's deeds; though he appeared cold, he held to his own ideals of justice, and while he also loathed Orochimaru,

they were currently in a cooperative relationship.

If he showed it too obviously, it would lower the success probability of hunting Shuyao Laomu.

"Vice Admiral Garp, hasn't it always been like this? It really is an enviable youthful mindset."

Borsalino pursed his lips, his tone peculiar, giving off a feeling that it had nothing to do with him.

He didn't care at all whether this hunt could succeed.

His overall state was as if he were only forced to come over because he was collecting a salary from the Navy Alliance.

Akainu was already annoyed, and seeing this, he directly raged: "Shut up, all of you. The prestige of the Navy Alliance is being ruined by guys like you who are so loose and undisciplined, which is why we are looked down upon."

After he becomes Fleet Admiral, he must properly rectify the discipline of the Navy Alliance.

Borsalino put on a look of being frightened and said: "Getting more and more irritable, Akainu. It is said that for Shuyao Laomu's portal, brute force alone won't work; one must also have a cool head."

After the Samsara Game update, if one were to talk about the biggest change, it is no longer relying entirely on brute force to clear levels and hunt; some game maps and scenarios have added suspense and puzzle-solving elements.

If one can discover the keys and details of a game map, one can weaken and lower the boss's strength.

If one fails to discover them, the difficulty of clearing the level will soar several times over.

The most obvious one is the 【Yellow Springs Mission】.

Jiraiya's Main Quest is to resist the Giants and protect 【Wall Maria】.

He chose to face the Colossal and Armored Giants directly, along with countless ordinary Giants; a moment of carelessness and he would be trampled into meat paste by the Giants.

It is only because Jiraiya has enough 【Yellow Springs Point】 to purchase various Giant skills that he can hold out until his strength is unsealed.

This is a typical violent clear.

If it were an ordinary player without Jiraiya's means, they could completely choose to first hunker down inside Wall Rose with Eren, then join the Training Corps, and then follow the main force to retake Wall Maria.

They would still be able to complete the mission.

Take Orochimaru for another example.

In the basketball world he traveled to, even if he redeemed a full set of max-level basketball skills, it would still be very difficult to lead an immature basketball team to defeat every strong academy team.

The optimal strategy for clearing the level is to take teammates like Yuan Daying along, cultivate friendship and trust, strengthen training, and grow step by step.

But Orochimaru directly and secretly fed snake venom to the basketball players of the enemy academies, causing all the academies they were competing against to be poisoned and hospitalized, unable to play the matches, winning without a fight.

This also led to the verbal condemnation from Yuan Daying and the others after the incident.

As a result, Orochimaru ignored them entirely, treating all these players as slaves and test subjects for his Cursed Seal.

Back to the point...

If one can find the key, find Shuyao Laomu's weakness, or find game items that counter Shuyao Laomu, even the threat level of a Dark Gold boss will be greatly reduced.

Smoker's gaze landed on Garp as he said: "So, Vice Admiral Garp, don't go charging in with your fists before we've found any clues, understand?"

Although Akainu is cold-blooded, he won't drop the ball at critical moments.

Borsalino's attitude is lazy, but he won't do anything unnecessary either.

What he worries about most is Tiequan Kapu and Orochimaru; once they stop listening to commands, it will easily lead to Shuyao Laomu going berserk and a total party wipe.

"Of course I understand!"

Garp promised solemnly, casually fishing a donut out of his pocket and tossing it into his mouth.

Although Orochimaru didn't say a word, he also nodded with a smile, meaning he was willing to follow commands and wouldn't act recklessly.

"Let's go."

Akainu pulled out a palm-sized totem, and the patterns on the totem's surface lit up. A Giant Pioneer, like a mountain, was summoned, and from the top of the totem, white smoke emerged like a lit sandalwood incense stick, connecting all the way to the Giant Pioneer's body.

Once the totem burns out, the Giant Pioneer will disappear.

Therefore, players need to constantly consume 【Giant Totem】 to ensure the existence of the Giant Pioneer.

The Navy Alliance's pioneering team all stepped into the black mist.

Hiss...

Just out of the black mist, Orochimaru expressionlessly snapped his finger, and countless small snakes condensed from black cursed arts crawled out of the wound, spreading in all directions.

Beside him, Tiequan Kapu nodded repeatedly and said: "That is a truly useful ability."

He is a player who follows the path of an extreme martial artist and close-quarters combat; inside a map filled with black mist, he is no different from a blind man.

【Martial Dao Heart Lv. 45】: Able to perceive surrounding fluctuations by relying on the Martial Dao Heart.

In the ordinary world, Garp can sense the movement of the wind and various energy fluctuations within a range of several hundred meters.

But in the black mist, the perception range that the Martial Dao Heart can extend is not even five meters.

Zzzzz...

Even seeing the Necrotic Curse Snake released by Orochimaru, Akainu still didn't feel at ease and summoned several small Flame Demons to scout the surroundings.

"Watch out!"

Almost simultaneously, the expressions of Akainu and Orochimaru changed drastically.

The Necrotic Curse Snakes and Flame Demons sent out to scout had all lost contact.

Smoker drew the short staff from his back and stood ready, following the direction Akainu was looking.

Within his field of vision, visibility was extremely low; beyond five meters was a vast expanse of black, and the air was filled with countless fine, paper-like ashes drifting and floating.

Five meters—if it were an ordinary person's alert distance, it would be absolutely sufficient.

But it could not block the elusive dark monsters.

Bang, bang.

An extremely faint sound, just like someone pushing a stone, constantly scraping against the ground filled with gravel.

A massive black Shadow came into view.

Its branches were bared like fangs and brandished claws, its trunk was as thick as a human's, and its feet were a cluster of countless vines intertwined together.

The sound just heard was the noise of that vine cluster pushing aside the gravel.

【Ghost Tree Demon Lv. 49】: A dark monster transformed from the branches of Shuyao Laomu; once bound, one will be drained dry as nutrients.

"Hellfire."

Akainu extended his arm straight and suddenly clenched his open palm.

A Magic Circle shining with flaming red appeared at the feet of the Ghost Tree Demon, and scorching high-temperature flames, carrying the aura of Hell, erupted like a Pillar.

"Tree demons fear fire, especially Hellfire; it is the nemesis of all plant-type monsters."

Akainu did not follow up with another move, clearly possessing absolute confidence in the Hellfire.

However,

The Ghost Tree Demon, already engulfed by the fire Pillar, swung its branches frantically; like steel, they did not burn as imagined under the roasting of the Hellfire.

Instead, it rushed toward the group like a fiercely burning torch.

Pfft.

A brilliant Kinkaku light prison locked the torch-like Ghost Tree Demon, and then countless Kinkaku light spears pierced through the bound Ghost Tree Demon.

Borsalino still maintained his throwing posture, with residual Kinkaku light particles continuously overflowing from his palm.

(End of this chapter)