Crimson Servant

Chapter 40 Air Chamber Cemetery
  In the heart of the tree area, with the help of Jurgen's withered aura, they passed through the thick plant barrier. The interior is not crowded. There are many dark green stems pointing straight up from the wood underfoot. The intervals are barely enough for a person to pass sideways. They feel like thick and hard cables used to fix the sails of a ship. The tops extend into the darkness beyond the sight. .

"This is like a birdcage." Lightning stared at the straight plant roots around him, and his dagger could only cut a small opening on it.

"Then it's obviously not meant to hold a bird of your size." Carl replied, "It's at least ten times your size."

"This is not a prison, it's just an 'air chamber'..." Jurgen's voice came faintly. The druid wanted to say more, but his ability did not allow it.

"What Jurgen means is that this is the air chamber of the mother tree, where the air is stored. These plants grow like this for better gas exchange," John said.

"Some giant plants growing in the Underdark will draw energy from luminous ores to replace photosynthesis. The gas exchange produced by these metabolisms usually occurs within the plants. If they are huge, it will be too much to transport the gases generated internally to the outside of the body. It was difficult, so these dark plants grew 'air chambers', spaces in the body that are dedicated to containing gases."

"The Tree Mother may be in a similar situation, except that what is wrapped in it is not an underground mineral vein, but an arcane sun."

Jurgen nodded in agreement. He looked around. The size of the air chamber could be inferred from the size of the plant itself. The druids deeply realized what kind of behemoth they were facing.

The few people continued to move forward, and not long after, Karl made a sound of surprise.

Under the alert looks of several people, the Paladin raised his boots, revealing a piece of ground that was almost the same as elsewhere. There should be a layer of dark green moss on the wooden floor, leaving a faint shoe print under Karl's feet.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Jurgen glanced at Karl, took a step forward, and let the withered aura cover the area. The moss on the surface quickly withered, and the wood underneath also turned into a dead gray-white color, but in this gray-white color, a silvery light appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was a rusty gear ring stuck in the wood fiber, almost fused with it, a style that was quite familiar to a few people.

This discovery seemed to open up a gap in several people's cognition. They looked around, overlapping the anomalies they had overlooked with the cognition in their minds.

Unobvious bifurcation, thicker segments, unnatural protrusions...

The mechanical limbs of automatons are suspended in this lush vegetation, and the vitality covers this mechanical cemetery.

A metal head that looked exactly like Jenny VII was stuck on the ground not far from John. He had thought it was just an ordinary protrusion.

During the walk, none of them could figure out whether the chill they felt was empathy for these automatons or the necrotic damage caused by being too close to Jurgen.

As we go deeper, the brightness continues to increase. When the vertical stems begin to thin out, the view in front of us is as bright as the sky at dawn. Team Sun saw a city overrun by plants, or a town-sized botanical garden.

"Looks like we weren't the first ones to arrive."

The warlock's eyes were fixed on the collapsed wall. Behind the broken and hanging branches, a familiar force was saying hello to him.

The swirling smoke floated out from the gap, and the thin dark red traces around the edges disturbed the surrounding magic. The air was unnaturally distorted, and the residual aura of evil caused the Paladin to frown.

"The smell of evil."

"Veltis Warlock."

John squinted his eyes, and he saw another way to stifle the life force of the tree mother.

Crimson corruption.

Several people had different attitudes towards the traces of sorcery. Karl was completely disgusted. He used his tall body to quietly block the direction of the broken wall, hoping to dispel the idea of ​​his companions approaching; Lightning grabbed his bow and quietly Checking the quiver's reserves. Jurgen’s expression was cold due to his transformation into undead, but John could see a burst of excitement similar to his own in his eyeballs.

They were looking in the right direction, the Viltis Warlock. The closer they got to their enemies, the closer they were to their target.

Jurgen did not choose to enter through the broken wall where the traces of evil magic remained, but chose another entrance. He believed that he would meet them in the depths and he would see his son.

A magical plant cultivated by an ancient mage. No druid would miss this. Maybe today is the day to take him home. Maybe I should dress up so he doesn't see my tired appearance. Jurgen looked at his pale hands after becoming undead, and realized that it was a bit whimsical to maintain his father's demeanor. He would have to grow a beard again and comb his freeze-dried hair.

"Knock him out first, that's enough time." Jurgen muttered.

The entrance Karl found was a deformed double-sided iron-hooked wooden door with a wrist-thick gap in its center. The paladin took a spare iron rod from the dwarf's hand and pried it open little by little along the edge. It may be faster to cut the gap with a sharp sword, but Karl still retains the basic noble dignity and will never allow Demiras's family heirloom sword to be used for such rough work.

"The Sword of Demiras will only drink the blood of the enemy. This is my principle." The paladin who was making a lever movement said so.

"No one is asking you this, hurry up and get it out of the way."

"This is... it's really difficult. The gate must be squeezed and deformed. I can easily open a normal gate!" Karl continued to struggle with the gate.

Jurgen looked at the bent iron rod that was about to be scrapped, and shook his head, "Maybe we should find someone with more flexible hands, feet, and brain."

Lightning, who was worried about Jurgen, was currently communicating with John.

The Crow Man looked at the thing in his hand, his eyes drifted upward, and he flinched a little after looking at John with a bright smile.

"Do you really want to use this?"

"Of course, my friend."

The arakkoa was holding [Jenny VII's Heart] in his hands, and the automaton gave them a few fatal poisons at the beginning.

"It would be absolutely terrible if the evil spells of those vicious Veltis warlocks befall our companions. We have to strike first and give them a little gift. Apply it to your arrows, lightning . In the near future, it will have an inspiring effect. You decide the dosage yourself, I believe in the ability of a ranger."

Lightning scratched the feathers on his chest and said anxiously: "I only have some theoretical knowledge. I have never poisoned my prey."

"That's a pity."

John said so.

"Then don't consider the dosage, just temper one arrow in one bottle."

"Jenny VII who refined it must also be expecting such a result."

"Remember my words, kill those in red robes first if possible, Lightning."

"I don't want to face those terrible warlocks."

(End of this chapter)