Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1159 - 271 Galama

Chapter 1159: Chapter 271 Galama

Although the undergrowth around them was dense, the girls could still clearly see Pannis’ movements. As he used the shadow’s cover to appear outside the thicket Catherine had indicated and took a glance inside, he seemed to freeze for a moment before turning and walking away without even showing the interest to look back. When he returned to the girls’ side, Pannis didn’t offer an explanation; instead, he simply pursed his lips and said, "Let’s go, take a detour, avoid that patch of woods."

"Uh, okay, it’s easy enough to walk around." Catherine said, a bit startled, and nodded, "But there really are enemies inside? And they are troublesome?"

"The enemies inside are not a bit of trouble, dead Undead are the best kind of Undead, they are not troublesome at all," Pannis sighed and said, "The trouble is with those trees, and they are very troublesome."

"Those trees?" Catherine asked in surprise, "You recognize those trees? We have never seen this kind of tree before."

"I haven’t seen them before either, they must also be unique to the Core Forest," Pannis explained, "But, you will understand when we pass by them in a moment."

"That’s fine." Catherine nodded in apparent confusion, already vaguely guessing the issues with the woods, waved to the girls, and the group proceeded cautiously, slightly changing direction to skirt the edge of the thicket. As they brushed past, the girls could hardly suppress their curiosity and peeked into the woods. After a few brief glances, they understood why Pannis had reacted so.

The trees in the thicket were not densely packed, but from the broad canopies hung numerous air roots reaching down to the ground, standing erect between the trunks. From afar, it looked as if the tree trunks were densely packed. However, strangely, many of the trees’ branches and leaves were withered, looking lifeless as if there was insufficient nutrition in the soil to sustain the plants. Only a few trees had lush foliage, markedly contrasting with their kind. At the center of these thriving plants were two large spheres, formed by the air roots of the plants, seemingly wrapping something inside, layer upon layer, without leaving a single gap. A faint stench of decay emanated from these two large spheres; without much thought, one could guess what was encased inside the root-wrapped spheres.

"These creatures are carnivorous plants." Catherine said in surprise, "No wonder they look half-dead as if they could wither at any moment. It turns out it’s because they lack the supplement of external meat. Relying solely on nutrients from soil clearly can’t satisfy all their needs."

"That’s why I said we should take a detour," Pannis said, "Otherwise, the moment we enter the range of the woods, we will be targeted by those hungry plants, and like those two spheres, we’ll be wrapped layer by layer, becoming their nourishment. It looks like they are already desperate for food, so surely they won’t spare us for being picky eaters. See, they seem quite eager to detain us!"

Indeed, the carnivorous trees seemed to be growing impatient. The girls had been standing close to this forest without entering the range of the trees’ hunting roots, but now it was evident—with no wind stirring—that the predatory aerial roots were stretching toward the girls, seemingly trying to wrap around them and drag them back into their territory.

"Thanks for the hospitality, but I have no interest in turning into a sphere," Lina said as she stepped back, avoiding an encroaching aerial root. "Let’s hurry up and leave; they don’t seem to want to let us go."

With a "bang," a sound like a snapping bowstring rang out. It was Catherine, swinging her longsword, severing several of the approaching aerial roots. To cut the roots, Catherine didn’t just strike once. The first slash was mighty but without Aggression, echoing a crisp sound as if the blade had struck a boulder. The subsequent slashes, each infused with the energy of Aggression and increasing in intensity, felt like cutting into the sap of a brachiosaurus tree; no matter how hard she struck, the longsword was repelled until she wielded the highest intensity of Aggression and barely managed to sever three advancing roots. Dark red sap with a fishy smell oozed from the break, as if she had indeed severed the limbs of some creature. The remaining roots, as if frightened, quickly retracted back into the forest, daring not to come out again.

"What are these plants?" Lina, having observed Catherine’s entire testing process, asked curiously. "They actually retract on their own after being damaged by their kind; can they still be classified as plants? Besides, these things are frighteningly hard. If one were wrapped tightly by them, it would probably be impossible to break free and escape with one’s own strength alone."

"If I’m not mistaken, these should be what the Elf records refer to as Galama, or in Common tongue, living trees. It is said that these trees tightly bind their prey, the more the prey struggles, the tighter they bind, and they can even strangle their prey to death. After subduing their prey, the Galama penetrate the skin with the tips of their aerial roots and secrete a dissolving liquid, like some spiders, that liquifies the internals and absorbs the fluid nutrients until the prey is sucked dry into a Dried Corpse before releasing it," Pannis shrugged and said, "It seems that the debate over Galama can now come to an end."

"What debate?" Vivian inquired keenly, "If there is a debate about them, the biggest possibility would be whether they belong to the animal kingdom or the plant kingdom, right?"

"That’s the one. Within the Elf community, there’s a group of idle scholars who have been divided into two factions debating whether Galama have souls, believing that if they do have souls, they should be classified as animals, even though they exhibit many plant-like characteristics," Pannis said. "But now it’s confirmed; they have no souls of their own and can only be classified as plants. Hmm, if I sell this conclusion to Antuin, he’d definitely be willing to pay a hefty sum of Crystal for it. Huh, why is my first thought to sell the conclusion? It must be the influence of a certain someone... hey hey hey, don’t hit me, my shoulder’s about to shatter."

Catherine cast an annoyed glance at Pannis, asking without any friendly tone, "The ones that have been wrapped up should be Modified Undead magical beasts, right? Their flesh has all been absorbed and eaten, but they are still alive and struggling, which is why the Galama wrap tighter and tighter, eventually forming a sphere."

"Should be, but I suggest we leave quickly," Pannis gestured with his chin, "The aerial roots that were scared off by your sword seem to have called quite a few of their buddies and are circling us again. If we don’t leave now, I think we might actually get a chance to find out firsthand what kind of treatment those Modified magical beasts received."