Saul, who was being torn and bitten by numerous branches and leaves, suddenly spoke.

This made Dean Pond across from him alert again.

He now absolutely didn’t dare underestimate this newly advanced third-rank Saul.

But he was only a second-rank wizard. Even with the Inverted Tree’s help, he could only temporarily control the other party.

So when the seemingly bound person suddenly spoke without obstruction, Pond’s heart, which had just settled, rose to his throat again.

Saul was still talking to himself. “Herman got the tree seed. I need to go pick him up.”

Hearing the word “tree seed,” Pond didn’t know if the other party was bluffing him and could only command the branches to wrap around Saul in the middle layer after layer, almost forming a “ball of yarn.”

But Saul’s voice remained steady and strong.

“Tell Keli, the formation can be activated now.”

Before Pond could think again about the meaning of Saul’s words, the tree branch restraints in front of him, which seemed tight and inescapable, suddenly split open with a vertical crack down the middle.

Then that crack kept extending, splitting, extending again, splitting again.

Like an eggshell easily cracked by someone.

Then came a “crash.”

The branches, leaves, and numerous thin rootlets restraining Saul all turned to fragments and fell to the ground.

The interior of these fragments was also stained with black liquid, continuing to corrode the tree branch remains.

Saul stepped forward, walking out of the circle formed by the scattered branches and roots, standing before Pond.

“I told you not to compete with me on pollution. If I wasn’t keeping the Inverted Tree for a purpose, I would have melted you all long ago.”

The black skull before him was like an envoy from the abyss. Pond lost all courage to fight him in an instant.

After his most powerful weapon was easily corroded by the other party.

His previous faith in serving Lady Bethstana was ruthlessly shattered like the tree branch cage just moments ago.

Pond stood in place without even a chance to escape.

The last scene he saw was a semi-transparent gray tentacle with suction cups lined with sharp teeth.

Casually flinging away what looked like a wooden figure struck by lightning, Saul prepared to enter the Inverted Tree again to pick up Herman.

He had just directly recalled Penny to the Dead Wizard’s Diary, but Herman was carrying the tree seed and couldn’t return directly to the diary.

So he had to trouble himself as the master to pick him up.

However, before stepping into the Inverted Tree’s internal space, Saul looked back and scanned behind him, but didn’t see the orange cat’s figure.

“Looks like Kate has already taken the opportunity to escape. Heh, going to the outer city at this time… may he take care of himself.”

That orange cat probably would never think that actually, the most dangerous place was the safest place.

Saul naturally wouldn’t waste time looking for a cat. Their transaction had long since ended.

Now, he was anxious to bring Herman back.

At the same time, if Shaya was still alive, then Saul still had a deal he wanted to discuss with him.

Saul jumped into the tree stump, and his figure disappeared.

…

Caugust’s outer city.

Panic, death, struggle, disaster!

Second-level wizard apprentice Doze tightly hugged the magic books he had just bought, following the crowd fleeing toward the outer city gates.

None of them knew how the disaster had occurred. They only knew that suddenly, a large number of tree roots and branches had emerged from underground and quickly exploded.

Many ordinary people were killed or injured in the blasts.

And wizard apprentices would show obvious signs of mutation due to the black gas produced by the explosions.

But these apprentices hadn’t had time to mutate before being pierced through the body by tree roots and branches growing from underground, wrapped in cocoons by more numerous and finer rootlets.

Only leaving their heads hanging limply.

Such scenes frightened Doze so much that his hands and feet went weak, and he could only desperately run toward the city outskirts.

There were many wizard apprentices like Doze in Caugust’s outer city.

Suddenly, a crack appeared under Doze’s feet, shaking him unsteady and causing him to lean to one side.

But then he was glad he hadn’t stood firm and had swayed.

Because the next second, numerous branches drilled out of the crack, directly turning the person beside Doze into a porcupine.

He recognized that person—it was the third-level wizard apprentice who had taken over refugee duties from him.

The once arrogant third-level apprentice now hung in mid-air like a little worm, dying completely without even a chance to struggle or cast spells.

Wiping the hot blood that had splashed on his face, Doze almost forgot he was a wizard apprentice who could use magic to directly clean the blood off his face.

He staggered up with one hand on the ground, then continued running bent over.

But he left the magic books he had bought at great expense on the spot.

The abandoned books were half-buried under soil and beneath a corpse…

Not long after, an orange cat emerged from the ruins, nimbly dodging tree roots stabbing at him.

He stepped on the books on the ground and nearly slipped.

Then, after steadying himself, Kate looked up and saw the corpse hanging nearby, gradually being wrapped into a cocoon by fine rootlets.

“Crazy, crazy, it’s really crazy!”

The orange cat looked around and found a small path with fewer people to continue his escape.

…

Outside Caugust City, Keli was sitting on the roof of a two-story building, chin propped on her hand, waiting for Saul’s signal.

“What do you think Saul wants to do with such a big spectacle?”

Agu and Ann sat on either side of Keli.

Agu remained silent because he could see this combined magical formation was anything but simple.

Even as an auxiliary formation, it required both Keli and him working together to complete its construction.

Ann on the other side had a slight smile. “Maybe master wants to occupy this city!”

Agu looked at Ann speechlessly. Although he wasn’t very clear about what Saul had come to do, he knew Saul should have come to get something.

He still understood his master—he had no interest in conquering the world. Even the Borderland needed others to help him manage it.

He could say he was like Gorsa; they were identical.

“I don’t think so!” Ann swayed her head. “Caugust once pursued us. Now that master has advanced to third rank, naturally he wants revenge. Maybe he’ll directly massacre the city…”

Ann was only halfway through when the distant Caugust City suddenly erupted with tremendous noise.

She froze in place.

“Wait, I was just talking. Master wouldn’t really massacre the city, would he?”

The second she said “massacre the city,” continuous tremendous noises came from within Caugust City, accompanied by intense ground tremors. Even they, far from the city, could feel slight vibrations underfoot.

Keli and Agu simultaneously stood up and jumped to the ground.

“Something happened in Caugust. Will Saul be in danger inside?”

She looked at Agu.

These past few days, Saul had reintroduced several consciousness bodies to her, and Keli knew these consciousness bodies had a special connection with Saul.

Agu was concentrating and waiting, but received no signal, so he could only look at Ann’s reaction.

“I haven’t received any information either.” Ann’s previous joking playfulness had disappeared, looking somewhat worriedly at distant Caugust.

Soon, they discovered that numerous branches had grown within the city walls, and they could vaguely see several strange fruit-like spheres on them.

“Looks like it wasn’t Saul’s doing after all.” Keli crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So should we go in to rescue him?”

“I think we should first figure out how to protect ourselves.” Ann suddenly grabbed Keli’s arm and leaped backward.

The next second, a tree branch as thick as an arm drilled out from underground, grazing the bottom of Keli’s shoe as it stabbed toward the sky.

(End of Chapter)

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