Chapter 59: The Trees' Affection

"Land Naga? There are land Nagas?"

Rod had always thought they were the type that couldn't survive out of water.

Nagas combine a human body with a snake body; they often appear in the sea, though some do live in rain-soaked forests.

They are greedy, numerous, and keen on expanding their military; many coastal cities are frequently harassed by Nagas.

Even in normal commercial transactions, once they get a chance, they go back on their word and swallow both the money and the goods.

"Of course, although the number of land Nagas is not as high as their ocean counterparts, they hold a place in many desert regions."

Xia Li explained.

Tally interjected at this moment: "Speaking of which, one of my mother's cousins was almost beaten to death by land Nagas because she was discovered while draining the essence of her husband."

"You succubi really are... Nagas are a matriarchal society, and a very faithful intelligent race; I heard they only love one person in their lifetime."

The half-dragon smiled and secretly winked at Rod.

She remembered what they had done behind the succubus's back in the backyard not long ago, and her heart pounded.

The group crossed Gulixian's territory.

Here, Rod saw some women and children washing clothes in sulfur water gushing from geothermal steam, while others were weaving garments.

There were no traces of animal husbandry or planting; it was estimated that the people here still lived by hunting.

The female Fufeng people were much weaker than the males, almost like humans, and looked more slender.

They looked at the four curiously, even forgetting to continue their work.

"I can only say you heard it from others, knowing only one part and not the other."

Tally shook her head proudly, putting on a lecturing air.

She said: "Nagas don't love only one person in their lifetime, but only one person at a time—once you betray her, or she betrays you, the one who gets swallowed alive is you or our relative; she escaped while the other was swallowing her husband!"

Another piece of gossip.

Did the succubi spend that hundred years in the egg just learning gossip?

Soon, the group passed through Gulixian's tribe and arrived in a mountainous area dense with trees.

The Fufeng people guided them in the direction, then left.

"The Maze's Trees."

As soon as Rod approached the woods, he immediately felt a sense of closeness.

There were many jujube trees here; the trunks had a faint pink hue, and judging by the condition of the bark and leaves, most of them were in good health.

【Tree Armor Technique (Enhanced): A special enhancement for individuals possessing the 'Gift of Trees' when casting Tree Armor Technique; depending on the type of trees in the forest, different abilities are enhanced accordingly.

Current Trees: Thornless Jujube (Mutated)

Amplified Skill: Source of Inspiration】

【Details: The tranquility and harmony under the trees can stimulate your creativity, helping you find new inspiration and direction in the creation of paintings and poems.】

"Alright then."

Rod didn't know what to say for a moment.

This was a road cleared by the Gulixian clan; the number of monsters inside was small, but the group did not relax their guard.

They walked forward for nearly two hours, and indeed encountered no danger.

Xia Li and Gema both sighed in relief; such good luck was not often met in the Maze.

Rod felt it was a pity; the pass for the Open-Air Maze needed slaughter to activate, but there was nothing here to kill.

That was what he thought, but he wouldn't go looking for trouble anyway.

"Look."

The moonlight in the Maze was unusually bright; standing on the mountain, the group could clearly see the scenery below thanks to it.

Xia Li pointed to a huge crater in the distance.

It looked like a meteor crater.

"That is the crater formed by the red dragon Saban's impact, a must-see spot on the Open-Air Maze tour by Saban, the best guide of the Scorching City—the half-dragon Xia Li." She smiled and struck a pose, looking as cheerful as a girl group Rod had seen on TV.

Gema had obviously seen it before, so he was basically expressionless.

Tally let out a gasp.

"Someone slew a dragon here?"

Succubi's knowledge reserve is limited to X-knowledge and gossip; they don't know much about these things.

Xia Li smiled and said:

"It was a fallen dragon. Years ago, a young red dragon named Saban fell here for unknown reasons. The resentment formed after his death prevented his dragon body from decaying naturally; instead, it continued to grow in an irregular form. The surrounding races back then feared he would mutate, so they expended great effort to dispose of Saban's corpse."

"Not that rare."

Tally commented.

"That wouldn't count, but on the thirteenth day after the corpse was disposed of, the Open-Air Maze was born."

The group walked and talked.

Rod, however, recalled the detailed content of the Tree Armor Technique.

【Tree Armor Technique: Ancient trees possess great toughness and defense; attaching to the body, they can negate most damage. This skill has a chance to evolve into a higher-level skill—Dragon Scale Technique.】

"We can try it when we pass by then."

Just as he was thinking this.

He suddenly felt the aura of the pass within his body change.

【Perceived the Maze Trees' affection for you; 'Scorching City Open-Air Maze' Pass has changed.】

【The Pass will be upgraded to a higher level and grant you more abundant rewards; meanwhile, the trial intensity will increase; the more you kill, the more abundant the rewards!】

【Note: Monsters are about to attack!】

"?"

What the hell?

Such sudden affection?

Rod expanded his perception range to the maximum and immediately spotted huge mounds of earth bulging up on the western ground, rushing rapidly toward his position.

"Everyone, something's changed with my pass — monsters are coming right now."

Xia Li and Gemma both froze for a moment.

"What's the situation? Do you need help?"

"Don't — they're coming for me. I'll have more room to fight alone."

Rod glanced at the two women's accumulated spiritual essence.

Goblin, mid fourth-tier; half-dragon, high fourth-tier.

They seemed to understand and nodded.

"Then we'll regroup at the Dragon Pit. And remember the labyrinth's rules!"

"Understood, Tally."

The succubus acknowledged the order and whooshed straight into Rod's shadow.

A layer of spiritual light flared around Rod's body.

【Swift Shadow Rapid Step】 — 【Rapid Step】.

Boom!

He blasted the ground beneath him, leaving a crater with every step, and shot off in the opposite direction.

Because of the blessing of the trees, he couldn't bring himself to start a fight where there were trees.

Soon.

Rod met the monsters inside the mounds.

A massive high-temperature worm burst from the earth and greeted him with a blast of magma.

Rod didn't dodge at all.

A transparent spherical shield appeared around him, shoving all the magma aside.

A super-long pillar of light extended from the golden-glowing blade.

【Giant-Size Slash】!

Squelch—

The high-temperature worm was cleaved in two, its thick blood spilling across the ground.

Xia Li had said their mouthparts were to be used as expensive spellcasting materials, but Rod had no spare time for that right now.

The moment he landed, he was immediately hit by a second high-temperature worm's charge.

Clang—

The sucking-type mouthparts bit down on the spiritual shield, and instead their own serrated teeth shattered.

Rod immediately detonated the Lightless Shield, and the worm's head burst open like a watermelon.

Scalding-hot blood splashed across him, letting out sizzling, burning sounds.

In his peripheral vision, besides four high-temperature worms at early fifth-tier, not far away there was also a woman — lower body a snake, upper body human — hiding behind a rock, secretly watching him.

Land Naga.

(End of chapter)