“Casualties, rest in place. The rest, keep moving forward!” Feng Yundan ordered coldly.
“Gang Leader, we really can’t go any further. If this continues, we’ll all be wiped out!”
A team leader anxiously pleaded, his voice trembling.
He was a Mutant and didn't want to die here; he still had a bright future.
Feng Yundan gave him a cold glance, and the Six Horizontal Bars battle saber in his hand drew a cold light, slashing across the captain's throat. Blood gushed out, staining the ground.
“Anyone who dares to retreat again will suffer this fate!”
Feng Yundan’s gaze was icy, sweeping over the remaining team members.
His words were cold and full of killing intent. The team members looked at each other, fear and unease intertwining, but no one dared to speak again.
Even though their hearts were filled with terror and apprehension, they could only grit their teeth and continue deeper into this unknown area.
As Feng Yundan led the team slowly out of the sight of the wounded resting in place, an injured Mutant angrily spat a mouthful of bloody saliva in the direction where Feng Yundan had disappeared, cursing under his breath: “Ruthless and heartless, he’ll get his comeuppance sooner or later!” His companion quickly covered his mouth, nervously looking around, afraid of being overheard.
The Mutant struggled to push his companion away, his eyes burning with even greater fury, and he growled: “What are you afraid of? He can’t hear us! A Gang Leader like this doesn’t deserve our loyalty!”
His companion shook his head helplessly, gently persuading: “Let’s endure for now. We are still under him. Be careful. When there’s an opportunity, we’ll find another way out.”
His companion sighed, his eyes showing helplessness and despair, secretly praying to escape this strange and dangerous situation soon.
However, the wounded resting in place did not notice that in the dense forest behind them, a patch of low-lying plants, like shrubs, was silently spreading, their leaves subtly trembling.
“Ah! Save me!”
A wounded man suddenly screamed, his body tightly entangled by a thick root, instantly dragged underground. The other wounded looked around in terror, only to see the ground begin to tremble slightly, and more roots burst out of the earth, quickly wrapping around their legs. Screams rose one after another as the wounded struggled desperately, but to no avail.
Intense gunfire and screams once again echoed through the dense forest, and the smell of blood permeated the air…
Feng Yundan’s expression changed abruptly upon hearing the sound, clearly indicating that the remaining wounded had encountered an inexplicable attack; but he did not turn back, coldly ordering: “Speed up, keep moving forward!”
After advancing another 100 meters, Feng Yundan suddenly stopped, his gaze like a torch, fixed on a patch of tall trees ahead. Through the branches and leaves, a few head-sized fruits could vaguely be seen hanging sparsely on the trees, which were precisely the strange fruits that had attacked them earlier.
Feng Yundan gripped his battle saber tightly and quietly instructed: “Be careful, don’t touch those fruits.”
The team members held their breath, following closely, their hearts uneasy.
Feng Yundan’s eyes were sharp, carefully observing his surroundings, cautiously bypassing the strange fruits, his steps light, trying to avoid making any sound.
A tense atmosphere permeated the team. Fortunately, they passed through this forest area without incident. At this point, they had already entered a 500-meter radius of the central area, which was much sparser than the periphery.
The ground was covered with thick fallen leaves, soft to step on, but Feng Yundan dared not be careless, vigilantly looking around. The fallen leaves under his feet made a slight rustling sound, as if every step was triggering an unknown crisis.
The team members followed closely, their hearts pounding like drums, fearing that a slight oversight would lead them into danger. Feng Yundan waved his hand, signaling everyone to stop, and quietly warned: “Maintain formation, it’s too quiet here, unsettlingly quiet. Everyone, be careful!”
As they advanced slowly and cautiously, what greeted their eyes was a central area surrounded by hundreds of tall trees. The trees were exceptionally thick, with luxuriant branches and leaves. Even stranger, huge, beautiful flowers bloomed sparsely on the branches, only a few dozen on each large tree.
As if sensing Feng Yundan and his group, the flowers on dozens of trees eerily turned to face the Sanshui Gang members. Feng Yundan’s pupils contracted, and an alarm blared in his heart. He had seen the sharp, gleaming stamens in the center of the flowers; each stamen was no less than two meters long, with a spear-like sharp tip, as if it could launch a fatal strike at any moment.
“Charge in at full speed!”
Feng Yundan did not hesitate, giving the order.
They were not far from the five towering giant trees in the very center. Feng Yundan was certain that as long as they broke through this tree defense line, they would reach their destination.
The Sanshui Gang members gritted their teeth and charged towards the giant trees, with Feng Yundan leading the way.
Suddenly, the stamens from the blooming petals shot out rapidly. Feng Yundan dodged agilely, swinging his battle saber, directly slashing at a stamen heading towards him. The blade collided with the stamen, producing a harsh clang of metal, and the stamen broke in response.
But the immense force caused Feng Yundan’s expression to change drastically. He had no doubt that these stamens could easily penetrate the bodies of a Five Horizontal Bars defensive zombie.
“Don’t resist, run with all your might! You can’t block them!” Feng Yundan shouted, immediately rushing forward.
The team members moved at his command, sprinting forward with all their might. They darted between the giant trees like arrows from a bow, petals fluttering, and stamens continuously shooting out.
Screams echoed incessantly. A look of determination flashed in Feng Yundan’s eyes as he moved through the trees like a ghost.
He no longer had time to worry about the Sanshui Gang members behind him. Even he couldn't block many of the stamen attacks and could only rely on speed to quickly pass through this tree defense line.
Feng Yundan ran at full speed all the way, finally breaking out of the giant tree encirclement.
Ahead, it suddenly opened up. Only five towering giant trees stood, and in the very center of the trees, there was indeed the Three Vertical Bars Variant, and his two companion beasts!
Light burst from Feng Yundan’s eyes, but he was not in a hurry to capture it. He knew that he alone could not subdue this powerful Variant and had to wait for the support of his team members.
Fortunately, this place was still several hundred meters away from the Variant, and the Variant had not noticed their arrival. Feng Yundan quickly looked around for potential dangers while waiting for his team members to arrive.
Soon, the surviving ability users of the Sanshui Gang emerged from the giant tree encirclement one after another, all looking disheveled, with lingering fear in their eyes.
Feng Yundan did not feel sad, but rather realized that with less than fifty Mutants remaining, he had no confidence in confronting the Variant and its companion beasts.
However, to retreat now, they would still need to pass through layers of defense. Not to mention whether he could escape, even if he could, he would likely become a lone commander.
Feng Yundan knew that there was no turning back now; he could only go all out. “Everyone, rest and recover your abilities, prepare for the decisive battle!”
His voice was low and firm.
Among the less than fifty survivors, many had significantly depleted their abilities. To deal with the Three Vertical Bars Variant, they had to face it in their best condition.
But when Feng Yundan’s gaze fell upon the Variant again, he felt as if his entire body had fallen into an ice cave, a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Because he saw that the Three Vertical Bars Variant had slowly raised its head, its eyes glowing with a verdant light, seemingly sensing their presence, and its gaze had already locked onto them.
The two companion beasts also flew in mid-air, their wings spread, their gaze directed at Feng Yundan’s location.
Most terrifying of all, the five giant trees that blotted out the sky actually uprooted themselves and moved eerily. Their roots twisted like giant pythons, their leaves made a harsh rustling sound, and their thick branches seemed to transform into the tentacles of a giant beast, slowly approaching them.
“Fight!” Feng Yundan roared, his battle saber slashing down fiercely, a sharp wind blade cutting through the sky, rushing directly towards the foremost giant tree.
The wind blade collided with the tentacle-like branches, producing a deafening roar. Bark splattered, and four or five branches were severed in succession before the wind blade slowly dissipated.
Despite the attack being effective, Feng Yundan’s heart sank to rock bottom. That single blow was enough to kill a Six Horizontal Bars Zombie, but against the giant tree, it only severed four or five branches.
Looking at the hundreds of branches, Feng Yundan knew that the challenge they faced far exceeded their expectations, even to the point of being a desperate situation.
As the giant trees gradually approached, the surviving ability users also knew the situation was dire. They unleashed their potential, displaying various abilities: fireballs, ice arrows, lightning, wind blades, and boulders intertwined into a dense barrage of firepower, attempting to block the giant trees’ invasion.
However, their attack power was far less than Feng Yundan’s. Although dense, they caused minimal damage to the giant trees… They struggled greatly to deal with a single giant tree, but there were five of them! How could they possibly fight?
Feng Yundan gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with unwillingness, and slowly released the battle saber in his hand, taking out another battle saber carried on his back. This battle saber was entirely black, which he had purchased at a great cost from Peerless Apocalypse—Dream City’s current top-tier weapon, a Level Seven Battle Saber.
With this battle saber, Feng Yundan was confident in killing several Seven Horizontal Bars Zombies with the cooperation of his team members, which was also his confidence in daring to capture the Three Vertical Bars Variant.
However, the five giant trees before him made him feel an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.
No one knew if these giant trees’ strength could rival that of an Eight Horizontal Bars Zombie, because no one had ever seen an Eight Horizontal Bars Zombie.
But Feng Yundan could confirm that the strength of the giant trees before him definitely surpassed that of a Seven Horizontal Bars Zombie—did he still have hope?