227: Chapter 227 The Thousand-Year-Old Tree Demon Dies and Falls

Because she had just been forced out of the 'Sword Heart Enlightenment' state by the Millennium Tree Demon's Earth Spike Technique, the combination of physical pain and internal panic left her completely unable to dodge the Millennium Tree Demon's subsequent attacks. After taking two consecutive hits, her health was in critical condition. Fortunately, Sharp Tooth was by her side, helping to absorb many of the Millennium Tree Demon's attacks, which was the only reason she had managed to avoid dying on the spot. However, looking at her current health, she was close to the end; if the Millennium Tree Demon targeted her with just one more Earth Spike Technique, she would likely lose her life right here.

She had wanted to dodge, but this Millennium Tree Demon didn't show any movement before attacking, and the Earth Spikes emerged directly from beneath her feet. She could occasionally dodge when it cast them one by one, but now the Millennium Tree Demon seemed to have gone completely berserk, casting Earth Spike Technique continuously without even pausing for breath. There was simply no way to dodge!

Could it be... just run away? Tang Yao saw where Xiao Niao was standing and suddenly realized, 'It seems dodging is a ruse; running far away is the real solution.'

After Tang Yao realized this and was about to run, she heard Xiao Niao say urgently, "Don't, don't! Do not leave the BOSS's attack range!"

Tang Yao didn't quite understand what was going on, but she still stopped, "Fine, but where should I hide?"

Her tone was also somewhat urgent, because the Millennium Tree Demon was currently casting skills non-stop as if it had gone mad. Although the Sharp-toothed Piglet was sharing the aggro, and Hu Gualing, who had just resurrected with full health, had stood up and drawn a significant portion of the Millennium Tree Demon's attention, the situation was still far from optimistic, given Gualing's previous experience of being instantly killed by the Millennium Tree Demon the moment he let his guard down.

"Where to hide?" When she asked him that, Xiao Niao was also stumped.

He didn't want Tang Yao to leave the BOSS's attack range because he was naturally afraid that if there were no targets within the BOSS's attack range, it would lose aggro, exit combat state, and frantically recover health. However, if they stayed within the BOSS's attack range, it seemed there was nowhere to hide, because this Millennium Tree Demon BOSS's attack method consisted of targeted magical skills that were very difficult to dodge as long as one was within range. The fact that half of Hu Gualing's health bar, who had just resurrected with full health, was already gone after only one second was proof enough.

Looking at the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS's health bar, it read '67'. Sixty-seven health points, with 10 points of Burning damage per second, meaning there were still a full seven seconds left.

In a normal battle, seven seconds would pass in the blink of an eye. But now, the Millennium Tree Demon had gone completely berserk. Never mind seven seconds; every single second, three or four hard, earthy-yellow Earth Spikes erupted from the ground. Seven seconds was enough to kill Hu Gualing and Tang Yao two or three times over!

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared; the Millennium Tree Demon had summoned three consecutive Earth Spikes that all struck the Sharp-toothed Piglet. Although the Sharp-toothed Piglet had a total of 130 health points and could recover two health points per second, it was precisely because of this that Xiao Niao hadn't paid attention to its health during the previous battle, leaving the little guy's health near the healthy threshold rather than at full capacity. Now, with a bit of bad luck, it took three Earth Spikes in a row and immediately vanished into a beam of white light, requiring 24 hours before it could be resurrected.

With the Sharp-toothed Piglet dead, the situation on the field became even more dangerous, because the Millennium Tree Demon's attack speed remained just as frenzied and unceasing, yet the only targets left on the field who could absorb its attacks were Hu Gualing and Tang Yao.

With another 'swish', a flash of white light appeared. This time, it was Tang Yao, who only had a sliver of health left; after being hit once by the Millennium Tree Demon, her health bar was depleted, and her character died.

'The BOSS is practically mowing down grass; this can't go on!' Xiao Niao's thoughts raced. His gaze suddenly shifted to the compartment to the left of the one where the Millennium Tree Demon was located. That was the place where he had gone to change his pants earlier. At that time, he had taken the novice linen pants that Hu Gualing had replaced, gone in there, and slowly changed out of his own tattered pants that had a hole in the seat, then spent some time admiring them. He had stayed in there for quite a while and made quite a bit of noise. Given the distance between the two compartments and the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS's attack range, it should have been able to notice him back then. However, Xiao Niao hadn't been disturbed at all before or after changing his pants; it was only after he came out that he was attacked by the Millennium Tree Demon. So, looking at it this way, hiding in that compartment might just allow them to dodge the BOSS's attacks!?

Suspecting as much, Xiao Niao wasn't entirely certain, but he immediately pointed in that direction and shouted, "Hide to the left!"

Hu Gualing and Tang Yao, who had just resurrected and stood up, heard Xiao Niao's shout and looked in the direction he pointed. Without a word, they took off running. Since the two compartments were very close, it only took a few blinks of an eye for them to reach and hide inside.

In reality, at this moment, with Hu Gualing and Tang Yao hiding in the compartment, from Xiao Niao's perspective, the distance between them and the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS had not increased but rather decreased. However, because there was a tall, earthy-yellow wall blocking the space between them and the Millennium Tree Demon, once they hid inside, they truly were no longer attacked by the Millennium Tree Demon.

The Millennium Tree Demon seemed to know that the two were in the small compartment right next to it, so it cast its Earth Spike Technique as if it didn't cost anything, relentlessly firing towards the wall. Yellow Earth Spikes shot out one after another like spears from the ground. The fierce offensive contained within them made Xiao Niao's heart jump with fear. But even so, not a single one of those Earth Spikes could inflict any damage on Hu Gualing and Tang Yao. Seeing this, Xiao Niao felt relieved. It seemed that just as he had thought, although the compartment where Hu Gualing and Tang Yao were currently located was within the Millennium Tree Demon's attack range, due to environmental obstructions or some other unknown reason, the Millennium Tree Demon was unable to attack inside. In this way, stalling until the Burning status ended would be an easy task.

After the Millennium Tree Demon had been berserk for two or three seconds, having summoned an unknown number of Earth Spikes that riddled the once solid and smooth ground into a mess, and with its health bar down to the last 47 points, it finally had to accept the fact that it couldn't hit those two annoying humans. It turned its attention to the other player, Xiao Niao, who was standing in the distance, opening its lush branches to reveal that pair of eerie, dark red eyes.

Xiao Niao was immediately startled, but he quickly reacted. He didn't have a single drop of mana left. Even if he were controlled by this Millennium Tree Demon BOSS again, the worst that could happen was death; it wouldn't heal the Millennium Tree Demon anymore, so what was there to be afraid of?

Thinking this, Xiao Niao's courage surged. What amused him was that although the Millennium Tree Demon had fixed its pair of dark red eyes on him, it made no other moves besides that. He also didn't feel anything unusual with his body; it seemed that for some unknown reason, the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS couldn't use its mind control skill on him again.

-10. -10. -10. -10. On the trunk of the Millennium Tree Demon, where Tang Yao's longsword had pierced and ignited it, a -10 damage figure popped up every second.

After 4 seconds, the health bar above the Millennium Tree Demon's head was down to just a tiny sliver, with only 7 health points remaining.

The sparks Burning on its trunk also looked like they were about to extinguish. However, whether it was because fire naturally counters wood, or because the game System was set so that the Burning effect attached to Tang Yao's longsword lasted exactly 10 seconds and had to burn down to the very last moment without missing a second, under Xiao Niao's nervous gaze, the final -10 figure with the Burning special effect finally popped up. With a soft 'poof', the flame extinguished into a wisp of black smoke, leaving only a charred black mark on the Millennium Tree Demon's trunk.

The Millennium Tree Demon's remaining 7 health points were deducted by the 10 points of damage from this Burning, and its long health bar, which had originally been 1000 points, was naturally completely empty. According to the game's settings, whether it was a player or a monster, as long as the health bar was emptied, it naturally signified the end of life.

The Millennium Tree Demon seemed to feel the terror of death. Its branches, which hadn't moved much, trembled at this moment. The deep green leaves above fell one after another like a green rain, quickly covering the area around the tree roots with a thick layer.

What made Xiao Niao feel a hint of terror was that after the Millennium Tree Demon's health bar was emptied, its pair of dark red eyes remained open, staring at him. The unwillingness and resentment in its gaze were so thick they almost condensed into substance, sending a faint chill down Xiao Niao's spine.

'Whew, this death effect is actually quite scary.' Xiao Niao couldn't help but pat his chest, startled. Fortunately, a game is just a game; the rule is that if your health runs out, you die. These scary things were just like cutscenes, meant for visual effect, and that was that. Soon, everything fell silent, and with a 'whoosh', the ground was littered with blue and purple light orbs.