Wade narrowed his eyes. Just as he stepped into the gap at the entrance of the Giant Tree Church, a thick stench of blood and decay rushed straight into his nostrils.
Before his eyes, the walls were constructed from twisted, coiled, thick tree roots. Fifty or so figures with gray-white skin, wearing oxygen masks, were silently queuing in two long lines.
At the front of the lines stood a natural altar formed by intertwined tree roots and vines, with several pits on it containing a bright red, viscous liquid.
Although Wade was only peeking through the slits of his eyes, he could still see everything clearly thanks to his dual perception of airflow and blood.
He realized the voice of the person speaking on the altar was extremely familiar; it was identical to that of Randy, the town mayor who had warmly hosted them at the tavern.
Randy was whispering instructions on the stage: "Do not be afraid; this is for the continuation of the Hock Family! Everyone hand in your medical reports so we can verify them once more."
"Endure for a few more days. Once those annoying brats from the city leave, we will invite the Old Ancestor out to hold the blood therapy ritual."
"Only by feeding her will the connections within our family become more stable and allow us to live longer!"
Just then, an unusual noise came from the entrance. The queuing crowd spotted the three young people from town who should have been resting, walking in as if sleepwalking.
"Huh?! How did they find this place? Weren't they drugged and kept under watch?"
"Forget them. It's their tough luck. Aren't Supes even better sacrifices?"
"Exactly, just drain their blood. They are so strong!"
Randy clapped his hands and roared in frustration at the crowd: "Have you been kicked in the head by a donkey? They are high-priority targets for Vought Corporation; you are not allowed to touch them!"
"If they die here, will we be able to hide if an investigation begins?"
The other robed figures didn't care about that. They surrounded the three: "In this state, they must have inhaled a large amount of those hallucinogenic powders outside, right?"
"Such a good opportunity, how will we know if we don't try?"
One person stepped forward quickly, pulled out a dagger, and slashed at Andre's arm, but only left a few white marks. He exclaimed in surprise: "This, this guy..."
Refusing to believe it, he pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and aimed it at Jordan Li's head: "No, I'll try another one!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out in succession, and a few bullet casings flattened and fell to the ground.
"Watch me!" Another tall, burly man dragged a chainsaw from somewhere and shoved it toward Wade.
Vroom— A few seconds later, amidst the ear-piercing roar, the chainsaw chain snapped instantly.
The group surrounded the three, using all their might, and then muttered in astonishment:
"Damn it... These Supes are really hard to deal with."
"Why is their skin so tough?"
Randy ran down from the altar, his face full of apprehension, and tried to dissuade them: "I told you! Let them go; we can't afford to mess with Vought people!"
A fanatical-looking burly man stepped out and shoved him aside: "Randy, you've grown old, and your courage has shrunk! They disappeared in town; who could find this forest?"
"He's right." An old woman shrieked in agreement, "If the Old Ancestor absorbs the power of these people, she will definitely become stronger! Just like the Mushroom Man who stumbled in ten years ago!"
"After that person was drained to death, the Old Ancestor gained new power and turned this forest into a natural barrier and a land of wealth!"
"That makes sense. Over the years, we've made a fortune just by selling those mushrooms outside. If these people are sacrificed, is it possible..."
"Yes! Blood sacrifice them!"
"For the family! For the cure! To live longer!"
Inside the church, the crowd was agitated, and the voices of opposition were completely drowned out.
Looking at the naked greed and the desire to survive in his clansmen's eyes, Randy's face turned ashen; he knew he was powerless to stop them.
"Hmph, fine... then as you wish!" He fumbled behind the altar for a moment, then waved his hand and ran quickly toward the entrance: "Everyone, exit the church. The Old Ancestor is coming out!"
The fifty or so people retreated from the entrance like a tide, leaving Wade and the other two stunned in place, and the open door slammed shut behind them.
'Blood therapy ritual? The Old Ancestor? It seems the root of the anomalies on them is here. I must figure this out...'
Wade immediately opened his eyes, reached out, and grabbed toward Jordan Li and Andre's mouths and noses, while his psychic power spread out simultaneously.
The two, who had been dreaming, suddenly opened their eyes, regained clarity, and looked around in confusion.
"Uh... where am I?"
"What's going on?!"
Wade enveloped the entire church, cutting off all outside sounds: "No time to explain, there are enemies!"
"Right!" "Copy that!" Jordan Li and Andre exchanged a glance, their bodies instinctively assuming fighting stances as they vigilantly scanned their surroundings.
Boom! Behind the altar, the floor made of countless intertwined tree roots tore inward like a living thing and flipped open. A pale figure shot out and quickly coiled around the dome.
Its body was hunched and thin, with dark red vines writhing on it. Its emerald eyes blinked as it looked down, surveying the three uninvited guests from above.
The white-skinned monster opened its mouth full of fangs and let out a piercing screech: "Haa-ya—!!"
Countless white phosphorescent spores erupted from the walls like stardust, while thousands of vines on the ground whipped and coiled like living creatures.
"Be careful. It was inhaling these things that caused you to fall into hallucinations earlier." Wade spread his arms, opening a barrier while simultaneously generating six violent small tornadoes in an instant.
Whoosh— He controlled the six white tornadoes to destroy all the incoming vines, while blowing the clouds of spores away: "Andre, Jordan, it's up to you!"
"WTF! There really are vampires!" Andre spread his hands, and piles of coins flew out from his pockets, whistling toward the white monster above: "Taste my pocket money!"
Swish, swish— The piles of coins shot out like a swarm of bees, constantly blocking the white shadow's escape route.
"So ugly! This thing isn't that so-called Forest Spirit, is it? Not elegant at all." Jordan Li transformed into a more agile female form, light gathering on his fists, and energy shockwaves were unleashed fiercely.
Solid energy shockwaves were unleashed fiercely, slamming the white shadow hard against the wall.
Hum— Hum— The white monster was continuously pursued by the coins that gathered and dispersed, and the energy shockwaves; after a while, it had sustained quite a few injuries.
"Roar—!" The white monster let out a painful howl. Viscous blood flowed from its injured areas, and the wounds writhed and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Jordan Li, watching the wounds that had just been smashed into the monster and then healed, shouted: "Its recovery is so fast!"
"Aim at one spot!" Andre waved his arms, and all the coins condensed into a sharp cone, "I'll pin it down; Wade, give it something heavy!"
"Right!" Wade raised his hand, and the airflow around him became highly compressed.
Countless razor-sharp air blades, as thin as cicada wings, swept out rapidly, transforming into streams of invisible airflow that pursued the target.
The monster climbed rapidly on the wall, dodging left and right.
Snap! Just then, a purple-black vine suddenly drilled out from the gap in the floor tiles beneath Andre's feet, wrapping around his ankle.
"What the hell is that?!" Andre exclaimed as he was hung upside down by a huge force, and the coins he was controlling in the air scattered with a clatter.
The purple-black vine dragged and swung him continuously, throwing him toward the swarming spores in mid-air.
"Andre!" Jordan Li quickly transformed into a stronger male form, and an energy blast struck the connection point between the vine and the floor, causing it to pause.
Seizing the opportunity, he pursued and grabbed the main purple-black vine tightly with both hands, entering a stalemate with it.
Wade, who had been observing the battle, turned, joined his right hand, and slashed through the air at the incredibly tough main vine.
Several extremely condensed, transparent, thread-like air blades flashed by.
The next moment, the main trunk of the purple-black vine that had been struggling with Jordan Li snapped in response.
"Aoo—!!!" The white monster let out a painful howl. The severed piece of vine, like a skinned snake, writhed and twitched crazily on the ground.
The green light in its eyes dimmed significantly, its regeneration speed plummeted, and it turned to flee back into the hole.
"It wants to run!" Jordan Li shouted.
"It won't escape." Wade's voice was calm. He reached out and pressed down, and a solid air wall sealed the hole.
The monster crashed head-first into the invisible wall and was bounced back.
"Damn it! You dare to ambush me!" Andre jumped up from the ground in anger and shame, pushing his hands forward with force.
All the scattered coins shot out simultaneously, and metallic projectiles slammed into the monster with a boom.
Pfft, pfft, pfft— Jordan Li arrived behind the monster, the white light gathering on his fists was brighter than ever, and energy shockwaves were unleashed one after another.
Bang, bang! Wade stood leisurely in place, waving his hand to blow away the remaining spores in the air once more.
"Wu-ya—!" The white monster let out a shrill cry, its remaining body rolling back and forth on the ground, twitching a few times before stopping completely.
Andre ran out eagerly: "Woo-hoo, we defeated it! I wonder if it's dead?"
Jordan Li immediately stopped him and said in a deep voice: "Don't rush. Let Wade test it; what if it's playing dead?"
'It would be unreasonable if we couldn't even beat a beast by ganging up on it.' Wade complained inwardly, waving his hand to disperse the piles of spores surrounding him.
He flicked his arm, throwing several air blades that nailed the white monster's limbs firmly, and then took a step: "Let's go, let's see what kind of monster it is."
The three gathered around the monster, examining it carefully.
The white, flesh-stripped figure lay on the ground, the green light in its eyes already dim. Judging by its body structure and the few strands of white hair on its head, it was clearly the image of an extremely elderly, white-skinned old woman.
Jordan Li covered his mouth and nose, saying in a muffled voice: "How does it look... like an old granny?"
Andre looked at her mouth full of sharp fangs and blood-stained maw, and took out his phone to take a picture: "It seems the cows on the ranch... weren't drained by this thing. Did we look in the wrong place?"
Wade only glanced at the corpse twice, then walked toward the deep pit behind the altar and called out: "There's a big hole here. This monster just ran out from below. I wonder if there are more?"
Jordan Li immediately followed, shining his flashlight into the hole, and vaguely saw some traces of reinforced concrete: "Could it be a monster nest?"
Andre squatted to the side, threw down a few coins, and moved his wrist continuously: "Below is an empty circular structure, very large. It should be some kind of basement."
The beam of the flashlight pierced the darkness, reflecting off obvious metal surfaces. The three exchanged glances and jumped down one after another.
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