Inside the Fairy garden, the party was still going strong, making their way toward the next mini-Boss.

"Tch— this sure is annoying.

" Jack frowned.

At first, they had avoided the groups of horned rabbits rather easily, but it was becoming rather difficult.

Killer flowers started appearing too, blocking their path, not just one but many! They formed a death zone!

"If you let me out, I can try to—

"

"Nope, you'll either die or bring trouble our way.

" Jack rebuked.

The fairy would be helpful with synthesizing the quest elixir, so it wasn't the best idea to have her fly around on her own.

It was just a shame that the horned creatures and the flowers wouldn't fight each other. Still, there was perhaps something they could try.

Jack led them toward a straggler, utterly massacring the poor bunny. But this time, he made sure to kill it with his ghoulish touch!

"C'mon, turn, turn!

" He inwardly prayed.

"…

" Sadly, it was a dud this time.

Whatever, he'd just do it again!

— No Macabre —

— No Macabre —

— No Macabre —

— No Macabre —

After way too many tries, he finally managed to obtain an evil zombified bunny.

"H-hero, what are you doing?!

" The tiny fairy was staring at him, her eyes as wide as the moon.

"Moon Moon, Durdoc, you guys kite it around for a while.

" He instructed as he went to create more of them.

Before long, there were 4 Macabre running around after them, with the party barely managing to hold them off.

"Alright, it's your time to shine, Chicky!

" Jack signaled the chicken.

The skeletal chicken sprinted forward with the Macabres in tow, heading straight for the wall of killer plants!

As soon as they were in range, countless bloodthirsty roots suddenly erupted from the ground, attacking them all!

"They're distracted, run!!!

" Jack shouted as he led the way.

They ran, staying on the edge of the area, not threatening in the least. Usually, they would have been targeted anyway, but the undead bait kept the monsters busy.

Then they finally reached the other side safe and sound. Well, all except one…

"Woo…

" (Sad!)

The little wolf's eyes were filled with sorrow as it glanced at the bones lying all over the place. Its friend's body had been utterly shattered and was impossible to recover.

"Nice, we made it through.

" Jack smiled radiantly.

Such tactic only worked for a few reasons:

1. It required many baits. Sacrificing an entire party to get past a few monsters was utterly idiotic in most cases.

2. Chicky was by its nature the perfect suicide soldier as it didn't mind dying one bit and could be re-summoned fairly easily.

2. The plants were plants. Even if they realized they had been tricked, they couldn't physically chase them for revenge.

Just as Jack was rejoicing, he could feel Moon Moon's dejection. He promptly waved his hand, and a few seconds later (and lots of mana), the skeletal chicken was back!

"Woo!

" (Glad!)

The little wolf was already circling the bony creature with its tail wagging. Its brother in arms was back!

In a cheerful atmosphere, they kept going forward. So what if there were tons of enemies? They simply needed to bypass them!

That's how they ended up before a garden void of enemies. The only access was through a metallic gate as high rising walls surrounded the whole place.

In the middle was an ancient-looking tree: thick bark, tons of branches, seemingly thirsty, and even sucking the ambient mana. The whole thing looked quite gloomy.

"A-ah, that's the second protector!

" The fairy stated the obvious.

Jack ignored the rambling naive girl. This was an enemy, one they had to cut down somehow. Sadly he was no lumberjack, just a regular Jack.

He left the cage by the entrance, and the entire party decisively stepped forward. As soon as they were inside, the gate naturally shut itself, making a retreat impossible.

The creature came to life: its thick trunk throbbed, its leaves swayed, it emitted a purple glow, and the earth trembled as it flung its branches at them!

< Ancient Savage Killer Tree Lv 20 🍃☠>

That attack instantly enraged the duo of master and pet who blasted the poor tree with wrath-fueled hellfire!

-7

-3

-7

-3

The fairy could understand their rage at the sudden assault, but then her face cramped as she heard their shouts.

"Tch— Purple is my thing, you dumb tree!

" Jack bellowed.

"Woo!

" (Totally!)

Wait…that's why they were mad?! In her stupefaction, the fairy utterly froze.

As it turned out, the enemy was vulnerable to fire but still not going down that quickly. Then again, their flames were about as threatening as a lighter when compared to the creature's size.

It kept whipping and whipping, even faster than a cart driver on coke. They had to jump, duck, roll, and even crawl at times!

Luckily they were pretty used to dealing with fast attacks! Well, most of them anyway. A few seconds into the fight, the undead rat was already a goner: torn to pieces.

Various parts of its body dangled on the thorny branches, almost turning it into a very Macabre Christmas tree.

"Cluck?! Shriek?!

" (So dangerous!)

"Woo?!

" (Shocked but vengeful!)

The two were fighting to the best of their abilities:

Chicky —> Could barely dodge

Moon Moon —> Was dodging Using Spells

This meant Jack had to keep track of the state of the battlefield.

"You guys have to sense your surroundings! Otherwise, it will slowly lay a deadly trap.

"

"Moon Moon, be careful! The enemy is slowly moving more and more branches your way. It's about to destroy the area around you!

"

"Chicky, since a while ago, you've been dodging toward the left side. The tree's baiting you by always attacking from the right, but don't get too used to it!

"

Jack warned both of them of the danger. That's when the trunk started shaking even more, the tree seemingly pissed about its plan being seen through. It even focused on him.

It used every trick it could think of, but Jack would always leave any trap right before it could be sprung up on him. After all, the more time he bought, the more it would burn…

But suddenly, he felt the aura of the tree change. It was hard to explain, but it felt sinisterly… happier?!

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A

/N Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥