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Translator: Ashish
Translation Checker: Silavin
Outside the fog-covered Maple Leaf City, a convoy was slowly approaching.
*Thud, thud, thus…* With heavy stomps of boots, numerous fully armed soldiers disembarked from the vehicles.
“General Zhao…”
A solemn expression had blanketed all the soldiers’ worry, tinged with a hint of concern.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Waving off, General Zhao gave a reassuring smile. Then, he signaled to a soldier nearby.
“Yes, Sir.” With a loud shout, the soldier climbed onto a jeep and switched on the loudspeakers mounted on it.
In a moment, a loud voice echoed through the sky, “We, the government, have arrived. We hope that Your Excellency will clear the way for us to negotiate…”
“We, the government, have arrived. We hope that Your Excellency will clear the way for us to negotiate…”
“We, the government, have arrived. We hope that Your Excellency will clear the way for us to negotiate…”
…
“Hmm?” A slight exclamation escaped Yu Zi Yu’s lips, who was rooted in the center of Maple Leaf City, slightly taken aback. After a moment, he looked toward the source, and saw a platoon of fully armed soldiers outside Maple Leaf City, including an extremely old man with gray hair and a bit weathered face.
“They’ve arrived?”
Yu Zi Yu smiled but did not give them an immediate reply, instead, he watched them with curiosity.
Meanwhile, seeing Maple Leaf City still shrouded in dense fog, unchanged, General Zhao heaved a long, deep sigh before walking to the jeep, grabbing a microphone and speaking loudly, “Hello, I am General Zhao Yun Yi of China. I was the one responsible for the nuclear strike earlier. I’ve come now, and I hope you will spare the civilians of Maple Leaf City.”
“General?” Yu Zi Yu murmured, a bit intrigued
[Could it be that the Chinese government really sent this guy? A General should be the highest commanding figure in the army. If I’m right, this guy should be one of the ten most powerful figures in China, as Qing Er had mentioned.] Thinking of this, Yu Zi Yu’s lips curled up slightly.
As for whether this person is the real General,Zhao Yun Yi, he did not care. He just needed a figurehead from the Chinese government.
“However, it’s still necessary to confirm.” Smiling, Yu Zi Yu began manipulating the branches.
Before long, one after another branch pierced through the thick mist, stretching into the sky.
Hanging at the end of these branches were extremely weak-looking Humans, their lips pale.
“Is he General Zhao Yun Yi of the Federation?” like a nightmare, a voice echoed in their minds, causing all these hundreds of people to shiver.
The next moment, as they looked at the weathered old man, rubbing their eyes, who looked quite majestic from afar, a look of excitement appeared in their eyes.
Some even shouted loudly,
“General Zhao, General Zhao, please save us.”
“Please, General Zhao, my wife and children are still inside.”
…
Their cries were both desperate and filled with hope, causing many soldiers to tremble.
As they looked up, they saw Humans being brought out from the mist by the branches one after another. But looking at these Humans, with their emaciated figures and extremely pale faces, not to mention the soldiers, even General Zhao himself had his eyes turned bloodshot.
“Your Excellency, isn’t this a bit too harsh?” General Zhao’s raised arm trembled in anger as he rebuffed with a touch of hostility.
“If it weren’t for me, do you think they would still be alive?” A mocking voice with a hint of ridicule echoed in the air.
His voice was like thunder, causing everyone to shudder.
They had long heard that the Tree Monster could speak, but hearing it by themselves still came as a shock.
However, just at this moment…
*Boom…* The mist rolled backward, revealing a three-meter-wide path extending from within the fog.
“Ah…” General Zhao’s pupils shrank slightly, looking at the path extending from within the thick fog, his eyes flickering.
“Now that you’re here, why not step inside?” A faint voice echoed, as calm as ever. However, after a moment, his tone changed, becoming extremely cold, “Or do you expect to leave here alive?”
The sudden change in tone immediately made the soldiers raise their guns, their expressions changing drastically.
For a moment, everything seemed to have come to a stand still.
Unfortunately, guns posed no threat to Yu Zi Yu.
After a glance, Yu Zi Yu lost interest in them and turned his attention to a group of soldiers, rather the weathered old man surrounded by the soldiers.
After a moment, Yu Zi Yu was not disappointed. He saw the elderly man wave off to the soldiers, stepping out of the center. Nonetheless, five soldiers still stuck behind him.
“Retreat,” Zhao Yun Yi shouted, his face turning ice-cold.
“We swore to never retreat.” All five responded in unison, as they stepped even closer to General Zhao Yun Yi.
*Haa…* With a sigh, General Zhao Yun Yi felt helpless. At this point, he had no choice but to continue on walking toward the path that had emerged from the thick fog.
…
Inside Maple Leaf City, it was another scene; everything was lush and green here.
Countless branches were entwining around high-rise buildings, and tall trees had sprouted from the ground, turning the city dark and moist.
Raising their heads slowly, General Zhao Yun Yi and the others even saw Human figures entwined by the branches overhead, wrapped up like buns.
“I have arrived, please release them, Your Excellency,” General Zhao Yun Yi shouted, but the response was a deadly silence.
At this moment, as he turned back to look, the road they had taken earlier was once again filled with thick fog. Vaguely, General Zhao Yun Yi and the others caught sight of pairs of gleaming sinister eyes within the fog, peering at them.
It was terrifying and bone-chilling.
Even soldiers, who had a strong willpower, felt a shiver run down their spines at this moment.
Just the aura unconsciously emanating from the nearby beasts made their nerves taut.
“General,” a soldier called out in a nervous tone.
“I told you not to follow me.” Sighing, General Zhao once again lifted his feet and continued on.
Not long after…
Continuing along the path that had emerged within the thick mist, they had successfully traversed a dense forest. At this moment, the dense mist gradually dispersed, revealing a spacious area before their eyes.
There were no tall buildings; it was as if the land had been leveled.
There were no trees, only countless massive, black Pythons-like crisscrossing the raised ground.
At a glance, these countless entangled roots wove a net-like network, covering the earth. Not only did they look hideous, but they also sent shivers down one’s spine.
Only because standing on each of these entangled roots was a terrifying Mutant Beast.
The weakest of them was at least a Tier-0 Level 9 Mutant Beast.
And the powerful ones… were Transcendent Creatures that countless Humans were terrified of.
