The Druid also possessed detoxification abilities. The two fought and retreated, their bodies reducing the toxins, but they couldn't breathe; the lack of oxygen caused tinnitus and blurred vision.
The little monsters inside the Mutated Giant Fir were also deformed in appearance. They were covered in thorns and walked on octopus-like tendrils, looking disgusting, but their actual combat power was not strong.
If it weren't for the poisonous gas that smelled of wood, they wouldn't be afraid of any of these little monsters, no matter how many they came at once. Now, however, the two of them were being forced into a corner.
Finally, with nowhere left to retreat, and only half a meter behind him against the tree wall, Masa was the first to give in. He couldn't suffocate himself, so he opened his mouth, took a deep breath, roared to the sky, and swung his huge bear paw fiercely. The four or five small monsters in front of them were sent flying, almost shattered.
He was casting spells to detoxify himself while fighting the toxic air; this was the only way forward, but in reality, the rate of poisoning far exceeded the rate of detoxification, allowing him to hold out for only a short while longer.
With a giant bear blocking their way, Unas looked up and saw that the opening of the pipe they had descended from was tightly closed, making it almost impossible to climb back up.
He swung his sword and cleaved through the tree walls on both sides, behind him, and on the ground, revealing black soil. Clearly, they had been dragged underground and were now trapped with no way out except for the glowing cave entrance ahead.
Unas couldn't hold his breath any longer, so Unas had to take a deep breath of the poisonous air. His suffocating chest was finally relieved. He had never felt that air was so delicious and precious, but he had to suppress the urge to take a second deep breath.
"Masa, charge!"
Unas shouted and jumped in front of the giant bear, determined to brave whatever dangers lurked in the cave ahead.
The Druid immediately understood the Paladin's meaning and mustered all his strength to unleash the skill, "Savage Charge!"
Unas had already crouched down in a horse stance, shield raised and sword at the ready. Like a bulldozer, he was being crushed forward by the Druid, who was pushing him through the cave entrance in the blink of an eye.
A wide, circular hole appeared before the two of them. In the center was a shallow pool where a large, white worm was slowly rolling around. A dozen small monsters were busy doing something around the pool.
Around the pool were piles of translucent, rugby ball-shaped white eggs, and a dozen or so vines were constantly rolling up the eggs and carrying them to the opening at the top.
The walls were dotted with strange blue flowers, and the fluorescence emanated from them.
The two's intrusion immediately attracted attention. The little monsters and vines abandoned their work and swarmed over, while the enemies scattered outside also surrounded them again.
The fragrance inside the cave seemed even stronger. Unas didn't dare to breathe, holding down the giant bear's head to prevent it from making any rash moves. Once all the enemies were within the range of the Divine Storm, he suddenly unleashed his skill.
Amidst the flying sand and stones enveloped in golden energy, the vines were completely scattered, and nearly half of the small monsters were thrown into the air, crashing heavily into the tree walls on either side, resulting in either death or serious injury.
"Kill!"
Unas switched his shield in his left hand into a Blacksteel longsword and charged at the enemy. With both swords flying, he killed eight small monsters in a single exchange.
The bear Druid also pounced forward, using its claws and teeth to tear apart every enemy it tackled.
The two quickly slaughtered the little monsters, and Unas also jumped up and cut all the Unas. However, during the battle, the two couldn't help but take several deep breaths, as the poison had penetrated deep into their bones.
Seeing that all the enemies had been eliminated, Masa felt a sense of relief. He could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, his body going limp as he transformed back into human form. However, he remained conscious, as the poison gas seemed to only affect his muscles and not his mind.
The exorcism spell requires a combination of incantations and hand gestures, but the Druid can't even control his tongue now, completely losing the ability to save himself. With his last ounce of strength, he can only point to the alluring flowers on the walls, "Flowers... flowers..."
As soon as Masa entered the cave, he associated the strange blue flowers with the poisonous gas, guessing that the flowers he had never seen before were likely the source of the fragrance.
Unas hadn't collapsed yet. Although he was also weak all over and his tongue was numb, his physique was much stronger than Masa's, and he could cast Cleanse silently.
As long as he silently recites the words "Cleanse" in his mind, streaks of white light will swirl around his body, dissolving the toxins, so he can still move.
Unas immediately understood the Druid's meaning—there was something wrong with the flower. He rushed to the wall, lifted his leg which now felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and stomped a Consecration into the tree wall.
Golden, sacred flames spread, burning all the blue flowers on this wall to charcoal. Unas ran around the cave wall and released six more Consecrations to burn all the flowers.
The pungent carbon fumes masked the pleasant aroma of the poisonous gas, and perhaps it was just my imagination, but the gas seemed to have thinned out a bit.
But the hole had no other major exits, the air was blocked, and the poisonous gas could not dissipate quickly. Unas felt that he was about to collapse and would soon follow in Masa's footsteps.
Is Hearthstone the only Invincible game left?
However, abandoning the Druids and his comrades outside to flee alone would be a huge damage to the Warden's reputation, and his sense of honor would not allow him to do so.
Unas finally collapsed. Although he repeatedly chanted "Cleanse" to detoxify himself, the accumulation of toxins still exceeded his body's capacity.
The cave fell silent for a moment, with only the large white worm in the central pool gently churning and making soft splashing sounds.
Unas continued to cast Cleanse on himself. As time passed, the poison gas, now without its source, would slowly dissipate, and he would be able to stand up again.
But time was clearly not on his side; in no time, the severed vines regenerated and immediately returned.
The Druid was powerless to resist, while Unas had regained some strength, but he did not struggle, wanting to see what the vines intended to do to the two of them.
They were tied up again, dragged to the central pool, and thrown in with two splashes.
The pool wasn't deep, and the vines pulled their heads just above the surface. Unas immediately noticed some white eggs in the pool; apparently, the little monsters from before were retrieving them.
The giant white worm was right in front of them. It wriggled its enormous body and pointed one side, which was either its head or its rear end, at the two of them. A cross-shaped crack appeared on its skin, and the worm's "head" split into four pieces. A sharp, almost transparent, sticky straw extended from one of them and stabbed towards Masa's head without stopping.
All the Druid could do was stare in terror and await his death. Unas, however, wouldn't just stand by and watch; he used all his strength to shove his shoulder and ram into the enemy.
With a splash, Masa was knocked sideways and fell into the water. The straw fell, Unas's shoulder took the stab for the Druid.
The straw wasn't as sharp as I'd imagined; it barely pierced Unas's outer shoulder armor before it couldn't go any further. The giant worm trembled violently from the obstruction. Few prey can remain motionless after being thrown into the pool, and it nearly broke its esophagus.
Several new vines stretched down, binding the unruly prey into a three-layered bundle, and the straw quickly rose and fell, this time targeting the Paladin's forehead.
Unas had no choice but to activate "Invincible," and a silver shield suddenly appeared around him, blocking not only the straw above his head but also snapping all the taut vines around him.
The Firekiss instantly slashed into his hand. Unas thrust his sword straight in, striking the center of the four-lobed maw. The straw snapped off at the root, and the giant worm let out a miserable cry. Its maw suddenly expanded, becoming almost three times larger than before, and swallowed Unas whole, who was almost within reach, in one gulp.
This purely instinctive counterattack brought it annihilation. The squeezing of its intestines and the corrosion of its digestive juices were no match for the Silver Divine Shield. Without a second thought, Unas switched Firekiss to the Horse-Slaying Sword and thrust it out at full force. The broad blade easily pierced through the giant insect's belly.
He pulled horizontally again, tearing open a large gash in the giant worm's belly. Unas, wrapped in flesh and blood, rolled out. At this time, Invincible had not yet disappeared; he had only been inside the giant worm's belly for less than 3 seconds.
The giant worm screamed and writhed, splashing water everywhere, but this only accelerated the loss of its flesh and blood. Unas swung his sword at its head, ending its suffering.
It's quite an unexpected bonus that such a weak and useless bug has given me 10% experience. It's probably a boss-level monster. However, my current experience is only 32%, which is far from enough to level up, and it won't help me get rid of the poison.
Taking advantage of the remaining few seconds of Invincible, Unas scooped the Druid out of the water, cut the vines binding him, and dragged him ashore.
Several persistent vines coiled around them again. By this time, Invincible had disappeared, Unas had used up the little strength he had recovered after killing the giant worm. The two were entangled once more.
Now he was completely out of options and could only resign himself to fate. The vines, however, made no further move. Their job was actually only two things: first, to drag the prey thrown in here into the pool to feed the giant insects; and second, to send the eggs laid by the giant insects into the digestive tissues above.
Now that the giant insect is dead, they are at a loss as to what to do with their prey. After a moment's hesitation, the vines, relying on instinct, begin to perform the second task—since the death of the giant insect makes the first task impossible, they will simply send the prey up to it.
The vines suddenly tightened, causing the two to curl up into a ball, but their size and weight were several times that of the white egg, especially since Unas was wearing two layers of armor, making him quite heavy.
All the vines wrapped around them, working together to pull the two towards a hole at the top of the cave. It was originally a passage for transporting white eggs, but it was far too small for them. Fortunately, the passage was very elastic, and after the vines' efforts, they were both pulled inside.
Unas felt as if he had been stuffed into a tube filled with viscous fluid, the walls of which were squeezing him tightly. Several vines wrapped around his shoulders and arms were pulling him upwards desperately, making him feel as if his arms no longer belonged to him.
Masa seemed to have been shoved into another passage nearby. Unas was in dire straits himself and couldn't care less about others, so he could only continue casting Purify to remove the Cleanse, but the effect was getting worse and worse—casting the same spell too many times on the same target in a short period of time would cause spell suppression.
The pipes writhed like intestines, and with the help of the vines, Unas was slowly moved upwards. He reviewed all the skills he could use, but none of them were of any help in the current situation.
The outer armor creaked under the pressure, and the dark pipes seemed endless. Unas forced himself to calm down and think of a way to save himself.
Upon examining the entire body, a discovery was indeed made: the muscles in the left arm were the most obedient and least affected by the toxins.
There are only two possible reasons: either the Shadowfiend parasitizing here are acting as a resistance to the poison, or it's the residual effect of Fel.
The Shadowfiend had been slowly growing in its slumber. If it were fully extended, its tentacles could almost cover its entire left arm. Its appetite had also increased considerably, and the river of Holy Power was almost completely covered by a veil of shadow.
However, Unas upgraded even faster, so he didn't feel any impact on his energy usage.
As the master, he tried to awaken the Shadowfiend and immediately received a response. The octopus-like shadow monster sent a message: a thirst for growth and energy.
Natasha is right; the shadow creatures have an insatiable appetite for energy.
Meditation allows one to visualize the flow of energy internally, but not the physical toxins. Unas carefully commanded the Shadowfiend to extend several tentacles to its shoulders and sweep them aimlessly.
It felt like a few cold feathers were piercing my shoulder. After sweeping for five or six minutes, apart from losing some Holy Power, my shoulder remained unchanged, which meant that the Shadowfiend could not remove the toxins.
Are we going to have to resort to Fel again?
Unas knew what unknown dangers lay at the end of the narrow pipe, and he had to find a way to save himself. Reluctantly, he opened the Energy Pool and sent a distress message to the Dreadlord.
"Lord Demon King?"
After a long period of silence, Bessarius, whether asleep or simply keeping it a secret, finally responded after a moment, "I'm here."
No longer addressing Unas as his closest friend, and with a less attentive tone, the demon changed his strategy in dealing with Unas after realizing he couldn't fool the Paladin.
Bessarius had actually woken up as soon as the Energy Pool was opened. He had spent some time observing the outside world and was already fully aware of Unas's condition, but he no longer offered help to gain Unas's favor, because he knew that was impossible. He wanted to raise his stance and let this human ask him for help.
Unas didn't care about the demon's change in attitude; in any case, his wariness of demons wouldn't lessen. He asked directly, "Do you have a way to cure the poison?"
"Ha ha!" Bessarius laughed maniacally, a hint of mockery in his voice. "I only know how to poison; I never need an antidote."
That's true. Demons only harm people; they wouldn't know how to use antidotes.
Unas sensed the hidden meaning in his words and asked, "You yourself are poisoned? Don't you need an antidote?"
"The Dreadlord race possesses a constitution that grants them immunity to any toxins from your world!"
The demon's words were exaggerated, but perhaps Fel really does have the effect of resisting toxins, and many demon races are not afraid of deadly poisons.
Unas fell silent, as if lost in other thoughts.
Bessarius, on the contrary, was getting a little impatient. Ever since he became communal with this human, he had been thinking about turning the human Paladin into a demon and then controlling him to help him resurrect. Now was a perfect opportunity, and he didn't want to miss it.
"I just checked, and all your muscles are paralyzed by toxins. The only solution is to transfer your body."
As for what kind of physical body it will transform into, it can only be a demonic body immune to toxins.
Unas sneered inwardly. He had only feigned profundity for a moment, and Bessarius couldn't resist throwing out a vicious scheme. The demon's magnanimity was nothing more than this. He remained silent and did not respond.
"I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, this transformation is only temporary. With your physical resilience, you can only maintain it for a mere fifteen minutes."
The demon wasn't lying. Transforming a human into a demon permanently and stably is a long process that can't be accomplished overnight. Bessarius didn't want a pile of broken flesh and blood, as that would be detrimental to his plans.
"Impossible!" Unas firmly refused. "The transformation might be temporary, but it would definitely leave behind a deep-seated problem. You'd better think of another way."
This time, the demon fell silent. Unas continued, "There are unknown threats ahead. You said our souls are linked; if I die, you will perish too..."
"Indeed!" The demon interrupted the Paladin for the first time, laughing arrogantly, "If you die, I will also perish in this world, but my consciousness will return to its original form in the Twisting Nether, and one day, I will descend again!"
There's a saying among mages about demons: many powerful demons invade Azeroth using only projections or clones, which leads to many legends of demon resurrection—a demon lord might be killed by a hero, but then reappear every ten or twenty years.
Bessarius's words seemed to confirm the legend, but they were actually an exaggeration. Killing the demon's projection would cause great damage to the original body, and invading Azeroth again would require an extremely rare opportunity. The Dreadlord, of course, was unwilling to perish together with Unas.
Unas was trying to discern the truth from falsehood in the demon's words, a faint light suddenly shone down from above. Looking up, he saw a small hole above him, and a familiar, pungent smell wafted out, foreshadowing the approaching danger. Before he could think of what to do, he was suddenly pulled out of the hole with a "whoosh."
Another tree hole appeared before them. The hole from which Unas had been pulled was in a tree wall. Turning his head, he saw that the four walls were covered with a dense array of small holes, with dozens of vines busily moving in and out, transporting eggs or larvae that looked like white eggs, and then throwing them down directly.
Below was a pool of white liquid of unknown depth, with no place to step. A dozen small monsters with slender limbs were swimming in the pool, their bodies shimmering with green light, as if chasing after the falling eggs and larvae.
Masa's striking body was floating on a milky liquid, his chainmail emitting white smoke, his hair completely gone, leaving only a bald back of his head visible. Three small green monsters were swimming around him, it seemed the Druid had been pulled out by the vines first.
Unas was deeply impressed by this white liquid; he had seen it during the battle outside. It was highly corrosive to metal and, combined with his Blade Legs, destroyed his two massive steel shields and his outermost heavy armor.
At this moment, the vines on Unas's body began to loosen, and they were about to throw their prey directly into the digestive pool.
Unas's body has temporarily developed a strong resistance to the Cleanse, so the detoxification effect is negligible. Moreover, he has little Holy Power left in his body, and he has already stopped casting spells. So far, he has only recovered 30% of his strength.
Sensing something was wrong, he immediately clamped his arms tightly around the vines, trying to prevent them from leaving. The vines struggled to break free, and the two became entangled on the tree wall.
Bessarius's voice rang out at the opportune moment, no longer a nagging plea, but a few concise words. "A futile struggle."
Unas knew the demon was right; the vines could regenerate indefinitely, and he wouldn't last long without an antidote.
But he didn't want to give up so easily. He even bit down hard on a vine with his teeth and refused to let go. The two struggled for nearly a minute longer. Unas felt increasingly exhausted and knew he would soon follow in the Druid's footsteps.
The vines, however, gave up first. They actually used the gecko's tail-severing technique, breaking off directly from a point that was out of reach of humans.
Despite the sudden fall, Unas remained calm. He pulled out two daggers and slashed them horizontally, scattering the remaining vines on his body. At the same time, he used all his strength to adjust his waist and back, flipping his body in the air. Just before hitting the water, he finally somersaulted, landing with his feet down and his head up.
The weight of the double armor caused him to splash up white waves in the pool. Unas bent his knees slightly and stood firmly. It turned out that the pool was not as deep as he had imagined. His feet were on the soft bottom of the pool, and the water only reached his chest.
His visor and Sacred Shield blocked most of the splashed liquid, but a few drops still seeped into the gaps between his helmet and neck armor, causing a tingling and itchy sensation from his neck.
The Sacred Shield activated and deactivated instantly, while the outer layer of heavy armor hissed and emitted white smoke. White liquid seeped in large quantities from the gaps in the heavy armor, but fortunately, the inner Judgement Armor was tightly sealed, preventing the venom from penetrating for the time being.
This venom seemed to be much less corrosive to living organisms; Unas's neck was only slightly numb and itchy, but his heavy armor was melting away at a visible rate.
Two small, green monsters with slender limbs swam over. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that their bodies were as clear and translucent as green crystals, lacking any obvious facial features, and they looked like unfinished, bizarre dolls.
Unas hurled two daggers at the small monsters, who were caught completely off guard. In their minds, anything thrown into the digestive trough was safe food.
Two daggers, one to the head and one to the chest, yet the two little monsters did not die. They seemed to lack a vocal system, neither screaming nor retaliating, silently turning and running away.
Unas pulled out his Double-Barreled Shotgun, raised his hand, and fired two shots. One of the little monsters fell into the pool with a thud, while the other continued to swim out, lively and energetic.
The booming gunshots echoed in the cave. The death of the little monster seemed to stir up a hornet's nest. The dozen or so little monsters in the pool scattered in all directions like startled birds. They jumped onto the tree walls and climbed up quickly.
Unas looked up and saw a red Meatball at the top of the tree hole. The little monsters were very good climbers. After climbing to the top of the hole, one by one they disappeared into the small hole in the center of the Meatball.
Dozens of vines did not react to this, but continued to diligently throw out various eggs and larvae from the small holes in the four walls. Without anyone controlling them, their task was merely to transport the prey; the prey in the pool was no longer their concern.
With no immediate threat, Unas put away his shotgun, pulled a long rope from his bag, quickly tied it into a noose, threw it to lasso the floating Druid, and then pulled him close.
Masa was lying face down on the surface of the pool when the tug flipped him over. Unas was so shocked to see his face that he almost fell into the pool.
The Druid looked horrifying. His eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, skin, and hair had all disappeared, leaving only four deep holes on his face that exposed bone. His ears were reduced to their roots, and under the influence of the white liquid, he looked like a melting wax figure.
Unas didn't lift Masa's clothes to check, but he knew it must be a terrible sight inside. The thought of being surrounded by this terrifyingly corrosive white venom filled him with despair.
The Judgement Armor doesn't know how long it will last. Now there are only two options: either use Hearthstone to escape, or follow the demon's method to cure the poison.
If he abandons his comrades and flees alone, everyone outside will likely perish. He will be unable to explain himself to his subordinates, his prestige will be severely damaged, and the Elves may even turn against him.
Using demonic methods is a dangerous and thorny path of no return; a slight misstep can lead to plunging into the abyss.
"Cough!"
Just as he was caught in a dilemma, a cough brought him back to reality.
The Druid hadn't died. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood mixed with venom and fragments, then his chest began to rise and fall, and muffled sounds came out of his mouth, like a mute trying to speak.
Unas couldn't understand a word, because the venom had destroyed the Druid's tongue and vocal cords. He was now blind, deaf, mute, and disfigured, and couldn't even hear what he was saying.
It's hard to imagine how Masa is feeling right now. In this situation, Unas feels that he would rather be dead.
The Druid thrashed helplessly at the pool water, making a last, desperate struggle. Unas pressed down on his shoulders, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Masa, you'll be alright, trust me!"
The white lie, intended only to soothe the other person and allow them to die peacefully, instead provoked a more intense reaction from the Druid.
Masa, in a final burst of energy, grabbed the Paladin's arm and giggled, as if he had some important will to tell Unas.
Unas was somewhat at a loss, Masa quickly realized that this was not a way to communicate. His body was flashing with green light, as if an invisible hand was pulling at his body—he was about to be transformed.
The dying Masa struggled to use his Polymorph; his body, enveloped in green light, shifted between three forms: a giant bear, Nightsaber, and Thunder Raven, but he failed to transform into any of them.
Unas could only watch helplessly. Finally, the green light disappeared, and what appeared before him was a deformed "thing" with the body of a leopard, the claws of a bear, and the head of Treant.
Unas was horrified. Had the Druids also been infected with the giant robe's deformed genes?