Chapter 246 Cursed Mountains(6)

Colin navigated the labrinth of tunnels for hours, not encountering any beasts. He was wondering where all the beasts were and also, he was getting seriously worried about getting lost as he had no idea how far in he was and which tunnels led back up. But that was a problem for later. Over the hours though, the scenery inside the tunnels have changed a bit, their were glowing plants all over the walls, lighting up the tunnels. He had also encountered large clusters of cursed ores in the chambers he passed, making him sure that he had found enough cursed ores to supply the family for a while. The plants on the walls have transformed into beautiful, thick, green, glowing roots, making Colin wonder what kind of tree could be growing down here.

He soon came across another chamber, with thick green roots growing into it's sides. He entered the chamber, as he was amazed as it looked like he had stepped into a small forest. There small shrubs growing over the ground like a carpet and tall, green trees with red lines all over them. These trees were at least five meters tall and covered the entirety of the chamber, not allowing him to see the other side clearly. At the back of the chamber, was an extremely tall tree, at least twenty meters into the air. This tree was completely green like the other trees with red lines running through them. Looking up, Colin realized that the ceiling was at least fifty meters high, giving him some flying room.

'Hmm, is this, demonic energy?' Colin thought as he examined one of the trees. The red lines all over the tree look like they were pumping something and upon closer inspection, Colin could tell it was demonic energy. He touched the tree to see if he could sense something, but, as soon as he rubbed his hand against the tree, small green dust like pollens fell off and floated in the air

"Pollen huh." He said as it floated into the air, they looked similar to the ones Melissa uses. Colin sneezed as the pollen got into his nose and his mind felt heavy, like something was creeping into his mind. Just as he wondered what was going on, he remembered Lily telling him about demonic plants in the underworld.

'These aren't normal trees.' Colin thought and black smoke surrounded him as his wings appeared and he quickly took to the sky while activating [Stealth]. He flew above the small forest, which was around a hundred meters wide and he could see many trees, as well as Cavern Moles, Steel Shelled Armadillos and a few Subterranean Earth Worms heading towards the big tree at the back of the chamber. There were hundreds of beasts and they were dragging along corpses of their kin with them.

'What the?' Colin thought as he noticed that something was wrong with those beasts, very wrong. Using [Senses Manipulation], to zoom into the forest, he could see that all of the beasts looked pale, the Cavern Moles' fur was greying, the Steel Shelled Armadillos' spiked shells looked brittle and the Subterranean Earth Worms' looked pink instead of red. But even more disturbing, was the green pollen that was all over their bodies, sticking to them and looking like moss. There were even green veins spreading all over their bodies.

'These pollens, their parasitic, probably draining the beasts of their vitality. Killing them over a long period of time and feasting on their exp. I wonder, if they are also mind controlling these beasts, forcing them to drag those corpses towards that big tree.' Colin thought and flew towards the giant tree at the back of the chamber. There, he could see the enormous trunk and roots of the tree, as well as the beasts who were dropping corpses infront of it. The roots stretched from the tree, snatching up the corpses and dragging them into the ground and I could see the red lines in the giant tree glow.

'They are just like any other tree I guess. They need nutrients to survive and they get them by devouring beasts. I've seen enough.' Colin thought and created another fire orb, just like last time and dropped it into the forest. The orb exploded and the entire forest was lit on fire.

[You have slain a level 1 demonic beast(tier 4), Steel Shelled Armadillo. You have gained 9,120 exp.]

[You have slain a level 1 demonic beast(tier 4), Cavern Mole. You have gained 9,120 exp.]

[You have slain a level 1 demonic beast(tier 4), Subterranean Earth Worm. You have gained 9,120 exp.]

[You have slain a level 1 demonic beast(tier 4), Subterranean Earth Worm. You have gained.....]

[You have slain a level 1 demonic beast(tier 4), Steel Shelled Armadillo. You have.....]

[You have slain.....]

[You have slain.....]

[Congratulations, you have gained a level. You are now level 18/20.]

[You have slain...]

'Why are all of them level 1?' Colin thought as he read the notifications. Just as he was distracted, something unexpected, occurred, a thick mist was emitted from all over the forest. Snuffing out the hellfire that rampaged only a few seconds ago. Most of the beasts inside the forest were dead and the trees were scorched black. Colin heard the trees shake violently and they suddenly started to emit a strong, blinding green light and after a few seconds, the light calmed down and trees were back to pristine condition.

"What?!" Colin exclaimed in surprise, but the surprise wasn't done yet, as the trees glowed red.