This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 363, Section 362: The Noble Scavenger

Iros arrived at the entrance camp of the Divine Tree Dungeon, and behind him were several students, including Salian with the scout's puff on his head, as well as seven other mages.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the tranquility and peace of the city in the trees.

Temporarily reinforced fences and barriers shimmering with runic light surrounded the camp. The elven rangers hurried along, their faces showing obvious fatigue and vigilance, and even the air was filled with a faint smell of blood.

A ranger squad leader, clad in light armor and carrying a longbow, quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Iros: "Your Excellency, the Captain of the Guard has ordered me to be here to receive you all."

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a suppressed and painful howl came from the direction of the medical tent not far away, the sound filled with inhuman frenzy.

Iros stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction the voice came from: "Is it an infection? Take me to see the wounded first."

The squad leader's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately nodded: "Yes, Chief."

When the ranger squad leader led Iros and the others over, the two elven rangers were carrying a druid out together.

“What’s wrong with him? Is he alright?” Salian asked.

One of the rangers explained, "It's not a big deal. Dui was just pushing himself too hard. He'll be fine after a day of rest!"

Judging from the way the two wandering knights looked, it seemed that this wasn't the first time they'd encountered something like this.

Inside the medical tent, several exhausted-looking druids sat in front of some bound elves, maintaining the glow of the Purification spell in their hands.

Under the continued effect of the purification spell, the elves with dark red markings on their bodies remained relatively quiet.

A few druids, exhausted, were sprawled out on the chairs a little further away, fast asleep.

"Chief?!" A druid quickly recognized the person who had just arrived.

Iros glanced at the druids' pale faces and said, "I'll lend a hand; you should all take a rest."

He took two steps forward, his lips moved silently twice, and then he raised his hand.

A soft yet powerful radiance rippled outwards from him, instantly enveloping the entire medical area like waves.

The light was not dazzling, but it carried a powerful, pure energy.

Inside the tent, the signs of infection on the wounded melted away rapidly, like snow meeting the sun. Some of the wounded even made comfortable "humming" sounds while they slept.

The effect was so powerful that even the scout Puji felt a bit fuller!
The ranger squad leader was the first to react. He excitedly placed his right hand on his chest and bowed deeply to Iros: "Thank you for your help, Chief!"

The druids nearby finally snapped out of their shock, their faces filled with awe and admiration:

"Such a powerful area purification... it actually worked instantly..."

"As expected of Chief of Iros..."

Iros simply nodded slightly. He turned to the squad leader, his tone still calm: "Now, take us to the front lines."

"Yes! Please come with me."

The squad leader led the team into the dungeon, explaining the current situation as they went: "The current clearing and reconnaissance work is mainly focused on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors, and progress... is extremely difficult. The monsters entrenched there were already powerful, and now, due to the infection, they have become extremely ferocious and aggressive, completely disregarding their own casualties. What's even more troublesome is the logistics line; every time we advance a distance, we need to expend tremendous effort to reinforce the defenses."

They are currently walking on the "safe path" pioneered by the rangers.

Along the path, one can occasionally see charred, magically burned patches or arrows deeply embedded in tree trunks—all traces of battle.

Looking up, one could see elven rangers standing at intervals on the giant tree, wary of the crazed monsters that might suddenly pounce.

As Salian descended, he could clearly sense that the entire Sacred Tree Underground City had become much more desolate; the monsters that used to be everywhere were now nowhere to be found. However, there were exceptions.

In the forest, there were more and more Puji and slimes, and the whole way there were scenes of them chasing each other.

The rangers guarding the route were already used to this. As long as Puji and the slime did not attack first, they ignored them and let them roam around nearby.

This is because the madness that erodes the mind is not effective for all living beings.

Creatures like Puji and Slimes, which have almost no complex minds and act solely on their most primal instincts, are thus exempt from infection.

Their thinking is so simple that it cannot be distorted, and therefore they are not afraid of madness.

In fact, there are several species in the dungeon that are unaffected, but Puji and Slime, as typical scavengers, are feasted on this disaster.

The cleanup operation left behind a large number of monster corpses, which the elves were too busy to deal with thoroughly, so these abundant resources were naturally devoured by the monsters.

With food so plentiful, the numbers naturally exploded.

Salian watched the ordinary Poogies running around aimlessly, his brow furrowed slightly, and he subconsciously raised his hand to pat the unusually well-behaved little Poogie on his head.

Unlike its kind, Chii clearly possesses higher intelligence, but because of this, it may now be at risk of being infected.

This thought made him wary; he needed to keep a close eye on the little guy.

After all, if something really went wrong, he would end up going back to see his sister with a pile of broken pieces... He didn't even want to think about that scene.

The other elves, however, had different insights.

"The accumulation of Shenmu over the years...sigh..." Serdan, a fellow student of Iros, sighed softly as he looked at the scene before him.

His sentiments resonated with several monks around him, and they all nodded in agreement.

Some even began to discuss in hushed tones the ecological reconstruction plan after the war ended, considering whether it was necessary to deliberately introduce specific monsters from the outside world to accelerate the recovery process.

Perhaps it was good luck, or perhaps the clearing work done by the rangers ahead was thorough enough, but they did not encounter any monster attacks on their journey, and their trip went unexpectedly smoothly.

When they arrived at the front line, the area was completely different from the desolate landscape they had been in before.

It was lively, even a little too lively!

The monster's sharp, mournful howls and roars never ceased, like endless background noise constantly assaulting the eardrums.

In the deep darkness, a swift streak of light from an arrow would occasionally flash, or a huge fireball would explode, briefly illuminating the shadows ahead.

Due to the large number and continuous casting of spells, the magic concentration in the entire area became extremely unstable, fluctuating violently like the tides.

This abnormal energy environment disrupted the magical circulation within Salian and his companions, who were new to the area, causing them to feel nauseous and uncomfortable.

"Go ahead and vomit! You'll get used to it after a few times!" Amidst the chaos, accompanied by a loud voice, Captain Eko, covered in mud and dark red bloodstains, strode forward.

Under the flickering light of the magic crystal lamp, he walked straight towards Iros. "Iros! The King has finally decided to send you to provide support!"

As he spoke, he opened his stained arms, seemingly wanting to give his old friend a warm hug.

But when he was only one step away, he stopped abruptly as a slender yet resilient root emerged from the soil and wrapped around his ankle.

“Dirty,” Iros refused expressionlessly.

(End of this chapter)