Chapter 104 - 100 Gingko Immortal Tree, Quickly Manifest

Chapter 104: Chapter 100 Gingko Immortal Tree, Quickly ManifestWhat! Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong’s face immediately darkened, a look of disbelief on his face. The expressions of NPCs in the game were really vivid, perfectly showcasing a mix of shock and underlying anger. "How did he die?" Zhou Tong asked through gritted teeth. Xiao Jie somberly said, "Wang Kai was literally bitten to death by a group of zombies. Before he died, he insisted on defending Ginkgo Village! He also asked me to tell you that he died for the people of Ginkgo Village, and he died honorably. Please, don’t grieve for him." After hearing Xiao Jie’s words, Zhou Tong’s face surfaced with indescribable grief, and suddenly he let out a loud yell. "My disciple, today your master will surely avenge you!" [System Notification: Your ally Zhou Tong, the blacksmith, has entered a frenzy.] It actually worked! Xiao Jie thought to himself that his skills of agitation hadn’t regressed at all. Combat Skills—Iron Cloth Shirt! Zhou Tong’s muscular body seemed to be coated with a layer of steel. Swinging a large hammer, he charged into the horde of corpses. Combat Skills—Chaotic Slash Wind! The battle hammer spun like a windmill, whipping fiercely through the air and crushing anything in its path, whether walking corpses or zombies, smashing bones and sending flesh flying. With his own strength, Zhou Tong directly overturned the densest part of the corpse group. What an opportunity! Tie Qianli decisively seized the moment. "Soldiers, regroup! Form up and combat the enemy, follow Master Zhou, and push them back!" Militia villagers shouted as they followed Zhou Tong into the fray, with Zhou Tong leading the charge breaking through the zombie formation, unexpectedly turning the tide of the battle. Xiao Jie and others also hurried to strike relentlessly at any isolated lesser creatures. "What’s happened to Old Zhou?" Ye Luo stabbed down one and asked in surprise. "His disciple has died," Xiao Jie said, barely suppressing a chuckle. "Wang Kai?" "Exactly," Xiao Jie’s voice carried a hint of amusement, and Ye Luo instantly understood. Speechless, he said, "You really are..." "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The shouts interrupted their conversation; the morale of the villagers and militia was soaring, even I Want to Be Immortal and Dongfang Sheng were caught up, shouting as they hacked furiously. The two stopped chatting and followed the crowd towards the village entrance. As the team continued to topple countless walking corpses and approached the fire zone, a giant figure stood blocking the way—the Ghost General Corpse Vulture. Xiao Jie and the others immediately slowed down, preparing to let Zhou Tong handle the monster before switching to remote weapons for damage output. This kind of task, facing a boss monster, was obviously meant for an NPC. As long as they were sure that their combined damage exceeded one-third of the monster’s blood volume, they would be able to secure the looting rights, and the spoils would naturally be shared among the four of them. Zhou Tong did not disappoint, facing the Ghost General fearlessly. Combat Skills—Rushing Stomp! While sprinting forward, he raised his large hammer, preparing to strike fiercely. The Ghost General, however, appeared completely unfazed, assumed a charging stance, and after a moment, violently swung his iron spear. Combat Skills—Horizontal Slash! Clang! With a loud clang, the hammer collided with the spear, and Zhou Tong was knocked backwards by the impact, tumbling to the ground. Even in his frenzy state, this muscular hero was still no match for the burly Ghost General in front of him. He got back up, intending to continue the fight, but the Ghost General followed up immediately with a Frontal Charge Stab, and with a thrust, pierced through Zhou Tong just as he stood up. -175! Following with an upward strike that flung Zhou Tong into the air. Combat Skills—Ba Wang’s Pole Slap! With a vigorous throw, he sent Zhou Tong flying onto the roof of a village house, collapsing it and falling into the ruins. "Old Zhou!" Tie Qianli, seeing this, was shocked and quickly called a few militiamen to prepare to gang up for an attack. "Stand back!" Sweeping Thousands of Army! The Ghost General Corpse Vulture’s sweep swept away the charging militiamen. With a momentum-driven Iron Mountain Lean, he knocked Tie Qianli flying with a shoulder charge. In the blink of an eye, two frontline fighters were sent flying, which immediately dampened the spirits of everyone present. Especially a few players, who had been ready to start attacking, now none dared to release an arrow, afraid that they would catch the boss’ attention. Even the fiercest Zhou Tong couldn’t last a single round. Who would dare step forward now? Xiao Jie quickly allocated the five new attribute points he had obtained entirely to his Constitution. Originally, he only had a blood volume of 150, and a light hit from the Ghost General could inflict seventy odd damage, while a heavy strike could deal about 180 damage; one hit, and he would be finished. Now, with an extra fifty in health, he, at least, had a margin of error for one hit. While no one dared approach, the Ghost General was not idle, swinging his iron spear and slaughtering the surrounding militia, killing two with each blow, and quickly disorganized the villagers’ lines. Meanwhile, Lin Yutian personally led the zombies into the battlefield. Watching the crowd being relentlessly pushed back by the Ghost General, Lin Yutian, quite pleased with himself, ominously said, "Hehehehe, it’s really like using a mantis arm as a chariot. Well done, Corpse Vulture, reviving you was well worth the effort. Now, let’s kill these people — let me give you a hand—" As he said this, he raised his hand. Corpse Chasing Secret Technique—Chain Corpse Explosion! Boom, boom, boom! The corpses on the ground instantly started exploding in succession, sending flesh and bones flying, and several militiamen were directly blown to death, dealing a heavy blow to the already demoralized villagers. Ding-a-ling! Another bell rang, and dozens of dark-haired zombies around Lin Yutian roared and commenced a charge. This completely shattered the villagers’ morale. These zombies were not the useless walking corpses from before; each was a Level 8 monster, stronger than the ordinary militiamen. Coupled with a Ghost General leading from the front, the villagers, who had been in a desperate fight, were now either dead or crippled. They were no match for them. "Run!" "Escape quickly!" "We can’t win. It’s no use!" "Quick, to the ancestral hall!" "Don’t run! Hold the line!" Yang Baichuan shouted, desperately launching arrows, yet he was still unable to stop the rout. Tie Qianli shouted, "Retreat, old Yang, we can’t hold here. Let’s go find the village chief. He will surely have a way." "You’re right. The ancestral hall is protected by the Divine Tree. These filthy corpse ghosts surely won’t be able to get near. Let’s regroup there and come back to trouble them again." Zhou Tong, limping, had managed to crawl out from the rubble. It was then that Yang Baichuan reluctantly turned to flee. Seeing the three great experts of Ginkgo Village all retreating, Xiao Jie thought to himself, it was time to run. "We should retreat too." Seeing this, the few players could only follow suit. In the blink of an eye, the square was completely overrun. Xiao Jie, together with the villagers, frantically fled all the way to the village’s ancestral hall, and from a distance, they could see the lush ginkgo tree decorated with talismans and the ancestral hall beneath it. At that moment, Master Huang solemnly stood in front of the entrance to the ancestral hall, as if he had been waiting there. "Hurry into the ancestral hall to take refuge and recover. I’ll hold off the enemies!" The villagers, as if seeing hope, rushed headlong into the ancestral hall. Xiao Jie and the others followed suit, while Tie Qianli, Yang Baichuan, and Zhou Tong did not enter but gathered around Master Huang. Xiao Jie and the others naturally stopped as well. "Lord village chief, the battle ahead is adverse; do you have any strategies? If so, don’t keep them to yourself." "Yes, village chief, if you have a Big Move, put it to use now; if you don’t, we’re going to be wiped out." By then, the Ghost General, leading a throng of zombies, had caught up and was pursuing them. Xiao Jie and the others quickly retreated behind several NPCs, fully on guard. But they saw Master Huang suddenly raise his hands high. "Gingko Immortal Tree, reveal your spirit quickly, village protection array, drive off all evil spirits!" No sooner had he spoken than a golden light suddenly appeared; leaves of the ginkgo tree glowed gold as they fell, casting a gentle light on the ground around them. The entire ancestral hall and the ginkgo tree were enveloped in peaceful golden light. A zombie, rushing too fast, slammed into the array and instantly screamed, emitting plumes of white smoke, and turned into a skeleton in the blink of an eye. The ground spurted with ginkgo tree roots, which absorbed the skeleton into the soil as nourishment. The Ghost General immediately halted, waving his iron spear to stop the zombies behind him. Underneath his evil ghost mask, a pair of eyes glowing with a ghostly blue light stared intently at Master Huang, showing no anger or urgency, but instead, stood motionless. "Hahaha, fooled you! This is a safe zone, you can’t come in!" "I Want to Be Immortal" shouted triumphantly. Xiao Jie, however, was not so optimistic, as a countdown had suddenly appeared on the top right corner of the screen. System Notification: Master Huang has activated the village protection array, which will end in 9 minutes and 59 seconds.