Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 793 - 58 Warmth in Chaos

Chapter 793: Chapter 58 Warmth in Chaos

"Hydras have a very peculiar lifestyle, their females have a spawning cycle of twenty years, laying eggs once every twenty years. When laying eggs, because juvenile hydras are only the size of a palm and extremely fragile, unable to adapt to the harsh environment of the Southern Marshes, the pregnant mothers migrate to the Northern Swamp a few months before laying, then return to the Southern Marshes." As they walked into the treehouse, Pannis continued to explain to the girls, "As for the hydra eggs that are laid, the mothers bury them deep in the swamp to quietly slumber, waiting for the young hydras to hatch after three years. Once hatched, the young hydras instinctively forage at the bottom of the mud, feeding on the abundant micro and small creatures there. After eating their fill, they sleep deep in the mire until they pass the juvenile stage, which takes about ten years. Of course, a large number of unlucky ones won’t survive this period, never reaching adulthood, eliminated by nature before they can grow up. There is a certain connection between generations of hydras, and after ten years, the mothers whose offspring have not died will migrate to the Northern Swamp again, to gather the juveniles that have entered the growth stage, and bring them back to the Southern Marshes, where the juveniles can now face most of the creatures and the environment. Most can then grow up successfully. Although when we met Jack back then, she was still deep in the Southern Marshes, she was about to enter the spawning period, so we accompanied her on a migration journey, which makes us fairly familiar with it."

"Blessings of Denia, the little hydras sound so pitiful," Lina said in a low voice, drawing a square in front of her chest, "They leave their parents from a young age and are left to face the dangers of the world alone. The ones that manage to grow up are actually quite fortunate."

In reality, the girls of the adventure team, with the exception of Freya, who had the love of her father, had all lost their parents since they were young. Like the hydras, they also had to face everything on their own, and in some ways, they had it worse than the hydras because, at least juvenile hydras know their mothers will come back for them, whereas the girls knew that no matter what, their parents could never come back. Therefore, hearing about the hydra’s upbringing, it was hard for the girls not to feel a strange sense of resonance.

"I think if you knew the mortality rate of the juvenile hydras, you wouldn’t feel such sympathy for them anymore," Pannis said with a shrug, casually mentioning, "They are so powerful that, in order to maintain balance, nature not only gives them a long reproductive cycle but also increases the difficulty of their growth. Given the current size of the hydras, a single spawning cycle can produce about fifty to a hundred eggs, but after ten years, typically only one or two mothers will come to the Northern Swamp to retrieve their offspring. The rest either fail to hatch successfully or die from natural conditions during their juvenile period."

"Pop," while Pannis was explaining, suddenly a head shot out from behind him. A hydra’s neck is very long and highly flexible, able to coil into a spiral shape and snap out like a snake, using its head to strike enemies at high speed. Jack seemed to enjoy this as well, bumping Pannis from behind, while her other eight heads made mocking gestures, "That’s what you get for talking bad about us, serves you right, serves you right."

If there was anything more headache-inducing than encountering a mischievous child, it would be dealing with eight mischievous children at once. Hydra Jack still seemed to hold a grudge against Pannis, and with Alcmene’s approval, she kept playing helpless pranks on him throughout the journey, with head-butting attacks being one of the simpler ones. Having succeeded in her mischief, Jack, fearing Pannis’s retaliation, was the first to scurry behind Alcmene and into the tree trunk.

Inside the trunk, the girls discovered that aside from the walls being of irregular shapes, there was no difference from a normal human room. The living room was furnished with soft chairs and coffee tables for guests, and the bedroom had beds as well, only the Lizardman’s beds were quite hard, which was related to their bodies being covered in scales.

"Huh?" Catherine exclaimed as she looked at the furniture in the living room, "Isn’t this the furniture from the Holy City’s Terik Furniture Line? We have the same kind at home."

"Yeah, they were a gift from my younger brother back in the day," the former High Priest of the Lizardmen said, resembling an ordinary housewife as she carried a tray out of the kitchen. The cups on the tray emitted delicate wisps of steam, "Come, try the special red root vine from the swamp. The humidity there is really too much, and it can damage human bodies, but brewing water with this plant can help eliminate the impact of the damp and hot environment on humans. It’s very effective."

Pannis didn’t wait for Alcmene to put down the tray; he snatched a cup for himself. Without fear of the scalding heat, he gulped down half the cup and let out a comfortable puff of warm air, "Alc is a master in herbalism. Not only are her medicinal concoctions effective, but she also blends in some other plants to make the taste particularly inviting. I suggest you all give it a try, it’s really good."

"You, you’ve gotten so fond of tasty things," Alcmene humanely rolled her eyes at Pannis, then gently nudged the hydra that was lying at her feet, "Your share is in that basin over there. I know you like it, so I prepared a little extra for you. Hey, slow down—don’t come crying to me if you burn your mouth. See, you burned it, didn’t you? And you, Galantis, you’re a hundred years old, not one. I know you haven’t seen me in two years and missed me, but could you spare my tail, please? I don’t recall ordering a tail ornament, especially not one in human form. And don’t bother Kyle, oh, I mean, Uncle Pannis. You’re not ten years old anymore. If you jump on him and climb around, you could crush him to death."

The scene before the girls was unexpected. They imagined that when old friends reunited after many years, the atmosphere would be serious with a touch of sorrow. But what they actually saw was a chaotic scene. However, it was this ordinary scene that made the girls feel the warmth of home amidst the chaos. It’s only in the relaxing environment of home that people can let go of all pretense and become uproariously messy.

"Alright, that’s enough, stop it," Alcmene said grudgingly, seeing her daughter ignore her injunctions and insist on climbing onto Pannis’s leg, sending the resolute Pannis running all over the place. With clenched teeth and a flick of her tail, she wrapped Galantis up and pulled her aside. After setting her down, she gave a few swats on her bottom, then sat down in the chair opposite Pannis, "You haven’t paid me any mind for over a hundred years, little brother. What made you think of visiting your sister this time?"

"Your daughter dragged me here," Pannis paused a moment, using the teacup to cover his face and said evasively, "And after so many years apart, it’s time to see each other again. Otherwise, we might never get the chance."

"Tsk," a hint of amusement shone in Alcmene’s vertical pupils as she snickered, "If you missed me, just say you missed me. You’re still so shy, little brother." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommend tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)