Chapter 17: The Power of the Tree Demon
After the light faded, a magical creature appeared before Donald: a Tree Demon, a third-tier warrior of the elf race. Its lower body was that of a deer, while its upper body resembled that of an elven girl wielding a wooden spear. The reason for summoning a Tree Demon was that, compared to other elf warriors, these deer-bodied creatures resembled extraterrestrial beings more, and their innate magic immunity made them ideal for dealing with a mage.
The old mage was shocked and exclaimed, “So you’re a summoner?”
Ordinary mages were already rare, and even rarer were other mage professions—fewer than one in several hundred mages could be found in such professions. As for summoners, who had declined in prominence over many years, no bronze-level or higher summoners had appeared on the continent in ages. Occasionally, there were reports of low-level summoners not even reaching black-iron rank; though they had decent combat skills, their lack of systematic training hindered their growth.
Now, the old mage regretted his actions bitterly. Summoners were among the few professions that allowed weaker individuals to defeat stronger ones or even challenge those of higher ranks. Moreover, the creatures summoned from other dimensions had diverse and bizarre abilities. With sufficient equipment or external assistance, even a black-iron mage—or even a bronze-level mage—could easily fall victim!
“My Tree Demons! Defeat your enemy!”
The old mage was stunned, but the creatures summoned by Donald paused not for a moment. As utterly loyal summoned beings, they existed because of Donald and were spiritually connected to him. As soon as they appeared, the Tree Demons obeyed their master’s command and attacked the old mage, who was about ten feet away.
“Yes, my master!”
A delicate voice, resembling that of an elven girl, echoed in Donald’s mind. It was her mental message. At the same time, she shook the poisoned wooden spear in her hand, and a green-energy spear-like projectile shot forth from it, aiming at the old mage.
The old mage finally reacted and frantically cast the most familiar spell among mages—Mage Shield. Mages, whose bodies were weaker than those of ordinary strong people, could easily be caught off guard by melee fighters if they didn’t have a fast and reliable defensive spell.
Therefore, as a first-tier defensive spell, Mage Shield should be the first defensive spell that most mages master. This spell gains in power as the caster’s level increases, making it a spell that almost all mages enjoy using.
A Mage Shield of level three managed to block the attacks from energy spears, but due to the effects of the natural toxins and the tree elf’s spell-dispelling ability, the shield held out only a few attacks before dissipating.
The old mage had to conjure another Mage Shield to defend against the enemy’s remote attacks, which came every two seconds on average. Thus, the old mage, who had once thought of himself as a master ready to teach apprentice Donald a lesson, was now forced to defend passively, with no chance to counterattack.
“Truly worthy of being a peak Black Iron mage—even his rolling posture is so skillful. It’s truly something worth learning for us apprentices!”
The tree elf girl didn’t show mercy. The old mage’s years of combat experience came in handy here; despite being at such a disadvantage, he managed to stay standing, though in a rather pitiful state. However, Donald’s casual insults from behind the battlefield made him want to spit blood!
Such unique summoned creatures with such formidable combat abilities shocked everyone watching!
In the fantasy game, tree elves are usually nicknamed “deer” by players. Although their attack power isn’t very high among various troop types, they have one major advantage: innate magic immunity.
As descendants of the semi-god Cenarius, these charming tree elves are playful and active. Unlike their cousin, the centaurs, who are skilled with bows, they are smaller in size and better suited for living in forests, using poisoned wooden spears and guns to protect the forest and nature.
With their magic-dispelling abilities, tree elves are unaffected by elements and magic, making them immune to negative magical statuses. Most beneficial spells also cannot affect them, so pure elemental spells and other forms of energy-based spells cannot harm them.
Of course, their delicate bodies are much less resistant to physical attacks—a form of balance. Otherwise, wouldn’t a troop of level three be invincible?
However, Donald’s summoned creatures are already stronger than wild magical beasts of the same level in this world. As elite troops among the four major races, they far surpass wild level-three beasts in combat awareness and intelligence. Even against level-five magical beasts, they can hold their own. If it’s a squad of level-three troops, hunting level-five magical beasts is no problem at all.
With magic immunity and the Poison Spear, the tree ogre was far superior to a low-level elemental mage of only black-iron rank who knew only simple damage spells, and moreover had taken the initiative to gain the upper hand. It was nothing short of a one-sided massacre, right? Donald hadn’t even summoned a second creature or used the skills of his Veto Staff, yet he saw the opponent being utterly crushed by the tree ogre. Just as he was about to shout surrender, he was struck back by a Spear of Nature from the tree ogre. He couldn’t even retreat in defeat! “Fight back, Master Xue! Use your spells to defeat that kid and his summoned monsters!” Faced with the old mage’s pleading gaze, the nervous Lord Sodo didn’t realize what his companion meant and continued to encourage him, still holding onto hopes of victory. In the end, it was Baron Red Maple, as the host, who couldn’t stand by any longer. This middle-aged merchant didn’t want anything to go wrong with a mage in his estate. “Sodo, I think Mage Xue is too old and lacks stamina. How about you surrender first and pause the match? Losing the bet isn’t a big deal, but if something happens to Mage Xue, that would be bad!” Realized by Baron Red Maple, Sodo looked in disbelief at the old mage who was already exhausted and struggling to hold on. Finally, thinking of how his family couldn’t afford to lose another mage, he spoke in a dry voice to call for a stop. This one-sided match gave Donald great satisfaction as he tormented his opponent, letting off some steam! But he also didn’t want to kill this old mage. Although it was a formal duel under a contract, killing a peak black-iron mage as an apprentice would surely be seen as arrogant provocation, causing dissatisfaction among local mages. That would be extremely detrimental to his future plans. It wouldn’t be worth sacrificing his ambitions for a jealous old mage. “My tree ogre! Stop attacking and return to your master!” So Donald gave a low command, causing the summoned tree ogre to stop attacking and return to his side, to prevent the old mage from launching a furious ambush. Seeing that Mage Xue’s clothes were in disarray, his mage robe torn in many places, with scratches on his forehead and arms from dodging attacks earlier, even Baron Red Maple, who was watching, couldn’t help but feel pity for him. He could imagine what kind of situation such a high-level black-iron mage would face after being defeated by an apprentice.
The old mage, finally getting a chance to catch his breath, raised his staff, intending to kill the apprentice to avenge himself. But upon seeing the summoned creatures armed and on guard ahead, he realized he had no chance of winning at all. His face turned green and then purple before he finally lowered his staff and said dejectedly, “I lost!”
“How is this possible? How is this possible…”
Hearing these words, Sodo, who had been so confident about winning the bet, found himself defeated by Master Xue. His face fell, and he felt like giving up altogether.
He was merely the son of a lord. Although his family owned vast lands, the wealth generated didn’t reach him. Over the years, he had extorted at least three thousand gold sols from merchants under the guise of his father and that viscount, but he had already spent most of it. Now, he only had the thousand gold sols he had taken out initially. He didn’t dare to back out—not only because Baron Redmaple was there as a witness, which would shame him, but also because the summoned creatures beside the other party were staring at him menacingly. He feared that a careless move might result in a fatal wound.
“Never mind! My life is more important. If I lose the money, I can just go back to those merchants and get more!”
It must be said that the son of Lord Grii was undoubtedly a fool. At this moment, Sodo hadn’t noticed Baron Redmaple’s sly smile, as if he had stolen a chicken.
Redmaple Town wasn’t under the rule of Viscount Macbeth, the lord of Giantstone City. This baron maintained a relationship that was neither too close nor too distant with the governor, so he remained undecided regarding Lord Grii’s proposal for marriage, hoping to delay things as long as possible.
As for his daughter’s ideal match, this profit-driven nobleman preferred a talented member from one of the kingdom’s major noble families. By forming a marital alliance with such a family, the wealth of Baron Redmaple’s domain would no longer be at risk of being coveted by others.
The shrewd Baron Redmaple had already guessed Viscount Macbeth’s intentions: to swallow up large portions of the noble lands in the North County and, like other major nobles in the kingdom, become a true lord who ruled the North County rather than just a nominal governor appointed by the kingdom.
It’s just that the nobles have a very strong sense of territorial ownership. Over the years, the Macbeth family’s plans haven’t made much progress, with only the Merlin family as a successful example. Unlike the Merlin Knightdom, which was annexed by them long ago, Red Maple Town, established just a few decades ago, is in a prosperous stage. Unlike the Merlin family, which had already declined to a certain extent—with the old Merlin Knight living a short life and his heir being too young and unfit—this gave the Macbeths an opportunity to act.
After tasting the success of annexing the Merlin Knightdom, Viscount Macbeth couldn’t help but set his next target on the most prosperous noble domain in the North County: the Baronship of Red Maple.
It’s almost impossible to annex the Baronship of Red Maple without facing criticism from other nobles. So, they had to think of other ways—their plan was marriage.
The Baron of Red Maple had only one daughter and no male heirs. Thus, the husband of the baroness would gain the right to inherit the barony and its title. Once they secured that right, they could gradually take control of Red Maple Town’s assets. By then, it would be too late for the Baron of Red Maple to back out.
The shrewd Baron of Red Maple naturally wouldn’t give them the chance to annex his domain. He always evaded Lord-> Gry -> Gry’s plans, never giving a direct answer but also not refusing, leaving things unresolved to this day.
The leathercrafting skills of Lord-> Gry -> Gry’s domain originated from the previous owners, the Merlin family, and had been sold throughout the kingdom for centuries. They even supplied leather armor to the kingdom’s army. Though not top-tier, it was still of high quality.
This industry had always piqued the interest of middle-aged merchants, who wanted a share but couldn’t interfere. Now that they saw a chance to take over a leatherworkshop, they were overjoyed!
“With Sodo’s wasteful nature, if he loses the bet, he definitely won’t go to his father to get scolded. Instead, he’ll probably secretly pledge one of his domain’s workshops to me behind Lord-> Gry -> Gry’s back. If I get that workshop, I can officially enter this profitable industry as well.”
With these thoughts, the middle-aged merchant began to see Sodo, the fool, in a more favorable light.
Putting aside the actions of that unscrupulous merchant, let’s just say Donald won the bet. He first put the bag of magic beast cores in his arms. For safety, he concealed them using a spatial seal out of sight of others.
As for the remaining five thousand sols, which filled a whole box, he kept them with him for now, under Clinton’s watch, to avoid revealing the power of the spatial seal too early.
Sodo and his companion, who had originally come to show off, suffered a complete defeat this time—losing both their bet and their face.
“This time you win, but next time it won’t be so easy! Just wait and see!”
With a look of embarrassment, Sodo spat out those harsh words. Unable to stand watching Donald, the winner, smile triumphantly as he collected the bet, along with the ashamed and resentful Snow Mage, they simply bid farewell to their master and left in a hurry.
It was only then that Donald dismissed the summoned tree demon and absorbed its energy back into the Book of Truth. Hearing Sodo’s threats, he sneered inwardly, “Next time? There won’t be a next time. By then, you won’t even deserve to look me in the eye. Just a little longer…”
Watching the magical creature turn into a speck of light and vanish before his eyes, Baron Red Maple’s eyes narrowed with fervor as he smiled. “To defeat a full-fledged mage at the peak of black iron rank as an apprentice—such talent is not just promising; it’s genius. It seems the rise of the Merlinna family is near. If I can’t secure a son from a noble family, a genius mage would be an excellent choice for the future of my Baronate! That worthless Sodo still wants to marry my daughter? Hmph, do I really think he doesn’t know that viscount’s plans?”
With these thoughts, the middle-aged merchant became even more kind and generous toward Donald, even sending someone to bring his daughter, Caeline, to meet this young guest.
Now it was Donald’s turn to flee in panic.
To be fair, although the viscountess wasn’t classically beautiful, she was still a pretty girl, whether in his past life or here. No wonder Sodo kept pestering her!
But Donald had already determined that someone like Baron Red Maple couldn’t be trusted, so he naturally wouldn’t get entangled with his daughter. After meeting her briefly, he quickly gathered his spoils and left.
It was laughable that Baron Red Maple thought Donald was just shy because of his youth at the sight of his beautiful daughter, already planning to marry him off.