An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Chapter 2644

Nathaniel stood at the edge of the ship, staring at the paradise-like island before him. He found himself holding his breath.

Sunlight filtered through the towering, ancient trees, scattering dappled patches of light across the mossy ground. The air was filled with an exotic floral fragrance, sweet as honey yet tinged with a subtle freshness.

Behind him, the soldiers could barely contain their excitement. They set down their weapons and reached out to touch the hanging vines. Crystalline fruits hung like clusters of amethyst and shimmered in the sunlight with an enchanting radiance.

“Your Highness, look at that tree,” one of his guards exclaimed, pointing at a giant tree not far away. Its trunk was covered in spiral patterns that looked like natural stairways. Glowing mushrooms grew inside its hollow, which illuminated the surroundings like daylight.

Several winged squirrels leaped from the treetop, and their wings stirred up tiny glowing particles. When the specks landed on the soldiers’ armor, they instantly transformed into twinkling stars.

As Nathaniel carefully stepped down from the gangplank, the moss rustled softly beneath his feet. He bent down to pick up a palm-sized leaf with golden edges. The veins were so clear they looked almost carved.

Just as he was about to hand it to the general beside him, a sharp scream came from the back of the group.

“What happened?” Nathaniel asked, spinning around.

a flowering bush. Each blossom was as wide as

out to pluck a bloom. His fingertips hovered just above the petal when it shuddered violently. The once delicate petals suddenly

forward. Its teeth snapped shut with a crack, swallowing

absorbed almost instantly. The petals became even more vibrant while the golden stamens were tinged with an eerie red

he instantly drew the sword at his waist. With

through the ground. The once

suddenly sprouted from the severed roots of the demonic plant. They coiled toward the nearest soldiers like

surrounding trees shook violently. The hanging vines stiffened like steel, while the

A vine wrapped around his neck, squeezing until his eyes bulged and his tongue stuck out. His body was

attacking vines. But as soon as they snapped, new buds sprouted from the severed ends. The buds grew into full

suddenly sprang up. Dozens of ferns, about three feet tall, slowly stood upright. Their roots had turned into thick, sturdy legs, and the edges of their leaves sprouted razor-sharp teeth as they

moment his fist touched its leaves, the

seeped into his wounds, he let out a heart-wrenching scream. His arm swelled

them on fire!” Nathaniel

pulled out their firebrands. Before they could light them, the air around them thickened. Countless tiny holes split open in the century-old tree