Chapter 41: This Gatekeeper... Is a Bit Strong
As Su Xiao's foot stepped into the stone gate, a strange sensation arose. It felt as if countless invisible tendrils lined both sides of the gate, and as he advanced, he forcibly squeezed through these tendrils with his body, entering within.
Su Xiao raised one arm to shield himself. As he fully entered the stone gate, the pressure around him eased, and a wave of warmth spread from his arm throughout his body. This warmth came from the Protection Stone embedded in the slot of his bracer, a crystal now emitting a faint reddish glow.
Turning to look back outside the stone gate, Su Xiao saw several figures with orange-yellow torsos and edges tinged with greenish-yellow. This resembled a thermal image, and those figures were none other than Old Holy Stick and the others.
A dog head squeezed into the stone gate. Bubu Wang's front paws scrambled wildly, clearly stuck. Seeing this, Su Xiao grabbed the fur at the back of Bubu Wang's neck and yanked it inside.
"No, wait, I'm not ready yet, hold on..."
Veronica's voice came through. She was both resistant and afraid to shout, making it seem like she was being forced into something against her will.
As soon as Veronica entered, Amu also passed through the stone gate. Old Holy Stick, the last one, waited for a long time before finally stepping inside.
"It's fixed. No matter what happens, we must return the same way within two days. Otherwise, the seal will close again, and we'll be forever trapped in Dead Silence City, eroded and assimilated."
Old Holy Stick gently rubbed his temples. There was an occasional hint of confusion in his gaze.
After confirming there was no danger around, Su Xiao was about to push open the wooden door of the house when a slight tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet.
Thump~ Thump~ Thump~
The tremor grew stronger. Su Xiao raised his hand, signaling everyone to be silent. He approached the glass window of the room. The window was covered in a gray, hazy film, with a thick layer of grayish-brown grime in the center. Only the edges offered a faint glimpse outside.
Through the edge of the glass, Su Xiao saw a monster over seven meters tall. Its skin was rough and tinged with a dark gray, giving it a vaguely humanoid shape.
The monster's chest was plastered with black, rusted armor plates. Its head had no facial features, resembling a bulging gray pustule, with only a row of uneven pores where its mouth should be.
Most striking was the monster's right arm. This seven-meter-tall behemoth had an arm so long it nearly touched the ground, and the entire limb was covered in root-like barbs. The arm's diameter was at least three meters thick.
Su Xiao attempted to probe the monster's information with his Apostle's Eye.
[Comparing both parties' intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. Our intelligence attribute is 10.7 times that of the enemy. 100% of the enemy's data obtained.]
Data as follows:
Name: Gatekeeper: Tree Erosion (Elite)
Category: Resident of Dead Silence City
Health: 82.9% (Undergoing erosion and assimilation...)
Death Force: 3245/3500 points (Semi-dormant state; will increase by one-third upon being awakened)
Strength: 125 (True Attribute)
Agility: 75
Endurance: 100 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 10
Charm: 2
Skill 1, People of Death (Passive, Lv.50): Health +2500 points, no pain sensation, reduces 17% physical damage, reduces 50% holy damage, reduces 50% dark damage.
Skill 2, Destruction (Active, Lv.40): Tree Erosion swings its right arm down with full force, dealing Strength Attribute × 10 crushing damage, and performs a Strength Attribute check. If successful, it crushes the enemy, tripling the attack's intensity with a chance of instant death.
Skill 3, Roar (Active, Lv.57): Upon detecting an enemy, Tree Erosion lets out a full-powered roar, attracting residents from one-tenth of Dead Silence City's area.
Skill 4, Frenzied Destruction (Active, Lv.45): Tree Erosion fully activates the "Death Tree Roots" in its right arm, unleashing a barrage within a 10-meter radius, destroying surrounding terrain and generating shockwaves that cause physical stun. Attack power matches Destruction (Active), and multiple Strength checks can be performed.
...
Su Xiao silently averted his gaze, waiting for the Gatekeeper: Tree Erosion outside to pass by. He was confident he could kill this thing, but if he made a mistake and got physically stunned, he might be beaten to death by a few swings of its tree-like arm.
Gatekeeper: Tree Erosion was clearly not a Boss-level enemy. At best, it was an elite stronger than the ordinary residents of Dead Silence City. In gaming terms, this was just an elite gate-guarding mob.
Yet, just an elite gate-guarding mob could potentially kill Su Xiao in a few hits. What about the complete form of Prisoner: Hela...
"The residents of Dead Silence City have weakened a lot."
Old Holy Stick had also seen the Gatekeeper: Tree Erosion outside. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"This is... weakened a lot?"
Su Xiao now truly understood how dangerous Dead Silence City was.
"That's right. If 'Erosion' weren't weakened, it would have already found us..."
Old Holy Stick stopped mid-sentence because a knocking sound came from within this small room of barely 30 square meters.
Bang, bang...
The sound was brief and faint, like a mischievous child jumping on the floor upstairs.
Su Xiao exchanged a glance with Old Holy Stick. Veronica immediately raised both hands, indicating it wasn't her. Bubu Wang had long since blended into the environment, and as for Amu, it wouldn't have such a "childish heart."
Bang, bang.
Two more knocks. Cold sweat trickled down Veronica's cheek. The sudden sound wasn't scary in itself; what was terrifying was that she sensed nothing.
"Could it be..."
Old Holy Stick's eyelids twitched as he signaled everyone not to move.
The tremor on the ground gradually faded. Gatekeeper: Tree Erosion had clearly moved on. Su Xiao's gaze locked onto a wooden cabinet inside the room. It was a vertical cabinet nearly two meters tall, riddled with worm-eaten holes, its dry wood covered in fine cracks.
Creak~
The double doors of the cabinet swung open, revealing some tattered cloth strips hanging inside. Near the bottom, a small, delicate figure was curled up, hugging its knees.
When Old Holy Stick saw this small figure, his old face twitched. His mouth opened and closed without making a sound, but his lip movements clearly said: "Prepare to flee."
Old Holy Stick's strength was not inferior to Su Xiao's. If you counted the metal book in his hand, he might even be slightly stronger. Yet now, Old Holy Stick's first words were to flee, with no intention of fighting. This meant that Su Xiao + Old Holy Stick + Amu against this small figure had little chance of victory, or the cost of battle would be too devastating—the latter being more likely.
"Wah, wah..."
A crying sound came. The little girl curled up at the bottom of the cabinet hung her head, burying her face in her knees.
"Save... me."
The little girl suddenly turned her head.
"Run! Don't look at her!"
Old Holy Stick suddenly blocked Su Xiao's view, standing in front of him.
Without hesitation, Su Xiao turned and charged toward the door, kicking it to pieces. Veronica was quick-witted enough to follow Su Xiao and turn to flee, but she hadn't run a few steps before her loose pants fell down to her ankles.
"Take me with you, it hurts."
Veronica's body pitched forward, face-first toward the ground. Su Xiao grabbed her hair and tucked her under his arm.
Boom!
A pitch-black energy wall materialized across the room, separating Su Xiao from Old Holy Stick.
Pfft, pfft...
One by one, hair-like spikes pierced through the black wall, their tips stained with blood.
"In the name of the Black King, I command you, Ataya, retreat."
Old Holy Stick's voice came from behind the black wall, followed by a series of roars.
By now, Su Xiao, Amu, and Veronica had already rushed out of the small house. As soon as Su Xiao stepped out, he immediately leaned to the side.
Whoosh~
A hair-like spike shot past his neck. If not for the reflexes honed through life-and-death struggles, this strike could have been fatal.
Veronica kept her hands clasped together, suppressing nearby sounds and energy fluctuations.
"Isn't he coming out?"
In the dire situation, Veronica shouted loudly. Clearly, she was moved by Old Holy Stick's spirit, but she didn't know what Su Xiao had once done for him.
Su Xiao quickly scanned his surroundings. This was an empty street. Cotton-like, grayish-white objects drifted along the stone path. Both sides of the street were lined with residential-style buildings, their roofs resembling black, sharp cones.
"Don't worry about me. Go first. Survive, and I'll find you."
Old Holy Stick's urgent voice came from behind. Su Xiao dashed toward the right side of the street, having spotted a very tall building in the distance.