Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 231 Boiling Blood Lake

Rolin stood still, gazing at the increasingly clear dark blue hue on the northwest horizon, while Baha on his shoulder turned its head restlessly.

A fourth party—actively sending encrypted information?

What is the true purpose of a key?

Pointing to a boiling lake of blood?

It seems that the undercurrents of the scorching hell have not subsided; on the contrary, they are brewing new and potentially even more turbulent waves in unseen places.

This time, however, he seems to have been drawn into the very center of the vortex.

Rowling did not set off immediately.

He first quickly checked his own condition and found that he had recovered to 80-90%, which was enough to cope with high-intensity tasks.

Then, he looked at Ellie and Moonflower by the window.

Ellie had clearly heard the message; her face turned pale, but her eyes remained unusually firm.

"Mr. Rowling, are you going?"

Luo Lin nodded, left her some spare protective equipment and contact information, and told her to be careful.

Just as he was packing his things, preparing to rush to the Seventh Forward Base overnight, the silvery buds on the windowsill suddenly shone with silver light again!

This time, the silver light was no longer gentle, but carried an unprecedented sharpness and directionality. The leaves shook violently, pointing—clearly to the northwest, the direction of the boiling blood lake!

At the same time, a clear, complex spiritual fluctuation, a mixture of vigilance, inquiry, and a hint of—strange attraction—was transmitted to Rowling and Ellie.

This demonic plant, which has undergone mutation and may be connected to the roots of an ancient pact, seems to have an instinctive and intense reaction to what is about to happen in the boiling blood lake.

On the windowsill, the silvery light of the silvery seedlings flickers like breathing, and the edges of the leaves pointing northwest even show faint, ever-flowing, regular patterns.

The spiritual fluctuations that were transmitted were complex and difficult to understand, a mixture of vigilance and inquiry. Deeper within, there seemed to be a primal tremor, perhaps even unknown to itself, triggered by some kind of shared aura.

Ellie gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, looking at the magical plant connected to her soul, then at Rolin.

The moonlight illuminated her pale cheeks and tightly pursed lips.

"Mr. Rowling—" Her voice was a little hoarse.

"It's very interested in that direction."

Luo Lin's gaze shifted from the moon and silver flowers to the increasingly clear dark blue hue on the northwest horizon outside the window.

The orders from the Holy Tower, the warnings from unknown sources, the unusual movements of the Moon Silver Flower, and the traces of the fourth party that General Hossman had mentioned earlier—all the clues strangely converged at the Boiling Blood Lake.

This is by no means a coincidence.

"I have to go." Rowling's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable determination.

He quickly checked the items in his dimensional bag: the remaining potions, energy crystals, detectors, spare spellcasting materials, and some special protective gear he had exchanged from the Holy Tower for highly corrosive and high-temperature environments.

He has recovered to about 80-90% of his original condition. Although his body has not fully recovered, he should be able to handle a high-intensity exploration mission.

He handed Ellie several enhanced communication amulets and a small bag of emergency high-energy nutrients: "Stay in Blackrock Town and take good care of the Magic Plant Garden and yourself."

"If anything unusual happens here, or if you don't hear from me for more than seven days, immediately take these items and go to the Santa headquarters to find Researcher Duden through the town's emergency teleportation point."

"Remember the route and the code."

Ellie took the item, nodded vigorously, her fingertips turning slightly white from the force: "I understand! You—must be careful."

""

Luo Lin didn't say anything more, but patted her on the shoulder.

Turning around, I picked up my luggage and carefully placed the budding silvery moonflower seedling, which was emitting a directional silvery glow, into the incubator.

We must bring it with us this time; its reaction itself is important intelligence.

Baha had already quieted down from its anxious chirping, its six eyes fixed on the northwest direction, its wings slightly folded, ready to set off at any moment.

"Let's go," Rowling said in a low voice, whether to Baha or to himself, it was unclear.

Push open the door of the Black Rock Hut and step into the quiet night of Black Rock Town.

Without alerting anyone, Rowling activated a short-range directional teleportation device issued by the base on his wrist.

A flash of light, and his figure vanished from his original spot, reappearing at a pre-set, concealed coordinate point 0, dozens of miles away from Blackrock Town.

It's still quite a distance from here to the Seventh Forward Base.

Instead of using the costly continuous teleportation, Luo Lin identified the direction, activated his movement technique, and used the [Starflow Aquatic Field] to slightly manipulate the air and reduce resistance, speeding towards the base.

Baha, meanwhile, soars high into the sky, acting as a watchful eye.

They walked in silence, with only the howling wind and the soft crunch of the ashes beneath their feet.

The dark blue hue on the northwestern horizon, like ink drops in water, was slowly but steadily spreading and deepening.

In the air, besides the inherent scorching heat and sulfurous smell of the scorching hell, a faint, unfamiliar scent began to seep in—

A metallic, fishy smell combined with the burnt smell of an energy overload?

Several hours later, the familiar outline of the Seventh Forward Base appeared on the horizon.

The base was brightly lit, and the light from the defense towers swept around, creating a more tense atmosphere than when Rolin had left.

Rowling quickly passed through identity verification and quarantine at the entrance.

The guards recognized him, saluted and let him through, informing him that General Hossman was waiting for him at the command center.

Upon entering the command center, one finds that a considerable number of people have already gathered there.

General Hossman stood in front of the central sand table, his brow furrowed.

Standing next to him were Blake, who had recovered from his injuries and returned to the unit, but whose face was still somewhat pale, as well as Ella, Liana, and several senior officers and research department representatives from the base.

With Lehman absent, his arm will need time to recover.

When Luo Lin entered, everyone's eyes immediately focused on him, especially the incubator he was carrying.

"Rolin, you've come at the right time." General Hossman gestured for him to come forward and pointed to a newly marked area in the northwest corner of the sand table, covered by a dark blue light spot representing extremely high energy reaction and unknown threats. This was the Boiling Blood Lake.

"You have received the orders and intelligence from Santa," General Hossman said gravely.

"The base has just received the same encrypted data stream fragment, as well as an order for assistance from Santa headquarters."

"The sender's identity cannot be traced, but the message itself has passed Santa's highest level of authenticity verification and is not a forgery."

"You already know the contents: a warning about the true purpose of the key, and the coordinates of the Boiling Blood Lake."

He paused, then looked at the incubator in Rolin's hand: "In addition, the research department remotely analyzed the abnormal data of that Moon Silver Flower and confirmed that its orientation highly coincides with the coordinates in the encrypted information."

Master Veranika believes this is no coincidence. The connection between the Moonflower and the Key's origins makes it a—

A living detector, or some kind of resonant beacon.

Luo Lin placed the incubator on a table next to him and opened it.

The silver light of the Moon Silver Flower seedlings immediately illuminated the surrounding area, and the leaves pointed to the location of the boiling blood lake on the sand table, their veins shimmering.

"So, what is the mission?" Roland asked directly.

"Head to the Boiling Blood Lake to investigate the truth behind the energy anomalies and the activities of unknown forces, confirm the reliability of the encrypted information, assess potential threats, and obtain as much information as possible about the key and the ancient pact," General Hossman said in a deep voice.

"Given the experience gained from the Battle of the Throat of the Dead, and the unknown and high-risk nature of this mission, the Holy Tower and the Empire have decided to jointly dispatch an elite commando team."

"You, Rowling, will serve as technical advisor and deputy commander."

"Captain Blake will be in command of the operation."

He looked at Blake. Blake nodded, his eyes resolute: "The Scorching Flame Patrol Squad, along with two elite Imperial Forge Guards and a formation expert sent by the Holy Tower, will form a strike team."

"Ella and Liana are back in the team. Rayman—continues to rest."

Ella and Liana stepped forward simultaneously, indicating that they understood.

"An expert in formations?" Luo Lin asked.

"It's me." A slightly reserved but clear and earnest young male voice rang out.

Following the sound, Rowling saw a young wizard wearing a standard Santa researcher's grey robe, glasses, and carrying a complex instrument case. He looked to be at most in his early twenties, and his aura was around the peak of the first ring.

"My name is Abel. I specialize in analyzing and breaking ancient and modern complex formations. I was temporarily assigned to this operation by Master Veranika."

Young, but to be assigned by Master Veranica at such a time, must mean he has exceptional abilities.

"And these two as well." General Hossman pointed to two Forge Guards behind Blake, their auras deep and their eyes sharp. They were better equipped, with distinctive dark gold patterns on their armor.

"The elite of the Imperial Forgeheart Guard, Gore and the two codenamed Anvil."

"Skilled in attacking strong points and heavily armored defenses."

Gore, a burly man with a square face, nodded silently.

Iron Anvil grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, but the murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable.

This brings the total number of commando members to seven: Blake, Rowling, Ella, Liana, Abel, Gore, and Anvil.

"One hour to prepare," General Hossman concluded.

"The base will provide you with the best equipment and supplies, and after you depart, it will conduct continuous remote monitoring and limited fire support of the area surrounding the Boiling Blood Lake."

"Remember, intelligence is the priority."

"In the event of a situation that cannot be handled, the mission may be abandoned and the troops may be withdrawn to base."

Once the order was given, everyone immediately dispersed and went their separate ways to make final preparations.