Chapter 27: Slaying the Demon

Xiao Jie pondered for a moment. It was clear that the rewards for the three options were quite different.

The first option would undoubtedly yield the full reward, but the difficulty was the highest. It would be just him and I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal challenging the Tree Demon spawn; if that thing turned out to be a major boss, it would be dangerous. The second option was relatively safer, but the reward would be discounted. Judging by what the old village chief had said, it would only offer equipment rewards without any monetary compensation. The third option was entirely devoid of danger, but the reward was the smallest, consisting only of money, and it was the safest since no direct combat would be required.

"Brother Suifeng, which one should we choose?"

"Let’s go with the second."

Xiao Jie gritted his teeth as he spoke. The thought of a top-tier quest reward being downgraded to second-rate made his heart ache. That was a thousand copper coins—do you have any idea how many trees he would have to chop and sheep he would have to herd to earn that? But no matter how much it hurt, there was no other way. As he had said before, wishful thinking was the greatest trap in this kind of game and must be avoided at all costs. Safety had to come first.

He immediately clicked on the second option.

"Old Village Chief, it would be best if you sent some militiamen to accompany us, just in case."

The old man nodded. "Hmm, that makes sense. Very well, I have a warrant here. You two can take it to Captain Tie and request a few militiamen to accompany you."

[System Notification: Obtained quest item: Village Chief's Warrant.]

Xiao Jie took a look at the warrant in his inventory. He figured that this should eliminate any danger. Let’s get going; we should finish this before it gets dark. It was already past three in the afternoon, and any further delay would mean working in the dark.

The two arrived at the militia training grounds and found Tie Qianli busy training a dozen or so men. The militiamen of Ginkgo Village were generally equipped with leather armor and wielded swords, shields, spears, and bows, with levels typically around five or six. Xiao Jie produced the warrant and explained his purpose to Tie Qianli directly.

"Captain Tie, the village chief has issued an order. Please dispatch a few militiamen to accompany us on official business."

Tie Qianli took the warrant, examined it, and nodded. "I understand. These are all skilled men under my command; feel free to choose whoever you like. However, these men all have families to support. If they are to go on an adventure with you, I must ask for a settling-in fee before I can issue the order. It’s not much—five hundred copper coins per person. Pick as many as you need and pay accordingly."

So that was how it worked; hiring militiamen came with flexible pricing—the more you hired, the higher the cost. Since he had to spend the money anyway, Xiao Jie decided not to scrimp. Two thousand coins would be enough to hire four. He began to look them over one by one.

Feng Qisheng: Sword and Shield Militia: Level 5, Skill: Shield Defense.
Teng Qizhi: Spear Militia: Level 6, Skill: Thrust.
Duan Leyue: Sword and Shield Militia: Level 6, Skill: Whirlwind Slash.
Wang Yidu: Archer Militia: Level 5, Skill: Rapid Fire.
Liu Liangyu: Archer Militia...

He hadn't expected the village to have so many militiamen—there were over a dozen to choose from. Xiao Jie didn't hesitate and chose all sword-and-shield types. If they were going to chop down a tree, spears and bows would certainly be useless; swords were much more appropriate.

"Brother Chengxian, let's each put up another 200 copper. You go buy four wood-chopping axes."

"Huh? Why?"

Xiao Jie explained, "The Willow-Leaf Blade only has an attack power of 14, which is too low; I'm not confident in it. Although the wood-chopping axe only has an attack power of 12, it has a [Wood-Cutting] weapon effect, which grants a 50% damage bonus. That’s perfect for dealing with the Tree Demon. Besides, it’s not that much money, right?"

"Understood. I’ll go take care of it; I’ll cover the cost."

Xiao Jie didn't stand on ceremony. "That works. Go quickly, we’ll meet at the mountain behind the village."

Ten minutes later, the two of them arrived at the ginkgo tree in the back mountain with the four militiamen in tow. All four militiamen had switched to wood-chopping axes. Looking at the ginkgo tree before him, Xiao Jie thought that if only they had fire—fire countered wood, and fire-based spells would definitely be effective against this thing. But that was just wishful thinking; there was no chance of learning spells in the short term.

"All of you, get ready. If this tree shows any movement, start chopping immediately," Xiao Jie ordered the four militiamen.

"Don't worry, brave warriors, we are ready."

The four positioned themselves at the corners of the ginkgo tree. Xiao Jie drew his blade, and I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal hefted his axe. Both struck at the same time.

*Crack!*
*Thud!*

The axe and blade struck the trunk simultaneously, and blood immediately sprayed out. The ginkgo tree, however, showed no reaction, as if it were just an ordinary tree. The two did not hesitate, hacking away one blow after another. After a few rounds, the ginkgo tree was covered in blood, looking quite terrifying.

Just as Xiao Jie began to think this thing had no combat capability, the tree suddenly began to shake violently. Countless branches trembled like tentacles, and the ground heaved as a dozen vine-like roots burst from the soil, coiling toward them. A long health bar appeared above the ginkgo tree.

[Tree Demon Spawn (Lesser Monster): Elite Unit: Level 9, Health: 590.]

*Holy crap, it really is alive!* Xiao Jie was both shocked and delighted.

"Go, go, go!" he shouted at the militiamen, immediately stepping back.

As a level-one newbie, it was better not to be the one tanking the monster. The four sword-and-shield militiamen rushed forward, swinging their axes wildly. I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal started to charge in as well, but Xiao Jie quickly shouted, "Don't be impulsive! We just need to make sure we participate; let the four of them tank the monster."

While saying this, Xiao Jie stepped in to deliver a "Severing Slash," cutting off a root, then quickly retreated to let the four militiamen hold the Tree Demon's aggro. These militiamen were wearing leather armor and had around 200 health; taking a hit or two would only injure them, not kill them—they were much sturdier than him. I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal followed suit, striking once with his axe before rolling away from the fray.

The two of them took turns chipping away at the monster's health from the sidelines, while the main damage was dealt by the militiamen. The wood-chopping axes were indeed highly effective against the Tree Demon; every strike shaved off a dozen points of health. After several rounds, the Tree Demon's health bar was nearing empty.

"No! Why! Why!"

The Tree Demon spawn let out a strange, guttural roar, its roots flailing wildly. Xiao Jie retreated several paces; it looked like this thing was about to unleash a major ability. Even I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal noticed something was wrong and backed away as well.

Suddenly, a dozen roots coiled toward the nearest militiaman. In an instant, the man was wrapped up like a mummy. The roots pierced directly into his body, beginning to drain his health, and the Tree Demon’s nearly depleted health bar began to recover.

"Quick! Cut its roots!" Xiao Jie rushed forward.

"Severing Slash!"

With a flash of his blade, a thick root was severed in two, blood spraying from the cut. I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal also leaped into the air, bringing his logging axe down in a heavy, jumping strike that severed another root. The three remaining militiamen also hacked away, and after a few more rounds, they finally cut through all the roots.

*Boom!* The Tree Demon spawn's health bar finally hit zero, and it collapsed with a crash.

[System Notification: You participated in the kill of the Elite Monster [Tree Demon Spawn]. You have gained 189 experience points. You have leveled up! You are now level 2. You have gained 5 free attribute points.]

"Haha, we did it!" I-Wish-to-Become-Immortal shouted excitedly.

"We did," Xiao Jie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old Liu!" a militiaman suddenly cried out in shock.

Only then did Xiao Jie notice that the militiaman who had been entangled by the roots was already dead. His entire body had been drained until he was nothing more than a dried-up husk.