“Evil deity, release the contestants at once!” The Golden Colossal Dragon Person shouted as he attacked, “The half-deity expert from the Dragon God Empire is descending any moment now...”
This was originally just an insignificant threat, but unexpectedly, the Tree of Life, upon hearing the threat, seemed to have been triggered.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Up to 100 vines suddenly flew into the air and morphed into innumerable pythons that assailed the 100-odd contestants. The vines weren’t particularly fast. They moved at snail-like speeds; hence the contestants easily evaded their attacks.
However, an aged voice suddenly rang out the next moment.
“God’s Domain!”
Buzz!
A strange energy wave descended.
Instantly, the 100-odd contestants were frozen to the spot as if their acupoints had been sealed. They stood there just like that, still and motionless.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The vines crept over slowly and wound around the contestants again and again. In no time, they had wrapped around them and turned them into dumplings.
“What’s going on?”
Everyone was rather dumbstruck.
“God’s Domain! That’s God’s Domain!” Ol’ Amos exclaimed, “It’s an ability that only half-deities can use. Not only can it freeze space-time, but it can also imprison everything in the world. As expected, the Tree of Life really is a half-deity. We can be completely sure of that now!”
“God’s Domain?”
A huge jolt went through Meng Lei!
“Go, Meng Lei! Hurry and leave!” Ol’ Amos urged him, “It was triggered by that fool just now. On the off-chance that the Tree of Life goes berserk and tries to break the seal at all cost, all of you will die!”
“Leave?”
Meng Lei couldn’t help but look at Abbe, and the moment he did, an intense shiver went through him.
The vines winding around the contestants had actually stabbed into them and were madly absorbing their lifeforce.
“Help!”
“Help me!”
“I don’t want to die!”
All the contestants whom the vines had wound around were actually visibly shriveling up.
Abbe was no exception to that, either. Little by little, her jade-like, crystal-clear skin started to lose its luster, shriveling and drying up bit by bit...
“Abbe!”
Meng Lei was terribly shocked.
“Go! You little bastard, go!” Ol’ Amos urged him loudly. “You won’t be able to save her! You won’t! Leave this place immediately! Out of sight, out of mind...”
“But Ol’ President...”
Meng Lei was in a struggle.
“There are no but’s to be had! The two of you are just mere acquaintances. That bit of friendship is not worth risking your life for!”
Ol’ Amos berated him loudly, “Besides, what can you do even if you rush in there? Can you save her? You can’t!
“Not only will you not be able to save her, but you’ll even throw your own life away instead! It’s... not worth it!
“Meng Lei, you’re a Saint Domain. Be more rational!”
Meng Lei fell silent. He was indeed rather weak at the moment.
“Don’t bother with me, Meng Lei!” Abbe shook her head hard. “This is what I’ve chosen. I have no regrets. There’s no need for you to throw your own life away!”
Then, she suddenly smiled. Next to her gradually-shriveling skin, her smile seemed as though a flower that was gradually withering and looked extraordinarily tragic.
“I was born into the royal family and was all by myself since I was young with no-one loving or doting on me. I had no family, no friends... Until I met you.
“You saved me twice. To me, you’re my only friend. If anything untoward happens to you because of me, I will live in guilt, regret, distress, and pain for the rest of my life!
“Go, Meng Lei! Live on! Live on properly!”
Abbe’s eyes gradually dimmed and dulled. A single teardrop rolled off the corner of her eye on her dried-up face.
“Your only friend?” Meng Lei took a deep breath. “Maybe I can’t stay so miserly anymore!”
Then, he licked his lips and ordered, “System, be on standby at all times. Let’s go crazy together later!”
Then...
“Shatter!”
With a shout, Meng Lei smashed his fist against the golden shield!
“What are you doing, brat!?” Ol’ Amos was aghast. “Are you crazy?!”
“Don’t worry, Ol’ President! I know what I’m doing!”
Meng Lei continued to launch a series of frenzied attacks on the golden shield, much like a raging bull.
Bam, bam, bam!
It was just a pity that despite the golden shield shaking violently as if it would shatter any moment, it ultimately didn’t. With a silent curse, a dark golden hammer appeared in Meng Lei’s hand.
“C’mon, break!!”
Meng Lei leaped high into the air and smashed the hammer down madly.
Boom!
A shocking, thunderous boom erupted. Amid crisp-sounding cracks, a few cracks appeared on the surface of the golden shield. Then, more and more of them appeared, instantly spreading throughout the golden shield like a spider web!
Crash!
The golden shield broke apart in an instant the next moment, turning into countless glowing particles that dissipated into the universe.
“Abbe!”
“Break!”
As Meng Lei smashed the dark gold hammer about in a frenzy, the vines that had wound around Abbe broke at the roots. Then, Meng Lei reached out and caught hold of her.
“How are you feeling, Abbe?”
Abbe’s peerless beauty from before was nowhere in sight anymore. What was left was just a dry, shriveled-up face covered in wrinkles.
“M-Meng Lei!” As though she had heard him, Abbe slowly opened her eyes and said weakly, “Meng... Meng Lei, don’t... Don’t b-bother... wi... with me... Go... H-hurry... And go!”
“Ol’ President, what do I do now?” Meng Lei hurriedly looked at Ol’ Amos and asked, “Can she still be saved?”
“Sigh, what a sin!” Ol’ Amos let
