The roots were now dealt with.
None of them emerged from the ground any longer. The main roots were melted into nothingness.
With a strength of a bear or two, Ash might be able to uproot the Titanbark altogether now.
Alas, he didn't have that kind of strength.
And toppling the tree also didn't guarantee that it would die. In fact, there might be a chance the tree could use its vines to walk or crawl on the ground.
Something that would only appear in Keen's nightmares.
And despite the threat of roots being gone, there were still a dozen vines writhing in the air. Not a single one of them backed down even after what Ash did to the roots.
The holes on the trunk of the tree were scattered everywhere.
It wouldn't be as easy to shoot his modified acid bile at them to try and shut down the vines one by one like Ash did to the roots.
The previous strategy he used against the ordinary carnivorous tree also wouldn't work simply because of the number of vines the Titanbark had.
Ash couldn't stand still and slowly invaded the Titanbark's giant body with his crimson vines.
The tree's vines would just overwhelm him.
So Ash needed to get a little creative with them.
Keeping his berserk skills active all the time by constantly reactivating them, Ash kept his mind in hyper focus mode.
The vines were still following behind him. Albeit always a step too late because of his inhuman speed.
And to deal with them, Ash recalled a fact that he learned before when he fought the ordinary carnivorous tree.
Despite not having ordinary senses like animals, the mushroom wolf's ability, the one that enabled him to cause controlled hallucinations, still worked on them.
But it wasn't too powerful.
The second the vines touched the hallucination, the tree would realize that nothing was actually there.
Ash needed to use something more potent.
Something that would turn the plant's mind insane.
And a recent tier 1 disease he got gave him that ability.
==============================
Hollowthorn Venom
A plant-based hemotoxin from a sentient vine that ruptures capillaries with floral precision, forcing blood to bloom through the skin in vivid, fatal patterns.
+Symptoms:
-Capillary Bloom: Microvessels burst open in organized spiral clusters, forming red, flower-like lesions.
-Petal Fever: Victim experiences rapid-onset fever and visual hallucinations of blooming flora.
+Ability Unlocked: Bloodblossom Thorns (Active)
Launch a series of vine-thorns coated with Hollowthorn venom forward. On contact, affected targets bleed outward in ornate patterns that weaken muscle coordination and cause visual disruption (hallucinated flower petals, warping terrain edges). Stacking hits deepens the blooms.
==============================
Ash timed his activation of the ability.
He appeared a few meters away from the tree. Forcing the vines to gather in a straight line to pursue him.
When a bunch of them converged, Ash activated the ability.
From his palms, straight thorny vines emerged.
It's similar to the thorny vines that gave the berserk buff, but there were red tips on the thorns of the bloodblossom vines.
Ash had long thought about it.
If he wanted to use his disease or venoms, he needed to get to the inside of the tree.
But the Titanbark being a Titanbark, its bark was near impenetrable.
However, there was a part of its body that was exposed. Away from the titanbark's protection.
The vines that were connected to the inside of its body.
The bloodblossom vines crashed against the tree's vines.
And the result was clear.
The bloodblossom vines soon crumbled under the combined strength of a dozen vines converging together to form a huge spike.
They lost in strength, but they delivered their goal.
The Titanbark's vines crashed straight into the thorns of the bloodblossom.
Injecting themselves with the bloodblossom venom.
Of course, just like his experiment with the doppelganger, a creature with no blood wouldn't be able to cough up blood.
In this case, there wouldn't be blood bursting out of the vines from the bloodblossom venom.
However, the bursting blood vessels weren't the only effect of the venom.
'On contact, affected targets bleed outward in ornate patterns that weaken muscle coordination and cause visual disruption (hallucinated flower petals, warping terrain edges).'
It also caused hallucinations.
One that retained the effects for longer, and became more potent the more venom was injected.
At first, the venom did not seem to be working.
Even Ash began doubting his assessment of the situation. Thinking the Titanbark might have a completely different reaction to hallucination effects compared to the ordinary steelbark trees.
However, after his third repetition of crashing the bloodblossom vines to the tree's, Ash realized.
The tree took longer to react.
And when it did, its aim was slightly off compared to before.
It used to send its vines straight to Ash's chest, but the dozen of vines headed towards his shoulders instead.
Learning his plan worked, Ash increased his pace.
More bloodblossom vines were sent out. The more the Titanbark lost its spatial perception.
It was now lucky if it could even get close to hitting Ash's body at all.
The vibrations that it felt were all over the place. Not a single information containing the truth registered in its system.
When this happened, Ash knew this was the time.
He used the hallucination ability to make it seem like he constantly jumped around dodging the tree's vines.
Then he used twitchstep.
The berserk ability was still constantly reactivated, his berserker thorn also pricked him every time the double berserk buff was waning.
As a result, when he used twitchstep, Ash just disappeared.
Even ordinary people would not be able to see him move, let alone a drugged tree that was losing its mind.
The tree only registered the hallucination of Ash. Still running around and somehow dodging every single one of the tree's attacks.
For the real Ash, he was now standing sideways on the tree trunk.
Using another one of his new abilities to stand on vertical surfaces.
=========================
Lattice Leech Syndrome
A parasitic condition caused by the tree leech. A wall-crawling predator that anchors itself to vertical surfaces with muscular sucker pads.
+Symptoms:
-Leechskin Adhesion: Pores across the limbs ooze sticky mucus and form blister-like suction nodes. Victims often wake up stuck to walls or ceilings.
-Compulsive Clambering: Muscle memory fixates on vertical movement; infected may involuntarily crawl up trees or ceilings during sleep.
-Blood-Rush Disorientation: Headaches and blurred vision from repeated inverted positions and sudden shifts in body orientation.
+Ability Unlocked: Wallcrawling Grasp (Passive/Active)
Can summon suction pads to cling to any surface as if walking on flat ground.
=========================
Taking his time, Ash leisurely walked to one of the lowest vine holes in the Titanbark's trunk.
Assuming the Titanbark was similar to the Steelbark tree, there was a source of all the vines that it could shoot out. And it was located near the base of its body.
His crimson vines invaded the inside of the Titanbark, flowing in from the hole.
With no need to protect himself, the two branches of crimson vines worked in overdrive, spreading their necrotic venom and eating away at the tree from the inside.
The Titanbark might not be able to feel pain, but it was fully capable of recognizing parts of its body being destroyed.
It ignored the still-jumping hallucination and recalled all of its vines.
Alas, it was too late for the Titanbark.
Ash had found the core of the vines.
His two crimson vines squeezed tight, physically breaking it apart faster than even the necrotic venom did its job.
When the vine core was destroyed, all the vines went limp.
Leaving a trembling tree, unable to do a single thing other than watch its body slowly infected by necrotic venom from the inside.
The venom corrupted the tree, destroying its cells.
The wood dried. The bark cracked. The leaves fell.
The tree withered.
Marking the end of its struggle against the bearer of plague.
The mightiest tree in Verdant Necropolis felled.