Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 137

Chapter 137 Different Terrains

Chapter 137 Different Terrains

She moved toward it without hesitation, but just as her fingers were about to close around the vine, she froze.

Something felt wrong.

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The way these vines hung there… it was a little too perfect. As if they’d been placed deliberately, right within easy reach.

Riley narrowed her eyes, studying them closely..

No health bar showed above.

Maybe I’m just being paranoid. She thought, shaking her head slightly. This was the Beast Forest-wild, overgrown plants were part of the scenery.

Gripping her axe tighter, she aimed for the thickest vine and swung.

The instant the curved blade made contact, a sharp whoosh cut through the air, and everything shifted in an instant.

The so-called “Dragonblood Vine,” which had been utterly still, suddenly sprang to life like a snake whose tail had been stepped on. Before Riley could even process it, the three other vines disguised as gnarled roots erupted from the soil in a spray of dirt and decay, bringing with them a gust of foul, damp air. Like pythons coiling around their prey, they lashed around her legs and waist in

an instant.

Only then did a bright red health bar flicker into view above the writhing mass.

“Disguiser: Strangler Vine (Lv.10 Elite Monster)

“Skills: Mimic Camouflage, Powerful Constriction, Blood-Drinking Thorns”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Even the system tips can’t be trusted,” Riley muttered under her breath, a sharp edge of frustration in

her tone.

This thing had stayed hidden in “Item” mode until the very second it attacked, only switching to “Monster” mode then-it could even mask its health bar completely.

A crushing pressure immediately seized her, tight and relentless.

“Creeeak-!”

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A low, unsettling sound groaned from her armor as the vine’s serrated thorns scraped against the metal plates protecting her thighs. Sparks flew where they struck, scoring the surface with sharp, grating shrieks.

Seizing the split-second delay, Riley gritted her teeth, let out a rough grunt, and clamped both hands onto the main vine coiled around her torso. With a powerful heave, she pulled back-hard.

Instead of dragging her down, the monster found itself wrenched violently from its hiding place in the earth!

“Skreeee-!!!”

It released a piercing, rodent-like shriek.

In the same fluid motion, Riley swung her right arm down. The blue-tinged axe blade carved a sharp, cold arc through the dim

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Chapter 137 Different Terrains

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forest tight.

“Thwack!”

The axe connected cleanly. A fountain of viscous green sap sprayed out, drenching Riley’s front.

“Hissss-!!!”

The thickest primary vine had been severed smoothly, the cut surface gleaming wetly.

Blinded by pain and rage, the monster thrashed wildly, its remaining tendrils lashing out in a desperate counterattack.

Every swing of Riley’s axe brought another spray of sap and another shrill cry from the creature.

Now it understood fear. Its vine-like body convulsed, trying desperately to loosen its grip on Riley and retreat into the undergrowth.

But Riley wasn’t letting it go. She pressed forward, axe swinging left and right, chasing down each flailing appendage.

In under five minutes, the rainforest terror that had ended so many newcomers’ runs early had been reduced by Riley to a twitching, bare stalk. All that remained was its bulbous base, quivering weakly on the trampled forest floor.

“Lv.10 Disguiser: Strangler Vine defeated.

“Experience gained: 50 points. Experience capacity reached. Please initiate class advancement at the earliest opportunity.”

Riley exhaled a harsh breath, flicking globs of green goo from her axe blade.

“That was too close.”

Even in victory, a cold ripple of hindsight tension ran through her. The monsters in this dungeon were alarmingly cunning-they’d evolved to use bait. If she hadn’t been wearing that new set of fare-grade armor, things might’ve ended very differently.

Pulling a piece of hardened journey-bread from her inventory, she took a bite, then knelt to examine the spot where the monster’s corpse had dissolved.

A few items lay there, undisturbed.

Alongside a bundle of “Flexible Vine Fiber” (crafting material) and a “Corrosive Venom Gland”, there were alss three… orbs?

Each was about the size of a ping-pong ball, completely transparent with a crystalline sheen, A metallic band was embedded around each center, giving them a sleek, high-tech appearance that looked utterly out of place in the primeval gloom.

Riley picked one up.

“Obtained: Basic Containment Sphere x3

“Item: Basic Containment Sphere

“Quality: Special/Consumable

“Function: A capture device utilizing spatial-compression technology.

“Usage: After weakening a designated forest creature to a critical state, throw the Containment Sphere. There is a chance to

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