“You two, go in and scout ahead.”
Outside the cave, the viscount pointed toward the deep passage. Her words made Hark feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
All along the way they had cleared the hidden and flying Pujis, and Hark had gained a clear understanding of how dangerous this floor really was.
As a level 42 Gold-rank, it was utterly impossible for him to survive here alone.
Hark really couldn’t figure out how the adventurers on this side usually managed—did they only ever move around the first four floors?
And now, the viscount wanted him and another person to explore this obviously suspicious tunnel?
If even a few exploding Pujis popped up in this kind of terrain, he had no confidence at all that he could escape…
But he had no choice. Under the viscount’s oppressive gaze, Hark had no option but to grit his teeth and step inside.
The slanted tunnel stretched into darkness, but fortunately, Hark’s illumination spell lit up the uneven upward path beneath their feet.
If he hadn’t been a mage with illumination, perhaps the viscount would have chosen someone else instead, Hark thought to himself.“How long is this path supposed to be?”
By the third time his companion grumbled the same thing, the two of them finally reached a chamber.
Smoothly carved stone walls, eight oddly shaped support pillars, and at the very back—a stone altar with a yellowed book resting atop it.
“Is that the holy scripture the viscount mentioned?”
If they brought it back to her, that would surely count as a great achievement!
That was what Hark thought, but his body remained motionless.
His companion, who had been ready to step forward, glanced at Hark standing immovable as a mountain. With a sly grin, he too stayed put.
Tch!
This was exactly the type Hark hated most—calculating and shrewd.
Moments like this made him nostalgic for Duanfu, who would always charge in like a fool.
Pupu—
While the two of them hesitated, four Pujis emerged from behind the stone altar—two with scales and two without.
More Pujis?
Hark swept his gaze around. No other monsters.
If it was just four of them…
He and his companion exchanged a look.
“I’ll support with spells.”
This time the other man didn’t refuse. He nodded—danger didn’t seem too great.
Fourth-tier spell—Wind Speed!
Second-tier spell—Wind Blade!
The acceleration buff flowed into his charging teammate, while Hark slashed out a Wind Blade, aiming to take down one Puji first.
But just before it landed, a black whip lashed through the air.
Like clashing steel, a Puji swung its bladed mycelium tail, neatly intercepting the Wind Blade.
“What?”
If the Puji had dodged, Hark could have accepted that—but shattering his Wind Blade outright?
And then he noticed—the two scaleless Pujis were suddenly gathering massive amounts of magic power…
“Careful!”
Luckily his companion wasn’t a rookie. With the speed boost, he barely dodged the sudden magical explosions, then clashed head-on with the scaled Pujis.
It was obvious now—these four Pujis were no ordinary creatures, nothing like the self-destructing ones outside.
The fight quickly hit a stalemate.
Hark decided to take drastic action—and be ruthless to his teammate!
More and more magic gathered at the tip of his staff, a long buildup before release—
Sixth-tier spell—Great Storm!
Countless spinning wind blades surged forward, indiscriminately sweeping the field.
“Hark! You mother%&）*&￥…@”
Amid his companion’s furious curses, the storm shredded the two scaleless Pujis, and even carved wounds into the scaled ones.
As for his teammate—unfortunately, he turned into a bloody mess. Still alive, though.
But with only two injured Pujis left, finishing them would be easy…
Smug, Hark’s eyes wandered toward a nearby stone pillar—
And froze.
The storm had torn away some outer rock, revealing pale Puji flesh underneath.
A chill shot straight through him!
He scanned the other pillars. Beneath fallen fragments, the same white Puji bodies lurked!
“Run!”
He bolted without hesitation. His teammate cursed after him, but Hark didn’t care—his shouted warning was all the morality he had left.
Whether these hidden Pujis were explosive or combative, there was no way he could deal with them. He’d go report to the viscount and let her handle it!
But when he finally staggered back outside, he was met with a battlefield of craters, scattered corpses he vaguely recognized, and in the distance—Viscount-sama herself, fighting amidst a sea of Pujis…
Yes, a Puji sea!
Countless glowing Pujis bombarded her with artillery fire, while she transformed blood into fine threads and shot them outward.
Hark could guess well enough where that blood had come from…
Though she looked fierce, he instantly judged she couldn’t win—her blood reserves were low, and the Pujis endless.
Even worse—he saw some Pujis pierced clean through by her blood threads, yet after lying still a while, they stood back up again!
No way in hell!
Without hesitation, Hark pulled out a scroll—Invisibility!
Then layered Wind Speed onto himself, and while the viscount drew almost all the firepower, he slipped away!
He had no idea what the future held, but at least he’d save his own skin for now.
…
Lin Jun noticed the coward slipping away, but with all the Pujis focused on the vampire, he couldn’t be bothered to spare troops to chase him.
Instead, he quietly spawned some Pujis on the upper floors to block his escape route.
This time, Lin Jun deliberately refrained from sending in Xiao Hei—he wanted to test how it felt to face a Diamond-ranked opponent himself.
But right from the start, he took a hit.
Every bat Puji she struck down with her blood threads crashed lifelessly to the ground.
Her blood control was even stronger than Lakus’s. Precision, wide-range, multi-target attacks—truly formidable.
Strong, yes—but not restraining.
After that lesson, Lin Jun only sent in ground troops, all equipped with [Mycelium Reformation LV4].
Her blood threads caused only minor wounds. Even if they killed a Puji, under [Mycelium Reformation] they would soon crawl back up.
Combined with their sheer overwhelming numbers, the Pujis achieved a truly endless effect.
The vampire surely noticed, but aside from drinking poison to quench her thirst, she had no solution.
Her retreat was sealed, her blood drawn from cannon fodder dwindling with each use…
Even if she had more blood, she still couldn’t break through. Blood control consumed mana as well, and by now her reserves were nearly spent.
Assaulted from every angle, without pause, she never even had a chance to transform and flee. She could only slaughter the Pujis in front of her, over and over.
At last, her magic was exhausted. The remaining blood sphere in her hand burst apart, while the ocean of Pujis ahead still stretched without end…
——
When Vera led the twins out of the dungeon, he instinctively halted.
Something was wrong.
The surroundings were too quiet. No adventurers passing, no animals, not even the gate guards.
“Vera?” Filin asked curiously.
Leaving the dungeon, Filin had naturally relaxed her vigilance.
“We’re going back.”
Though Vera didn’t know what had happened, he decided they should retreat and observe.
Fourth-tier Light spell—Light Barrier!
A shining wall suddenly sprang up behind them, blocking their way back. From the woods came the sound of many marching feet.
Vera instantly drew his curved blade, standing guard with Filin and Fiyin, while scanning for any chance of escape.
But soon they saw the insignia on their encircling foes.
“The Church?”
A company of church warriors formed up, their well-kept armor gleaming in the sun.
“Our target is the demons. The three of you need not resist.”
Behind them, Priest Mayne maintained the barrier while urging Vera’s group not to struggle.
Blocked off, facing no fewer than thirty warriors—none below Silver-rank—Vera had no choice but to lower his weapon.
After a quick search, they were cleared of suspicion.
That was no surprise. With Solarin’s [Truth Vision] silent and nothing suspicious on their bodies, they were unlikely to be part of the demons’ group.
Mayne’s team had already checked many adventurers like them today, and still hadn’t found the demon party.
Bang—bang bang bang—!
Sudden crashes drew everyone’s attention to the dungeon gate.
Filthy, disheveled, staff lost—Hark staggered out, slapping both hands frantically against the light wall.
“Quick! Let me out! Let me out!”
Then, as if something unseen hooked him from the blind spot of everyone’s vision, he was yanked to the ground.
“Shit! Let go of me! Help! Help—”
His shrill screams left everyone stunned.
Solarin leapt from the ranks and dashed toward the gate, shouting, “Mayne, the barrier!”
Mayne snapped out of it and hurriedly dispelled the wall blocking the exit.
But when Solarin rushed inside the dungeon hall and searched around, there was no one to be found. The hall branched into multiple corridors, and the man who had cried for help had been dragged who-knows-where. On the ground, she picked up a small dropped box.
“What happened?” Mayne demanded, running up anxiously.
Solarin shook the box, spilling out several gray-white pellets. “Mayne, we may not be waiting for those demons after all…”