Seized by the System

By the bank of the River of Blood, a tree that was almost a hundred feet high, and so wide almost hundreds of people could form a circle around it, had its red branches drooped into the river.

From time to time, sea monsters would stare greedily at this enormous tree that was so full of vitality, and rushed forward to have a bite.

However, they were all like fish caught on bait…

The branches would turn into a gigantic net that threw itself on the sea monsters that rose to the bait and catch them all in an instant.

In another blink of an eye, the sea monsters would turn into a puddle of blood that splatters over the river.

“Ha ha ha, I’ll become stronger after eating all of you. I will protect my children…” The giant tree laughed madly.

The voices swayed above the river water, causing waves of water ripples.

The River of Blood continued flowing downstream steadily as if everything had nothing to do with itself.

Not long after, not far away from the giant wood, a riverbank only a few hundred meters away from the River of Blood, a door reappeared once more above the blood-red grass.

A couple of white men walked out from it one by one. It was Hook and his party of people.

“Eh, how did Master Abraham become like this?” Hook glanced around and immediately noticed something unusual.

“Hmm, are you saying that the bloodthirsty giant tree that’s so eager to kill is Master Abraham? Hasn’t he always been nature-loving and doesn’t he practice the Path of Nature so he never does have to kill?” With a puzzled look, William looked at the giant tree that was currently devouring the sea monsters.

“It must be him. When I left this place, he was the only tree. The mangrove trees by the river are almost the same form like him. Even though he’s changed his color, it’s not to the extent that I can’t recognize him,” Hook said affirmatively.

“Seems that this old man must’ve encountered some changes,” William nodded in agreement.

“Oh dear, where have all my subordinates gone? Are they all dead?” Hook was astonished.

He remembered clearly that there were almost dozens of Robocops here before he left. He did not expect to have all of them gone when he was just gone for such a short span of time.

“Alright, who cares about that? They’re just a bunch of cannon fodder to scout the area. Cayley, Edgar, quickly … Set up twelve Astral Formations here by the river. If I’ve guessed correctly, this River of Blood should be the source of energy of this arcane realm. If we can refine its fruit of labor, we’ll be able to control the entire arcane realm,” Countess Barito said in a pleased tone.

Once Hook heard the words come out of her mouth, he could not help but have a completely new appraisal of her.

He had been here longer than the others, yet he still found nothing.

The other people had just arrived but they had already found what seemed to be the root source.

This was the difference between the two sides; a professional would see a pathway whereas an amateur would merely be a onlooker.

An alchemist who was dressed in red robes immediately rushed towards the riverbank. Fetching out all sorts of materials from bottles to cans, the alchemist began setting up the twelve so-called Astral Formations.

William looked on coldly from the sidelines.

He had been living in China for a long time, so he was unsure about the development of America.

From his perspective, their level of cultivation should be far from the Chinese.

However, these alchemists were well-trained and their method of setting up formations was uniform and in good order. They were like workers by the assembly line – speedy and accurate.

Blue and white strips were drawn out from the ground and sprinkled with different ingredients, which then formed multiple complex patterns.

Perhaps they were not as in-depth as China, but merits were still deserved.

Countess Barito, who did not have to make a move at all, was constantly sizing up the bright red giant tree by the side.

“Set the giant tree as the last sacrifice for the Astral Formations. I believe that will amplify its powers to the maximum,” she ordered.

“No!” Hook yelled back and immediately stopped the surrounding people. “Master Abraham is a representative of us Americans, the peak of our powers. It is absolutely not possible to use him as a sacrificial good while he’s unconscious. The loss would be incalculable!”

William heard and cast a glance at this bureau director who was rumored to be ruthless and cunning.

Turns out this person had such a righteous side to him. Humans are complex animals after all. They could not be simply distinguished as good and evil.

“Hmph, do you still think that you’re a director who’s in power here?” The countess reached out as if she was trying to get hold of Hook.

However, Director Hook did not move, which made her look like a clown herself instead.

“Damn it, magic is forbidden here! It doesn’t matter anyway. Both of you, get these long-winded bastards and throw them into the river! I say, perhaps these pieces of waste can give the River of Blood a little boost of strength… Ha ha ha ha!” The countess gave off a wild laugh.

The moment her voice fell, two alchemists who were standby immediately ran over to capture Hook.

“Mr. William, come and save me!” Hook paled with fear.

Magic was forbidden in this place and he was up against dozens of alchemists. How was he supposed to fight this match?

It did not occur to him that both parties would fall out right after entering.

Warned by his previous failure, he did not bring any subordinates.

Even if he had brought any, they might get confused and kill each other. If he was unfortunate, that would even endanger himself.

Nonetheless, he had no idea why the atmospheric killing urge had no effect on these alchemists who were in red robes.

His mind was under the protection of the Hat of Nature that was created by Master Abraham. Perhaps this was the reason the Master himself had lost the ability to defend himself from the atmospheric killing urge.

The powers of these alchemists were no higher than Pond-level, so how could they possibly have the same talisman as Master?

Once William heard everything, he reached out and waved his arm. Indeed, lightning sparks could not be seen. He finally realized that the countess was not lying.

The next moment, he started running…

“Ha ha ha ha, you’re pretty smart. You really are a talented merchant…” Looking at the back of the other party, the countess laughed even harder.

“Damn it, you treacherous bastard! A capitalist’s words can never be trusted!” Hook was burning with a frenzy of rage.

Soon, two iron arms had caught him with a firm grasp and started dragging him to the river.

“Let go of me! Let go of me!” Gook shouted with fear. “So all of you aren’t, you’re not…”

Before he could even finish his last words, he was thrown into the boiling water of the River of Blood…

After a short moment, countless shadows gathered around and began feeding on his flesh.

Only bubbles could be seen on the water surface, and then everything was calm.

The ambition of a small puny creature was just like these bubbles – they come quick, and they left even quicker…

“Ha ha ha ha, the hindrance is finally gone. Now everything is mine!” Pleased with herself, Countess Barito let out roars of wild laughter.

Meanwhile, the alchemists, aloof and indifferent, continued to outline the so-called Astral Formations.

…

After half an hour, somewhere up in the yellow mountains, William was resting with his back against the grounds. He took out a bottle of water, and slowly replenished himself.

“Hehe, good thing I’ve always stayed fit. Otherwise, I’d not have made it out.”

‘Hook’s death wouldn’t affect me in any way,’ he muttered to himself.

This year, he had already been accustomed to deaths. It would be weird, in fact, if there were no deaths.

Not only did Hook and he have nothing in common, on the contrary, Hook was also indebted to him for hurting his only relative. He would have been stupid to rescue Hook.

After taking a break, he looked up at the stream not far away. The stream was exceptionally obvious and it was bright red, flowing into the distance.

Although the countess was fierce and cruel, she indeed had her points right. This River of Blood was certainly the key to this arcane realm.

It seemed that it was no coincidence that no matter where he was, he would still see the shadow of the river.

In fact, this should be the bloodline of this entire arcane realm since it was everywhere. As for this stream right in front of him, was just one of its thin vessels.

“Alright then, let’s start from this vessel.”

He finished a bottle of mineral water and placed it back into his Space Ring, then started making his way towards the blood-red stream.