“Let’s continue forward, this is just the beginning.”
Although Epunia said this, everyone directed their inquisitive gazes towards the black-haired girl in the center.
Violet didn’t say much, just nodded slightly.
While she had sensed a familiar yet silent energy flowing within the tree earlier, she hadn’t expected it to launch a direct attack. After all, Miss Priestess had come here for the first time. Having experienced guides certainly made things much more convenient.
If the source of the strange feeling was related to the “Calamity,” then from entering the Forest of Calamity until now, most of the plants encountered by their group probably harbored the parasitic influence of the “Calamity” to some extent. However, this particular tree had been exceptionally corrupted, having undergone a complete mutation.
Of course, this parasitic method was very subtle, seemingly spreading from the underground roots for plants. Only Violet and the dragon lady, Xiao Guang, who possessed extraordinary strength, could perceive the clues.
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Giving a signal to the dragon lady beside her, Violet didn’t explicitly mention it but continued walking forward with the team.
The initial attack seemed like a signal, and as they progressed, they quickly encountered various strange things along the way.
Most prominently, creatures similar to humans but with gray vines growing from their bodies, showing various degrees of mutation—the “Calamity Beasts” born from the parasitism of the “Calamity.”
The strength of these “Calamity Beasts” was not weak, at least at the level of Tier 3, equivalent to human gold-rank or higher. In this Forest of Calamity, it was impossible to find uncorrupted low-level common magical beasts or creatures anymore.
When these “Calamity Beasts” suffered fatal injuries, just like before, they would suddenly release large clouds of gray mist from within their bodies, actively attacking the targets they were currently engaged in combat with.
However, all six present were at least legendary-level experts, and such sneak attacks were easily guarded against when prepared.
In addition to the “Calamity Beasts,” Violet and the others encountered numerous strange entities deeply corrupted by the “Calamity.” These were bizarre trees that actively launched attacks on those who approached, various plants, and even humanoid creatures whose human features were almost indistinguishable.
The most unpredictable were a type of entity that would burst from the ground, directly assault and parasitize its target. They were somewhat similar to the entities inside the three individuals in Anilo City, seemingly peculiar life forms constructed purely by the “Calamity.”
These entities were small and incredibly fast. Although they weren’t individually powerful, they would unexpectedly charge out from visual blind spots during combat, making it easy to get hit if one’s strength was slightly inferior.
As for the reason these “Calamities” could directly form physical bodies without attaching to something else...
It was probably as Epunia said, the Earth Veins providing energy.
The Earth Veins were an extremely complex network of energy, akin to the roots of plants, spreading throughout the underground of the entire world. If the world were compared to a massive, unique organism, the Earth Veins would be its flowing blood and veins.
Apart from the previously mentioned energy tides that fluctuated with the seasons, the basic strength of the Earth Veins varied in different regions, similar to the distinctions between capillaries, veins, arteries, and large arteries in the human body.
The concentration of magical power on the surface and the fertility of the soil, in a sense, represented a tangible manifestation of this. For example, why the Courage City became the capital of the Human United Kingdom was because the entire adventurer’s origin was situated directly above a gigantic Earth Vein, making it exceptionally habitable.
Then there was the black altar discovered in the dark jungle, which held the “Demon God Gem (Fragment).” Although Violet didn’t understand its significance at the time, with a gradually deepening understanding of this world, Miss Priestess now comprehended.
That thing might be used to extract energy from the Earth Veins and infuse it into the “Demon God Gem (Fragment)” to achieve some purpose.
To give another example, the reason for the mutation of plants in Flame Dragon City is also because the local Earth Veins were influenced by the blood of the red dragon and the “Heart of the Red Dragon.”
Conversely, the condition of the plants essentially reflects the state of the local Earth Veins.
As for the trees here and the monsters suddenly emerging from underground...
It had been more than three hours since Violet and her group entered the Forest of Calamity.
They certainly weren’t aimlessly wandering around here. Similar to most territories inhabited by magical beasts and forests, the Forest of Calamity was also divided into outer and inner rings.
In fact, as they progressed, everyone could feel that the strength of the encountered enemies was continuously increasing.
If the initial “Calamity Beasts” and various monsters were basically around Tier 3, fluctuating between gold-rank and obsidian-rank, then now they were at least approaching, if not already reaching, Tier 4.
Even for legendary individuals, it was not possible to casually and instantly kill a land-tier magical beast parasitized by the “Calamity,” just as in the Forgotten Land back then. The group was gradually surrounded by increasingly gathering “Calamity Beasts” and various monsters.
If it were just ordinary enemies, it wouldn’t have come to this. The main issue was that they had to be vigilant against the gray mist attacks that would inevitably occur when those things were near death. It felt like being surrounded by bombs, each carrying a self-destructive farewell, making the situation a bit troublesome.
The dragon lady, who had not yet acted in the center of the team, tilted her head slightly, using her eyes to inquire of her master. Obviously, she was getting a bit impatient.
But Violet just shook her head.
This situation was definitely abnormal.
According to Epunia, he had led a group deeper into the Forest of Calamity, encountering the annihilation of the group by the Illusionary Cloud. Although there were only four legendary figures now, four legends were far more agile than over a hundred obsidian-rank to sky-rank riffraff. If that guy wasn’t bragging, something had definitely changed in the Forest of Calamity compared to the time back then.
Without a clear understanding of the situation, rashly letting the main force engage was not the best choice. Moreover, fighting soldiers with soldiers, generals with generals—these were just the lackeys under the Illusion Cloud’s command. Letting Xiao Guang take action against them would be a bit undervalued.
“Miss Violet, something seems off. We’ve just entered the inner circle, so there shouldn’t be this many enemies. Also, there are some monsters emerging from underground that I haven’t seen before. What do you think we should do now?”
Having forcefully beheaded a Tier 4 “Calamity Beast” and swiftly retreated before the gray mist erupted, Epunia returned to the battlefield, facing away from Miss Priestess as he urgently spoke.
The enemies that were vaguely closing in from all sides probably exceeded a hundred individuals by now. The “Calamity” released upon death was continuously dispersing into the air, making the entire area gradually become hazy.
This familiar scene undoubtedly stirred the deepest sense of powerlessness and gloom in the half-beastman’s heart.
After all, Violet was the leader and the strongest one on this journey. Epunia was just serving as a guide, so in critical moments, Miss Priestess’s opinion naturally took precedence.
The black-haired girl glanced at the surrounding battlefield. Leila, Rene, and Edwina were continuously slaughtering incoming monsters. Although it wasn’t difficult for them, their rate of elimination was noticeably slower than the rate at which enemies were gathering.
If this continued, it would be endless. No one knew how many similar entities were present in the Forest of Calamity.
After a brief thought, Violet made a decision.
“Continue the forward assault. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to be bogged down by a group of small fry. Heh, indeed, group combat still requires auxiliary support.”