In just a few breaths, Norton had rushed hundreds of meters forward, and he saw the full form of the giant creature.
It was a blood-red vine that towered five or six stories high, continuously growing. Numerous tendrils extended from its roots in all directions, coiling around the corpses of the townâs gamblers, which were then devoured into the vineâs main body, slowly crushed, absorbed, and turned into its nourishment.
"As expected!"
"Jamie, destroy that Blood Vine!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the notary at Nortonâs side pushed off the ground, launching himself with immense force. A three-meter giant sword appeared in his hand, ready to slash at the blood-red vine!
But at that moment, a cold voice suddenly echoed in Nortonâs ear.
"You really have confidence in yourself."
Upon hearing the voice, Norton felt a chill rush straight to his head. In shock, he looked up to see a figure resembling a demon with wings open, emanating a black mist, staring down at him.
The calm, well-like black eyes looked down at him condescendingly.
At the moment of eye contact, a sense of extreme danger surged in Nortonâs heart!
Before he could think, a demonâs fist rapidly enlarged before him!
Instinctively, he barely managed to block it before the fist slammed into him! The next moment, the excruciating pain of broken bones flooded his mind!
"Boom!"
With a massive collision sound, Nortonâs arms snapped, and he was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing heavily against a wall!
He lay limp in the rubble, his face still reflecting disbelief and terror, his mind almost stalled, only the continuous pain throughout reminding him of the terrifying power of that punch!
With just one punch, he, who was blessed by the Gambling God at the peak of the Fierce Tier, was shattered!
"Boom!"
Another loud noise erupted beside him, as the disassembled notary was thrown over, collapsing another wall.
At that moment, the last sliver of hope in his heart vanished.
"Baron, what kind of monster did you provoke!"
In the final moment of his life, Norton had only this thought.
"Bang!"
A Demonâs Hand descended from the sky, smashing his head.
A large amount of items burst out, and Chu Xiu casually swept them up.
"As expected of a knight, a single personâs wealth amounts to a full six hundred tokens, along with plenty of high-grade equipment and artifacts."
Chu Xiu displayed a satisfied smile.
Of course, all of this was expected; what surprised him was that the Blood Vineâs effect far exceeded his expectations!
Chu Xiu could feel that under the power of the Blood Vine, his bodyâs repair speed had reached an astonishing level, allowing him to use Demon Energy Infusion without limits!
This was also why he could so easily deal with the notary, whose constitution was as high as a thousand.
After all, the notary only had high basic attributes, without any troublesome skills or traits.
And terrifyingly, according to the information from the Blood Vine, its current growth wasnât even a third of what it could achieve!
"No wonder itâs a mythical level artifact!"
"And the limitation of requiring new growth every time strengthens its effect beyond ordinary mythical artifacts!"
With the Blood Vine as a backup, Chu Xiu had no worries at all; he didnât believe anyone in this mere Fierce Tier trial could kill him within the Blood Vineâs domain.
Without hesitation, Chu Xiu charged out, quickly hunting down the townâs Guard Team and the remaining four Knight Gamblers.
Maintaining Demon Energy Infusion throughout, he reached a terrifyingly efficient level of slaughter, soon exterminating all enemies. Their souls caused the number of fierce ghosts to skyrocket again, approaching three hundred!
Their bodies naturally became nourishment for the Heaven-Reaching Blood Vine, allowing it to grow further.
The vast city, in less than a quarter of an hour, turned completely into a ghost town!
"Now then..."
Chu Xiu looked toward the direction of the castle.
"Only the last trouble remains to be dealt with."
...
Meanwhile, in the Golden Hall.
The gambling game became increasingly fierce, already reaching the twenty-third round.
Since Lin Ji made a fortune in the last hand of poker, his luck not only hadnât stopped, but was getting better! Winning streak!
This brought his total to over six hundred tokens. The more he gambled, the more confident he became, raising the stakes in every hand. Several times, even with a bad hand, his momentum forced the Baron to fold directly.
He seemed to have become the protagonist of the Golden Hall.
"Youâve won a lot, itâs about time to call it quits." Song Lichuan patted him on the shoulder.
"Whatâs the rush," Lin Ji grinned, "Even if we lose, we still get tokens, so weâll never actually lose out."
"My luck is great right now, letâs keep going a few more rounds! Itâs not too late to leave when I start losing!"
Song Lichuan didnât persuade any further, though a trace of worry crossed his eyes. He felt a vague unease inside, sensing that he might have missed something important, and instinct told him the Baron was brewing some scheme.
But upon reflection, Lin Jiâs reasoning made sense. Even if they lost all their tokens, as long as they maintained the "bottom line" to pass the trial, everyone would gain big.
Besides, throughout many games, the Baron hadnât shown any signs of cheating; he couldnât find any evidence to support his "intuition."