The Tree Giant’s Debut

“Crush it!” Huang Xiu commanded, her voice chilling, as the hand that had been hovering protectively over her suddenly swung out with brute force.

The Pig-headed Human was instantly sent hurtling backward, crashing through the locked door of a first-floor classroom and overturning numerous desks in its wake.

Silently, she offered a half-second of condolence to the students of that classroom, hoping their textbooks hadn’t been utterly ruined.

Still, the first floor housed only first-year high school students, so perhaps it wasn’t a great loss.

Huang Xiu pursed her lips, then turned her head to glance behind her.

An osmanthus tree was already tearing itself from the earth, intent on fulfilling the command she had just issued: to crush the Pig-headed Human.

It was, quite literally, uprooting itself.

When the osmanthus tree underwent its mutation, the sole image that sprang to Huang Xiu’s mind was that of a War Ancient Tree.

This explained why the virtual energy (TL Note: Also known as ‘Xuneng’, a mystical energy source in this world.) flowed unchecked—she had transformed the osmanthus tree into a colossal tree giant!

Every branch on the osmanthus tree had, after its metamorphosis, coalesced into two immense arms.

Now, with these new limbs, it was struggling to wrench its massive, root-entwined legs free from the earth.

Yet, it appeared liberation would not come swiftly, for the osmanthus tree was surrounded by unyielding concrete.

Huang Xiu, however, was far too pragmatic to believe the Pig-headed Human had been rendered incapacitated by a single blow.

With a sweep of her hands, the remaining flora she had mutated—some hopping, some scuttling, others rolling—surged collectively towards the classroom.

“Indeed, the ‘sea of plants’ tactic truly is the optimal approach for [Senluo].”

Having seemingly stumbled upon the instruction manual for her supernatural ability, Huang Xiu quietly observed the fierce melee unfolding within the classroom.

Yes, a single Pig-headed Human was being ganged up on by a host of mutated flora.

The combat prowess of a mutated plant primarily hinged on its original species and the quantity of virtual energy infused during its transformation.

Larger plants could absorb a greater influx of virtual energy, consequently emerging more formidable after mutation.

Moreover, plants that possessed inherent dangers would find those very perils amplified exponentially upon mutation.

The piercing spike that had just impaled the Pig-headed Human had originated from a mutated cycad.

The mutated plants that had charged inside, however, were largely transformed from mere weeds and were no match for the Pig-headed Human.

Huang Xiu’s sole intention was to impede the Pig-headed Human’s advance, thereby securing precious time for the tree giant to fully emerge from the earth.

The mental links, one after another, shattered within her mind, leaving only three intact in less than a minute.

One was the cycad, another the osmanthus tree…

“It’s coming!”

The Pig-headed Human, now in a truly wretched state, burst forth.

A bowl-sized hole gaped in its chest, and its body was marred by a multitude of bloody, mangled wounds.

Clearly, even those mere weeds had not been entirely without their combative capabilities.

With a flicker of Huang Xiu’s thought, another spike launched from the mutated cycad’s oval body, bristling with thorns.

Its immense kinetic energy, clearly surpassing 1.8 joules—a force sufficient for a death sentence—

Directly obliterated the Pig-headed Human’s knee.

The monster’s right leg buckled, causing it to lose balance and collapse heavily onto the ground, while the caliper clutched in its hand clattered away to the side.

“Missed again!” Huang Xiu exclaimed, pressing a hand to her face. “While the mutated cycad possessed formidable power, its accuracy left much to be desired.”

The first shot, aimed at the head, had struck its chest; the second, after she’d preemptively adjusted her target, had landed squarely on its knee.

Despite wielding supernatural abilities, she still found herself having to manually aim each shot.

It was, to say the least, frustrating.

“Couldn’t there at least be an artifact spirit to handle the fine-tuning?” Huang Xiu grumbled, a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone.

The concept of surrender, it seemed, was entirely absent from the Pig-headed Human’s lexicon.

With its knee shattered and unable to stand, it persisted, dragging its immense form closer to Huang Xiu by hauling itself forward with its hands.

Five meters, four meters, three meters…

At last, the girl’s black-and-white domestic sneakers entered the inverted reflection within the Pig-headed Human’s pupils.

“Violating classroom rules…” it mumbled indistinctly, a guttural sound escaping its lips.

Immediately, it raised its right hand, slick with green plant sap, seemingly intent on seizing the detestable girl’s slender ankle.

But by then, it was already far too late.

*CRASH!*

An earth-shaking thud reverberated through the air.

The ten-meter-tall osmanthus tree giant brought its colossal foot down with crushing force, pulverizing the Pig-headed Human—which had dared to lay a hand on its Empress—into mere pulp, like a squashed cockroach.

“P-p-pardon me, m-master, I failed.” The osmanthus tree giant boomed, its voice resonating like a great bell.

“Wait, you can talk?” Huang Xiu exclaimed, astonishment coloring her tone.

She took a slight step back, then, as if her bones had dissolved, leaned against the tree giant’s massive calf.

With the mutation complete, the virtual energy within her had entirely depleted, not a single drop remaining.

She felt as though she had run a marathon, then followed it with several strenuous exertions (TL Note: A euphemism for a colloquial Chinese phrase implying extreme physical exhaustion.); a profound weakness washed over her, like a relentless tide engulfing her entire being.

Had it not been for the need to maintain a semblance of composure, she would have long since collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

“Y-yes,” the osmanthus tree giant rumbled, lowering its head. A discernible expression of apology was etched onto its cracked bark face.

It was evidently apologizing not for crushing the Pig-headed Human, but for merely stepping on it to death.

“So, the greater the infusion of virtual energy, the higher the intelligence of the mutated plant?” A flicker of profound understanding sparked in Huang Xiu’s eyes.

With another thought, the osmanthus tree giant slowly crouched, then gently lifted her and settled her onto its massive shoulder.

She could still command it telepathically, confirming that even with newfound intelligence, she retained absolute control.

Reassured, Huang Xiu patted the tree giant’s wooden head with a firm hand. “There’s no need to feel guilty, you know.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go, Pipi Tree!” she chirped, a wide grin spreading across her face as she pointed in the direction from which the screams had originated. “We’re heading that way!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the osmanthus tree giant rumbled, its voice a deep hum.

At the sound of those words, Huang Xiu instantly bristled.

Her face burning with mortification, she repeatedly smacked the tree giant’s wooden head with considerable force.

“Don’t call me that! You brute! It’s utterly mortifying!”

She had, in her embarrassment, struck with such fervor that her own palms turned crimson.

The osmanthus tree giant, however, seemed unfazed, only slowly turning its head to regard her a half-beat later.

“Giao, that stings a bit!” Huang Xiu’s mouth twitched. While her physical prowess had significantly increased after her transformation,

Her sensitivity to pain had, paradoxically, heightened.

Or perhaps, in order to perceive the world more acutely, all her senses had simply sharpened.

“Where did you pick up such ridiculous words? Just call me Master!” Huang Xiu grumbled, her canine teeth glinting.

‘Is there a distinction between ‘Master’ and ‘Empress’?’

The osmanthus tree giant appeared perplexed, incomprehensibly tapping its own head with a thick, root-like finger.

A dull thud resonated.

‘Oh, I don’t actually have a head,’ it seemed to realize. ‘No matter, I’ll just obediently follow orders.’

It nodded dutifully. “Yes, Master!”

The tree giant gently supported Huang Xiu with its right hand, while its left deftly plucked the mutated cycad from the flowerbed, casually hooking it onto its waist with a branch. Then, with heavy, resolute strides, it moved in the direction Huang Xiu indicated.

As her body swayed with the tree giant’s lumbering gait, a flicker of deep concern crossed the girl’s eyes.

While she had dispatched the Pig-headed Human with remarkable speed, the encounter had still consumed four or five crucial minutes.

Four or five minutes… against a Pig-headed Human, an ordinary person likely wouldn’t survive for even a fraction of that time.

“I hope we’re not too late!” the girl murmured, biting her lip tightly.