Chapter 157: The Human-Faced Tree That Is a Treasure Trove!

"Puff!"

Branches pierced the male student's shoulder.

[-674]

A damage number appeared.

The male student gasped, a look of terror appearing in his eyes!

His HP dropped to just a few dozen points in an instant.

If he hadn't avoided his vital points at the last moment, he would have died on the spot!

Just then, a second sound of wind appeared.

The male student shouted in terror: "Save… save me…"

At the critical moment, Renice fired an arrow.

"Shoo!"

The arrow hit the branch precisely, interrupting the attack.

Eerily, everyone heard a hoarse, human-like sound of pain.

"Ah!"

Before they could react, the next moment, all the trees in this area moved.

Clatter…

Branches flew about.

The frozen ground was constantly rising, as if something was active underground.

Then, these trees slowly turned around.

They discovered in horror that on the trunks of these trees, a pale human face was growing.

The human faces slowly opened their mouths.

"This is our territory… Intruders… die!"

The next moment, countless branches shot towards them!

The group of Survivors at the back of the team had no strength to block this.

According to the agreement with Qiu Yating, Cao Xing had to lead them into the depths of the forest.

So, Cao Xing shouted.

"Braum, block it!"

Upon hearing this, Braum immediately used Leap Shield and rushed to the back of the crowd.

Then he raised his shield and blocked those branches.

"Bang! Bang, bang, bang!"

Most of the branch attacks were blocked by Braum's shield.

The other branches were intercepted by Renice's arrows.

The group of Survivors escaped a disaster and stood there, still a bit dazed.

Braum turned his head and smiled: "Little ones, don't just stand there, move quickly."

Hearing this, they finally reacted, then scrambled behind Braum or took up defensive stances.

At this moment, Assam and the others were also fighting against the attacks of these branches.

What surprised Cao Xing was that the toughness of these branches was beyond imagination.

Relying on Assam's Tier 3 Leader-level attack power, one sword strike didn't directly cut them off, only briefly knocking them back.

Cao Xing scanned the attributes of these Human-Faced Trees.

[Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Lv27]

[Race: Human-Faced Tree]

[HP: 17640/17640]

[Attack Power: 652~681]

[Skills: Tough Branches (The Human-Faced Tree has tough branches that launch entanglement and piercing attacks against enemies), Frozen Touch (The Human-Faced Tree waves its branches to attack enemies, causing Attack Power * 133% damage, causing them to enter a 1-5 second Blood Frozen state, reducing movement ability by 50%, cooldown 60 seconds), Frigid Dance (Waves thousands of branches to crazily attack all enemies, cooldown 5 minutes)]

[Talent 1: Longevity (Possesses a long lifespan)]

[Talent 2: Vibrant Life (HP increased by an additional 30%)]

[Bond: Human-Faced Tree, when 5 Human-Faced Trees act simultaneously, Attack Speed +10%, 10: HP increased by 20%, 20: Attack Power increased by 20% (Activated)]

(Description: A monster created after alchemy experiments, growing in the Witch Forest, will attack all creatures that enter the forest.)

"What strong Tier 3 creatures!" Cao Xing commented.

The number of Human-Faced Trees appearing here reached over 20, and their bond was activated, making them far more powerful than ordinary Tier 3 creatures!

The next moment, a dozen branches attacked the group.

Under the attack of these Tier 3 creatures, the stats of these Tier 1 Survivors couldn't keep up with the reaction speed of the Human-Faced Trees.

For other teams, even a Tier 3 squad would likely be wiped out if they encountered an ambush by so many Human-Faced Trees.

However, the attacks of these Human-Faced Trees landed on Cao Xing's subordinates and only shattered one or two layers of Holy Shields.

They didn't even cause any damage to them!

Seeing this, Cao Xing felt reassured and ordered: "Attack with full force, kill these Human-Faced Trees."

At the same time, he and Liu Muxue jumped off the Mammoth's back.

After receiving Cao Xing's order, Assam and the others each used their own methods.

The Sword of Justice swept across!

A storm of arrows began to rage!

And Dabai began to sprint through the forest.

Then it slammed into one of the Human-Faced Trees!

"Bang!"

[-1973]

A terrifying impact damage appeared!

After Dabai advanced to Tier 3, and with the bonuses from Liu Muxue's Aurora Blessing and Courage Blessing, the damage was terrifying.

Immediately following that, it used a Stomp, directly stunning seven or eight surrounding Human-Faced Trees.

The new member, Putana, raised her giant axe high and fiercely chopped at one of the Human-Faced Trees.

Bang!

[-518]

As a newcomer, Putana being a Tier 2 Elite-level creature, this damage was actually quite good.

And Braum, after advancing to a Leader, held off the attacks of three or four Human-Faced Trees single-handedly.

"Aha! Come and attack Braum!"

"Let you see what airtight defense is!"

Compared to the day before yesterday in the Ascalon tomb, everyone on the field had improved their strength significantly.

Dealing with monsters of this level was completely effortless.

At this moment, the group of Survivors stood at the back, watching their battle while trembling.

Those floating damage numbers made them tremble incessantly!

The most terrifying thing was that they saw Cao Xing's attack.

This man, with a casual spell attack, dealt four or five hundred damage.

That is to say, to deal with Survivors like them who only had six or seven hundred HP, Cao Xing only needed one or two spells to take them out directly.

Furthermore, they also saw the goddess-like beautiful Liu Muxue, holding a gorgeous shield, guarding Cao Xing's left and right.

This scene made the boys in that group show expressions of envy.

A few minutes later, the battle on Cao Xing's side came to an end.

[Your territory member: Braum Ironwall killed Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Lv28, obtained EXP: 560]

[Combatants obtained EXP: 280]

[Your territory member: Sarah Blade Dance killed Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Lv27, obtained EXP 540]

[Combatants obtained EXP: 270]

[Your…]

Kill notifications appeared continuously.

When the last Human-Faced Tree's HP hit zero, these eerie trees seemed to lose their power support, and the branches on their bodies went limp.

The group of Survivors breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they looked at the corpses of the Human-Faced Trees around them with the feeling of having survived a disaster.

At this time, Qiu Yating walked out and bowed slightly to Cao Xing: "Thank you, Great Lord Cao Xing…"

Others also thanked him one after another: "Thank you, Great Lord Cao Xing for saving us."

Cao Xing nodded, not caring.

He was just fulfilling the content of the agreement.

Then, Cao Xing looked at the corpses of the Human-Faced Trees.

At the root position, some things seemed to have appeared.

It seemed to be items dropped after they died.

Cao Xing walked over and picked up everything on the ground.

System notifications appeared.

[Obtained: Intermediate Elemental Crystal *1]

[Obtained: Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Heart (Green) *1]

[Obtained: Ancient Human-Faced Tree Bark (Green) *1]

[Obtained: Sap (Green) *3]

[Obtained: Intermediate Agility Book]

Cao Xing had a look of confusion in his eyes, "Eh? What is a Human-Faced Tree Heart?"

Suppressing the curiosity in his heart.

Cao Xing decided to collect all the materials dropped by these Human-Faced Trees on the ground first, then check the attributes of these things.

[Obtained: Intermediate Elemental Crystal *12]

[Obtained: Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Heart (Green) *21]

[Obtained: Sap (Green) *114]

[Obtained: Ancient Human-Faced Tree Bark (Green) *17]

[Obtained: Intermediate Chaos Book *3]

[Obtained: Intermediate Agility Book *2]

[Obtained: Intermediate Spirit Book *2]

Cao Xing nodded with satisfaction, then began to check the attributes of these materials.

[Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Heart (Green): A heart containing pure life force.]

[Effect 1: After use, increases Max HP by 300 points (can take effect up to 2 times)]

[Effect 2: Allows magic plants to absorb the life force contained within, accelerating the growth cycle by 0.5~1 year.]

"Darn… this thing seems to be the same type of item as the Snow Demon Heart, it can accelerate plant growth!"

A look of surprise appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

Because according to Juliette, the Pale Tree had now grown into a small sapling, and it would only need another year or two of growth cycle to bring buff effects to the territory.

Based on the intensity of the life force contained within this Human-Faced Tree heart, it should be able to significantly accelerate the growth time of the Pale Tree.

Cao Xing nodded in satisfaction.

He hadn't expected to make an unexpected gain right after entering; his luck was quite good.

Then, he began to examine the second type of item.

[Tree Sap (Green): Tree sap containing an aura of magic, with a cool and refreshing taste.]

(After consumption, it can restore a certain amount of mental energy; cooldown is 60 seconds.)

…

[Ancient Human-Faced Tree Bark (Green): Thick and tough tree bark.]

(Crafting material, can be given to the blacksmith or used in the Tailor Shop to craft Fine-quality armor or other items.)

…

Cao Xing's eyes lit up: "Huh? This tree sap can actually restore mental energy? Isn't that similar to the effect of Moon Dew?"

However, Moon Dew is a Blue-quality recovery item, while the tree sap is only Green-quality, so there is still a gap in their recovery capabilities.

But that doesn't hinder the fact that there is a large quantity of tree sap!

This time, he had harvested over a hundred drops of tree sap, so he could use it without worry.

"It just so happens that my Moon Dew is running low!"

"With so much tree sap, I can use the Demon Transformation skill without restraint!"

"Andrew can also use Owlbear Form continuously!"

Cao Xing was overjoyed.

Furthermore, he remembered that when crafting [Refined Rum], he also needed to use this tree sap.

Besides that, that ancient Human-Faced Tree bark was also quite good and could be crafted into Fine-quality armor.

If given to the dwarf Harold, his own army would have new equipment.

He nodded in satisfaction and said: "I didn't expect to have such good gains right after entering."

"Coming to this Witch Forest was truly the right decision!"

Just then, Cao Xing glanced at these Human-Faced Trees that had lost their life signs.

Their branches were all limp and drooping on the ground, like a man after climax.

But Cao Xing remembered just how strong the toughness of this thing was.

"Harold said that making a projectile grappling hook requires extremely tough rope. I wonder if this thing can be used as a substitute?"

Cao Xing shook his head: "Never mind, even if it can't be a substitute, the toughness of these vines alone makes them good items!"

Consequently, he ordered: "Cut down all the vines from these Human-Faced Trees for me."

Upon hearing Cao Xing's command, the group of recruited creatures sprang into action.

They either hacked with swords, bit with their teeth, or tore directly with their claws.

One branch after another was torn off by them.

Since the corpses of the Human-Faced Trees could not be dismantled, they had to use this primitive method.

It took quite some effort to tear all these vines down.

Cao Xing walked over and casually picked one up.

[Obtained: Tough Vine of the Human-Faced Tree (Green) * 1]

He glanced at the attributes.

[Tough Vine of the Human-Faced Tree (Green): An extremely tough vine.]

(A tough material that can be crafted into fishing nets or other items.)

…

A look of joy appeared on Cao Xing's face.

Then, he collected all the vines on the ground.

[Obtained: Tough Vine of the Human-Faced Tree (Green) * 1574]

"Woohoo! Over a thousand vines, adding up to several thousand meters!"

"This haul is really good!"

Qiu Yating and the other young girls watched Cao Xing and his group's actions with faces full of amazement.

It seemed they hadn't expected them to not even spare these tree vines.

At this moment, Cao Xing looked at Qiu Yating and asked: "About how much further do we need to travel to be considered entering the interior of the Witch Forest?"

Cao Xing didn't want to keep dragging this group of Survivors along. Once he brought them into the forest, he could search here without restraint.

Qiu Yating whispered: "I think… we still need to travel about one or two kilometers further…"

Cao Xing nodded: "Alright, let's continue moving forward."

Next, the group continued their journey.

Along the way, they encountered two or three waves of attacks from Human-Faced Trees, but they were all powerfully killed by Cao Xing and his group.

When they saw the Mammoth, Dabai, crash into a Human-Faced Tree and snap it in half with a single charge…

It left this group of Survivors dumbfounded.

"So… so terrifying…"

"Too strong…"

The strength Cao Xing displayed completely exceeded their imagination.

At the same time, these Survivors couldn't help but be even more curious about his level.

Cao Xing ignored their gazes, walked over again, and collected all the materials.

After several battles, he had cumulatively obtained:

[Ice Crystal Human-Faced Tree Heart (Green) * 52]

[Tree Sap (Green) * 415]

[Ancient Human-Faced Tree Bark (Green) * 46]

[Tough Vine of the Human-Faced Tree (Green) * 3273]

[Intermediate Elemental Crystal * 35]

…

As Cao Xing picked them up, his face was full of joy.

"This Human-Faced Tree is truly a treasure from head to toe!"

Just then, Renice, who had been keeping [Hunter's Eye] activated the entire time, came to Cao Xing's side.

She pointed under a giant tree in the distance and said: "Lord, there are a few flowers over there that seem to be emitting an aura of magic and life."

Upon hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes immediately lit up.

He ignored the puzzled gazes of Qiu Yating and the others, left the group, and headed straight to the place Renice mentioned.

There, he indeed discovered a few flowers that were overall cyan-blue and had seven petals.

Taking a closer look, the attributes of these flowers appeared before them…

[Ice Phoenix Flower (Blue): Special Plant]

[After consuming the petals, one can immediately restore 200 Health Points and also recover a certain amount of mental energy.]

(A plant containing life force, it only grows in places with abundant life force.)

…

Cao Xing's eyes immediately lit up!

This is it!

There really are Ice Phoenix Flowers in this forest.

Cao Xing took a look; there were 7 Ice Phoenix Flowers here, with about thirty-plus petals.

In other words, it was enough for him to craft over thirty bottles of improved Life Secret Potions!

Cao Xing was in a great mood: "Not bad, not bad!"

Thinking of this, he carefully took out a dagger and shoveled up all the soil around the Ice Phoenix Flowers.

Then, he directly stored them in his backpack.

[Obtained: Ice Phoenix Flower (Blue) * 1]

Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems this transplantation method is feasible.

Then, he successively removed the other six Ice Phoenix Flowers.

A moment later, Cao Xing returned to the group with a satisfied look on his face.

Seeing his expression, Qiu Yating seemed to understand something, and with a smile on her face, she said: "Congratulations, Great Lord Cao Xing."

The other Survivors also knew that Cao Xing had come out this time to search for Ice Phoenix Flowers.

It seemed he had found what he wanted, and they all wore envious expressions on their faces.

Cao Xing nodded.

"Let's go."

Next, they continued to travel one or two kilometers deeper.

The temperature here was getting lower and lower.

All kinds of plants he had never seen before were also becoming more numerous.

At this moment, a system notification appeared.

[You have entered a special area: Witch Forest…]

A look of realization appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

It seems that reaching this point counts as entering the interior area of the Witch Forest.

He looked at the few students and said: "Alright, as agreed, you will have to walk the rest of the way yourselves."

Upon hearing this, the students' expressions changed slightly.

Having walked this far, they already knew how terrifying this forest was!

Even the monsters appearing on the outskirts were not lower than Tier 3!

One could imagine how terrifying the monsters inside must be.

Letting a group of Tier 1 Survivors like them walk alone in such a forest meant they wouldn't last long before they were dead without a trace, let alone completing that mission.

They also finally realized how high the difficulty of the mission they had accepted was.

At this moment, the male student named Xu Haocheng sidled over and said with a fake smile: "Great Lord Cao Xing, we have long heard of your name and have always admired you."

"Could you see this good deed through to the end and help us complete this mission?"

"We will be grateful to you!"

Cao Xing listened, glanced at him indifferently, and said: "Not interested."

"According to our agreement, my responsibility ends here."

Upon hearing this, Xu Haocheng's expression stiffened; he was just about to speak.

Qiu Yating, who was beside him, interrupted him and said: "Xu Haocheng, say no more."

"Great Lord Cao Xing has things to do; let's not waste too much of his time."

The other young girls also chimed in to dissuade him.

And this Xu Haocheng seemed to want to say something more, but fearing Cao Xing's strength, he swallowed his words.

Cao Xing ignored them, turned around directly with his subordinates, and said: "Let's go, we'll change direction and move forward."

These Survivors wanted to say something but held back; they could only watch Cao Xing's back with helpless gazes.