I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 698: Chapter 698: The Effect of the Poison Fog Disappears

A brutal smile spread across Lachi’s face. His left hand clung to the lock, while his right hand gripped a dagger with a sharp tooth over a foot long. With a ferocious stomp of his foot, he dashed towards Zhang Ziqiang who was flying towards him. Both of them toppled onto a sturdy tree branch.

Zhang Ziqiang’s Vitality Points were less than a thousand. Lachi’s attack caused his Vitality Points to plunge to under half instantly. Two critical hits popped above Zhang Ziqiang’s head, making him feel the touch of death brushing his nose.

“Void!”

A faint yell rang out from the crowd. A mage clad in a grey robe waved his Magic Staff and Zhang Ziqiang’s body was cloaked in a light grey haze, fading into a phantom-like presence.

Immune, immune, immune…

All of Lachi’s attacks were nullified. Looking at Zhang Ziqiang, who now had less than one-tenth of his Vitality Points, a hint of regret flashed across Lachi’s eyes.

“If only one more critical hit had landed, he would be dead now!” Lachi cursed inwardly.

Void could confer immunity against all damage, lasting for 10 seconds. Lachi knew he’d likely missed his best chance to kill this Tree Shepherd. Instantly, he retracted the rope, leaping onto another Ancient Shadow Tree, disappearing from sight once more.

After reappearing from the Void, Zhang Ziqiang looked at his remaining tenth of Vitality Points with lingering fear. This was his closest brush with death.

He wished to return to the crowd, but being in the state of Void made him immobile, forcing him to wait out the skill duration.

“Priests, time it right. That Assassin is nearby. Don’t give him another chance to strike!” Wang Qi yelled.

“Understood!” Three priests responded, sweat dripping from their foreheads. A glance at one another revealed mutual tension. The enemy Assassin was putting immense pressure on them. No one could say they would undoubtedly rescue Zhang Ziqiang from his enemy’s hands.

Wang Qi knew the Assassin must be hiding near Zhang Ziqiang, waiting for the Void skill to end. The storm of attacks that would follow would be overwhelming. Wang Qi wasn’t confident that he could save Zhang Ziqiang in time.

“If only Song Jian was here!” Wang Qi couldn’t help thinking.

Zhang Ziqiang also knew the formidable Assassin must be lurking nearby. His mind was fraught with tension. With his current Vitality Points, forgetting the Assassin, even the Valley’s Catastrophic Poison Fog could kill him in a few seconds after the Void ended.

“Three, two, one, release!” Wang Qi yelled warningly.

The moment the grey mist around Zhang Ziqiang’s body disappeared, a priest’s Light Shield enveloped him. At the same time, a flash of white “Rapid Healing” light fell on him, instantly boosting his Vitality Points from less than a tenth to about half.

At that moment, everyone suddenly screamed, “Watch out, Ziqiang, he’s behind you!”

Zhang Ziqiang spun around and just a fraction of a second later, a metallic glint appeared in his vision – Lachi’s counterattack. This time, it was clear that Lachi was intent on delivering a killing blow.

The Void skill could not be used consecutively and was currently cooling down for a minute.

Whoosh~

Another healing light flashed above Zhang Ziqiang, instantly restoring his partially-healed Vitality Points to full.

Among the three priests, one gave a shield to Zhang Ziqiang, another used an immediate healing skill with moderate healing power, and the remaining one used a skill that required chanting but offered extensive healing. Combining their efforts, they successfully healed Zhang Ziqiang’s Vitality Points to full before Lachi could strike again.

However, even with his Vitality Points fully restored, Zhang Ziqiang would not be able to hold on for long against Lachi. A combo attack could instantly kill him.

Zhang Ziqiang watched as Lachi’s dagger struck twice, piercing through the priest’s Light Shield and into his chest, but he remained unflustered.

“Twig Activation Skill,” “Twig Entwining Skill,” “Twig Restraint Skill!”

Zhang Ziqiang unleashed three skills in a flash, instantly draining more than half of his Spirit Points.

On the Ancient Shadow Tree where Lachi stood, two robust twigs creaked as they extended, like two arms restraining him from behind.

Following that, five or six slimmer twigs snaked towards Lachi, wrapping him completely.

Zhang Ziqiang had already reached the limit of how many Tree Shepherds he could summon and couldn’t summon another Ancient War Tree. But this limit didn’t apply to some other activation skills.

Seeing Lachi restrained, Zhang Ziqiang finally let out a breath of relief, clutching his wound while he jumped down from the Ancient Tree, and returned to the crowd.

“Well done, Ziqiang!” Wang Qi said, giving Zhang Ziqiang an enthusiastic pat on the shoulder, exclaiming excitingly.

The three Ancient War Trees Zhang Ziqiang had summoned would not disappear as long as he stayed alive.

Lachi was temporarily immobilized, so all the long-range fighters unleashed their most potent skills on him, one after another.

“You’re all going to die!” An angry expression twisted Lachi’s face as he let out a furious roar. A golden light burst out from his body, instantly shredding all the twigs binding him, in a surge of frigid qi.

Boom, boom, boom~

All the ranged attacks hit Lachi one after another. However, they caused no damage. The golden light emanating from his body actually blocked all forthcoming attacks, creating an “invincible” effect similar to Zhang Ziqiang’s Void.

In the midst of this, Zhang Ziqiang’s expression suddenly changed as he shouted, “They’ve downed one of the Ancient War Trees!”

All of them felt their hearts lurch at this. To their shock, Lachi leaped forward, charging straight at more than twenty players. He was preparing a single, powerful attack, aimed directly at more than twenty players.

“Ziqiang, quickly summon another Ancient War Tree!” Wang Qi yelled anxiously.

Zhang Ziqiang pressed his hand against an Ancient Shadow Tree, teeth gritted, a regular Tree Shepherd soon emerged, struggling to rise from the soil, with thunderous rustling.

“This… this is just an ordinary Tree Shepherd, not an Ancient War Tree!” Zhang Ziqiang’s face turned pale, a trace of despair flashing in his eyes.

A regular Tree Shepherd, both in level and tier, couldn’t surpass its summoner. This Tree Shepherd was only a level 28 Silver Quality creature, not possessing any Combat Power.

Zhang Ziqiang could summon a more significant number of these beings, but it would not be as helpful as one Ancient War Tree with Combat Power.

After witnessing Lachi’s horrifying damage, Zhang Ziqiang no longer dared boast, “In the forest, I am invincible.”

He now had this feeling, that even if he could turn all the Ancient Shadow Trees of the forest into Tree Shepherds, it would still not be enough to stop Lachi’s assassination attempt on him.

Just then, a violent tremor came from deep within the Valley of the Undead. A surge of qi swept across the entire valley. The Ancient Trees in the Shadow Forest shook violently, rustling loudly.

Wang Qi was surprised to find that the accumulation of the three tiers of Catastrophic Poison Fog had mysteriously disappeared. Moreover, Song Jian’s voice echoed in his ears.

…