This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 167, Section 166: Onward
"Raise your shields!" The stern shout echoed through the forest.

With her [Vision of Truth] activated, Soralin, as the main force in mine clearance, kept searching back and forth for suspicious traces on the ground.

Some mushrooms growing in the forest caused her considerable trouble in identifying them, to the point that she failed to notice the fat otaku Puji hiding in the tree in time.

The church warriors truly lived up to their reputation as a well-coordinated and battle-tested force.

Moments after Solalyn gave the order, the Holy Symbol shields intertwined above everyone's heads to form a dome.

However, it was too late. The golden light of the [Sacred Barrier] had not yet fully dissipated, and the three fat otaku were about to fall.

The fifteenth member at the very back of the group rushed out before Soralin could speak, leaping into the air by stepping on an adventurer's shoulder.

cut!
The three fat otaku were all cut in half.

However, before the crowd below could even rejoice, they saw even more Puji burst out of the fat otaku Puji's body.

Some of these pukki were caught in the blast and killed, some were stopped by the barrier, but some still fell into the crowd.

People near the point of impact instinctively tried to dodge, block, or retaliate, but this only caused more chaos.

A warrior tried to use his gauntlet to swat away the incoming thud, but at the moment of contact—

boom!
A blinding green light mixed with a viscous, corrosive liquid exploded violently! As a signal, more explosions echoed through the crowd.

"Ugh—!"

"my eyes!"

"Shield! Raise your shield! Protect the caster!"

Screams, explosions, and the sizzling sound of corrosion instantly filled the surroundings.

The adventurers were in complete disarray, but the church warriors displayed a level of organization far exceeding that of the adventurers.

Even though they exploded nearby and were covered in corrosive slime, they still held up the [Holy Barrier], blocking most of the shockwaves and debris from above; otherwise, the situation would have been much worse.

Of course, this is also related to their better equipment and ability to withstand more damage.

Puji's offensive did not end there. Taking advantage of the chaos in the human formation, Puji, who had been lying in ambush in the forest by digging tunnels, attacked from both sides.

"Hold the formation! Don't panic!" a church squad leader shouted hoarsely.

However, while he could command his church warriors, he could not command adventurers.

In the chaos, while most adventurers stood with the church warriors, some still chose to act cleverly.

They might use their speed to escape in the direction they came from, or they might use stealth or other means to try to hide and wait for the crisis to pass.

These methods might have indeed allowed them to escape danger in other situations, but they were clearly the wrong options for Lin Jun.

With multiple reconnaissance perspectives, ordinary adventurers simply cannot truly hide in dungeons.

The person who escaped was caught by Puji, who had been waiting for them, after running back to the first floor.

As for those who are invisible or disguised, a group of puffers will inadvertently pass by their location, and then they will truly disappear.

Sixth-tier mental magic - Group pain immunity!
With Aidin's intervention, the previously chaotic team quickly stabilized.

But Aidin's face looked terribly pale.

The moment he was ambushed, Aidin created several illusions around him to attack, but the pukki ignored the illusions and focused their attacks on his real body.

Aidin had no choice but to hide in the church's ranks, where he was protected by a pile of gold and silver.

This feeling of being restricted made him somewhat regretful that he had come down with them.

Fortunately, the crisis didn't last long—the 15th day of the month kicked in.

Realizing he had been tricked by the Puji, Fifteen, in a fit of shame and anger, unleashed his full power.

With the near-max level of [Swift Step], Fifteen moved through the forest like a gust of wind, leaving swathes of Puji lying in her wake like wheat being harvested by a sickle. At first, the self-destructing Puji mixed in with the group managed to cause Fifteen some trouble, but after figuring out the trick, Fifteen stopped getting close and instead used her sword winds from a distance to take them down.

Nearly two hundred Puji were wiped out in less than eight minutes.

To be honest, it was a bit unexpected for Lin Jun.

Although she didn't think she could cripple the team so easily, Lin Jun had assumed the Puji would harass them for a little longer, but it only lasted less than ten minutes...

"How is the situation?" Fifteen asked, sheathing his sword and adjusting his breathing.

After a brief silence, Solalyn's voice rang out, tinged with weariness and heaviness: "Initial count: one church warrior killed, one seriously wounded. Adventurers... five missing, three killed, three seriously wounded."

She turned off [Vision of Truth], rubbed her throbbing temples, and realized that the corpses scattered all over the ground were greatly obstructing her vision. With the skill active, everything she saw was a blur, so she decided to turn it off.

Solalyn didn't mention minor injuries, as those with minor injuries would recover quickly with the priest's healing. The so-called serious injuries referred to damage that could not be reversed by ordinary healing spells.

For example, blindness, or amputation...

Such severe injuries can still be treated if one can purchase special potions at great expense after leaving the dungeon.

But the team was still in the dungeon and there was nothing they could do.

"Damn it!" Fifteen cursed under his breath, his face dark and showing no sign of having won.

He hadn't expected that the losses would be so severe from just the first wave of contact.

The cunning of those creatures far exceeded expectations, especially their corrosive slime, which was a disaster for adventurers without heavy armor.

He saw several warriors injured by the corrosive slime, their bodies mangled and their bones exposed, receiving emergency treatment from the accompanying chaplain.

Although the soldier tried his best to suppress his voice, his distorted face revealed his pain.

Aiding had to add a group pain immunity measure at the right time.

“The problem now,” Aiden walked over, frowning, and asked, “is what to do with these wounded?”

“We can’t abandon them. They probably won’t be able to get out of this underground city on their own.” After a moment’s thought, Fifteen judged, “Puji even has a combination of traps and ambushes, so there’s probably another ambush on the way back.”

"Then... send some people to escort them out?" Aiding asked hesitantly, even though he knew it was inappropriate.

"How many?" Solalin bluntly pointed out the crux of the matter. "Too many people, and we won't have enough to advance our combat force; too few people, and if we encounter an ambush, we'll just be feeding the Puji to ourselves."

"Now?"

"The team's core combat force has not been truly lost, and the number of wounded is also small. Carrying them will not slow down the overall progress."

Solalyn’s voice was steady and powerful, but then she changed the subject, revealing an unprecedented seriousness.

"However, the combat power that Puji has shown has far exceeded our previous estimates."

We must proceed with extreme caution and prudence in our next exploration.

If the situation changes, a decisive retreat must be made, and a new plan should be formulated after the retreat.

As she spoke, Solalin's eyes remained fixed on Fifteen.

In Solalyn's view, Aidin was just a mercenary who worked for a paycheck, and he wouldn't be shortchanged on pay during the retreat, so he naturally wouldn't have any objections.

What she feared was that the strongest one, Fifteen, might not cooperate.

Fifteen clearly understood what she meant and relinquished the right to speak: "You are the commander, you make the decisions."

Aidin, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

In reality, Solalyn didn't know enough about Aidin.

If she were to retreat, Aidin would not only have no objections, but would even wholeheartedly support it...

(End of this chapter)