The Rot Forest covered an extremely vast area. The Seventh Outpost had only cleared a zone spanning a few dozen kilometers around the outpost.
As Duke walked through the forest, he could clearly sense that the vegetation here was different from that of the Wizard Plane. Most of the species were ones he had never seen before.
A thick, soft layer of humus lay beneath his feet, making no sound when stepped on.
As Duke walked, he swept his surroundings with spiritual power. Beneath many of the soft humus layers lay hidden swamps, filled with all kinds of unfamiliar venomous insects.
For ordinary people, this place was practically hell, with almost no chance of survival.
The moment someone carelessly stepped into one of those swamps, they would be attacked and devoured by countless venomous insects. Before long, they would become another skeleton in the mire.
These swamps were only one part of the Rot Forest, and they were relatively obvious threats.
The most inconspicuous danger was the vegetation found everywhere in the forest. Unlike ordinary plants from other planes, most of these plants were highly aggressive.
Devouring abilities did not exist only in humans and magical creatures. Some plants possessed them as well, resulting in many plants here with extremely powerful offensive capabilities.
Giant trees that blotted out the sky stood everywhere. Their towering forms were twisted and grotesque, their dark-purple bark covered in thick moss and slick fungi. Enormous ferns spread leaves with sawtooth-sharp edges that gleamed with an ominous metallic sheen in the dim light.
Duke was proceeding along a relatively dry natural path formed by enormous tree roots when a faint energy fluctuation, like the writhing of a living creature, suddenly reached the edge of his spiritual perception.
After carefully sensing it, he discovered that dark-brown vines