Chapter 220: Life Tree Heart, Top-Grade Tree Sap!

Hilda and Isabelle's offensive became even more fierce, as if they wanted to determine who was better.

"The Saint Light… will grant you redemption."

"Accept the judgment of the Saint Light!"

As Isabelle waved her staff, large balls of light descended.

Boom! Boom boom!

[-3812]

[-3974]

[-3742]

[-4213]

The dazzling Saint Light balls exploded one after another, blasting the branches of the boss-level Face Tree until they curled up like earthworms and twisted together.

Moreover, whenever it tried to swing its branches to attack its enemies, Isabelle would raise her hand to cast [Saint Light Ash Shield] or [Divine Shackles], blocking its attacks or completely binding it in place.

It beat this boss-level Face Tree until it had no power to fight back.

Hilda was not to be outdone.

Since her main output method relied on the stacks of [Blood Poison], and after stacking 10 layers, the enemy would take 100% of Hilda's attack power in damage every second even if she just stood still, Hilda kept hatching a large number of Blood Spiders to carry out suicide attacks on this Face Tree.

"Poof! Poof, poof!"

These Blood Spiders were like monsters that didn't fear death, rushing forward crazily.

After large numbers were blasted away by the branches, many Blood Spiders still reached the Face Tree.

They quickly climbed onto the trunk of the Face Tree and exploded with a bang.

At the same time, Hilda spat out patches of red venom.

In less than three seconds, the Face Tree was already stacked with 10 layers of [Blood Poison].

[-3072]

[-3144]

[-3072]

[-3283]

[-3072]

[-3196]

Terrifying damage numbers appeared one after another.

The damage looked lower than Isabelle's, but the frequency was terrifying—almost more than double Isabelle's.

From Cao Xing's perspective, he saw the health of this Tier 4 boss-level Face Tree plummet in chunks!

This Hilda Bloodkiss, who had wreaked havoc ten thousand years ago, was already beginning to show the demeanor of a Blood Spider Queen.

The most crucial point was that the Face Tree, which had always been taciturn during battle, actually let out a miserable scream because it couldn't bear the erosion of the Blood Poison.

"Ah… so painful… so painful…"

The shrill, miserable scream made everyone on the field feel a chill!

They all knew how terrifying Hilda's Blood Poison was.

Isabelle looked on with disgust and said, "What a vicious method!"

Hilda said disdainfully, "Hmph! This is the talent of our Blood Spider race. It's useless for you to be jealous."

Isabelle retorted, "I am a Saint Light Priest appointed by the Pope, someone who will become a Saint Light Sage in the future. Why would I be jealous of you?"

Seeing the two women about to start bickering again, Cao Xing was just about to stop them.

However, they knew they were in the middle of a battle, so after arguing for a moment, they focused on dealing with the enemy in front of them.

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing nodded secretly.

"Not bad, still sensible."

Thus, he also raised his staff with peace of mind, continuously using various powerful magic spells to deal with the leader-level Face Tree.

"Ice Breaking Flying Blade, go!"

As Cao Xing fired three ice balls!

Three high-damage numbers exploded on top of its head instantly!

Boom! Boom boom!

[-6472]

[-6512]

[-9620!]

The last one was even a critical hit!

It directly shaved off over 20,000 HP from this Face Tree.

At the same time, as the ice balls exploded, three waves of icicles took away another 3,000 HP from the Face Tree.

In other words, with just this one skill, Cao Xing had dealt 25,000 damage to the Face Tree.

If this were a normal Tier 4 creature, it would have been killed instantly on the spot!

"Haha! I'm really terrifyingly strong now!"

However, before Cao Xing could be happy for long, the high damage also attracted the aggro of this leader-level Face Tree.

Instantly, a dozen branches whipped toward him!

The sound of breaking air approached!

Seeing this, Cao Xing did not panic, because there was a knight by his side specifically responsible for protecting him!

Liu Muxue stood out, holding the [Paladin's Shield].

Clang! Clang!

As the three layers of Holy Shields were shattered, the other attacks all hit Liu Muxue's shield, finally sparking three or four damage numbers.

[-1014]

[-1125]

[-1093]

[-1032]

Liu Muxue's defense was now even higher than Braum's, so this wave of attacks only caused her to lose over 4,000 HP.

With Liu Muxue's nearly 40,000 HP, it was basically negligible.

Moreover, a simple [Holy Heal] from her would almost fully restore it.

Seeing this, Assam suddenly laughed and said, "Lord Braum, you need to work hard too."

"Otherwise, your position as the team's number one shield guard will be replaced by the Lady of the Manor."

Braum didn't mind after hearing this, "Haha, Knight Assam, you are the same!"

"The Lady of the Manor can do the work of both of us by herself."

Liu Muxue was embarrassed by their praise again and said softly, "No… that's not the case…"

"You are all very important, much better than me…"

The two looked at each other and smiled, then raised their long swords and shields to fiercely attack the opponent in front of them.

At this moment, Cao Xing was not idle either.

After the first wave of [Ice Breaking Flying Blade] entered its cooldown, he released his second ultimate move.

"Sleep in frozen memories!"

Hum!

A hexagram magic circle exuding cold air appeared.

Then, ice pillars as thick as thighs erupted from it!

"Poof! Poof, poof!"

These ice pillars stabbed into the trunk of the Face Tree leader, releasing terrifying cold air, which also significantly reduced its attack speed.

Meanwhile, Braum, combined with Dabai and Volibear, the three great tanks, firmly held down this leader-level Face Tree.

Seeing this, Cao Xing felt relieved and then looked at the battlefield where the others were.

Assam, Andrew, Renice, and the others were dealing with the ordinary Face Trees.

Because of Cao Xing's order, they were killing those ordinary Face Trees. With their powerful attributes, dealing with these monsters was basically like cutting through weeds.

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

Nightmare arrows, ice arrows, and gale arrows were fired one after another.

The newcomers from the Nightmare Court were also outputting with all their might.

The nightmare arrows hit the trunk of the Face Tree, making a "thudding" hollow sound.

And it added 1 layer of [Nightmare Mark] to the enemy.

After 10 layers, it would put the enemy into a nightmare state and randomly seal one of the opponent's skills.

However, the attack power of Assam and the others was too high.

Often, before they could stack a few layers of [Nightmare Mark], these Face Trees had already been killed on the spot.

System prompts appeared continuously.

[Your territory member: Assam killed Ice Crystal Face Tree Lv36, Tier 4 ordinary creature, gained experience: 0]

[Combatant gained experience: 720]

…

[Your territory member: Elisa killed Ice Crystal Face Tree Lv37, Tier 4 elite creature, gained experience: 0]

[Combatant gained experience: 1480]

[Your…]

…

Two minutes later.

Only the last two leader-level Face Tree Elders and this Face Tree leader were still stubbornly fighting everyone on the field.

He glanced at their HP.

[Face Tree Elder] [HP: 34156 / 67239]

…

[Face Tree Elder] [HP: 21275 / 69507]

…

[Face Tree Leader] [HP: 35273 / 125507]

…

A smile appeared on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

Looking at the downward trend of this HP, it seemed they would finish off this leader-level Face Tree first.

But thinking about it, it was normal.

After all, they had three outputs on their side.

Although Isabelle and Hilda's attack power was terrifying, it certainly couldn't compare to so many of them, and the recovery ability of the leader-level Face Tree was very strong; once it entered the life-drain state, its HP would start to recover frantically.

Of course, the Face Tree's healing speed certainly couldn't keep up with their attack speed.

As Dabai and Volibear continuously attacked this Face Tree leader, in the blink of an eye, the Face Tree leader's HP had dropped below 10,000.

Seeing this, Cao Xing immediately threw an [Ice Soul Spinning Spear].

Boom! Boom boom!

[-2831]

[-2931]

[-2973]

…

Several large damage numbers floated up.

The HP of the Face Tree leader in front of him was cleared to zero on the spot.

[You killed Face Tree Leader Lv38, Tier 4 leader-level creature, gained experience: 0]

[Combatant gained experience: 3800]

…

As the Face Tree leader fell, the others also joined the battle between Isabelle and Hilda.

They also quickly killed the enemies in front of them.

At this point, the battle in this area subsided, all the Face Trees were killed, leaving a pile of materials on the ground.

Cao Xing looked at the loot all over the ground, and joy appeared in his eyes.

"Old rules, you go break the vines on these Face Trees and collect them."

After receiving Cao Xing's order, the others started to take action one after another.

And Cao Xing himself quickly picked up the pile of things dropped on the ground.

First, naturally, were the materials dropped by the leader-level Face Tree!

[Obtained: Face Tree Leader's Life Tree Heart (Gold)]

[Obtained: Face Tree Leader's Soul (Gold)]

[Obtained: Face Tree Leader's Tough Bark (Gold)]

[Obtained: Supreme Tree Sap (Gold) * 7]

[Obtained: Advanced Heart of Strength * 1]

[Obtained: Advanced Elemental Crystal * 8]

[Obtained: Large Chaos Tome * 1]

…

"Haha, four types of Gold-grade items!"

"Besides that Boss-level Soul, there's also the Gold-grade Tree Heart, as well as the bark and tree sap!"

"Plus an Advanced Heart of Strength, this is another huge haul!"

Obviously, the items dropped from killing this Boss-level Face Tree were excellent.

Cao Xing couldn't wait to check the attributes of these four items.

[Face Tree Boss's Life Tree Heart (Gold): A tree heart containing immense vitality.]

[Effect 1: After consumption, increases Max HP by 3000 points. Can only take effect once.]

[Effect 2: Accelerates the growth time of certain magical plants or special creatures by 8–10 years. Can be used up to 3 times, with the effect diminishing each time.]

…

[Face Tree Boss's Tough Bark (Gold): Extremely tough bark containing strong life fluctuations.]

(Can be used to craft Tier 4 Gold-quality leather armor or other items, with a high probability of adding extra special effects.)

…

[Supreme Tree Sap (Gold)]

(After consumption, instantly restores all mental power of a Tier 4 creature. Can also be used to craft certain secret medicines, potions, etc.)

…

[Face Tree Boss's Soul (Gold)]

(Can cause a Tier 4 or lower Elite-level creature to advance to a Boss. Success probability is 45%–65%.)

…

After reading the attributes of these four items.

An excited look appeared in Cao Xing's eyes once again.

"This Boss-level Tree Heart can actually grant a minimum of 8 years of growth! Isn't that an 8% HP bonus for everyone?"

"And this Face Tree Boss's bark, it's actually a crafting material for Gold-grade equipment!"

"Great, I'll have Harold try it when we get back and see if he can forge a piece of Gold leather armor."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing grew even more expectant.

Meanwhile.

Dabai and Volibear were both looking at the heart in Cao Xing's hand, which shone like green agate, their eyes filled with desire…

Cao Xing smiled, "Dabai, Volibear, don't be impatient. This thing is reserved for the Pale Tree in the territory."

"I'll give you the Elite-level hearts in a moment."

The two giant beasts, as if they understood human speech, actually nodded their heads slightly.

In their giant pupils, there was a glimmer of expectation.

And Cao Xing had already gone to collect the other materials on the ground.

[Obtained: Face Tree Elder's Heart (Purple) * 2]

[Obtained: Face Tree Elder's Elite Soul (Purple) * 1]

[Obtained: Face Tree Elder's Tough Bark (Purple) * 2]

[Obtained: High-Grade Tree Sap (Purple) * 19]

[Obtained: Advanced Heart of Strength * 1]

[Obtained: Advanced Elemental Crystal * 12]

[Obtained: Large Agility Tome * 1]

[Obtained: Large Strength Tome * 1]

…

"Not bad, two Elite-level Face Trees dropped an Elite Soul and an Advanced Heart of Strength for me."

"Counting the Heart of Strength dropped by the Face Tree Boss, I have two in my hand now!"

"In other words, this time, there's a high probability I'll have two Tier 4 powerhouses among my subordinates."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing grew even more expectant.

Meanwhile, Assam and the others were cutting down the vines from those Face Trees.

When cutting the vines of the Boss-level Face Tree, there was, unsurprisingly, a bit of an accident.

Assam, wielding the King's Warblade, needed several strikes to cut through the vines.

Even Sarah, a high-burst assassin, needed two slashes.

Seeing this, Cao Xing directly had Liu Muxue give the [Magdale] in her hand to Assam.

Sure enough, under the edge of this ancient sword, the Boss-level Face Tree's vines lost their former toughness and tenacity.

They were easily severed.

Cao Xing walked over and picked up all these vines, as well as everything else dropped by the Face Trees.

[Obtained: Face Tree Boss's Life Vine * 174]

[Obtained: Face Tree Elder's Ancient Vine * 327]

[Obtained: Face Tree Guard's Elite Soul * 3]

[Obtained: Intermediate Heart of Strength * 8]

[Obtained: Face Tree Guard's Heart (Blue) * 5]

[Obtained…]

…

The rest were all Green and Blue-grade materials.

Similar to what the previous Face Trees had dropped.

The only special thing was the Face Tree Boss's vine.

He checked the attributes.

[Face Tree Boss's Life Vine: A tree vine with powerful toughness and recovery ability.]

(Can be used to make beast-catching nets to trap some powerful ferocious beasts.)

…

Seeing the description above, Cao Xing was lost in thought.

He had Liu Muxue slash the Boss tree vine once.

In an instant, a nick appeared on this tree vine.

However, in just two or three seconds, this nick began to heal, restoring itself.

"Good heavens, such powerful recovery ability?"

Cao Xing was slightly startled.

Obviously, the recovery ability of these vines exceeded Cao Xing's expectations.

Combined with their toughness, they were an excellent material.

No wonder the system note said they could be used to deal with some large ferocious beasts.

Cao Xing was satisfied and put them into his backpack.

The battle was over.

Everyone on the field reformed their formation.

Next, naturally, was the exciting loot distribution phase.

Cao Xing first took out the two [Advanced Heart of Strength]s in his hand.

His gaze fell upon everyone present.

His subordinates all urgently needed the Heart of Strength to advance.

Including Cao Xing and Liu Muxue.

However, as Survivors, they were not in a hurry.

Let these powerful subordinates break through first; the returns would be higher.

Then, Cao Xing's gaze fell upon the Saint Light Priest, who was dressed in white robes and appeared extremely holy.

And on the Blood Spider Queen beside her, who was exuding blood energy and looked extremely bewitching.

"Isabelle, Hilda, come here."

Hearing Cao Xing's voice, the two women stepped forward and walked over gracefully.

A holy aura and a strong scent of blood wafted towards him.

As the two Boss-level existences under his command.

The benefits of letting them break through first were still very high.

"I'll give you these two Hearts of Strength first. Take them and break through."

Joyous expressions appeared on both women's faces simultaneously.

They said joyfully at the same time: "Thank you, Lord!"

Then, they looked at each other.

"Why are you copying me!"

"You!"

The two spoke almost in unison, even their expressions and movements were basically identical, as if it had been rehearsed.

This scene amused Cao Xing.

If it weren't for the fact that they were of different races, he would have thought these two were twin sisters.

The two women glared at each other.

Cao Xing said: "Alright, stop arguing. Take these two Hearts of Strength."

Hearing Cao Xing speak, they both quieted down at the same time and respectfully took the red crystals from Cao Xing's hand.

Now, their loyalty was above 80, so they would basically not disobey Cao Xing's orders.

Meanwhile, Isabelle and Hilda, holding the Hearts of Strength in their hands, both had looks of excitement in their eyes!

One must know that before they were sealed into the summoning space, their strength was far beyond their current level.

The Blood Spider Queen was once even a Commander-level existence.

Although they now possessed considerable strength, compared to their peak, they were still too weak.

Therefore, they were all eager to recover their original powerful strength.

At this moment.

The two women looked at Cao Xing, their eyes filled with gratitude.

The system prompt appeared.

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Isabelle Gospel's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 87]

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Hilda Bloodkiss's loyalty has increased. Current loyalty: 95]

…

At this moment, a smile appeared on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

"Not bad, not bad. Finally raised the loyalty of the two most difficult ones!"

"At this rate, it won't be long before this arrogant Blood Spider Queen's loyalty reaches 100."

"And Isabelle, this woman who considers the Church to be incredibly important, will also pledge her loyalty to me."

"By then, maybe I can take the opportunity to ask what's going on with Isabelle's other form."

Cao Xing had seen Isabelle's other state last time.

It was called the Vengeful Witch.

And in this state, Isabelle's level seemed to be very high.

Even when Cao Xing looked at her, it showed a bunch of question marks.

Therefore, he was very curious about this state of Isabelle's.

Under the gaze of everyone, these two powerful Boss-level existences crushed the Hearts of Strength in their hands.

And began the transformation from Tier 3 to Tier 4…

Cao Xing then took out a Boss-level Soul from his backpack.

This thing was also something most of his subordinates needed.

The two Dragonblood Warriors, Blot and the others, were still Elite-level creatures.

This Soul could give them a significant boost.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing called out a name.

"Renice."

Hearing this, Renice, who still had a serious expression, slowly raised her head.