This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 340, Page 339: It's all a conspiracy by the demons.

[Race: Pale Pilgrim]

[Level: LV58]

This strange little tree moves in a way similar to a "migratory tree," relying on countless roots that wriggle like tentacles to propel itself forward.

But unlike the migratory tree, which bulldozes everything in its path, its movements are unusually gentle, as if it were gliding.

However, in terms of lethality, it is in no way inferior to the "migratory tree".

Its tree trunk naturally exudes a hazy and soft pale halo, while the nearly transparent, juicy fruits on its branches refract light into dreamlike prismatic colors, dazzling in the darkness, naturally attracting a large number of frenzied demons.

However, most of the frenzied monsters didn't even get close to it before their limbs went limp and they collapsed to the ground, silently waiting for death to come under the corrosive effects of the neurotoxins.

This lethality stems not only from its LV10 neurotoxin, but more importantly, from its LV7 epidermal penetration ability.

The toxins that naturally escape from the surface of the fruit take effect rapidly the moment they come into contact with the monster's skin.

It was only when it encountered monsters like tree spirits, which were naturally immune to poison, that it had to stop moving and use its strong roots to engage in a battle that it was not so "willing" to fight.

This pale pilgrim was not infected by [Madness]. It just happened to pass by this chaotic battlefield and incidentally poisoned dozens of monsters that had lost their basic judgment.

It maintained its unhurried pace, and judging from its direction, its destination seemed to be a deeper realm.

Above its path hung an unremarkable white spider silk. Unaware that an invisible creature, Puji, was attached to the end of the silk.

Just as the sapling passed by, Puji quickly extended its mycelial tentacles and wrapped them around the two plumpest fruits on its branches!

The unusual sensation immediately triggered a reaction from Pale Pilgrimage, with several roots instantly erupting and lashing out like whips at the spot where Puji was!

However, the moment Puji succeeded, the spider silk suddenly yanked upwards, pulling Puji up at an extremely fast speed, causing the roots to hit its own branches in vain.

Puji landed back on a branch high up in the giant tree. The half-demon Bastardos, who had pulled it back, did not pause for a moment. With two swift leaps, it quickly distanced itself from Puji.

Puji's body was now covered in a lot of poisonous mist, and he couldn't guarantee that he could withstand it.

After stuffing the fruit into Puji's body, Lin Jun praised, "Not bad at all, half-demon! You even have spider blood in your ancestors?"

“He’s a half-spider,” Bastardos explained succinctly, then bit off the remaining spider silk in his mouth.

"I thought your spider silk would be like that of a spider monster, shooting out from... um... behind its body." Lin Jun's voice carried a hint of curiosity.

“Some half-demon variants are indeed like that,” Bastardos said calmly.

That's terrible.

Two arrows killed two crazed monsters that tried to pounce on him. Once the poison on Puji's body had mostly dissipated, Bastardos carefully put it back on his back and began to retreat quickly along the original route.

Perhaps because the glowing "Pale Pilgrimage" attracted most of the battlefield's firepower, their retreat went surprisingly smoothly.

Until we reached the tenth floor.

"Number Two, change direction and head to the left front!" Lin Jun suddenly said.

Without asking why, Bastardos immediately changed direction and sped off in the indicated direction.

The boss had demonstrated his powerful reconnaissance abilities to him countless times along the way, and he could do the right thing by following his instructions.

However, this time, the situation seems to be somewhat different.

"Ok?"

"What's wrong, boss?" Bastardos asked, taking a moment to dart among the thick tree branches with his agile skills.

"It seems we've been discovered."

"Discovered? By whom?"

"A group of elves... speed up, they're trying to ambush you!"

Upon hearing this, even though he couldn't see the other person, Bastardos's eyes still flashed with a purple light, like burning ghostly flames.

[Bloodline Enhancement]

This is a skill used to temporarily activate the mixed bloodline abilities within the body; the specific effects vary depending on the bloodline possessed by the half-demon.

For a half-demon like Bastardos, whose lineage is complex, its effect can be seen as a general enhancement spell that can comprehensively improve physical attributes, but will bring some burden.

In fact, ever since the team of elves entered the backpack's reconnaissance range, their every move had been completely exposed to Lin Jun's vision.

Seeing them suddenly change course and accelerate their encirclement, Lin Jun immediately understood that the enemy must have detected Bastardos's presence using some method. However, the elves' reconnaissance was clearly not real-time.

They were unaware that their tactical intentions had been seen through, and even less aware that their target had already begun its sprint from afar.

When the fastest-moving elven ranger in the team arrived at the designated interception point, Bastardos had already become a blurry figure in the distance, almost blending into the dim environment.

"Damn it!" the ranger cursed under his breath, but his reaction was extremely fast.

The instant he realized his interception had failed, he immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow, the whole sequence of movements flowing smoothly!

【Precision LV9】

[Arrow Speed ​​Boost LV6]

【Wind's Blessing LV7】

The moment the enchanted arrow leaves the bowstring, a piercing sound tears through the air!
However, the distance was too far, and Bastardos was prepared. The moment he heard the sound, he suddenly kicked to the side and down!

The arrow, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, grazed his afterimage and pierced the trunk of a giant tree beside him, exploding into a large cloud of flying wood chips!
"What's going on?" the elf captain, who arrived a step too late, asked from below.

Although the captain was of a higher rank, his robust physique made him slightly less agile.

"Captain, the target escaped!" The ranger sheathed his longbow, his voice heavy with resentment and gravity. "It was a demon!"

……

……

……

a few days later.

Salian pushed open the door of the healing center, which exuded a faint floral fragrance, and went straight to the location where the elven squad had returned to rest.

Inside the ward, the Gold-ranked Elf Druid in the team lay quietly on the pristine white hospital bed.

Beneath his exposed skin, faint dark red lines could be seen pulsating slightly.

A healer stood by, his hands hovering above his body, continuously casting a "purification spell." The soft light flowed like a gentle stream, slowly and gradually clearing away the "madness" within him.

Upon seeing Salian's arrival, the elf captain who had been waiting by his side immediately stood up and bowed respectfully: "Lord Salian."

"What happened?" Salian asked, his gaze sweeping over the hospital bed.

The elf captain, with a solemn expression, recounted their exploration experience in detail.

From the abnormalities in the ecosystem at each level, to being evaded by a high-speed moving demon, to finally encountering an unprecedented and completely frenzied monster tide on the fourteenth level.

It was during that chaotic battle that one of the team members was unfortunately infected, forcing them to retreat to the ground.

“Demons…” Salian repeated the word in a low voice.

Does the demon race have a motive to provoke the elves at this delicate time?

The answer is almost certainly yes—absolutely!

The Empire, which is clearly superior to the United Kingdom of Humanity in many aspects such as military strength and resources, is now at a stalemate on the main battlefield.

This was by no means because the empire was incapable of winning; it was simply because it was unable and dared not exert its full strength.

On the empire's eastern front, the dwarf kingdom conducted several large-scale military mobilizations in response to urgent requests for assistance from humans.

Although it did not officially participate in the war, the empire dared not ignore this powerful force and had to allocate a considerable portion of its elite troops to be on guard at all times.

The elves' attitude, however, remained ambiguous.

They hoped that the Empire would drive humanity to the brink of destruction, thereby forcing the "heroes" to reveal themselves and be eliminated by the Empire, thus preventing future troubles.

At the same time, there is concern that humanity's rapid defeat could lead to the Empire becoming the sole superpower, at which point the fate of the elves would be unpredictable.

In this situation, if enough trouble can be created in the territory of the elves and dwarves, such as triggering a bizarre underground ecological disaster, their attention can be effectively diverted, leaving them no time to do anything else.

At that time, the empire will be freed from its many concerns and will be able to mobilize the vast majority of its power to crush humanity with overwhelming force!

With that thought in mind, Salian no longer hesitated and turned to walk quickly out of the healing center.

This matter must be reported to his teacher and the Elf King immediately!
Its importance has even surpassed that of dealing with the "radicals" in the city.

(End of this chapter)