On a massive ancient tree’s sturdy branch, a forest frog, nearly invisible against its surroundings, locked eyes on a figure passing below.
Its muscles tensed, ready to unleash its tongue for a lethal strike and a tasty meal once the prey got closer.
But this prey stopped just outside its attack range.
A bowstring twanged. The frog flinched, thinking it was spotted, but the arrow wasn’t aimed at it.
Holding back its urge to leap away, the frog decided to keep watching.
Big mistake. A sharp whistle sliced through the air from its side, no warning at all!
Too late to dodge, an arrow pierced its skull, killing it instantly.
Its body stiffened and plummeted from the high branch.
Pelagel strolled to the twitching frog’s corpse, deftly retrieving his arrow. He didn’t bother with loot, pausing briefly before moving on.
His mission was to investigate the spread of “Madness” in Godwood Dungeon.
Last time, his group turned five tree demons, but a pet beast noticed, forcing them to lie low to avoid trouble.
That meant they couldn’t keep tabs on the dungeon.
In theory, their plan’s first step should’ve gone smoothly, but theories aren’t reality.
At their meeting point, Pelagel and his allies hyped each other up, but deep down, they lacked confidence, secretly dreading potential slip-ups.
After so much time, they sent Pelagel alone to check the lower floors’ progress.
Sending just him showed trust in his skills and kept losses low if things went south.
Climbing another spiral, Pelagel reached the sixth floor, spotting some mycelium in the distance.
His sharp eyes caught the tiny strands even from afar.
These recent mycelium patches reminded him of that Puffshroom pet.
To play it safe, he decided to steer clear and take a detour.
But with Lin Jun already onto him, detouring wasn’t an option.
Half an hour later, Pelagel reached a small slope, just shy of the migrating trees’ territory.
He stopped.
In the slope’s direction, a shadow under a rock twitched slightly—almost imperceptible, but not to Pelagel’s eyes.
No hesitation. He drew his bow in a flash!
The string hummed. An arrow arced strangely, bypassing cover, and thudded into a half-demon’s gut!
“Argh!”
A pained cry rang out. Pelagel nocked his second arrow.
He didn’t know who these ambushers were, but even against a full elf ranger squad, he trusted his terrain and archery to hold his own!
Then his pupils shrank—
From behind the slope, a flood of round, wriggling Puffshrooms surged toward him like a bursting dam!
So many they dwarfed his quiver’s arrows, and more kept coming!
He couldn’t guess their exact intent, but as an archer, close combat was a death sentence.
Pelagel leaped nimbly, darting onto a nearby tree’s branches.
Mid-jump, he twisted, narrowly dodging acid Mushroom Cannons and a scorching fireball.
The fireball came from a lizardman mage, whose buddy just took an arrow to the gut. Eager for revenge, he rashly left cover to cast.
“Idiot looking to die!” Louisa, watching from the rear, scoffed.
She’d drilled it countless times: stay hidden, let Puffshrooms go first. Some fools never listened.
Pelagel steadied himself on the branch and fired a blazing-fast shot!
No fancy arc this time—just raw speed and precision. The lizardman mage had no chance; the arrow pierced his skull.
As the lizardman fell, his Puffshrooms froze, dazed.
This sudden shift lit a spark in Pelagel’s eyes—a chance to break through!
His bow sang again, two arcing arrows wounding two more behind cover, though not fatally.
But now Puffshrooms swarmed up, forcing him to dart and leap across branches.
Spotting the next giant tree, he jumped—only for a Jida below, dual-wielding massive blades, to hack the trunk. The tree tilted and crashed, leaving Pelagel midair with nowhere to land.
Falling, he stayed eerily calm, firing two rapid shots!
One arrow nailed the Jida’s head, another sank into its knee joint.
But Jida had no real joints; the knee shot barely slowed it.
The head’s Scout Puffshroom wasn’t critical either. Though blind, the Jida charged along its preset path, slamming into the falling elf!
The bone-rattling crash sent Pelagel flying like a broken kite, smashing into a distant tree trunk. He slid down limply, his longbow slipping from his hand.
One leg grazed the Jida’s blade mid-fall. Under [Sharpness LV10] and [Claw Strike LV10], his unarmored flesh was frail, sliced clean off.
Puffshrooms quickly seized the downed Pelagel.
“It’s an elf! First one I’ve seen!” Baroque, arrow in his shoulder, grimaced as he reached the Jida, staring at the bound elf in disbelief.
Then envy crept in. “That’s a big score, right? Wonder how many points this’ll get!”
“Woo, woo-woo!” Muffled but excited sounds came from the Jida.
“No clue what you’re saying! Where’s Ergen? He didn’t get shot dead, did he?”
“He says,” Ergen’s voice piped up, unharmed, “he’s never felt this strong. Practically invincible.”
Baroque eyed the mighty Jida, nodding sincerely. “Lucky you… wish I had that knack…” Only a few could pilot Jida.
Their first Puffshroom combat, even the wounded were thrilled.
This elf was diamond-tier, yet their gold-silver squad beat him… mostly thanks to Jida…
With the elf captured, Louisa noted the recruits’ mistakes for later review.
Lin Jun didn’t join the fight. Besides Louisa, an elite Puffshroom squad waited nearby, unneeded.
Picking up the elf’s dropped bow, it seemed like a skill weapon!
Now… time for a heart-to-heart. (Bonus Update 1)
(End of Chapter)
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