[Level 2 Spore Form: Besides growing fuzz on the surface to prevent collisions with each other, they can also gather natural elements to protect themselves and prevent accidental death.]
[Level 2 Spore Form: 156/200]
[Level 2 Spore Form: 162/200]
[Level 2 Spore Form...]
Their experience points were increasing by several points almost every second.
Ethan frowned as he looked at the thousands of red dots in the sky. He watched the spores getting closer and closer to reaching Level 3 form, yet he had no way to stop them. It was giving him a headache.
Crack!
Crack! Crack!
Bird One and the others quickly found the fresh bark on the giant tree.
After all, the color of that section was different from the rest, making it easy to spot.
But what surprised Ethan was, the fresh bark was actually located about one meter above the ground on the trunk.
That also meant, many years had passed since the player who left the message, otherwise the Desert Tree would not have grown another meter taller.
Crunch!
Crunch! Crunch!
Fortunately, Bird One and the others could fly, and Daji could cling in midair using her cat claws.
So it didn't take long before they dug a hole through the bark.
Although what they were doing caused considerable damage to the Desert Tree, something strange happened, the Desert Tree barely lost any health.
"This might work."
Ethan felt that this person's message might be the key to clearing the Third Temple.
In that case, all he needed to do now was keep the situation under control.
As long as the spores didn't gather here before Bird One and the others brought out the remains, it would be fine.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Ethan fired three Wind-Enchanted Arrows.
One in each direction.
Although the tornadoes couldn't destroy the spores, they could at least trap them and stop them from approaching the Desert Tree.
Whooo!
Several tornadoes swept up more than half of the spores.
As they moved, the tornadoes unexpectedly merged into one massive twister and carried away another third of the spores.
For the remaining spores, which made up less than a third, Ethan directly used Crescent Slash repeatedly
Although each strike couldn't eliminate many spores, the sword energy could drive them away.
This prevented them from getting too close to the Desert Tree and exploding.
"Lord!"
Bird One, Bird Two, and the others came back soaked from head to toe.
In the giant talons of their bird forms, each carried part of a skeleton.
Bird One carried the skull and several thigh bones.
Bird Two carried the torso. Many roots had grown through it, holding the skeleton together and keeping it from completely falling apart!
As for Bird Three, she carried the remaining bones, some arm bones, and a wet animal-skin bag.
"You found it?"
Only then did Ethan stop his sword technique and quickly walk over to the remains they had brought back.
But after carefully checking from top to bottom, other than identifying it as a skeleton, the prompt showed nothing else.
"Could it be in the bag?"
Ethan took the wet, slippery animal-skin bag from Bird Three.
Only then did he notice the choking smell coming from the bird people. It immediately reminded him of the strange sap of the Desert Tree, which seemed to be poisonous.
Although it could keep people from starving to death, it would also turn them into something neither human nor ghost.
"Quickly wash that stuff off your bodies with water. Don't worry about wasting it," Ethan hurriedly instructed them, "Whatever you do, don't let it get into your mouths. This water is poisonous."
"Thank you for your concern, Lord."
The bird people were deeply grateful for Ethan's concern.
After giving his instructions, Ethan took the animal-skin bag and emptied everything inside.
There was a magic book, but its style was different from Ethan's. It looked much older.
And there was no time or date displayed on the cover.
Not only that, when Ethan opened the magic book, there was only a World Channel inside.
But nobody seemed to have spoken there for a very long time. The timestamp on the latest message showed it had been twelve years ago.
[Player Happy of Region Z3: Is anyone still there?]
Yet no one had replied to that message.
About two years later, tn years ago, Player Happy of Region Z3 posted another message.
[Player Happy of Region Z3: Has everyone died?]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: But I'll be joining them soon. The beast tide army from the Land of Demons has already begun gathering. The so-called heroes of the main city have decided to abandon Frontier City.]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: I once thought that as long as I became a lord, as long as I became the winner of my region, I would survive.]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: But now it seems...]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: It was all just wishful thinking.]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: But it doesn't matter anymore.]
[Player Happy of Region Z3: The friends and companions around me are all gone. I have nothing left to hold on to. Let Frontier City be buried with me]