Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 347 - 339: All the Demon Race’s Schemes

[Race: Pale Pilgrimage]

[Level: Level 58]

This peculiar little tree moves similarly to the "Migratory Tree," relying on countless roots wriggling like tentacles to propel its body forward.

However, unlike the Migratory Tree, which bulldozes everything with brute force, its movements are exceptionally gentle, as if gliding.

Yet in terms of deadly lethality, it is by no means inferior to the Migratory Tree.

It naturally emits a hazy and soft pale halo, while the nearly transparent, juice-filled fruits at its branches refract light into a dreamy prism, dazzling in the dark, naturally attracting a swarm of frenzied demons.

Nevertheless, most of the frenzied demons collapse before reaching it, paralyzed, silently waiting for death as the neurotoxin erodes them.

This lethality is not only due to its high Level 10 [Neurotoxin], but more crucially because it possesses the Level 7 [Epidermal Penetration] trait.

The toxin naturally dispersing from the surface of the fruit takes effect rapidly upon contact with a demon’s skin.

It is only when encountering magic beasts like the Tree Demon, inherently unafraid of poison, that it stops its movement, reluctantly engaging in a less-than-willing battle with its tough roots.

This Pale Pilgrimage is not infected by [Frenzy]; it merely happened to pass through this chaotic battlefield and incidentally poisoned dozens of demons that had lost basic judgment.

It continues its unhurried pace, seemingly heading for deeper layers.

Above its path, a seemingly ordinary white spider silk dangles. Unnoticed by it, an invisible Puki is clinging to the end of the silk.

As the tree passes, Puki swiftly extends mycelium-tentacles, wrapping around the two plumpest fruits on its branches!

The unusual sensation immediately triggers a response from the Pale Pilgrimage, with several roots lashing fiercely like whips towards Puki’s position!

However, at the moment Puki seizes the fruits, the spider silk is suddenly yanked upwards, pulling Puki at high speed, causing the roots to miss and strike the tree’s own branches.

Puki lands back on the high branches of the giant tree, and without pausing, Half-demon Bastardo performs two swift leaps, quickly distancing from Puki.

Puki’s exterior is now stained with toxic mist, its endurance unsure.

Stuffing the fruits into Puki, Lin Jun praises, "Not bad at all, Half-demon! Do you have spider lineage in your ancestry?"

"Half-Spiderman," Bastardo succinctly explains, using his teeth to bite off the remaining spider silk in his mouth.

"I thought your silk would shoot out from... uh... the back of your body like Spider Demons." Lin Jun’s voice carries a hint of curiosity.

"Some half-demon variants do," Bastardo replies, his tone calm and unruffled.

"That must be unfortunate."

After shooting down two deranged demons attempting an opportunistic attack, and once the toxin on Puki’s surface has mostly dissolved, Bastardo cautiously straps it back onto himself and begins a rapid retreat along the original path.

Perhaps due to the luminous "Pale Pilgrimage" drawing most of the battlefield’s aggression, their retreat proceeds unexpectedly smoothly.

Until they reach the tenth layer.

"Number Two, change direction, advance to the left front!" Lin Jun suddenly says.

Bastardo doesn’t question why and immediately changes direction, speeding towards the indicated path.

Countless times already, the boss has demonstrated that formidable scouting ability, and following the direction is always right.

Yet this time, something seems different.

"Hmm?"

"What is it, boss?" Bastardo asks, deftly navigating through the thick branches and taking a moment to inquire.

"We seem to have been found out."

"Found out? By whom?"

"A group of elves... accelerate, they’re trying to intercept you ahead!"

Upon hearing this, despite not seeing the other side, a purple light bursts from Bastardo’s eyes, like a burning ghostly flame.

[Bloodline Enhancement]

This skill is used to temporarily activate the mixed bloodline abilities within, with specific effects varying according to the half-demon’s individual lineage.

For a half-demon like Bastardo, with a complex bloodline background, its effect can be seen as a versatile enhancement technique that boosts overall physical attributes, albeit with some side strain.

In fact, ever since the elf team entered Puki’s scouting range, their every move has been completely exposed to Lin Jun’s view.

Seeing them suddenly change course and burst forward, Lin Jun immediately understood that the other side must have used some method to detect Bastardo’s presence.

However, the elves’ reconnaissance is evidently not real-time.

They were unaware that their tactical intentions had already been seen through, and even less aware that their target had long since started to break into a sprint in the distance.

When the swiftest Elf Ranger in the team reached the predetermined interception point, Bastardos had already turned into a blurry silhouette almost merging into the dim surroundings in the distance.

"Damn it!" the Ranger cursed softly but reacted swiftly.

Realizing the interception had failed, he immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and performed the entire sequence smoothly!

[Precision Level 9]

[Arrow Acceleration Level 6]

[Wind Protection Level 7]

The moment the Enchanted Arrow left the string, a piercing sound tore through the air!

However, the distance was truly too far, and Bastardos was already on guard. The instant he heard the sound, he kicked hard to the side and downward!

The arrow, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, grazed past his afterimage and viciously embedded itself into the trunk of a giant tree nearby, explosively scattering a large burst of wood shavings!

"What’s the situation?" the Elf Captain, who arrived a step later, asked from below.

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

"Captain, the target got away!" The Ranger put away his longbow, his tone filled with reluctance and gravity, "It’s the Demon Race!"

...

...

...

Several days later.

Salian pushed open the door of the Healing Institute, which emitted a faint floral scent, and walked straight to where the resting Elven squad was located.

In the ward, the Gold-Level Elf Druid of the squad was lying quietly on a white hospital bed.

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

A Healer stood beside him, hovering their hands above his body, continually casting the "Purification Technique," with gentle light flowing like a trickle, slowly and bit by bit, purging the "Frenzy" within him.

Seeing Salian arrive, the Elf Captain, who had been on standby, immediately stood up and respectfully saluted, "Lord Salian."

"What happened?" Salian asked, glancing over the hospital bed.

The Elf Captain’s expression was grave as he recounted their exploration experience in detail.

From the anomalies on each level’s ecosystem to later being evaded by a rapidly moving Demon Race, and finally encountering an unprecedented, completely frenzied Magic Beast tide on the fourteenth level.

It was during that chaotic battle that a team member was accidentally infected, forcing them to retreat to the surface.

"Demon Race..." Salian repeated the words softly.

Did the Demon Race have a motive to provoke the elves at this delicate point in time?

The answer was almost certainly yes—too much so!

On the frontal battlefield, though the Empire appeared stronger in many aspects like military and resources compared to the United Kingdom, the war had reached a stalemate.

This wasn’t because the Empire couldn’t win; it was simply because it couldn’t, and dared not, go all out.

On the Empire’s eastern front, the Dwarf Kingdom, having received an urgent plea from the humans, conducted several large-scale military mobilizations.

Though they hadn’t officially entered the war, the Empire didn’t dare ignore this powerful force and had to keep a substantial portion of its elite forces on constant alert.

Meanwhile, the attitude of the Elven race remained ambiguous.

They hoped the Empire could drive humans to the brink, forcing the legendary "Hero" to reveal himself and be eliminated by the Empire, eradicating a future threat.

At the same time, they feared humans might collapse too quickly, allowing the Empire to dominate, leaving the elves’ fate unpredictable.

In such a scenario, if enough trouble could be created within the territories of the Elves and Dwarves, like instigating a bizarre underground city ecological disaster, it would effectively tie up their resources and attention.

Then, the Empire could free itself from myriad concerns, deploying the majority of its forces to decisively crush the humans!

With that thought, Salian hesitated no longer, quickly turning and striding out of the Healing Institute.

This matter needed to be reported immediately to his teacher and the Elf King!

Its importance even surpassed dealing with those "radicals" in the city.