Chapter Forty-Four: The Final Four Emerge

The Hurricane Wolf King's Rending Claw struck that towering tree, but contrary to what I had imagined, it didn't slice through—in fact, it couldn’t even penetrate. I was startled. Immediately after, the tree's branches transformed into a massive hand that seized the Hurricane Wolf King, piercing its body with sharp thorns.

Blood quickly coated the branches and leaves, and the indescribable pain made the Hurricane Wolf King emit a harrowing, mournful howl. It thrashed desperately, then unleashed a spiral hurricane at the giant tree.

“What kind of skill is this?” I gasped, completely at a loss as to what was happening. Sensing that the situation was dire, I raised my Wishful Staff and rushed forward. The Hurricane Wolf King’s spiral hurricane rapidly diminished, and I could clearly see its health depleting at a terrifying rate.

“Hahaha! Didn’t you want to see my summoned beast? Now you’ve seen it, and its power as well. Weiwei Long, do you still think you stand a chance against my Life-Devouring Treant?” Suddenly, Little Chick’s voice rang out.

As I charged in, ready to act, the Hurricane Wolf King was already completely enveloped by branches. At the same time, the tree’s green leaves expanded, spreading over the entire arena. One after another, trees sprouted from the earth, their branches reaching out, leaves unfurling, and tangled vines winding among them. The bizarre forest grew rapidly, soon covering the entire stage. The Hurricane Wolf King’s furious roars echoed from within, but it had become nothing more than a part of this newly formed jungle, swallowed up by countless leaves and branches.

Without hesitation, I performed a reverse summon, recalling the Hurricane Wolf King. As soon as it vanished, the vast forest collapsed, withering away in an instant until it disappeared completely. Once again, only Little Chick’s imposing treant stood behind him in the center of the arena.

Then, the treant strode forward. One massive hand transformed into the muzzle of a Gatling gun and aimed at me, firing relentlessly. I dodged frantically, but the barrage seemed endless. From behind the treant, Little Chick called out, “Weiwei Long, are you ready to surrender yet?”

“I won’t admit defeat!” I replied. Swinging my Wishful Staff, I intercepted one of the bullets, batting it back like a baseball. The other side of the stage erupted in an explosion.

“Come on, show me what else you’ve got!” I shouted.

“Well done. In that case, try this!” Little Chick grinned. The treant slammed its massive hand into the ground, and a gigantic plant emerged—a potato, magnified many times over. The treant hurled it at me, but it landed just in front of me. Curious, I touched it, and with a thunderous bang, the potato exploded, instantly stripping away 1,000 of my health points. I gulped down a potion to recover.

“How’s the power of my bomb potato?” Little Chick laughed. I summoned my Giant-Horned Lizard, which immediately charged and slammed into the treant, following up with a flurry of close-range punches—110, 102, 105... a string of damage numbers, each around a hundred, floated up.

The treant simply stood there, unfazed, until it finished taking the hits. Then, with a swipe of its enormous hand, it sent my lizard flying. The treant’s mouth gaped open, spitting out massive pomegranates—each one many times larger than normal. Like the potatoes, they exploded on contact, so I kept my distance, letting the Giant-Horned Lizard shield me from the blasts. I managed to get closer, but at that moment, Little Chick sneered. The treant halted its pomegranate barrage and instead unleashed five wooden snakes from its back, all slithering toward me.

I activated Soaring Wings, dodging swiftly as I downed a magic potion. Then, with Shattering Strike and Energy Explosion, I hammered the treant’s head—1,010, 1,230, two sharp bursts of damage. Without hesitation, I triggered Sky-Splitting Slash, cleaving the treant in two. Little Chick was visibly shocked to see his summoned beast so damaged, but he quickly recovered and charged at me, staff in hand. However, his attack power was no match for mine, and even his best weapon was merely a purple-tier. Against my Wishful Staff, he was hopelessly outclassed. In the ensuing clash, I sent him flying, his health plummeting to a critical low, and he could do nothing but chug potions.

Even so, he managed to summon another creature—a massive bird made entirely of withered branches. “Take him down, Withered Tree Bird!” At his command, the bird swooped toward me.

Without a second thought, I summoned the Hurricane Wolf King and ordered it to fire its Death Ray, obliterating the Withered Tree Bird. I was elated, but Little Chick only sneered again as a mass of deadwood gathered and reformed the bird, which immediately dove at me once more.

The Hurricane Wolf King lunged to meet it, and the two beasts grappled fiercely. No matter how savagely the Hurricane Wolf King tore the bird apart, it would regenerate within moments—an endless cycle. Anxiety gnawed at me. Then, Little Chick attacked me directly, striking with his green staff. I blocked with my Wishful Staff, but in that instant, the Hurricane Wolf King was sent flying and crashed to the ground, its life force spent, entering a dormant state. Now, only my Earth Python remained, as the Giant-Horned Lizard had already shielded me from the treant’s pomegranate barrage and was also in a dormant state. Even if I summoned the Earth Python, it was no match for the infinitely regenerating Withered Tree Bird.

I patted my head, forcing myself to calm down and think of a way to defeat this formidable opponent. Yet, my adversary gave me no time; the Withered Tree Bird assaulted me relentlessly, and though I shattered it repeatedly, it just pieced itself back together. Clearly, my only chance of victory lay in defeating Little Chick himself. But he wasn’t about to stand there and let me attack—I had to find a way to keep him still…

With a sudden flash of inspiration, I dodged the next strike from the Withered Tree Bird and summoned the Earth Python, commanding it to burrow underground. Simultaneously, I lunged at the Withered Tree Bird. As its beak lunged for me, I didn’t dodge, instead colliding head-on. Little Chick’s face lit up with delight, but as he saw my body dissolve into a wisp of blue smoke, his joy turned to alarm. He must have watched recordings of my previous battles on Purple Moon, so he reflexively turned to guard against a rear attack. But he had misjudged—I hadn’t gone for his back. As he turned, the Earth Python erupted from the earth, its two-meter-long body coiling tightly around him. I materialized right in front of him. His pupils contracted as I brought the Wishful Staff crashing down on his head, smashing it into a pulp—a blue damage number of 3,630 flashed above him. The staff’s 10% defense-piercing attribute had triggered. This strike would have left even a tanky warrior hanging on by a thread.

The match was over. I had won—a hard-fought victory. As I walked off the stage, Little Chick came up to me. “Impressive. I didn’t expect your pet to have a burrowing skill. I was so focused on guarding against a sneak attack that I never imagined you’d come at me head-on. I lost, but I’m not convinced—I’ll win next time!”

“Anytime,” I replied.

We bumped fists, and I watched him leave. After a brief rest, it was finally time for Long Xin’s match. Soon, the two contestants appeared on the field. Among the skills archers gained upon advancing, there were only two offensive abilities: Double Shot and Soul Sever Arrow. Double Shot was fast, with a two-second cooldown, while Soul Sever Arrow had a high attack power but a twenty-second cooldown—and a major drawback: after firing, the archer would be momentarily stunned for 0.2 seconds. Though brief, that pause was all a quick-casting mage needed to land a fatal spell, especially since archers had so little health.

The match began quickly. Silver Moon opened with a Double Shot, dealing 900 damage. Long Xin countered with a shield and began casting Fireball. As the Fireball launched, Silver Moon leaned back, letting it graze her nose before straightening and unleashing a Soul Sever Arrow. Long Xin dodged with the universal mage skill, Blink, then struck Silver Moon with a Fireball, immediately blasting away more than 700 health points. The second Fireball struck as well, chipping away another 700. At this point, Silver Moon was nearly out of health.

But just then, Silver Moon fired an arrow that, instead of causing damage, pulled Long Xin right in front of her. Silver Moon kicked Long Xin in the stomach, spun, and launched her heel into Long Xin’s chin, sending her airborne. As Long Xin began to fall, Silver Moon slid forward with a blue glow enveloping her foot. As soon as she made contact, Long Xin was launched even higher. A knee strike sent her soaring yet again, leaving her defenseless in midair. On the ground, Silver Moon was already readying another Soul Sever Arrow, her bow fully drawn. She released the arrow, which pierced through Long Xin for 1,201 damage—her body dissolved into white light.

And so, the top four in this PK tournament were decided.