Dozens of corpses of swamp crocodiles and spiked alligators lay afloat on the waters around the large mangrove tree. The corpses of Magi were also found amidst them.
It was a tough and brutal battle. While all the magical beasts had been slain, only about a dozen Magi were still left standing. All of them warily eyeing one another.
At this point, it didn't matter even if the Magi were of the same race. Because this was the final phase of the battle, it was every man for themselves.
Slowly and steadily, they made their way closer to the mangrove tree. There was still one final hurdle to cross before they could get their hands on the fruits.
The moment the Magi came within range, the roots of the mangrove tree that had been soaked with blood, came alive and viciously struck at them. The roots were thicker than an adult human's forearm and were extremely fast.
In fact, the roots were so fast that when they moved, they appeared to be a shadowy blur. The Magi hadn't expected the mangrove tree's final line of defense to be so formidable.
Taken by surprise, two Magi—a human and a gnome—were instantly impaled by the thick roots. They were raised into the air as more sharp roots stabbed through their body. Only after having breathed their last, did the roots chuck their corpses to the forest floor.
The Magi were stunned!
They couldn't help but take a step back and reevaluate the danger the mangrove tree posed. They retreated from the attacking range of the tree and regrouped, their eyes flashing with apprehension and nervousness.
Sure, the appeal for the Crimson Ambrosia was extremely great to them. But that didn't mean that they would die a dog's death for it.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The last ten Magi remaining looked at each other with complicated expressions. Earlier, they had fought against one another, but now the situation had forced them to cooperate.
A burly, middle-aged, human Magus stepped forward and solemnly stated, "We have no other options but to jointly attack the roots of that damned tree."
Everyone nodded, however, the next moment, an elf with long blond hair cascading down his shoulders, stepped forth and looked at the human Magus in contempt. "That's fine but who put you in charge?"
The human Magus glared back at the elf and sneered. "You arrogant bastard. If not me, then who? You?"
Seeing the human's expression full of disdain, the elf was livid. His hand involuntarily reached for the hilt of his sword, but all of a sudden, another elven Magus, patted his back and stopped him. "This is not the time for this."
She then looked at the human Magus and stated, "It doesn't matter who's in charge. All of us need to work together and take care of the roots. Or else we can forget about getting our hands on the fruits."
The human Magus looked at the female elf and simply nodded. They were about to come up with a plan to deal with the mangrove tree when suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind them.
Everyone hurriedly turned around and brandished their weapons. They had worked so hard to kill the magical beasts and get to this point. Not to mention the number of Magi that were sacrificed.
And now, if a third party appeared and took away what they'd worked so hard for, they wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But when the ten Magi turned around and laid their eyes on the newcomer, they had mixed reactions. Some of them scoffed, while others heaved a sigh of relief. But most of them were confused.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})A dwarven Magi muttered in puzzlement, "…A child?"
The newcomer wore dark Magus robes and was donning a black pointy hat that slightly curled down toward the end. The Magi present could tell that this newcomer was just a teenager. So they didn't take him that seriously.
Seeing that it was a member of his own race, the human Magus from earlier advised the youth. "Kid, leave this place. It's dangerous to be out here on your own."
Adam nonchalantly walked with his hands behind his back, a carefree smile adorning his face. "Ah, don't mind me. I'm just passing through."
The human Magus frowned. "Leave. This is my final warning."
"Oooh, so scary~" Adam spoke exaggeratedly, raising his hands in an act of surrender. He continued to move forward and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not after the Crimson Ambrosia. You guys can have it."
When the Magi heard Adam say the name of the fruit, their eyes narrowed and they involuntarily displayed hostility. The elven Magus who almost had an altercation with the human Magus before approached Adam with a cold expression.
"So you know what this fruit is, human?"
Adam looked at the blond elf weirdly. "Are you stupid? I just told you what it is, didn't I? Or are you perhaps deaf? Are those pointy ears just trinkets?"
The elf was furious. He was going to deal with this annoying human youth anyway, but after being made fun of by him, the elf decided to teach him a painful lesson for running his mouth.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})His face turned red from anger and he spat through gritted teeth, "I can't let you leave this place. What if you bring in more people? We can't have that now, can we?"
The elf's figure turned into a blur and he launched his attack on Adam. "So, just die!"
Seeing the elf's sharp sword glinting with an ominous light and launching toward his neck, Adam sighed. He replied with boredom, "We just met and you already wanna kill me? You're one rude pointy-eared bastard."
Instead of retreating, Adam took a step forward and skillfully grabbed the elf's sword-wielding hand with lightning speed. Then, with great ease, he snapped the elf's wrist, instantly causing the latter to drop his sword.
"Aggghhh!" The elven Magus was flabbergasted at this sudden turn of events. He looked at his sword lying on the muddy ground, then at this broken wrist, grunting in pain.
Finally, he raised his head to look at the human youth who had done this to him. But what he saw instead was a palm full of scars and callouses enlarging in his vision.
SLAP!
Adam slapped the living daylights out of the elf and instantly knocked him unconscious. The elf fell to the ground like a rag doll, frothing from the mouth.
The other Magi who witnessed this scene were speechless. The elf was an Organ Stage Magus and this youth who seemed to be no older than a late teenager had made such light work of him. They simply couldn't believe it!
While they were frozen in shock, Adam finally walked past them while laughing foolishly.
"Ehehe, coming through. Don't mind me~"
This time, however, no one stopped him.
