Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 380 - 372: Unexpected Assault

Abyssal Space beneath the Divine Wood.

Gurgle—

"I’m so hungry... is there really nothing to eat here?"

Listening to his comrade’s desperate complaint, Salian, lying on the ground, suddenly thought of a plump Puki wandering in the darkness.

But it’s clearly not the time to mention that.

After a long rest, the three of them barely managed to recover from the chaotic mental impact of the fragmented information.

Salian got up and walked toward another moderately sized information block in the distance.

Yet behind him came the tired voice of another Mage:

"I say... stop torturing yourself. We’ve been struggling for so long and found nothing useful except for some fragmented images. Just the three of us, thinking we can find a way out from this vast ocean of blocks—it’s just a dream. Besides, who can guarantee that there’s even a way to leave in here?"

The previous experience of being hit by an information torrent and falling unconscious still left him uneasy, and with no results, this Elf Mage had internally given up hope.

Salian understood there was some truth to his words but still replied, "We must try."

Captain of the Guard, Eco, didn’t even bother to respond, throwing a slightly disdainful look before turning to another information block.

This silent response left the Mage somewhat embarrassed, and he couldn’t help but say again, "Even if we do find a way, so what? Teachers spend so long preparing for Teleportation, and we have no Casting Materials at all. You can’t naively think that just touching the right block will teleport us out?"

Salian ignored this, reaching out directly to the block in front of him.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch the block’s surface, the surrounding space suddenly rippled like waves!

When the three of them raised their heads again, they were greeted by a splendid sunset.

"We made it out! Well done, Salian!" Eco was the first to react, shouting excitedly.

Salian, however, looked bewildered, "No... I haven’t..."

But Eco no longer had time to listen carefully; he dashed toward the camp like an arrow, "Time is tight! You two catch up quickly!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure had vanished into the twilight.

Eco, running at full speed, was not someone the other two could keep up with.

Salian quickly scanned his surroundings, grabbed a lopsided-hat Puki that was teleported out with them, and hurriedly rushed to find his sister!

The Mage left behind opened his mouth but awkwardly didn’t know what to say, ultimately quickening his pace to follow.

When Eco arrived at the camp first, the Elf Rangers were in chaos due to the sudden shutdown of the Gathering Light Barrier and the disappearance of temporary commander Seldan.

These disturbances ceased the moment Eco appeared.

He summoned a trusted subordinate, briefly inquired about the situation, and immediately ordered the Rangers to retreat to the surface in an orderly fashion, instructing any sight of Seldan to detain him immediately.

He did not explain the reason, nor did his subordinate inquire further.

As for the news of Chief Mage Ilo’s rebellion, Eco did not announce it here to avoid chaotic disruptions during the retreat.

After arranging these, Eco set off alone again, rushing toward the Underground City exit at extraordinary speed—intent on putting holes in that bastard Ilo!

Two minutes after Eco left, Salian arrived at the camp.

However, just as the Ranger troops began their orderly retreat, an unexpected assault occurred, catching them off guard!

...

The elves left, but Lin Jun did not leave that space.

For one thing, it wasn’t easy to get out now even if she wanted to.

It’s better to let Peragel take the prisoners back once the elf Ranger troops have withdrawn.

As for Puki, he’ll stay here!

At the very least, she must finish watching the information blocks here and later search for opportunities to gain more control.

Although the Underground City has a "legitimate administrator," named "Esogal," who likely possesses full control far beyond Lin Jun, an industry newcomer.

But since the opponent seems to be napping, Lin Jun maintains a simple mindset of "found equals gained, failure doesn’t lose," diligently searching for possible switches in the Divine Wood’s awareness interface.

Lin Jun doesn’t plan to get too involved in the internal strife of the elves.

It’s just... the bark of the Divine Wood seems to grow redder?

At a certain moment, the Divine Wood’s panel changed.

[Status: Dormant, Frenzy]

Lin Jun: ...

Sleeping frenzy?

And soon, Lin Jun witnessed how the Divine Wood went crazy while asleep.

The forest... came alive!

...

An Elf Ranger was swiftly maneuvering through the branches of giant trees, trying to quickly traverse the woods.

However, the surrounding branches, like frenzied tentacles, fiercely whipped and entangled him.

The curved saber in the Ranger’s hand turned into a silver light, slicing through every striking branch.

But regardless of where he landed, the attack continued incessantly.

As his Physical Strength and Spirit were continuously depleted, he failed to notice a slender branch underfoot, instantly entangled tightly around his ankle!

At this critical moment, a Druid quickly rushed in, cast Natural Magic, temporarily calming and dispersing the surrounding branches, rescuing the severely injured comrade.

They had just escaped the danger when the branches regained control and frenziedly attacked anew.

Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously throughout the forest.

"Stay away from the trees! Don’t stay on them! Come to this open land!" The elf’s command shouted loudly through amplification magic.

Red patterns spread from the roots up the giant trees in a very short time, followed by a devastating attack on the retreating Elf Rangers, causing heavy losses in an instant. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

It’s not that the Rangers weren’t cautious, but this was entirely unexpected by everyone.

These giant trees weren’t Migratory Trees, originally not supposed to have the ability to control branches, nor be susceptible to infection by Frenzy!

After paying the price of over twenty casualties, the elves, led by their commander, quickly cleared a zone, constructing a temporary defense wall backed by rocks.

Afterward, although roots occasionally attacked from underground, they couldn’t cause any new casualties to the vigilant elves.

To be fair, individually the awakened giant trees weren’t particularly strong.

They lacked Combat Skills, relying entirely on their immense size and surprise attacks to outmatch the elves.

Although able to move slowly after awakening, they were not as fast or threatening as Migratory Trees.

Even a Silver Level Ranger, given time, could singlehandedly resolve one using guerrilla tactics.

However, the problem was that such giant trees were everywhere!

Experts might still escape using speed and agility, but the elf Ranger troops could only be trapped here.

The elf in charge didn’t even order the troops to try breaking through.

Given the current situation, support was hopeless.

Arrows and potions were still temporarily available, but actively attacking would diminish supplies within one or two layers.

The commander didn’t know the situation in other regions and dared not act rashly.

Only a few skilled scouts were sent out, while the main force found a good position, defending based on terrain.

From the scout reports afterward, this was undoubtedly a wise decision.

Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, some skilled elves even charged to the twelfth layer, only encountering awakened giant trees!

Inferring from this, the entire Underground City may have mutated.

The worst scenario...

The elf’s command had no solution; they could only hold out for reinforcement.

However, little did they know, not only had the giant trees in the Underground City mutated, but the entire Elf Forest had also fallen into great upheaval!