At the same time, things weren't going well for Lilia either. The monstrous tree guards that had gotten back to their feet were exhibiting exceptional damage resistance. Though she repeatedly knocked them away with her telekinesis, she failed to inflict any substantial damage. Wei Hao, who relied on gravity for his power, was at his wit's end. He could only silently intensify his gravitational field to slow down the attacking tree guards and branches, forcing him to continuously dodge their attacks.

The person having the easiest time was, surprisingly, the Great Fierce Bear. He was confronting the village elder, single-handedly using the old man's body to fend off the onslaught of giant tree roots. Strangely, the roots consciously avoided hitting the elder himself.

As Chen Pingchuan split a Tree-man in two, he was simultaneously contemplating his strategy. He had initially thought it would be impossible to kill the Tree-men, but he noticed that as their bodies gradually shrank, their rate of reconstruction also slowed. Clearly, if they persisted, the Tree-men couldn't escape their eventual demise. However, such a slow and uninspired battle wasn't what he wanted.

His mind began to race. Suddenly, he recalled something incongruous about the scene. The area around the monstrous tree was lit by electric lamps, not the torches from his memory. While that would be normal in a cyberpunk world, it felt completely out of place in a bizarre mountain village like this.

"Fire!" he exclaimed, a glint in his eye. "Fire conquers wood, and a tree is made of wood, so its weakness must be fire!"

Having uncovered the monstrous tree's weakness, he relayed the discovery to his subordinates and shouted to Lilia, "Lilia, help me gather up these dead Tree-men!"

Without questioning his reasoning, Lilia immediately used her telekinesis to pile the Tree-men corpses together.

Chen Pingchuan drew a physical longsword from his back—one of his acquisitions from the bank vault. In the next moment, he pressed the blade against the dry husks and, with a single hand, spun the sword at high speed. Following the principle of making fire by drilling wood, the friction between the blade and the dead Tree-men generated intense heat, and sparks soon appeared.

The sparks gradually grew into flames, which began to burn fiercely.

Sensing the commotion, the monstrous tree clearly perceived a threat. Its thick branches abandoned their current opponents and whipped toward Chen Pingchuan. Unafraid, he issued another set of orders.

"Lilia, fire attack! Wei Hao, gravity suppression!"

"Understood, Boss."

"Got it, Boss."

The two had also noticed the monstrous tree's abnormal reaction. Secretly delighted, they intensified the output of their powers. One after another, flaming Tree-men crashed into the grotesque tree, and the fire spread instantly.

The already unsettling tree became even more horrifying as it let out a pained howl, its wooden body beginning to burn. As the blaze spread, parts of its trunk were gradually charred before finally turning to ash.

Seeing his attack was effective, Chen Pingchuan accelerated his slaughter of the surrounding Tree-men. Lilia also found time to gather the corpses, making it easier for him. The Porcupine, standing not far from the monstrous tree, also perked up when he witnessed the power of the flames. While dodging the attacking branches, he searched for a chance to get closer. Spotting a thick branch, he grabbed it with all his might and pulled.

With a loud crack, a section of the branch was torn off by his brute strength. He immediately tossed it into the fire, which had just been starting to die down, causing it to roar back to life. As the conflagration grew, the entire monstrous tree was transformed into a massive pillar of fire, with flames shooting straight into the sky.

"Everyone, fall back!" Chen Pingchuan ordered, not letting his guard down for a second.

He had a nagging feeling things wouldn't be this simple. Even though he was prepared and his team members were powerful, this so-called apocalypse seemed far too easy compared to the world-ending insect swarm. If this was all it took, how could it even be considered an apocalypse?

And sure enough, the dark bark of the giant tree, once dozens of meters tall, began to crackle and slough off, revealing a vibrant green surface beneath. Its height shrank from dozens of meters to just over ten. Furthermore, its once-thick roots transformed into slender tendrils, which at a glance looked incredibly resilient.

Chen Pingchuan intended to repeat his earlier trick, but this time, the flames didn't ignite as before. Although there was a smell of burning resin, the tree showed no sign of catching fire.

"Damn it, the fire attack is useless now!" he cursed.

Knowing the fire was ineffective, Chen Pingchuan advanced instead of retreating. Anyone who's fought a boss knows that a second-phase boss might adopt a new defensive stance. Perhaps the previous attacks would work now.

As expected, when he switched to his energy blade, Chen Pingchuan managed to sever the tendrils attacking him. Though there was noticeable resistance, the result was a success. Seeing this, the others also drew their weapons and began attacking the tendrils.

Even the Poisonous Widow, who had been unconscious, slowly came to. Unsure of what had just happened, her first instinct was to draw a weapon she had filched from the bank vault. The laser gun fired a dazzling beam that struck the monstrous tree but failed to penetrate it. Keep in mind, this was a laser weapon capable of piercing ordinary steel plates, which just went to show how formidable the giant tree's defense truly was.

With the monstrous tree guards gone, the tree's new tendrils weren't as thick or powerful as its original roots. As a result, the pressure on the team was significantly reduced. Even so, the damage they inflicted remained limited. Considering the terrifying power of these individuals—enough to cause massive destruction even against an insect swarm—their repeated setbacks against a single small tree were difficult to comprehend.

Several hours later, staring at the seemingly endless tendrils, Chen Pingchuan had to admit that even he was growing exhausted. He had, in fact, tried using his "Sleight of Hand" skill, but all he got for his trouble was a single branch. That's right, just one.

"Let's retreat! We'll fight again tomorrow!"

Left with no other choice, Chen Pingchuan issued the order to fall back. It wasn't just the others; even he felt weary from such a high-intensity confrontation. The complete lack of progress, in particular, was making him irritable.

The team retreated several hundred meters out of the village before the monstrous tree's attacks finally ceased.

As the others rested, the Poisonous Widow swayed gracefully toward Chen Pingchuan. She bent low, revealing her formidable figure, and said in a soft voice, "Boss, I'm sorry!"

Hearing her apology, Chen Pingchuan didn't even look up, continuing to poke at a few ants on the ground with a stick.

She knew she was in the wrong. She hadn't listened to Chen Pingchuan's warning and had drunk the village water. If it weren't for him, she might very well have died in this eerie mountain village.

The Poisonous Widow bit her lip hard, a plaintive look in her eyes. "Boss, I'll be honest with you. My real name is Lu Jiaojiao."

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