62: Chapter 62 Cutting Down to the Heart of the Tree!

The Obstacle Dismantler sprinkled the first line of lime along the outer edge of the Wooden Stake Area!

The lime powder hissed as it fell upon the damp mud!

Encountering water, it formed a thin crust, pressing down the surface humidity of the damp soil zone by a notch.

Iron nails followed closely behind.

One was driven in every two steps; the nail heads embedded into the hard soil and the shafts sank into the mud layer, locking down the lateral displacement space of the shallow root network.

Tieshan did not rush to start the fire.

He simply had the Heavy Shield Bearer insert their shield face diagonally inside the lime line.

Pressing forward inch by inch!

With every step pressed, the shield edge scraped away a layer of loose soil, revealing the intertwined fine roots beneath.

The Saw Chain Hand followed behind the shields, their chain blade sweeping horizontally flush with the ground to slice off the exposed fine roots level with the mud.

They were creating a chopping surface for Tieshan.

Jiang Ming released three Root Spikes.

The first sprang from beneath the mud on the front left, aiming straight for Tieshan's front ankle;

The second pierced out from beneath the wreckage of a fallen tree on the right, curving around to stab toward the back of his knee;

The third broke through the soil directly from below, its tip aimed straight upward at his vulnerable groin!

The activation times of the three spikes were staggered by less than half a breath, locking onto the exact same target.

Tieshan did not dodge the first two, chopping down diagonally from the upper left with his heavy cleaving blade.

The wind brought up by the lead wire on the back of the blade was dull and brief, a single strike simultaneously snapping the two Root Spikes on the front left and right.

He couldn't dodge the last one in time, and the third pierced into the outer side of his left calf, fortunately missing his vital spot!

Blood pierced through the leg-wrap cloth!

"Whoosh—"

Tieshan glanced down, his calf muscles tensing to squeeze the spike tip out from the wound.

But fresh blood was also forced out along with the tightening of his muscles!

When pulling out the spike tip, he transferred the blade to his left hand, bent down with his right hand, and wiped a handful of the oozing dark green juice from the wound on the side of his leg.

He brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff it, then wiped his fingers clean on his pants!

"Poison! But not fatal! Don't be afraid! Dismantle the shell first."

As he spoke, he didn't turn his head back, nor did he dare to.

Behind him, the Fire-Oil Handler—who had been stunned for half a beat by the Root Spikes—immediately twisted open the pressurizing rocker again, the Saw Chain Hand swung their chain blade back up, and the Heavy Shield Bearer straightened their shield face.

This was the first time Jiang Ming had faced someone in battle who could take a beating while reducing panic for his teammates.

Tree Realm activated!

Beneath the floorboards of Tree Nest No. 1, the wooden fence wreckage, and the ditch bend, root networks from three sides flipped up simultaneously.

A medium-scale Tree Realm, its closing logic was identical to when Shen Kui was strangled—first seal the retreat route, then cut the formation, and finally pick them off one by one.

The root network curved down from the broken roof to entangle the Saw Chain Hand, the wooden fence wreckage was pulled by roots to squeeze toward the center, and the side roots at the ditch mouth sealed off the right flank.

Tieshan had no path of retreat!

Taking advantage of the moment when the Tree Realm was closing and the root network had not yet fully sealed, he rushed forward one step.

Gripping the heavy cleaving blade with both hands, the arc of the blade slashed counter from bottom-right to upper-left, chopping down into the base of the shed pillar in a single strike.

The shed pillar was the last load-bearing pillar of the main Outpost shed, half-charred and half-rotted, and the blade bit deep into more than half of the pillar body.

Tieshan pulled out his blade and chopped a second time; the shed pillar snapped from the base, and the remaining structure of the roof fiercely sank downward.

The closing rhythm of the entire Tree Realm was delayed by half a beat due to the loss of a crucial pivot point.

This wasn't just terrain destruction—it was a frontal tearing move!

Jiang Ming was forced to raise the secondary tree core's energy supply by a full tier.

The water level of the annular damp soil zone rapidly surged from semi-dry to full capacity.

The mycelial network of the root chamber outputted at full force, and the roots of the chopped-loose shed pillar were re-entangled by dozens of new roots.

But with this boost, the external manifestation of the energy supply rhythm changed—the water level of the damp soil zone spiked sharply.

Dense bubbles floated to the surface of the mud, and the energy transmission line between Tree Nest No. 1 and Tree Nest No. 2 emitted a faint pulse underground.

Tieshan's blade stopped mid-air; he tilted his head slightly, his gaze shifting from the shed pillar to the muddy ground beneath his feet.

He didn't speak, but Jiang Ming knew he had noticed.

The energy supply rhythm of this living forest had more than one source!

Seizing the delayed window of the Tree Realm, the Fire-Oil Handler splashed the first wave of fire oil into the outer ditch.

The oil mist sprayed by the pressurized copper canister covered the entire damp soil in front of the broken fence; a torch dropped, and the blue flames burned against the wet mud into a wall of fire.

Withstanding the pressure of the Tree Domain and the oncoming heatwave, the Heavy Shield Bearer used their shield face to protect the Obstacle Dismantler as they continued hammering iron nails toward the ditch.

The chain blade of the Saw Chain Hand had already sawed out a penetrating fissure on the side panel of the dilapidated shed.

The outer shell of Tree Nest No. 1 was torn open.

The charred disguise, the illusion of the dilapidated shed, and the damp soil defense line cultivated over many days were stripped away layer by layer by Tieshan using lime, iron nails, fire oil, and the heavy cleaving blade.

Jiang Ming gave up on rigidly protecting the outer layer of Tree Nest No. 1.

He stabilized the secondary tree core's energy supply at the depth of the root chamber while simultaneously drawing energy from the combat-leaning transmission line of Tree Nest No. 2, pushing it back toward Tree Nest No. 1 along the deep hard-soil path.

The bud tips within the root chamber cavity of Tree Nest No. 2 broke through the epidermis of the fallen tree, creating a noticeable ground tremor at the edge of the low-lying area.

He wanted Tieshan's adjutant to perceive this tremor.

The adjutant indeed took the bait.

Standing on a high rock on the periphery, holding a stone slab horizontally in front of his chest, his brows were tightly furrowed.

The tremor from the direction of Tree Nest No. 2 transmitted to the surface of the rock beneath his feet. Glancing down at the lime powder shaking off the edge of the stone slab, he shouted to Tieshan:

"There is a second living entity response in the rear. The vibration is not from footsteps, it's root veins."

Tieshan did not look back:

"Spread the lime, seal the retreat route... Hang the matchcords along the tree line. Don't let it launch a sneak attack from behind!"

The Fire-Oil Handler pulled out the spare matchcord from their knapsack, pulling an open-fire isolation line along the Wooden Stake Area toward the stream channel.

The lime bags were torn open, laying a white strip on each side of the retreat route.

Jiang Ming took this all in!

The adjutant was no trash, and Tieshan's entire team was covering for each other.

This wasn't fighting a single person; this was fighting a truly mature Extermination Team!

After the long-range traction of Tree Nest No. 2 had its retreat route sealed off, it could only be launched from deeper within the front.

He redeployed the energy transmission lines, temporarily storing the energy of Tree Nest No. 2 within the root chamber cavity.

Tree Nest No. 1 entered passive defense—no longer attempting to close.

All root networks contracted to the outer wall of the root chamber, preparing to take Tieshan's chopping strikes head-on.

Tieshan stepped on the still-burning damp soil and walked inside the broken fence.

The Saw Chain Hand had already sawed down the side panels, and the Heavy Shield Bearer used their shield face to bash away the charred wood debris at the entrance of the dilapidated shed.

The wall of fire burned behind them, and directly ahead was the root chamber core area of Tree Nest No. 1.

Tieshan stood firmly in front of the cavity, gripping the blade with both hands, lifting the back of the blade, and pressing his center of gravity backward.

A single strike hacked into the clump of lignified root network protecting the outermost layer of the root chamber.

The blade bit deep in, and the dull sound of wood fibers snapping transmitted up from underground.

The secondary tree core's pulsation surged abruptly, and the mycelial network inside the root chamber frantically mended the cleaved fissure.

Tieshan pulled out the blade hilt, glanced at the faintly pulsating dark red woody core deep within the fissure, his mouth corners unmoving, though his breathing was heavier by a beat than usual.

Jiang Ming made the most crucial tactical decision of this battle.

He would not protect the outer shell of Tree Nest No. 1.

The final portion of energy accumulated in the outer storage root network was released all at once.

The remaining roof boards, the broken fence braces, and the half-charred shed pillars were simultaneously pushed down from the inside by the root network.

The entire dilapidated shed and charred wood, wrapped in burning fragments of fire oil, collapsed downward, smashing between Tieshan and the Heavy Shield Bearer, shattering the hard ground the Obstacle Dismantler had just laid down.

This wasn't a fatal blow, but it was enough to disrupt the rhythm.

Tieshan retreated half a step, raising his blade to parry the falling charred wood; the Heavy Shield Bearer raised their shield to protect the crouching Fire-Oil Handler.

Taking advantage of these few seconds, Jiang Ming sank the secondary tree core deeper by a full section, completely withdrawing the core root network from the range of the Tree Nest No. 1 dilapidated shed, and retracting it toward Tree Nest No. 2 along the deep energy transmission line.

A clear turning point appeared on the battlefield:

The front half of Tree Nest No. 1 had been hacked through by Tieshan.

But the root network of the back half hadn't collapsed; it was shifting backward.

Tieshan stood up from the smoke and dust of the collapsed shed, plucked a piece of charred wood debris from his shoulder, and threw it onto the ground.

He glanced at the retreating direction of the root network rapidly shrinking ahead, and then glanced at the low-lying location where Tree Nest No. 2 was situated.

"It wants to run to the second layer."

He wiped the charcoal ash from the heavy cleaving blade onto his glove, pointed the tip of the blade toward Tree Nest No. 2, and said, "Pursue."

This time, Jiang Ming did not refute.

He had indeed been hacked into retreat.

But the hidden ambush chamber of Tree Nest No. 2 had not yet had its location marked by humans, and its combat-leaning energy transmission line had not yet exposed any breaking points.

As Tieshan pursued, the elongated Extermination Team formation would require the Fire-Oil Handler to repressurize, the Saw Chain Hand to re-swing their chains, and the Obstacle Dismantler to re-lay the lime.

All of these actions required time!

But Tree Nest No. 2 did not need time—the time had come!