Chapter 163: Sealing

Although it seemed that the conversation between the two had lasted a lot of time, this was far from the truth.

Both Aurelius and the Undead Knight were powerful Awakeners.

Their entire conversation had only taken a split second from start to finish.

By the time the Undead Evil Spirits appeared, the Corrupted Dryad had not recovered from the impact of the previous Radiant Lance.

She could only watch as the Undead Evil Spirits approached her, lunging at her like mindless beasts.

Thankfully for her, she reacted in time, suppressing her injuries to defend herself.

The shadows beneath her feet thrust outward like spears growing out of the ground, piercing the heads of the nearby Undead Evil Spirits.

When Aurelius had fought against them in the past, he had to use the Sea God’s Trident to slay them completely. Now, however, these shadowy creatures seemed helpless in front of the Dryad.

With a single attack, they dropped dead, the murky liquid making up their bodies vanishing.

Despite this, the Corrupted Dryad showed no joy.

The coffin in the Undead Knight’s hands seemed to be the source of the resentment surging throughout the Dryad Forest.

Another wave of Undead Evil Spirits soon stepped out of its interior and replaced the dead ones.

The Dryad prepared to launch another attack.

But just then...

Woosh!

A golden lance fired at her back.

At the same time, an arrow made of bones shot from another direction.

Before the Dryad could react, she found herself surrounded from three different directions.

"Agh!" Her terrifying scream rang out as the shadows were pulled up like a veil, creating a wall of thick branches that surrounded her tightly.

Her defense successfully parried the Undead Evil Spirits’ blows.

As for the rest of them, however...

Creak!

The lance passed straight through the shadows and penetrated her abdomen.

Bang!

The skeletal arrow exploded on impact, transforming into bone fragments that fired out like bullets.

In the blink of an eye, the Dryad’s body was riddled with hundreds of smaller injuries and one grave one.

Seeing this, Aurelius knew that his opportunity had arrived!

Disregarding his identity as a "Mage," he rushed toward the Dryad.

The silver sword in his hand flashed, breaking out with overwhelming power as it slashed at the Dryad’s temples.

Aurelius seemed to have forgotten about his agreement with the Undead Knight, aiming to take the Dryad’s life instead!

"No!" the Undead Knight behind him screamed.

It seemed far more desperate than the Dryad herself.

The previous pain on her face was nowhere to be seen. A victorious smile had unknowingly replaced it.

She stretched out her hand, and the familiar branches grew out of her palm, quickly weaving a large wooden cocoon around the silver sword.

Then, a part of them moved toward Aurelius’ head.

The branches were faster than ever before!

Clearly, the Dryad had been holding her power back all this time, waiting for the right opportunity.

And just like Aurelius, she believed it had come as well.

Within a split second, the situation had been flipped.

The person attacking was no longer Aurelius, but the Corrupted Dryad. A thick branch worked like a spear and rapidly drew closer to his head, ready to pierce through it.

Even with his own Mutated Demigod’s Physique and his high Base Stats, Aurelius was still a human. If his head was really penetrated, there would be no way for him to survive.

Given the situation, Aurelius should have been panicked.

However, he appeared extraordinarily calm.

The progress bar at the edge of his vision had finally been filled.

"Ding!"

"Plant Control has reached Level 6."

The moment the chime of a bell echoed, Aurelius made a quick decision.

The Engraving ability of Mutated Demigod’s Physique was activated!

Plant Control was directly engraved on his body!

Notifications flooded his vision.

"Ding!"

"Plant Control has been successfully engraved onto your body!"

"The power of Plant Control has increased! The casting time of Plant Control has decreased!"

"It has become easier to cast Plant Control!"

"Affinity with the power of wood and life has increased!"

Aurelius could sense that the Plant Control skill had indeed grown more powerful.

But now was not the time to check its changes or its newfound power.

The reason he had engraved Plant Control was not to control plants, but to pair it with another skill.

A complicated rune flashed within Aurelius’ azure pupils.

The branches firing toward his head no longer had any secrets to him.

Their composition and inner structure were revealed naked before him.

At that moment, he activated a long-lost skill.

Arcane Deconstruction!

The moment his Spirit was consumed, the branches around him rapidly decomposed.

Not only the spear shooting toward his head, but also those binding his silver sword and the ones forming the defense around the Dryad.

Even the Dryad herself seemed to be affected, her body trembling for a brief second.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, Aurelius moved.

The grids at the edge of his field of vision trembled.

An azure light flashed in his hand as the Sea God’s Trident materialized.

Then, Aurelius thrust it forward with all his strength.

The sudden appearance of the Relic gave the Corrupted Dryad no time to react.

She could only watch powerlessly as it whistled through the air and arrived before her.

Bang! Wood fragments scattered in every direction.

Frost spread from the area of impact, threatening to turn her into an ice cube.

Watching his opponent being "sealed," Aurelius subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

But he knew now was not the time to truly relax.

The Corrupted Dryad was a Rank 3 "monster."

Aurelius could not use Sea God’s Trident’s Frozen Prison to obliterate her.

At most, he could create an opportunity for someone else to act.

Thankfully, that someone was already here.

"What are you waiting for? Use the coffin to seal her!" Looking at the stunned Undead Knight, Aurelius couldn’t help but shout.

His words awakened the skeleton. Seeing that the Dryad was helpless for the time being, it suppressed its previous shock.

Under its command, the Undead Evil Spirits wrapped their hands around the Dryad’s legs and dragged her toward the coffin.

Although the opponent tried to resist during that time, she was ultimately unable to escape the Epic Relic’s influence.

She could only watch helplessly as she was slowly moved toward the coffin.

Until finally...

Click!

She fell into it.

Then, the wooden lid was placed back on it.

Countless black chains followed, sealing her up once again.