Wizard: I crush legends with martial arts.

Chapter 114 Another Herb

"I think I've heard that sound before." Tessie wasn't quite sure what kind of creature it was and fell into deep thought.

Alphonse didn't take it seriously and continued walking in the direction the sound came from.

Along the way, we could see many dead snakes and insects.

There seem to be no birds in this primeval forest, but there are quite a few venomous snakes and insects.

Alphonse saw several large centipedes, each as thick as an arm.

It was just a corpse, cut into several pieces.

With Midio's insect-repelling spell, there was no need to worry about flying insects bothering them, which saved some trouble.

Otherwise, the mosquitoes and ants that roam the jungle would be a problem.

Suddenly, Taisi blurted out, "It seems the mercenaries who passed through here are very experienced."

"Why do you say that?" Midio asked curiously.

Taixi raised his hand and pointed to a large patch of gray-black bushes in the distance.

"That's a bomb flower; it's already been triggered."

Alphonse glanced in the direction he was pointing. There were many open, hard-shell-like things growing on the bushes. They must be the fruits of the bomb flowers. The contents inside were gone.

It's likely that once it comes into contact with the fruit, it will burst open, launching the seeds inside like projectiles.

Sure enough, this was the situation as Taixi explained.

Taisi then pointed in another direction, where there was a large patch of plants that had been chopped up.

However, the remaining leaf fragments on the ground still show many serrations, and the tips even have sharp thorns like claws.

"That's the Magas carnivorous plant. Any creature that gets close will be preyed upon. It has a paralyzing poison," Tessie said.

Since it has already been chopped up, there is naturally no danger.

Alphonse didn't think that these strange plants could cause any trouble for his group.

Midio, however, found it very novel and kept pestering Tessie to ask about the origins of the various strange plants.

Tessie couldn't answer all the questions, but she explained the ones she could to the curious Midio clearly.

The strange sound came in waves.

It stops for a while, then starts ringing again.

Alphonse could already see several mercenaries in the distance, wielding swords and wearing leather armor.

He immediately went over.

The mercenaries noticed Alphonse and his three companions approaching, and their expressions immediately changed.

One of the burly men with a thick beard widened his eyes and shouted urgently, "Don't come any closer! Cover your ears!"

You could tell he was giving a warning.

Tessie reacted instantly, pulling Midio into her arms and covering his ears tightly with her large hands.

Alphonse and Mia also heeded the burly man's words, stopped in their tracks, and raised their hands to cover their ears.

A sharp screech suddenly echoed all around.

It took a while before it stopped.

"I should have guessed it was 'Disease Eggplant,' I didn't expect it to grow in this forest." Tethys shook his head. He was somewhat affected, but he was wearing a horned helmet, which covered his ears completely, so it wasn't a big problem.

Epimedium?

Alphonse wasn't quite sure what it was, but it sounded like a plant.

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I thought of a plant that often appears in Western fantasy novels and makes strange noises.

The noise stopped, and the burly man was waving, "You can go now!"

Alphonse stepped forward and glanced at her curiously a few times.

The burly man removed the wad of cloth from his ear. "Sorry, we were just collecting lynxes. Their calls can cause people to lose their minds if they get too close, so we didn't dare let you get too close."

"It's nothing," Alphonse waved his hand. "You meant well."

The man who had been collecting the eggplants stood up and bowed somewhat awkwardly.

Judging from his coarse cloth robe, he didn't look like a mercenary.

It's likely that he hired these mercenaries to gather herbs.

There was an open cloth bag on the ground, already filled with quite a few belladonna.

The leaves resemble those of a small bok choy, but the thick rootstock has limbs and a distorted face that looks like a human face.

Just as Alphonse thought, this "belladonna" is the plant that often appears in Western fantasy novels.

However, it has another name: mandrake.

The burly man spoke politely, but his companion quipped, "This isn't a place for noble young masters like you."

"Shut up!" The burly man glared fiercely at the other man.

He then turned to Alphonse with a forced smile and apologized, "Sir, I'm sorry, my brother here isn't very good at speaking, please forgive him."

"It's alright." Alphonse was too lazy to get angry over such a small matter; it was just something someone said to him, nothing serious.

"If you gentlemen wish to continue exploring, you may proceed. We will collect the 'Dianqie' (a type of fruit) after you have left," the burly man said.

"Okay." Alphonse didn't want to linger and left with Mia and the others.

The burly man added a warning, "There are Val's Demon Flowers lurking in that direction, so please be careful!"

"Thanks." Alphonse turned his head, smiled, and said thank you.

This burly man has a decent heart.

He then asked Tessie, "What is the Val Demon Flower?"

"It's a plant-type monster, like the Walking Mushroom, it can move, but it's much stronger. However, it's not too difficult to deal with," Tessie replied nonchalantly.

Although they had walked a short distance, Alphonse, with his keen hearing, could still hear the burly man muttering insults at the other man, "You fool, don't mess with nobles!"

"What's there to be afraid of? He's not the lord of Emerald Territory, and he can't control us."

"That noble young master is nothing special, but the half-elf woman and the dwarf who accompany him are both formidable warriors!"

The man then shut up and stopped arguing.

Alphonse already knew in his heart that this burly man should also possess battle aura, as he could sense the battle aura fluctuations on Mia and Tessi.

"What are the effects of datura?" Midio asked Tessie again.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a strange plant that could make sounds and whose roots and stems grew like a human, complete with limbs.

"It's said to be able to cure infertility and also has an aphrodisiac effect, but I don't know how to use lycoperdon to make medicine. I just know that lycoperdon itself is poisonous and can cause hallucinations, as well as symptoms of mania and vomiting," Tessie explained.

Needless to say, he must have already eaten.

Alphonse truly admired Tessie; he dared to eat anything, much like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs.

After walking for a while, Alphonse's gaze suddenly sharpened, and with a flash, he flew away.

It was because I saw a cluster of exceptionally green medicinal herbs under a large tree.

This herb, known as the Heavenly Grass in the martial arts world of my previous life, is one of the seven herbs used to temper the body.

Taisi froze for a moment, then shouted urgently, "Watch out for the vines on the tree!"

As he raised his voice in warning, the vines hanging from the tree moved, coiling towards Alphonse like serpents.

(End of this chapter)