Ancient Tears BloodLine

(From MC's Perspective)

Insect Forest,

These days, I have been hiding in the basement of the cave. The cave structure provides a natural shelter from rain and sunlight.

Earlier, I thought about spending time in a safe zone. But surprisingly, the activities of warriors were unusually high in the outer area. Most of them occupied the safe zone to stay.

I already guessed their intention. It must be related to those escaped warriors from Iron Hammer. Their situation must have been noticed by someone.

But I'm confident that no one can find anything. Even if they did, by the time I'm long gone out of the city, My Lightning Pearl is enough to assist my cultivation for a few weeks.

So I'm not going to waste much time here. Next, I plan to scout the inner area of the forest.

At this point of time, the Fire Sword Team must have mobilised their entire teams under them to investigate. So it's not wise to stay here any longer.

It's still noon; I need to enter the inner area before dawn. After gaining some clarity about my next move, I walked towards the inner area of the forest.

I can already see the densely packed vegetation all over the place. I used my black sword to chop these overgrown bushes to clear the road.

Though these didn't cost much energy. However, it still takes a long time pause in between to clear the way.

I only hope to not come across any insects. But my wish became futile the next second. Instead of bugs, this time it's an army of ants. They occupied the entire path.

Immediately I observed through my perception, there were few insect colonies formed on the narrow road. If I want to walk further, I need to remove the obstacles before me.

Fortunately, I didn't disturb them. But it would be a waste of time if I returned back to find another route. "What to do next?" I muttered to myself.

Just as I'm pondering, I find new red dots coming in my direction. After seeing that, I immediately choose to hide little bit distance away from these place.

I have no other choice than to hide behind the bushes. Then I carefully moved around in order to not leave any traces behind.

Ten minutes later,

A group of warriors signed up for a bandit hunting mission came to the place.

Looking at their attire, I confirmed that they are not bandits but they are looking for the culprits.

I probe through my perception to see any other team coming behind them. Because I don't want to get exposed right now. This place is not suitable for any combat.

Then I suddenly noticed a faded little dot exactly right near the bandits. Looking at one extra dot confuses me.There are only ten warriors here, but my perception is picking up eleven signals.

I knew it was a monster, but my attention shifted to its state. Unlike the other red dots, this one is dim. Is that monster injured? A doubt rose in my heart.

Because it can't be insect bugs, only terrain monsters venture out solo.

I calmed down my nerves and plan to observe the next development.

At the same time, the leader of the group notices that ant colonies are obstructing the path. He didn't think about anything. He ordered his team members to clear out the way.

Next, immediately a few warriors from the group acted to remove these ant colonies. Everyone uses their elements to destroy them by throwing fireballs, rock bolders, water arrows, etc.

Seeing that, I frowned, because I never had a good experience with ant class monsters. As I recalled last time, it took me a great deal of effort to escape from the clutches of Any Queen.

Black Forest, uh? This time, if there is any opportunity, I will sweep those places.

Then my attention shifted towards those warriors. They are talking about something.

"Tck! I don't know which bast**d is responsible for the Black Fist team's destruction. All of us are suffering because of him. " One of the warriors who went to clear out ant colonies said in a dissatisfied tone.

The other warriors beside him also spit some hateful words in support of him.

The leader also didn't bother to refute him.

Because all of them were already dead-beaten. They spent several hours trying to find Benny Sutton's body in the outer area. But there is no clue whatsoever in the end.

They thought about returning back to the camping site. But the Fire Sword Team strictly orders them to not retreat unless they find something.

Upon seeing their mood, I realised that this Benny Sutton guy was not a nobody. He is obviously someone important to the Fire Sword Team leader. Here I was of the belief that he must've been a third wheel.

Next, I continue to watch their activities. Also, I put my half attention on an extra red spot. So far, there has been no movement from the nearby monsters.

The warriors acted swiftly to remove the ant colonies. The Ant Queen was only at the strength of Class 2-Initial level. It didn't pose much of a threat to these warriors. Under their leader's lead, the warriors started to move.

Seeing their disappearing back, I hesitated for a moment. Because the ten-man team was actually quite close to the extra red dot.

Instead of moving out, I stayed behind and continued to observe them. These guys are reducing my work time for clearing out the overgrown bushes. A small smile rose on my face by looking at their hard work.

Getting into the inner area is harder than I thought. But I feel like soon everyone will come across more bandits. The outer area of the insect forest is just like a small trial.

But here I came across ant colonies and ten warriors in a span of a few minutes. If I continue to follow this route, then there will be more battles ahead.

Suddenly, the extra red dot immediately brightens up. My eyes lit up with surprise, then I shifted my attention toward those Warriors.

"Aaahhhh", the sound of an agonising scream resonated throughout the area.

"What's happening?" I uttered it in surprise.

Then, without thinking further, I jumped out of the bushes and hurried to see what was happening out there.

But in the next second, my pupils constrict upon seeing something unimaginable.

"This?" I was stunned by looking at the carnivore plant monster.

Using its tentacle like roots, the plant monster directly swallowed two special trainee Warriors just like that.

It's all happened in the blink of an eye. Next, I immediately realised something and quickly retreated back to my previous position.

After coming back to my previous position, I observed the situation through perception. I instinctively walked out to assess the situation before checking my perception. This was a really bad move by me.

That plant monster is not an ordinary one. By looking at the plant monster's effortless killing, I guess this is Class 3.

Definitely a Class 3 monster. To think it fooled the perception of the Trainee Warrior with ease, it sent shivers down my spine. Even I would've been fooled, if not for my perception ability.

"Aaahhhh"

Another round of screaming resonates in the area.

"Damn, it's not even the premise of the inner area. Yet there is already a Class 3 Monster hiding here, "I said to myself.

After calming my nerves, I got my head straight. I used my perception to see what they are up to now. I saw there were one to five people left behind, including the leader.

The plant monster stands ten feet tall.The leader of the team is taking the lead in cutting out the tentacles like roots. Others are supporting them from behind.

I feel something bad. It would be best if they found out its weakness spot and targeted it instead of wasting time on cutting roots.

They are my enemies, so I would not have helped them openly. Next, something strange caught my attention, including the leader. The skin of the warriors started to change.

"Is it poison?" I mumbled under my breath.

Then suddenly, something struck my mind like lightning. I uttered in shock, "Pollens." These guys must have inhaled toxic pollen released by this plant monster.

"Tck! This plant monster clearly views them as prey rather than an enemy." I muttered to myself.

From the very beginning, everyone of their team members fell into Monster's traps.

No wonder, my perception showed a dimmed red spot. The plant monster was already waiting for them. I believe it must have released its toxic pollen then.

Class 3 Monster is comparable to Trainee Warrior. But the monsters were inherently stronger than humans. Especially in the same base, it's hard to defeat.

Given that this one is more difficult than most Class 3 monsters,

Images of Class 3 Fox monsters flash before my eyes. Last time, I was lucky.

The fox monster is much more dangerous than the plant monster.

Because it has tricks no less than those of the plant type, and at the same time, unlike plant monsters, the fox monster has mobility. It can move around with extreme speed.