Chapter 218: Clearing the Witch Forest, Treasures Everywhere!

A system notification appeared.

[Your territory member: Andrew has successfully broken through and become a Tier 4 Boss-level creature; base attributes increased by 100%]

At this moment, everyone wore gentle smiles on their faces and offered him their congratulations one after another.

Assam said sincerely, "Congratulations, Lord Andrew."

As the first two great generals under Cao Xing, the two had a pretty good relationship in private.

Andrew said with a devout smile on his face, "Sir Assam, with the Lord here, you will also be able to break through to Tier 4 very soon."

However, Cao Xing shook his head and said, "Assam still needs to wait a while."

"He has a Trial of the Five Knightly Virtues, which requires him to challenge a Boss monster one tier higher."

"It just so happens that we can look around in this forest to see if we can find a suitable target for Assam to complete this trial."

"Then we will let him break through to Tier 4."

Hearing this, Assam said with a firm gaze, "I will complete the challenge with all my might, my Lord!"

Cao Xing nodded slightly. At the same time, he checked Andrew's attributes after the breakthrough.

[Ice Plains Druid: Andrew] [Race: Druid] [Level: Level 30 0/300,000 (Tier 3 Boss-level creature)] [Detailed Attributes: Click to view]

Seeing Andrew's attributes, a look of surprise and joy immediately appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

With 90,000 HP, he had completely surpassed Sarah! His attack power had also directly reached 3,300.

And this was not even counting the [Blessing of Courage] status!

Now, any random Starfire spell from Andrew would deal at least 6,000 damage! His Moonfire spell also had nearly 5,000 AoE damage; it was terrifyingly powerful!

Among everyone present, apart from Sarah, I'm afraid no one's damage could compare to his.

Cao Xing exclaimed in admiration, "Andrew after his transformation is truly powerful!"

"And this Witch Forest is indeed a good place; it let me drop a high-level Heart of Strength right off the bat."

"Looking at it this way, it won't be long before all of us can reach Tier 4." Cao Xing thought happily.

Then, he led the others to continue moving forward.

As they walked, Cao Xing saw some familiar plants appearing under one of the large trees.

A few flowers about thirty centimeters tall with cyan petals were growing quietly. Upon closer inspection, they were indeed [Ice Luan Flowers].

Then, Cao Xing carefully picked them all. [Obtained: Ice Luan Flower (Blue) * 17]

"Not bad, picked up some money again." Cao Xing thought happily. To him, these magical plants were resources, they were money. The more, the better.

"Let's continue moving forward." Under Cao Xing's order, everyone began to continue exploring the forest.

A few minutes later, Cao Xing arrived once again in a dense part of the forest. This was an area they had not explored before.

The surroundings also presented a pale hue, including the branches and leaves of those large trees, which were all pale.

However, within this paleness, some peculiar plants had also grown. For instance, some black fruits the size of a fist hanging from the branches, and some weeds and moss of various shapes growing on the ground.

Cao Xing glanced at them and found they were all ordinary plants, so he didn't pay them any mind. As mentioned before, the [Witch Forest] was too big.

Even though this was a doomsday world shrouded in extreme cold, the variety of plants inside was still unimaginably rich.

They hadn't walked far when everyone suddenly smelled a peculiar fragrance wafting over. This fragrance was extremely enticing. Just by taking a whiff, they felt their minds clear up, and everyone couldn't help but twitch their noses.

Elisa's eyes lit up as she said, "So fragrant! It smells like milk!" While the Wild Boar Warrior Rabb said, "Oh! Why do I smell the scent of beast meat?"

Cao Xing was also a bit surprised, "What is that, why is it so fragrant?" Everyone was confused, seemingly not knowing how such a fragrance could suddenly appear in this cold forest.

Beside him, Andrew sniffed the air a few times and then said, "My Lord, this seems to be the scent emitted by a Lucky Fragrant Mushroom."

"Lucky Fragrant Mushroom?" Andrew nodded, "Yes, it is a magical mushroom with miraculous properties and is also a relatively rare ingredient."

"It is said that after drying it, using it to make soup is absolutely superb." "No matter how unpalatable a dish is, as long as a little Lucky Fragrant Mushroom is added, it can turn into a rare delicacy."

"The most crucial thing is that this ingredient does not ruin the texture of other foods." "It is an ingredient that even those royal chefs struggle to find."

Hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes lit up. Then he asked, "Is this thing valuable?"

Andrew was stunned for a moment, seemingly confused by Cao Xing's question. Then, he slowly replied, "It should be… quite valuable…"

"After all, those royal chefs and top-tier chefs often pay high prices to hire powerful hunters to go deep into the mountains to find this ingredient." "If there is some ready-made, they would certainly be very happy to purchase it."

Joy instantly appeared in Cao Xing's eyes. To him, the taste of the Lucky Fragrant Mushroom was secondary. The main thing was, what was its value?

"Andrew, if there is this fragrance here, does it mean there are Lucky Fragrant Mushrooms nearby?" "Yes."

After receiving Andrew's confirmation, Cao Xing immediately ordered, "Everyone, look for it."

Upon hearing this, everyone began to take action. Elisa, while twitching her nose, quickly walked towards the back of one of the large trees. Then, she exclaimed, "My Lord, it's here!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing was stunned, "Good grief, she found it so quickly?" "Do you have the nose of a dog?"

He also quickly rushed to Elisa's side. Sure enough, he saw a few tender white mushrooms growing next to the roots of this large tree.

They were nearly half a meter tall, the stalks were about as thick as a thigh, and the caps on top were thirty to forty centimeters wide. They looked very plump and delicious.

A peculiar fragrance wafted from them continuously. For some reason, there were not many beasts in the Witch Forest. Cao Xing speculated that it must be because of the [Dark Aura].

Otherwise, this fragrance alone would have attracted a large number of beasts. "Good grief, such a big mushroom?" Cao Xing said in surprise.

Andrew was also stunned for a moment, then said, "Ordinary Lucky Fragrant Mushrooms are usually only about the size of a fist." "This is my first time seeing one this big."

"Its value is probably much higher than some ordinary Lucky Fragrant Mushrooms." Hearing this, a look of anticipation also appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

He walked straight up to them, and the attributes of these mushrooms appeared before him. [Giant Lucky Fragrant Mushroom: Magical Plant (Purple)]

[A Lucky Fragrant Mushroom emitting a rich fragrance; it is a relatively rare ingredient.] [Effect 1: After drying and grinding it into powder, it can be made into Lucky Fragrant seasoning, or mixed with other materials to make high-level pet feed.]

[Effect 2: Consuming it for the first time increases Constitution by 15 points.]

"An ingredient that can be made into seasoning?" "Not only that, it can also be made into high-level pet feed, and it has the effect of increasing Constitution. Very nice!" Cao Xing said happily, "Collect it, collect it!"

Thus, he directly collected all the mushrooms on the ground. [Obtained: Giant Lucky Fragrant Mushroom (Purple) * 4]

4 Lucky Fragrant Mushrooms, adding up to about ten kilograms or more. "Haha, this feeling of picking up money off the ground is really great."

Obviously, the Lucky Fragrant Mushroom is a precious ingredient. Just the few functions listed in the item description indicate the value of the Lucky Fragrant Mushroom. Moreover, what he had in his hands was a Giant Lucky Fragrant Mushroom.

One could tell from the fact that top-tier chefs posted commissions to hire powerful hunters to help find [Lucky Fragrant Mushrooms]. It could definitely sell for a high price!

However, because the Witch Forest was extremely dangerous, those hunters dared not come to such a place to collect resources. Therefore, this forest hadn't been stepped into by anyone for nearly one or two hundred years.

If it were an ordinary forest, the rare fruits and even those magical plants inside would have long been plucked clean by them. It wouldn't have been Cao Xing's turn.

But now, because of Cao Xing's formidable strength, he had ventured so deep into the Witch Forest. And he was searching inside without any scruples.

For Cao Xing, this was equivalent to a huge treasure vault. As long as one searched patiently, one would always find some unexpected surprises!

"Let's go, keep moving forward." Following Cao Xing's order, they changed direction and began to search again.

Three minutes later, they encountered another wave of Nightmare Man-Eating Flowers. Cao Xing glanced at them; the number of these Man-Eating Flowers was around thirty-something.

Although all of them were above level 30, there were no boss-level Man-eating Flowers among them.

"However, although there are no boss-level Man-eating Flowers, those two elite Man-eating Flowers are not bad either."

"The poisonous thorns on them can be used to craft quite a few arrows."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing continued to order: "Fight as you please, finish this quickly."

After hearing Cao Xing's order.

Braum, Assam, the two Dragonblood Warriors, and the Wild Boar Warriors and other melee units swarmed forward.

"Pfft! Pfft, pfft!"

Jonard and Josent's long spears jabbed continuously, piercing holes into the petals of these Man-eating Flowers.

At the same time, high damage numbers appeared.

[- 2573]

[- 2471]

[- 2631]

…

Meanwhile, Rabb, relying on his 30% life steal and powerful recovery abilities, jumped directly into the group of Man-eating Flowers.

"Beast God, grant me strength!"

"Twin Blade Whirlwind!"

Rabb gripped his dual blades and began to spin at high speed amidst the Man-eating Flowers!

[- 2471]

+ 741

[- 2532]

+ 760

[- 2651]

+ 795

A flurry of damage numbers appeared, along with life steal numbers.

At this moment, Rabb was fighting seven or eight Tier 4 Man-eating Flowers alone. Even though the three layers of Holy Shields on his body had completely shattered, his HP showed no signs of decreasing.

Every time the Man-eating Flowers focused their fire and depleted a chunk of his HP, Rabb would drain most of it back with a few strikes.

Then, [Ice Healing Art] and [Life Bloom] began to restore his HP simultaneously, instantly refilling his health bar!

Rabb shouted excitedly: "Haha, Rabb is an undying Wild Boar Warrior!"

However, he didn't stay happy for long.

One of the elite Man-eating Flowers suddenly extended a long tentacle and wrapped it around Rabb's arm.

In that instant, he felt a tremendous force.

In his terrified gaze, Rabb was dragged over. Then, the petals suddenly closed shut.

Seeing this, Braum slapped his bald head and exclaimed in surprise: "Oh no! The Wild Boar Warrior has been swallowed!"

Rabb had been careless; he had forgotten that the Man-eating Flowers also possessed the [Nightmare Assault] skill.

Just then, Isabelle and a Nightmare Archer suddenly felt a powerful force pulling at their waists.

Both of them flew forward! And just like that, the Holy Light Priest was swallowed by a Man-eating Flower on the spot.

Everyone on the field looked on with intense shock! However, Cao Xing's expression remained unchanged.

Because with their formidable recovery abilities, even if they were swallowed by the Man-eating Flowers, they wouldn't be in any danger for a short time.

Everyone also heard cries for help coming from inside the petals.

"Lor… Lord, save me…"

This was Rabb's voice.

Isabelle also said from inside with a trembling voice: "Ugh! What is this slime… it's so disgusting…"

Cao Xing couldn't help but chuckle.

"Go and save them."

After receiving Cao Xing's order, Assam and the two Dragon Spear Warriors rushed forward.

"Swish! Swish!"

With a few slashes, the petals of these three Man-eating Flowers suffered multiple attacks.

Then, they spat out Rabb, Isabelle, and the archer.

The three of them sat on the ground, looking shaken. Their bodies were still covered in wet, sticky purple liquid…

Especially Isabelle, who was originally wearing a plain white mage robe. Now, because the robe was soaked, it highlighted her graceful figure.

Her delicate skin, snowy-white silhouette, and that slender waist that could be gripped in one hand. Combined with her being covered in slime, it created a sharp contrast to her usual image as a holy Light Priest.

Cao Xing's gaze landed on her, and he realized that this woman's waist was truly slender. Could such a slim waist support the impressive scale of her upper body?

Isabelle noticed Cao Xing's gaze and her own soaked clothes. This usually serious and stern Light Priest immediately felt a flush of shyness appear on her face.

Hilda, who was nearby, didn't forget to mock: "That woman from the Church, fix your clothes and stop trying to seduce the Lord here!"

The combatants were all focusing on the battle, and upon hearing this, they didn't dare to turn around, pretending they hadn't heard anything. After all, this was a clash between two powerful women, and no one dared to get involved!

Isabelle bit her lower lip, glared at Hilda hatefully, and then stood up from the ground.

At this moment, she raised her staff, and a powerful wave of Holy Light poured out like flowing water, washing the slime off her body. Isabelle bathed in the Holy Light.

A moment later, her beautiful face became pure once again, restoring her to that immaculate, holy Light Priest.

Nearby, Rabb and the archer also cleaned themselves up.

Rabb exclaimed: "By the Beast God, I was almost swallowed by these Man-eating Flowers!"

Cao Xing reminded them: "Everyone, be careful. Don't let the Man-eating Flowers' tentacles wrap around your bodies. Unless you want to be covered in saliva…"

Rabb regained his composure and picked up his weapon to charge in again.

Meanwhile, Isabelle seemed to be a bit angry. She raised her staff, and terrifying bursts of Holy Light power erupted. The petals of the Man-eating Flowers were blasted, constantly contracting and folding.

In no time, the group finished off this wave of Man-eating Flowers.

Boom! A large Holy Light sphere slammed down.

[- 4127]

[Your territory member: Isabelle Gospel killed Nightmare Man-eating Flower Lv35, Tier 4 Elite creature, Experience gained: 0]

[Combatants gained experience: 1400]

…

When the last Man-eating Flower was killed, the ground was covered in materials and the giant corpses of the Man-eating Flowers.

Cao Xing walked over as usual to decompose them all and collected everything together.

[Obtained: Nightmare Man-eating Flower's Poisonous Thorn (Green) * 2794]

[Obtained: Nightmare Man-eating Flower's Poisonous Thorn (Blue) * 372]

[Obtained: Nightmare Man-eating Flower's Petal (Green)]

[Obtained: Intermediate Heart of Strength * 4]

[Obtained: Tier 3 Elite Nightmare Court Archer Scroll * 1]

[Obtained: Tier 3 Nightmare Court Archer Scroll * 5]

[Obtained…]

…

Another harvest. Among them were four Intermediate Hearts of Strength, several recruitment scrolls, two corrupted elite souls, and over three thousand poisonous thorns.

"Not bad, not bad. Four Intermediate Hearts of Strength saved me another 40,000 Ice Dragon Marks."

"Since entering the Witch Forest, it has dropped 13 Intermediate Hearts of Strength for me."

"If we go by the Dragon Shop's prices, that's 130,000 Ice Dragon Marks."

Cao Xing exclaimed: "As expected, high-level areas are great!"

"If I could kill all the monsters in this forest, maybe I could solve the Heart of Strength needs for all my two hundred-plus warriors at once."

Cao Xing thought happily.

Of course, to wipe out all the monsters in the entire forest, it would require immense strength and a significant amount of exploration time. It basically couldn't be done in a day or two.

As for the recruitment scrolls, Cao Xing didn't use them to summon anyone. They already had enough people. Too many people would make it difficult to command in this jungle terrain.

Thus, Cao Xing put all these items into his backpack and led everyone to continue deeper.

…

Five minutes later.

This time, they stopped beside a giant tree over two hundred meters tall.

What caught Cao Xing's attention were the red fruits at the top of the canopy.

Clearly, in this forest where the overall tone was pale, these red fruits were quite eye-catching.

Cao Xing turned his head and asked: "Does anyone know what these fruits are?"

Everyone shook their heads. Even Andrew, who knew more about plants, wasn't sure.

"Lord, this might be a tree unique to the Witch Forest."

"However, to grow this tall, it must have been around for quite some years."

Cao Xing nodded, then sighed to himself: "If only my plant encyclopedia, Juliette, were by my side right now, she would definitely know the name of these fruits."

However, although no one knew the name of these fruits, he was a Survivor after all, and he had the system's built-in interface feature. As long as he got close, Cao Xing could see their attributes.

Thinking of this, he said directly: "Dabai, take me to the base of that big tree."