Chapter 42: Invasion

Thorn could carry any variant plant derived from it, such as the Death Vine.
The Death Vine, resembling a long serpent, slithered across the ground. Its smooth, shiny surface emitted a faint yellow glow before it sank underground like a snake entering water, gradually moving away under Thorn’s control. The Death Vine’s swimming ability wasn’t very fast—about 100 meters per minute. Neo asked Thorn to help investigate the situation; he didn’t need to wait passively for intelligence—he could do things on his own, like eliminating the 10 Stone-Blind Barbarians at the entrance.

There were 9 soldiers and 1 squad leader, protected by a crooked stone wall. Though this defense was crude and the aliens seemed lazy, Neo believed it would be impossible to pass unnoticed due to the terrain’s uniqueness and the aliens’ innate abilities. As for negotiating his way through, Neo dismissed it entirely as unfeasible.

Killing, though a despicable method, was also the most straightforward approach—one with high risks and high rewards.

After making a few silent stretches, Neo took several deep breaths, calming his mind completely. Free from fear or excitement, he felt this to be the ideal mental state.

Pulling up his mask, he strode toward the stone wall. He knew the Stone-Blind Barbarians’ weakness: anything outside their blind range was completely invisible to them, so they relied on smell and sound to detect threats. His tight-fitting suit should work no worse than the ashes of the dead he had applied in Tures to counter the Terrestrian hounds. Thus, Neo assumed that the biggest risk of exposure outside their blind range was his breathing.

In his tests in Tures, the warning distance for breathing was 10 meters. The Stone-Blind Barbarians’ sense of smell was inferior to that of Terrestrian hounds, and the environment here wasn’t as frigid as Tures. Putting it all together, under his current stealth conditions, their true warning distance was 15 meters—provided he could move without making any noticeable noise.

“15 meters…” Neo planned his actions based on this distance. His charging range was 10 meters, and the maximum distance for a two-stage charge was exactly 15 meters. He could cover 15 meters in less than a second during a charge.

30 meters, 20 meters—the stone wall grew closer, and the ever-changing map of the enemies’ positions, shaped by smell and sound, became clearer in his mind.

With a quick lunge, he moved from 17 meters to 14 meters, then launched a two-stage charge. Charging was a skill that heavily relied on explosive power. For Neo, who was skilled at controlling his physical strength, this skill gave him an extra advantage—almost equivalent to a whole level up. Simply put, he was currently at level 4, but using this skill was equivalent to a standard level 5 warrior’s charging ability.

The horror of their blind sense lay in its sensitivity—comparable to that of fighters above level 5, with a quasi-tactile perception. It was this extraordinary ability that allowed them to detect even an ant passing by in a dangerous cave like this.

In almost an instant, all 10 Stone-Blind Barbarians realized that some creature had rushed into their final defense zone at high speed. The harsh living conditions made their immediate reaction to abandon whatever they were doing and pick up weapons. However, individual strength meant this process took some time. It was during this brief interval that Neo had already rushed past the stone barriers and plunged into their midst—a perfect ambush for the Stone-Blind Barbarians.

A blade emitting a faint black glow flashed by, and the Stone-Blind Barbarian closest to the entrance became the first victim, his throat cut clean by the sharp blade.

Whoosh! Thud! Thud!

Neo threw both of his flying knives simultaneously. Equipped with dark combat energy and petrifying effects, these knives were incredibly sharp, hitting the heads of the two farthest Stone-Blind Barbarians. The blades penetrated halfway into their heads, knocking them down as if struck by a heavy club, killing them on the spot.

By this time, the Stone-Blind Barbarian nearest to Neo had stepped forward, swinging his stone axe in a wide arc. Naturally untrained, these creatures relied on a few basic attacks they had used countless times, so though their techniques were simple, their power was significant—fast and fierce.

Neo crouched and spun abruptly, allowing the stone axe to sweep just above his head. He seized the opportunity to draw his knife with his left hand and grasp the hilt of the sword at his back with his right, slashing downward. His finely crafted steel sword, protected by both dark combat energy and petrifying effects, was so sharp it could cut through iron like mud. Despite the Stone-Blind Barbarian’s thick gray scales covering his body (providing roughly twice the defense of a wild boar’s bristly skin coated in mud), the sword still carved a 7-centimeter deep wound across his chest and abdomen—a depth certainly fatal. The man was knocked down by his own powerful swing, bleeding profusely as he lay there, soon dying.

The flying knife in his left hand was thrown with the force of his spin, piercing another man’s head. Another Stone-Blind Barbarian, who was about to throw his stone spear and had just tilted his arm and upper body backward, was knocked down by this strike and died instantly, lying face up.

Two Stone-Blind Barbarians swung their stone knives at Neo, but before they could strike, three arrows arrived in quick succession. They were shot by the leader of those Barbarians. The faint red glow on the arrows meant their stone-tipped shafts, like Neo’s flying knives, were imbued with combat energy, making them not only extremely sharp but also moving at great speed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bright sparks and magical lights exploded against Neo’s armored arms. By being able to use combat energy like a Level 5 fighter, Neo finally overcame the disadvantage of having to dodge any attack related to combat energy. His arms, emitting a black glow, successfully blocked all three arrows, leaving not even a scratch on his fine black iron armor.

Nio’s defensive move cost him an opportunity to counterattack; the cleavers of the two Stone-Blind Barbarians were already right in front of him. Yet Nio was prepared—using a diagonal slash, he caused one of the Stone-Blind Barbarians’ stone knives to miss entirely, while the other struck his left arm guard and skidded off with a harsh scraping sound. But that barbarian was less lucky than his companion: Nio raised his blue-steel sword diagonally, and in a flash of blood, a deep cut appeared 5 centimeters under the barbarian’s armpit, severely damaging his right lung. The barbarian staggered forward several steps, screaming in pain.

The Stone-Blind Barbarian captain, on the other hand, knew how to seize the moment. As Nio executed his diagonal slash, he discarded his bow and arrow, pulled the empty conch (horn) hanging from his chest, and threw it to one of his soldiers. He gave sharp commands in a guttural voice while forming a seal on the ground ahead. A flash of light appeared in the air, and soon, a mass of plant-like growths resembling brambles and thorns shot upward with a roar, revealing a monster beneath composed of twisted vines and thorns. This monster didn’t simply leap up from a hidden state—it rushed straight at Nio.

“A Battlefield Heather!” At that moment, Nio was so shocked that his jaw felt like it might dislocate. Earlier, when the Stone-Blind Barbarian captain shot arrows, Nio had guessed that the man might be a Ranger. He had wondered why a Level 5 Ranger with mediocre archery skills and no combat pets could be so weak. Now he understood—it wasn’t that he was weak; he had a Battlefield Heather, and even though it was miniature, it made Nio realize the severity of the situation.

Most people in this world had never seen a Battlefield Heather in person, but few were unaware of its existence. Many sources contained rumors and stories about it. People generally believed they were magical combinations of plants, living combat machines.

It was said that a typical Battlefield Heather could grow up to 15 feet long and weigh 18,000 pounds. A single one could destroy a small town. These six-legged beasts, resembling lions, had limbs like those of gorillas—the front pair being the longest, followed by the middle pair, with the hind legs being the shortest. When walking or running, they used all six legs like wild beasts, but in battle, they preferred to stand upright on their hind legs and attack with their four arms armed with claws like those of tyrannosaurs.

That was roughly all Nio knew about Battlefield Heathers. In reality, the one before him should technically be called a Blade Thorn—it was a variant of the original Battlefield Heather species, the Battlefield Piercer. The Battlefield Piercer was much smaller and easier to control compared to the Battlefield Heather. Most researchers of exotic creatures believed that these creatures, averaging 8 feet long and weighing around 1 ton, with a maximum of 2 tons, were the true Battlefield Heathers, while those wild, fierce, and massive ones were actually their wild, aggressive variants.

And this Thornblade before him was only the size of a 3-year-old Barbary lion. Its skin was hard yet elastic, colored like dried mud, with yellow-green thorny vines entwined—or rather woven and threading through its outer layer, forming its primary weapon: the thorns. Its mane and tail were also made of these thorns. Unlike ordinary thorns that were conical, these thorns were triangular and flat, and upon closer inspection, obvious color gradients could be seen. Even those with basic knowledge of plants, like the Emirals, knew this meant they were poisonous.

Boom!

With a fierce swipe from Thornblade, Neo was flung toward the side wall. This strike was supposed to cause severe tearing, but Neo used the “crossed shield” formed by his sword and armor to counteract the tearing effect and, leveraging the impact, flew toward the side wall before propelling himself off with a kick. Another flying knife was shot from his left hand. The Stoneblind barbarian captain had just picked up his bow again and fired three arrows in quick succession—one hitting the flying knife, but slightly off-target, reducing its accuracy though still carrying enough force to pierce the side of the Stoneblind barbarian’s face, who was holding an empty shell. The other two arrows were deflected by Neo’s sword or flew past his eye, tearing a gap in his mask.

Using the momentum from his kick, Neo leaped forward, thrusting his sword into the gaping mouth of a Stoneblind barbarian before its stone axe could fall, the sword tip emerging from the back of its head. He then swept sideways, cutting through half of the barbarian’s head and face and severing another Stoneblind barbarian’s club along with its neck.

At that moment, Thornblade attacked again with a grappling move, while the Stoneblind barbarian captain fired a third round of three arrows, clearly aiming to block its escape.

Neo had just landed, but he wasn’t panicked at all. Instead, he performed a backflip. The flip was exceptionally light, lasting 1.5 seconds, during which the three arrows missed, and Thornblade’s grasp also failed.

Having missed twice, Thornblade angrily raised its upper body and slammed it hard onto the ground, activating skills like “Earthshattering Stomp” and “Thorny Land.” As soon as Neo’s feet touched the ground again, he was caught in the seismic waves caused by Thornblade. Within a 3-meter radius centered on Thornblade, numerous thorns sprouted. These hard and resilient thorns not only had the piercing power of steel spikes but also a binding effect, growing to nearly a meter in height in just 3 seconds.

After landing from his flip, Neo tried to get up again, but due to the seismic waves, his movement lacked strength. The Stoneblind barbarian captain seized the opportunity and fired another three arrows, this time targeting Neo’s landing spot. If Neo couldn’t find a way to stay in the air, those arrows would surely hit him.

With his head down and feet up, Neo used his sword as a pole to prop himself up and launch himself again. The three arrows missed, and he also dodged another slash from the Stoneblind barbarian who had previously tried to strike him with a stone knife, this time from an oblique rear angle.

As soon as Neo landed, the fifth wave of three arrows arrived. This time, Neo used the knife-wielding Stone-Blind Barbarian as a shield. With a step and a whip kick, he hit the barbarian’s waist and hips, causing him to stagger backward. He was hit by three arrows, most of which sank deep into his body. Amidst his screams, Neo kicked him away, sending him crashing into the blades of the third attack. Seizing the opportunity, Neo built up his strength and launched a second charge, heading straight for the Stone-Blind Barbarian’s captain.

The captain was also a fierce opponent. Knowing he couldn’t match Neo’s speed, he relied on his strengths in quickly drawing arrows and firing them, and charged ahead with determination, unleashing the sixth wave of three arrows.

But Neo was prepared. After completing the first phase of his second charge, he changed his direction, tilting his body halfway from the straight charge path, and launched the second phase. He then tilted his body further, causing all three arrows to miss completely. However, attacking the captain head-on lacked the force needed. Neo simply spun around and began slashing continuously around the captain, leaving him flustered as he tried to defend himself with his battle-energized bow. He thought he could hold out until the blades returned, but in the end, a flying knife drawn from Neo’s left hand pierced his body, killing him instantly.

Whoosh! Thud!

The Stone-Blind Barbarian whose cheek had been pierced earlier was running frantically toward the nest when he was hit in the back of the head and fell dead.

Without its master, the blade became enraged. But Neo wasn’t afraid of such a frenzied creature. He threw another flying knife, ending the life of the Stone-Blind Barbarian who was wailing in pain from a severe injury to his right lung. Thus, all 10 Stone-Blind Barbarians were dead.

Snap!

Neo severed the blade’s head with a sword strike. Its thorny body continued to wriggle and kick like a gecko’s tail. Neo sent Thorn back to investigate its body for secrets, while he held the blade, biting at it noisily, and carefully examined the head covered in thorns at the back of its neck.

It wasn’t long before the blade’s body stopped moving. Its lizard-like, python-like head gradually lost its vitality, and its yellow-green glowing eyes dimmed. It was dead.

Just as described in some writings, Neo found the most crucial parts of the blade: the energy thorns, the consciousness thorns, and the neural thorns connecting them. Yet, the mysteries of life are beyond ordinary comprehension. Just as reviving all functions in a dead body doesn’t bring it back to life, Neo couldn’t bring this blade back to life, despite his strong desire to turn it into his combat pet.

Perhaps because the Stone-Blind Barbarian with the injured lung had screamed loudly and for a long time, more of them in the nest at one end of the dome were alarmed. Neo heard urgent, shrill cries and chaotic running sounds. Still, he calmly retrieved all his flying knives and took the captain’s bow and half a bag of arrows before leaving leisurely. By then, the nearest Stone-Blind Barbarian was less than 50 meters away.

“15 meters, 15 meters away… I’m invisible now…” Neo listened to Thorn’s description of the dome’s terrain as he moved calmly along the stone walls.

In just a few minutes, the soldiers guarding the entrance were all killed. The Stone-Blind Barbarians who arrived were arguing chaotically and took some time to organize themselves, sending three teams to firmly defend the barriers, two teams to clean up the dead bodies, and others to go back and report.

Dang dang dang!

Nio heard the sound of the broken bells and then saw groups of Stone-Blind Barbarian squads emerging from the fortresses in the dome and rushing in all directions. Clearly, they too suspected that enemies had infiltrated their territory.

By now, Nio had learned more about this dome from Ji. For example, there were over 200 Stone-Blind Barbarians here, young and old. More importantly, there were many forest patrolers among them. This could be interpreted as meaning that the Medusa was a skilled archery instructor. But the fact that each forest patroler had a blade-wielding combat pet was unusual.

Battlethorn plants were not like common vegetables; they were rare, and no one knew how they formed. Yet there were so many blade-wielding creatures here. Nio naturally thought that the Medusa might possess a method for breeding and taming Battlethorn plants.

With this assumption, their purpose of building dams to hold back water seemed to have a logical explanation—to cultivate Battlethorn plants.

Nio soon confirmed this theory. Behind the irregular castle belonging to the Stone-Blind Barbarians was a thorny pond. The water there was exceptionally clear and bright, with bright blue water essence glowing and rising into a misty haze in the air about 2–3 meters above the surface. If not for the densely growing thorns, it would have resembled the serene and mystical ponds of a summer midnight.

It was in this pond that dozens of blade-wielding creatures the size of small dogs were active. Clearly, this was the birthplace of those creatures.

What caught Nio’s attention even more than the birthplace was the thorny platform in the pond. The platform was square-shaped and made of giant thorns. These petrified thorns not only formed the platform but also created a cage. Nio faintly saw a cluster of thorny plants emitting yellow and green light within the cage. Its uniqueness could be recognized at a glance, especially for Nio, as it shared a striking resemblance with the willow vine in the explosion crater—Ji’s true form.

In the Medusa’s nest, sculptures were abundant. On top of the thorny platform and along the way, there were many lifelike stone sculptures. Even the throne in the center of the platform was made of sculptures, delicate and intricate yet cruel, as these sculptures had once been living beings.

Although the Medusa, with a python body as thick as a bucket, sat on the stone throne, Nio still planned to find an opportunity to free the special plants trapped in the petrified thorn cage below the platform. Perhaps another spirit like Ji could become his companion. He was very eager to see what changes such a spirit might bring him.