Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1046 - 161 Drooping Silktree

Chapter 1046: Chapter 161 Drooping Silktree

Though they had to climb over several mountain ridges, the overall trend was still a downward journey along the mountain’s contours. Moving in a dense forest like the Forest of Death was a lot easier for Upper Rank professionals when descending rather than ascending. The various trees growing along the path acted as barriers, so there was never any worry about speed becoming uncontrollable. Moreover, professionals’ reactions and speed were much keener than average people’s. While descending, if they focused on their footing and didn’t trip over various obstacles on the ground, they could easily run down the mountain. Only when their speed got too fast would they need to use the nearby trees to slightly control their velocity. Almost no extra effort was required on the way down, which felt like the most comfortable indulgence compared to the strain of the upward climb.

"And then die while enjoying," Pannis’s voice suddenly appeared behind Catherine. His hand also landed on the girl’s shoulder at the same time. The instant Catherine heard his voice, she had started to slow down. Even with Pannis’s aid to stop her descent, although there were no abnormalities in front of her—just a few very ordinary trees—she still raised her Magicsteel Shield in front of her to maintain enough vigilance. She had even deployed her Aggression Shield, because she knew that Pannis would never joke about such matters. Since he had taken the initiative to stop her from moving forward, there must be some situation unfolding.

During the descent, the team of more than a dozen people was arranged in a loose formation. The girls received no special treatment in the team’s arrangement. Catherine and the Shieldbearer, Conaida, were at the very front of the team. If they encountered danger head-on, both were required to defend on the spot immediately. No matter how powerful the enemy, they had to fend off the initial wave of attacks to buy time and opportunities for their teammates. On the flanks of the team, Pannis and Ava were on the left, with the Elf Queen and the Lizardman, Alcmene, on the right. The four, either with sufficient speed or a wide attack range, could reliably protect the core of the team from strikes from the flanks. At the team’s core were the mages, including Doris. The four strong individuals exercising mage functions had the most potent attack power in the team. Without any interference, it would be difficult for any enemy to withstand their combined magic assault. Behind the four offensive cores were Lina and the Winged Twins, three girls following closely behind the mages. They were the hope of the entire team. In case of a grueling fight, they had to rely on their Divine Spells and magic for sustenance. Moreover, unlike the fragile mages, they had strong self-preservation abilities. Guarding behind the mages also made their situation safer. As for the rear of the team, the scorpion-tailed lion, Dillie, guarded the back. Having spent many long years in the Forest of Death, the scorpion-tailed lion was familiar with the various dangers posed by magical beasts on the forest’s periphery. With it defending the team’s rear, there was no need to worry about being stealthily attacked by any mysterious magical beasts.

The entire team maintained this formation and moved quickly down the mountain, encountering almost no obstacles along the way. Even if there were creatures that could be a potential threat, they were dealt with in advance by Flare and Alcmene before any contact was made. This situation continued until just a few seconds ago when the knight girl, due to the terrain’s nature, sped up a little too fast, surpassing Conaida by a few steps. And precisely these few steps brought her to Pannis’s halt, which caused the whole team to stop as well.

"Is there a situation?" Catherine, looking at the unremarkable space in front of her, asked without turning her head, "Where’s the enemy?"

"Relax. There’s no need to be so tense," Pannis patted the girl’s arm, urging her to loosen up. "The danger is right in front of us; you just can’t see it. But don’t worry, it won’t come at us on its own."

"Is it... these trees?" The knight girl’s muscles slowly relaxed, setting her Magicsteel Shield aside and observing the few large trees nearby more closely. There was nothing unusual about the appearance of the trees. Though she couldn’t distinguish the type of trees, whether the trunks or the canopies, they seemed to be ordinary, with the occasional falling leaf. Despite scrutiny, these were just one of the countless ordinary trees in the forest.

"They look quite normal," said Lina, leaning against Catherine’s back, peering out from over the knight girl’s shoulder. Curious, she added, "Except for the leaves, which seem fresher than those under other trees, there doesn’t seem to be any other difference."

"No, there is a difference," Freya, squinting her eyes—as a Crystal Gunner, she had high requirements for her vision, and with the Hawkeye Spell she cast on herself, she could see hundreds of meters away with perfect clarity. After observing for a while, she suddenly crossed her arms and shivered, her voice dry, "There are many silk threads hanging down from the trees, just like spider silk. Oh God, please not spiders again. If it really is a spider, tell me now. I’ll take a detour right away. Aaah, who brought up spiders? I’m feeling uncomfortable all over now."

"Idiot, it’s you who mentioned it," Vivian’s magic staff accurately tapped on the princess’s head, shooing her to one side and then also using the Hawkeye Spell for herself. She shook her head, "It’s not like spider silk, spider silk is a bit finer than this, and not as transparent. And most importantly, I don’t see any spiders around."

"You’re also an idiot. Spiders are good at hiding; of course, you wouldn’t see them if they’re hiding," Lina, wanting to join in the fun, shoved Vivian aside as well. After looking for a long time and seeing nothing, she could only helplessly stroke her bald head and say, "Are there really spiders? Freya, stop glaring at me. Okay, okay, are there really silk threads?"

"Yes, there are silk threads, but they are not from a spider; you can be at ease, Freya," Pannis finally announced, bringing instant relief to Freya’s complexion, "This kind of tree has no name, but we habitually call it a drooping silktree."

"Your habit of naming things is really easy to understand," Lina rolled her eyes at Pannis, "That’s so literal."

"Anyway, it’s just to specifically refer to them, you can call them whatever you want," Pannis shrugged, saying indifferently, "The key is that the name doesn’t overlap with other trees and has distinct features, to avoid any confusion."

"You guys take these trees so seriously?" Catherine asked with some surprise and confusion, "Are they that dangerous?"

"They are deadly for you, and even for us, they’re a hassle," Pannis said with a troubled face as if recalling something, "If you’re not careful and wander into the range of this tree, it takes quite an effort to extricate yourself."

"Hahaha, Kyle old buddy, are you thinking about that time again?" Conaida laughed heartily, the loud laughter causing Flare beside him to frown deeply, "That must have been the most flustered you’ve ever been, heh heh."

"Hiss hiss, I don’t think it was more flustering than playing with the fierce fish in the swamps of the Tear of the Gods," Alcmene added another jab, "After all, it was the first time in my life I saw someone enjoy playing with fierce fish so much, hiss hiss hiss."

"Cough cough, don’t mind them," Pannis coughed a few times and straightened his face, saying, "Follow me, I’ll show you, and then you’ll see the danger of this tree."

In the midst of the half-gods’ teasing laughter, the girls followed Pannis and approached the plant known as the drooping silktree. The drooping silktree wasn’t very tall, about seven or eight meters, with relatively sparse horizontal branches in the canopy, but the leaves were very dense, layer upon layer, which theoretically, shouldn’t be possible for any tree. Upon closer inspection, they could see strands of translucent silk hanging straight down from the canopy, which remained motionless even in the breeze. The knight girl could imagine, if Pannis hadn’t grabbed her just now, she might have failed to notice these threads and could have run straight into them.

"There’s no need to look any further, there’s nothing else up there; these silken threads grow from the branches," Pannis said, dispelling the girls’ notion of searching through the canopy. He picked up a branch from the ground at random and continued, "They’re quick, but they make big movements, so don’t worry about missing out and not seeing them."

The girls nodded and watched as Pannis threw the branch he had picked up. The branch didn’t travel fast, spinning through the air and entering the range of the canopy. It appeared that the silken threads had no stickiness to them, for as the branch flew past, it only caused the threads to flutter without sticking to the branch or anything unusual happening.

But the next moment, the aberration occurred. As the threads fluttered, several large holes suddenly opened up in the ground beneath the canopy, and several giant worms, each about three to four meters in diameter, burst out of the ground at lightning speed. As they emerged, one could vaguely see countless sharp, spiral teeth growing inside the mouths of these worms, intertwining like a meat grinder as their bodies writhed.

The worms surged up to a height of five or six meters, and upon realizing they hadn’t bitten anything, retracted back into their holes as quickly as they had appeared, leaving behind several pitch-black holes that were bottomless to the eye.

From the worms’ appearance to their disappearance, it took only two seconds in total, yet those two chilling seconds made the girls’ hearts sink. Given the unanticipated speed with which the worms appeared, even Catherine wasn’t confident she could evade them in time. Judging by their size and teeth, if they were actually swallowed, even the Aggression Shield of someone of Legendary Rank might not last long under continuous assault before being ground into a pile of minced meat.