CHAPTER 701: CHAPTER 696: CORPSES AND UNDERGROUND SPACE

Flying, their speed increased dramatically.

In just a few minutes, Ronald and his two companions descended to the bottom of the pitch-dark tunnel.

The underground world was shrouded in darkness.

Costate held a softly glowing light that could attract any gaze.

Yet, having absolute strength in terms of martial power, their simple team didn’t care much about being noticed.

It was here that the underground river split into two tunnels.

The water flowed on one side, while the other side had no flowing water and seemed to gradually revert to a normal cave formation.

"..."

"Let’s go left."

Even though they were not dealing with humans, Ronald thought that the enemy wouldn’t establish a camp along the underground river.

He made a quick decision and continued onward.

Subsequent events proved Ronald was right.

They had advanced just over a hundred meters into the tunnel when the special environment carried distant sounds to their ears.

Costate spoke just as before:

"Sir, did you hear that?"

"Mmm..."

Ronald nodded slightly.

Though the sounds from the tunnel were somewhat distorted and faint, he could still barely make out the clashing of metal.

"It might be people who entered earlier, fighting."

"It sounds somewhat like the clashing of weapons during a fight."

"..."

Ronald and Costate quickly exchanged opinions.

Helle, the only one in the team who couldn’t detect this, quietly remained silent.

Having been together for a few days,

the young girl had fully realized the capabilities of the two men beside her.

Although she hadn’t heard anything, she still showed understanding of the situation.

While they talked and moved forward,

Costate slightly adjusted the light source in his hand to better suit the narrow environment of the underground tunnel.

Following the direction of the sound,

they covered a considerable distance, deep enough that even the temperature around them began to noticeably rise. Soon, the vista in front of the trio suddenly opened up.

Here,

Costate didn’t even need lighting.

As they emerged from the tunnel, they entered a vast open space, endless from one glance, filled with innumerable dark red columns piercing vertically complete, their emitted dark red glow coloring every corner.

Ronald’s gaze sharpened.

These column-like structures contained significant Magic Fluctuations; ordinary Casters might not have this capability.

Looking at the countless numbers...

How much more was hidden in Yizi Forest over these months?

Ronald furrowed his brow and Costate immediately went forward to examine, arriving at a conclusion almost instantly:

"Sir, this closely resembles plant rootstocks."

"They contain a high-temperature liquid, and both the Magic Fluctuations and the light originate from it."

"..."

"Plants, huh..."

Ronald appeared contemplative.

They were clearly approaching the ’Mother’ mentioned by the ’Tree Spirit,’ and these root-like structures corroborated this on the side.

But considering the quantity of these roots here.

That so-called Mother couldn’t possibly be small in size.

Ronald couldn’t help but recall his past experiences in the "Infinite Negative Realm."

Concerning creatures like the Springs Monster suffice it to say, if the creature hidden under Yizi could match the size of Bapulor from the past...

So, this journey,

might meet a very troublesome enemy.

"Hmm?"

Just as Ronald was contemplating whether to change his exploratory attitude, another detail caught his sharp eye.

In the space to the front left.

Something seemed to have fallen there on the ground.

"Costate, keep up."

Turning his head to walk in that direction, the hidden item appeared before him under the faint red light.

Two bodies were lying here.

Two bodies, almost identical in appearance to humans, lay on the ground with very obvious piercing wounds. Next to them, two machetes suitable for chopping were dropped on the ground, clearly indicating a previous battle.

"Sir, look..."

Ronald knelt down to examine the deceased, while Costate spoke up to remind him.

In fact, not far away, inconspicuous bloodstains on the ground were disappearing into the soil—not from the blood seeping into the dirt.

But from the glowing roots around.

Actively absorbing the blood near them into their bodies.

"..."

Ronald frowned and stood up.

He wasn’t a very rigid person; wild beasts attacking humans was just a normal part of their animalistic existence, and from the aspect of organisms feeding, there was no issue.

Yet this behavior of roots directly absorbing blood.

It did indeed easily bring to mind some sinister legends.

Just how many things were recorded in the "Organic Encyclopedia" to forcefully engineer such plants?

"They have been dead for less than half an hour."

After sharing his findings with his companion, Ronald then continued to lead the way deeper underground.

Half an hour—

With the pace they were moving at, they could catch up quickly.

The real battle was likely not far off.

Just then, Costate, who also sensed their situation, spoke up:

"Sir, should I disengage the Spell?"

"..."

This was a very practical question.

If previously they had carried on recklessly, proceeding directly from their own strengths would have been no issue.

But now the situation had changed, and there were natural light sources in the environment too.

Continued maintenance of lighting by Costate could indeed be withdrawn.

Ronald quickly nodded:

"Let’s cancel the Spell."

"It’s better to be cautious now."

Ronald made one last check on the bodies, each person had multiple injuries, but the fatal wounds were all from a blade going through the neck, with traces of hard impacts left on the weapons.

From these aspects,

it was apparent that the enemy they encountered performed attacks with very high frequency and also had precise accuracy.

After confirming the details, they continued forward.

This area, filled with plant roots, though monotonous in environment, was surprisingly large. Carefully looking for traces of the group from before, Ronald and his companion walked a great distance without even seeing the cave walls.

A cave of this size, at least capable of containing a lake, not collapsing was a miracle in itself.

And in such a condition,

After advancing another hundred meters, Ronald finally heard some sounds.

Thus, he instantly tilted his head slightly.

Ahead, a pleasing and melodious voice reached his ears.

"Humans, you are truly an interesting species."

"This is clearly a grace bestowed by the heavens to all creatures, yet for your own profit and desires, you claim it is something of humankind?"

"Hahaha, it’s really quite amusing."