Volume One: The Infernal Lord World Chapter 98: Clash

These enormous bark faces resembled treants, yet were distinctly different from true treants. They seemed to be nothing more than great sheets of bark, wedged against the edge of the ravine’s cliffs by means of tangled vines and roots. Their many roots ceaselessly lashed the ground on this side, some as thick as pythons, while the larger ones rivaled the size of an excavator’s mechanical arm. When these roots came crashing down from above, skeletal soldiers were smashed to pieces outright. Even several skeletal heroes, unprepared for the sudden appearance of these tree monsters from the depths of the ravine, were instantly shattered.

By the time half the undead forces had been slaughtered by the tree monsters, the surviving heroes finally reacted. Shouting commands, they rallied their troops to strike back at the monsters. The resilient zombies pressed forward, wielding axes and similar weapons, hacking directly at the roots. The skeletal warriors dashed about, drawing the roots’ attacks. Only the skeletal archers, withdrawn to the rear, could truly serve as the main force of offense, unleashing volleys of long arrows that rained down upon the tree monsters’ faces. From their coordinated movements, it was clear this unit had been trained specifically to combat such foes. Their teamwork managed to reclaim some measure of control.

But as more and more tree monsters clambered up from the abyss, the undead could no longer hold the line. Seven squads of undead had come this time, each numbering around eight hundred for a total force exceeding five thousand—perhaps a considerable number in Chen Gu’s eyes, but paltry compared to the tree monsters. The first wave of less than a hundred tree monsters had already claimed nearly half the undead. Now, with their numbers surpassing three hundred, the monsters had seized the advantage. The undead could only endure for a short while longer; if the battle dragged on, they would all surely perish here.

At that moment, the Ghost Hero arrived with his corpse-eater worm. Though he failed to spot Chen Gu and his companions, the sight of the tree monsters before him caused his eyes to brighten. The moment the tree monsters noticed the Ghost Hero, one of them roared loudly, “So it really is you.”

The Ghost Hero frowned as he gazed at the tree monsters climbing up from below. He had warred against these creatures for countless years, assembling his legion for the sole purpose of contending with them. Every ten years, he would raise his army and descend into the twisted woods beneath the great ravine to battle the tree monsters, striving to clear a path through the warped forest. Never had he imagined the monsters would climb up to the surface of their own accord. After all, the tree monsters were merely transformed bark from the trees below; their movement was no swifter than that of treants, and they rarely strayed far from their true bodies. For all of them to surface now—could something have happened below?

A gleam of ambition lit the Ghost Hero’s eyes. This was a rare opportunity: if he could destroy so many tree monsters outside the forest, he might finally have a chance to penetrate the heart of those woods. Then his corpse-eater worm could feast, and he himself could at last complete the mission he had pursued for centuries. The Ghost Hero grew excited at this prospect. “My precious, prepare to spit!”

At his words, the corpse-eater worm reared up, lifting its body to a height of thirty meters. Its upper segment retracted all its tentacles, and countless mouths opened across its flesh, each brimming with clumps of greenish flesh and blood. As K’bas had surmised, the corpse-eater worm was indeed a long-range combatant, not so much an archer as a living catapult. Once its body had shifted and readied itself, the worm took a deep breath and sprayed its deadly payload toward the tree monsters.

About thirty clusters of flesh and blood shot out, striking the tree monsters squarely. More than ten exploded on the spot, their forms torn asunder. The rest were grievously wounded, left unable to move as before. But the worm, too, had drawn back in exhaustion; that blast had required lengthy preparation, and would take at least ten minutes to ready again.

The Ghost Hero, fully aware of his worm’s limitations, immediately called out, “Prepare food! You there, what are you standing around for? Get up there and hold the line!” He was addressing the surviving skeletal and zombie heroes—their job was to intercept the tree monsters’ advance, buying time for the worm to recover its strength. Meanwhile, the ghosts themselves would serve as a magical shield, warding off any spell attacks aimed at the worm. Without any one of these elements, his legion could not function in battle.

Yet the Ghost Hero was vexed: he’d once commanded eight such mixed units of skeletons and zombies, which allowed him to endure the tree monsters’ assaults layer by layer like sheets of paper, giving the worm time to recuperate. The legion’s longevity in these wars depended on this very tactic. But now, five of the eight units were gone—one lost to Chen Gu along the way, and four more annihilated in the recent ambush. Only three units remained, barely enough to hold the line, supplemented by a handful of surviving heroes.

Based on his assessment of his troops and his knowledge of the tree monsters, the Ghost Hero calculated they could last at most three minutes—three relentless minutes with no chance to rotate out or rest. After those three minutes, his defensive units would be spent, leaving the not-yet-recovered worm exposed to the tree monsters’ attacks.

Glancing back at his ghostly phalanx, he weighed his options. Deploying them might buy a little more time, but at the risk of losing control over the corpse-eater worm. With the worm still recharging, he could manage one more spit attack; after that, the worm would have to fight in melee, throwing the entire legion into disarray. The Ghost Hero knew all too well the tree monsters’ prowess in close combat—there had been more than one occasion, deep in the twisted woods beneath the ravine, when only narrow escapes had spared them from annihilation at the monsters’ hands. He could not allow himself to fall into such a predicament again.

Given the current crisis, there was only one solution. “Children, give my precious the swelling agent.”