[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 39: The Strangely Growing Magic Herbs

 Chapter 39: The Strangely Growing Magic Herbs

Kun casually flicked away a flower spider that had landed on his arm while observing the ancient and mysterious forest around him with great interest from the center of the party’s formation.

If one had to choose a place on Eternal Dawn Continent closest to the age of primordial myths, Kun would undoubtedly choose this place first—

The former corner of the Eternal Forest, now known as the Everdark Forest.

—

A vast emerald canopy blotted out the sky itself.

Sunlight could only trickle down through tiny gaps between the leaves.

Though it was clearly daytime, it felt strangely like dusk.

Beneath the shadows of the trees, countless exotic flowers and bizarre plants competed in beauty, while strange, grating cries echoed endlessly from unknown sources.

—

When Kun had last visited this place, it had still been barren and desolate.

Yet after only half a month, it now felt as though countless ages had passed.

—

There were simply too many legends surrounding the Everdark Forest within the Kingdom of Dansu.

Every child in the kingdom knew them by heart.

—

The resting place of dragons.

A forest haunted by ancient monsters.

A treasure vault of magical herbs.

The final hidden treasury of the ancient Elven Empire.

—

Some people even swore they had encountered the gravekeepers of the ancient Elven Empire deep within the forest.

According to those tales, those guardians still honored ancient covenants, eternally waiting for the empire’s rightful heir to return and claim the hidden treasures.

—

There were endless stories like these.

Most were drunken boasts from monster hunters who spent their lives wandering the continent’s magical beast forests.

Better not to believe them.

Because if you did…

You might end up very unlucky.

—

For example, the seventh king of the Kingdom of Dansu.

In his earlier years, he had actually been considered a capable ruler.

But in old age, he became senile and terrified of death.

Some half-baked alchemist fed him the rumor that dragon hearts could extend a person’s lifespan.

—

Then he heard mercenaries swear they had seen dragons flying through the Everdark Forest.

And so, the king mobilized nearly half the kingdom’s power, assembling an elite army of one hundred thousand soldiers to conquer the forest in one grand campaign.

—

In the end, they found no dragons.

Instead, they enraged the countless super-tier magical beasts dwelling within the Everdark Forest.

The army of one hundred thousand vanished without even making a ripple.

Slaughtered to the last man.

—

The Kingdom of Dansu had nearly collapsed because of it.

The enraged nobles and commoners ultimately dragged the king himself to the gallows.

To this day, he remained the only monarch in Dansu’s history not buried within the Royal Cathedral.

—

As the Fengrao Territory group continued deeper into the forest, a strange plant growing from the trunk of a giant tree caught Kun’s attention.

Its leaves were blue, its stamens crimson, and the entire thing resembled the head of a bird.

—

“That’s a magical herb.”

“Harvest it together with the bark. Be careful not to damage the roots.”

—

The moment Kun spoke, one of the guards immediately leapt into the tree as lightly as a monkey.

In moments, he deftly harvested the herb and returned it to Kun.

—

“Mm. Nicely done.”

Kun praised the guard before carefully examining the herb in his hand.

Then he suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise.

—

“Hm?”

—

He glanced around the area before touching the tree where the herb had rooted itself, confusion written all over his face.

—

“My lord, is something wrong?”

—

“This is strange…”

“I’ve cultivated this herb before.”

“By all logic, the latitude, temperature, humidity, sunlight, and even the type of wood it parasitizes here should all be unsuitable for the growth of Ibiscrest Feathergrass.”

“Even if it somehow survived, its quality shouldn’t be this high.”

—

“Did The Complete Encyclopedia of Advanced Magical Herb Cultivation get something wrong?”

“That shouldn’t be possible.”

“That book originated from the ancient Elven Empire.”

“Could the herb’s growth characteristics have changed over time?”

—

“My lord, look up there in the canopy. Aren’t those the same herbs?”

—

Kun raised his head.

Sure enough, among the treetops of several ancient trees nearby, densely packed clusters of Ibiscrest Feathergrass covered the canopy.

There were over twenty plants at a glance.

—

“How is this possible?”

“How can high-grade magical herbs grow this densely?!”

—

Kun blinked hard, feeling as though someone had smashed him over the head.

—

The Ibiscrest Feathergrass he had painstakingly cultivated in the past had grown terribly.

He’d nurtured it for ages before it finally barely flowered enough to be used in potion-making.

And who was he?

The only Abundance Mage on Eternal Dawn Continent.

Even he had only barely succeeded in cultivating such a rare herb.

Yet here…

They grew like weeds.

Kun suddenly began questioning life itself.

—

“No wonder the Everdark Forest is known as the continent’s treasury of magical herbs.”

“Not only are there countless quantities here, but many ancient herbs already extinct outside the forest may still survive here.”

“Quick, harvest all of them!”

“We’re rich!”

—

“Ah—leave the smaller ones alone for now.”

“Let them mature first.”

“These things are incredibly precious. Transplanting them is difficult.”

—

Looking at the twenty-seven mature magical herbs newly added to his storage space, Kun felt rather excited.

Ibiscrest Feathergrass was a high-grade magical herb that had already gone extinct in the outside world hundreds of years ago.

It could be used to create a magical medicine called Crimson Dew Bone Tempering Fluid—a potion capable of continuously strengthening a warrior’s physique.

—

Kun was a mage.

But the Arlan family he came from was one of the kingdom’s most renowned military noble houses.

For generations, they had taken pride in producing Great Warriors.

—

Though Eternal Dawn Continent had no saying equivalent to “the poor study literature, the rich train martial arts,” the truth remained the same:

Having a powerful family supporting you meant avoiding countless detours.

—

Dawn and Marquis Lawrence Arlan were close in age.

In terms of swordsmanship and martial willpower, Dawn surpassed Lawrence by far.

Yet he was still completely outmatched by him.

That was the difference created by foundation and heritage.

—

Most commoner children only began serving warriors as attendants or servants around the age of ten before learning common battle aura techniques.

Even Dawn himself had only become an apprentice warrior at sixteen.

—

But children of the Arlan family began cultivating battle aura at the age of five.

They were personally taught by the finest third-tier Great Warriors in the royal capital.

At sixteen, Marquis Lawrence had already entered the second tier.

—

Beyond the difference in years spent polishing foundations, there were also cultivation methods, combat techniques, medicinal baths every three days, all sorts of enhancement potions, physique-strengthening elixirs…

Everything imaginable.

How could twenty years of personal effort possibly compare against nearly a thousand years of accumulation from an ancient noble house?

—

Especially those secret medicines capable of strengthening the body.

Ordinary people had likely never even heard of them.

—

Even a long-established military family like the Arlans had only accumulated thirty-nine such magical medicine formulas.

Half of them could no longer be produced because the required herbs had gone extinct.

Crimson Dew Bone Tempering Fluid was one of them.

—

When Kun was younger, there had been a period where he believed his father treated him coldly because he lacked talent as a warrior.

So he desperately tried to cultivate an Ibiscrest Feathergrass himself.

—

Because he’d heard that the potion created from it, Crimson Dew Bone Tempering Fluid, was the most effective physique-enhancing medicine treasured by the Arlan family.

—

Most physique-enhancing potions came with side effects.

For example, the men of the Arlan family were famously huge and broad like little giants.

Outsiders considered it proof of the Arlan bloodline’s superiority—natural-born warriors.

But in reality, it was merely rumor and misunderstanding.

It was simply the long-term side effect of consuming magical medicines.

To put it plainly—

Mutation.

A disease.

—

Kun later learned that Crimson Dew Bone Tempering Fluid was considered one of the finest physique-enhancing potions not because its effects were especially powerful…

But because its side effects were so minimal they could practically be ignored.

—

As long as there was enough Ibiscrest Feathergrass, multiple batches of the potion could easily be produced.

—

Unfortunately, because the enhancement effects weren’t particularly overwhelming, Kun’s attempt to take an alternative path toward becoming a warrior ultimately failed.

If his talent for magic was a ten…

Then his talent as a warrior was negative ten.

One dose of Crimson Dew Bone Tempering Fluid simply wasn’t enough to save him.

—

Later, Kun finally understood something.

Compared to helping his disappointing youngest son become a warrior…

Perhaps offering that precious Ibiscrest Feathergrass to Marquis Lawrence would’ve earned far more affection from his father.

—

Kun circled the cluster of magical-herb-covered trees seven or eight times.

Yet he still couldn’t discover what made this place so special.

In the end, he could only sigh.

—

“The wonders of nature truly are miraculous.”

—

No matter how humans imitated natural growth environments and carefully cultivated magical herbs…

Artificial cultivation would always be inferior to the genuine article.

The medicinal properties of cultivated herbs simply could not match those growing wild in nature.

—

“Let’s go.”

“We still need to head toward the Blood Terror Demon Wolves’ nest.”

“Dawn, have someone mark this place.”

“Don’t damage anything.”

“Preserve the environment as much as possible.”

“Maybe it’ll continue producing magical herbs in the future.”

—

“Understood.”

—

As the group gradually approached the Blood Terror Demon Wolves’ lair, the air became saturated with a nauseating stench of rot mixed with an overwhelming scent of blood.

—

“Everyone, stay alert!”

—

Familiar with the terrain, Dawn walked at the very front with greatsword in hand.

His eyes were filled with vigilance.

His slightly crouched posture both concealed his presence and allowed him to unleash force instantly if needed.

—

Blood Terror Demon Wolves had a habit of marking their territory and nests with urine to intimidate enemies.

The concentrated wolf scent here was enough to frighten off almost any high-tier magical beast.

—

Yet the enormous crawling tracks leading directly into the depths of the nest…

And the neatly shattered trees and broken branches shoved aside…

All clearly indicated that not long ago, a gigantic creature had completely ignored the wolves’ intimidation and charged straight inside.

—

Nearly overwhelmed by the stench, Kun pulled a blue medical mask from his storage space.

After skillfully tearing open the plastic packaging, he put it on.

—

“There are only tracks going in.”

“None coming out.”

“Could it be the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon lost after all?”

“And the wolves survived?”

“That’s honestly a little unexpected.”

—

Kun, experiencing true wilderness exploration for the first time, was rather excited.

Originally, he had expected the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon to survive.

Then he would personally finish off the heavily wounded dragon himself.

If he could capture it alive, even better.

After all, a living Gold Devouring Earth Dragon was essentially a living magic ore mine.

Far more valuable than a dead one.

—

But from the looks of things…

The final victor might actually have been the Blood Terror Demon Wolves.

—

As they advanced closer to the core area of the lair, the stench gradually gave way entirely to the smell of blood.

White bones littered the ground everywhere—the leftovers of the wolves’ feasts.

So many that it looked as though a carpet of skeletons had been spread across the earth itself.

—

The more Kun observed, the grimmer his expression became.

—

One of the guards suddenly signaled.

He had found a Blood Terror Demon Wolf corpse near his feet.

The lower half of its body remained intact.

The upper half, however, had been reduced to mush—as though crushed by the claw of some horrifying monster.

—

After inspecting the wounds, Dawn nodded toward Kun.

The damage had indeed been caused by the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon.

—

Ordinary low-tier magical beasts would be too terrified to even flee when facing a superior dragon species like the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon.

They would simply collapse in place and await death.

—

Only bloodline magical beasts like the Blood Terror Demon Wolves—creatures that entered berserk states at the slightest provocation and fought fearlessly to the death—would dare challenge such an existence.

And once they fought…

It would inevitably end in mutual destruction.

—

But fearlessness didn’t erase the difference in power or tier.

Dragonkind advanced beyond the third tier by accumulating strength through countless long years, eventually forcefully breaking through their limits and evolving into Ancient Dragons.

The process might seem crude…

But it made them terrifyingly powerful.

—

Even after laying two dragon eggs and losing most of its life force, the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon should still have been capable of escaping if it truly wished.

—

As the group continued searching, they discovered more and more wolf corpses and battle traces.

At the very least, it confirmed that the Ice Fang Mercenary Group had indeed lured the dragon here, igniting the battle between the dragon and the wolf pack.

—

Dozens of wolf corpses were scattered around.

Yet not a single trace of the Gold Devouring Earth Dragon’s body could be found.

Even the obvious tracks it had left behind seemed to vanish mysteriously in this region.

It was profoundly strange.

—

“Could the dragon have escaped?”

—

Kun shook his head.

“I don’t think so.”

“Earth dragons can’t fly.”

“Even if it tunneled underground, there should still be traces.”

“And the number of wolf corpses doesn’t add up either.”

“The wolf pack Dawn discovered was medium-sized.”

“There are nowhere near enough corpses here. Not even a hundred.”

—

“Besides, if the dragon escaped, then the wolves should be the victors.”

“But we’ve been wandering around this place for ages now.”

“Where are the living wolves?”

“Why hasn’t a single one attacked us?”

—

“And honestly…”

“The more I look around, the less this place resembles a nest.”

—

Blood Terror Demon Wolves did decorate their dens with the bones of prey.

But this place was far too open.

The bone-covered ground offered almost no protection.

Raising offspring in such an exposed location would make them vulnerable to aerial predators.

No matter how savage the wolves were, they didn’t have wings.

They couldn’t deal with flying magical creatures.

—

Which meant—

This wasn’t their actual nest.

—

Kun stomped lightly on the ground.

The loose layers of white bone instantly sank inward.

Looking around again, he suddenly realized—

The terrain here was noticeably elevated compared to the surrounding area.

—

“Could it be…”

—

Kun pulled out his short coral staff and began casting magic.

—

Red Dragonbone Deepsea Coral only grew one centimeter every hundred years.

It was among the finest materials for crafting water-element staffs.

Though its attributes weren’t particularly compatible with him, Kun had grown used to using it, and it didn’t hinder his magic flow.

He had used this staff for many years without replacing it.

—

After all, unless it was a legendary weapon forged from the primary materials of a super-tier wood-element magical beast…

Any staff in his hands produced roughly the same results.