Chapter 142: Adventure Under the Moonlight (Part II)

Joan hid in the bushes, gripping the reins tightly with his left hand while quickly gesturing with his right to cast "Greater Mage Hand," materializing a glowing force blade and bracing himself for combat. Before he knew it, cold sweat had soaked his back.

Fortunately, the four-armed ape seemed unaware that the prey it was hunting was hiding in the nearby underbrush. Instead, its attention was captivated by the brilliant sea of crimson flowers before it. It twitched its wide, flat nose, taking a deep inhale of the floral fragrance through its upturned nostrils, and a look of blissful ecstasy spread across its face, showing how much it was enjoying the moment.

Guided by some mysterious force, the monster waved its four long arms to part the sea of flowers and strode deeply into the valley. Not far ahead, a steep cliff appeared. Growing right against the rock face was an unusually massive mandrake flower, towering fifteen feet high and looking from afar like a lush, full-grown tree. A colossal flowerbud hung down from its green foliage, its pink petals folded inward. Although not yet in full bloom, the aroma it emitted was a hundred times more potent than that of an ordinary mandrake.

The four-armed ape squatted beneath the giant mandrake, staring blankly at the pink bud with a dazed expression, as if completely bewitched by the enchanting scenery before him.

Joan had intended to take advantage of the ape's deep fascination with the giant mandrake to lead his horse away and slip off, but before he could even move a foot, he suddenly heard an unusual sound coming from above the cliff. He hurriedly shrank back into the bushes, holding his breath, and fixed his gaze on the cliff top.

The cliff behind the giant mandrake was about thirty feet high, with dense bushes growing along its summit. In the silent valley, there wasn't the slightest breeze, yet the brush atop the cliff was trembling slightly, accompanied by a rustling friction sound. The four-armed ape also heard the noise from the cliff and looked up.

The swaying bushes suddenly stopped moving, appearing as calm as usual. Under normal circumstances, the movement on the cliff would have been enough to alert the four-armed ape, but at this moment, the monster's entire mind was deeply captivated by the unopened mandrake flower before it. It had lost its usual vigilance, shifting its gaze back to the bud and greedily inhaling the rich floral scent like a drunkard sniffing the aroma of fine wine.

Joan, however, did not lower his guard. He kept his eyes locked on the cliff top, and his uneasy premonition grew stronger as time passed. After waiting for about two more minutes, a greenish figure emerged from the bushes at the summit, blurred by the cover of night and the trees. Joan narrowed his eyes slightly. Illuminated by the moonlight, he saw a dark green, inverted-triangle-shaped head protruding from the top of the cliff, a pair of compound eyes glaring down to peer beneath the precipice. The huge brown eyeballs resembled a pair of meticulously cut gemstones; at first glance, the rounded eyes were actually complex polyhedra, and whenever the green monster on the cliff moved its eyeballs, countless facets simultaneously reflected the moonlight, glittering brilliantly.

The green monster took two more steps forward, exposing half its body to Joan's view. It turned out to be a giant praying mantis—even larger and bulkier than the black foal beside Joan!

The giant mantis's glowing, eerie eyes locked firmly onto the area beneath the cliff. It raised a pair of saw-toothed, sickle-like forelimbs and suddenly leaped down from the cliff top, pouncing fiercely toward the four-armed ape.

Judging by the sizes of the four-armed ape and the giant mantis, had a fair duel taken place with both sides fully on guard, Joan believed the ape would have had the upper hand. However, the giant mantis was clearly not a knight who prized fair duels. This green monster, like its smaller brethren, possessed the instincts of an assassin, always launching sneak attacks from behind its prey when caught unawares. The four-armed ape, meanwhile, had been intoxicated by the bizarre mandrake fragrance, leaving its mind relaxed and completely unprepared for an attack from above. By the time it realized something was wrong, the giant mantis had already lunged onto its back, its razor-sharp, serrated forelimbs clamping tightly around its throat as blood spurted forth.

Only then did the four-armed ape snap out of its trance, frantically waving its arms and struggling desperately. The giant mantis clung tightly to its back, refusing to loosen its grip on the throat no matter how the ape thrashed. Despite possessing immense brute strength and four long arms, the four-armed ape could not properly strike the assassin clinging to its back. The harder it struggled, the deeper the mantis's sharp forelimbs sank into its throat, sending blood spraying continuously from the torn wound.

The four-armed ape let out a despairing wail as its massive body swayed and collapsed. Vibrating the translucent membranous wings on its back, the giant mantis sprang up in time, disengaging from the ape's body just before it hit the ground. It agilely slipped into the flowerbeds, observing its prey from the shadows, its eerie compound eyes flashing with a cold light amidst the dim blooms.

After a long while, the giant mantis confirmed that the prey was completely dead. It tiptoed out of the flowerbeds, approached the carcass of the four-armed ape, raised its jagged, sickle-like forelimbs, and made two swift cuts across the belly, expertly eviscerating the creature to bury its head in devouring the steaming internal organs.

Seeing this bloody scene, Joan couldn't help covering his mouth, feeling a wave of nausea. He fervently hoped the giant mantis would finish this meal and leave the valley as soon as possible so he could get back on the road.

Yet what happened next was even more bizarre, making him wonder if he was dreaming. While the giant mantis was enjoying its feast, the giant mandrake growing at the foot of the cliff seemed stimulated by the scent of blood. Its bathtub-sized flowerbud slowly bloomed, and from deep within the crimson stamen, a maiden with emerald-green skin emerged. Her bare upper torso was exposed outside the bud, boasting a full bust and a slender waist, with a striking beauty that was unforgettable; from the waist down, she remained tightly connected to the flowerbud, resembling a sprite incarnate of the blossom.

Joan was dumbfounded in astonishment.

The giant mantis also startled, rearing up its upper body and raising its twin blade-like forelimbs into a defensive posture.

The dryad giggled softly, lifting her tender, willow-like green right arm to wave forward, and a cyan radiance burst from her palm, shooting straight toward the giant mantis.

Based on the magical nature of that beam, Joan could tell the dryad was casting some sort of enchantment spell—possibly "Charm Monster" or "Hold Monster"—though his current shallow knowledge of arcane studies prevented him from making a more precise identification. Curiously, after being struck by the spell, the giant mantis suffered no negative effects whatsoever, continuing to gaze at the dryad with vigilant eyes.

The dryad seemed somewhat surprised by this outcome. She raised an eyebrow, let out an inquiring "Oh?", and bit her slender finger in deep thought, seemingly pondering why her spell had failed to affect the giant mantis.

·Vares Monster Manual: "Dryad / Alraune"
Alraune is a female spirit or fairy from medieval Germanic folklore. The tales of Alraune trace back to medieval Germany, where she was rumored to be an earth spirit born from the human-shaped taproots of mandrake plants. In Europe, mandrake was a relatively common medicinal herb found almost everywhere in Central European forests, and many of its roots or tubers grew into human-like shapes. Consequently, superstitious ancients commonly believed that these anthropomorphic tubers were inhabited by spiritual fairies. Some literature records that Alraunes were spawned from the semen of men hanged on gallows: the necks of the executed men were ruptured, spraying blood as the earth absorbed the final "essence" of their lives. It was said that witches would "mate" with an Alraune (due to its origin from male seed) to impregnate themselves, though the children they bore were merely soulless "empty shells" incapable of feeling true love.