This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 326, Section 325: Ambush
On a thick branch of a huge ancient tree, a forest frog, almost completely blending into its environment, is intently watching a figure walk by below.

Its muscles are taut, waiting for its prey to get a little closer before its long tongue shoots out and instantly takes its life, bringing itself a delicious meal.

However, this time the prey stopped just outside its attack range.

Immediately, a soft twang of a bowstring startled the forest frog, who thought he had been exposed, but the arrow was not aimed at him.

Seeing this, the forest frog, which was about to leap away, suppressed its impulse and decided to continue observing the prey's next move.

But the next second, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from its side without warning!

The frog tried to jump and dodge, but it was too late. The arrow pierced its head and instantly killed it.

Its body stiffened, and it fell from the high branch.

Perrager walked slowly to the still slightly twitching corpse of the forest frog, deftly pulled out the arrow, and did not collect any materials. He only paused briefly before continuing on his way.

His purpose in this trip was to investigate the spread of the "madness" phenomenon in the underground city of Shenmu.

In their last operation, they successfully transformed five tree spirits, but were unexpectedly discovered by a magical pet, forcing them to keep a low profile for a period of time to avoid any accidents.

Therefore, it is impossible to continuously monitor the condition of the underground city.

Although in theoretical deduction, the first step of the plan should proceed smoothly, that is ultimately just theory.

At the meeting point, Perrager and his companions encouraged each other verbally, but deep down they lacked confidence and were secretly worried about possible accidents.

With so much time already passed, they finally decided to send Perrager to infiltrate the lower levels to confirm the progress.

Sending only him was both out of trust in his exceptional skills and to minimize losses should an accident occur.

After completing another spiral, Perrager finally returned to the sixth floor, where some mycelium caught his eye in the distance.

He has excellent eyesight and can clearly detect these tiny things even from a great distance.

These recently appeared mycelium reminded him of that Puji demon pet.

To be on the safe side, he decided to avoid this area and take a detour.

However, now that Lin Jun has her eye on him, he obviously can no longer "avoid" her.

Half an hour later, Perragal came to a small slope, and a little further on, he entered the range of the migratory trees.

However, he stopped in his tracks.

On the slope, a seemingly natural rock shadow shifted slightly. This almost imperceptible anomaly did not escape Perrager's notice.

Without the slightest hesitation, Pelagal drew his bow and nocked an arrow with lightning speed!

The bowstring hummed, and an arrow did not fly straight, but drew a strange arc, bypassing the cover in front, and with a "thud," it accurately pierced the abdomen of a half-demon!

"Ugh!"

A cry of pain rang out, and Pelagal's second arrow was already nocked on the bow.

He was still unsure of the ambushers' exact identities, but even against an entire squad of elven rangers, he was confident he could outmaneuver them using his terrain and archery skills!

However, the next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted—

Behind the small slope, countless round, plump things surged and writhed like a burst dam, rushing towards him!
The number of arrows far exceeded the total number of arrows in his quiver, and they were still pouring in!
Even without knowing the specific intentions of these approaching creatures, as an archer, staying away from close combat was an instinctive choice. With a few nimble leaps, Pelagal swiftly darted onto the branches of a nearby giant tree.

Along the way, he also twisted his body and narrowly avoided several shots of acid mushroom cannons and a scorching fireball.

The fireball originated from a lizardman mage whose companion had just been shot through the abdomen by an arrow. Eager for revenge, he impulsively jumped out of cover to cast a spell.

"You stupid idiot who's asking for death!" Louisa, watching from the back of the group, gave her assessment.

I've emphasized it so many times: hide yourself and let Puji go first, but there are always idiots who can't remember.

Sure enough, the moment Pelagal landed on the branch, he turned around and fired a straight shot as fast as a meteor!

This arrow had no fancy arc, but it carried absolute speed and precision. The lizardman mage had no time to react before the arrow pierced his skull.

As the lizardman fell, the pugs he controlled immediately froze.

This sudden turn of events gave Pelagal, who was already feeling immense pressure due to the sheer number of enemies, a glimmer of hope for breaking the deadlock!
His bowstring twanged again, and two more arrows shot out in an arc, wounding two other guys hiding behind cover, but not killing them instantly.

At this moment, the Puji also fluttered up, forcing him to move at high speed and jump to dodge among the branches of the giant tree.

Just as he spotted the next giant tree and leaped into the air, Jida, whose hands were wielding giant blades, cleaved the tree trunk in two. The giant tree tilted and collapsed, and Perragal, who was in mid-air, lost his footing and fell to the ground.

Seeing the charging Jida, he displayed astonishing composure as he fell, his bowstring snapped, and he fired two arrows in quick succession!

One arrow pierced Jida's head precisely, while the other sank deep into its knee joint.

However, Jida did not have any joints in the true sense, so being shot in the knee had almost no impact on his movement.

The head scout, Puji, wasn't the key. Although it lost its ability to observe, Jida still charged along the pre-set trajectory and crashed hard into the falling Pokémon!
The heavy impact was teeth-grinding. Peragel was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the trunk of a tree in the distance before sliding softly to the ground, his longbow flying from his hand.

One of its legs even grazed Jida's giant blade during its descent. With the double enhancement of [Sharpness LV10] and [Claw Strike LV10], its flesh and blood body, which had not been specially reinforced in terms of defense, appeared so fragile that it was easily cut off.

Peragel, who had fallen to the ground, was quickly grabbed by the Puji.

"The enemy is an elf! This is the first time I've ever seen one!" Baroque, who had been shot in the shoulder, grimaced as he ran to Jida's side, looking at the elf who was bound hand and foot, his tone filled with disbelief.

Then her expression turned to envy: "You've done a great service, haven't you? I wonder how many contribution points you'll get as a reward!"

"Mmm! Mmmmm!" A muffled but excited sound came from inside the Jida.

"I can't understand a word! Where's Ergen? Could he have been shot dead?"

“He said,” Ergen’s voice came from the side, seemingly unharmed, “that he had never felt so powerful, practically invincible.”

Upon hearing this, Baroque looked at the mighty Gida beside him and nodded sincerely: "That's great... It's a pity I don't have that talent..." Indeed, only a few people are qualified to control Gida.

Even the injured person was excited about controlling Puji in actual combat for the first time.

The Pokémon's strength was clearly at the Diamond level; it was quite an achievement that a group of Gold and Silver Pokémon were able to defeat them... although it was mostly thanks to Jida...

The elves were captured, and Louisa took notes on the various problems these recruits had, making them reflect on and correct them afterward.

Lin Jun did not participate in the entire battle. Apart from Louisa who was present, there was also an elite Puji squad waiting in the distance, which seemed to be of no use.

Pick up the bow that the elf dropped on the ground; it seems to be a skill weapon!
Next... it's time for a heart-to-heart talk. (Bonus chapter for the 1st)
(End of this chapter)