rpbooks Chapter 30 : Life and Death Speed
Chapter 30 : Life and Death Speed
Life and Death SpeedIn the next second, with almost no preparation, slender calf muscles suddenly exploded with force. Stepping on Dawn's Light's broad shoulders, Cecilia's petite figure leapt straight up into the air, soaring more than a dozen meters high.
A powerful counterforce erupted at the same time. Dawn's Light grunted, his body suddenly sinking; his feet were even deeply embedded into the ground's soil.
The Sound of the Wind howled by her ears. When she reached the highest point, Cecilia forced her eyes wide open, looking toward the mountaintop. It was still completely empty, not a single trace of any tree having ever grown there.
How could this be?
Her body naturally began to fall. Within a few seconds and with a barely audible sound, Cecilia landed steadily on one knee. She turned and glanced at the group expressionlessly, saying flatly, "The tree at the summit really is gone."
"That's strange, maybe we haven't met all the unlock requirements."
Yuewu fell into deep thought.
"We're already here. Let's head up and have a look first."
Dawn's Light pulled his feet out from the ground, rubbing his faintly aching shoulders, then spoke.
They'd put in so much time and effort, making it all the way here—as expected, not a single one of them wanted to give up now.
Cecilia nodded. The group quickened their pace, almost scrambling up using both hands and feet as they continued toward the summit.
Among the three, Cecilia had the highest agility stat, so naturally she left the others far behind. In less than a minute, she was the first to reach the top of the small hill.
The summit behind Blood-soaked Soil Village was a small platform, its ground paved with mosscovered flagstones and flanked by dried–up irrigation ditches, giving it a great sense of age. By all reason, the Bloodletting Tree should have been growing right at the platform's exact center.
However, when Cecilia looked toward the middle of the platform, she was instantly dumbfounded.
Where the Bloodletting Tree should have been, there was now instead a massive pit. Fresh soil was scattered about as if an invisible giant hand had forcibly torn a tree over ten meters tall up by its roots.
At that thought, Cecilia's scalp tingled.
Looking from the foot of the hill, the tree hadn't appeared that tall, but it was at least as wide as several people together could encircle. Just how big did a monster have to be to pull up that tree roots and all?
An A-grade or S-grade boss might not even compare!
Just as Cecilia's imagination was running wild, she suddenly caught sight of a shadow far off in the distance.
Even though she'd mentally prepared herself beforehand, seeing this scene with her own eyes made her freeze in place like she'd been petrified.
It was a tree.
No, to be more precise, it was a tree that could walk.
From the top half, it was obviously the world-class boss they were hunting: the bare, dark red trunk, the demon-like twisting branches—everything looked correct.
But on its lower half, the roots had separated into two legs and were moving rapidly, as if it were fleeing this place altogether. Fresh soil was scattered behind, leaving a long winding trail.
Realizing this, Cecilia felt a jumble of emotions in her heart.
No wonder they hadn't been able to see the tree from halfway up.
So it had... grown legs and run off.
At this moment, Dawn's Light and Yuewu, panting for breath, caught up behind her.
"Cecilia, where's the tree?"
Before he could even catch his breath, Dawn's Light scanned the platform ahead and asked in a low voice.
"It grew legs and ran."
Momentarily at a loss for words, Cecilia really didn't know how to explain this to the two who'd just arrived.
"Hah? Are you kidding me?"
Yuewu, supporting herself on her knees, looked up at Cecilia in disbelief.
"Forget it, see for yourselves,"
A millennium-old tree growing legs and making a run for it—if not witnessed firsthand, hardly anyone would believe it. Cecilia didn't bother to keep explaining and pointed straight toward the direction the ancient tree had fled.
Following Cecilia's finger, Dawn's Light and Yuewu were both stunned.
"Damn it!"
After several seconds, completely at a loss for words, Dawn's Light couldn't help but swear.
This is an E-class world boss?
If they'd come any later, the tree just might have gotten away for real.
In all his years playing MMOs, Yuewu had never seen anything like this—she was dumbfounded. She asked, "Sister Ce, what do we do now?"
Cecilia thought for a moment. In this game, world-class bosses did seem to have the intelligence to flee.
The first Goblin Hero, with just a sliver of health left, had tried to escape. The second time, the Darkwing Demon Bat only became her pet after escaping Dragon Abyss's grasp.
But the Bloodletting Tree today clearly wasn't anywhere near death's door—so why was it running?
She couldn't figure it out, so she just stopped thinking.
The world-class boss was right before them—they couldn't just let it run.
"Chase!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Cecilia drew her table knife, reversed her grip, and dashed in the direction the ancient tree had fled.
Dawn's Light and Yuewu exchanged a glance, ignored the still-struggling youth behind them, and followed close behind Cecilia.
Cecilia couldn't tell if it was just her imagination.
At first, the distance between the two sides was steadily closing. But when the Bloodletting Tree turned and glanced back—as if it had human instincts—the "legs" formed by its roots picked up their pace, sprinting away at nearly the speed of a hundred-meter dash deeper into the distant mountains, sending fresh soil flying as it went.
"Tch!"
Cecilia frowned, activated every speed skill, her agility stat shooting past 3,000. She became a blurred white streak, tearing through the air with near-sonic speed as she chased the ancient tree.
Her vision blurred. Just as Cecilia was about to reach her limit, system Miss's voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
"System notification: You have unlocked the temporary quest [Life and Death Speed]!"
"The ancient tree, awakened after a thousand years, is blessed with intelligence to foresee disaster. Sensing a powerful demon approaching, it abandoned its century-old home and began its escape."
"Quest objective: catch up to it, and then..."
"Kill it!"