After running over Reece, the black serpent's speed slowed down significantly.
Those tangled black roots were still churning frantically, but the gash torn open on its head by 【Fissure Cleave】 had yet to close, and the surrounding golden specks of light flickered dimly.
The few seconds Reece had bought with his life finally gave the three ahead of him a chance.
Isolde raised her staff even higher, her 【Purifying Light】 tearing through the thick mist ahead, and they drew closer and closer to the end of the road.
Kolo's cloak was already shredded by the branches, and white fur stained red with blood was faintly visible along the edges of her wounds.
Milo, carrying five wooden crates, ran forward frantically, practically scrambling on all fours.
His eyes were locked firmly onto Rena's figure ahead; the rest of his surroundings seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with him.
He didn't want to miss a single second of her every move.
As long as he watched closely enough, he would be able to prove he wasn't lying—prove that he had been right from the very beginning.
The Contract-Devouring Treant ahead drew closer, and the rotting corpses tangled within its roots became increasingly clear.
The black serpent behind them caught up once more, opening its massive maw as black roots surged down toward the three of them like a tidal wave.
A faint light flashed beneath Rena's feet as she used 【Skimming Shadow Step】 to be the first to step into the clearing where the roots of the Contract-Devouring Treant intertwined.
Milo, hauling the five cargo chests, chased after Rena's figure and lunged through the final gap in the stone.
Right after, Kolo kicked off the ground, her impressive jumping ability launching her high into the air.
At the very last moment before she could be caught, she landed steadily within the range of the Contract-Devouring Treant.
The black serpent behind them ground to a sudden halt, its massive body freezing at the end of the stone path.
Its golden pupil trembled violently, and the black roots on its body withered and fell off inch by inch, cluttering the broken stone path.
Milo's knees buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the tangled roots, getting a mouthful of decaying mud.
He couldn't care less about the pain, nor did he care about the corpses trapped within the roots of the tree trunk before him.
Panting heavily, he scrambled on his hands and knees toward the final road marker buried in the mud, eagerly shoving his wooden plate into it.
“I witness...”
He blurted out everything that had happened along the way in a single breath.
Sentence after sentence.
He spoke rapidly and chaotically, yet he omitted Reece's death alone.
At the very end, he whipped his head up and pointed at Rena.
“And her! She used skills that don't belong to Rena!”
“I saw it with my own eyes! Not once, but twice!”
“She has threads in her hands! Those threads can sever tree roots and even pull things over!”
“She is not the original Rena; there's something wrong with her identity!”
The runes on the road marker's surface went silent for a moment, and Milo's breathing hitched.
Immediately after, dark red text slowly surfaced.
【Witness established】
Milo froze, and then a look of pleasant surprise broke across his face.
“It went through...”
His smile grew wider, and his voice became increasingly excited. “It went through! I wasn't lying!”
“I knew it! I knew she was a fake!”
“Do you see? I'm not mad! I'm really not mad!”
He whipped his head around, wanting to look at Reece, wanting to look at Ryan, wanting to see those who once refused to believe him.
But there was nothing behind him.
Only the woman pretending to be Rena, and the heavily wounded Kolo.
The smile on Milo's face froze, and he turned slightly to glance back at the path they had come from.
The broken stone path was empty, save for the withered branches and rotting leaves left by the collapsed black serpent.
Milo's lips trembled. “Where's Reece?”
Kolo lowered her head, her fingers tightening slightly around the handle of her axe as her voice dropped.
“He bought us some time.”
She did not continue.
Milo's expression went blank. “Dead?”
He shook his head and backed away, his voice suddenly rising.
“No, no! How could he be dead?”
“I clearly found the proof!”
“He was supposed to see it! How could he die?!”
Milo muttered rapidly under his breath, then spun around and lunged at the corpses trapped within the roots.
He clawed at Damon's clothes and severed arm, his fingernails quickly filling with black mud and flesh.
“Wake up! Wake up!”
“Open your eyes and look! I didn't lie! I really didn't lie!”
The corpses inside the tree trunk gave no response, only emitting a wet, friction sound as he yanked on the roots.
Milo's eyes were bloodshot, tears and saliva mixing together, much like the obsession and reason in his mind that he could no longer untangle.
“I'm not a madman...”
“I didn't lie...”
“Look! She's a fake! She really is a fake!”
Isolde stood not far away, quietly watching him descend into madness.
There was little pity in her eyes, only a slight sense of regret.
“What a pity. He was so close to succeeding.”
Watching her employer go mad, Kolo took a deep breath and spoke.
“Is this your goal?”
“To get everyone killed, and then drive an innocent person mad?”
Isolde sneered. “You're wrong. There are no innocents here. There are only self-interested people driven by their own gains.”
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Kolo with a half-smile.
“Don't forget the deal between us.”
Kolo's throat tightened. Of course she hadn't forgotten last night's transaction.
In the beginning, she had taken Milo's commission for the money.
Later, she stayed to cooperate with the fake Rena so she could have an endless supply of carrots.
She couldn't stand the methods of the woman before her, but she herself hadn't come all this way without a purpose.
Besides, everyone on this trade route had something they wanted.
Including herself.
So what had the woman in front of her actually done?
She had merely stood by, watching them walk down the path of destruction on their own, driven by greed, fear, obsession, and duty.
She hadn't even told many lies; she had simply pulled the strings behind the scenes, letting events unfold naturally.
This realization made Kolo highly uncomfortable. She would have preferred it if the person in front of her were an outright villain.
At least then, she could have raised her axe without any hesitation.
But as it turned out, she wasn't quite one.
Kolo opened her mouth, wanting to ask more, but Milo, as if hearing their conversation, suddenly whipped his head around to look at them.
“Deal? What deal?”
Kolo fell silent for a moment. Before she could figure out how to speak, Milo looked as if he had been stung by something, his face filling with terror.
“You're in league with her?”
“You deliberately approached me, deliberately led me to trust you, didn't you?”
He began to break down, his voice gradually rising to a shriek. “You wanted to trick me into a trap that was set up long ago, to make me die alongside Buck and the others!”
Kolo frowned and took a step forward.
“Calm down.”
“Don't come any closer!” Milo shrieked, backing away frantically. “Don't kill me!”
“I was wrong! I'm a coward, I'm a liar!”
“I shouldn't have spoken out of turn, I shouldn't have run away, I shouldn't have survived!”
His heel caught on a tree root, and he tumbled to the ground, scrambling backward in a panic. In the end, he actually crawled right beneath a rotting corpse, trembling all over as he repeatedly mumbled.
“I'm a coward...”
“I'm a liar...”
“Don't kill me...”
“Don't kill me...”
Kolo stood in place, the hand holding her heavy axe slowly dropping.
She watched Milo curl himself into the shadow of the rotting corpse, repeating those broken words over and over, and ultimately chose not to approach any closer.
He was still alive, but he had completely lost his mind.
Yet, looking at the commission she had originally accepted, it seemed to be barely completed now.
Kolo withdrew her gaze, not wanting to waste any more time.
The wounds on her body were still bleeding, and even her hand gripping the axe felt somewhat numb.
If they stayed any longer, who knew what else this treant might conjure up.
Kolo asked, “How do I get out?”
Isolde chin-tilted toward the road marker, and Kolo followed her gaze.
Dark red text was slowly emerging on the final road marker.
【Cargo has reached its destination】
【Journey of the Remnant Caravan, settlement conditions met】
【Surviving caravan members, please insert your wooden plates into the slot to complete the caravan settlement】
【Once settlement is complete, you may leave the trade route with the cargo】
Beneath the road marker, a narrow slot appeared, exactly the right size for the wooden plates at their waists.
Isolold looked at the lines of text, her tone calm.
“Just insert the plate, and you can leave with the crates.”
Kolo immediately reached down to untie the wooden plate at her waist.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
She had just taken the plate off when Isolde raised a hand to stop her.
Kolo paused, staring at her through the mask with an unfriendly tone.
“What are you trying to do now?”
Isolde looked toward the massive Contract-Devouring Treant not far away. The health bar before her eyes still hadn't changed at all.
“Just leaving like this?” she asked slowly. “Don't you want to pull this man-eating treant up by its roots?”
Kolo fell silent, then answered very honestly.
“No.”
Isolde tilted her head to look at her, and the latter continued.
“I only want to get my gold coins and go buy fresh carrots. I was never interested in treants to begin with.”
Facing her candor, Isolde smiled softly.
“But I am.”
Kolo said bluntly, “Then go by yourself.”
Isolde immediately said, “You still owe me a commission.”
Kolo's ears practically stood up beneath her cloak, and she whipped her head around to stare at her.
“You did that on purpose!”
“Yes.”
Isolde admitted it so quickly that Kolo suddenly felt a strong urge to hack her with her axe.
Isolde said, “The commission pays in gold coins. Since you'll have to repay me sooner or later anyway, you might as well settle it now.”
She took two bottles of high-grade healing potions out of her bag, lightly swishing them with her fingertips.
“Coincidentally, I still have two high-grade healing potions. I can use one of them to restore you to full health.”
Kolo stared at the two potions; it would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted.
She was covered in wounds, hurting everywhere, and she still had a pent-up rage inside her with nowhere to vent.
Kolo's voice deepened. “Then how can you guarantee you can beat the treant?”
Isolde looked down at the wooden plate in her hand, then looked up at the cracked heart of the Contract-Devouring Treant, the corners of her lips curving up slightly.
“Based on the information I've gathered along the way.” She paused, raising a hand to touch her face.
The disguise on her face was like a layer of melting wax, slowly fading away as Rena's features vanished bit by bit.
In its place, Yu Lingye's face emerged.
“And, my hidden special strength.”
Rate on N.U.
