A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 25 Hunting the Treants

Anger and sorrow—that was the first impression that the will of nature gave Jiang Shuzhou.

Profound and vast, that was Jiang Shuzhou's second impression.

coming soon!

There was no time to carefully appreciate the power of nature, because Jiang Shuzhou would soon be able to experience it firsthand.

That immense will looked around, seemingly searching for a vessel to descend upon.

A small tree, about the thickness of an arm, seemed to have been chosen.

In just a few seconds, the sapling, which was as thick as an arm, began to grow rapidly. It took only a few seconds for it to grow from the thickness of an arm to the thickness of a calf, and it is still growing.

"Are you treating me like I'm not even human?"

Knowing the principle of striking while the iron is hot, Jiang Shuzhou understood the current situation upon seeing this unusual occurrence.

The bad news is that cutting down the big tree seems to be useless; nature will ripen it on its own.

The good news is that it seems to have some effect. Although the tree's strength has not changed, it has given him an opportunity to launch a sneak attack while he is transforming.

Can Jiang Shuzhou be let off the hook?

He grabbed the pirate scimitar he had just taken out of his inventory and slashed horizontally.

bump!

Unlike the usual sound of chopping trees, it sounded more like iron being chopped than trees being felled.

However, it still managed to deal some damage; the blade penetrated two or three centimeters into the tree trunk, indicating that the treant's defense wasn't as high as Jiang Shuzhou had imagined.

One cut, two cuts, three cuts...

A barrage of attacks rained down on the nascent tree-man, and for a moment the "Chosen Tree" was struggling to withstand the onslaught, its trunk on the verge of being severed.

Just then, the will of nature exerted its power.

The cuts in the tree trunk began to heal, but not completely. Instead, they left unsightly scars, like damaged nature, where no amount of repair could undo the damage.

"No? You can't even handle a game?"

Seeing how the will of nature was acting, Jiang Shuzhou was already feeling a bit red-hot. This will of nature was too stingy.

Looking at the slowly growing tree in front of him, Jiang Shuzhou still didn't continue to chop it with his knife.

He switched to using a gun instead of a knife to conserve his energy. In this situation, he was determined to punish Jiang Shuzhou, and now he had gotten what he asked for.

However, don't forget that Jiang Shuzhou still has the flintlock pistol he seized from the pirates. Judging by its growth rate, Jiang Shuzhou estimates that it will take at least three more shots before it completely transforms into a tree-man.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two bullets shot out of the flintlock pistol and hit the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Although nature's will continues to repair the damage, Jiang Shuzhou could clearly see that the trees were growing slower.

Come to think of it, this is just one of the countless manifestations of the will of nature. The great will of nature would not stoop so low as to bother a mere apprentice mage.

This natural will carries limited power, so every little bit we can expend is valuable, since we're going to cause damage anyway, so why not take advantage of it?

Since learning the Mage's Hand, Jiang Shuzhou has become inseparable from it. Whether it's adding seasonings while cooking or using the Mage's Hand to assist in loading flintlock pistols, it's incredibly convenient. Of course, so are magical tricks.

On the contrary, Jiang Shuzhou rarely used other spells such as the Spark spell, usually only using them to start a fire.

"Bang! Bang!"

After firing the flintlock pistol again using the Mage's Hand, Jiang Shuzhou looked at the "Chosen Tree." The tree had stopped growing, and the diameter of its trunk was nearly a meter. Its canopy was also very lush. It was a pity that such a perfect tree had a trunk covered with dense scars, all of which were caused by Jiang Shuzhou using a knife or a flintlock pistol.

Sensing that the time was right, the will of nature poured its last bit of power into the tree and then vanished, clearly no longer paying attention to the place.

"Are we about to begin?"

Jiang Shuzhou was eager to try.

"Nature's wrath has descended!"

Those who disrespect nature will surely be punished by nature.

"Tree Man"

Race: Treant

Rank: First Rank

Health: 320/320

Magic Power: 42/42

Spells: Entangling Thorns, Thorns, Ground Collapse

Status: Malnutrition

"Malnutrition: Reduces maximum health by 20%, mana by 30%, agility by 40%, and armor and magic resistance by 30%."

Looking at the treant's stats, Jiang Shuzhou finally felt relieved. Its attributes were much lower than he had imagined. Apart from needing to be wary of its spells, it wasn't too difficult to defeat.

The initial attack finally paid off; the malnutrition debuff alone is enough to prove its effectiveness.

During the standoff, the tree-man spoke.

"You damned sinner! You've destroyed the ecological balance! Why? Why did you do that! What good does it do you? You don't need so many trees for firewood and cooking!"

The newborn tree-man had a fast tongue, perhaps because it was the first time it had a mouth, and it spoke in a series of sentences, full of questions.

"Think of it on the bright side, Tree Man! If it weren't for my insane logging of these trees, you might not even have a mouth. You should thank me. Even though I might have cut down all your parents, leaving you without parents, you still have me! I can still be your guide, can't I?"

When it comes to sharp tongues, Jiang Shuzhou has never been afraid of anyone. With just a few words, he almost made the tree man so angry he was practically smoking.

It's clear that the tree-man has become somewhat irritated. Even though he's only just been born, he's still racking his brains and using every dirty word he can think of to curse Jiang Shuzhou.

"You! You! Destroyer! You! You! Bloodstained killer!"

How do I reply to this?

What the treant on the other side said seems to be true. There's nothing more to say now, but even if I lose, I won't back down. Even though what you said might be true, I'll still say it.

Has anyone ever told you that your way of swearing sounds like you're being affectionate?

"Go to hell!"

Actions speak louder than words. Seeing that he couldn't win an argument with Jiang Shuzhou, Shuren abandoned verbal persuasion and prepared to use physical means to convince him.

The tree-man raised its hand, made of tree branches, and slammed it down towards Jiang Shuzhou.

He was getting anxious.

win!

Although the fight wasn't over yet, Jiang Shuzhou had already won. Even though he wasn't in the right, anyone who's been around the internet knows that being in the right isn't important; what matters is that competitive spirit.

"Bang! Bang!"

Easily dodging the treant's large hand, Jiang Shuzhou controlled the Mage's Hand and fired two shots at the treant in return.

"-23"

"-23"

The treant felt a sharp pain from the 46 damage dealt to it, and it began to roar again.

"Aaaaah! You deserve to die!"

What, you Roaring Celestial? Are you really a Treant and not Pogon? Why do you always start with Battle Cry?

Seeing that he couldn't attack Jiang Shuzhou, and that he would eventually be kited to death by Jiang Shuzhou if things continued like this, such an idea popped into the tree man's heart.

For your own life, use thorns to entangle him!

Once the thought arose in Shuren's mind, it could never be erased; clearly, he was tempted.

"This is the punishment you deserve! Your life will be erased! Just as you did to us! Nature will bind you!"

It was that familiar roar again. Jiang Shuzhou was almost used to it. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because it was still young. This tree-man was not as wise as described in the book. Instead, it was unusually innocent, or rather, stupid.

No one would tell others their attack sequence, but since the tree-man might not be human, he clearly and explicitly told Jiang Shuzhou that he was about to cast a spell.

Jiang Shuzhou could roughly guess what spell the other party was about to unleash.

"Entwined by thorns"

Jiang Shuzhou could sense a large amount of wood element gathering, which meant that the opponent must be releasing a wood element spell.

Although it could be wooden spikes, Jiang Shuzhou had already guessed it based on what the other party had just said; it was clearly entangled in thorns.

It seems like this tree-man has some kind of intellectual problem; it actually spoke up to remind others what kind of spell it was casting.

With a sigh in his heart, Jiang Shuzhou didn't stop working.

"Bang! Bang!"

"-30"

"-55 (Critical Hit)"

Two more shots hit the same spot as before, but this time the damage was significantly higher, probably because the bark had been torn apart.

"Entwined by thorns"

Just after Jiang Shuzhou finished shooting, the treant's spell was also completed.

A thorn bush burst forth from the ground not far from the tree man, shooting towards Jiang Shuzhou with lightning speed.

Thick thorns coiled around Jiang Shuzhou, but quickly managed to bind him.

"You ant, you destroy nature and take pleasure in it, now you've fallen into my hands! I will mercifully grant you death!"