Chapter 81 The Gardener's Profession Unleashed
Candice, Natalie, and Lucy looked anxiously at William swinging on the iron chain above them.
They thought,' Is this guy out of his mind? Instead of going after the treasures, he is swinging up there like it is a playground?'
"Mrs. Wright, is that your male friend?" Jack asked Candice awkwardly, looking at the peculiar William.
In their workplace, the term 'male friend' implied a mutual interest but not yet an established relationship.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Candice remarked as she glared at him, making Jack shrink back. "Keep an eye on the situation outside. If you can, grab something, but remember to act quickly and stay safe."
Standing at the back, Ivan lowered his head slightly. He didn't look at William above because his face was filled with shock.
He held a card. Perhaps because it had been held for a while, the card had lost its outer glow, revealing an ancient design with silver patterns.
The prompt of the card stated, "Hell Card Series, One-time Summon Card, Hellhound. Summon a Hellhound to fight for you. It will disappear upon death or after ten minutes."
Ivan had never imagined that such a thing could exist in this world.
Although he had seen the battle between the evolvers and their incredible abilities, holding a similar power in his own hands was more shocking than anything else.
Candice gave him this card for safekeeping. Ivan hadn't paid much attention to it. But when everyone was looking at William, he glanced at it and felt a complex mix of emotions.
He thought, 'If I had possessed such an ability yesterday, perhaps everything would have been different.' Faces from yesterday flashed through his mind, and Ivan painfully gripped the card.
His gaze returned to the figure swinging a blade in mid-air. This former military instructor, Ivan, suddenly understood the choice of his favorite student, Candice.
Pain radiated from William's right arm, causing him to break out in a sweat. Without choice, he had to use this arm to hold onto the iron chain so that his other hand could wield the Edge of the Moon to chop away at the iron chain.
The Chain Prisoner kept shaking its body, trying to throw off the small figure that was clinging to it. This forced William to dig a few fingers of his right hand into his shirt to hold on tightly.
In just a short while, his entire right arm was not only in excruciating pain, but his fingers were deformed. If not for his evolved physique, his fingers would likely have been broken by now.
William knew he couldn't hold on much longer. He had to cut through the iron chain quickly.
But the hardness of the iron chain far exceeded his expectations. Despite the sharpness of the Edge of the Moon, after dozens of strikes, he had only managed to widen the notch slightly. He had no idea how much longer it would take to cut through it.
'Should I give up?' he thought.
William had to consider this. He was only able to cut the Devil's Gold because the forces below were holding each other in check. But this would only last for a while. As the human defenses were collapsing, the mutated zombies would soon arrive.
The treasures scattered on the ground emitted a deadly allure. The evolved ones who recognized their value would only leave them there for a short time. At any moment, someone might make a move, triggering a chain reaction.
When that happened, William, who was suspended in mid-air, would undoubtedly be affected.
What should he do?
As if responding to William's worries, the gunfire below suddenly weakened. Thomas quickly rushed out, nimbly jumping a few times before grabbing a treasure.
This action made the sparse gunfire intensify again, but it only lasted a few seconds before falling silent.
They were out of bullets.
This wasn't a real war. There was no complete and timely logistical support. The fact that their ammunition had lasted this long since the appearance of the Monster Baby was already quite impressive.
Without the threat of bullets, the evolvers' advantage became apparent. The combination of Thomas and Owen was unstoppable.
Whether it was the trio that had rushed out or Candice and her group trying to continue the fight, they were at a significant disadvantage against Thomas.
If not for their slight numerical advantage, Thomas might have already seized all the treasures.
The chaos below made things difficult for William as well. The Chain Prisoner was finally enraged. It scraped its bloodwood weapon against the iron chain, trying to dislodge the small figure clinging to it.
This actually had some effect. Several times, William narrowly avoided being hit by the bloodwood, leaving him no chance to cut the Devil's Gold.
If this continued for a few more seconds, William would have to jump down. He could see that Candice and the others were struggling against Thomas's attacks. If this went on, someone would die!
Just as he was about to give up, William's eyes suddenly focused. He saw a small black object, about the size of three fingernails, in a tiny pit in the bloodwood.
William was overjoyed. He quickly threw the Edge of the Moon, dislodging the black objects. Without examining them closely, he grabbed one and placed it in the crack of the iron chain, then pointed at it.
Activate! Gardener's skill!
William recognized the black objects as seeds of the man-eating plant. In his previous life, they were a very aggressive plant brought to Earth by monsters from the Land of the Dead, spreading widely.
Bloodwood was known as the ancestor of carnivorous plants.
William hadn't expected the bloodwood held by the Chain Prisoner to contain mature man-eating plant seeds.
The best use of the seeds would be to cultivate them with the gardener's skill. But William didn't want a man-eating plant right now. He just wanted the seed to sprout quickly, making activation the perfect choice.
A large amount of mental energy was drained in an instant, leaving William feeling weak. Despite his efforts to replenish his mental energy, this action still exhausted him completely.
But William didn't dare to hold back. He feared that it wouldn't work otherwise.
The man-eating plant seed instantly swelled and sprouted. Although thin, the purple seedling had strong vitality. Its roots dug into the crack in the iron chain, widening the fissures created by William's chopping!
William was overjoyed. Activation consumed the plant's life force, providing only a short-term effect. Although the man-eating plant seed wasn't as valuable as the iron chain, its practical value to a gardener like William was no less. If this method failed, he would not only lose the iron chain but also waste a precious man-eating plant seed.
Fortunately, he succeeded!
Without hesitation, William pulled his right hand from the chain. Using gravity and a powerful kick off the Chain Prisoner, he swung his blade at the widened crack.
The sound of metal clashing almost drowned out all other noise, making everyone below instinctively look up. They saw a piece of the black iron chain being cut off, spinning in the air before starting to fall.
Thomas's eyes gleamed. He smiled triumphantly and shouted, "Thank you!" as he rushed toward the falling iron chain.
He didn't know what black metal was, but seeing the young man, he feared so desperately trying to get it, even a fool would know it was something valuable.
Just as the iron chain, which William had painstakingly cut through, was about to fall into someone else's hands. Even Candice and the others looked desperate. A yellow shadow suddenly darted out. Before Thomas could reach it, it grabbed the iron chain in its mouth!
The Chain Prisoner was enraged by the loss of a piece of Devil's Gold. Its blue horn glowed brightly, and with a roar, it unleashed beams of light, turning the surrounding ruins into a hellish landscape.
Exhausted, William fell from mid-air to the ground. Candice and the others rushed over to support the man, whose eyes were unfocused and mouth was bleeding profusely.
"Run!" In a daze, William managed to shout two words before falling unconscious.
