Chapter 202: Man-eating Vines
From the recent Demon Beast siege, Duane obtained a total of fifteen Demon Cores, five of which contained Spell Models.
He valued the Black Panther’s Demon Core the most. Judging by the complexity of its Spell Model, it was at least a Level 4 Magic of the Dark Element.
The two of them rested for half a day before continuing onward.
Perhaps because all the Demon Beasts "infected" by the Secret Realm here had already been killed, their path was clear.
By dusk, they finally reached the location Gaius had mentioned and saw the Secret Realm Gate at a glance.
It was a Teleportation Gate, five or six meters high and four meters wide, resembling a curtain of water.
The distorted, rippling, dark green light on the Teleportation Gate obscured Duane’s vision, making it seem like a solid object.
Duane entered a state of Meditation, sensing the Elements in the world around him.
He could tell that the elemental fluctuations near the Teleportation Gate were unusually intense.
’The dark green Element is the most abundant. What Attribute is this?’
None of the Elements Duane knew of were dark green.
But this wasn’t surprising. After all, there were many things in this world that people didn’t know.
For example, the enigmatic forms of Magic that Natalia had mentioned, like the Space Element and Time Element, were things ordinary people never encountered.
Duane slowly walked toward the Teleportation Gate.
Perhaps because of the intense elemental activity, the closer he got to the Teleportation Gate, the sparser the vegetation underfoot became, and the surrounding trees and weeds grew increasingly withered.
Within a three-meter radius of the Teleportation Gate, there was nothing but stones and bare earth.
Duane walked around the Teleportation Gate. Its front and back were quite distinct, while its sides were as thin as a cicada’s wing.
"Kaelon, you’ve been inside a Secret Realm before. Are their Teleportation Gates like this one?"
Kaelon shook his head. "Not exactly. Some Secret Realms are full of life, and the elemental energy they give off nourishes the surrounding plants, helping them grow stronger."
"Other Secret Realms are much like the outside world, with nothing unusual around their Teleportation Gates."
Duane looked at the dark green Teleportation Gate before him. "So, does this mean that the areas around the Teleportation Gates of uncultivatable Secret Realms all look this ghastly?"
"That’s a possibility."
He couldn’t help but recall a harmful Secret Realm he had once visited with Carter, which was filled with flowing lava and suffocating black mist.
The scene around that Secret Realm’s Teleportation Gate was quite similar to this one.
Duane bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it at the Teleportation Gate.
A few ripples spread across the Teleportation Gate’s surface before it stabilized.
The stone itself vanished, gone to another world.
’Fascinating.’
Duane said with a smile, "Toss it in."
Although Gaius had been inside, so much time had passed that there was no telling if things had changed.
That was why the two of them had caught a wild rabbit beforehand and tied a long vine around its leg.
Kaelon held one end of the vine and tossed the rabbit in with his other hand.
The vine kept moving, indicating the rabbit was fine.
After a short while, Kaelon pulled the rabbit back out. It was unharmed and seemed perfectly normal.
"It should be fine."
Duane stepped forward, ready to enter.
But Kaelon moved first. "Sir, let me scout ahead."
Without waiting for Duane’s approval, he strode directly into the Teleportation Gate.
This was his duty as a Guard Officer.
After a ripple, Kaelon’s figure vanished.
Duane couldn’t hear any sound either.
One second, three seconds, five seconds...
After ten-odd seconds, Duane’s brow furrowed.
’Why hasn’t Kaelon come back out? Did something happen inside?’
Just then,
SWOOSH!
A burly figure burst out of the gate. It wasn’t so much that he ran out, but that he leaped out from within.
"Sir, be careful!" Kaelon shouted a warning.
The words had barely left his mouth when a series of pitch-black things shot out from the Teleportation Gate.
They were as fast as Arrows splitting the air, making a SWISH SWISH SWISH sound.
Duane’s sharp eyes caught their appearance—they looked like black spears of unknown length, or perhaps the tentacles of a giant octopus.
’What are these things?’
He had no time to think. He chopped down with his blade, and the Fighting Qi Slash, enhanced by Blazing Fire, became even more powerful, instantly shredding the tentacles.
The remaining uncut ones seemed sentient and quickly retracted back into the Teleportation Gate, disappearing from sight.
"Are you all right?"
Duane went to Kaelon’s side.
He saw that Kaelon’s clothes were badly torn, his skin was covered in small cuts, and the Shield he had been holding in his left hand was gone.
"What exactly is going on? What were those things?"
Kaelon panted, still shaken. "Vines. Those black things are vines."
He recounted what he had just seen.
Although the light inside the Secret Realm was dimmer than outside, he could still see clearly.
After Kaelon entered, his surroundings were completely quiet.
He looked around and saw nothing amiss.
But he had only taken a few steps forward when the unremarkable vines at his feet suddenly began to move.
They were fast, and catching Kaelon completely off guard, they bound him tightly in the blink of an eye.
The thorns on the vines dug into Kaelon’s skin, and he felt his blood being drained.
In the face of this crisis, Kaelon had no time to think. He erupted with his full Strength and Fighting Qi, shattering the vines binding him, and then ran out as fast as he could.
At that moment, it was as if he had stirred up a hornet’s nest. All the black vines on the ground came alive and pursued him frantically.
And that led to the scene Duane had witnessed.
’Carnivorous plants?’
Duane hadn’t expected the Secret Realm to give him a "surprise" before he even set foot inside.
’Interesting.’
He picked up the tethered rabbit from the ground and walked toward the Teleportation Gate.
"Sir, you’re still going in?"
Duane grunted in affirmation and analyzed the situation.
"They had you completely bound, yet you were still able to break free. That means these vines aren’t much of a threat."
If Kaelon could escape under those circumstances, then it would be even less of a problem for Duane.
Still, to be on the safe side, he activated his Scale Transformation.
Translucent, platinum-gold scales appeared on the surface of his skin, refracting the last rays of the sun and making him look like a humanoid Exotic Beast.
Kaelon stepped forward. "Let me go first again."
He walked ahead. "I was caught off guard before. This time I’m prepared; they shouldn’t be able to trap me."
One after the other, the two of them passed through the Teleportation Gate.
As Duane entered, he felt a violent fluctuation of Magic Power.
He didn’t have time to analyze the fluctuation, instead focusing his full attention on what was in front of him.
Ahead, the vines that should have been lying limply on the ground were now holding their "heads" high, their taut bodies transformed into sharp spears.
The moment Kaelon appeared, they swarmed forward again like sharks that had scented blood.
This time, however, Kaelon was ready.
A Breaking Army Slash swept out, clearing the area directly in front of him.
But there were too many vines, and the ones not shredded by the attack continued to Thrust toward the two of them.
’Interesting.’
Duane tossed the rabbit aside. He had originally intended to use it as a test, but now there was no need.
He swept his Big Ring Saber, and a Fighting Qi Slash formed an arc, clearing the area before him.
Duane slowly raised his left hand, and a ball of fire appeared in his palm.
With a wave of his hand, the flames surged out like a tidal wave and clung to the black vines.
The vines were like dry tinder; they burst into flames upon contact and burned furiously, the fire spreading at an incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, a sea of fire raged before Duane!