Chapter 840 Chapter 839: Terracotta Grottos (7)
Grunting, I raised the Khopesh and blocked the outstretched claws of a rather determined feline monster that had leapt over the tortoise shell shield that Jahi was hoisting, pushing the monster back and watching in slight irritation as a spear stabbed into it's skull, killing it instantly.
But, we had bigger issues on our hands as we watched the three tunnels connecting to this grotto overflow with more and more animal esque monsters, each one rushing at us as a bud grew uninterrupted in the middle of the grotto.
"Who would've thought we'd get so lucky right away, huh?! That thing is absolutely engorged with Nature Mana! Betcha it's something good ah?"
The Demon who had robbed my kill just grinned at me, his cheek splashed with blood and complimenting his natural red skin tone, whilst his scarred lips somehow didn't make him look 'scary' or unapproachable, but instead jovial as he kept grinning, even as he turned back towards the fight and readied his spear again, stabbing it forwards over a shielder's shoulder and piercing the shoulder of a bear.
A horde of animal monsters were charging towards us, the allure of the bud that was - as the Demon had said - engorged with Nature Mana far too strong for them to ignore, since just a bite of whatever emerged would be rather beneficial for a monster who needed mana - and mana alone - to get stronger.
Almost like a Cultivation resource in how it overflowed one's Core with mana to use to get stronger, and whilst mortals could use it that way, there were far more sophisticated and varied ways to make use of such a Nature Mana rich item.
Healing potions primarily would be one of the best uses - where Water Mana and Fire Mana were excellent at healing people, Nature Mana was even better, almost to the point that it could be coined as 'Life Mana' in the way it operated with healing.
And some studies were in fact recorded and stored in the Empress' about how some Nature Mana healers were almost able to resurrect people with their magics, so it was something I was willing to give a little credence to.
Light Magic was still rather disputed with Nature Magic in terms of healing though thanks to the rarity of the element.
Anyways, that was all to say that this herb that was preparing to blossom inside this grotto was the thing that we were after as well, which had been reported by one of the groups that returned last; it would appear that the abundance of Nature Mana was bearing more fruits then we realized, since there was another group that reported a second occurrence like this in a separate tunnel, which was where Satanya was with both Ammit and Leone, taking the two Mages in lieu of a larger group like ours.
With Jahi at the forefront, our group was comprised of mostly melee fighters equipped with spears, shields and short swords, creating a wedge that the animals were charging at, only to get themselves cut down.
I was here to provide support as best I could, which currently meant I was casting a large healing spell over the area before switching to offense as I shot arrows of ice down into the horde, peppering them with preliminary damage that slowed them down, allowing the melee fighters to finish them off swiftly.
Something that earned me a large quantity of experience as I assisted so many people in their kills~!
Already, a hundred - maybe more - monsters and fallen to not only our blades, but also one another as they surged towards us, wanting to kill us off before fighting one another for the right to eat that bud for themselves, and there didn't seem to be an end of them in sight.
Not that anyone here was complaining, since all of the Demons were itching for a battle like this, while I was a tad annoyed at the organized style of fighting, though...
I have to admit, watching as Jahi stood so tall and valiantly in front of me, her heavy shield raised and deflecting the incoming attacks from the monsters before her right arm snaked out and thrust one of her twin Gladius' Light infused blade into said monster's body, stabbing it and twisting the blade before yanking it back out, sending their lifeless corpse to the ground with a thud.
Sadly her actual armor prevented me from seeing the artwork of muscles that was her back as she performed these actions; the thought of her chiseled muscles flexing and writhing beneath her blue flesh was enough to make me swoon... if I wasn't able to see the bloodthirsty bear that was barreling towards her at the moment, its red eyes glowing murderously.
Bears, felines, wolves, disgustingly large rats, bats and more charged at us, and all of them were taking pot shots at one another as they rushed us, fighting amongst themselves just in case they somehow managed to kill us before that fist sized bud blossomed.
Raining icicles down upon the horde, I said "We should probably begin moving forwards to claim it. Who knows when it will bloom...", which got a nod from Jahi as the Demoness shouted "March forwards! Keep shields locked! Ten paces!"
We began to march forwards, pushing into the horde and growing closer to the bud, causing the monsters to roar in anger and double their efforts, but it was clear that they had already begun to thin out, our blades working far too efficiently at cutting them down as we reduced the monster population by a sizable margin.
With the thick Nature Mana swelling inside this grotto though, I wasn't expecting this massacre to diminish the population truly anytime soon; by the end of the hour, more monsters would have manifested inside the Dungeon, but for now, they were slowly reaching their end.
Circling the bud, the Demons began to plant their feet and create a new bastion inside the grotto, taking this area as theirs and not giving up an inch even as monsters continued to pour inside.
Meanwhile, as they focused on the monsters, I began to work at securing the area through my Ice Magic as I erected walls and a dome above us, preventing us from being surrounded and attacked from behind, before I approached the bud and sheathed my Khopesh, inspecting it.
Nature Mana rolled off of it in waves, radiating latent power with each second that passed by as I stood beside it, inspecting its emerald green sepals and wondering what resided inside the bud, though I didn't need to wait long as the Nature Mana inside the grotto swelled by multiple times, causing the monsters to go crazy as they roared even more, slamming themselves into the shield wall in hopes of getting closer to the bud, which was the center of everything.
It hurt to breathe somewhat as I stood beside it, and I glanced over my shoulder and made sure everyone was still doing alright before returning my attention to the bud, watching in amazement as those sepals slowly peeled off of the bud, revealing the petals within.
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