Chapter 36: It Was Him!
"Aubrey!" Floyd finally found Aubrey and the other students.
After being swept away by the vines, they had been left inside the palace. Perhaps because the palace had been reinforced again by the vines, it had miraculously remained intact when it fell. The five students from Supreme Hall were also incredibly fortunate to have survived such an ordeal.
"Father, did you kill it?" Aubrey asked.
Floyd, sitting on the ground and catching his breath, shook his head and replied, "It wasn't me. My windstorm had no deterrent effect on it; I thought it could restrain it so the missiles could strike, but it blocked all three remaining missiles."
"Floyd, if it wasn't you, then how did the tree creature die?" a young female student asked, the same one who had earlier questioned Aubrey about calling for Maxwell on the helicopter.
"There's someone else here," another student suddenly said.
Everyone was momentarily stunned, feeling like they were in imminent danger. In the wilderness, the appearance of strangers meant potential risks.
Now, with Floyd severely injured and the five of them having only just regained a bit of their vitality—which had been drained again after they were recaptured—they feared even a Tier 1 Evolver could easily defeat them.
At that moment, they heard footsteps approaching.
All six pairs of eyes turned toward the direction of the sound. Through the swirling black smoke, a figure slowly became visible.
Floyd quietly placed his hand on the hilt of his knife, and the unnamed students from Supreme Hall readied themselves for battle.
Then, the figure behind the smoke revealed itself.
It was a handsome face, youthful yet with a mature and steady demeanor.
All five Supreme Hall students opened their mouths in surprise.
"It's actually him!" Aubrey exclaimed, though he still maintained his guard.
He and Maxwell had met only once before, and now with Maxwell appearing here, it was uncertain whether he was friend or foe.
The other students also looked at Maxwell with a mix of wariness and confusion, especially the young woman who had never expected to encounter Maxwell here.
Maxwell simply glanced at them but showed no interest in conversation, instead directly climbing onto the trunk of the tree creature.
Seeing that Maxwell did not attack immediately, the group let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Aubrey, do you know him?" Floyd asked.
Maxwell gave him an eerie feeling, as Floyd couldn't sense any familiar presence from him, yet this man was able to appear here.
Suddenly, a frightening thought crossed Floyd's mind...
"Could he have been the one to kill the tree creature?"
"Father, we encountered him deep in the wilderness before, and we all felt that he might very well be a Tier 6," Aubrey said.
"Tier 6!?" Floyd's pupils constricted.
"If that's the case, then it's very likely he killed the tree creature," Floyd murmured.
Hearing this, the students tensed up, especially the woman who had questioned Maxwell on the helicopter. Her eyes widened, shocked by Floyd's suggestion, something she had never considered.
On the red tree, as Maxwell reached the edge of a crevice, a hand reached out from inside.
Maxwell crouched down and accepted the item passed by the hand—it was a bundle of white material.
"Well done," Maxwell praised, then he retrieved the Tier 1 female zombie, who was stuck and couldn't move from the crevice, back into his space.
In her final act, the Tier 1 female zombie had slashed the heart of the tree creature and extracted its life source, but she also suffered severe injuries from the tree's vines.
Only after the tree creature had completely perished did the Tier 1 female zombie manage to crawl to the edge of the crevice, but she lacked the strength to pry it open and escape.
This Tier 1 female zombie had performed beyond expectations, and due to her actions this time, Maxwell decided to keep her, opting not to eliminate her for now.
Whether she would be preserved as a dedicated asset remained to be seen.
"Is this the life source of the tree creature?" Maxwell pulled off a small clump that looked like cotton candy, placed it in his mouth, and although it was tasteless, the reaction in his body was intense. It felt like he had consumed a powerful tonic, instantly revitalizing him and giving him seemingly endless energy.
"This looks pretty valuable; I'll save it and find a place to study it before consuming more." So, Maxwell placed the clump of the tree creature's life source into his special storage space.
Then he climbed down from the tree, ready to leave.
...
"He's the one who killed it!" From their angle below the tree, the people from Supreme Hall could only see Maxwell climb halfway up the tree, stop, and retrieve something from inside it.
Floyd guessed it must be the life source of the tree creature.
This made him show a hint of envy. Such a life source from the tree creature was incredibly precious; consuming it could easily advance him by one or even two tiers. Even if it only elevated him one tier, it could make him a Tier 6 King.
But Floyd was very clear in his mind that if it weren't for Maxwell killing the tree creature, not only would they not have been able to rescue anyone, he himself might have perished here.
"Thank you!" Seeing Maxwell climbing down from the tree, Floyd quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude respectfully.
Maxwell turned around and saw that not only Floyd but also the other students from Supreme Hall were looking at him with adoration, their gaze unwavering.
The people from Supreme Hall seemed quite polite, unlike most others in the post-apocalyptic world who either feigned morality or did not bother to hide their true nature.
However, Maxwell was aware that this was probably just an illusion. If he were an ordinary person, or just an Awakener, or even a low-level Evolver without much capability, they certainly would not treat him this way.
Indeed, in the post-apocalyptic world, it was clear that personal strength was paramount.
Maxwell nodded slightly, then turned and left.
Seeing Maxwell walk away, Floyd actually breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely afraid that Maxwell, knowing they were aware of these events, might casually decide to eliminate them all.
"Aubrey, let's go," Floyd pressed a button, and the fighter jet began to descend slowly from the sky.
Suddenly.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
A missile launched from the dense forest struck the fighter jet, blowing it to pieces in mid-air.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone