Marvelous Game

Chapter 9 Escape from Redwood 3

Following his instinct, Duke turned around and saw a hefty figure standing on the roof of a two-story wooden house in the distance.

The man stood up straight, facing in his direction, and before him stood a great bow which, even at such a distance, the outline could still be seen.

As he unfurled his broad shoulders, the great bow opened. Then he let the arrow fly.

Boom!

There was no sound, but Duke's brain jolted as if something had shaken his consciousness.

But his tempered will, brought him to his senses right away! He struggled free of Brennan and Lady Killer's support, fell to the ground, and yelled, "Fall down!"

The players, who were happily commenting on the weeds and wildflowers, had no idea what was going on, only to see Duke suddenly fall to the ground.

The next moment, not even a breath.

Some invisible force came through the air.

Alfred, already out of town and rearranged to the rear of the line, seemed to have been hit by a speeding car and he flew through the air before everyone's eyes.

He flew more than ten meters like a ragged doll and crashed into a redwood tree at the edge of the forest.

There was an almighty boom.

The explosion tore apart Alfred, and the tree, almost as fat as a man, shook and toppled, breaking in a cloud of smoke.

Only then did the shrill whistling of the flying object cut through the air roll past everyone's ears like a dull thunder.

They watched with amazement as a line of orange-red fire quickly appeared in the distance. It cut through the house, the river, the grass, and their sides, leaving a twisting path in the air that reached the spot where Alfred's body had exploded.

The intense wind pressure released belated the searing temperatures, drying out and carbonizing homes and meadows in their path, eventually creating a black trail.

It was as if an invisible giant had drawn a black line between the town and the clearing.

That was the trace of the arrow flying by!

A fiery arrow, faster than the speed of sound, fired by that burly figure!

The raging waves, caused by the wind pressure, were still roaring, but the terrifying arrow made everyone fall into dull silence. It took a moment for the players to catch on.

"Holy s**t!"

"f**k!"

"Eh? What happened? Alfred? Are you alive?"

"Are you kidding? He was blown to pieces!"

"Is that a skill in the game? This is so f*****g cool!"

Duke, sprawled on the ground, sighed as he looked at the players, who were noisy and amazed but not afraid.

In the distance, Lord Hodge, who shot that arrow, seemed to be surprised by the reaction of the players. As Duke turned his head, he could see the man remove his great bow and look this way. He didn't understand why these people seemed so excited about the death of their friend.

Duke looked around at the spot where Alfred had died. Not only had the body been blown to pieces, but the subsequent burning had probably cooked the pieces too. There was no way to resurrect Alfred without the body being intact.

He could only rely on these players now, and those 10 resurrection coins to resurrect them in situ.

If all the players were dead, he wouldn't be able to run very far as he was seriously injured.

Duke didn't dare delay. He scrambled to his feet and said, "Dragon's Toenail, carry me on your back and we'll run into the woods as fast as we can."

"What? We're gonna run? Isn't this supposed to be a Boss fight?" Dragon's Toenail replied in disbelief, not caring if the NPC, Duke could understand his words.

Others nodded. "Yeah, it must be a Boss using such cool skills, like that. Let's kill him."

"His skills are so amazing that we couldn't beat him."

"How do you know? It's worth a shot."

The restless nature of the players came out at this point.

Duke was distraught to see Lord Hodge in the distance erect his huge bow again.

Although he knew that the players could not share his sense of urgency on the brink of life and death, he could no longer condone it anymore.  

After organizing his words, Duke gritted his teeth and said, "That's an order. Don't forget your mission! You get me out of Redwood alive and into the woods, or you fail. Did the gods choose you to take me to hell?"

Brennan rubbed his head. "Huh? The gods? Choose us?"

Carsick Car explained. "No more questions. This must be the setup for the NPC!"

Duke ignored their whispers. Seeing that the players were still reluctant, he had to change his tone and up the ante. "As long as you take me into the forest, you're free to move around!"

When Duke was done talking, the players cheered. It was the freedom to explore the game that made it fun for them, and they'd be bored following an NPC all the time.

Duke sighed. There was nothing else he could do. The players were poorly motivated, so he had to gamble.

He gambled that the quest arranged by the system would cause other changes once they entered the forest; otherwise it would be fatal with Lord Hodge being there. He was wounded and could barely fight; The players were good at dealing with ordinary people, but they were no match for Lord Hodge when there were only nine resurrects in place.

In addition, even if the quest didn't help, once he got into the forest, his chances of survival were much better. At least the forest was thick enough to block Lord Hodge's arrows.

As for the players, they had nothing to lose by dying anyway.

Carsick Car came up to him with determination and carried him up. "Enough said. Even if I am exhausted today, I'll get you out of here. "

Others chimed in. "Yeah, forget the Boss. Toenail talks nonsense all the time. "

"Lord Duke, are you comfortable with Carsick Car carrying you? Let me do it. I am beautiful, and I like carrying handsome guys like you. "

"Go away! "

"You bastards, I am the mount appointed by Lord Duke. Let me do it!"

They began to scramble for Duke, and hurried wildly into the forest. It was a distance of about than 10 meters, not far, but not too close, especially when a deadly threat was imminent.

Surrounded by players, Duke had the hunch that gave him goosebumps again. For a moment, his brain whirled.

But at the right moment, the players carried him into the woods. As they stepped into the edge of the forest, the "Escape map" held by Lady Killer on her chest lit up.

Duke placed great hope on the system quest, always looking around. He sensed it immediately.

He hurriedly took the map from Lady Killer's chest and, ignoring her shocked impression, gently unfolded it.

A light moved across the map, faint and clear.

As the map unfolded, the light spread like ripples.

The ripple-like light soon clouded the surrounding trees. As Duke looked intently, he saw that the trees were swaying their branches like men stretching their limbs.

At the same time, the hologram window in his field of vision automatically popped up.

Quest refresh!

[Stage 1: Escape from Redwood]

[Description: The last hope is ready. Allocate the resources you have and escape from Redwood.]

[Requirement: Complete the escape according to the instructions on the map before using up 6 players]

[Progress: Reached the end of the map 1/1, complete]

[You get a time-limited bonus: Anar's Guardian *12h]

[Anar's Guardian: Anar is the dragon god who holds the sun in the elf legend. He is the left-eye incarnation of the sky dragon Amar, the noble Sun King .]

[The chaotic nature of the dragon gods scorched the world at a time when the "sons of Amar" ruled the world until Anar and Ora spread the first light, and they created the world's first pair of intelligent beings, Avina (high elves) and Avier (forest elves).]

[With the end of the era when Amar's sons ruled the world, Anar fell from the sky, but his remaining power is still protecting his blood]

[Note: When the guardian is active, only the elves (or half-elves) with the bloodline of Avina and Avier can walk in the Anar Mountains]

[Message: my child, all the beasts will make way for you, and the trees will guide you.]

As the quest refreshed, the light finally shone on Duke.

The trees swayed harder and harder, and at last, with a creaking sound, their roots pulled out of the ground.

Yes, the trees have come to life!

They walked from the mud where they had lived for so many years, and their wrinkled bark texture twisted into old faces on the trunks.

They opened their eyes and looked at Duke, and then at Redwood, at Lord Hodge in the distance, with his bowstring full and loosening.

The air vibrated!

The trees opened their mouths and raised the wind with their indiscernible cries, shaking their crowns and branches more violently. With a strange, noisy explosion, countless branches and leaves sprang up to protect the forest borders.

The arrow, dragging red scratches through the air, hit the shield made of branches and leaves and burst into a great blaze of fire.

Yet all the fury of the explosion had nothing to do with the dense shield. Even though many leaves and branches were broken, it was not destroyed.

The remaining flames crackled and burned the trees, but the forest also grew more branches and leaves entangled and at the same time the players became entangled, too.

Six players, who had clamored to fight the Boss before, were shredded to a pulp by thick branches and vines without any resistance.

Duke could do nothing about what happened to them. Though the trees had not attacked him because of Anar's Guardian, all the plants around him, which had been peaceful and silent, were now writhing like wild beasts, thrashing the air in utter confusion.

Redwood in the distance was getting noisier. Duke could dimly see that many of the guards and jailers had regrouped and were approaching the forest in full gear.

Keep running!

Only with life is there hope.

Duke thought as he glanced at the newly refreshed second quest in the Holographic window.

His map had been refreshed with new routes.

Before heading deeper into the forest, he picked up a knife that someone had dropped when they died. At last he glanced through the twisted branches at Lord Hodge, who was lowering his huge bow and looking this way.

Their eyes met! Even hundreds of meters away, it seemed as if sparks were colliding, which presumably meant the same thing—this wasn't over!

Redwood.

Hodge lowered his huge bow and stroked his bushy beard, frowning as he looked into the raging forest.

It was a long time before he whispered to himself, "The power that rules the forest... Is it an elf?"