Chapter 42 : The Tenth Hunting Grounds, dreamforest of Delusion.
The Tenth Hunting Grounds, dreamforest of Delusion.
The Tenth Hunting Grounds, the Dreamforest of Delusion.
When Mo Ying stepped into the teleportation portal, she was immediately transported to the center of a forest.
Here, every tree was covered in fresh green leaves, and every flower bloomed with brilliant colors.
"滴."
Mo Ying heard a beeping sound.
She looked at her green bracelet; the value still showed 99%.
It seemed the Prism's value was already being consumed, which meant that poison was permeating the area.
"This is only the outskirts of the Dreamforest of Delusion. I don't think we'll find the answers we're looking for in the outer area. Follow me. I'll lead you to the center,"
Anlus walked at the very front.
"Let's go."
Efilia spun a sharp dagger in her hand and calmly walked behind Anlus.
Her composure made it hard to believe she was just a lowest-ranked Hunter.
Everyone walked side by side, and nothing dangerous had happened yet.
Mo Ying was still admiring the surrounding beautiful scenery.
If this wasn't a hunting grounds, it would have been one of the sanctuaries of the world.
It truly was too beautiful here.
"When you become lost in this beauty, that's when you'll be in danger,"
Anlus said.
"Mm."
Mo Ying nodded. The constantly dropping value on her Prism reminded her how dangerous this place was.
"Swish."
With a sound cutting through the air, Efilia tossed her dagger into the bushes to the left.
"Thud."
A man covered in flowers and sweet grass fell at their feet, Efilia's dagger still sticking out of his head.
The man was also wearing a Prism, except the Prism value on his wrist had already dropped to 0%.
It was obvious—this was a Hunter that had been parasitized.
"The plants and flowers here can eat people. Be careful; they'll pierce your skin, invade your blood vessels, control your brain, and shred your mind,"
Efilia said.
"Hahaha..."
A melodious and pleasant laughter echoed around them.
Dozens of flower sprites surrounded them; countless spores floated, creating a gray haze.
Mo Ying immediately saw her own Prism value plummeting: 90%, 80%, 75%.
In an instant, the Prism value had dropped by 15%.
"Extreme Slash."
Lina struck. As she drew her sword, a dazzling sword light flashed, and all the surrounding flower sprites were slashed out of the air in that single strike.
"I can't believe even the little girls taught by Liushu are this strong now. Time really does fly."
Efilia muttered under her breath.
"Amazing!"
Mo Ying gasped. She hadn't even seen how fast Lina drew her blade.
"It's not over yet,"
Anlus said.
No sooner had she finished speaking than more parasitized Hunters and spore-spreading flower sprites poured forth.
The three knights who had come with Lina also drew their weapons, and Mo Ying too pulled out her own weapon—a blade with a pink edge.
Wanhua—this was the name of Mo Ying's weapon.
"There's no end to these things. Stay with me and fight your way out,"
Anlus commanded.
"Boom!"
A crimson flame swept past Anlus, instantly clearing all surrounding enemies.
"....."
Anlus froze, dumbfounded, as she turned around.
She saw Efilia, one eye half-closed and wearing a mischievous smile.
"I am a Hunter after all—I've got to have some ability, right?"
Efilia said.
"....."
The other knights were stunned as well. Efilia's strength seemed beyond their expectations.
"The threat is cleared. Let's keep moving,"
Lina said, her expression calm, as if she had anticipated this all along.
"What rank of Hunter are you?"
Anlus asked.
"Wind rank, the very lowest."
Efilia walked ahead.
"An amusing joke..."
Anlus didn't say anything else.
"Of course it's funny."
Efilia continued spinning her dagger, a crimson flame licking along its edge.
Efilia twirled the flaming dagger with her fingers.
"Aaaargh!!!"
Screeching cries of flower sprites echoed from the burning Dreamforest of Delusion. Mo Ying instinctively covered her ears.
Blazing flames sent black smoke billowing, and the once lush and vibrant Dreamforest became a scene of disaster.
"This might hit other Hunters too," one of the knights said as he watched the wildfire.
"That's not my concern."
Efilia shrugged.
"What we should do is focus on our own problems. If you have energy to worry about others, you'd better think about how to save us some trouble."
Efilia said.
The knight fell silent.
"Where to next?"
Lina stood behind Anlus.
"This way."
Anlus continued to lead.
They advanced several more steps toward the center of the Dreamforest of Delusion.
It had only taken less than a minute, but it was as if they had crossed into another world—the path they came from was gone, and even the fire was nowhere in sight.
"We've reached the center of the Dreamforest of Delusion. Few Hunters ever get here,"
Anlus informed them, stopping in place.
"Let's replenish the Prism values first. We'll move again in a bit,"
Lina said.
Mo Ying glanced at the value on her bracelet; each showed less than 30% left.
After using the tool provided by Tianke to replenish them, the group set off once more.
"Most Hunters only hunt Suti in the outer Dreamforest, since there are lots of flower sprites and tree spirits there. They won't go to the center. First, they don't know the way. Second, the center is even more dangerous,"
Anlus said.
"Boom!"
No sooner had she spoken than the ground beneath Efilia collapsed, a giant vine wrapping around her legs.
Everyone instinctively dodged to the side as the ground cracked from the force of the vine.
"Aiya aiya..."
Efilia let out a surprised cry, then was dragged into the crevice by the vine.
It all happened so fast that Mo Ying had no time to react.
Efilia, who just seconds ago was standing right beside her... had died in those ten seconds?
It didn't look like a situation anyone could survive.
Just thinking about how close she'd just been to Efilia, and how it could have been her, made Mo Ying's legs go weak.
"We've run into a 'big one'! Run!"
Anlus shouted.
"Big one?"
Mo Ying froze. Before she realized it, she found herself shrouded in shadow.
She turned around and saw a giant tree monster, dozens of meters, nearly a hundred meters tall, standing behind her.
A human face was carved into its trunk, its branches were all human arms, its roots were the same vines that had just dragged away Efilia.
This thing...
This thing—how could something like this exist?
Everything here shattered Mo Ying's understanding. She collapsed to the ground.
The tree monster raised its vines and slammed toward Mo Ying.
"Run! More monsters are gathering here!"
Anlus shouted.
"Run!"
Lina rolled forward and pulled the fallen Mo Ying to her feet, ordering the other knights as well.
Faced with a monster like this, there was nothing they could do but run.