Chapter 402: Flora pastures
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Trekking through the primitive jungles of planet Pandora wasn’t as comfortable as it looked. Pandora was a world of gorgeous and splendid sceneries. Solely its various flora leaves alone, were all fantastic oddities of every description; carrying yellow, red, purple, blue and brightly-colored unusual streaks. It was indeed a true eye opener.
Yet in the world of nature, freshly-lit colours frequently indicated tell-tale signs of danger. Many curious contestants had been hurt by the hidden perils of these gorgeous plants. Naturally, they suffered thorny backlashes; blood loss, poison, ulceration and what not. If not for the superior composition of a contestant’s body, they would’ve long been stretchered away.
The understory of this primitive jungle had no wind. Coupling the torrential thunderstorm from yesterday and the current scorching sun, the humid and moist environment caused everyone to be drenched in sweat. Moreover, planet Pandora just had to have a venomous atmosphere; hence underneath their oxygen masks, even taking big breaths supplied a suffocating sensation.
At present, only the monstrous Archeaphill could exhibit his formidable resistance; conceitedly pulling down his mask as he smoked his cigarette at the front, and only returning for an oxygen puff after intervals of 5-6 minutes. Sheyan randomly realized Archeaphill would’ve been a perfect match if he were to square off with Stalo. However, Archeaphill’s weak firepower was too excessive, which would probably become an immense problem against those obstructing ice walls.
Even for powerful contestants, their speed of trudging through the dense forest was still largely affected. Hence after an hour, they only managed to traverse 20 kilometres. Fortunately at this moment, a breeze blew in from the front. As they exited the forest, their eyes met with an expansive vacant land, along with the sounds of running water. Their noses caught whiff of a flowery fragrance, as they discovered blooming abundance of flourishing flowers along the riverbank.
These flowers and plants resembled Earth’s Strelitzia Reginae (Crane flower) species, with a rough height of 1 metre. Their leaves were curled into a lotus shape, with its flower demonstrating a horn shape. Pine green leaves complimented the pastel colored flower, along with mesmerizing pointed stems; displaying a sight that warmed the heart, and delighted the eyes. The air was flushed with a heavily scented sweet aroma; even through the filtering oxygen mask, it pleased their spirits.
Huge chunks of smooth rocks were distributed amidst the flora. Due to the previous rain and the drying by the sun, they appeared clean, sturdy and restless. The river was clear that one could see its bottom, and occasional cold breezes would gently pass. From ahead, orders to take a rest were issued. Very swiftly, the contestants sat down for a refreshing rest; this commanding order was indeed satisfying to everyone.
Currently, Sheyan observed Yuan Zhan as he bluntly bent down and drew in a crane flower. Then, Yuan Zhan leaned it towards his mouth, and seemingly poured its contents into his mouth; his face displayed a thoroughly pleasurable expression.
Sheyan understood. These prominent summoners were individuals that were mostly biologists or held a similar vocation of the present world. Either that or they were minimally researchers with biology education. Following suit, Sheyan drew in a crane flower, and immediately discovered the existence of a perfumery nectar within. Only few tiny droplets rolled into his throat, but they brought a combination of refreshing peppermint and carefree sweetness; as though the heat of the journey had been dispersed.
Since Sheyan had sampled its sweetness, he no longer remained courteous as he consecutively drank down 7-8 flowers. Wherever there were flowers, there would naturally be bees. Due to the low gravity of planet pandora, ordinary flora and fauna were all larger than Earth’s by a notch; the amplified bees were no exception.
A distinct one nearby was a fiery looking bee, with a size that of a sparrow. It was essentially an evil tyrant. Every time it loomed over a flower, it would rudely chase away the other bees and butterflies; its demeanor incomparably frightening. Sheyan personally witnessed a palm sized enchanting butterfly being stung by it; the butterfly’s wings were shredded apart, dying after struggling for a short distance.
Undoubtedly, Sheyan’s nasty plucking flower behavior agitated that fiery bee. Buzzing, it exploded towards Sheyan, seemingly about to discipline this flower thief. Sheyan wasn’t one to be trifled with. Unflustered, he reached out his finger. Who knew, the bee nimbly dodged. Enraged, it detoured an extensive circular arc before charging in again.
Observing its threatening gesture, Sheyan actually felt a tinge of threat. A slap later, he directly sent it colliding against a rock. The stunned bee was writhing around on the ground. Meanwhile, Yuan Zhan coincidentally turned his attention over, and asked with amazement.
“Isn’t that a Hellfire wasp?” Those brats possesses an accurate organic targeting system, its olfactory organ can detect the biochemistry of nearby creatures. It is said that certain technology of humans in this world uses their targeting system as reference. Its flight is erratic and agile, how did you deal with it?”
As he spoke, Yuan Zhan leaned in to seize the hellfire wasp. It modelled a real wasp, but with a larger body. Yuan Zhan very blatantly ripped apart the wasp’s head, wings and 6 limbs. Then he laughed.
“Of course. From my understanding, the hellfire wasp’s best usage is to consume it. Many thanks for knocking this one dizzy. Truthfully speaking, this bee is extremely agile, I cannot catch them.”
After finishing, he tossed the poor wasp into his mouth; which followed by clear crisp crunching of exoskeleton. Pfff! Like melon seeds, he spat it out.
Witnessing such unabashed behavior, Sheyan was immediately awestruck. He couldn’t help asking.
“Aren’t you afraid of getting poisoned?”
Yuan Zhan revealed an infatuated expression.
“This brat doesn’t have a poison gland and a body stinger. To them, the brute force from their incisive dual-stinger mouthparts is adequate to run amok already.”
Sheyan wasn’t one to lose out. Watching Yuan Zhan feasting delightedly, he hastily browsed around the area. The hellfire wasps weren’t like normal bees, they preferred to travel solo. Moreover, it demarcated its territory and prevented others from invading. Hence, after spending some effort, he managed to signal out one hellfire wasp; Sheyan immediately gave chase. As he was about to seize it, he felt an abrupt uneven ground beneath his leg as he tripped.
Fortunately, Sheyan’s balance was great. In a flash, he recovered stability. With hands slapping in contention, after a brief period of humiliating himself, he finally captured that unlucky hellfire wasp. Learning from Yuan Zhan’s recipe, he tossed the bug boldly into his mouth. Who knew with just one chew, its outer shell crackled and broke, as extremely fragrant nectar juices splashed out from the belly of the hellfire wasp.
The interior flesh of the hellfire wasp tasted excellent and chewy, just like a chicken drumstick; biting it resulted in a slightly al dente sensation, a stark difference from Sheyan’s repulsive imagination. If one had to compare this with another, then the closest would be the pincers of a large ocean crab.
At this moment, Sheyan recalled the weird uneven ground from before. While chewing the hellfire wasp forcefully, he walked over to investigate. After pulling out the thick grass, he discovered the uneven cavity was shockingly a tremendously large hoofprint. This hoofprint was familiar, probably left behind by a gigantic direhorse.
Sheyan’s heart stirred as he immediately got Mogensha and Reef to scout around. Not long later, they discovered multiple loads of hoofprints scattered around this sea of flowers. The trio’s actions couldn’t be concealed from others. Besides, those who could survive till now were all quick-witted individuals. Gradually, they discovered more and more hoofprints.
From Yuan Zhan’s former interpretation, the team of horses comprised of at least 300. Yet for commonly seen direhorse teams, it wouldn’t exceed a hundred.
Secondly, beneath the root systems of these crane flowers, there were tracings of digging. Uprooting the place would reveal carcasses buried beneath. Naturally, this place had been artificially created.
These two factors combined, could provide a basic inference – this ‘river bank’ should be hailed as a ‘flower garden’, inspired by a certain highly intellectual life form to cultivate direhorses. If grass was the direhorses’ staple, nectar flowers would be a direhorses’ recreation and snack.
Thinking of that, every contestant didn’t dare to stay any further. Na'vi warriors were fine, direhorses were manageable, but putting the two together….speed and archery coordinating together birthed equestrian archery. In former years, Genghis Khan swept through Eurasia with such deadly skills! Without adequate preparation, invoking a frontal assault with a na'vi clan was naturally not a wise thing to do.
The bunch of them naturally didn’t dare to stay any second longer. The Illume-Union made preparations for inflatable canoes, before floating along the river, while those without preparations made their own log rafts. The river stream was crystal clear, sightings of extremely queer fishes appeared occasionally. During their journey, when countless violet Stingbats were startled, they appeared like a violet mist dispersing from afar.
Half an hour drifted away. From afar, one could visibly notice greyish thick fumes rising in the horizon, sketching out gruesome outlines of fiends in the sky; utterly inharmonious with the spotlessly white clouds and sky of Pandora.
The destination was clear to all, the destination was right ahead.