Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1021 - 136 Blood Poison Vine

Chapter 1021: Chapter 136 Blood Poison Vine

Flare still wore a long, emerald dress and brought none of the four Elven Relics with her, including herself, the use of Sacred Items by generations of Elf Queens had always adhered to the same philosophy: Should any action carry any risk, the Sacred Items must never be taken out of the Elven Royal Court. There were no exceptions to this rule, not even during an expedition to the Realm of the Dead a hundred years ago when Her Majesty had not carried the Sacred Items to increase her combat power. This practice was partly because the power of the Sacred Items would drastically diminish outside the forest, and partly to minimize the risk of losing them. Hence, an action like entering the Forest of Death, even if just at its outskirts, was undeniably high-risk. Therefore, she was only dressed in her usual attire, without any Sacred Items.

Of course, it wasn’t just her in normal dress; the team was divided into two extremes. All the demigods were in casual attire, while the five girls from the adventure team, like the members of the King’s Court’s guard, were wrapped in thick, black cloaks, not exposing a patch of skin. It was said that when living in the forest, if one strayed beyond the towns fenced by the Divine Gift Tree, it was best to don this kind of attire. Aside from defending against the bites of ordinary mosquitoes and insects, the primary purpose was to prevent most of the harm from plants.

"In many people’s minds, with the exception of a very few carnivorous ones, plants are generally harmless, but in the Forest of Death, this perception is utterly turned on its head. The damage inflicted by the plants of the Forest of Death is often lethal, and the victims don’t even know what killed them," Pannis said, leaning casually against a tree, holding a climbing plant with two fingers and saying, "Take this one, for example. Its scientific name is Nelson Poison Vine, but those professionals who frequently adventure in the Lost Forest prefer to call it the blood poison vine. Look closely at these thorns, see them? Very short, and usually can’t penetrate the skin if there’s clothing in the way. However, if it scrapes an uncovered part of the skin, it will leave behind a bloody scratch. That’s not really a big deal; scratches and bruises are common in outdoor adventures, and getting scratched by it doesn’t hurt much or itch, and most people wouldn’t even notice. But once it breaks the skin, its toxicity will erupt fifteen minutes later, and from the moment of toxicity to death, there are only three seconds. Unless there’s an experienced priest to cast a Divine Spell to detoxify at the exact moment the toxicity erupts, the poisoned person is doomed to die, with no chance of luck. Without firsthand experience, even if such typical things are mentioned in records, they are only summarily noted. Without facing them personally, no matter how much you research, you can’t truly understand them. What’s more, in the forest there are countless similar plants not mentioned in records, and any professional, however powerful, is at risk of injury or even death when faced with them without a demigod’s fixed Shield," he explained.

"It’s that dangerous?" A few of the girls stepped back in unison, staring fixedly at the vine in Pannis’s hand. Catherine frowned and asked, "If that’s the case, stop touching it with your hand and put it down right away."

"Touching it with my hand is actually fine. The toxins on the vine lose their potency three minutes after being detached, and as long as they don’t enter the bloodstream, even if you’re fully immersed in the toxins, they won’t have any effect, same as if ingested." Pannis said as he tossed aside the vine, licked his finger, and spread his hands out, saying, "See, no problem at all, as long as there are no wounds in the mouth... ah..."

"Are you an idiot? Did you think we didn’t see you licked a different finger?" Lina scoffed, and the girls, paying no mind to Pannis clutching his own neck and pretending to be poisoned, turned and walked towards the busy Elf Queen, leaving the pitiful Pannis behind, with his hand around his neck, unsure whether to release it or not.

Flare was indeed busy; after deciding to take a short rest here and have lunch, she began to make preparations. Even though the King’s Court’s guard was there to protect them, those elves were only clearing potential threats from magical beasts around the perimeter for the team. Such routine work during an adventure was something Her Majesty preferred to do herself.

I must admit, having a powerful Elf companion during a forest adventure is an incredibly delightful thing. She can save the entire team a great deal of time and energy. Just like what Flare was doing just now, she patted a tree trunk and then pressed her forehead against a vine, falling silent for a moment. In the next moment, the whole area burst into a hive of activity, and the forest seemed to come to life. A multitude of vines began twisting and extending, looking like countless pythons slithering among the trees. The vines entwined among themselves, and in no time, a giant vine net with a length and width of over ten meters was woven on the top of the ground shrubbery. Her Majesty leaped up, glided around the edge of the vine net with grace, and sprinkled some insect repellent powder on a few main vines connected to the trunks for support, and just like that, a safe resting place was simply constructed.

"Everyone come up," Flare beckoned and called to the others two or three meters below, "Although it’s makeshift, at least we don’t have to worry about those annoying insects. I certainly don’t want to pick up a piece of food only to find some mysterious bugs lurking underneath."

"Hahaha, probably no one would like that," Dwarf Shielder Conaida was the first to jump onto the vine net, and almost everyone’s heart tightened at that moment. The weight of the dwarf in full armor must have exceeded three hundred kilograms, causing the entire vine net to undulate with his landing. However, the Queen already on the net appeared to have anticipated this and stood steadily, swaying with the rise and fall of the vines as if she was a small boat in a tempest, remaining upright no matter how the waves surged.

"If that’s the case, I should also have no problem getting up," Freya said, scratching her head in vexation. After receiving an affirmative answer from Flare, she activated the assistive jumping device on her legs and shot straight up onto the vine net. Once Catherine, also clad in heavy armor, had leapt up and they confirmed that the vines showed no signs of possible breakage, everyone let out the breath they’d been holding and jumped onto this temporary resting place.

Standing high up, Flare sniffed the air and furrowed her pretty eyebrows, saying with trepidation, "It seems our plan to reach the edge of the Lost Forest before nightfall is going to fall through. There’s no way we can avoid the rain this afternoon."

"Are you sure it will start earlier?" Pannis raised his hand high as if feeling the moisture in the air, and after a moment of silence, he pursed his lips and said, "It really is coming sooner, and it looks like it’s going to be quite a downpour."

"There’s never just a light rain in the Forest of Death," Flare shook her head, "It’s always a torrential downpour."