Before everything goes out

This is a huge tree.

Or rather, a strange creature that resembles a tree.

The tree trunk was a ghastly white.

Obese, swollen, and as tall as two stories.

Where the roots of a tree should be, hundreds of twisted human arms have grown.

Amidst the soft footsteps, these arms wriggled alternately, propelling them forward steadily like insect legs.

They stopped at the edge of the flames.

At that moment, everyone present unconsciously held their breath.

Because they finally realized that the dense bumps embedded in the tree trunk were not the fruit that had grown there.

"What are those...?"

"Bear...weasel...hillbilly...bird..."

"There are... people..."

The stench filled my nostrils and assaulted my brain.

As Niu Wenbing's voice trembled, Li Fei's stomach involuntarily tightened.

In my trembling vision, the tree trunks were crowded with all sorts of things.

Fragments of human, animal, or other things were embedded in the swollen tree trunk.

Some of them were not completely dead.

In the lower left corner, half a crow is mechanically flapping its wings.

On the right, a weasel was still scratching at itself with its paws.

What they found most unacceptable was the sight of those wide-eyed people inside...

people.

"That's Wen Lao Er..."

"That's the girl from the north side of the village..."

"And Xiuxiu's dad..."

Even though these people were no longer human, the group quickly recognized them, including many of their former fellow villagers.

Without exception, all of these people left the village within three to five years and never returned.

So that's where it all is.

"Dunzi..."

Realizing something, Snake Seven trembled as he removed the mask from his face.

Its lower half of its face, from its chin to its neck, is covered with black scales, and it does indeed resemble a snake.

Following his gaze, Li Fei saw a fat man on the tree trunk.

The body was highly decomposed and had a gigantic appearance, as if it had been soaking in water for three days and three nights, and was swollen like a human skin balloon.

Even so, the fat man wasn't completely dead yet; he was still wide open, as if trying to say something.

"Is this the stump that got separated from Snake Seven before?"

Li Fei gripped the wood-chopping knife tightly.

If he remembered correctly, seven years ago, Snake Seven was the same person who bumped into Tree Grandpa.

that night.

This mound has mysteriously disappeared; Sheqi returned to the village alone.

"Dunzi, I wronged you before, this time I'll give you an explanation..."

Before Snake Seven could finish speaking, he shut his mouth with a gloomy expression.

in view.

As more noise escalated, more tree people began to gather around.

Not just the area in front of us, but the entire forest in all directions.

At first glance, it was densely packed, layer upon layer, forming a continuous expanse in the darkness.

"Don't be afraid! There's a fire burning here; they can't get in!"

Niu Wenbing's shout calmed everyone down a little, but the hands holding the weapons trembled uncontrollably.

"roar..."

A strange scream rang out.

Various "mouths" from different creatures on Grandpa Tree.

next second.

As if receiving a command, these tree-men began to cross the edge of the firelight and crowd towards the camp.

hiss...

A burning sound rang out.

In an instant, the first few treants had black smoke billowing from their bodies the moment they stepped into the camp.

"Burning".

Just like the chickens Li Fei had encountered before, firelight had a physical killing effect on these mutated creatures.

As the trees in the front row were burned beyond recognition, their movements distorted.

However, the shadows it cast created space for the tree-man behind it to move around.

"No, this is too much!"

Li Fei picked up his wood-chopping knife, ready for battle.

Firelight is effective, but its effect is limited.

Faced with such a large number of tree people, a makeshift campfire is simply not enough; it would need to be at least a lighthouse.

In the blink of an eye.

The first row of tree figures was completely burned down.

Amidst the billowing smoke, the second row of tree-men emerged and charged towards the group, braving the flames.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

Gua Tou raised his rake high and charged out shouting.

Looking at the pockmarked man who had turned into a monster, there was determination in his blood-red eyes, but in reality, he was just an untrained farmer.

What he held in his hand was not a divine weapon, but just a broken rake.

Two days ago at this time, this rake was still loosening the soil in the ground, but now when it's used to hit the tree man, it only sends up a few wood chips.

"Wow, so hard!"

The shock made Gua Tou's hand go numb, and his anger quickly turned into fear.

next second.

The tree-man naturally retaliated.

A pair of hands, gnarled and twisted from wood, sharp and hard, pierced the melon-headed chest as easily as piercing a sheet of paper...

puff!

Blood splattered.

Gua Tou's strong body went limp and he collapsed like a lump of mud.

"Damn it! I'm not a coward either!"

Before Gua Tou was completely dead, another shout rang out from Li Fei's other side.

Turning my head, I saw Niu San.

The bald man, his face illuminated by the firelight, roared and raised his axe, aiming to strike the nearest tree-man on the head.

click!

The axe blade was powerful and heavy.

Niu San, who had been chopping wood for many years, was extremely skilled at chopping. Although the angle of his axe was crooked, the force was strong enough to split the tree man in two diagonally.

There were no screams, no wails.

The split tree-man fell to the ground, making way for the subsequent attack.

"Even if I die, I'll take a couple of people down with me!"

Niu San's eyes were bloodshot as he lunged forward again.

One, two, three.

After chopping down three tree-men, his movements noticeably slowed down.

The axe aimed at the fourth tree-man finally got stuck on its shoulder due to the shift in force and angle, rendering it unable to move.

"not good..."

Niu San glared at him.

Faced with the treant's thrusting arm, he couldn't pull out his axe, yet he didn't want to give up his weapon.

next second.

But then a flash of fire appeared before their eyes, and the tree-man was instantly set ablaze, followed by Li Fei's shout.

"Use fire!"

After helping Niu San out of his predicament, Li Fei threw over the remaining two torches.

At his prompting, the Niu brothers immediately did as he suggested, each taking a torch as a weapon and waving it in front of them to defend themselves, fighting and retreating.

In the blink of an eye, thick smoke billowed through the camp, and treants fell in droves.

"Damn, this is still going to burn!"

Li Fei secretly realized something was wrong.

While torches were effective in the face of encirclement and suppression, their effectiveness remained limited.

In less than ten seconds, several people had been injured.

Niu San had two large gashes on his back, and he was wincing in pain.

Niu Wenbing's left hand was covered in blood, and he could barely move one hand.

As for Li Fei himself.

He wasn't injured, because the two brothers flanked him from both sides, relieving him of a lot of pressure.

Nevertheless.

The physical exertion from the battle was considerable.

Compared to those few seconds, a whole day of traveling feels as easy as taking a stroll.

This can't even be called a "battle".

The group simply waved their torches haphazardly and tried to dodge the attacks as much as possible.

Less than half a minute.

More and more tree people were piling up around them, gradually forming a circle around them. The camp area was limited, and it seemed that there was no way to avoid them.

"Be careful!"

Niu Wenbing exclaimed in surprise.

He was short and had a short arm span, making it quite difficult for him to wield the torch.

Seeing the defensive blunder, a tree-man seized the opportunity to sweep past him and pounce on Li Fei.

At this time.

Li Fei himself was also weak in the arms, barely able to defend himself, let alone have the strength to deal with this sudden attack...

In his field of vision as he turned his head.

A tree-like arm emitting black smoke rapidly enlarged and approached, grabbing at his face.

"not good..."

Just as it was about to be hit, the tree-man shifted its center of gravity and fell to the side, as if it had been dragged by some enormous force.

Looking down, I saw it was Snake Seven.

Its center of gravity is extremely low, almost lying on the ground.

It's both climbing and sliding.

As it slid across the ground, each time it passed a tree-man, the tree-man was pulled down and slammed to the ground with a thud.

Bang bang bang.

Soon, sounds filled the camp as more and more treants fell, giving the three a brief respite.

"What are you waiting for! Run!"

After rescuing Li Fei, Snake Seven quickly moved away from the group, crawling in the exact opposite direction.

Seeing his agile, almost contorted movements, and the tree-men that fell and rose again so quickly, Li Fei became even more certain of his earlier guess.

This guy isn't human; he's a powerful monster just like Liu Yongxiao.

"Dragging this out isn't a solution; the fire will burn out sooner or later!"

"Listen to me!"

"They're coming for me. If you want to live, run! Keep heading south, and don't stop before dawn!"

Snake Seven's shouts grew farther and farther away, soon disappearing into the trees.

And as he said, it seemed that because of Grandpa Tree's command, the tree people who were originally attacking the crowd turned around and chased after him.

And it's not just tree people.

Even a face full of smooth freckles...

Even Gua Tou, who had just fallen to the ground, now stood up unsteadily and limped after them.

Li Fei saw it.

On the top of Gua Tou's bald head, a head of long, black hair has now grown.

Like a woman, extremely eerie.

"It's turned into a zombie already? That fast?"

Li Fei was stunned.

The previous chicken took at least two or three days to turn into a zombie, while Gua Tou only took a dozen seconds, which is too fast.

"Snake Uncle!!!"

Niu Wenbing shouted at the top of his lungs in the direction where Snake Seven disappeared.

"Let's go! We can't let Snake die in vain!"

Li Fei pulled up Niu Wenbing, whose eyes were bloodshot, and Niu San, whose eyes were brimming with tears, and then turned and ran.

The three men, carrying torches, swept past the tree-men.

Just before they ran out of the camp, they heard a shout coming from the direction of Snake Seven.

"Huanzi! Don't forget what you promised me! My daughter..."

The second half of the sentence could no longer be heard clearly.

Perhaps it's because Snake Seven has already run far away, or perhaps it has been attacked.

Looking back, the layers of tree-men blocked out the light, then the fire was trampled out, and Snake Seven could no longer be seen.

"Damn it... when did I ever agree to that..."

Li Fei gritted his teeth and strode forward without looking back.

In the dark forest, the three of them ran for their lives.