Chapter 206 Good Stuff

Chapter 206 Good Stuff

Once the resources were safely stowed away, there was no more need to hold back on the combat, and Karl pushed as much energy as he could into the oversized blade, allowing it to slice deeply into the wounded Giant.

It wasn't going to be that easy to take it out, and despite the heavy bleeding and awkward angle from a prone position, the Giant still managed to punch Thor so hard that both barriers on the Cerro shattered, and he was sent staggering back.

The giant began to get up as its wounds healed at an incredibly accelerated rate, already knitting back together.

It reached for the plants, but found them gone, and began frantically searching for them or whoever might have them.

The magical signature of the plants would normally give away their hiding spot, and make it obvious who was trying to loot the battlefield in advance, but with them safely in Rae's space, it was as if they had never existed. She had even taken the roots with them, just in case that was the valuable part.

The distraction turned out to be its downfall, as Karl's blade slid through a partially healed wound and deep into the creature's torso, aimed upward for the vital organs. With a gurgling gasp, the giant turned and swung a backhanded strike at Karl, who dropped to the ground and rolled out of the path of the enormous blade.

That effort twisted the blade still lodged through the Giant's back, and it collapsed to the ground, already dead.

The second Giant fell seconds later, and while the warriors caught their breath, the clerics collected evidence and updated their notes.

Once he saw the Clerics' routine, Karl also made a note of the day's kills, recalling how he had been questioned about them by the lawyers.

Hawk flew back up to scouting height and looked for other resources and monsters. Mostly resources, and he was finding a lot of them.

Karl took notes as Hawk updated the map with resource points, including their likely strength, and the monsters that had been drawn to them. In Hawk's mind, that was likely the important part. He might not know what the plants did, but if they attracted monsters that were similar to him, Thor or Rae, then they were likely going to be useful.

Most monsters worked on instinct and confirmation bias. If others like you thought it was true, it probably was. Sometimes it was genetic memory, sometimes just a guess, but everyone would fight over the resources all the same.

Karl dismissed his blade, which was trapped under the Giant's body, and the Church Guard came over with a leather pouch from the hip of the other Giant.

"It's a healing salve of some sort. It looks like it works fairly well, going by the magic in it." He explained.

"The Giants were regenerating abnormally rapidly as well. I've never seen a [Shred] wound heal that fast before. Normally, the jagged edges make it nearly impossible for monsters to deal with, but these ones were even able to stop the blood flow from Lacerate without applying the ointment." Karl agreed.

The Church Guard took a portion of the ointment into a trio of jars, and then passed the leather bag to the cleric attached to the military unit.

[Already on it. She found tasty mushrooms. They eat blood from dead monsters.] Rae replied.

They were only a few metres into the trees, and if they weren't crouched down looking for mushrooms, everyone would be able to see them. Once he knew where they were, Karl found them with thermal imaging.

"She's right over there. They haven't gone far this time." Karl explained.

Lotus' voice carried through the clearing. "Hey! Everyone, come this way. There is a whole bunch of good stuff in the woods."

The Soldiers spread out, only vaguely aware of what they were looking for, but everyone could at least pick out some of the major magical plants, and things that didn't look like they belonged in a normal forest.

"Sister Lotus, I think I found something." One of the soldiers called, holding up a bright red mushroom with black spots that looked oddly like skulls.

Karl looked at Tessa. "That's poison, isn't it?"

She smirked and nodded. "Yup. But it's a paralytic, not a lethal toxin. He's going to collapse in... Oh, there he goes."

Lotus pranced over and tucked the mushroom in a specimen jar that she threw to Rae before she cast a cleansing spell on the warrior and helped him to his feet.

"What is the first rule of unknown magical plants?" She asked him.

"Sister, you see..." he began.

"What is the first rule of unknown magical plants?" She repeated, with her hands on her hips, looking fierce, despite her diminutive size.

"Look with your eyes, not your hands." The young man replied sheepishly.

"Exactly. Look with your eyes, not your hands. That means, no grabbing the death's head mushrooms. Now, are there more of those? They're quite useful for a number of potions." Lotus asked.

"Sister, there is some sort of glowing grass over here, and a plant with leaves that look like Golden Dragon Scales." One of the others reported.

That drew the Church Guard over to assist, and the unit went into full gathering mode, hunting in the area for more magical resources, the original target plant long forgotten.