Chapter 242: Blood Sac

With their scouts guiding them, the army of the Church moved quickly, traveling farther and farther away from the entrance of the valley.

“They’re asking for death!”

Having eased the worry in their hearts, the Church’s soldiers, mounted on their muscular horses, were completely oblivious to the changes happening on the ground. Meanwhile, Yang Ling, who was observing the situation from the side, could see everything clearly. The army of the Church had unintentionally stepped into the traps set by the Man-eating Vines!

The deeper into the valley they went, the more gruesome their deaths would be!

Originally, Yang Ling had wanted to follow the army of the Church into the valley. However, he had no choice but to abandon that idea after seeing the strange Man-eating Vines and their sharp spines.

“Jordan, didn’t you say that the Shauna Valley was very terrifying? Why are there no signs of danger even though we have already been in the valley for some time?” a young knight asked the soldier beside him, pulling off his tight mask to catch gulps of fresh air.

“Most of those stories you’ve heard are just legends. No one truly knows what’s within the valley.” Raising his head to look at the low-lying shrubs around him, the knight by the name of Jordan shook his head before he continued, “But this valley gives me a weird feeling, it’s better to be more careful!”

Turning his head to look at the red-robed Cardinal who had closed his eyes to rest, a shifty-looking knight moved to Jordan’s side and whispered, “Hehe, Jordan, what are you afraid of? Could it be that you had too much of a good time with the lady last night and have no more energy left for today?”

“Darn you, don’t assume that everyone is as lecherous as you are!”

Looking at the lecherous weasel-faced man, Jordan removed his helmet and extended his hand to hit him in the head. These helmets were the newest equipment of the Church, and while they did have a decent defensive capability, they were too tight. It made it hard for the soldiers to even breathe while they were wearing them!

For some reason, Jordan had felt pressured ever since he stepped into the valley. It was as if he had stepped into a volcanic valley where the air was thin, or that a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters were looking down at them. He felt extremely uncomfortable.

“Ten years, a full ten years have passed!”

After stroking the stubble on his face, Jordan, for some reason, especially missed the young lady, Lila, whom he had not seen in a decade. She was the lover he had grown up with beside the Mississippi River.

According to the rules of the Church, one could submit an application to return to their hometown and work in their local Church after holding a role as guardian warrior in the Holy City for ten consecutive years and accumulated enough contributions. They would even receive a good stipend every month as compensation.

The status as a high-level guardian warrior, a decent salary, stable job…

After toiling over these many years, he finally saw his wish of gloriously returning to his hometown and marrying Lila about to come true. He was going to submit his application to the cardinal immediately after this mission and get his pastor to initiate his wedding after returning home. Thinking about Lila’s sweet smile, he felt as though he had drunk an entire bottle of Siberian Honey.

“Oh, that’s weird, what’s that?” Taking off his helmet, Jordan shook his head and massaged his suddenly numb neck. Without meaning to, he suddenly noticed a few green plants on the ground. They had no legs or wings but could move forward on their own bit by bit, slowly approaching the group.

After rubbing his eyes and realizing with certainty that he was not hallucinating, Jordan quickly alerted the crowd to the strange foliage. Soon after, he charged with his horse to the front. The knights responsible for paving their path also looked curiously at the green plants moving slowly across the ground. No one was sure what was happening yet.

“Quick, get into a defensive formation, quick!”

After sensing that the knights in front of him had stopped moving, the red-robed Cardinal deliberated for a moment after opening his eyes and seeing the strange green vines. He loudly ordered the group to get into a defensive formation.

Originally, the knights had wanted to ride their horses over to see just what the strange green plants were, but they quickly acted after hearing the red-robed Cardinal’s orders. The men were incredibly fast, living up to their reputations as highly trained guardian knights.

The army of the Church acted quickly, but they were attacked before they could get into their formation!

After hearing a strange crackle, a mysterious ripple spread through the air. Following that, long green vines mottled with red specks dug out from under the ground near the army, slithering through the vital gaps in their incomplete formation just like a venomous snake. The vines’ speed caused the air to crackle around them.

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“Quick, get into formation, use the magical barrier, quick!”

Caught off guard and unable to get into a defensive formation in time, many openings appeared between the soldiers of the Church. In just a short instant, a dozen Spellcasters and archers had been killed, with even more injured!

Some felt the Man-eating Vines coil around their throats and were strangled to death. Some had their stomachs pierced open by the sharp spines of the Man-eating Vines, their intestines spilling out. They convulsed for a moment before becoming motionless corpses on the ground. Others struck in the eyes by the blindingly fast Man-eating Vines, their pupils torn to shreds. They were blinded in an instant, grabbing their eyes as they rolled on the ground in pain.

Even though they were using the wind element Acceleration Spell, the group’s speed was still inferior to that of the Man-eating Vines. Faced with the overwhelming number of vines surrounding them, the heavily armored knights were better off than the rest, for now, most suffering from some physical injuries. However, the archers, who were only in leather armor, and unarmored Spellcasters were far worse off. They would either die or be gravely wounded immediately if they were caught by the spine-covered Man-eating Vines.

“Tsk tsk, so this is the true danger of the Man-eating Vines?” Looking at the horde of vines in the air, seeing their lightning-fast speed and fierce attacks, hearing the ear-piercing shouts, Yang Ling felt lucky that he had not acted recklessly.

“Sir, save us! Sir, save us…”

After the initial onslaught of surprise attacks, the Man-eating Vines dragged the injured archers and Spellcasters into the low-lying shrubs. They contracted as they pulled their victims, digging their sharp spines mercilessly into the bodies of their prey, their tiny syringe-like suckers extracting the fallen men’s Blood Essence.

After unwittingly falling victim to the attack, the archers and Spellcasters felt as though they had been tied up tightly by a piece of rope. As the countless spines dug into their bodies, they felt their limbs ache and turn limp, then numb, as if they had been inflicted with a fatal poison. They did not have the strength to struggle. Their bodies convulsed as they shouted but to no avail. They soon lost the strength to call for help, never mind trying to struggle or retaliate…

“Man-eating Vines?” Looking at the vines dancing in the air, seeing the dozen archers and Spellcasters who were unfortunately dragged away, Kayseri, the red-robed Cardinal, was incredibly alarmed. He remembered reading the records on Man-eating Vines in the ancient tomes of the Church, his expression becoming grimmer.

Even though the Shauna Valley was infamous and the subject of many terrifying legends, he had disregarded the threats in these ridiculous legends due to his exceptional abilities and powerful army and had volunteered to search for the relic of the giant dragon within the valley.

In his opinion, the reason for people’s fear of the Shauna Valley stemmed from the ferocious Magical Beasts that roamed within. That was the reason why he had closed his eyes along the way, to closely monitor the ripples of energy around him in case they encountered any ambush from the Magical Beasts. He did not expect to be caught off guard by a horde of Man-eating Vines!

According to the historical records of the Church, Man-eating Vines relied on the fresh blood of various animals or the life force of plants for sustenance and would frequently leech off of trees with a rich amount of life force. It was rumored that they were not plants originally found on the Tailun Continent, and instead were the weapons of otherworldly demons that had found their way to this land during the time of the Great Battle of the Gods and Demons.

“Fire element magic, quick!” The red-robed Cardinal Kayseri shouted decisively, tilting his body to avoid the surprise attack of a Man-eating Vine, releasing a raging wall of fire without even the need to recite an incantation, instantly burning the Man-eating Vine to ash.

According to the historical records, the Man-eating Vines were lightning fast and had a natural immunity to water and earth element magic. If captured by a Man-eating Vine, even a Sword Saint would have difficulty freeing themselves. The best way to deal with them was to use a raging fire and burn them into ashes all the way to their roots!

“Hmph, Holy Barrier!” After murmuring for an instant, Kayseri cast Holy Barrier without much effort, protecting those who remained of the group. He defended against all of the attacks from the Man-eating Vines using his powerful Magical Energy and mental energy.

The Man-eating Vines were terrifying due to their sharp spines, alarming speeds, massive numbers, and their secretions that could turn a person numb. Strength, however, was not their specialty. He was confident that the defensive capability of the Holy Barrier could deflect the surprise attacks from the Man-eating Vines, buying valuable time for the group.

Under the protection of the cardinal’s Holy Barrier, the group heaved a sigh of relief, quickly taking action after coming to their senses. The Spellcasters cast wall after wall of flame and strings of scorching fireballs, attacking the vines dancing in the air. The priests that followed the army were responsible for treating the injured members, while the archers and knights provided cover for the Spellcasters and priests.

Ping…

Being unable to attack the army of the Church directly, the Man-eating Vines changed their battle strategy in unison, repeatedly unleashing a barrage of attacks on a few select points on the protective barrier. Fortunately, the Holy Barrier with its strong defensive capability remained unmoved for the time being, blocking all of the vines’ attacks like an umbrella, greatly boosting the morale of the group under the barrier.

“An impenetrable shell?”

Yang Ling was shocked when he saw that even the combined attacks of thousands of Man-eating Vines were unable to crack the Holy Barrier cast by the red-robed Cardinal. He silently pondered how many rounds of attacks it would take his formation of Evil Eyes to successfully dissolve such a protective barrier.

“Spellcasters, attack their main bodies with fire element magic. Archers, shoot the blood sacs at their roots, quick!”

According to the historical records, every Man-eating Vine had several tentacle-like appendages. Other than using fire element magic to burn them into ashes, another way to deal with them was to directly attack the blood sac at their roots.

The blood sacs were thought to be the Man-eating Vines’ biggest weakness and were as important as a human’s heart. As long as they broke the blood sac, the Man-eating Vines would basically lose their ability to move.

Additionally, there was another use for the blood sac. The Blood Wine made from the blood sacs were not only fragrant and pure but could greatly boost a person’s constitution. The older a Man-eating Vine, the larger its blood sac, and the more potent the effects of the Blood Wine.