Chapter 233: Solarwheel Flower

Chapter 233: Solarwheel Flower

“Ah!”

A shrill scream pierced the air, stopping abruptly after just a single cry. Su Lun transformed into a blur as he instantly dashed forward. The other soldiers nearby quickly followed suit. Everyone raised their weapons, no one daring to be careless.

Su Lun reached the scene quickly, but what he discovered made him frown.

“M-milord!”

A trembling Spearman recruit stood frozen, staring in terror. Beside him lay the corpse of another spearman – but only the bloody lower half remained.

“What happened? Where’s the attacker?” Su Lun scanned the surroundings, finding no trace of any Magical Beast.

“Karl… Karl was… eaten… eaten by that flower!” the spearman stammered.

Su Lun examined the remains before him. Irregular bite marks covered the mangled flesh. It looked like the upper body had been swallowed whole. Even the leather armor reinforced with iron plates had been torn apart.

“A flower? What flower?”

The soldier, new to the army, was badly frightened, his words stumbling out. It took him a while to calm down slightly. “Karl and I came out to gather mushrooms and wild vegetables… to cook later… Karl saw some mushrooms under that tree and went to pick them. But just as we walked over… a strange flower next to it suddenly opened a huge mouth!… We didn’t… didn’t react in time! Karl got swallowed whole!… I tried to pull him out… but I only managed to grab… grab his lower half!”

Nervous and pale, clearly deeply shocked, the soldier pointed a shaking finger towards a strange plant not far away.

Su Lun glanced at the plant. It resembled a sunflower, but its flower was a shockingly bright blood-red. The stem below looked strangely like a bulging sack. Nearby, a pool of fresh blood hadn’t dried yet.

“Solarwheel Flower?” Seeing the plant, Su Lun’s expression darkened. He’d seen this in the monster compendium at Heatherway’s place. It was a mutated plant. Unlike ordinary plants that grow through photosynthesis, it devoured animals and humans. These plants could even move, albeit slowly.

[Solarwheel Flower: Mutated Plant; Maneater Flower (Third Tier) (Colonial), Level: 13.

Challenge Rating: 8, Possesses Spell-like Ability.

Strength: 16; Dexterity: 6; Mind: 23; Constitution: 21; Charm: 15

Innate Feats: Camouflage, Ambush, Perception, Intermediate Regeneration, Lure

Skills: Devouring Attack, Vine Tentacles, Hallucinogenic Pollen, Toxin Attack

Challenge Difficulty: C+]

The Solarwheel Flower was one of the most dangerous aggressive, carnivorous plants among mutated flora. These plants were found across the continent.

Many aggressive mutated plants existed, like Snake Vines, Bloodthorn Brambles, or Caromance Trees. They actively attacked animals near them. Such plants likely evolved from regular flora and possessed various terrifying spell-like abilities. For example, Snake Vines bite and constrict prey like venomous snakes, releasing toxins.

“Milord!”

Just then, soldiers from Zhenbei City arrived.

Su Lun ordered them: “There’s maneater flora here. Don’t get close to any plants. Everyone stay alert, guard against ambushes.”

“Maneater plants?” Hearing Su Lun, the soldiers immediately tensed, their eyes scanning the surrounding vegetation warily.

Kite stared grimly at the corpse missing most of its body on the ground. “Milord, what kind of plant is this? It swallowed a man whole in one bite.”

Though not exceptionally powerful, Kite, a Hero Su Lun had discovered within the army, possessed keen battlefield instincts, making him a suitable officer.

“Solarwheel Flower!” The name dropped from Su Lun’s lips.

“Milord, how do we deal with them? Should we just burn it all?” Kite suggested quietly. “We brought some Fire Oil. Setting fire to this patch of forest shouldn’t be a problem.”

The surrounding woods were unnervingly quiet. This forest gave off a very dangerous aura.

Su Lun shook his head. “Useless. These plants have high fire resistance. And their roots are underground. Killing them would require huge amounts of Fire Oil.”

Beyond its ambush and devouring attacks, the Solarwheel Flower’s most insidious weapon was its pollen. Its scent had potent hallucinogenic properties, ensnaring people in illusions before they knew it, leaving them vulnerable to the plant’s control. Numbers often provided little advantage against it.

Su Lun flicked his wrist, a sharp sword materializing in his grasp. He lunged towards the Solarwheel Flower’s location. These opportunistic, voracious plants had one trait: they became sluggish and lazy right after digesting a large meal.

At such times, they generally wouldn’t attack again unless provoked. Their reactions were dulled while digesting. Experienced Adventurer teams often lured them with bait like cattle or sheep, letting them gorge before launching a surprise assault.

Being Third Tier plants, they were formidable despite their Challenge Rating being listed as C+. Underestimating them based on that could lead to unforgettable consequences – usually meaning no life left to remember them by.

Their relatively low Challenge Rating came from distinct weaknesses. Once those were known, specific strategies could overcome them. However, like all plants, their vital weakness lay beneath the surface – in their roots.

Su Lun tapped his toes once, propelling himself upwards fast. His blade slashed towards the Solarwheel Flower. The flower-head part served as both its feeding and digestive organ. Inside that swollen, sack-like structure was likely the remains of the Zhenbei City soldier.

Just as Su Lun expected, the flower’s reaction was slow during his attack. His sword pierced the stem before the plant even began to retaliate. Only then did numerous thick vines suddenly erupt from the ground beneath it.

Su Lun twisted his blade sharply. Though plant matter, cutting through it felt like slicing tough rubber as he severed multiple vines.

The severed vines spurted a bright red fluid that looked remarkably like blood. They possessed strong vitality; even severed and fallen to the ground, they twisted as if still alive, reminiscent of severed octopus tentacles.

Swish!

Suddenly, the massive sunflower-like maw gaped open. Inside the large petals were rows upon rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth. Anything caught there would be instantly shredded into mincemeat.

Writhing, root-like structures resembling veins could be seen deep within the petals, nutrient transport channels. Inside, what remained of the soldier was already unrecognizable.

Simultaneously, a heavy stench of fresh blood, mixed with a sickly acidic odor, washed over them. The acid odor came from the digestive fluids secreted to break down its prey.

Su Lun thrust his sword repeatedly into the petals, tearing chunks away. They bled crimson liquid, but these weren’t critical hits. While he attacked, countless root-like tendrils burst from the ground, wrapping around him.

— Sword Skill: Sweeping Slash

— Sword Skill: Iron Severing

Two powerful Sword rays blasted from Su Lun’s blade. They shredded through the encircling root tendrils easily. Pain erupted violently in the Solarwheel Flower as its roots were severed. Its mouth involuntarily twisted and contorted.

The gigantic maw then snapped open wide, like a horrifying, bloody chasm, lunging down to bite Su Lun!

Despite its speed, it couldn’t compare to Su Lun’s agility. There was no way he’d get caught. His left foot slid out smoothly, his body pivoting. Not only did he dodge the crushing bite, but he also spun back around, sinking his sword deep into the thick root stem connecting the massive flower stalk to the ground beneath.

The stem was incredibly tough, as resilient as Dragon Hide. Su Lun’s blade didn’t sever it completely. But Su Lun, moving lightning fast, didn’t pull back his blade. Instead, he kept pushing, sawing relentlessly against the immense resistance.

Faced with such high-speed friction cutting, the Solarwheel Flower’s tough root stem finally gave out. The monstrous maw was cleanly sliced off. Even severed, the main mouth showed no signs of dying; instead, it writhed and convulsed violently on the ground.

Immediately, an enormous mass of thick root systems erupted explosively from the earth. They shot straight for Su Lun, forming an instant circular cage. With terrifying speed, they constricted like monstrous pythons. Those thick roots bore countless sharp, hooked thorns. Anyone trapped inside would instantly be shredded to pieces.

— Thunderstorm Spell!

Brilliant arcs of lightning exploded outward from Su Lun. As the element most likely to trigger debilitating effects, the dense electricity instantly sent roots everywhere convulsing violently in electric paralysis. Many tendrils directly charred black. The powerful current surged along the root systems down into the very core of the Solarwheel Flower deep underground. Its dense cluster of bark-guarded root brains shuddered under the electrical assault.

A small bulge suddenly pushed up through the soil nearby as something beneath shifted position slightly.

Su Lun’s eyes flashed with sharp Lightning Glow.

— Lightning Spear!

The powerful lightning gathered instantly in Su Lun’s raised hand, coalescing into a crackling throwing spear made entirely of condensed electrical energy. He drew back his arm, then hurled it forward sharply.

The Lightning Spear shattered the air itself as it screamed towards the target, piercing straight through the soil where the bulge had appeared. It vanished underground.

Thoom!

A deep, muffled blast, like winter thunder trapped beneath the earth, resonated underfoot.

Instantaneously, all the residual Lightning Glow lingering on the roots outside vanished. Every vine, tentacle, and even the main body writhing above ground instantly stiffened. They became rigid as if frozen in place. Then, like puppets with their strings cut, they collapsed limply onto the forest floor, utterly lifeless.