Chapter 102: The Great Tree Staff

The villainous strongman held a shield in his left hand while grasping Gargantor’s arm with his right—yet, regrettably, the disparity in their strength seemed too great. Even though his opponent’s footing was unstable, the throw attempt failed the test and backfired, leaving him dazed.

Just as Gargantor prepared to swing his massive tree club to strike the strongman fiercely, the Blood-Striped Dragon had already swallowed the large chunk of flesh it had bitten off. It then unleashed a tail strike—the thick tail whipping like a giant whip, crashing against the zombie’s right ribs.

Caught off guard, Gargantor was sent tumbling across the ground by the blow. As he rose, a clear swollen bruise marked the stiffened flesh.

The Blood-Striped Dragon lunged again, now empowered by its "Frenzied Aura," emitting a low growl from its throat as it clamped its jaws onto the neck.

Gargantor dropped his club and grabbed the dragon’s head with both hands. The dragon thrashed desperately, but despite boasting 65 points of strength, it could not break free from the iron-like grip. With a tremendous crash, the dragon was slammed hard onto the ground, causing the earth itself to tremble visibly.

The impact caused a mixture of saliva and blood to spurt from the dragon’s mouth, and its health bar dropped significantly. Though grievously wounded, the dinosaur’s ferocity remained undiminished; it let out a long roar and leapt up, sinking its teeth into Gargantor’s leg and ripping off a half-pound chunk of flesh.

From this, it was clear that the Blood-Striped Dragon and Gargantor were boss monsters within a similar tier. Though their strength differed, the gap was not vast. Compared to the zombie, the dragon’s power was somewhat weaker but compensated with superior agility, fierceness, and a richer skill set.

However, in a one-on-one fight to the death, the dragon would likely perish. Gargantor’s stamina and health were exceptionally high, and as a zombie without notable weak points, it wouldn’t die from losing a few chunks of flesh. Under the weighty blows and powerful throws, even the dragon’s thick hide could only withstand so much.

Despite this, the four members of the small group led by Kastrol were visibly shocked by the battle.

After Wang Ling’s departure, they had exchanged intelligence and learned of his exploits in the beginner zone. Beyond his astonishing feat of winning a bet and taking away the super-strong Bai Feng, and his battle with the half-orc team led by Elliott—where he summoned three mutated Dark Warriors and four Kung Fu masters—they now discovered he also had a dinosaur!

“They say the Whirlwind Team never returned—surely they died by his hand. With such a powerful dinosaur, it’s no wonder he defeated them. What a lucky guy,” everyone thought, unaware that the Blood-Striped Dragon had just been recently tamed.

Now, the dragon and Gargantor fought fiercely: one tearing at the enemy’s stiffened flesh with teeth, claws, and massive tail; the other retaliating with heavy, hammer-like fists and a tree club fashioned from an entire trunk.

The dwarf, strongman, and fat man coordinated their assault, making the battle extremely brutal. Soon, amidst roars and growls, the ground was stained sticky with the red blood of the dinosaur and the dark green ichor of the zombie.

“My Blood-Striped Dragon and summoned creatures probably can’t handle this zombie alone. The dragon can’t be resurrected if it dies—absolutely no death allowed. Everyone, attack together and kill the zombie!” Wang Ling commanded.

Hesitant for a moment, Kastrol and the others launched their joint assault, with old Hassan continuing to fire his AK in bursts. They all understood that if the dragon fell, their future battles would become even harder.

Under the relentless onslaught, the outnumbered Gargantor was pushed into a dire disadvantage. Within five minutes, it had smashed the dwarf in half at the waist with its club and punched through the fat man’s heavily padded abdomen, but its injuries accumulated rapidly.

Finally, the Blood-Striped Dragon bit down on the neck, tearing open most of it. The strongest zombie under Dr. Edgar’s command saw its health drop to the lowest point. Wang Ling drew his white iron musket and fired a flame bullet at the neck, the explosion blowing the head clean off.

The headless zombie, with its last strength, swung the tree club at the dragon but was blocked by the strongman’s alloy shield. The force of this final counterattack was immense; the shockwave shattered the strongman’s arm bones, caused internal bleeding, and inflicted severe internal injuries.

Gargantor fell dead, and a glowing black iron key appeared beside the corpse. All four of Kastrol’s team fixed their gaze on the key.

Wang Ling understood their thoughts and smiled faintly. “I’ll be the one to open this shining key. Don’t worry—since everyone helped kill the monster, I won’t take all the rewards alone. But since my battle pet is the main force here, I will take most of the benefits. I hope you all understand.”

He knew the road ahead was long, and they might need these people’s strength in the future. Besides, they had all participated in defeating Gargantor. Wang Ling would never be so selfish as to feast alone while others got nothing—such behavior only breeds resentment.

Moreover, his arrival had saved them. Without him, they might have struggled to defeat even a single Gargantor. When reliable companions are scarce, everyone knows to conceal their true strength—but in life-or-death situations, hidden power reveals itself.

Excessive greed never ends well. Wang Ling was well aware of this.

After hearing his words, the expressions of Kastrol and the others improved significantly, especially old Hassan. He had fired 47 bullets at Gargantor, and if he gained nothing, his frustration would have been immense.

In front of everyone, Wang Ling used the key to summon a black iron glowing treasure chest. Upon opening it, a prompt appeared:

“You have obtained 3,300 currency points and 1 attribute point.”

Gargantor was strong, but not as prestigious as the hidden boss “Ar**” or the final boss Brunoff in the Double Dragon world, so the reward was naturally less generous. Still, Wang Ling was satisfied; 3,300 points equated to the value of a typical E-grade skill book, plus an extra attribute point.

He displayed the loot for all to see, then examined the chest’s contents: four plant seeds, a beautiful blue gemstone, and—astonishingly—a greatly miniaturized… tree club?

“Destruction Mushroom Seed, Frost Mushroom Seed, Charm Mushroom Seed, and Fiery Chili Pepper Seed! Wow, these are all excellent!” Wang Ling took the seeds out and placed them aside, then pulled out the sapphire.

The gem was about the size of an egg, shaped like a classic multifaceted diamond, reflecting a mesmerizing, deep blue glow under the sunlight.

“Sapphire: Some zombies develop stones inside their bodies from consuming too many brains. These stones are surprisingly beautiful sapphires. Quite a curious phenomenon! This precious item can be exchanged for 1,000 Dream Space currency points.”

“What a beautiful gem, yet it’s a stone formed from eating brains… Is that brain like tainted milk? Truly something to mock!” someone joked.

In the Mario World, Wang Ling had also acquired some precious items: mushroom coins. The best mushroom gold coin could be exchanged for 100 currency points, but it was far less valuable than this sapphire.

Both the seeds and the sapphire were striking treasures, but Kastrol’s team fixated entirely on the miniaturized tree club, which shimmered with a green glow.

Clearly, it was part of a green equipment set.

When Wang Ling pulled the small tree club from the chest, it began to grow until it regained its original size—a three-meter-long tree club, the very weapon Gargantor had wielded.

“Gargantor’s Tree Club: Type—Blunt Weapon; Rating—E; Attribute—Green Equipment; Attack—16 to 48; Ability—+3 Stamina; 5% chance to deal double physical critical hits; 1% chance to deal crushing physical strikes causing severe damage.”

“Equip Requirements: Strength 55, Basic Melee Level 3.”

“Description: This is actually a tree trunk… Well, not just any trunk, as it is quite heavy. If you can find the other two pieces of gear—Gargantor’s Burlap Upper Garment and Gargantor’s Burlap Lower Garment—you might complete the set.”

Seeing the stats of this green weapon stunned not only Kastrol’s group but also Wang Ling. An E-grade weapon with such high base attack! For comparison, the white iron musket—a red elite firearm—only boasted 17 to 37 base attack.

Additionally, the weapon’s inherent attributes increased stamina and granted double critical hits and crushing strikes. That crushing strike, even if it only inflicted a “break” effect, meant that a 1% chance on hitting an enemy with the tree club could break their bones.

This was undoubtedly a formidable weapon. As a green set item, the other two pieces—burlap upper and lower garments—would likely add new abilities, raising anticipation.

Unfortunately, the equip requirements were rather steep. Basic melee level 3 was manageable, but 55 strength was demanding—even a veteran who had completed ten main quests focusing on strength might not reach it easily.

Such was the challenge ahead.