Chapter 226 - 206: Non-Royal Bloodline

Chapter 226: Chapter 206: Non-Royal Bloodline

High above, from Senya’s point of view.

A flash of purple light suddenly appeared without warning.

Then, the purple light gradually expanded. Within a few breaths, a burst of white light erupted from its center.

The oppressive darkness was instantly dispelled, revealing everything that had been hidden within it.

After passing through the rock opening, Senya found herself in a vast, empty area.

The path she took and the immediate surroundings were barren. However, in the four corners of this area stood legions of Guards in strangely designed armor. Their flesh was gone, leaving only skeletons encased within the mail.

Five hundred meters directly in front of Senya stood a massive tree, nearly twenty meters tall. It was rooted in the stone floor, standing there in solitude.

Its trunk was sparse with branches and had no leaves.

Only on its highest branch grew a single, split-open purple fruit.

At the very center of the purple fruit was the light source illuminating the darkness, which from a distance looked like a beautiful Crystal Stone.

This light covered the darkness, yet it wasn’t the least bit blinding.

"What happened?"

Benduin asked hurriedly upon hearing Colson’s reaction.

At the same time, the gentle white light streamed through the shattered rock opening, spreading to the feet of Vili and the others.

"A large tree emitting white light, and the remains of four groups of Skeleton Soldiers."

Colson said succinctly, then described the scene in more detail.

"Can you see any danger?"

This time, it was Vili who asked.

"There are no signs of danger, but I feel like something’s off."

Colson said honestly. It was just a gut feeling.

The Skeleton Soldiers in particular were quite unsettling to him.

"Let’s go. We’re going in."

Vili made his decision.

In truth, moving forward was their only option.

"I’ll go first."

Budar moved to the front. Even though Senya had already scouted ahead, Budar still took the vanguard position.

Vili understood Budar’s deliberate display. After all, Budar’s entire family was in his hands.

Budar gripped the longsword in his hand and cautiously walked in.

Seeing this, Colson cut off his shared vision with Senya and followed behind Budar.

Vili went in next, with Benduin following behind him.

’So these are the Skeleton Soldiers...’

Under the white light, the appearance of the Skeleton Soldiers was illuminated with perfect clarity.

Vili looked at these Skeleton Soldiers, studying them closely.

The style of their armor and weapons was somewhat strange. Vili had read about them in books before; the equipment of these Skeleton Soldiers was from the era of the Cold Lion Duchy.

"I think we should look for a way to keep moving forward."

Budar scanned their surroundings. He didn’t think the treasure would be left out here.

He quickly checked the area but found no exit leading to the next location.

"Could the treasures be hidden on these Skeleton Soldiers?"

Benduin approached a Skeleton Soldier and frisked its body, but he found nothing.

Colson curled his lip, thinking Benduin’s idea was a bit bizarre.

Vili’s attention wasn’t on the Skeleton Soldiers, but on the strange tree.

He already possessed the title of Middle Level Gatherer and could identify all basic Extraordinary Plants.

But this tree, with its purple fruit and radiant white light, was a species he didn’t recognize.

This meant that this strange, large tree was an even more advanced Extraordinary species.

Vili approached step by step, circling the strange, large tree once.

"Colson, can you still sense the Natural Energy from before?"

Vili seemed to have thought of something. Ever since entering the treasure passage, he felt as if he had been cut off from the unusually active Natural Energy outside.

"I can’t sense it anymore."

Colson shook his head. "As soon as I entered, I could no longer sense that intense Natural Energy."

"What is it, Lord Baron?"

Colson, with Senya in tow, walked up to the large tree.

He placed his palm on the surface of the trunk, sensing the Power of Life within the Extraordinary Plant.

’The Power of Life... it’s orderly, yet chaotic...’

Colson frowned.

The Power of Life within this Extraordinary Tree felt very unsettling to Colson.

The Power of Life in plants is very similar to Natural Energy, but in this Extraordinary Tree, Colson sensed that its Power of Life more closely resembled that of a conscious life form.

Vili also probed the Extraordinary Tree, but his perception of the Power of Life was no match for Colson’s, so naturally, he discovered nothing.

He just felt that this treasure site was far more mysterious than he had imagined.

They had barely begun their formal exploration, and already a baffling Extraordinary plant species had appeared.

Vili didn’t believe for a second that this Extraordinary Tree was here just to light their way.

As he was thinking, Vili suddenly felt an inexplicable tremor from within the Extraordinary Tree before him.

A sense of instinctual alarm rose in Vili’s heart.

"Get back!"

Almost subconsciously, Vili lunged to the side, grabbing Colson and pulling him away from his spot.

Before Colson could even react, he was yanked aside by Vili.

The instant they moved, three thorny vines shot out from the smooth surface of the trunk without warning, lashing out at the spot where Vili, Colson, and Senya had just been standing.

Because Vili and Colson had dodged the blow ahead of time, two of the thorny vines hit nothing but air.

But Senya didn’t have such quick reflexes and was struck directly by one of the vines.

"Dodge it!"

Colson reacted as well, shouting out the command.

Although Senya was just a puppet-like Speaker in Colson’s eyes, he didn’t want her to be injured or killed just like that.

It wasn’t easy for a Silent to find a suitable Speaker.

Upon receiving Colson’s command, Senya subconsciously began to dodge. But she was a step too slow; the vine sliced through her skin, and crimson blood soaked through her clothes.

Just as Colson thought Senya was about to be attacked again by the vine, something unexpected happened.

After being stained with blood, the vine didn’t continue its attack but instead rapidly retracted back into the tree’s trunk.

"Come back!"

Colson hastily called Senya back to his side.

"Watch out for this tree!"

Vili warned Budar and Benduin, who were not far off.

Budar and Benduin had both seen what just happened. Their hearts leaped into their throats as they moved closer to Vili and Colson.

The group kept a deliberate, wide distance from the Extraordinary Tree.

"What in the world is going on?"

Benduin looked as if he were facing a great enemy. Among them, he was the weakest.

No one answered his question. Everyone was on high alert, guarding against another attack from the vines.

’The vines that shot out from the Extraordinary Tree’s trunk touched Senya’s blood and immediately stopped attacking...’

Vili knit his brows, deep in thought.

’Is it just trying to take her blood...?’

Vili’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Blood...

’Could it be trying to identify the bloodline of those who enter this treasure site?’

Once the thought surfaced, he couldn’t push it down.

Vili had been worried that this place might have bloodline restrictions. Now, it seemed highly probable.

’This is trouble.’

Vili gritted his teeth.

Just as Vili was about to share his theory with the others, the vines shot out from the Extraordinary Tree’s trunk again.

This time, there were five thorny vines.

"Back off!"

Vili roared, suddenly brandishing his Cross Sword.

A huge wave of frost-infused Sword Qi flew toward the thorny vines.

It wasn’t just Vili; the others also reacted quickly, retreating while launching their own counterattacks.

But the thorny vines were too fast. Aside from Vili’s Sword Qi, which severed one vine, everyone else’s attacks missed.

Two vines even bypassed Vili’s defense, slicing Benduin’s and Colson’s skin before instantly retracting into the trunk with their blood.

"Fall back! Fall all the way back!"

Vili commanded urgently.

While the vines were retracting into the Extraordinary Tree, the group hurried back toward the opening in the rocks.

"It’s collecting our blood to see if we are descendants of the Cold Lion King Royal Family."

Vili cut to the chase, getting straight to the point.

Hearing Vili’s words, they all froze. They exchanged glances, all feeling that Vili was right.

"Then what should we do?"

Budar gripped the curved longsword in his palm tightly. His movements had been agile enough to dodge the thorny vines’ attack.

"Dodge its attacks as much as possible. If it discovers that none of us intruders have the blood of the Cold Lion Duke Royal Family, I have a feeling something very unpleasant will happen."

Vili responded.

"But are we just going to wait it out here?"

Benduin felt a burning pain from his bleeding, injured arm.

"For now, we have no other choice."

Vili said to Benduin, "It would be best to observe it and find a weakness. My feeling is that it’s not invincible."

Vili’s words restored a bit of their confidence.

The group stopped talking and retreated to the shattered rock opening, tensely awaiting the next attack.

Soon, after only a minute or two, vines once again emerged from the trunk of the Extraordinary Tree.

Only this time, it wasn’t five vines that emerged, but hundreds.

Dense and menacing, they surged toward Vili and his group like a tidal wave.