The Tree of Life thrashed around violently as it constantly screamed. Its green leaves turned gray and were constantly shaken off. The tree branches and tree trunk were rapidly withering.
Shi Xiaobai slashed our three consecutive 'Kun-Stewing Wok' strikes and instantly killed all the Harpy Huntresses. At this moment, the other three rookies who were defending the other three gates came into the city. The four were simultaneously rushing towards the Tree of Life. At this moment, the sides where Shi Xiaobai and the silver-haired girl was defending no longer had any Harpy Huntresses, while there were still Harpy Huntresses coming from Liu Yu and the adonis' sides.
Shi Xiaobai used 'Unleaking Turtle Aura' to repress the feeling of emptiness after using three consecutive 'Kun-Stewing Wok' strikes, and forcibly produced a few more.
Liu Yu flicked his whisk around as harpies exploded one after another. The adonis waved his hammer around and was able to barely crush a harpy to death, but it was obviously quite tough on him.
After a short while, the Harpy Huntresses were finally completely wiped out.
At this moment, the adonis said with a livid expression as he roared, "Which idiot let them through!?"
Upon hearing this, a cold glimmer flashed in Shi Xiaobai's eyes. He was just about to say something when the sacred voice boomed once again.
"Warning! Warning! The Tree of Life will die in thirty seconds!"
The Tree of Life which was bustling with life was currently completely gray. Most of its leaves had shed, leaving behind dry and bare branches.
The Tree of Life was about to die!
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Chapter229 True Glory
The sacred voice only prompted them that the Tree of Life would die after thirty seconds. However, it did not explain how the Tree of Life could be saved. It was as though it was just telling the quartet to make certain necessary preparations.
According to the rules, if the Tree of Life were to die, it was equivalent to the fall of the city. The trial-takers would then be transported to other cities, but their Tower Defense Points were to be reset to zero.
It could be said that the consequences were not as serious as one would imagine. It only meant restarting.
But surprisingly enough, it was the adonis who had the fewest points that was most agitated about it, despite him suffering the least losses. He angrily yelled, "Fuck! Who was the one who let the mobs in?"
The adonis suddenly pointed his finger at the silver-haired girl and roared, "Was it you? Yes, it must be you and Tu Dahei. Both your sides do not have any demonic beasts. How could it be possible to clear them so fast? It must be the two of you who let them through!"
However, the silver-haired girl completely ignored the adonis. She could not even be bothered to turn her head. Instead, she walked in front of Shi Xiaobai and wrote on her writing board.
"Brother Xiaobai, I did some calculations. You must have more than 500 points now. Quickly take the opportunity to enter the third level!"
Shi Xiaobai fell silent. It was unknown what was on his mind.
As the incessant sounds of the adonis' angry curses entered his ears, while words written by the silver-haired girl out of concerned entered his sight. "Brother Xiaobai, the Tree of Life's death only means a restart. I'll be able to catch up with you soon. Hurry up and go. There isn't much time. There won't be any time left if you don't go now!"
Shi Xiaobai suddenly laughed. It was a relieved laugh, a laugh with resolute eyes.
He suddenly turned around and charged straight for the Points Treasury.
The other three were given a fright by Shi Xiaobai's speed. But what followed next astonished them greatly.
They saw a golden beam of light shoot down from the sky as it completely enveloped the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life's withered branches slowly became fuller as greenness started appearing above the gray tree trunk.
The golden light only lasted for a few seconds, but the Tree of Life had been pulled back from the brink of death.
The authoritative voice boomed once again.
"Lesser Healing has been used. The Tree of Life is out of its dying state."
Questions filled the trio's minds.
Why did a Lesser Healing suddenly appear?
At this moment, Shi Xiaobai slowly walked out the Points Treasury.
Liu Yu suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Tu Dahei, you exchanged your points for the Lesser Healing of the Tree of Life!?"
Shi Xiaobai nodded silently.
However, the adonis sneered and said, "So it can be healed. No wonder you did not look worried at all. Were those demonic beasts let in because of your carelessness?"
Before the adonis finished his sentence, Liu Yu's expression changed drastically. He angrily growled, "Shut up!"
The adonis turned around in shock, while Liu Yu said with a sneer, "Do you know how many points Lesser Healing costs? A full 500 points! Do you understand? Tu Dahei could have used his 500 points to clear the level, but he used it to heal the Tree of Life. Who do you think he did this for?"
The adonis' face immediately turned pale. However, he insisted softly, "He must be feeling guilty for letting in some of the harpies."
Liu Yu stared at him and raised his hand to slap at the adonis.
But at this moment, a voice resounded throughout the skies!
"The first person to clear Tower Defense has appeared. Participant, Speechless Li, has been sent to the third level!"
Time seemed to come to a halt.
Liu Yu lowered his hand in a dejected manner. With his drooping eyelids, he sighed and said, "This glory should have belonged to Tu Dahei. Sigh."
The adonis also lowered his head. He did not dare to say another word, but a trace of schadenfreude flashed in his eyes.
The silver-haired girl had already stood beside Shi Xiaobai. She gently held Shi Xiaobai's hand, her eyes looking sorry for him.
But at this moment, Shi Xiaobai slowly stretched his mouth open and smiled.
This was a smile that came from the bottom of his heart. It was as resplendent as the warm and bright sunlight.
The trio looked in disbelief at Shi Xiaobai's smile. They even forgot to breathe for a moment.
"In fact, This King had been hesitating previously. This King nearly chose to head to the third level, but This King is thankful for not making that choice. This is because if This King were to disregard something he had once defended, despite being able to save it, to leave, or if he could clearly help his friend but decided to leave selfishly, then even This King will look down on himself!"
Shi Xiaobai reached out his hand and patted the silver-haired girl's hair and said gently, "So, This King is very happy to have made the correct choice. This King has defeated his selfish devils, as well as defeating the occasional me who gets disorientated. By making a choice that is not regrettable before actually regretting is This King's path of a King. That is This King's true glory!"
The silver-haired girl was astounded. She reached out her hand to hold onto the stroking hand which was not much bigger than her own. A look of amazement and worship flashed in her eyes.
Liu Yu gave a relieved smile, as a glimmer flashed in his eyes while he looked at Shi Xiaobai.
The adonis lowered his head deeply and felt extremely indignant, but he did not dare to reveal it.
At this moment, Shi Xiaobai was like a hot sun, warm and dazzling.
Suddenly, the authoritative voice boomed once again in their minds.
"The fifth wave of the demonic beasts, the first BOSS level, [Dark Rider] has arrived. Take note of your defense!"
"The sixth wave of demonic beast horde would arrive in thirty minutes. The countdown begins!"
The BOSS level had appeared only five minutes after the previous wave had started!
Furthermore, with the sixth wave's countdown set to thirty minutes later, it meant that the BOSS level would be rather terrifying!
The quartet did not dare to stay put as they immediately rushed to their respective city gates.
Shi Xiaobai took a deep breath. Standing at the gate, he calmed his mood.
Out of the purple door charged a silver-armored demon whose body was purplish-brown in color. It held two spears in its hands, while it rode on a black steed which was clothed in armor as well.
At a glance, the Dark Rider was obviously different from the trash mobs from before. There was a terrifying aura emanating from it as its killing intent surged. It was a suffocating presence.
However, Shi Xiaobai was elated. Throwing away the bronze sword in his hand, he immediately formed a psionic knife.
He saw three thin, short, red lines on the Dark Rider. It indicated that the Dark Rider had very few weaknesses.
However, as long as there was a red line, Shi Xiaobai was confident enough to slay anything!
Furthermore, this Dark Rider was emanating an aura of darkness from top to bottom. Shi Xiaobai had now realized that the reason why his Pig Slaughtering Knife was able to deal such terrifying power in the virtual world but failed against the golden-white holy dragon was because the Pig Slaughtering Knife was effective against darkness-elemental beings.
The richer one's darkness aura was, the more terrifying the damage of Pig Slaughtering Knife was. If it was struck on the fatal red line, the damage was beyond imagination.
Shi Xiaobai charged forward, while the Dark Rider also charged at him. The battle had begun.
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Chapter230 Hero and Villain
The battle only lasted for ten seconds. By the time Shi Xiaobai turned around and picked up the bronze sword on the ground, the Dark Rider had already fallen to the ground.
"Dark Rider killed. Tower Defense Points+230."
Shi Xiaobai’s eyes nearly popped out.
A BOSS alone was worth 230 points!?
Shi Xiaobai felt that bliss truly came too suddenly.
Shi Xiaobai was elated for a moment before he headed back for the city. Immediately, he saw a strange sight.
He saw the adonis running desperately for his life, while the Dark Rider was chasing him with raging killing intent. The distance between the two was gradually decreasing.
This Dark Rider was different from the other small fries. It did not take the initiative to attack the Tree of Life, but instead engaged in a hot pursuit with the participants!
Shi Xiaobai pondered for a moment before he figured it out. From the looks of it, it would be too difficult to defend the Tree of Life if the extremely powerful Dark Riders were to only attack the Tree of Life. Therefore, such a situation was the reason for the thirty-minute gap.
The Dark Rider, which Shi Xiaobai could easily destroy, was too difficult for most Psionic Mortal Realm trial-takers.
The adonis did not even have the ability to counter-attack. He had been running for his life from the beginning.
When the adonis caught a glimpse of Shi Xiaobai, he immediately felt as though he had seen help. He immediately shouted out, "Tu Dahei! Save me! This Dark Rider is locked onto me!"
"You can do it!" Shi Xiaobai said as he nodded at the adonis, without any intention of helping him.
"Fuck! Tu Dahei, how can you stand there idly without helping?"
The adonis looked at the Dark Rider which was closing in on him as his face turned hideous.
"You sanctimonious hypocrite! What you said previously sounded good, but because of a little grudge, you ignore me and wish for me to die early! A disgusting bastard like yourself is not worthy of Sunless!"
The adonis cursed furiously, as though he was going hysterical.
Shi Xiaobai looked calm and appeared as though he was about to laugh.
"Why? Why can you be this ruthless?"
The adonis barely avoided a stab from the Dark Rider. He said with gritted teeth, "Tu Dahei, I'm begging you. Save me. This is an extremely easy task for you, right? We only had a tiny vendetta between us. How can you bear to see me being pursued to my death?"
Shi Xiaobai said without any expression, "Death? You just need to say those two words and you will rescue yourself."
The adonis's face changed drastically as he suddenly laughed hysterically, "Alright, Tu Dahei, you are ruthless enough! You are a bastard that's worse than beasts!"
Shi Xiaobai suddenly sighed and said with a deep voice, "Do you think that This King doesn't know who was the one who let the dozen Harpy Huntresses in? Foolish mortal. The spot where the Harpy Huntresses stopped at points to the city gate you defended."
Upon hearing this, the adonis's face turned ghastly pale. A long-ranged demonic beast like the Harpy Huntress would likely head in a straight line after entering the city. Naturally, they would come to a stop, and from their location, one could judge where they came from!
He had played the role of the questioner from the very beginning because he was afraid the other three would suspect him. However, he never expected Tu Dahei to be the first to see through him.
The adonis instantly judged that Tu Dahei would not do anything to save him, and as the Dark Rider was already at hand, the only choice he had was shout 'Open Sesame' to escape the Nine Revolutions Transcendental Tower.
But!
He could not accept it!
A hint of madness flashed in the adonis's eyes. He turned to rush towards the eastern gate. At this moment, he needed a lure to transfer his aggro. Tu Dahei's speed was too great, so the silver-haired girl was the best candidate!
A look of hysteric glimmer of hope flashed in the adonis' eyes. Regardless of anything, he had to escape this calamity that had befallen him.
Since the girl was another idiot who had been deceived by Tu Dahei, who else should he harm but her?
Just as he was about to arrive at the city gate, the adonis noticed the girl who was reading a book, with her back facing him. He was astonished at how fast the girl had managed to defeat the Dark Rider that he had no means of resisting. At the same time, he also felt lucky.
As long as he pulled the girl to the ground, the Dark Rider would definitely transfer its aggro onto her!
The adonis laughed heartily in his heart. He was about to pass the city gate.
At this moment, a figure appeared to the side of the adonis, and sent him flying with a kick.
The adonis fell to the ground while feeling alarmed. He saw Shi Xiaobai standing by the city gate as he looked coldly at him.
As for the Dark Rider, it was also charging straight at him!
He had nowhere to run!
It was impossible for Tu Dahei to save him. The only way to save himself was to shout the two words!
However the extreme indignation and hatred in his heart resulted in those two words being stuck in his throat. He was unable to truly say it out.
Only until the Dark Rider's spear stabbed at him forcefully, did he hurriedly shout, "Open Sesame!"
However, what followed was a shrill scream. The spear had stabbed him in the right arm as the Dark Rider immediately jerked the spear upwards.
The adonis suddenly transformed into a golden beam of light and shot into the sky.
But a bloody arm was left behind.
When Shi Xiaobai saw this scene from afar, he sighed silently.
The adonis could have shouted 'Open Sesame' early on to escape the grounds, yet he was unable to overcome his negative emotions. It resulted in him being a moment too late. Although he did not lose his life, he had lost an arm.
It could be said that the evil brought on by himself is the hardest to bear!
At that moment, the Dark Rider turned its head and charged at Shi Xiaobai. Shi Xiaobai instantly conjured a psionic knife and charged forward!
Pig Slaughtering Knife!
Killing demons like slaughtering pigs!
The Dark Rider screamed and crashed to the ground with a splash.
Shi Xiaobai slowly dispersed his knife and turned his
head. Up above the city gate, the bespectacled girl was staring confoundedly at him. Her glasses nearly fell off her nose bridge, but she had forgotten to push them up.
Shi Xiaobai smiled and said, "Sorry for disturbing your reading."
...
At the instant Shi Xiaobai killed the Dark Rider, he earned another 230 points.
Immediately, the sacred voice boomed in his mind.
"You have accumulated 500 Tower Defense Points. Do you want to head for the third level?"
Shi Xiaobai was slightly surprised. After killing two BOSSes consecutively, he had earned 460 points. In addition to the remaining 59 points he had earlier, he now had a total of 519 points. He could already head to the third level.
Shi Xiaobai did not immediately reply this time. He walked to the silver-haired girl, but before he even said a thing, the silver-haired girl had raised her writing board.
"Brother Xiaobai, I have exceeded 500 points. You must have too, right?"
Shi Xiaobai nodded.
The silver-haired girl wrote again, "Then...shall we leave together?"
Shi Xiaobai nodded his head once again and said, "Alright, let us leave together."
The silver-haired girl smiled with her eyes squinted.
Just as Shi Xiaobai wanted to say "yes" in his heart, time suddenly came to a halt!
"Make your choice, youth!"
The familiar fiery voice boomed once again.
The black text slowly materialized in front of Shi Xiaobai's eyes!
[ Choice 1: Defend against thirty waves of demonic beasts, becoming the greatest hero of "Tower Defense" (B-level reward) ]
[ Choice 2: Personally destroy fifteen cities, becoming the greatest villain of "Tower Defense" (B-level reward) ]
(Gentle Reminder: This choice is considered a "daily-style choice" where there is only one opportunity after choosing. Successfully completing the choice’s mission will yield a reward, and failure will lead to punishment of the same level.)
"Make your choice, youth!"
Absolute Choice 5 Page 14