Volume 3 Takeoff Chapter 374: Flame-skinned Tree Spirit
That’s right. When Levi heard the voice and turned around, he saw a burly minotaur quickly disappearing into the shadows.
Obviously, the shadow was not enough to completely cover his body , but he still disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Levi immediately understood that this guy was most likely a thief or someone of a similar profession, with the ability to hide in the shadows.
It's just that his race, coupled with such a profession, is certainly novel enough, but in terms of practicality and combat effectiveness, he will definitely be beaten head-on by a Tauren warrior of the same level and with the same equipment, right?
But it doesn’t matter. After the other party flees the battlefield, the battle here will no longer be suspenseful.
The battle was almost over in less than half a quarter of an hour. All the minotaurs who were given special attention were killed, and 70% to 80% of the other beastmen were also killed.
After driving them away for a while and making sure that the other party had really escaped, Levi did not send anyone to chase him.
The main reason is that Luna is busy hunting down the remaining centaurs. Without their reconnaissance and vigilance, it is better for our side not to be too dispersed.
He even called out to Sonia and Sefa. It seemed that they were too excited, as they were not sure whether they were too excited because they were fighting too hard or because it was their first time with enough frontline warriors to attract firepower and a large number of priests and druids as backup.
Only after Levi called them did they finally calm down.
Seeing this look, Levi wanted to laugh. He felt that some of the adventurous experiences that the other party had told him about before might have been artistically processed.
These two girls don’t look like they have ever experienced any real big scenes?
But this is a good idea. He secretly made up his mind to let the priests and druids take good care of them in all aspects, so that they can be more comfortable in the future, so comfortable that they can't do without him at all!
Sonia and Sefa looked at each other and felt a little embarrassed. This time they were really a little impulsive.
Although they have always wanted to pursue independent adventures and have never teamed up with others, now that they have truly experienced it, they know how many times their efficiency in fighting and killing enemies will be increased with the cooperation of reliable teammates.
Sefa felt it especially deeply, because Levi had a wild horse master and a fox master follow closely behind her.
Especially the latter, with the existence of the Cunning Fox Aura, the effect is quite obvious for a mage like her who consumes a lot of magic points.
But before they could come over to thank her, Virginia had already come to Levi's side again: "Levi, do you have any way to let me go in and take a look? I can't be satisfied without confirming it myself."
Seeing her somewhat pitiful appearance, Levi couldn't refuse, and he also had his doubts in this regard.
So he nodded very readily and said, "I have a fire-proof belt that can isolate magic in a small area. Combined with magic such as endurance of elemental damage, it should be able to ensure our safety."
"Ah? Are you going there in person too?"
Virginia felt a little embarrassed. Her request was already too much, so how could she let Levi go in person?
But there was no way. This magic needed to be maintained by Levi himself, and he didn't think there would be much danger. He could just summon a large number of fire elements and let them go ahead to explore.
Sefa, who was standing next to him, also came over quickly: "Levi, I have the Fire Avoidance Technique, so we can go together."
Although she was hired by Virginia, she gradually ignored the other party's existence unknowingly and began to pay attention to Levi's attitude. Everyone around her didn't seem to feel anything unusual about this.
Levi naturally smiled and nodded: "Okay, that's it."
Then he turned to instruct Donna, Cindy, Stump and others to stay alert while cleaning up the battlefield.
The flames here were so bright that they could be seen clearly from dozens of miles away. No one knew what kind of existence it would attract.
The subordinates naturally agreed one by one. In fact, since they left Thorn Town, Levi had warned them more than once that the outside world was full of dangers and they must be careful.
Virginia also took Levi around for a short distance. She knew the location of the wood elves' original gathering place in the forest. If there was any place most likely to have survivors, it must be there.
Levi first sent a few fire elements to explore, and then cast a few spells such as ice storms to reduce the heat a little before stepping into the still burning forest.
His fire-proof belt can protect multiple friendly troops, but the area covered by the magic cannot be moved, so he needs to cast spells continuously, just like laying the floor and moving forward.
Sefa's fire avoidance technique can only be used on herself, but the advantage is that it is a buffed state, and with enough magic resistance, she can go anywhere she wants.
All in all, there are pros and cons to each.
Fortunately, the ice storm can still play a significant role. Using magic to fight ordinary flames has a very obvious effect.
Sefa wanted to help, but her ice arrows and other weapons were of little use in this situation, so she could only stare and watch.
It's just that he worked so hard to cast the spell, which made Virginia behind him feel even more guilty. But now that things have come to this, she doesn't have the face to change her mind at the last minute. She can only think of a way to repay him later.
It didn't take long before a fire element suddenly sent a message that it had made a discovery.
Levi immediately changed the route. Virginia was a little surprised at first, but soon her face was full of surprise, because this could only mean one thing!
Sure enough, before they walked a few hundred meters, they saw several tree spirits with flames burning all over their bodies in a clearing in the forest. They were trying to destroy the burning trees around them just to protect some wood elves on the ground behind them who were not sure whether they were alive or dead.
Only after looking carefully can you find that the flames on these tree spirits do not seem to be ignited on their outer surfaces, but rather more like flames radiating from the inside out.
There were also fiery red halos radiating outward from them, covering the wood elves.
Perhaps it was because of their protection that the wood elves were not burned together.
Virginia exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's the Flame-skin Tree Spirit!"
Tree people, tree spirits and tree monsters seem to be only one word different, but in fact they are completely different.
Those half-deer, half-human girls who follow Luna around all day are tree spirits. They can reproduce naturally like humans.
In some remote places, some people call some fallen and corrupt tree people vicious tree monsters.
Ents are large trees in human form, they are the embodiment of the will and spirit of nature.
They are big and small, tall and short, but generally speaking, they have formed a close alliance with the wood elves, and the wood elves can use them to drive the large number of wild beasts in the forest.
As for the tree spirits, it is often the case that after some wood elves died in battle, their souls did not completely dissipate. Instead, driven by emotions such as anger and madness, they still maintained a certain amount of power.
They often possess certain trees, only to rise again to fight, usually with revenge.
The flame-skinned tree spirit is the most special and rare among them.
Almost all tree people are afraid of fire, and even if they reach the legendary level, they may not be able to completely overcome this weakness.
However, the flame-skinned tree spirits can not only ignore the flames, but they can control the flames and use them to attack and even protect their allies.
Despite their power, they appear only a handful of times.
Because that often means that wood elves are burned to death in flames, and they also need to have a strong enough soul, and there must be sufficient energy around them and many other conditions.
Not to mention the extremely high requirements, what's more important is that the wood elves will never take the initiative to do such a thing just to improve their combat effectiveness.
Hearing her cry, several flame-skinned tree elves looked over at the same time.
Being stared at by these huge creatures, which are generally six or seven meters tall, ordinary people would probably be scared away on the spot, and Sefa was also obviously a little nervous.
The strongest enemy she and Sonia had ever hunted was a wounded Cyclops.
But at that time they had enough space to move around, and one head and multiple heads are completely different concepts!
But Virginia showed no fear, instead she took a few steps forward.
"I am Virginia, your friend, a brave and fearless soul. Do you remember me?"
The flame-skinned tree spirits stared at her for several seconds, and finally one of them took the initiative to make way for her, and a loud rumbling sound came out of its mouth: "Take them away!"
Levi had no objection. He waved his hand and summoned some celestial and elemental creatures, signaling them to launch a rescue operation as soon as possible.
But in fact, there were only a few living wood elves left there. Some of them had their arms and thighs burned, but they hadn't made any movements yet. It was obvious that they had all died long ago.
But these flame-skinned tree spirits had no way of telling them apart; they simply put them all together.
The soul and will of a tree spirit driven by anger and hatred are often incomplete, and no one can say how much wisdom it can retain.
There are actually only five wood elves who could possibly survive.
Naturally, Levi gave them some purification scrolls first to remove any negative effects such as burning that might have occurred on them, and then he gave them some life potions.
He then turned to look at Virginia: "What should we do with them?"
If they were left here, these tree spirits, who had been burned alive and driven by anger, hatred and desire for revenge, would soon be completely lost.
Then he ran out of the forest and launched indiscriminate attacks on all living things around him.
Whether they kill innocent passers-by or are killed themselves, it will definitely not be a good ending.
Ordinary tree spirits have defective souls and minds, and often need to be cared for and commanded by tree people and wood elves. Needless to say, these special flame-skinned tree spirits are even more so.
Virginia was also in a dilemma because she didn't have any good solution, but it was obviously not appropriate to just let them stay here.
Just as they hesitated slightly, a wood elf slowly woke up, and after looking around, he immediately recognized the reality.
He simply shouted, “Use this!”
Before Levi or Virginia could ask him in detail, he, who had just taken out half of a magic prop from his arms, fainted again.
Virginia naturally picked up the thing immediately. After taking a quick look at it, she immediately handed it to Levi with a little joy: "Levi, there is a way!"
Levi took a look and found that this flute, which looked like a very ordinary piece made of red branches, was actually a blue wonder - the dryad's singing flute.
It has no other effects except being able to carry and drive tree spirits, because tree spirits are no longer normal creatures, they can completely exist as summoned creatures.
However, there is a prerequisite. The other party must be willing, or be beaten to the point of being unable to resist, before the other party can be successfully taken in and a summoning contract can be signed for future use.
Looking at the appearance of these flame-skinned tree elves now, it doesn’t seem like they are willing to go with Levi.
So Levi simply used a few purification scrolls and life potions on the wood elf, and even released auxiliary magic such as false life and bear's tenacity on him. You can't faint again this time, right?
Sure enough, the wood elf was obviously much more energetic. He first looked at Virginia who was supporting him with gratitude, then looked Levi up and down, especially lingering on his ears. The wood elf seemed to have made some decision.
He struggled to stand up, and then began to shout at the flame-skinned tree elves. Levi could only tell that it seemed to be a special language or spell, but he didn't know the specific principle.
But that was not important. What was important was that he soon saw that the emotions of the flame-skinned tree elves seemed to have stabilized a lot. They all walked up to Levi and sat on the ground.
Needless to say, Levi activated the Dryad's Song Flute at the right time, and then there was a flash of light, and the huge flame-skinned dryads were all collected into the Dryad's Song Flute.
Dryad Song Flute (Rare Item – Blue):
Effect 1, can carry and drive tree spirit creatures, current upper limit is 4/10.
It includes 4 Flame-skin Dryads (Tier 5 - Rare), with the following skills: Resist Charge, Woodland Adaptation, Immune to Fear, Cause Fear, Fire Attack, Fire Resistance, Enhanced Smash, Anti-Infantry, Tough Trunk, and Wildfire Aura.
The others are fine, Levi mainly focuses on the last wildfire aura skill.
Once activated, all friendly forces in a small range will have their fire resistance increased by 10-20, which will be very useful when fighting against demons, devils, or even enemy magic such as fireball.
Moreover, its consumption is very low, so basically, a small-scale battle can be carried out from start to finish without any problems.
Of course, not everyone can use this equipment successfully. The requirements for wearing it are very low, but in order to summon it, high attributes are required.
For example, now, to summon the Flame-Skin Dryad, one needs 15 points of intelligence and level 10. Virginia and the wood elf may not be able to use them, so this opportunity was given to him.
Although he didn't expect to get much benefit from this at first, and this benefit was not particularly helpful to Levi's subordinates, his mood has indeed improved a little now.
At this time, the wood elf also had a brief and quick communication with Virginia. He saluted Levi very solemnly: "Lord Levi, the Asrai of the Orion Camp owe you a favor again."
As he said this, he presented a bark scroll with both hands: "This is the tree song that can drive the tree spirits. Together with the flute, they are my current thank you gift. When I return to the Orion camp, I will report this matter to my fellow tribesmen."
The last time they were fighting against the beastman hero named Four Horns, but they didn’t expect that a few days later, they owed him a second favor.
Levi thought about it, then handed both items to Sefa: "I think you need it more than I do."
The wood elf had no comment on this. Anyway, he had given it to the other party. As for who the other party gave it to, it had nothing to do with him.
Virginia didn't care, because the most urgent task was to rescue the other wood elves.
Therefore, the person who was truly most surprised could only be Sefa.
Although she had to admit that this prop and those flame-skinned tree elves were very attractive to her and Sonia, she still flatly refused.
"I'm sorry, Lord Levi, I didn't do anything at all. I'm sorry that I can't accept such a precious thank-you gift from my wood elf friends."
"Haha, what if it's a gift from a friend because he's worried about your safety?"
Sefa was speechless now.
Although the time of contact was very, very brief, but in a sense, she also regarded the other party as her friend, or even half a teacher.
She and Sonia had traveled a lot and were knowledgeable, but after communicating with each other before, she realized that the other party was far superior to her in many aspects.
So in the end she could only nod helplessly and thank Levi.
Anyway, Levi originally planned to hire himself and Sonia to go to Thorn Town to help him clean up the evil creatures. At worst, I can just take the initiative to do more things for him!
Seeing that Sefa no longer refused, Levi smiled and stuffed the thing into her hand. With this first step, things would be much easier afterwards.
Sonia is more difficult to deal with. Her family tradition will not change easily unless her entire family is killed by Dracula.
But that possibility is too low, infinitely close to zero.
Lucia said that Dracula had no interest in them at all, and the rulers of Sylvania did not seem to have any special thoughts about them, otherwise their family's reputation would not have lasted for hundreds of years.
Since vampires don't deal with them, other evil alien races probably won't be interested in them either.
So let's deal with Sefa first, and then start with her.
The relationship between the two of them seems to be somewhat similar to that between Donna and Elegy. Having a good friend like Sefa as an assist is definitely much better than just imagining things on one's own.
After a while, Levi and his team walked out of the still burning woods.
Although the Bull Demon King did not use magic before, he obviously used a lot of props such as fire glue. In addition, the trees here contain rich magical energy. If they don’t burn, it’s fine. But once they start burning, it’s not so easy to extinguish.
So Levi estimated that the fire here might continue to burn for a few more days.
When they saw them come out, Cindy, Wange and others immediately surrounded them and asked about their well-being.
They knew Levi's abilities and knew that nothing would happen to him, but they would only feel at ease when they saw him return in person.
After a quick glance, Levi found that his subordinates had been almost replenished and had basically recovered to their peak condition.
Similarly, Luna has also returned, and all the spoils have been packed up.
Levi signaled his subordinates to take care of the wood elves first, and then hand over the spoils they deserved to Virginia, Sefa, Sonia and others.
As for himself, he checked the series of system prompts.
He was not at all surprised by the overwhelming victory, and the advancement of his subordinates was also natural. His focus was mainly on the chessboard from the Crimson Knight.
After so many victories, it was finally successfully upgraded to the epic level.
The biggest flaw of the original chessboard was that each summoning required the consumption of charging points. Charging points were not only rare, but also related to the improvement of its quality, so Levi rarely used it.
But now its effect has changed fundamentally.
The first few summons of each day only require a certain amount of magic points, and no more charging points are required. Charging points are only required when the number of times has been exhausted.
As of now, he can summon 1 level 6 and 3 level 5 reinforcements for free every day, and the number of other low and medium levels is even greater. This effect can be said to be very good.
Then the original leadership +1 was increased to 3. There was nothing to say about this. Levi didn't think much of it. His title of city lord directly increased his leadership by 500 points.
But the next newly added skill - Hold Your Ground - is much more powerful. It is the same skill as Zhou Miyin, but with a wider range.
Once used, the defense and magic resistance of friendly forces within the range will be improved, and they will also have stronger resistance against skills such as charge, knockback, and repulse.
This can be considered as a slight compensation for the shortcoming that the Silver Guards might be knocked away when fighting against the Minotaur like today.
But Levi felt that this was not a long-term solution after all.
As a melee force, the Silver Guards' efficiency in killing enemies and gaining experience points is not very high, and it is unknown how many battles they will have to go through before they can make further progress.
He either had to find a way to speed up the process, or simply try to go behind Michaela and recruit some Phoenix Guards, or maybe he had to find some foreign aid to hold the line.
Although powerful troops like Tauren are not seen every day and are not so rampant, in most cases, Silver Guards + holding the position are enough, but he also has to be prepared, right?
After the plan was made, the wood elves on the other side almost returned to normal. With so many priests around, they couldn't die for the time being.
After communicating with Virginia, the male elf bowed to Levi again, then ran into the shadows and disappeared in an instant.
He is the strongest and most senior survivor, and an assassin who believes in Loik, the guardian of the wood elves.
Therefore, at this critical moment, no matter from which perspective, it would be most appropriate for him to return to the Orion camp to report the news.
As for the other wood elves, they all joined Levi's team in order to repay the life-saving grace and revenge.
Together with the wood elves who had previously defected to Levi, they can now form a complete team.
Some of them are Woodland Guards (Tier 3) who use enchanted or poisoned arrows, and some are Deep Forest Scouts (Tier 4) who are good at ambushes and reconnaissance, but what they have in common is that they all have skills such as being good at woodland warfare and mobile shooting.
Without Levi's deliberate training, they can immediately become a good fighting force.
Levi planned to temporarily arrange them together with the tigresses, serving as scouts before the war and shooters during the war.
The number of people is slightly less.
But it doesn’t matter. I believe that once the Orion camp knows what happened here, Levi will immediately have new recruitment opportunities.
In fact, except for the drow and dark elves who are in the evil camp, they are not particularly concerned about gratitude and face in many cases.
Other subspecies, whether high elves, wood elves, blood elves, winged elves, sea elves, etc., all dislike owing favors to others.
At the same time, Levi also figured out what was happening here.
It turned out that at the beginning, the wood elves were attacked by a large group of people led by beastman shamans.
The other side had larger numbers and also had a number of troops that were good at woodland warfare, so the relatively small number of Wood Elves were almost blocked.
They had just transformed this place into a magical forest, which not only cost a lot of money, but many of the defense facilities were not yet perfect.
After they had spent a lot of effort and paid a heavy price to kill almost all of the enemy's forces and were about to kill the enemy's shaman, they suddenly discovered that there was fire everywhere.
Considering the frequent forest burnings by beastmen in the past, they immediately realized that the beastmen before them were most likely just baits.
Knowing that they could not escape, in order to prevent the Beastmen from succeeding, the Wood Elves desperately destroyed the central hub of the Magic Forest, preventing the Beastmen from transforming it into a blood domain or creating the Ten Thousand Demon Rocks.
Those special flame-skinned tree spirits were among the warriors in charge of this matter when they were alive. Because they were the strongest and closer to the energy hub when they were alive, they eventually became special flame-skinned tree spirits.
After listening to it, most people, including Levi, couldn't help but feel deeply moved. Sefa even secretly made up his mind not to let them down.
The next question is more important. Originally, Virginia was scheduled to meet with the reinforcements of the wood elves and then go together to capture the black iron mine occupied by the undead. Regardless of victory or defeat, she will go to the Filth Pit with Levi.
But now the temple has been destroyed and the wood elves are almost wiped out. Should they still go to the Black Iron Mine?
