Chapter 482: Interception

The battle was on the verge of erupting.

Greta had not been a Withered for long, so many of her combat habits still carried over from her Druid days.

She quickly drew upon the twisted, chilling natural power within her.

【Wild Shape】.

Moments later, she had already transformed into a two-and-a-half-meter-tall giant bear-man.

Interestingly,

Greta's dark leather clothing changed with her; after the transformation, the bear-man wore a pair of plain-looking leather armor.

Rod was slightly surprised.

It was quite a magical item suitable for a Druid.

There was a half-werewolf Druid named Oga in the forest; although I had never seen her true form, it was certain she wore no clothes.

Back to the battlefield.

Compared to Greta's method of transformation,

the snake-man Dane was completely different.

He actually hid in the rear like a backline mage, insidiously beginning to cast twisted natural power.

As the frequency of the spiritual fluctuation quickened,

centered on Dane, the green vegetation on the ground withered and rotted rapidly.

At the same time,

broken, blackened tree vines burst from the earth, coiled together, and within moments formed a dozen or so human-shaped, rotting vine-men.

He chuckled darkly and reached out into the air toward a large tree not far away.

A massive amount of natural spirit was sucked into his body, causing the large tree to wither rapidly.

His body corroded like something from a foul sewer.

Pure natural power went in and out, immediately becoming chilling and sinister.

He cast 【Barkskin】 on himself and on the bear-man Greta had transformed into in front of him.

"Mr. Rod, if you had brought those few Seventh-Rank ones from the forest, I would have looked at you with a bit more respect."

The snake-man Dane chuckled sinisterly.

"Since you are acting on impulse and dared to come here alone, I suppose I can teach you the etiquette one should have when facing an Eighth-Ranker."

Rod smiled.

Looking at the spiritual intensity of the spell facing him, he immediately sensed the value was roughly around 330 marks.

Not to mention he couldn't compare to the half-elf Virgil from Axe Beach.

He was probably just a fake who had only recently ascended to Eighth Rank.

This snake thing spoke in a dark, damp way, like a maggot in a sewer.

Before you even mention your Tibahadur Magic Academy, just seeing your ugly face makes Laozi want to beat you up.

Damn it, you actually dare to suck a tree dry right in front of me?!

【Dedicated Body Sword】 hissed as it unsheathed.

Black slime quickly slid over his right hand, and 【Black Gold Adhesion】 instantly turned the golden longsword into a low-key yet luxurious black-gold longsword.

All skills on the sword +2;

The wielder's strength increased by 10%;

Sharpness increased to 80.

He stomped through the ground and aggressively surged forward.

He went straight to meet the roaring bear-man Greta coming at him.

"Mr. Rod, considering the relationship between Vivian and me, rest assured, I will only make you suffer a bit; I hope Vivian won't feel heartache when she sees your face swollen from being beaten!"

Ten minutes later.

Tattered bear fur, vines, and leather armor bearing magical runes were scattered all over the ground.

Some were deeply buried in the mud, while others were stained red with drops of blood.

Rod stood in the center of the battlefield, unscathed, with a teasing look in his eyes.

To his left, the Withered Greta had transformed back from the strong bear-man into human form, collapsing against a rock; she held one hand over her chest, exposed because her leather armor had been torn to shreds, and even with her bruised and swollen face, the shame, anger, and terror on her face were visible.

And not far directly ahead,

at the end of a long dragging trail, the snake-man Dane lay there quietly.

He coughed up a small mouthful of bloody foam, his face twisted in pain.

Then, trembling, he propped his body up with his arms and looked at Rod in disbelief: "You, you..."

I, a proper Eighth-Ranker, why did I lose to a mid-level Seventh-Ranker, and worse, I lost in a two-on-one!

"Stop with the 'you'."

Rod noticed some mud and blood on his boots.

So he picked up a piece of torn cloth Greta had dropped from the ground.

Hmm, this pattern looks like it might be from a corset; never mind, any cloth is the same for wiping.

He wiped it twice with a crunching sound.

Damn it, now it's even dirtier.

These are the new boots Miss Xiao Ke specially made for me, okay!

Well, actually, it wasn't exactly specially made.

She gave a pair to everyone in the forest who could wear shoes, but Rod guessed she only made the dumplings for the sake of this bowl of vinegar.

Rod flicked the dirty chest-piece fragment onto Greta's face.

The little thing dared to be angry but not to speak, lowering its head ferociously yet shamefully.

"Out of consideration for Vivian and the fact that you lot were still somewhat polite, I held back. Otherwise, with your two chicken-level strength, I alone could cut down ten or so."

Though the two felt shame and furious shock, they did not doubt it in the slightest.

The man before them had been hit by at least three casts of 【Energy Drain】, 【Muscle Withering】, and 【Plague Ray】.

But just like an expired male-enhancement pill, not only was he perfectly fine, he had also cleaved apart a gemstone shield worth 5,000 Jin Along with a single sword strike.

Rod shed 【Black Gold Adhesion】.

Black Gold returned to its soft state and, with a xiu, swiftly flew along the sword hilt back into his arm.

The little black slime has the 【Clingy】 trait — looks like it doesn't much like using this skill.

"Two things."

Rod sheathed his sword as he spoke:

"One, never set foot within Shi Ying Town or the Wind Wall Forest again. You're not allowed to absorb any trees on the Dusk Hills. Unwelcome to any Witherers here — I don't care who you are. Two, tell Bahadur's lot not to set their sights on Shi Ying Town. I don't trust a single one of them, not one bit. Clear?"

The air seemed to freeze; only the occasional birdcall from afar broke the silence.

"Good."

Rod, unembarrassed, answered his own question.

His gaze swept over the two.

He saw that the 【Despair Mycelium】 within them had already taken effect.

【Despair Mycelium successfully used】 *2

【Additional skill effects:

1. Despair Heart;

2. Life Drain;

3. Summon Evil God;

4. Despair Domain (conditions not met).】

【Begin crafting 'Mycelium Core'?】

【Mycelium Core: Gnaws at the target's soul and spiritual power within, forming a Mycelium Core, which the caster extracts at will. Depending on its size and quality, the Mycelium Core can raise the consumer's energy tier to varying degrees.】

"Oh?"

No need to ask — begin crafting directly.

But then again.

This skill had been used on dark elves before.

But their souls were controlled by the Archduke of Hell, so the Mycelium Core effect couldn't trigger back then.

Now it seemed the effect was quite decent.

Only—

It had the feel of a human cauldron furnace — looked a bit evil, that's all.

Rod shook his head.

Tools aren't good or bad — it all depends on the user. A fine young man like me, what problem could there be?

Thinking this.

He couldn't be bothered to deal with the two Witherers any longer.

He activated a Flight spell and slowly flew toward the forest.

Greta and Dann, left in place, sprawled on the ground until they could no longer see Rod at all.

Suddenly they exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked away from each other.

(End of chapter)