This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 368, Section 367: The Self-Destructing Elf
At the bottom of the spiral structure of the Shenmu Underground City, the space rippled like water, and two figures quietly emerged.

Emerging were Iros and one of his students, Serdan. This elven mage had stood firmly by Iros's side from the beginning, and he had also played a part in spreading "madness" in the dungeon.

After emerging, Iros did not rush into action, but stood still, lost in thought.

He wasn't thinking about the Puji from earlier; that was just a special magical pet modified by some unknown entity. He could simply deal with it to ensure that the information wouldn't leak out.

He was considering the condition of the sacred tree itself.

Before leaving that space, he carefully examined part of the sacred tree trunk. On a section of the ancient bark, dark red patterns had already begun to appear.

The sacred tree supports the spatial structure of the entire underground city. So many demons filled with "madness" energy died on this land, and their souls remain here, continuously causing pollution. Even the sacred tree itself cannot be completely immune to this erosion.

Once the sacred tree is completely eroded, he can proceed with the next step of his plan.

only……

The rate at which the sacred tree was being eroded was much slower than he had anticipated. According to his initial calculations, the erosion should have been nearing its end by now, and the task should be almost complete.

However, the reality is that the current progress appears to be only about two-thirds complete.

Where exactly did things go wrong?
Captain Eko has been successfully trapped in that isolated space, which was originally a good move to weaken the support of the Elf King Auril.

However, the progress has now fallen far behind, which gives the other party more time to react and undoubtedly increases the variables.

However, Iros was not in a hurry.

Unexpected events are common in planning, and he is fully capable of handling them calmly.

He will personally go to the Elf King and use a pre-prepared excuse to stall for time.

As for Shenmu...

Without direct royal intervention, it was theoretically impossible for anyone to release Eko and Salian, who were trapped inside. However, just to be on the safe side, he left Serdan behind to deal with any unforeseen circumstances.

In fact, the safest way would be to kill Eko and Salian directly, thus eliminating any future troubles.

But seizing power was never his ultimate goal; it was merely a starting point!
After gaining control of the elves, they must leave the comfortable prison that is Ishildorin.

Whether through cooperation or war, the Elven race will need the strength of outstanding individuals like Eko and Salian to face humans, demons, and dwarves in the future.

As for whether they will choose to cooperate afterwards, Iros is not worried.

Now it's just a matter of choosing a different path.

When the dust settles, for the sake of the future of the Elven race as a whole, he believes that even if they harbor resentment, they will eventually compromise.
-
the other side.

That old bastard, he really went all out!
[Fellowship Control] is interrupted. Since the creep has not yet been laid in that area, even if the scout revives after being pooji, it will be temporarily unable to re-establish control.

To be fair, judging solely from what Iros said, Lin Jun actually agreed with some of his views.

Faced with the ever-spreading, all-consuming fog, they chose to close themselves off from the world and retreat into the forest.

To put it nicely, it's about clinging to a corner of the world; to put it bluntly, it's about sitting and waiting for death!

However, recognition does not necessarily mean support. The old man's words were filled with one word—sacrifice.

If he could sacrifice some elves for the future of the elven race, then in his eyes, other races would naturally be even more expendable! As for Puji?

Then it goes without saying, they'd probably be treated as dangerous creatures and not allowed to board the Ark.

When sacrifice is inevitable, Lin Jun hopes that he is the one who has the power to make decisions, rather than waiting for others to decide his fate.

Of course, all these inferences are based on the premise that everything Iros said is true.

In reality, there were so many black information cubes in that space that Iros himself admitted he couldn't decipher them all. Lin Jun felt that he most likely only pieced together his conclusions based on some small, fragmented pieces of information.

The truth remains a huge question.

Lin Jun decided to figure it out herself.

The problem now is, how do we get back?

When Iros used the teleportation access to the Divine Tree Dungeon, he used abyssal magic, and Lin Jun also knows some of it!
Regardless of whether it will succeed, it's always worth a try.

But now, the area beneath the Divine Tree Underground City is either teeming with elves or has never been cleared, and is filled with frenzied monsters.

Are they going to send out Dylan II again?

Lin Jun thought of a more suitable candidate.

……

He gripped the exquisite longbow named "Light Bee" tightly in his hand, while behind him was a specially reinforced backpack full of arrows.

Pelagell, a diamond-level elf ranger who had been persuaded and evoked by Lin Jun over a week, finally repented and turned to the light, accepted this arduous task!

Finally, I can serve the boss!
Perrager's heart was filled with excitement and sincerity!

He was willing to dedicate everything to his boss's great cause!
The only regret is that he still does not fully know the full picture of that "great cause".

Pelagal lived up to his status as an elite ranger. After crossing the rift and arriving at the Sacred Tree Dungeon, even though he was only a Diamond-level ranger, his speed in traversing the forest was no less than that of a half-demon back then.

And for this mission, Pelagal has an advantage that even half-demons can't match!
He didn't need to hide; he could openly proceed to the lower levels without worrying about being detected by any of the other elves besides Iros.

At this moment, the elves' only enemies are those monsters that have gone mad. As for their fellow elves, as long as they are not covered in terrifying red markings and have gone insane, no one will be wary of them.

Of course, to avoid a head-on collision with Iros, who might be heading upwards, Lin Jun still instructed Perrager to avoid the "safe passages" cleared by the elves and instead bypass them by flanking them.

Lin Jun wasn't worried that Perrager might expose anything; preparations for that had already been made.

The basic [Mimicry LV8] makes Perragal look no different from an ordinary elven ranger, and he will not show any abnormalities as long as he is not in a near-death state.

The [Self-Destruct LV9] skill ensures that he completely annihilates any possible traces before his abnormality is exposed.

Anyway, this guy isn't really one of our own, so even if we lose him, Lin Jun won't feel the slightest bit heartache.

Meanwhile, in order to protect their pets from potential danger, two powerful Puji began to gestate on the fungal carpet beneath the Fairy Forest…

(End of this chapter)