Chapter 244: The Bigger Picture

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

All Man-eating Vines had several appendages with sharp spines at the end, regardless of their size. Each of their appendages were split into a dozen sections, like bamboo, and every section could revolve around at many angles. They were not only fast as lightning, their attacks were also very obscure and highly deceptive!

Sometimes, their attacks would look as though they were aimed toward the face of their enemy, but would instantly turn to attack the opponent’s genitals with a slight twist when approaching their face; Sometimes, the attack was clearly aimed toward the enemy’s dantian, but would slice open the enemy’s throat instantly with a gentle flick…

An ordinary Man-eating Vine already had an offensive radius of about five meters. The giant Man-eating Vine at the entrance of the cave had appendages more than double in length of an ordinary Man-eating Vine’s. It was imaginable how wide its radius of attack was! Coupled with the fact that it had way more appendages than an ordinary Man-eating Vine, it was unimaginable how terrifying its battle capabilities were!

Could this be the champion of the Man-eating Vines!

Yang Ling had a thought as he looked at the continuously twitching appendages of the blood red, giant Man-eating Vine. He recalled the ordinary Man-eating Vines along the way that would retreat or attack maniacally every time they heard a roar.

Those Man-eating Vines did not have enough strength and was unable to quickly dissolve the highly defensive Holy Barrier, but they had alarming speeds and fierce attacks. Furthermore, they did not look too different from an ordinary plant, and were highly deceptive. An average person would be fooled easily, making them easy pickings for them surprise attacks. Coupled with their tyre-like ability to roll away quickly, they were definitely defensive creatures that Yang Ling could not have too many of.

If he could tame a large number of these strange Man-eating Vines and position them at critical locations in the Five-colored Crystal Vein and the Wissen Castle, it would definitely catch the enemies that were attempting to infiltrate the areas off guard. Coupled with the statue-like Gargoyles and the keen senses of the Horned Bee Beasts, even a high-level Sword Saint or Magical Tutor would have difficulty freeing themselves in a short amount of time if they infiltrated his territory recklessly!

He naturally had to tame the champion of the Magical Beasts first if he wanted to tame the rest of the Man-eating Vines!

After taking a deep breath, Yang Ling tried his best to suppress the ripples of Wizard Power in his body, cautiously sneaking toward a spot not far away from the cave. He set his sights on the body of the giant, blood red Man-eating Vine, prepared to strike when the opportunity was right. As longa s he could tame this Man-eating Vine that was akin to a Magical Beast champion, he believed that he would gain control over the ordinary Man-eating Vines and be able to effortlessly gain an army of Man-eating Vines.

Yang Ling was confident, quickly arriving at a decision, while the Red-robed Cardinal Kayseri could not decide whether to advance or retreat despite hesitating for the longest time. According to the historical records, the Man-eating Vine’s abilities are more powerful the redder their bodies are. Blood red Man-eating Vines were a rare sight and possessed terrifying battle capabilities even during the Great Battle of the Gods and Demons.

Other than the giant Man-eating Vine, a large group of ordinary Man-eating Vines were swarming out of the giant cave, their numbers enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. It would definitely be an arduous battle if they got themselves heavily surrounded. He would have to pay a high price even if he were to obtain victory.

The Holy Shield and Holy Barrier were formidable weapons of the army of the Church, but it expended a great deal of Magical Energy. Having fought their way over here, he knew that he did not have too much Magical Energy left. He could only cast the Holy Barrier once if he had to!

Do I charge forward and kill them all, or retreat immediately?

Kayseri was undecided. He wanted to immediately charge in and scout the area when he saw the giant cave. If the relic of the giant dragon was inside the cave, he would undoubtedly gain immense benefits if he passed on the news to the Holy City. But if they got heavily surrounded by the many Man-eating Vines, it was possible that his army got exterminated given that his Magical Energy was largely depleted.

“Attack at full force, go!”

After deliberating for a moment and stroking the Teleportation Scroll in his robes, Kayseri deepened his voice and issued the order, instructing the group to charge toward the giant Man-eating Vine at the entrance of the cave. Even if his subordinates were to be exterminated, even if his Magical Energy was completely depleted, he was confident that he would be able to escape to safety using his Teleportation Scroll!

Even though the group felt their skin crawl when they saw the giant Man-eating Vine covered in appendages, they had no choice but to steel their nerves and charge forward in attack under the orders of the Red-robed Cardinal Kayseri.

The first to take action were the knights who had pulled their masks down, charging forward like a hurricane; The archers followed behind, their concentrated arrows flying outward, straight toward the blood sac at the roots of the giant Man-eating Vine; The Spellcasters cast strings upon strings of fireballs…

After coming to a decision to attack, Kayseri chose to go all out in the hopes of killing the giant Man-eating Vine in an instant. This way, the ordinary Man-eating Vines would not be a cause for concern without the orders of the giant Man-eating Vine.

The army of the Church acted quickly, but the movement of the giant Man-eating Vine was even faster! It contracted into a ball in an instant and dodged to the side, easily avoiding the attacks of the army.

Chitter…

After dodging the attacks of the group, the tentacle-like appendages of the giant Man-eating Vine extended and flailed around in agitation, crackling the air around it. In that instant, a large group of Man-eating Vines swarmed forward in all directions, unleashing a strong offensive on the group.

“Ah, Sir save me, Sir save me…”

“Get into formation, quick, surround it with the Wall of Fire, quick!”

…

The army of the Church soon suffered heavy casualties as they met with the blanketing counter attack of the Man-eating Vines. Some were strangled to death by the python-like grip of the Man-eating Vines, some were dragged into the shrubs not far away; In fact, there were even some who had their bodies pierced through by several Man-eating Vines, their wounds ghastly, with blood flowing incessantly…

“Hmph, a bunch of useless fools!”

Seeing the group slip into a fluster in an instant and suffer heavy casualties as they were attacked by the Man-eating Vines, the Red-robed Cardinal Kayseri let out a low grunt. He murmured for a moment before casting the Holy Barrier, protecting the group. He was unwilling to exhaust the Magical Energy in his body unless he absolutely had to. Unfortunately, the cruel reality was that he could not restrain his abilities any longer.

He was clear that if all of his knights, archers and Spellcasters were to meet with misfortune, it was impossible for him to charge through the strange Shauna Valley alone, no matter how strong his abilities were!

With the protection offered by the Holy Barrier, the army of the Church quickly stabilized and retaliated quickly after getting into formation, manically letting out the fury in their hearts.

The archers took aim at the blood sacs at the roots of the Man-eating Vines and shot out sharp arrows. They would usually cause a Man-eating Vine to slump helplessly onto the ground with every arrow they shot.

The Spellcasters clenched tightly on their magical staffs, releasing Walls of Fire and strings of fireballs, burning the Man-eating Vines that could not dodge in time to ash. The knights were responsible for resting up, and were going to deal a fatal blow at the critical moment.

Thump…

Having been forced back to the entrance of the cave by the army of the Church and having nowhere else to run off to, the Man-eating Vines had no choice but to attack even if they received fatal blows. Their long appendages swirled in the air before crashing fiercely onto the barrier of the army, again and again, continuously slamming onto the same spot and releasing a dull thud.

Unlike the ordinary Man-eating Vines that were manically attacking the army like moths to a flame, the giant Man-eating Vine chose to dodge to the side. Its horde of appendages flailed in the air, releasing different combinations of sounds, as if it were issuing an order, instructing the many Man-eating Vines to form teams and fiercely attack the opponent’s barrier from all angles.

Under the protection of the Holy Barrier, the army of the Church looked as though they had the complete advantage, recklessly attacking the Man-eating Vines that approached them. However, the Red-robed Cardinal Kayseri who was sustaining the barrier by himself was cursing under his breath. A thin layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead as the Magical Energy in his body got lesser and lesser.

The barrier expended a portion of his energy every time it suffered from an impact and would soon scatter if the Magical Energy was not replenished into the barrier. Even though the Holy Barrier temporarily did not vanish under the manic attacks of the Man-eating Vines, it was becoming shaky, its surface covered in thin, web-like fractures!

Creak, creak…

Hearing the sound made by the shaky barrier, Kayseri did not have to say much for the men to understand that the barrier could not last much longer. The knights took a deep breath before pulling down their masks, while the archers and Spellcasters gave their best efforts in their attacks. Them killing one Man-eating Vine now meant that it would be a little safer later!

The Man-eating Vines also paid a heavy price in order to scatter the barrier of the army. All around the barrier were rope-like, motionless Man-eating Vines. A blood-like substance had flowed out of their blood sacs after they had been ruptured. The scene of the battle was a bloody red!

Chitter…

Seeing the opponent’s barrier about to crumble, the giant Man-eating Vine that was hiding by the side let out a shrill cry, instructing the rest of the Man-eating Vines to swarm forward in unison. In that instant, the Holy Barrier finally crumbled with a creak, scattering in the blink of an eye.

Without the protection of the barrier, the army of the Church instantly had to directly face the close-ranged attacks of the many Man-eating Vines. Pathetic cries filled the air, with many people falling to the ground from time to time. Even Kayseri himself was nearly killed in one strike by a Man-eating Vine pouncing toward him!

After commanding the rest of the Man-eating Vines to launch a manic offensive, the giant Man-eating Vine did not attack Kayseri and the rest with the most powerful battle abilities. Instead, it roamed around the perimeter and insolently attacked the defenseless archers and Spellcasters. An ordinary Man-eating Vine only had an attack radius of five meters, while the giant Man-eating Vine had a range of more than double that. Its spine-covered appendages extended and contracted like a spring, instantly killing off dozens of people.

At the same time, against the attacks of the Man-eating Vines, the rest of the men left in the army of the Church retaliated with all their effort, each one more wild than the next. Some of the knights even charged forward in their berserk, picking the blood sac of the Man-eating Vines up with their lance. They completely disregarded the spines near them, willing to perish together with their enemy!

Both parties suffered heavy casualties, blood flowing down the battlefield!

Soon after, the Church had suffered heavy casualties and had not many people who could move left; The Man-eating Vines were not much better off, the ground covered in limp, paralyzed Man-eating Vines. Rivers of blood flowed near the entrance of the cave, creating a jarring scene!

“Hmph, you came at the right time!”

Seeing that his subordinates had basically been exterminated, Kayseri knew that it was not possible to complete his mission this time around. However, it would not be too bad if he could obtain the large blood sac of the giant Man-eating Vine. He unraveled a Petrification Scroll after letting out a cold grunt.

In its carelessness, the speedy giant Man-eating Vine got hit by Kayseri’s petrification spell, rendering it as still as a statue in an instant. Its spine-covered tentacle-like appendages had already closed in toward Kayseri’s chest, head and genitals, but could not advance another step.

After successfully casting the petrification spell, Kayseri did not dare be tardy. He whipped out a sharp dagger and was prepared to tear off the blood sac of the giant Man-eating Vine before leaving quickly using his Teleportation Scroll. Unexpectedly, just as he was crouching down and about to take action, a ripple appeared behind him as a sharp dagger pierced into his body, its blade showing through his chest.

At the critical moment, Yang Ling had teleported behind Kayseri using his Earth Evasion Technique, stabbing him with the sharp Blood Elf Dagger. He then pressed the index finger he bit open onto the body of the giant Man-eating Vine and recited the Wizard Mantra used to tame creatures. Soon after, mysterious symbols appeared on the body of the Man-eating Vine!

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