“In my current state, what could I possibly trade with you?”

“I’ll help you find Shaya, and you arrange for me to meet Beth?”

Pond was stunned.

Kate behind him was also stunned.

Dean Pond, who didn’t know about Saul’s teammate-betraying operation, could only respond, “You want me to help you contact Beth?”

Saul shrugged his shoulders. “Although you appear to be in great pain, the fact that you can stand here is also Beth’s manipulation, right? I think you should have a way to contact her.”

Pond gritted his teeth and said, “I don’t know why she specifically left me behind, but I can’t actively contact her. If you really want to find her, you can directly perform astral projection and go to the tree heart space of the Inverted Tree—she’s definitely there. You’re a wizard who majors in dark attributes, so this shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

“Indeed it’s not difficult, but giving up home field advantage to go to a tree heart space completely controlled by Beth, then simultaneously facing a former third-rank wizard and a currently third-rank demonic creature? To gamble that they still have enough rationality not to kill me immediately?”

Saul placed his hands on Dean Pond’s shoulders, ignoring the pain on his face. “Or you could also relay a message to Beth. I want to make a deal with her. If she’s willing, I can help her overcome the difficulties of resurrection.”

He felt this Black Blade wizard was simply bizarre.

Kate acknowledged that he was very powerful, but that was a third-rank wizard!

He actually had the audacity to say he would help Beth resurrect.

“Wait, didn’t Bayton’s dean just say he was Gorsa’s student? Could he possibly invite Gorsa?”

Kate didn’t know Saul’s identity, but Gorsa’s great name had resounded throughout the entire western continent for the past hundred years.

No wizard who had lived here didn’t know of his power and dominance.

However, this person was also famously indifferent to everything.

Even when wizards from Gorsa’s wizard tower encountered danger outside and were schemed against, he never stood up for his subordinates.

Could such a person really be invited by the Black Blade wizard?

But this Black Blade wizard was also extraordinary—he was simply a cunning merchant!

In less than half a day, how many people had he made deals with?

And he turned around and sold his former partner Shaya without any hesitation.

Kate had originally wanted to follow Saul to find opportunities for some benefits. Now, thinking about it, he’d better not.

He might not be able to outmaneuver Saul.

Thinking this way, the orange cat began slowly retreating.

The current enemies of Bayton Academy had become two third-ranks. This wasn’t a struggle he should participate in—fleeing was the best strategy.

Kate’s decision was very wise.

Just as he quietly retreated more than ten meters, Saul and Dean Pond suddenly had a falling out!

The dean, whose expression had been very painful just moments ago, suddenly raised his head, actually showing a sinister smile on his face.

Two thin rootlets suddenly shot out from his shoulders, quickly locking onto Saul’s arms.

At the same time, branches as thick as pythons grew in the blink of an eye in front, behind, left, and right of Saul’s position.

They were like prison bars, trapping Saul and Dean Pond within.

Pond stared at Saul’s face, his eyes showing greed for the first time.

“No need for you to worry. Lady Beth already has a method for resurrection.”

As he spoke, more branches and rootlets wound around Saul’s body.

Saul tried to struggle but found these rootlets were unusually tough, even stronger than those he’d encountered inside the Inverted Tree.

Not only that, the moment these branches and rootlets wrapped around Saul’s body, they began emitting a natural fragrance like grass and trees after rain.

Even with Saul’s sense of smell, he almost failed to detect this scent.

“Poison gas?”

Saul discovered that this gas would also drill into his body upon contact, obviously stopping his breath couldn’t prevent the poison gas from entering his body.

Seeing that Saul had failed to break free several times, the surrounding “prison” had completely closed, and the “sprouting” had begun to take effect, Pond finally didn’t need to pretend anymore.

The wrinkles on his face became deeper textures, his graying hair and beard became thicker and longer, identical to the rootlets behind him.

His skin turned into brown bark, while his facial features—eyes, mouth, nose—became several holes in the tree.

Dean Pond had actually already become a tree person!

Saul sighed. “So you’ve long since merged with the Inverted Tree. No wonder you’re connected to so many rootlets. But why are you helping Beth? Aren’t you afraid she’ll really kill the Inverted Tree? You won’t survive either in that case.”

But Pond didn’t explain. He was just extremely excited. “Originally we only wanted to lure some greedy second-rank wizards, but we didn’t expect to catch such an arrogant newly advanced third-rank like you. What an unexpected joy! With you as nourishment, Lady Beth will definitely successfully resurrect!”

Just as Saul was about to say something, a tremendous explosion suddenly caught his attention.

This sound came from outside the closed branch cage, and it wasn’t just one sound—it was dozens of sounds, continuous and unending.

The massive explosion sounds grew more and more distant, from inside out, as if centered on the Inverted Tree, a chain explosion had occurred.

This sound didn’t stop for a long time, accompanied by earth-shaking tremors that grew more powerful and terrifying.

Saul could already visualize the tragic scene in Caugust’s outer city.

Even trapped within the branches, he could imagine what kind of horrific disaster was happening outside!

He turned back and said in shock, “You’re going to sacrifice the outer city? Sacrifice all of Caugust?”

Pond was only busy laughing maniacally, rejoicing in the plan’s success, completely ignoring Saul’s question.

Saul sighed. “Ah… it seems you don’t intend to make this deal with me.”

Suddenly, his expression changed, his gaze becoming sharp.

“Courtesy before force. Since negotiations have broken down, let’s fight.”

He shook his arms, and the branches that had just been tightly wrapped around him suddenly drooped loosely as if they had suddenly lost their support.

The rootlets that had pierced Saul’s palms also broke inch by inch, the debris falling to the ground looking as if it had been highly corroded.

Pond’s laughter stuck in his throat, his wooden eyes almost splitting.

Saul raised his head again, his face no longer having flesh, having become a black skull.

“Isn’t it just mental manipulation and pollution corrosion? I’m quite skilled at this too.”

After speaking, large patches of gray tentacles suddenly burst out from under his wizard robe, like a peacock spreading its tail, instantly shooting toward the surrounding branches of the Inverted Tree, immediately piercing the closed “prison” full of holes.

Sunlight shone in, falling on Saul’s face, and black mist instantly appeared in the light beams.

Making Saul instantly look like an envoy from the abyss.

The smile completely disappeared from Pond’s face. Suddenly, a large number of new shoots sprouted from his bark-like rough face, quickly growing brown leaves.

The leaves came in pairs, their edges like sharp teeth, clashing against each other and producing metallic collision sounds when they opened and closed.

Then a large number of leaves bit toward Saul and his surrounding tentacles like mad dogs.

The leaves that bit the tentacles immediately pierced through the tentacles’ surface skin, but the bitten areas of the tentacles also leaked black liquid, directly corroding the leaves.

But more leaves subsequently pounced on Saul.

The leaves that bit Saul’s bones couldn’t leave the slightest mark on them.

Bones that could withstand the corrosion of the Black Tide wouldn’t be hurt by a few demonic leaves.

But at the same time, Saul was also restrained by the leaves’ attack.

Seeing Saul trapped by him again, Pond breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Although I’ve trapped him, I still can’t absorb his soul. It’s a pity I can’t turn him into Lady Beth’s sacrifice for now. However, once Lady Beth completely sacrifices the entire city and merges with the Inverted Tree to become a new locator, she’ll truly resurrect! By then, this boy will become Lady Beth’s first supplement after resurrection!”

A smile returned to tree person Pond’s face.

(End of Chapter)

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