LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_3
"That's one way to do it, but we need to nourish the [Night Demon Type I]. Its HP of ten thousand is too low; it could easily be worn down if it encounters too many zombies..."
Wang Tao planned to try raising a few [Night Demon Type I] soon. It wasn't that he didn't want to raise more, mainly because he needed a lot of Level 4 Crystal Cores. Moreover, he had to first nourish the [Armored Beetle] to 100,000 HP... Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire
Wang Tao packed up the Loot Pack containing the Ultraviolet Suit and took back the three [Night Demon Type I].
Then Wang Tao checked on the remaining seven zombies; they were all fine and were still baring their teeth at Wang Tao.
Wang Tao had first planted the Awakening Seed, and then used the Night Demon Parasite Pupa. They both required seven days. So, Wang Tao had to wait another half-day to be sure whether any more Night Demons had hatched.
"Wang Tao, what's happening?"
When Wang Tao returned to the base of the big tree, everyone asked worriedly.
"It's just an Ordinary Elite Night Demon," answered Wang Tao, shaking his head.
Seeing his response, everyone else refrained from asking further.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Wang Tao frowned and asked oddly, "Have you guys noticed that the leaves of this tree have turned yellow?"
"Ah?"
Everyone looked up to see the leaves tinged with yellow among the green, to which Ding Yuqin uncertainly replied:
"Now that you mention it, the leaves really have turned yellow..."
They had all been here the whole time, constantly watching the tree, possibly not very sensitively. Wang Tao had just left for a while and on returning noticed the leaves had yellowed considerably.
"Could this be a sign that the fruits are maturing..."
The group found this odd, but since it was beyond everyone's understanding, they didn't dwell too much on it.
Wang Tao didn't say much more and continued waiting. In a few more hours, the fruits on the tree would mature!
However, after waiting another hour, everyone exchanged glances.
The leaves of the big tree had not only turned yellow but also began to fall.
A light breeze blew, scattering a large number of yellowed leaves from the tree onto everyone's shoulders, giving a sense of autumn.
As these leaves fell, the golden Awakening Fruits on the tree became even more prominent.
Another two hours passed, and the sun was about to set.
There was only one last hour until the Awakening Fruits matured, and at this time the Awakening Tree... practically had no leaves left, the whole tree looked almost dead!
Having observed the changes in the Awakening Tree, Wang Tao voiced, somewhat exasperated:
"This Awakening Tree, could it be that it only bears fruit once in its lifetime, and dies after bearing?"
Wang Tao had previously thought about what to do with the Awakening Tree once the fruits were harvested.
He didn't have the time to keep watch here, nor did he have the manpower, so should he sell this Awakening Tree to the City Hall or to the Legion?
And how often does this Awakening Tree bear fruit, and would it need to be fed monster corpses next time?
Now it seemed he had worried too much. The Awakening Tree appeared to bear fruit only once...
However, seeing those sparkling golden fruits, Wang Tao still smiled broadly.
One harvest was enough; having the Awakening Fruit was what mattered. Moreover, there were more fruits than he had anticipated!
Previously, the leaves had obscured the fruits, so Wang Tao didn't know exactly how many there were, but now with no leaves on the tree, it was easy to count—there were 33 fruits in total!
Although it was still unclear what use the Awakening Fruits had, or how they were related to awakening, their golden appearance alone signaled their high quality. Acquiring 33 Awakening Fruits at once was indeed quite good.
"Just one more hour to go, let's wait a bit longer," said Wang Tao.
The others were also looking forward to it, especially Jiang Shixue, Lightning, and the five Black Snakes, who were drooling again.
At such a crucial moment, it was vital not to relax. Wang Tao kept his Plant Affinity Ability active. There was a lot of withered grass nearby, which maximized this ability. Everything around was under his watch.
As the maturation time drew nearer, the color of the Awakening Fruit became increasingly splendid, almost as if it were emitting a golden light.
Meanwhile, the Awakening Tree was turning increasingly desolate and had even begun to wither. Visibly, these branches were starting to break and fall, turning into dust upon hitting the ground, as if they had long since rotted away.
"This Awakening Tree is really dead..."
Wang Tao had been somewhat uncertain before but now could confirm that after the Awakening Fruits matured, the Awakening Tree indeed died, a one-time occurrence.
Soon, this towering tree was left with only the trunk and the branches holding the Awakening Fruits; every other part had decayed. But given the current situation, the remaining parts would decay too. Now, there were only 3 minutes left until the Awakening Fruits matured, and the tree might just collapse the moment the fruits matured.
The Black Snakes had been called down by Wang Tao, after all, the Awakening Fruits weren't fully mature yet, and if the snakes damaged the tree beforehand, what if something happened to the fruits...
The final thirty seconds, the entire Awakening Tree teetered on the verge of collapse.
Just as Wang Tao and the others, who were holding bags ready to catch the Awakening Fruits under the tree, suddenly heard a fierce cry from afar.
"Chirp—"
Everyone looked up.
A huge figure with spread wings, obscured by the last sliver of sunset, flew towards them!
"Damn!"
Seeing this, Wang Tao cursed under his breath, then quickly said:
"Prepare to retreat to the cave!"
The van instantly started and began running into the cave.
Wang Tao and the others didn't board but instead looked towards the Awakening Fruits on the tree.
When the countdown finally ended, a loud crash was heard as the teetering tree collapsed, the thirty-three glistening Awakening Fruits falling from the sky.
Wang Tao and the others quickly caught the fruits, then ran towards the cave without turning back.
"Rush!"
Boom boom boom—
"Chirp—"