Chapter 147: Knowledge exchange

Kanan didn’t know how to answer that question. Well, he did, but he was so taken aback that he wasn’t able to open his mouth to speak. This only made Nyalok lean in closer, her tits now pressing against his chest, her face inching closer.

He hadn’t even mated with a Typhon Tribeswoman yet, and now a Helsik Tribeswoman was already pining after him.

“If you don’t answer, then I’ll assume you aren’t mated yet. If not, then do you want to be my mate? I was supposed to get mated to that idiot Yisol, but after hearing that you not only stood up to him, but also cut off his hand, it made me want you as my own. Now, I want you even more. You’re way more impressive than him and that coward Carl who was going to be my mate before Yisol.”

“I have three mates.” Kanan finally answered. Though Glena wasn’t his mate, he didn’t really see the issue of claiming that she was. To him, she was, and that’s all that mattered. It was also shocking to know that she was going to mate Carl, but it seemed like something happened between them.

“Three? Oh my. You really are the Shaman, huh? But three sounds a little low, don’t you think?”

“Who are you telling? The elders in my village keep harassing me to get more mates. Anyway, can we talk about important stuff now?”

Nyalok aggressively touched the boner Kanan had, licking her lips once again before heading back to her mat. If eyes could eat people, Kanan would have been devoured long ago.

“Now that I know your true intentions,” Loknya began to speak. “What can you tell me of the Uprooter Plant, besides what you’ve told us in the council hall?”

“Well, for starters, I’d like to know how your village got infected, as well as everything you know of this plant. This way, I’d know what I can tell you without repeating information you already know.”

“Very well. It all started around a year ago when our hunters were out gathering food. We thrive off fish, with some livestock being farmed. We also eat the fruits and vegetables the swamp provides. Tell me, did you travel through the marsh before arriving at our main village?”

“Yes, we did.”

Loknya nodded. “That land is still our territory. But ever since one of our hunters came back from gathering livestock, things weren’t the same. People got sick and started losing strength. At first, we thought we had cured it, but it got worse and worse over time.”

Kanan had asked about the symptoms, wondering if they were exactly the same or similar to the ones he was familiar with.

Upon getting confirmation that they were the same, Kanan was confident that their cure could work.

“Eventually, our people began to die brutally. Once that happened, the beasts moved in.”

“The Gator Beasts?” Kanan asked

“Among many, yes. You see, since we’re in a swamp, there are a plethora of beasts that call this place their home. But the Gator Beasts are by far the most aggressive. With our forces weakened, I made the tough call to retreat to this old village.”

‘The pattern is the exact same as it was in my village. The Verminus Plant weakens the population while searching for a perfect host, then sends monsters or beasts to weaken them even further to add to its army of corpses.’

After explaining this to Loknya, she was able to connect the dots as well.

“That’s a classic battle tactic. How could a monster be so smart?”

“Because it gathers information every time it feeds off a living creature,” Kanan explained. “In order to beat it, two things need to be done. First, we need to find its hive mind, then its body.”

“What do the hive mind and body look like?”

“The body is a massive plant that looks like flesh. It’s easy to recognize once you spot it. As for the hive mind, that’s a different story. The Verminus…Uptrooter Plant needs a perfect host to communicate with everything it has infected. This host can be dead or alive, but if they’re alive, they have more control over the spirit energy the host possesses.”

“I still cannot believe that such a creature can harness spirit energy.” If Kanan hadn’t informed her about this, Loknya didn’t know how she would be able to defend her home if they were attacked.

“That’s just the start of our problems.” Kanan went on to explain everything, seeing as Loknya had nothing else to tell him about what she knew of the Verminus Plant.

Once that conversation was done, Loknya immediately began formulating plans on how to stop the plant and draw out the plant.

“And how can we find its body?” She wondered.

“I’m immune to the plant, so if I can touch the hive mind, then I’ll be able to locate the main body.”

“Kanan,” Nyalok called out to him.

“Yes?”

“How did your tribe fare against the Uprooter?”

“Well, some of our people were infected and died. The Typhon Tribe suffered great losses to this plant. Most of their people were wiped out by it. But soon after, we developed a basic cure.”

Loknya shot up and rushed over to Kanan. “A cure?! You mean you can cure this illness?”

“Y-Yes, but it’s not pretty. Though I call it a cure, it’s more like a treatment method that can eliminate the plant inside a body. The only issue is that this treatment can kill the patient as well.”

“I see. But this is better than nothing. What is your success rate?”

“No failures so far. But that’s only because of our healers and herbalists knowing how to handle Angler Poison. I don’t even know if you’re aware of such a poison.”

“Angler Poison? Of course we’re aware of that. We invented it.”

“What?! Ohhh!” Kanan had already forgotten that the Helsik Tribe were pioneers of potions and tonics.

“Wait, then how come hadn’t used the poison to make a cure?” He asked

Nyalok and Loknya looked at Kanan as if he were crazy. “Because it’s poison.” They said in unison.

‘Right! The people here probably don’t have the knowledge that medicine can be poison and poison can be medicine depending on the dosage. This means that the Helsik tribe was attempting to make cures out of herbs that could be used for medicinal purposes without exploring poisonous options.’

“Say, do you have a healing hut where infected people are being treated?”

Loknya nodded. “We do. It is only to be operated by our healers and herbalists.”

“Would you like to test out this treatment method my tribe created?”