Chapter 249: Chapter 241: Return

Just as Edin awkwardly hit the ground, Eric’s figure reappeared before him, the cold metal gauntlets rapidly magnifying in his vision, leaving Edin no time to dodge again!

With a “crack” sound, the illusion shattered, and a piece of broken crystal fell to the ground, making Eric raise an eyebrow slightly.

On the other side, Knight Puki surprisingly leaped and jet-propelled straight over, spinning rapidly like a top.

Several tenacious tentacles stretched taut under centrifugal force, transforming into a chilling, impenetrable blade wheel, cutting towards Eric!

[Blade Storm LV6]

As a close combat skill that Lin Jun liked and practiced often, the knight naturally possessed it.

Eric’s arms swung in an instant, becoming a blur. His sturdy metal arm guards collided fiercely with the sharp tentacle blades, erupting in a series of piercing metallic clashes.

With exquisite blocking techniques and formidable power, he forcibly withstood the frenzied spinning attack, at the price of deep slashes on the arm guards, while Knight Puki’s three tentacle blades were shattered by his fist’s force!

“Eric! You promised not to hurt the knight!” Inanna shouted from the stands, distressed.

Eric sighed helplessly in his heart, just about to exert strength to subdue the fearless Puki, when his right hand suddenly swung, smacking down a small flying insect illusion that was attempting to bite him.

Meanwhile, the Puki opposite started releasing Hallucinogenic Spores while using [Infrasound Attack].

The sound of a bottle breaking came from Eric’s waist.

Simultaneously, his body wavered slightly, a faint trace of blood uncontrollably seeping from the corner of his mouth. Though his robust physique rendered the damage negligible, blood had been drawn nonetheless!

The attack ceased.

Eric stood his ground, no longer pursuing.

He looked somewhat oddly at the Puki always cradled by the young lady, then turned his gaze to a corner of the training ground, where the real Edin sheepishly emerged from thin air, a bit of cold sweat on his brow.

Eric wiped away the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, touched the broken bottle at his waist, and with a poker face revealed no emotion: “Not bad.”

“We won! I can go!” Inanna immediately cheered from the stands.

Eric paused briefly, quickly assessing: a slippery illusionist adept at creating chaos and cover, combined with a pain-insensitive, remarkably aggressive magic pet Puki capable of launching bizarre attacks, indeed could provide the young lady with considerable protection.

Even so, he did not let his guard down.

Ultimately, in Inanna’s outing party, besides Edin and Knight Puki, were four Gold Level guards exuding stable auras and sharp eyes, along with plenty of life-preserving gear.

Before departure, Eric’s eyes locked onto Edin: “Please, Mr. Edin and Chairman Fa’er, ensure the young lady’s safety.”

The subtext was clear: if anything goes wrong, there will be consequences!

—————–

Along the road, Dylan sat wearily on his horse, still the same chestnut horse beneath him, its stamina impressive, keeping pace with those good horses, and Dylan hadn’t swapped it out mid-way.

After continuous travel, Dylan was now much thinner, with sunken cheeks and heavy shadows under his eyes, only the decreasing distance to Dumb Wind Town infused the barest hint of vitality into his eyes.

Just as he gathered his spirit, dispelling the daze from the long journey, a strange sight caught the corner of his eye—mycelium!

In the roadside forest, traces of a fungal mat spread, even creeping onto the road surface!

However, Dylan was unsure if it belonged to the boss.

“Boss?” Dylan tried calling through the Fungal Network.

Before a response came, three blade-wielding figures burst from the bushes ahead, blocking the way. Dylan pulled the reins for an abrupt stop, the chestnut horse uneasily pawing the ground.

Just as he thought of turning back, figures flickered behind, two more bandits emerging with grins, sealing off the narrow forest path completely.

Almost simultaneously, close hoofbeats sounded, two poorly mounted accomplices brandishing weapons, quickly flanking from the side!

Seven against one!

How many times had they been robbed along the way already?

Security outside really was worsening, so what to do now, fight or flee?

The leader of the bandits was a tall, fat man carrying a rusty nail head hammer, his voice hoarse and grating: “Old man, be sensible! Leave the horse, toss the moneybag over! I’ll spare your life!”

His accomplice beside him waved a long knife, eyeing Dylan’s expensive attire with ill intent.

Dylan looked at them, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Outnumbered seven to one, he definitely had to run, but they had blocked the front and back, and even had two with horses.

Though they were inferior horses, after a long journey, his own might not outrun them.

It was all his fault for being distracted by the Fungal Mat earlier. Normally, he would have noticed something was wrong and evaded from afar.

The bandits exchanged glances, but soon grew impatient, slowly surrounding him with their weapons.

Just as Dylan was about to risk using the Ice Cone Ring to charge out, he noticed several bulges appearing on the Fungal Mat nearby…

Pop… Pop pop… Pop pop pop…

A series of sounds erupted from the Fungal Mat, and when the bandits turned to look, they saw a chilling sight: countless round, rolling Demon Pukis emerged from the forest, swiftly rolling towards them!

They surged over the road like a tide, and soon over a hundred Pukis had surrounded everyone.

The bandit on horseback reacted the fastest, this incomprehensible scene causing him to yank his reins, attempting to turn and flee!

However, turning the horse around took time, and in this short distance, it was only a moment for the Pukis!

A few Pukis quickly rolled to the side of his horse, their round bodies ramming straight into it!

Bang!

A violent explosion sent dirt and fragments of flesh soaring into the air, the horse didn’t even have time to scream before it was blown to bits, the bandit atop it covered in blood, screaming as he lost a leg.

“Help me! Help me!” He dragged his mangled body, letting out heart-wrenching cries, desperately reaching out to his companions.

But the remaining six had already been tightly surrounded by the Pukis. Facing the circles of Pukis and hearing their companion’s miserable screams, they felt an icy chill shoot from their feet to the tops of their heads. They didn’t dare move a single step, let alone rescue anyone!

They could only watch helplessly as the second wave of Pukis rolled over amidst their companion’s pleas.

Several more heavy explosions sounded, sending dirt flying.

The wailing was abruptly cut off.

The ferocity on the bandits’ faces vanished, leaving only expressions of terror!

The fat leader gripped that heavy nail head hammer tightly, muscles on his arms bulging, yet he couldn’t muster even a shred of courage to swing at the Pukis beside him, beads of sweat rolling down his greasy cheeks.

“U… Underground City’s Pukis!”

“What’s going on?! What the hell is this?!”

The bandits were completely panicked, swearing in confusion, unable to comprehend the nightmare unfolding before them.

They had been lurking in this area for over ten days, how did they encounter this strange event today?

The only one who knew the truth, Dylan, finally felt a weight lifted off his chest; his safety, and the boss’s safety, both had answers now. A warm, indescribable sense of relief and peace washed over him.

He merely gently patted the neck of the chestnut horse under him, calming the old horse that was equally unsettled by the bloody explosion.

Just as the bandits were racking their brains on how to escape, a commotion arose within the Puki group, and a wrinkled, slender Puki was “pushed” out by its companions.

Its body wriggled towards the few who dared to target the Pukis’ master.

Soon after, a spine-chilling voice, as if countless voices overlapped and compressed, emanated from within it: “Squeal like pigs, then die!”

The Puki swarm erupted instantly, their sharp blade whips tearing through the air, and acid sprayed out like torrential rain!

“Dylan! You’re actually alive!”

In his mind, the boss greeted him joyously, while in reality, the sharp, inhuman screams instantly drowned out the forest’s insect sounds. The stench of blood and acrid acid mixed and spread, causing Dylan, who had been moved moments ago, to vomit right there.

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