A large bloodstain in front, as if several large buckets of blood had been splashed on the ground. In the middle were several corpses that no longer looked human, mixed with fragments of weapons and armor that had merged into flesh. They should be those cavalrymen who had been following us all along.

  These corpses were not flattened like the bodies of mice trampled by countless horses and carriages in a busy street, nor were they torn apart like rags and paper scraps. The blood had been squeezed out of their deformed bodies, splashing onto the ground to form a large patch of crimson. This strange state of death was beyond Asa's experience, and he couldn't imagine how these soldiers could have died in such a way.

  Carefully observing the surroundings, it seemed that there were no other animal or human traces left behind, only a few withered trees had bloodstains remaining on them.

  Such withered trees are common in this forest, every certain distance will have a few, not as tall and majestic as other ancient trees, only about five or six people high, no branches and leaves, only many vines wrapped around, a few thick and big branches are a bit like human hands and feet.

  Only after taking a closer look did Asa discover that these withered trees really had a somewhat human shape, although they were of varying lengths, all having four main branches with hands and feet, covered in bloodstains, standing quietly there, giving off a rather eerie bloody aura. However, this was indeed just tree trunks, Asa didn't sense any living creature's presence in the surrounding silence.

  It's impossible that trees can move and kill people, right? He furrowed his brow and shook his head, squatting down to examine the twisted corpses carefully, trying to find some clues.

  Without any warning, Asa suddenly felt the air behind him move slightly. Before he could turn his head to look, his waist was tightened and he was lifted into the air. He looked down and saw several wrist-thick dry branches bent around his waist, all of which were stained with blood that had not yet dried.

  The withered tree behind him was holding him up with branch-like hands, lifting him up, and another hand-shaped branch was closing in on him with a clapping gesture.

  Ah Sa hastily grasped the two branches at his waist, pulled hard and broke them off. With a push of his hands and a struggle, he barely escaped the tree's grasp and jumped to the ground. The applause fell flat, producing a dull thud, with wood chips flying everywhere. If he had been any slower, the outcome would have been an inexplicable corpse.

  Asa gazed at the enormous, humanoid tree in a mixture of awe and terror. Its bark-like skin was rough and weathered, with deep grooves etched into its surface like the lines on a wise elder's face. The scattered bodies of the soldiers were like crumpled paper in comparison to the massive, gnarled limbs that had crushed them. Asa also noticed that the base of the tree was stained with blood, and he realized how the few intact corpses had been flattened into the ground.

  A Sa turned around to run, only to find himself surrounded by three trees like this. He didn't notice those silent trees at all, and he actually walked in.

  A distant thunderous roar shattered the silence of the entire forest, and the movements of the trees suddenly came to a halt. A green glow flickered in the distance, faintly visible in the dark woods. It was still noon, but the sky had imperceptibly darkened to resemble a rainy dusk, with eerie, shadowy silhouettes looming amidst the blood-stained trees, surrounded by an unsettling stillness that seemed to have congealed once more.

  Asa looked up and saw that the originally radiant sun was now only a golden ring, with a black shadow in the middle blocking out most of the light. This was actually a rare annular eclipse.

  Another loud explosion, several tree people emitted a low hum from an unknown part of their bodies, stepped out with root-like feet, and walked in the direction of the sound, completely ignoring Asa on the ground.

  Asha gazed blankly at the Tree Person's departure, then suddenly had a thought - this might be a good opportunity. The sounds and green flames on that side were probably the work of the Red Robe Man, who was likely facing off against similar monsters. Although she didn't know what the Red Robe Man's purpose for entering the forest was, it should have some connection to her own goal; perhaps he too was after the 'World Tree Leaf'.

  This forest is not just a place to gaze at in awe, and the 'World Tree Leaf' hidden within it will not be something that can be plucked like fruit from an orchard. Rather than stumbling about on your own, why not follow along and see what happens? You might even be able to take advantage of the chaos and make some unexpected gains.

  He made up his mind, and Asa chased after the tree people in the direction they were walking. After running for a few steps, he found that these wooden lumps seemed to have no intention of noticing him at all. He plucked up the courage to get closer, but still didn't react to him. Although the movements of these tree people were very slow, their strides were incredibly large, and it was very strenuous to run after them. Asa plucked up the courage to grab onto one of the tree person's feet, and the tree person didn't react at all. He simply jumped onto the top of the tree person's head, letting the tree person carry him in that direction.

  Being carried by this probably the weirdest mount in the world for a distance, Asa saw several tree people's charred remains and exploded wooden blocks, as well as several zombies that had been crushed flat. Indeed, it was the work of the red-robed person. The surroundings began to see new tree people constantly, all walking forward.

  The trees around were getting denser, and at a glance, the entire forest seemed to be moving. Not far away, wood chips could be seen flying everywhere in the explosion sound, and green flames burst out suddenly with a loud noise, as if a grand fireworks display was being held in front. The original silence of the forest had long been gone, replaced by a cacophony.

  The giant tree man took a few more strides and Asa saw that group of zombies and red-robed people.

  The red-robed man was undoubtedly the absolute protagonist of this magnificent scene, and the entire battle revolved around him. More than a hundred zombies surrounded him in protection, sometimes he swung out a small green flame that flew onto the tree people's bodies, with a loud roar the entire tree person was engulfed in raging flames and turned into a pile of charcoal, sometimes he threw out a light ball that emitted an ear-shattering explosion and blew the tree people to pieces.

  Under the tall figure of the tree man, there were some white horses and some pointed-eared long-haired people who charged towards the zombies and the red-robed men together. On the forehead of those white horses, a sharp single horn stood upright in the middle. Asa had heard from the old adventurer that it should be a unicorn, a beast that can only be seen in the most primitive and pure forests. And those pointed-eared long-haired people should be elves, often mentioned by dwarves back in their hometown, also a race that lives in the forest, similar to humans but cannot be counted as sub-humans.

  The elves, regardless of gender, jumped agilely among the tree people, holding longbows and shooting at the red-robed man. Some even cast spells. However, the zombies beside the red-robed man rushed to bear these arrows and magic with their bodies, not a single one hitting the red-robed man. Although the red-robed man seemed to want to kill as many elves as possible, they all nimbly jumped from one tree person to another.

  The unicorn used the horn on its head to pick up and throw away the stiff zombies. Once picked up by the sharp horn emitting white light, the zombies were immediately smashed into pieces like broken wooden puppets. The tree people then used their huge hands and feet to crush the zombies flat, picking them up and pinching them into powder.

  The number of zombies is rapidly decreasing, while the reinforcements on the elf side are constantly accumulating, and tree people are pouring in around them. The red-robed person's hands kept waving, explosions and flames became more and more dense, but the speed at which the tree people increased still exceeded the number that fell, and the red-robed person was completely surrounded by tree people. It seems that victory or defeat has already been decided.

  Asa suddenly discovered in front of this intense battle group a scene that was completely out of harmony with the atmosphere.

  Several moss-covered rocks protruded from the ground, rising and falling in a circle, with a clear spring in the center. Three emerald green leaves floated on the water's surface, while in the center of the spring stood a naked spirit girl.

  The girl in the water, with her hands clasped around her chest, lowered her head and closed her eyes, motionless. Her silver-white long hair flowed down, blending with the luster emitted from her exquisite body, creating a beauty that made people worship without daring to have any wild thoughts.

  His attention was immediately drawn to the three leaves floating on the water. From a distance, he couldn't see what kind of leaves they were, but he could feel the shocking green that seemed to contain all the vitality in the world.

  It seems like a painting that is detached from the world, completely ignoring the fierce battle unfolding beside it, quietly displaying its serene beauty.

  A deafening crash almost stunned Asa, who was in a daze. The nearby treant was hit by the light ball and the explosive airflow mixed with wood chips scraped across his face, causing a burning pain. It wasn't until then that he realized the treant he was on had joined the battle.

  Just as he was about to get up and slip away, his body suddenly tightened, and Asa only then discovered that the vines on the tree person had somehow wrapped around him, binding him at the waist and tying him to the top of the tree person's head.

  The originally incessant explosions and the roaring flames suddenly stopped, replaced by the red-robed figure's voice, like the sound of ten thousand ghosts escaping from prison, shouting in a chanting tone: "Oh, black dragon sleeping in the crevices of time..."

  Asa started tugging frantically at the vines wrapped around her body, but they were too soft and resilient to be torn apart.

  The zombies were dwindling in number, with only thirty or forty surrounding the red-robed figure. As he raised his skull-like hands and began to chant, the zombies all tried to get closer to him, with a few even standing on their companions' shoulders to form a fortress-like barrier that protected him within.

  The goblins underground suddenly accelerated their attack speed, magic and arrows poured down on the red-robed man like rain, but were all blocked by the zombies' bodies, rotten flesh flying everywhere.

  "I summon you in the name of darkness and destruction..." The red-robed figure continued to chant under the cover of the zombies, a vague and enormous shadow began to condense in the air.

  The vines were still tightly wrapped around his waist, and seemed to be getting tighter. Asa started to panic. He didn't know what kind of magic the red-robed figure was using now, but he did know that the speed of casting was inversely proportional to the level of the caster and the intensity of the magic. If even the red-robed figure had to slowly chant to cast it, it definitely wouldn't be just a flame that could burn down the tree person in an instant. And yet, the tree person under him was still trying to get closer to it.

  "Please manifest your power in this world." The red-robed person's chanting stopped. The shadow gradually became clear in the air, with a huge body like a lizard, covered in green scales, and a pair of large wings on its back, it was an illusion of a blue giant dragon.

  This was just an illusion, and the massive body did not hinder the Tree People's attack. The Tree People continued to swing their arms and legs under the illusion, and the zombies became fewer and fewer. However, when this illusory giant dragon stretched its neck, raised its head, and inhaled, the surrounding air suddenly gathered towards what should have been empty space, and the turbulent airflow even lifted the wood shavings on the ground.

  Asa sent a fireball to his waist, he must get rid of these vines even if he was injured. On the ground, the elves had completely given up their attack and gathered together to support a white light screen with all their might. The unicorns began to scatter in all directions.

  With a loud crash, the fireball exploded on Asa's body and the vines finally broke off. But Asa unexpectedly discovered something.

  The tree man's bold advance had already brought him under the dragon's maw, and he could even feel the condensed air inside rolling around, merging with the enormous magical power. Escape was no longer an option, so he decided to take a gamble.

  The dragon's head rose to its highest point, and the inhalation stopped. The airflow calmed down in the air. The battlefield that was just noisy suddenly returned to the original silence of the forest, almost all movements stopped, leaving only the tree people still silently swinging their hands towards the zombies who were still standing up for the red-robed man, making a lonely "ping-pong" sound, setting off the ominous prelude in the air even more ominously.

  The giant dragon suddenly swung its head around with a somewhat elegant gesture, and the dead green flames that had been accumulating on the corpse for hundreds of years spewed out of the dragon's mouth like a torrent.

  In an instant, everything was submerged in this surging green flame ocean. The tall trees, as soon as they came into contact with this magical flame, were like wax being poured with scorching hot iron water, flashing for a moment before disappearing into thin air, as if even the slightest residue was too much to leave behind.

  The giant dragon swung its body and shook its neck, the dark green waves spreading recklessly in all directions, swallowing everything that came into contact with it, even sound. The entire world was left with only the roar of flames spewing from the dragon's mouth.

  It was as if a century had passed, and the emerald flames finally ceased to spew from the giant dragon's mouth. The dragon's illusion let out a low hum, as if exhausted. The image gradually faded away, slowly dissipating into the air just like it had condensed when it appeared. The green flames also retreated with the dragon's disappearance.

  Everything has disappeared, zombies, treants, elves, unicorns, and the towering ancient trees surrounding them, rocks, green grass on the ground, not even a trace of proof that they ever existed is left behind, hundreds of meters around have become a completely charred empty land.

  The red-robed figure standing in the center of this scorched earth let out a labored, ghostly gasp, this magic having almost completely drained his magical powers. However, all obstacles had already been eliminated. He looked ahead.

  But the spring water not far ahead was still there, the water was still so clear and transparent, the leaves were still green with infinite vitality, and the girl continued to stand quietly with her head down and eyes closed. This scene seemed to be unrelated to all the changes around it, standing alone on this desolate land. The destructive magic flames just now couldn't hurt this place at all.

  But the red-robed man was not surprised, as if this was also an expected situation. He smiled complacently, like the sound of hundreds of dying wolves struggling to howl together.

  The spring water suddenly began to radiate a golden glow. The red-robed man looked up at the sky, the solar eclipse was almost over, and the sun was gradually recovering its brilliant light.

  The red-robed man walked towards the spring water. He had already won, his goal was right in front of him, and he went to grab out that beautiful body from there, and with a wave of his hand, like just now dealing with a human being, he drained all the essence from that thing that made him jealous.

  The scorched earth beside him suddenly moved, and a figure darted out from inside, picked up the horn of a unicorn on the ground and rushed towards the red-robed man.