Chapter 448: Chapter 217: Destroying the Mother Tree (Part 2)
Once it reached that point, it meant the Insect Race had already appeared, and the entire Alliance was plunged into unease and panic. Who knows, every day on the news, another planet might be reported as overtaken by the Insect Race, with countless people in despair waiting for rescue from the Alliance...
Even in the lifetime when telekinesis was perfectly inherited, the entire interstellar alliance was helpless against the Insect Race, let alone the current Alliance? Once the Insect Race truly emerged, the horrific consequences and hell on earth it would create could only be known in that elusive future.
Gu Ningzhi didn’t like this feeling. Everyone has curiosity, and once that curiosity is not satisfied, not only would others refuse to inform you, but even you yourself suppress your inner desires, which is truly torturous. "I hope that day never comes."
Gong Yulu’s mouth curved into a much softer smile, "Trust me, that hope of yours is correct."
While the two of them were talking, that monstrous creature finally revealed its entire appearance. It looked like a heart, and it thumped as if it were beating, but on top of that, scarlet liquid constantly flowed over it, making it grotesquely indescribable.
Roar—the creature let out an earth-shaking howl, and the branches scattered all over the planet immediately dropped their prey or whatever they were about to catch, swiftly wriggling toward where the Mother Tree was located. The two of them watched as these branches rushed to the Mother Tree and then merged together...
"It... seems to have stopped bleeding?" Gu Ningzhi uncertainly said. Could that scarlet liquid be the blood of the Mother Tree?
Gong Yulu crossed her arms, her eyes lazily watching the Mother Tree ceaselessly absorb the Branched Trees, and said mockingly, "To give a simple analogy, you, me, and Xiao Meng are forming a team to tackle a high-level BOSS in a dungeon. The Mother Tree is the ultimate BOSS, and these Branched Trees are just the minions. During the BOSS battle, when the Mother Tree’s health bar drops to a certain level, it absorbs its minions to replenish health..."
Gu Ningzhi’s expression instantly turned intricate and conflicted. Could he say that Gong Yulu’s one sentence pierced through the tense and serious atmosphere? Fighting a BOSS, really? Do you actually think this is a game, damn it! Be serious! And stop talking about health replenishment and health bars...
Of course, even though Gu Ningzhi’s inner tirade raged fiercely, he had to admit, albeit tearfully, that Gong Yulu’s analogy was strikingly vivid and apt! He laughed awkwardly, self-mockingly saying, "We don’t have any healing potions..."
"But we do have a teammate on steroids, one who’s crazy adept at drawing aggro or dealing burst damage..." Gong Yulu was getting a kick out of his own sarcasm.
Gu Ningzhi: "..." Totally exasperated, can we get that serious and proper atmosphere back!
Su Jiameng was hard at work inflicting critical damage to the Mother Tree... uh, actually grievous injuries, while these two were clearly not in the right headspace. However, this relaxed atmosphere didn’t last long, as the Mother Tree, whose wounds started healing, became furious! Its branches, no longer restricted by the ground, became increasingly agile and immensely powerful. Now it turned its greedy "eyes" on the tiny Nascent Stones!
Yes, the Mother Tree also has "eyes." However, its "eyes" are just a large ring full of holes. Everywhere else on the Mother Tree was blood-red, only the "eyes" were a pure black, with a gelatinous fluid inside sluggishly flowing!
"Miss Su... where is she?" Gu Ningzhi noticed that the Mother Tree showed no interest in them and somehow felt relieved. He wasn’t sure if the attraction of the stone to the Mother Tree was too strong, or if Su Jiameng was just exceptionally stable in drawing its aggro, but anyway, the Mother Tree wasn’t attacking them.
"Inside the Mother Tree..." Gong Yulu’s remark almost had Gu Ningzhi blurting out, "She got eaten, will the Mother Tree suffer indigestion?" But before he could say it, she continued, "The Mother Tree’s main trunk is usually internal, destroying that thing is the key to victory."
Actually, Su Jiameng had an even better option; she could fully unleash the Military God’s combat power to suppress the Mother Tree with spiritual power on one hand while targeting all cannons at the main trunk core, obliterating the opponent in seconds! However, given the Expedition Army’s warship was hovering right above her, she opted to keep some mysteries under wrap. A certain level of mystery was preferable.
After all, her main intent was merely to let the Expedition Army truly witness the horrors of the Insect Race and remind them to hunker down and stop targeting these creatures! Beyond that, she had no intent to spill more secrets, for there was neither need nor the right timing.
"But... wouldn’t that liquid be quite... dirty?" Gu Ningzhi wondered aloud if some bizarre virus might be lurking within, and being so careless wasn’t really the best idea. "And without air inside, being there could be very dangerous..."
"She wouldn’t care... Besides, for someone strong in telekinesis, creating a spiritual power barrier isn’t a problem.
Just as Gong Yulu said, Su Jiameng was currently inside the Mother Tree, planting some timed energy explosives as she went, while heading directly toward its main trunk core. As for the Clay Ore condensed by this Mother Tree, she accepted it with no waste.
"So this is the little thing..." Su Jiameng floated amidst a sea of red liquid, with her entire vision filled with red, making it impossible to see anything else. But telekinesis is a subtle thing and didn’t hinder her from "seeing" the object before her.
The outer form was the Mother Tree itself, but what lay before her was the actual main trunk! Compared to the sprawling mass of the Mother Tree, the main trunk was just a tiny, tiny red seedling. Yet, this little seedling contained terrifying energy!
Even though the Mother Tree created such a multitude of branched trees using energy, the majority of that energy was concentrated within this tiny thing!
Initially, she intended to destroy it, but as she was about to make her strike, she suddenly thought of something... This was the energy core, wasn’t destroying it a real waste? Inspired by the Ximolai Ore and Nascent Stone, she thought perhaps this main trunk had other uses...
Though she might be an unqualified Plane Merchant, she was a merchant nonetheless, right? Business shouldn’t be done at a loss!
The essence of a merchant is to seek profit, maximizing their gains. At this thought, she smiled knowingly...
Indeed, this main trunk has its worthwhile uses! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendations or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
