Chapter 195: The great black forest of the dark world

When I completely crossed the enormous arched doorway and my eyes adjusted to the sight before me, I noticed something interesting.

There was a black forest in the Subterranean World.

I remained standing on the back of the Giant Shark King for several seconds, without saying a single word.

My first reaction was simple.

—Biochip, complete analysis.

[Command received.]

[Initiating environmental scan...]

[Result confirmed.]

[The detected environment is real.]

[No large-scale illusion identified.]

[Genuine physical space.]

My gaze became even more serious.

I was standing exactly on the dividing line between two completely different worlds.

Behind me there was nothing but stone.

Layers of black rock.

But all it took was a single step forward.

And I would enter something completely different.

Green grass brushed against the lower parts of the Giant Shark King’s fins.

Tall trees rose before me.

Thick vines intertwined between the trunks.

Rose bushes grew wildly.

There were bushes and Flowers of strange colors.

I slowly approached.

Vaguely, I could see small shadows running between the bushes.

Something small quickly passed between the trees.

Everything there radiated vitality.

But behind that flourishing scene was something else.

An aura, of a strange and twisted energy.

—Biochip, analyze the air in this dark forest.

[Beep!]

[Analyzing energy concentration.]

[Result: environmental magical energy at an abnormal level.]

[Elemental contamination detected.]

This place isn’t natural, this place is undoubtedly the ancient ruins of Darkgem.

I had a hypothesis about how this forest had appeared in this place.

After all, every mage tower possessed an Elemental Energy Reserve.

It was the source of energy that kept the magical equipment functioning.

But once the Tower was destroyed...

All that unused energy could escape.

And apparently, that was exactly what had happened.

An absurd amount of magical energy had leaked into the environment.

And contaminated everything.

After all, when a plant or creature absorbed an excessive amount of chaotic elemental energy, its evolution could completely spiral out of control.

The laws of nature simply ceased to be enough to explain what emerged afterward.

Therefore, I can say without a doubt that this place is a paradise for monsters...

I raised my arm and used the thick sleeve of my robe to wipe away the sweat that had begun to form on my forehead.

Then I took a nutritional potion. Removed the cap. And drank it.

The warm liquid went down my throat. Shortly afterward, I threw the empty bottle aside.

It fell among the rocks.

I looked back one last time.

Then I turned my gaze toward the forest.

—Let’s go, invade with force!!!!

The Giant Shark King began advancing by sliding forward.

GRRRRRRRMMMMMMMM...

Without a doubt, crossing a forest that had never been explored would be difficult, after all, the ground was covered with weeds. Fortunately, I was not alone.

And soon, a long tree stood in the way.

CRAAAACK!

It was knocked down.

Then an entire bush was crushed, and Flowers disappeared beneath tons of earth and rock.

With every meter the Shark advanced, it opened a path.

I felt like someone who had just joined a demolition team.

The Giant Shark King did not go around obstacles.

It simply passed through them.

Then I heard.

—Iiiih...

—Iiiih... iiiih... iiiih...

My gaze lowered.

The sound was coming from below.

Underneath the Shark’s body.

Suddenly.

—WAAAAAAAH!

A sound similar to the cry of a baby crossed the forest.

My body became rigid.

Now it sounded like the scream of some crazed demon.

I looked back.

The Shark had crushed a large area of vegetation.

But something was still moving.

Dozens of small emerald-green shoots had survived.

They began to twist.

My eyes narrowed.

The shoots curled up.

Changed shape.

Then small mouths filled with large teeth appeared.

It was obvious that grass would have teeth.

Why wouldn’t it?

The small mouths opened and then charged forward angrily.

Pieces of earth began to fall.

Even the fins began to suffer damage.

However, the Giant Shark King continued advancing.

And, ahead of us...

Something even stranger happened.

An ancient tree began to move.

Its roots came out of the ground like legs, and soon they walked away from the path that my Golem was forcibly opening through the forest.

It seemed that the more intelligent trees had realized that if they got in the Shark’s path, they would be shattered into several pieces.

But not all the mutant plants around us were intelligent.

Some vines began to move.

At the center of each flower... There was a face that resembled a snake’s face.

The small mouths opened and released a jet of acid that struck the Shark’s armor.

SSSSSSSSSS!

Smoke began to rise.

An expression of disgust appeared on my face.

—This is getting ridiculous.

But that wasn’t all.

Other hanging Vines began to twist.

Countless small teeth gleamed in the darkness.

I raised one finger.

A small light appeared at the tip of my finger.

FSSSSHHH!

The lightning struck the vines.

A scorching light enveloped the creatures.

The vine writhed.

Feeling the pain of the light, they tried to escape.

But the light fire continued.

And within a few seconds, only ashes remained.

Soon, they slowly fell.

And it continued like that for several minutes, until the sound of whispers cut through the forest.

The plants began moving away from my golem and fleeing.

The plant creatures had finally realized that I was not easy prey.

The Shark continued along a clear path, but obviously, those monsters were not going to let me leave without closing the path behind me. So when I looked back... The path I had opened with my golem had already disappeared.

The plants were growing again, but the journey remained peaceful, and for several hours of travel, there was nothing but peace.

Then the biochip issued an alert.

[Multiple movements detected.]

[Hostile signatures approaching.]

[Increasing number.]

Something leaped out of the bushes.

Then dozens more.

My expression became serious.

They were mutant dogs.

The creatures were huge.

The size of adult cows, they had muscular bodies, but most of their black fur had fallen out, and now large dark spots and lumps covered their skin.

These dogs had two heads, each with a mouth full of white fangs.

Green venom dripped between their teeth.

A strange glow could be seen deep within their throats, then they raised their heads and howled.

— AWOOOOOOOOOO!

Then more than a hundred creatures emerged from the forest.

My face turned slightly pale.

They spread out.

Some remained at a distance.

Others began to circle around us.

Then, an aura of magical energy formed blades of wind in the air.

Before I could react, a lightning bolt also appeared in the shape of a snake and struck the Shark’s armor.

BOOOOM!

KRAK!

And then a true rain of attacks began.

FSSSH!

KRAK!

BOOOOM!

FSSSHHH!

The clay armor began to break apart.

The Hunter Knight moved immediately and conjured two spears of mud.

WHOOOOSH!

The spear pierced a two-headed dog, which exploded into entrails of black blood.

But more came, fearlessly charging at the golem.

The Giant Shark King was surrounded.

With just one round of attacks...

A large portion of the golem’s armor had been destroyed.

If it weren’t for the Hunter Knight...

I would already be facing those attacks directly.

Individually, they were not that strong.

Probably equivalent to peak Second-Level Acolytes.

But there were more than a hundred of them.

That changed everything.

Even a weak enemy becomes dangerous when you have to face a crowd.

I didn’t want to spend one now... So I took out a Spiritual Core, held it for a few seconds, and threw it onto the ground.

CLINK!

The instant the core touched the earth.

VUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM!

The ground began to tremble.

The two-headed dogs stopped.

A smile appeared on my face.

The earth exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A gigantic body emerged from beneath the ground.

Powerful black rocks moved and joined together.

The Black Rock Basilisk emerged.

Its entire body was formed from dense rocks.

It was much more frightening than the Giant Shark King.

The two-headed creatures stood motionless.

For an instant.

Then, they attacked.

It was a mistake, because the Basilisk charged forward like a war tank and leaped into the pack of dogs.

BOOOOOOM!

More than 15 creatures were crushed instantly.

SPLAAAT!

Another one tried to bite it.

CHOMP!

Its teeth struck against rock and broke in a comical manner.

CRACK!

— SKREEEEEEEE!

A wind blade struck the Basilisk.

FSSSH!

Then a bolt of lightning struck it with tremendous force.

KRAAAAAK!

But they only created sparks.

The attacks that had destroyed the Shark’s armor were practically useless against that solid body.

Soon, a true bloody massacre followed, and the pack began losing members very quickly.

...

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