At the bottom of the spiral structure of the Divine Tree Dungeon, the space rippled like water, and two figures quietly appeared.
It was Iros, along with one of his students, Serdan. This elven mage had stood firmly on Iros’s side from the very beginning. He also had a hand in spreading “Madness” throughout the dungeon earlier.
After emerging, Iros did not act immediately. Instead, he stood still, lost in thought.
What occupied his mind was not that Puji just now—that was merely a specially modified magical pet, transformed by some unknown existence. Eliminating it on the spot was enough to prevent information from leaking.
What he was pondering was the condition of the Divine Tree itself.
Before leaving that space, he had deliberately examined part of the Divine Tree’s trunk. On some of the ancient bark, dark red lines had already begun to surface.
The Divine Tree supported the spatial structure of the entire dungeon. With so many magic beasts infused with “Madness” energy dying on this land, their souls lingered here, constantly polluting the area. Even the Divine Tree itself could not remain completely immune to this corruption.
Once the Divine Tree was thoroughly eroded, he could proceed to the next step of his plan.
The problem was…
The erosion of the Divine Tree was happening far more slowly than he had expected. According to his original calculations, the corruption should have been nearly complete by now—the grand undertaking nearly accomplished.
But in reality, the progress was only about two-thirds.
Where had the deviation occurred?
He had already succeeded in trapping Captain of the Guard Eko in that isolated space. That was supposed to be an excellent move to weaken Elf King Aurel’s support.
Yet with the progress lagging so much, it effectively gave the other side more time to react—undeniably adding uncertainty.
Still, Iros did not grow impatient.
Unexpected setbacks were a normal part of any plan. He had more than enough ability to deal with them calmly.
As for the Elf King, he would personally go to him and use the excuse he had long prepared. He only needed to stall for a little more time.
And as for the Divine Tree…
Without direct intervention from the royal family, theoretically, no one could release Eko and Salyan, who were trapped inside. But to be safe, he still left Serdan behind to deal with any unforeseen incidents.
The most foolproof method, of course, would be to kill Eko and Salyan outright, thus eliminating all future troubles.
But seizing power had never been his ultimate goal—that was only the beginning.
Once he took control of the elves, they had to step out of the comfortable cage of Isildorin.
[Minion Control] had been cut off. Since the Mycelium Carpet hadn’t spread to that region yet, even if the scout Puji revived later, he wouldn’t be able to reestablish control right away.
To be fair, judging solely from what Iros had explained, Lin Jun actually agreed with parts of his viewpoint.
Faced with the ever-expanding, all-devouring Mist, choosing to seal themselves away and hide in the forest?
Putting it nicely, that was clinging to one corner in peace. Put harshly, that was waiting to die!
But agreeing did not mean supporting him. Between the lines of the old guy’s words, a single concept was obvious—sacrifice.
If he was willing to sacrifice some elves for the future of the race, then to him, other species were naturally even more expendable.
As for the Puji?
There was even less to say. They’d surely be classified as dangerous creatures, barred from boarding the Ark.
When sacrifice was inevitable, Lin Jun wanted to be the one holding the right to decide—not waiting for others to dictate his fate.
Of course, all these speculations were based on Iros’s words being entirely true.
But in reality, that space had been filled with countless black information cubes, and Iros himself admitted he hadn’t deciphered them all. Lin Jun suspected he had merely pieced together conclusions from small fragments.
The true situation still remained full of doubt.
Lin Jun decided he would uncover it himself.
The current problem was—how to get back?
Iros had used Abyssal magic to borrow the Divine Tree Dungeon’s teleportation authority. Lin Jun knew some of it too!
Whether it worked or not, it was worth a try.
But beneath the Divine Tree Dungeon now, the place was either crawling with elves or left uncleared, swarming with crazed monsters.
Did he have to send Dylan No. 2 again?
Lin Jun thought of a better candidate.
…
In his hand was the exquisite longbow named “Light Bee,” and on his back was a specially reinforced backpack Puji filled with arrows.
This was none other than the former Ark Organization member who, after more than a week of Lin Jun’s reasoning and persuasion, had finally seen the light and turned to his side—the diamond-ranked elven ranger, Pelagel. He had accepted this arduous mission!
At last, he could serve the Boss!
Pelagel’s heart burned with excitement and loyalty.
For the Boss’s great cause, he was willing to give everything!
His only regret was that to this day, he still did not fully understand what exactly that “great cause” was.
Pelagel, however, was every bit the elite ranger. After stepping through the rift into the Divine Tree Dungeon, even at diamond rank, his speed weaving through the forest was no slower than that of the half-demons.
And in this mission, Pelagel had advantages those half-demons lacked!
He didn’t need to hide. He could march openly toward the lower levels without fear of being noticed by other elves, aside from Iros himself.
At this moment, the elves’ only enemies were the frenzied beasts. As long as he wasn’t covered in dreadful red lines and completely lost to Madness, no one would view him with suspicion.
Still, to avoid the chance of running into Iros on his way up, Lin Jun instructed Pelagel to avoid the elves’ cleared “safe passages” and instead circle through the flanks.
Lin Jun wasn’t worried about Pelagel exposing anything—he’d already prepared for that long ago.
With [Mimicry LV8], Pelagel appeared no different from an ordinary elven ranger. Unless he entered a near-death state, no abnormalities would show.
And [Self-Destruct LV9] would ensure that if anything was exposed, he could obliterate all traces before they were left behind.
In any case, this guy didn’t count as a true comrade. Even if he was lost, Lin Jun wouldn’t feel the slightest regret.
Elsewhere, to protect his pets from potential danger, upon the Mycelium Carpet beneath the Elven Forest, two powerful Pujis were beginning to gestate…