Chapter 73
Chapter 73 – Feeling small
Translated by Sunyancai
Those giant dragonflies were gentle in temper, or else they would not allow the warriors in the advance group to take a ride on their backs.
Judging from the behavior of the advance group, Shao Xuan knew that this was not the first time that they used this way to go down the mountain. Also, perhaps those giant dragonflies also had vague memories about the people. However, according to Ta’s theory, the dragonflies do not mind taking the others for a free ride, as long as you do not actively irritate or attack them on purpose.
Viewing from the backs of dragonflies, the forests below seemed to be quite calm and peaceful. Of course that was merely an illusion. The place was even more dangerous than the forests that Shao Xuan had crossed during his last hunting mission.
The law of the jungle also applied in here. The competition for sunlight and nutrition was quite fierce in some places with dense trees. Often, Shao Xuan would see some withered trees. Their roots were large and deep, which were obviously hundreds of years old. They had twisted roots and gnarled branches, but also very dead. There was no worm holes, no cracks on the trunks, but the tree had still died. Ta told Shao Xuan that those were ‘killed’ by the joint efforts of the other trees nearby.
The battlefield of the plants was both above and below the surface. If you peeled the surface away, you could see that the roots of the dead trees had all been strangled by the roots of other trees.
“Attention! Prepare to get off!” Ta warned Shao Xuan.
“Toss me your container, Ah-Xuan!” Tuo said as he collected the liquid.
Tuo did not ask Shao Xuan to approach that plant, so he stayed at the place about ten meters away. At Tuo’s words, Shao Xuan tossed him the emptied gourd.
When it was filled, Tuo tossed the gourd back to Shao Xuan, and continued to fill in the other container that the next warrior tossed him.
The light green liquid attracted many insects, and most of them were pretty large. Any random bug was over a meter long.
“Hurry!” Ta rushed them.
Afar, there were a bunch of bugs flying towards their direction. With only twenty of them, they could not fight against those bugs.
When the last container was filled, that group of bugs was about two hundred meters away from them. It was enough for them to leave.
“Go!”
Naturally they left since they were done with the filling.
“What are they?” After considerable distance, Shao Xuan asked as they were standing on a leaf, resting.
“We call them the tearers. You see the plant that provided us water earlier? It’s wound would soon be healed, and there would be no more crack. The liquid that poured out would be soon reabsorbed and protected by a thick layer. Most insects could do nothing about it. They would leave if there was no more fragrance distributed. However, the tearers are no normal insects. That plant will probably die since there are tearers approaching.” Tuo said.
The insect called the tearer was some creature that was worthy of its name. It had sharp forelimbs like blades to use for tearing. It was a bug that dieted on both meat and plants. The liquid of plants and the blood of animals were both delicacies for the tearers, and they often went in groups.
Warriors in the advance group did not wish to confront the tearers. One reason was that the tearers were too lethal, while the other reason was that they stank. The disgusting smell wouldn’t fade even after they finished the hunting mission if they were stained with it.