BOOM——
The explosion echoed through the forest under the night sky.
Vera knew that was Fei Ling using Thunder Arrows to stop the flesh monster pursuing them from behind.
"Don't stop, it'll catch up to us again soon."
Hearing Fei Ling's words, Vera, who was carrying Fei Yin on her back, quickened her pace even more.
In fact, if it weren't for that monster being reluctant to abandon the chunks of flesh that got blown away, always having to go back and collect them each time—
The three of them would have been caught long ago.
Even so, Fei Ling's Thunder Arrows were now depleted. The next time they were caught up to, they probably wouldn't be able to escape.
The reason the three of them were here was naturally because the main gate had already fallen.
The collapse happened in an instant.
Not long after the branch president named Oberon finished speaking, that terrifying monster had burrowed up from the dungeon.
Vera still remembered what it looked like when it emerged.
Diamond-shaped scales shimmering with strange iridescence under the setting sun, dark green venom constantly seeping from its entire body.
Three serpent heads twisted and writhed in mid-air, greedily looking down at everyone present.
Before it, Vera felt like prey caught in its coils, able only to be devoured at will.
Fortunately, the three-headed snake ultimately didn't set its sights on him, but instead targeted the most lavishly dressed branch president.
Oberon also seemed not to have expected that he, standing in the back ranks, would be the first to be attacked.
Facing the venom spat simultaneously by the three snake heads, he hastily cast a light barrier, but it was instantly corroded.
The venom splashed across half his body. All the adventurers heard the "sizzling" sound of flesh being corroded, along with his inhuman screams.
In the end, it was Marshall who grabbed Oberon and fled the battlefield.
With both of the highest-ranking officials fleeing in panic, which of the remaining adventurers would dare fight to the death?
The defense line that could barely be maintained instantly collapsed, with everyone scrambling to escape, only regretting they hadn't been born with two extra legs.
Meanwhile, the monsters seemed to have entered buffet mode—as long as they could chase you down, they could eat their fill.
Thankfully, Vera and his group had moved to the edge of the formation early on, so they weren't killed in the first wave.
But before they could run, a dragon beast's 10-meter-long tail, after consecutively cutting down two adventurers, swept toward them.
Vera's curved blade, already full of nicks, couldn't possibly block this strike.
At the critical moment, it was Fei Yin who cast impact magic on the spot, bouncing the three of them away and barely escaping dismemberment.
But Fei Yin herself still got her chest slashed open.
Although she immediately downed a healing potion, she remained unconscious.
Vera could only carry her as they fled.
They didn't flee toward Mute Wind Town—too many adventurers ran that way, with even more monsters chasing in that direction.
In the chaos, Vera could only escape into the western forest.
Fortunately, only one monster came after them.
Unfortunately, even this one monster was more than they could handle.
The creature behind them, stitched together from human and monster corpses, was unfamiliar to Vera, but that style was unmistakably from the ninth floor.
Even at full strength, the three of them might not have been able to defeat it, let alone in their current state.
They'd relied entirely on Fei Ling's five Thunder Arrows to buy time along the way.
But now, even these special arrows were exhausted.
Behind them, the sound of bushes being crushed rang out again with a "crunch."
"It's coming again..."
Fei Ling's voice carried exhaustion mixed with despair. They truly had no options left.
At this moment, Vera spoke up: "Fei Ling, give me the bow and arrows. You carry Fei Yin and run."
"No!"
Fei Ling immediately understood Vera's meaning—he wanted to go draw the monster away himself.
"If anyone's going, it should be me. I'm faster than you, maybe I can actually get away."
"Nobody could possibly escape," Vera directly exposed her lie. "You know I could never abandon you."
"Do you think I could just watch you go to your death?"
"Then what about Fei Yin?"
"She wouldn't agree to this either!"
"..."
Vera let out a long sigh, stopped in his tracks, and set Fei Yin down by a tree.
Drawing the battered curved blade from his waist, he turned to face the grotesque monster charging wildly toward them.
"Alright then. I hope it pieces us together closely..."
Fei Ling shot two arrows into the flesh, but they had no effect whatsoever on the monster's movement.
It charged straight at them with its mass of twisted flesh.
A gentle breeze passed by. Vera gripped his blade horizontally, assuming the starting stance of a combat technique.
Dying in battle was an adventurer's final dignity.
The monster drew closer and closer, and the sound of wind grew louder and louder.
Finally, a whirlwind formed directly around it, making Vera's body sway unsteadily.
Wind?
This monster could control wind too?
Under the fierce gale, Vera couldn't even manage his final strike.
He could only close his eyes as if accepting his fate.
The monster's roars grew louder and louder in his ears...
Growing more and more... pitiful?
Opening his eyes again, he saw the flesh monster spinning in mid-air.
It struggled and wailed, but like something subjected to a thousand cuts, it was gradually ground into mincemeat by the whirlwind, even its core parts included.
Eighth-tier magic—Wind Tunnel.
"Even Sagus Blood has escaped. Looks like I'm still a bit late."
At some point, an old man in gray robes, leaning on a staff, had appeared behind Vera.
"Young men, could you tell me about the situation over there?"
Vera, just having escaped death, came back to his senses and glanced at the Relic Association badge on the old man's chest.
"The main gate defense line was breached. The branch president was severely injured and evacuated. I don't know about anything else."
"Thank you for the intelligence. Feed this potion to your companion—it wouldn't be good for the young lady to be left with scars."
Speaking thus, the old man produced a small vial from beneath his robes and handed it to Vera.
After Vera took it, another gust of wind swirled around them, actually lifting the old man into flight toward Mute Wind Town.
After the old man left, Vera and Fei Ling looked at each other in bewilderment.
Only then did Fei Ling's legs give out, and she slumped down beside Fei Yin.
Covering her face, she began crying and laughing simultaneously.
Vera crouched down and carefully fed the potion to Fei Yin.
The effect was immediate—her originally mangled chest healed at a visible rate.
"Limb Regeneration Potion..."
Vera knew the old man's identity wasn't simple, and the potion he gave would certainly be valuable.
But he hadn't expected it to be a Limb Regeneration Potion, such a top-tier magical medicine.
It was somewhat extravagant.
The price of just this one vial exceeded what the three of them could earn in a year...
He woke Fei Yin, who had already recovered her health and could even be said to be in the best condition of the three.
After roughly explaining the situation to her, the three continued westward, planning to traverse the forest directly.
Although the elder had already rushed to Mute Wind Town, Vera didn't want to take any more risks.
After discussion, the three decided to first rest and recuperate in the surrounding areas, waiting for the situation to calm down before making long-term plans.
————
Hallucinogenic spores filled the entire cavern. The continuous spraying had nearly drained all of Knight Puff's reserves.
That stubborn dragon-person had actually dug a tunnel toward this place. It definitely possessed some kind of detection skill, but Lin Jun no longer had time to examine it.
Its claws could easily scrape through rock, burrowing into the cave like a mole.
It had probably already dug halfway through by now.
With no choice, Lin Jun had to prepare the highest level of hospitality to welcome it.
Not only had he prepared toxin fog with explosive concentration levels, but six disposable fungal cannon tubes extended from behind Knight Puff.
Under the enhancement of 200% additional skill power, once it emerged, he'd give it a grand welcome gift!
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