Chapter 378 - 352 The Missed Opportunity to Escape
Da Fei’s decision to fight if able was not impulsive but stemmed from his absolute trust in the Super Soldiers of the Tree Elf kind!
The Tree Elf has been introduced earlier as the level 6 troop of the Elf Clan. Due to their slow Move Speed which does not fit the guerrilla war style of the Elves, they are usually used for defense. Speaking of defense, one must mention the Tree Elf’s Divine Skill: Root Entanglement!
With the Tree Elf blocking key paths, their huge bodies leave no room for the enemy to bypass; they can only assault head-on. Once engaged with the Tree Elf, roots will emerge under their feet, entangling the enemies so they cannot move, thereby turning them into sitting ducks for distant troops. This type of root entanglement, a biological special skill, cannot be dispelled by Magic, nor can the entangled troops be moved by Instant Teleportation Magic—it’s a fight to the death.
Moreover, with the Tree Elf’s astonishing Blood Defense and their Defense Stance which further boosts their Defense, coupled with their symbiosis with Flower Demons that can heal them, they truly are a nightmare for any siege troop!
After seeing the even more astonishing Blood Defense of the Elite Tree Elf, Da Fei’s confidence grew immensely. Once they march, it’s certain that these most heavily burdened Tree Elves will be the slowest and fall behind in the brigade; if the pursuers dare to come close, they just need to turn around and form a wall. With a basic Defense of 55 and an astonishing additional 70 points from strategic defense, what can even the Great Demon, a level 7 troop of the Hell Corps, do against it?
The Great Demon has roughly 30 Attack, 50 Damage, resulting in an Attack-Defense difference of nearly 80 to 100 points, leaving the damage reduced to only 20%, that’s just 10 points of damage! Add on the 50% damage reduction from Master-Level Defense Skill, that leaves only 5 points of damage! Plus, taking into consideration the High-Level Defense Skill inherent to the Tree Elf reducing it a further 30%, that’s barely over 3 points! Does that even count as the damage from a level 7 troop? Brother Da Fei has Nash’s Tooth from the competition which regenerates 1 point of health every 10 seconds!
Even more, Brother Da Fei has just acquired from the competition an S-class accessory, the Evasion Talisman with 10% dodge chance, combined with the 15% remote dodge from his Defense Skill Sub-skills Arrow Evasion, it’s absolutely bulletproof!
Even if the opponent has a hero leading them, countering Brother Da Fei’s Attack and Defense Skills, the Tree Elf still has 650 health points. As long as the pursuers behind are blocked, Brother Da Fei’s Grandmaster Level Crossbow Cannons, with his incredible attribute enhancements, their firepower is sufficient to kill a level 7 soldier with 300 health in one shot, cutting through low-level soldiers like nothing. What’s there to fear from more pursuers? And with two cannons firing three shots in succession, how could your pursuing troops withstand that!
In short, Da Fei is very confident!
Now, the logging team begins to transport the timber, and Da Fei pulls out his long-unseen mechanical Space Bag to assemble the Crossbow Cannon. Assembling a crossbow cannon takes 10 minutes of real-time, and since Da Fei has a Grandmaster Level Crossbow Cannon, he can carry an extra one; a painfully long 20 minutes! The team can’t possibly wait 20 minutes for him to assemble the crossbow cannon, can they?
First, just get one assembled, and the other will have to wait until a later rest period. Given he’s overburdened, there will likely be several stop-and-go breaks.
While he was halfway through assembling, the logging team was already packing up the mountainous wood! Damn, how can they be so quick? Not even giving Brother the time to assemble one crossbow cannon?
Tai Da came to report: "Lord City Lord, we can depart now!"
Da Fei suddenly felt awkward: "Um, I, have a bit of something here, can you wait for a while? Or perhaps, could you go ahead?" Damn it, just starting the expedition and already making a fool of himself, what’s he doing?
Tai Da also felt awkward: "Of course, we will advance and retreat together with the City Lord. Besides, only I know the password to open the World Tree’s spatial passage, we definitely can’t leave the City Lord behind."
Sweating, Da Fei said: "Well, alright then, everyone stand by! Maybe, unload the cargo?"
Tai Da hurriedly responded: "No, I feel the spatial fluctuations are becoming more chaotic, the enemy could appear at any moment, we must be ready at all times!"
Sweating profusely, Da Fei mentioned: "I see! If it really becomes urgent, I’ll just give up on assembling the crossbow cannon."
As seconds ticked by, the dark red and dense clouds in the Ancient Tree Space thickened, with intermittent flashes of Thunder Light appearing. The air above the Withered Grassland also started to fluctuate and distort the view. Da Fei was sweating even more.
Tai Da said seriously: "My Lord, this is a clear signal of spatial teleportation, enemies will soon appear, please be prepared!"
Damn it! Would Brother actually miss the chance to escape just because of assembling a crossbow cannon? Isn’t this freaking ridiculous? But it’s already halfway assembled, can he just give up now? Having already missed the best chance to escape, and to abandon the crucial firepower of the half-completed crossbow cannon, wouldn’t that leave them even more hopeless? If he’s doing it, he must finish the job completely!
Da Fei clenched his teeth: "Hold on! Without the Crossbow Cannon, our burdened troops can neither fight nor travel far. We must hold until my Crossbow Cannon is fully assembled!"
Tai Da solemnly said: "Yes, my lord, I will immediately arrange the formation and prepare for the battle!"
The rumbling thunder exploded in the space, and the Tree Spirits moved at a snail’s pace, encircling Da Fei, who was assembling the Crossbow Cannon, at the core. At this moment, it felt like ten thousand wildebeests were galloping and trampling across the grasslands in Da Fei’s heart! Bro, there have been two extreme and thrilling Crossbow Cannon assemblies in my gaming experience. One was in the Gun Cabin on Newbie Island, which determined whether I’d succeed or fail in life. The second was in the Demon Factory at the Pool of Radiance, which determined how high I could soar.
As for this Crossbow Cannon assembly, what does it amount to? For someone like me who already has a real-world fortune of 20 million and no direct troops around, maybe it amounts to nothing! But if I really thought that way, I would be a loser already! That’s not how Bro thinks, nor is that the kind of person I am.
Bro, a battle crucial to my destiny, I will go all out. Even if it’s not a battle crucial to my destiny, I’ll still go all out without any reservations!
Thick blood mist dispersed in the twisted space, turning the entire grassland blood-red in an instant, blinding our sight!
Tai Da said anxiously: "It’s starting!"
—System Prompt: Battle begins! Your troops are within the Demon’s Blood Barrier, your troops’ vision is decreased, ranged units’ accuracy is reduced by 75%, healing effects are reduced by 50%, and Demon troops deal an additional 15% life-stealing damage to your troops!
Da Fei was shocked! What a cunning blood mist! This is definitely not the regular Hell Corps! But, so what if it’s cunning? My Defense is ridiculously high, even Level 7 Soldiers only cause me 10 damage, and how much can 50% life-steal recover? I’m not afraid of you!
Da Fei gritted his teeth: "Tree Spirit Army, hold your ground until my assembly is complete!"
Just then, a sullen voice came from within the blood mist: "You’ve tired my patience too much, I’ve already given you time to escape. Just leave the resources and let me steal the spatial password to the World Tree’s channels and you might have a slim chance of survival. But you chose the dumbest way, so, go to die!"
Da Fei’s brow twitched; so the Demon was specifically waiting for us to run and steal the password? Then seize the chance to invade other spaces of the World Tree? Bro’s mistakes helped achieve a big thing? Alright, this is a great opportunity to restore my brilliant and mighty image in front of my subordinates. I can’t miss it!
Da Fei laughed loudly: "I’ve long suspected you had ulterior motives, it’s not just about the resources, so for the greater good, I intentionally waited for you to bite the bait!"
True enough, upon hearing this, Tai Da was incredibly stirred: "Lord is wise! If demons steal the spatial password, the consequences are unthinkable!"
Hahaha, that’s the effect I wanted!
"Hmph! Foolish! Even without the password, once this space collapses, your World Tree Space will naturally be full of leaks, unable to block our Demon Race’s grand army. Die!"
As soon as these words fell, a row of red dots suddenly appeared in front of Da Fei’s radar, and a giant figure, a huge spider, appeared in the blood mist! Damn it, enemies really meet on a narrow path!
At that moment, a flash of golden light suddenly glimmered on the radar! The position of that golden light was exactly my logging field!
Da Fei was shaken! Treasure? Is there treasure in my logging field? Da Fei quickly turned to look, indeed he saw a flash of light where the tree roots were located then disappear!
Damn! I’ve been here half a day and didn’t notice any treasure, but during a fight, treasure appears? Isn’t this damn thing intent on troubling me and making me fight to the death?
Fine! Then let’s fight to the death! We’re outnumbered, the only way to turn the tables, decapitation! I’m best at decapitation! I must hold on until my assembly is complete!
(Correction of errors in this Chapter, the assembly of the Crossbow Cannon is 10 minutes)(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote and support at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)