Nathaniel stood at the edge of the ship, staring at the paradise-like island before him. He found himself holding his breath.
Sunlight filtered through the towering, ancient trees, scattering dappled patches of light across the mossy ground. The air was filled with an exotic floral fragrance, sweet as honey yet tinged with a subtle freshness.
Behind him, the soldiers could barely contain their excitement. They set down their weapons and reached out to touch the hanging vines. Crystalline fruits hung like clusters of amethyst and shimmered in the sunlight with an enchanting radiance.
“Your Highness, look at that tree,” one of his guards exclaimed, pointing at a giant tree not far away. Its trunk was covered in spiral patterns that looked like natural stairways. Glowing mushrooms grew inside its hollow, which illuminated the surroundings like daylight.
Several winged squirrels leaped from the treetop, and their wings stirred up tiny glowing particles. When the specks landed on the soldiers’ armor, they instantly transformed into twinkling stars.
As Nathaniel carefully stepped down from the gangplank, the moss rustled softly beneath his feet. He bent down to pick up a palm-sized leaf with golden edges. The veins were so clear they looked almost carved.
Just as he was about to hand it to the general beside him, a sharp scream came from the back of the group.
“What happened?” Nathaniel asked, spinning around.
He saw a young soldier crouched before a flowering bush. Each blossom was as wide as a saucer, its layers of pink petals surrounding golden stamens. The flowers looked so vibrant.
The soldier reached out to pluck a bloom. His fingertips hovered just above the petal when it shuddered violently. The once delicate petals suddenly snapped open, revealing a dense set of white, razor-sharp teeth inside.
Before he could react, the flower lunged forward. Its teeth snapped shut with a crack, swallowing his head whole.
Blood spurted from his neck onto the pink petals, which the flower absorbed almost instantly. The petals became even more vibrant while the golden stamens were tinged with an eerie red glow.
“It’s a carnivorous plant,” another soldier screamed. Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and he instantly drew the sword at his waist. With a swing, he slices the cluster of demonic plants in half.
Dark green sap gushed onto the moss below, sizzling as it ate through the ground. The once vibrant green moss withered instantly and turned to ash.
But that was just the beginning of their nightmare. Countless white tendrils suddenly sprouted from the severed roots of the demonic plant. They coiled toward the nearest soldiers like venomous snakes,
At the same time, the surrounding trees shook violently. The hanging vines stiffened like steel, while the tips sprouted barbs and struck toward the group.
One soldier couldn’t dodge fast enough. A vine wrapped around his neck, squeezing until his eyes bulged and his tongue stuck out. His body was dragged into the forest, leaving only a trail of desperate cries behind.
“Stand guard! Everyone, stay alert!” Nathaniel shouted. His voice carried unprecedented menace. He swung his sword to cut through the attacking vines. But as soon as they snapped, new buds sprouted from the severed ends. The buds grew into full vines before his eyes, relentless and unyielding.
On the left side of their formation, a patch of grass suddenly sprang up. Dozens of ferns, about three feet tall, slowly stood upright. Their roots had turned into thick, sturdy legs, and the edges of their leaves sprouted razor-sharp teeth as they advanced toward the soldiers.
An experienced general swung his fist at one of the ferns. The moment his fist touched its leaves, the serrated edge tore several bone-deep gashes.
As the dark green sap seeped into his wounds, he let out a heart-wrenching scream. His arm swelled and blackened before his eyes, then turned into charred, purple-black flesh in seconds.
“Set them on fire!” Nathaniel commanded.
The soldiers frantically pulled out their firebrands. Before they could light them, the air around them thickened. Countless tiny holes split open in the century-old tree trunks, releasing pale green mist.
When the mist came in contact with the sparks from their firebrand, it exploded into blue flames that raced up the soldiers’ arms and engulfed them completely.
Screams rang out one after another. The isle that had once seemed like a sanctuary for immortals had turned into a living hell.
Nathaniel swung his sword relentlessly. Flashes of his blade wove a protective net through the dense forest, but it couldn’t stop the attacks coming from every direction.
He watched helplessly as a personal guard was impaled by a tree root that suddenly burst from underground. The root tendrils acted like greedy straws, frantically sucking the guard’s blood until the originally gray-brown roots gradually turned bright red.
“Fall back to the lake!” Nathaniel ordered, clearing a path with his sword. The surviving soldiers helped each other retreat toward the lake while stepping over their fallen comrades’ bodies. But after just a few steps, the moss underfoot became slippery.
Upon closer inspection, they realized the moss had transformed into countless tiny insects that wriggled and crawled up through gaps in their boots.
The soldiers who had been bitten collapsed immediately. They rolled on the ground and frantically clawed inside their boots before their bodies shriveled into lifeless husks.
