Chapter 41: 41 First Glimpse of the Clues

Chewing loudly on a still-wriggling Pujie while casually dodging the mushroom cannons.

This dragon-man actually has a look of bliss on his face?

Good heavens, you think my Pujie tastes good, do you?

Lin Jun simply stepped in personally to assist with the aiming.

Prediction, preemptive zone denial, and covering fire—

Very good... one shot missed...

This dragon-man is the fastest he has ever seen.

Not only is his straight-line speed fast, but his acceleration, deceleration, and turning are all fast.

This guy is fast in every way!

At the same time as being fast, his destructive power is quite mushroom-shocking.

Absolutely a super-model among super-models.

After trying to attack a few times, Lin Jun gave up—wasting energy.

Moreover, other monsters were emerging from the rift; the loss of this position was now inevitable...

As Lin Jun thought this, the dragon-man surged forward in the blink of an eye, beheading two monsters.

After the monsters emerged, they intended to eat the Pujie right in front of them.

Hmm?

Protecting their food!?

Lin Jun didn't let the remaining Pujie fight either; he simply gathered them all right in front of the rift to ensure the emerging monsters would notice them immediately.

He had planned to exploit the dragon-man's food-guarding, but the next monster to emerge still shocked him a bit.

It had only extended a single claw from the rift, yet a cold aura swept over.

A massive monster covered in bulging muscles and adorned with numerous sharp exoskeletal spikes.

It squeezed out of the rift with considerable difficulty.

【Race: Rat Clan - Frost-Bone Giant Rat

】

【Level: LV54】

Though called a Rat Clan, its massive body, nearly seven meters tall, made it very hard to associate with a rat.

If one had to say, only the pointed head showed a hint of similarity.

The dragon-man and the giant rat, both powerful monsters exceeding level fifty.

The monsters emerging from this rift seemed much stronger than those from the other side.

After the giant rat emerged, it naturally noticed the half-frozen Pujie right in front of it.

Its thick forelimbs extended, ready to casually swat these small things to death.

Before the claw could fall, that black figure charged straight at it.

Compared to the giant rat, the seemingly tiny dragon-man slammed the giant rat directly to the ground.

The dragon-man's sharp claws slashed, tearing the flesh on the giant rat's chest, causing it to howl in pain.

Roaring, the giant rat spat a massive amount of frost at the dragon-man before it.

The two monsters fought right in front of the rift; although the dragon-man held the upper hand, the giant rat was not without power to resist.

The monsters that subsequently drilled out were all affected without exception; either crushed to death or frozen to death.

Meanwhile, the Pujie hid in the distance, preparing to become a snack for the victor.

Lin Jun had specially dispatched over a dozen hallucinogenic Puffeaters as an extra course, and they were on their way.

Wondering if he could reap the benefits while others fought.

In any case, the trouble at this rift was at least temporarily resolved.

But Lin Jun did not feel very relaxed...

Following the two rifts, a third trouble appeared—lower-level monsters began charging toward the fifth floor.

Looking down from the edge of the staircase, different types of monsters swarmed upward in layers, like insects.

The originally spacious circular staircase was so crowded there was no extra space, and occasionally a few were squeezed off.

There was almost no mutual attacking among the monsters.

Lin Jun even saw a scene of natural enemies ascending side by side.

Why does it feel like all the other monsters are members of the dungeon family, while I am the only outsider...

Not letting me play?

Then die!

Over a hundred Puffeaters lined the edge of the corridor, pouring mushroom cannons downward.

The monsters with nowhere to hide took a full hit of damage; those at the very front were directly plastered against the wall.

Of course, there was no lack of counterattacks, but due to the height difference, not many could harm the Puffeaters.

Spikes and water guns fired from below occasionally took out one or two Puffeaters.

But new Puffeaters immediately filled the gaps, causing no real impact.

The monsters arriving now were almost all from the sixth floor, so the pressure was not yet great.

But later, monsters from lower levels, or even the deep zones, would probably appear.

Moreover, these black rifts shouldn't be so coincidental as to appear only on the fifth floor...

—

Before the entrance of the Amethyst Dungeon.

Adventurers were shooting through the gaps at the monsters charging the barricades.

These monsters were not particularly high in level.

However, a question lingered in everyone's mind.

Among the monster ranks, besides the few common to the first and second floors, hadn't there appeared some unseen ones?

Flying worms, one meter long, with terrifying mouthparts.

Small dragon-beasts with powerful hind legs, running with great speed.

Did these things exist in the Amethyst Dungeon before?

Yet, amidst the battle, no one brought it up to distract themselves.

In any case, these new varieties were not particularly strong, so it made little difference.

Inside the Adventurers' Guild, in the Guildmaster's office.

Oberon, who had been monitoring the situation at the main gate with a surveillance crystal, let out a small sigh of relief.

It was a great fortune that it did not connect directly to the lower levels of the Dragon Cliff Dungeon.

If this pace could be maintained...

In the crystal's image, the adventurers standing at the gate seemed to see something and became visibly panicked.

People scattered to both sides, leaving only one adventurer pressing close to the gap, peering hard inside.

This sight made Oberon tense up as well.

No way...

It was as if whatever one feared most was exactly what would appear.

The exit blocked by wooden planks and stones burst apart like fragile eggshells before the massive, scale-armored body.

A giant lizard, two zhang tall, swung its long tail covered in bone spurs and charged out amidst a storm of debris.

That poor fellow who failed to escape in time was crushed beneath the tumbling rocks, his fate unknown.

Facing the sudden change, the adventurers present stood with their hair standing on end.

Marshall, a veteran Gold-rank adventurer, was the first to react, roaring to snap everyone out of it:

"What are you staring at? Attack!"

As he spoke, he charged forward at the head of the group.

Although the giant lizard was huge and its charge devastating,

the impact of smashing through the gate had left it dizzy and disoriented.

Under the adventurers' concentrated fire, it fell quickly.

However, the gate was now breached; the monsters, no longer hindered, rushed out one after another.

For a moment, the scene descended into chaos.

—

A scimitar stabbed into the belly of a flying worm, slicing it open in one stroke.

Vera hurriedly wiped the blood from the blade with a cloth.

It was not out of affection for this ordinary scimitar, but because he had discovered that the blood of these flying worms was corrosive.

If left to stick there, before the day even ended, the scimitar would have turned to rust.

"Felin, Feiyin, do not leave my side."

After receiving a confirming response from behind, Vera looked around.

Although many monsters had rushed out, the situation had not yet spiraled out of control.

Several mages worked together, using magic to temporarily block the incoming monsters.

The monsters that had already emerged were numerous, but their levels were not particularly high.

Most present were experienced adventurers, including Silver-ranks like himself.

There were also more than a dozen Gold-rank adventurers with strength comparable to Marshall's.

The area should be cleared very soon.

Yet Vera remained deeply worried in his heart.

Wasn't it said that the intensity of the monster tide was low in the first few days?

Instead, the gate was breached on the very first day.

Glancing at the two sisters behind him, Vera made his decision.

If the situation truly turned dire, even if it meant facing the punishment of having his adventurer status revoked by the Guild, he would take them and withdraw early.

(End of Chapter)