This place was too quiet, as though they were in a tomb. A dense deathly stillness ruled this place. There were no chirps of birds, no insects, no traces of wild beasts. Even the rustling of their footsteps on the pine needles was exceedingly distinct!
What appeared before them was the same pine trees and snow, as though there was no end in sight. Under such a tense atmosphere, the exhaustion of their physical strength was multiplied. It was as though their chests were heavily pressed down by an invisible object. Not long later, the two sat down to rest.
Reef leaned his back against a pine tree as he panted heavily.
"Jesus above, what kind of place is this?! A forest without a single wild beast. Look at these pine trees, they've been cleanly devoured! But where are the birds and squirrels that devoured these pine trees? Where are they?! "
Sheyan placed Melody down and silently sat down. He pinched a clump of snow and stuffed it into his mouth. He then gazed at the treetop for a while before replying.
"Most likely no wild beasts, birds or squirrels."
Reef straightened his body and asked in astonishment.
"How is that possible, then what devoured these pine nuts?"
Sheyan's eyes revealed a contemplative look. He wasn't in a hurry to answer Reef's question, instead, he picked up a dried twig from the ground and started drawing on the ground. Very quickly, Reef could tell that Sheyan was drawing out the route they had taken. Thus, he immediately joined in.
Reef was slightly older than Sheyan, and had much more experience in the wilderness. The two of them quickly determined their current position, and pessimistically discovered that they weren't too far away from the orc camp. If they were to travel in a straight line, it was at most 20 kilometres.
The two exchanged glances, smiling bitterly and shaking their heads. Instead, Sheyan's gaze swiftly turned resolute, and a viciousness that Reef felt was extremely familiar with. Whenever Sheyan faced immense danger, he would reveal his beast-like madness and valiance.
"Let's go." Sheyan stood up, clutching his chest as he coughed twice. Although the wound on his chest from being hit by the tentacle monster had already healed, the abnormal status curse on it was like a maggot in his bones, venomous and lingering. It had already been almost 2 hours, and there were no signs of it fading away.
Fortunately, Melody, who was leaning on his shoulder, opened her eyes with great difficulty. Her face was pale as she pressed her palms on his chest. As the green light scattered, one could see strands of black gas drifting out. The gas formed the shapes of centipedes, scorpions and other poisonous insects in the air. It was very lifelike, and then it completely dissipated into the air.
Sheyan felt a cooling sensation permeating his entire body, as though his internal organs were being cleansed by clear spring water. Instantly, he felt refreshed, and a hazy green glow faintly appeared on his body.
The nightmare imprint transmitted a notification:
"You have received the blessing of the Twilight Elf: All negative statuses on your body have been removed, all your resistances have been increased by 15%, and all beneficial effects have been increased by 5% (including but not limited to hit rate, critical strike rate, success rate of synthesis, etc.)"
After casting the twilight elf's blessing, the elven maiden once again fell into a semi-conscious state. However, she didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries. Not only did her fresh body fragrance remain, but her hair color and the luster of her skin gave off an intense feeling of exuberant vitality. She was like a green sprout on a branch in spring.
Without a doubt, her current situation could only be explained in one way. That was she was in the middle of a metamorphosis phase where she needed to rest and accumulate. When she fully recovered, then she could be hailed as a true twilight elf – a leader who could lead the elves of Middle-earth back to their divine kingdom!
*****
Roughly half an hour later, the 3 surviving uruk-hais slowly strolled over from afar. The uruk-hai leader's nose twitched incessantly, as he stared at the pine tree and coldly spoke.
"They stopped here."
The uruk-hai by the side had an unsightly expression, his voice hoarse as he spoke.
"It's already past noon, if we chase after them, even if we return in time, we probably won't be able to avoid that ….. thing!"
The uruk-hai leader suddenly turned his head, his eyes were scarlet red, brimming with malice and warning. One could clearly see a green sarcoma growing out of his throat. The sarcoma was densely covered with blood vessels, pulsating as though it was synchronized with his heartbeat.
This sarcoma was an additional biological technology created by Saruman. Currently, it was still in the experimental phase, and could only be used on uruk-hais that had greater value. This sarcoma was known as a variant melanoma. The process of its creation was extremely sinister. It was discovered during Saruman's research on the tentacle monsters.
Because the tentacle monsters' mouths weren't developed, they could only chew their food. Swallowing was difficult for them to digest. Hence, their stomachs had a symbiotic worm. This worm was adept at secreting powerful digestive fluids, and was able to effectively decompose their food. Hence, without this parasite, the tentacle monsters would often die from indigestion.
However, in this world, going too far was as bad as not going far enough. Once the tentacle monster had a fixed and abundant source of food, this type of worm naturally wouldn't understand the importance of family planning. Therefore, it would also multiply in large quantities. The final result was that the tentacle monster's digestive system would burst and die. Hence, when the tentacle monsters understood this point, dieting and periodically exterminating the worms became two important matters in their lives.
These worms that were excreted after being killed, were then concocted by Saruman into a bizarre parasite using his unique concoction method. If an uruk-hai with sufficient value appeared, then the tentacle monsters would slit a small slit on their throat, before burying the parasite under their skin. After a period of time, a 'variant melanoma' would appear.
After being implanted with this' variant melanoma ', the uruk-hai would have an extra heart. No matter if it was strength or survivability, it would be greatly enhanced. But because the worms used to concoct the 'variant melanoma' had lived in the tentacle monster for a period of time, most of the uruk-hai's movements would be detected by the tentacle monster. Once there was any betrayal, Saruman's doppelganger would have the ability to kill the uruk-hai from a distance through the corresponding tentacle monster.
Facing the menacing gaze of the uruk-hai leader, the questioning uruk-hai immediately took a step back, not daring to make a sound. Just like how Saruman's doppelganger had absolute control over the uruk-hai leader's life, the uruk-hai leader had absolute control over ordinary uruk-hais!
"Chase, you may not die. Don't chase, you die!"
The uruk-hai leader's hoarse voice had clearly dissected the situation. If they chased after the enemies and brought them back, they would still have a chance of survival. If they didn't chase, the tentacle monster would have a clear view of everything happening here. Even if they successfully escaped from this perilous place, they would still die!
The 3 uruk-hais were as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to utter a single word. They followed the trail left behind by the trio with large strides. Their figures gradually disappeared into the pine forest. This deathly still pine forest once again regained its mysterious and tranquil atmosphere, as though anything would be devoured and flattened.
*****
It was currently 3 in the afternoon. After being filtered by the snowy winds and clouds, the gloomy sunlight barely shone down. It even had a hint of deathly white tint to it, but at least it dispersed the dense fog in the valley.
Under the illumination of the sunlight, one could faintly see a faint gloomy mist rising from the top of the pine forest. If one were to observe from afar, one's vision would be faintly distorted, as though there was a furnace below.
If such a situation occurred naturally, it meant that there was a precious object below, most likely a jade mine.
There were two lines of a poem: "Bright pearls in the vast sea shed tears, warm jade smokes in the blue fields". The first line was used to describe a bright pearl, while the latter implied that under the sunlight, a precious purple jade would emit a faintly discernible green smoke.
There was another saying: "Jewel radiance". It meant that high quality pearls would automatically emit brilliance, while treasures would emit a unique mist. But looking at the strange mist shrouding the pine forest, one couldn't help but feel an ominous premonition.
The trio continued forward. They knew they had to conserve as much energy as possible, hence they reduced the frequency of their conversation. As they continued forward, they realized the pine forest ahead had become sparse. The bark of the pine trees had withered and cracked, and the pine needles were showing signs of withering.
Witnessing such a situation, Sheyan's expression turned even more unsightly. He couldn't help but turn back to look, his heart faintly having an uncontrollable impulse to turn back. It should be because of his perceptive sensing, but that impulse was immediately stifled by his rationality.
Sheyan raised his head to gaze at the sky. Because he was' in the mountains', he didn't notice the faint mist shrouding the pine forest. He only felt that the rays of the sun were excessively pale. In his and Reef's perspective of the forest, as long as there was sunlight, then they would be relatively safe.
"Huu ….." Reef exhaled deeply. "Let's take a break. This damned rule, why must it restrict the storage space of the nightmare imprint? I can't even find a drink to my heart's content. I reckon if we continue advancing at full speed, our HP will slowly decrease. " If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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