Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

Guoong!

A rumbling sound resounded as the lake at the centre of the Pitcher Plant Forest churned in response while the lid of the Pitcher Plant King opened.

The humanoid entity within was now fully formed, reaching a startling height of twenty metres, a titan-sized creature that exited the pitcher and took a seat at the top, calmly resting its hand on its chin.

The nectar within the pitcher of the Pitcher Plant King began to vaporise soon after as it spread around throughout the Pitcher Plant Forest, expanding outwards.

"Move!" Xuna couldn't hide her strength any longer, transforming into the Klock that coiled around Yihan as all her six available heads unleashed a thrust, sending them flying backward.

They hurriedly raised their altitude as much as possible as Xuna and Yihan felt a tad weak in response, feeling their muscles loosen up gradually.

It was the scent unleashed by the Pitcher Plant King, one capable of luring in all forms of creatures. Before, it was this very scent that trapped them in the pitcher of the Pitcher Plant King.

Therefore, they were alert, not intending to take any chances.

The Varnol too followed suit as Feleokruna didn't take any chances upon seeing the fluster someone as strong as Xuna expressed. The Spageon stationed there though wasn't able to control itself, taking flight as it made a beeline towards the Pitcher Plant Forest.

Unfortunately for it, the moment it neared them, a pair of leaves diced it up before dumping its body pieces into a pitcher to be digested. It was taken care of so casually that it sent chills through the spines of everyone present.

Feleokruna felt that something was amiss, feeling a sudden instinct of wanting to jump towards the Pitcher Plant Forest and run towards it. She slapped herself viciously, partly using her Fornol Sunflower, singeing her face, using the pain to remain lucid.

That's how she broke free from the effects of the scent temporarily, also slapping Luncress and Lortwik similarly.

"T-Thank you, your majesty." Luncress clutched his face at the pain that felt like acid had been poured over his cheek. But, fear had gripped his heart as he stared at the Pitcher Plant Forest, 'If her majesty hadn't saved us, we would have been done for just like the Spageon.'

"What do we do now?" Lortwik asked next, unable to maintain his calm when his eyes made contact with the humanoid entity of the Pitcher Plant King.

He collapsed to the floor of the Varnol, trembling in fear as some of his hair even fell off as a result. If he remained here for extended durations, then it was a fact that he would become bald. That was how much fear had gripped his heart at the sight of the dangerous entity that seemed to hold authority over the entire desert region itself.

Only after the Varnol crossed a height of two kilometres did the effects of the scent subside, allowing the three Blight Humans to sigh in relief as they observed what was happening.

It didn't even take a minute when suddenly, the expressions of everyone collapsed, alarmed when they saw black dots litter the entire horizon.

"Your majesty, can we repair the Varnol?" Luncress asked in a hurry.

"There should be a bag full of Blight Cores in the room there." Feleokruna pointed at a location, "Bring them to me."

Luncress followed suit immediately, dragging a bag that seemed to weigh more than a hundred kilograms. The moment he brought it, Feleokruna lifted it casually before dumping all the contents onto the field of Fornol Sunflowers before her, muttering, "This will permanently damage Varnol."

She didn't bat an eye after that, "We can always build another Varnol."

It took the Fornol Empire a fortune to build Varnol, the reason she was hesitant in doing something that would destroy it completely. At least before this, even in its wrecked state, as long as she brought it back to the palace, the engineers would be able to repair it to a perfect state.

That was one of Varnol's functions. But, if Feleokruna went through with what she was attempting now, even though it would repair Varnol, it would result in its collapse a mere two days later, turning it into dust.

"Hah!" Feleokruna shouted as she unleashed a blight beam of sunlight, melting through all the Blight Cores, turning them into liquid that rained down upon the field of Fornol Sunflowers, causing them to rapidly absorb the terrifying sunlight-induced corruption.

It caused them to grow rapidly, so much so that they seemed on the verge of exploding. The massive energy influx rapidly regenerated all the petals. It was a plant-based creation in the first place. And like all plants created and used by Blight Humans, it could regenerate too.

Though, Varnol was an intricate craft that was vastly superior in quality. So, it normally needed around a few weeks to fully regenerate without any problems.

But now, in a matter of minutes, all the petals regenerated, causing the Varnol to look as good as new.

At the sight, Feleokruna sighed for a moment before firming herself, beginning the countdown for when it would collapse. She then stared at the sky, observing tens to hundreds of thousands of birds littering the sky, all flying towards the Pitcher Plant Forest.

But the bad news was the fact that the route of a good fraction of them passed through the spot where Varnol stood, meaning that they would have to brace for impact as the birds seemed to have lost their minds, embarking on a suicidal charge.

Bam!

A bird slammed into the enclosed petal of Varnol, splattering into blood as Feleokruna frowned in response, causing the petals to fully cover and protect the Varnol. Immediately, hundreds of birds slammed into it, so much so it felt like the three Blight Humans had taken a dip in a blood river.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yihan constructed a protective dome around them, a cage form that protected them from all sides. It sported tiny thumb-sized holes for them to see around and also for the air to circulate as a result of his wings flapping nonstop to maintain their altitude.

This way, his wings were safe. In the meantime, Xuna healed him from time to time, replenishing his Nacre while healing his fatigue. Four of her Klock heads turned small and peeked through the holes, opening their mouths to unleash canon balls from time to time.

Each of them exploded, unleashing frightening shockwaves that not only stopped the approaching birds in their tracks but also splattered their bodies. Thanks to this, they weren't overwhelmed by the birds that seemed to be on drugs.

Yihan focused on mending the damaged parts of the spherical cage shield, grunting in pain every time a bird slammed into it, for he had to endure the resulting shockwave that rattled his body. If not for his natural regeneration, coupled with Xuna's rapid healing using two Klock heads, he would have died many times already.

Argh!

He bellowed all of a sudden as Nacre exploded out of him, rapidly expanding in both quantity and quality as a third segment appeared on his horn.

Stage 3 Blight Human!

He had killed plenty of strong enemies and had been using his abilities nonstop all along. So, it was about time he broke through to a higher Stage as immediately after, Yihan erected a stronger spherical cage.

Their situation improved a bit for the time being.

In response, Luncress only became more solemn, sensing the rapid waves of Nacre emitted by Yihan upon his breakthrough, "He reached Stage 3."

"Note down everything, Luncress." Feleokruna stared solemnly, unleashing beams that vaporised entire rows of birds approaching them, allowing them to take a breather, "They'll be our strongest enemies."

From the sky came the birds in endless numbers, rapidly jumping into the pitchers, filling them up to such an extent that the pitchers seemed pitiful, with some of the lids struggling to close fully.

From the sea emerged the shelled creatures, blanketing the ground entirely as they crawled into the pitchers like a wave, rapidly filling them up.

There were traces of either the birds or the shelled creatures everywhere in the Pitcher Plant Forest, save for the lake that was the exclusive domain of the Pitcher Plant King. Anyone that approached it was shredded by the leaves and turned into food for it.

The lids closed in large numbers as soon after, the cluttering sounds of bones breaking resounded from the Pitcher Plants, muddled in nature. It was apparent that everything within their pitchers was now being digested.

And unlike before, the birds and shelled creatures continued to loiter around the place as the scent continued to grow stronger. That wasn't all, it seemed all the energy stored in the Nacre and Blight Cores of these creatures condensed in the Pitcher Plant Forest as it began to unleash torrential waves of energy.

Multiple lines of Nacre, followed by corruption ran parallel to it, forming a sprawling flux that expanded to encompass the entire desert region. It was a terrifying display of power, immediately attracting the attention of the two deity-like creatures that had rapidly changed this world.