Chapter 227: Chapter 224: Demons in Frenzied Dance

Inside the cave, before the three people, a Puki leaped onto the half-body of a straw man, dominantly surveying the surroundings.

Then it was clawed to death by a straw man, its broken body conveniently falling at the edge of the rift, sliced in two by an invisible spatial force.

But this was just the beginning.

In the next second, several Mushroom Cannons tore through the air, shooting from across the rift!

The straw man near the rift was instantly blown to bits, turning into a flurry of straw.

Immediately, new Pukis leaped from the rift without pause, attacking the nearest straw man upon landing without hesitation!

The dense Mushroom Cannons poured crazily in the narrow cave, and the shock waves from the explosions shook the cave walls, causing rocks to fall.

Vera and the others clung tightly to the cold rock wall, huddled in a corner, as Fei Yin strained to maintain a thin layer of Shield, barely keeping the energy turbulence at bay.

The number of straw men surrounding them was quite substantial, nearly thirty in total.

But now, they were being mobbed by Pukis…

The Pukis from the other side of the rift surged forth in a rush, and in the blink of an eye, there were over a hundred!

The small cave was filled with pale, round figures, some Pukis even being shoved by their companions against Fei Yin’s trembling Shield.

The straw men were quickly submerged in the sea of Pukis, disappearing from sight.

After eliminating these straw men, the Pukis all rushed out together.

“Vera… what now?” Fei Yin’s voice trembled noticeably, the continuous casting and high tension leaving her mentally exhausted, and the chill seeping from the rift made her voice quiver.

“The Pukis aren’t attacking us, let’s get out while we can!”

In fact, instead of saying that the Pukis weren’t attacking them, it was more accurate to say that the Pukis didn’t notice the few humans at all, their attention entirely focused on the Demons.

Fei Ling nodded vigorously, a glimmer of hope igniting in her eyes, “If only the Pukis could deal with those guys outside as well…”

However, when the three cautiously stepped out of the cave, the scene before their eyes took their breath away.

The entire fifth layer, turned upside down!

Everywhere they looked, a battlefield.

Pukis and straw men battling madly, the “bo-bo” sound of Mushroom Cannons firing rang continuously, interspersed with the “boom” of Puki self-destruction.

Not only that, besides the straw men, they also saw many creatures clearly not from the Purple Crystal Dungeon.

A Puki was wielding sharp Tentacle Blades, entangled in close combat with a straw man, while not far away, a huge armored worm crashed in, ignoring Vera and the others at close range, its massive body with a crushing momentum, rushing straight toward the melee of Pukis and straw men!

Using its own weight, it directly crushed both beneath it, then the worm retreated into a coiled position, its enormous mouthparts writhing as if chewing on the prey it just captured.

Occasionally, other straw men or Puki attacks hit its shell, but they were inconsequential.

The three also encountered a kind of reptile covered in mucus, hissing and splattering corrosive venom at them, but before they could engage, the approach of several straw men forced the reptile to switch targets, wrestling with the new threat.

The chaos wasn’t limited to the ground. Beneath the dome, under the fluorescence emitted by mushrooms, countless bat Pukis were locked in an intense aerial battle with a swarm of large moths, bodies occasionally plummeting, or exploding on the spot, scattering into fragments.

The fifth layer seemed to have become a chaotic brawl for crazy creatures!

In this extreme chaos, a swift shadow suddenly burst through the smoke and dust, darting straight toward the three!

Having just pinned a poisonous lizard with arrows, Fei Ling didn’t have time to distinguish it, instinctively turning, drawing her bow, and shooting!

The arrow grazed past the shadow, missing!

Vera promptly stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind him.

At the critical moment, a melodious voice spoke in slightly stilted Human Language, “Wait! I’m not a Demon! Can you tell me what this place is, my human friends?”

The smoke cleared a little, revealing the true form of the shadow.

A face of exquisite beauty adorned with two green patterns, slender and elegant pointed ears, and a pair of deep and bright emerald green eyes, as if containing stardust—

An elf!

“W-where is this…” Fei Ling apparently didn’t catch the main point of the other’s question, and repeated somewhat blankly, “The Underground City…”

Fei Yin immediately responded, his voice clear and urgent, adding, “Purple Crystal Dungeon! The fifth level!”

“I see!” A gleam of understanding flashed through the elf’s eyes, “It’s the Underground City controlled by you humans!”

“Now is not the time to talk! Let’s go!” Vera held her curved saber tightly, the blade pointing warily in the direction of the ongoing melee, reminding them.

“I can’t go back that way, let me follow you!” As the elf spoke, her hands swiftly intertwined at her chest, forming a strange hand sign.

An emerald green magical light instantly swirled and converged in her palm!

Not far away, underneath the feet of two strawmen trying to leap forward, resilient vines burst from the ground, entangling their straw bodies tightly, rendering them immobile.

A Druid!

Vera glanced over and nodded, “Let’s go!”

Using the chaos of the battlefield as cover, they narrowly made their way back to the staircase entrance.

Just as they stepped onto the cold stone steps, a familiar figure came into view—none other than the missing swordsman!

However, his teammates were nowhere to be found, and the swordsman himself was injured and unconscious, collapsed on the stairs, a dark red pool of blood spreading underneath him, with a grotesque wound on his waist still bleeding profusely, his face pale as paper.

Beside him, several strawmen corpses lay—indicating that the safe zone seemed to be failing.

Vera immediately reached for the healing potion at her waist, only to be stopped by the elf.

Vera looked over in confusion, only to see the elf already crouching by the swordsman’s side. She stretched out her slender fingers, hovering inches above the wound, where a soft, vibrant emerald green light glowed, staunching the bleeding wound.

The swordsman’s tightly knit brows twitched slightly, and with great effort, he opened a narrow slit with his heavy eyelids.

“Cough… cough…” He tried to prop himself up, but the movement tugged at his waist wound, and cold sweat instantly covered his pale forehead.

“Don’t move!” Vera immediately kneeled beside him, one hand firmly pressing down on his trembling shoulder, her voice filled with concern, “How do you feel?”

“…All gone… They… all fell in there…” The swordsman coughed violently, bringing up a bit of bloody foam, his eyes dull as he gazed into the depths of the dim staircase, “I can’t get out either, don’t… don’t waste magic power on me…”

“What are you talking about!” Vera’s voice suddenly rose, without a hint of hesitation, she quickly retrieved a dark purple potion from the pouch at her waist and fed it to him amidst his startled gaze.

“Ugh—!” Caught off guard, the swordsman felt the spicy, scorching liquid burn his throat like lava, flooding into his stomach instantly.

A surge of indescribable frenzied heat burst forth, sweeping through his entire body, veins bulging on his neck and temples, a flush of abnormal red rushing to his previously pale face, his pupils contracting violently.

“What is this…?!”

“A ’Blood Boiling Potion’ to awaken potential,” Vera kept her eyes fixed on the swordsman’s reaction, “It will let you stand up temporarily, and after the effect wears off, there will be severe backlash, but it’s better than dying here!”

“Haha… cough… haha,” the swordsman looked at Vera for a long moment, suddenly laughing while coughing, “Good Man Vira, huh… Did you know that when everyone drinks, they say you’ll end up getting into trouble for meddling too much?”

Feeling his strength returning, the swordsman stood up with Vera’s support: “Vera… if… if I really make it out alive this time, my life… will be yours! I owe you!”

“Then you have to try your best to survive, otherwise I’ll suffer a loss.” Vera chuckled.

Fei Ling and Fei Yin were already accustomed to Vera’s way of dealing with things and weren’t surprised at all.

The elf’s gaze lingered long on Vera’s silhouette, her eyes subtly shifting, lost in thought.

The addition of a severely injured member inevitably slowed their pace.

Fortunately, the situation on the upper levels was much better than the chaotic demon battlefield on the fifth level.

The few demon attacks they encountered along the way were safely resolved, thanks to the elf’s powerful natural magic as a druid.

When they finally saw daylight again, they were met with the incredulous shouts of the guards.

“Damn it! At this time, there are still people who can make it out alive?!” One guard suddenly snapped back to reality, shouting hoarsely to his companion, “Quick! A stretcher! There’s a critically injured person here! Move quickly!”

And as the group finally made it back to town, they were met with the sight of people collectively evacuating…

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