Chapter 43: 43 Don't Come Over!

Boom—

The sound of an explosion rang out in the forest under the night sky.

Vera knew that was Pheling using Thunder Arrows to stop the flesh monster behind them.

"Don't stop; it will catch up soon."

Hearing Pheling's words, Vera, carrying Feiyin on his back, quickened his pace.

In fact, if not for the monster's unwillingness to let go of the flesh pieces blown away, always having to go back and retrieve them,

the three of them would have been caught long ago.

Even so, Pheling's Thunder Arrows were already exhausted; if they were caught again next time, escape would likely be impossible.

The reason the three of them appeared here was naturally because the gate had already fallen.

The collapse happened in an instant.

Shortly after the branch chief named Oberon finished speaking, that terrifying monster emerged from the dungeon.

Vera still remembered what it looked like when it came out.

Diamond-shaped scales shimmered with strange iridescence under the setting sun, while dark green poison constantly seeped from its body.

Three snake heads twisted and writhed in the air, greedily looking down at everyone present.

Before it, Vera felt like prey caught in its coils, able only to be devoured.

Fortunately, the three-headed snake did not target him in the end, but aimed at the branch chief whose attire was the most magnificent.

Oberon also seemed not to expect that he, standing in the back row, would be attacked first.

Facing the poison simultaneously spat by the three snake heads, he hastily conjured a light wall, but it was corroded instantly.

The poison splashed over half his body; all the adventurers heard the "sizzle" of flesh being corroded, along with his inhuman screams.

In the end, Marshall grabbed Oberon and fled the battlefield.

With the two highest officials fleeing in disgrace, who among the remaining adventurers dared to fight to the death?

The defense line, which had barely been holding, collapsed instantly; everyone scrambled to escape, cursing that they didn't have two extra legs.

And the monsters seemed to have switched to a buffet mode—whatever they could catch, they could eat.

Fortunately, Vera and the others had moved to the edge of the formation early on, avoiding being killed in the first wave.

But before they could run, a dragon-beast's ten-meter-long tail swept toward them, severing two adventurers in succession.

And Vera's curved blade in hand was already full of notches; it was impossible to block such an attack.

At the critical moment, Feiyin cast a shock spell on the spot, blasting the three of them apart, barely allowing them to escape the fate of being dismembered.

But Feiyin herself still had her chest slashed open.

Although she drank a healing potion in time, she remained unconscious.

Vera could only carry her on his back and flee.

They did not flee toward Mute Wind Town; too many adventurers ran that way, and even more monsters pursued them.

Amidst the chaos, Vera could only flee into the forest on the west side.

Fortunately, only one monster chased them.

Unfortunately, even with just that one, they could not defeat it.

The monster behind, stitched together from human and monster corpses, Vera did not recognize, but the style was undoubtedly from the Ninth Layer.

Even at full strength, the three of them might not have been able to defeat it, let alone now.

All along, they had relied on Pheling's five Thunder Arrows to buy time.

But now, even these special arrows were exhausted.

The "crunch" of bushes being crushed rang out again behind them.

"It's coming again..."

Pheling's voice, weary yet filled with despair, confirmed they truly had no options left.

At that moment, Vera spoke: "Pheling, give me the bow; you carry Feiyin and run."

"No!"

Pheling immediately understood Vera's intention; he wanted to draw the monster away himself.

"If anyone is going, it should be me; I am faster than you, and I might even manage to escape."

"No one can escape," Vera directly exposed her lie, "and you know I would never leave you behind."

"And just watch you go to your death?"

"Then what about Feiyin?"

"She wouldn't agree either!"

"..."

Vera sighed deeply, stopped his steps, and placed Feiyin beside a tree.

He drew the tattered curved blade from his waist and turned to face the grotesque monster rushing toward them.

"Fine then; I hope it stitches the three of us close together..."

Pheling shot two arrows into the flesh, but they had no effect whatsoever on the monster's movements.

Covered in twisted flesh, it lunged straight at them.

A clear breeze brushed past; Vera held the blade horizontally, assuming the starting stance of a combat technique.

Dying in battle was the last dignity of an adventurer.

The monster drew closer, and the sound of the wind grew louder.

Finally, a whirlwind formed directly around it, blowing Vera's figure back and forth, making him unable to stand steady.

Wind?

Can this monster also wield the wind?

Beneath the gale, Vera couldn't even launch her final strike.

She could only close her eyes as if resigning herself to fate.

The monster's roars in her ears grew louder and louder...

Louder and... more tragic?

Opening her eyes again, she saw the fleshy monster spinning in the air.

It struggled and wailed, yet as if subjected to a thousand cuts, it was gradually shredded into minced meat by the whirlwind, its core included.

Eighth-tier magic—Wind Tunnel.

"Sargus's Blood is already spilling out; it seems I arrived a bit too late."

At some point, an old man draped in a gray robe and leaning on a staff had appeared behind Vera.

"Two young ones, could you tell me what happened over there?"

Vera, who had just escaped death, snapped back to her senses and glanced at the badge on the old man's chest representing the Relic Association.

"The main gate defense line was breached. The branch master was Severely Wounded and forced to flee. I know nothing else."

"Thank you for the intelligence. Feed this potion to your companion; it wouldn't be good for a young lady to keep scars."

Speaking thus, the old man retrieved a small vial of potion from beneath his robe and handed it to Vera.

After Vera took it, a gust of wind surged around them, lifting the old man and carrying him toward the direction of Silent Wind Town.

After the old man left, Vera and Feiling stared at each other in silence.

Only then did Feiling's legs give way, and she collapsed directly against Feiyin.

Covering her face, she began to cry and laugh at the same time.

Vera squatted down and carefully fed the potion to Feiyin.

The effect was immediate; the chest, previously covered in gore, healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Limb Regeneration Potion..."

Vera knew the old man was no ordinary person, so the potion he gave must be something excellent.

But she never expected it to be a top-tier magic potion like the Limb Regeneration Potion.

It was somewhat extravagant.

The price of just this single vial was more than the three of them could earn in a year...

She shook Feiyin awake; she had already recovered her health and could even be considered the one in the best condition among the three.

After explaining the situation to her in general terms, the three continued walking west, planning to cut straight through the forest.

Although the old man had already rushed to Silent Wind Town, Vera did not want to take any further risks.

After discussion, the three decided to rest in the surrounding areas first and deliberate further once the situation had calmed down.

————

Hallucinogenic spores filled the entire cave; continuous spraying had nearly exhausted all of Knight Puffeater's stock.

That single-minded dragonkin really did dig a tunnel toward here; it must possess some kind of detection skill, but Lin Jun had no time to observe it.

Its claws could easily刨 open rocks, and it burrowed into the cavern like a mole.

By now, it had probably dug halfway through.

There was no choice; to welcome it, Lin Jun had to prepare the highest standard of hospitality.

Not only did he prepare a fog of poison with maximum concentration, but six disposable fungal cannon barrels also extended from behind Knight Puffeater.

With the boost of 200% additional skill power, the moment it emerged, he would give it a grand welcome gift!

(End of this chapter)