"Has this BOSS taken some kind of stimulant or what? How did it get so strong?!"

Banana was startled by the sudden appearance of these roots, his face turned somewhat pale as he dodged the attacking tendrils and let loose a flurry of arrows.

"Dream on if you think these roots can stop us!"

Against the entangling roots, Su Ran didn’t feel any psychological pressure. After a brief moment of thought, he threw a purple flame directly into the thick of the roots.

In an instant, the fire burst into flames, wrapping around the roots and burning them mercilessly.

Due to the nature of the Nether Purple Fire being unlike ordinary flames, the roots couldn’t withstand such an intense Fire Force. They struggled to burrow back into the ground, but it was incredibly difficult to move in the viscous flames. With the fire burning fiercely, the roots curled into a ball, trying to minimize their exposure.

"We should leave now. Even if we finish off these roots, it’s useless and just a waste of time!"

Xue Wuqing looked indifferently at the roots struggling in the flames, devoid of desire to continue attacking, and the three of them fled towards the outside.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The palace floor shattered again and again as dozens more roots burst from the ground, devastating it beyond recognition. If the Elf Queen were to return and see this scene, she would probably be so furious that she’d vomit blood.

"Damn it, does this ever end?"

Banana was aggravated by the relentless roots, attacking and complaining all the while.

"Get over it. If it was that giant tree, you’d be dead in minutes. Now, although there are many roots, we at least have a fighting chance; you should be grateful!"

Su Ran fought the roots with all his might, looking for an opportunity for them to escape.

In this situation, Wu Qing’s profession was at a disadvantage. Harassed by the roots, she was utterly disheveled. With no other choice, she had to move closer to Su Ran, and their combined efforts made things much easier.

Seeing this, Banana quickly joined the circle, and the three of them, bound together, became significantly more lethal in their output. They focused on one direction to break through, looking to create an escape route and save their own lives.

Unfortunately, the roots seemed to emerge more and more like bamboo shoots after rain, becoming incredibly dense within the corridor. Su Ran and the others were feeling more and more pressured, forced to continually retreat.

Just as the three of them could no longer withstand the roots’ entanglement, something unexpected happened. The roots, as if encountering something terrifying, stopped their attack and hastily retracted into the ground. This left them staring at each other in bewilderment, unsure of what was happening.

"Does anyone know what’s going on?"

Banana was baffled, not believing for a second that the dark elf would let them go; this was not the BOSS’s style.

"Who cares, we need to get out of here!"

Su Ran dared not linger in the palace any longer, fearing that the dark elf might be brewing some sort of major attack. If they were to fall into this BOSS’s trap, it would be too late for regrets.

Through their all-out sprint, they managed to escape the palace smoothly, without encountering the slightest trouble, which was indeed quite unfamiliar.

"Hey, really can’t figure out what goes through the mind of that dark elf. No wonder rumors say it’s fickle. This guy’s brain really is sick!"

Seeing the familiar Elf Forest and the Sky-reaching Vine beneath his feet, Banana finally let out a sigh of relief. Looking back at the dark corridor without sensing any danger, he then asked Su Ran, "Overturning Water, what exactly did you do in the forbidden ground? Why did that dark elf call you a thief?"

As expected.

When the dark elf mentioned the thief, Su Ran’s heart skipped a beat. Although he had bluffed his way through at the time, they had still taken notice of him.

Scanning the expressions of the two people, Su Ran realized they were both very curious. With no other choice, he came clean, "What if I told you that I emptied the Spirit Spring of the earth, would you believe me?"

"Look at how capable you think you are. If you can empty the Spirit Spring of the earth, then I can shoot down the sun, believe it or not?" Banana said irritably, clearly unsatisfied with Su Ran’s answer, "Overturning Water, it’s no fun if you keep hiding things from us."

Uh.

These days, no one believes the truth anymore.

Su Ran glanced at Xue Wuqing and realized she was as unbelieving as Banana, fully unconvinced by his truth, prompting him to sigh. He stretched his hand into his bladder, carefully searched inside, and took out an odd-looking meteorite.

"Alright, since you’re so eager to know the answer, I won’t keep it secret any longer. This Netherworld gold meteorite was stolen from the dark elf’s lair," he said.

This stone was traded to him by a miner in the Drizzle Guild, and he had not expected it to come in handy here.

"Netherworld gold meteorite?!" Banana looked at the strange stone in Su Ran’s hand with excitement. "This meteorite can be used to create custom Netherworld gold equipment. It’s very rare to see on the market, and even if it’s available, the major guilds have it cornered. I have to say, it really is a treasure!"

"Overturning Water, I feel like you are still brushing us off. A mere piece of Netherworld gold material isn’t worth the dark elf going against the system’s wishes just to trouble you," Xue Wuqing said, her eyes filled with skepticism. She felt Su Ran had stirred up significant trouble in the forbidden area and must be hiding something from them.

Sigh.

You don’t believe me when I tell the truth, and you don’t believe me when I lie. What do you really want me to do?

Humans are too complicated, I want to go back to Skeleton Village.

However, before Su Ran could come up with a course of action, an explosion sound came from deep within the palace, shaking the Elf Palace and capturing the attention of all three of them.

"Eh? What happened inside the palace?"

"Could it be that the dark elf’s evolution failed, and it exploded?"

"It’s also possible that the Elf Queen has rushed back and is engaged in a battle to the death with the dark elf."

As the three were speculating, the Sky-reaching Vine beneath their feet shook violently, sprouting dozens of tendrils that surged towards the interior of the palace. Soon after, the sounds of clanging and clashing could be heard from within.

"Only the Elf Queen can command the Sky-reaching Vine to attack. It seems that Her Majesty has returned from the dimension of the Spirit Spring!" Banana said eagerly, his eyes fixed on the depths of the palace, "The dark elf will now get what’s coming to him for turning the palace into such a mess. How could the Elf Queen let him off easily!"

"Let’s go and have a look; maybe we can lend a hand to the Elf Queen, and we might even receive a reward from her."

The sudden developments diverted Wu Qing’s attention away from Su Ran, as she led the way into the palace. Banana quickly followed, fearing he would miss the thrilling scene, and ran as fast as he could.