In a place where even supplies are scarce and Puki has nowhere to land, to fight a territorial battle with a surprising number of demons, possibly backed by a powerful entity?

Lin Jun was too full to do such a thing, and decisively chose to change course.

This time, the bat scouts came in handy!

One by one, the bat scouts flapped their wings and flew into different rifts, hoping to find the one that Inanna descended through. If not, at least explore a path without obstacles that leads smoothly to the bottom.

However, something strange emerged: with so many rifts, even if some merged after extending downward, there were still nearly 20 routes left.

But no matter which route, after flying down to a similar depth, they all saw the Thousand Core Mayflies residing there.

The only difference was that in some places, individual advanced Thousand Core Mayflies resided, while in most areas, there were swarms of low-level Thousand Core Mayflies.

And whether advanced or low-level, upon seeing the descending bat scouts, they all chose to rush up and eat the Pukis.

The bat scouts couldn't fly past them and could only self-destruct.

But this is strange; if all routes have Thousand Core Mayflies, how did Inanna get down there initially?

When she turned into a Puki back then, she hadn't connected to the Fungal Network and indeed couldn't observe the surroundings.

But if she floated down so slowly, and encountered these Thousand Core Mayflies, she would have been picked up long ago, so how did she successfully fall down?

Or did something change after leaving the Deep Area?

Was it the influence of the Demon Tide?

Lin Jun wasn't sure, but he knew that his direct-to-the-bottom plan might need careful reconsideration.

Whether or not to fight a battle without territorial advantage far from home, he hadn't yet decided.

————

Meanwhile, Lin Jun was making one last effort, hoping to find a corner not occupied by the Thousand Core Mayflies to sneak through, unaware of the trouble the new employee was causing...

A Flower Python coiled around Norris, rendering him immobile, its mouth biting into Norris's shoulder, seemingly injecting a toxin.

However, Norris had [Poison Resistance] and [Paralysis Resistance], and was not affected.

But even without being poisoned, his situation was not optimistic.

His left arm was pinned to a tree trunk by the roots of three Flower Demons, leaving only his right hand free to move.

Norris hadn't expected the python to coordinate with the Flower Demons, and was caught off-guard, falling into a passive one-on-two situation.

He started regretting sharpening his nails; his movable right hand couldn't cause effective damage to the python without claws.

But if he didn't fight back, he would be done for.

Would he be thrown into the Swamp Area if he died?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Norris used his remaining right hand to grip the body of the python and exerted all his strength to tear a wound open, then bit down!

[Neurotoxin Level 4]

He could also use poison!

But the poison was as useless as saliva in battle, with no opportunity to use it, until today.

Fortunately, the Flower Python lacked the corresponding resistance, and under the effect of the toxin, the snake's body loosened up around Norris.

Norris freed his hand to pull out the roots pinning his left hand, not even having time to deal with the Flower Python below him, turning to hide in the bushes.

His urgency was due to three adventurers approaching as sensed from the Fungal Network; he needed to hide quickly...

Another root drilled out from the ground beneath, piercing through Norris's foot.

"This Flower Demon!"

Norris was furious at the Flower Demon; he didn't mind the injury and pain, as after being transformed, small injuries healed fast, but the timing!

"What is that?"

The adventurer's voice echoed, causing Norris to freeze.

"A Demon Race Lizardman?"

"Sort of, but he doesn't have a tail."

"Even in the Underground City...?"

In a few words, the adventurers had already judged Norris's affiliation based on his appearance.

The adventurers seemed a bit afraid of the Demon Race, but someone said:

"He looks injured!"

By the time Norris pulled out the root from his foot, the three adventurers had started to surround him.

The Demon Race was dangerous, but killing a Demon spy offered hefty rewards; in this mutually destructive situation with demons and the Demon Race, anyone would want to try being the beneficiary.

Norris was contemplating whether to turn and escape or attempt to explain, but he stopped retreating when he saw a Half-Elf among the adventurers.

Norris didn't know the Half-Elf's name, but he remembered the burn mark under his left eye.

This was the person who stole his silver coins and, when caught by Norris, had his companions beat him up!

Norris didn't know why he suddenly decided not to run anymore.

Even if he knew the person had bullied him, so what?

Hadn't he suffered enough bullying over the years?

Now injured, he should have turned to run and asked for his boss's help.

But why did he bare his claws and start approaching them?

The subsequent memory was a blur; Norris only felt his breathing become heavy, as if his body was being controlled by a devil, dancing outside his consciousness.

When he regained awareness, the first thing he noticed was the thick scent of blood in his nostrils.

Both his and the adventurers'.

Underneath him lay the mutilated corpse of the Half-Elf, and the other two adventurers lay not far away, one covered with claw marks and the other strangled to death by tree roots.

Tree roots?

"Are you alright?"

Beside him, Xiao Lv the Tree Demon came forward, surrounded by Pukis, to inquire.

Due to frequent activities on the sixth floor, Norris recognized it as one of the boss's subordinates too.

It seemed he received help from it?

Norris tried hard to recall the previous moments but could only remember the sensation of claws tearing through flesh.

"Tha... thank you." Though he couldn't remember, it didn't prevent Norris from expressing gratitude.

However, the Tree Demon just asked again, "Are you okay?"

Seemingly realizing something, Norris looked down at his body.

The cut on his abdomen continuously bled, and he knelt on the ground because his right leg below the knee was missing, along with the dagger in his heart…

See, there was no way he could have beaten three Silver Level Adventurers...

Xiao Lv caught the falling Norris and promptly connected to Lin Jun through the Fungal Network.

Lin Jun's mushroom was numb.

How did this all happen just because he wasn't paying attention for a moment?

Lin Jun couldn't comprehend it; he should have told Norris to hide upon encountering adventurers.

Even in an unexpected situation, Norris should have called him promptly, right!

How could it end like this, a pyrrhic victory, with Xiao Lv reporting in the end!?

Instantly took control of the Pukis trailing behind Xiao Lv.

A few Pukis were responsible for disposing of the adventurers' bodies—strip and dump them in places with the Fungal Mat.

The remaining Pukis rolled up Norris and his right leg lying in the grass and headed to the fifth layer.

"Open the way! Meanwhile, explain what happened." Lin Jun directly ordered Xiao Lv.

Xiao Lv took the lead at the forefront.

"I'm not sure of the specifics either; I sensed Norris fighting with someone and came to take a look. I saw him almost get killed by adventurers upon my arrival, so I hastily dispatched one."

The Tree Demon, too, was connected to the Fungal Network, so sensing distant events was quite normal.

Lin Jun had also instructed the Tree Demon not to proactively attack adventurers, so Xiao Lv explained.

"Hmm."

Lin Jun asked no further questions; the matter would probably only become clear after Norris regains consciousness.

With so many matters demanding his simultaneous attention, he truly couldn't grasp every detail within the Underground City.

It would be nice if the Fungal Mat had a replay function...

Or if the seldom-used [Spiritual Integration] skill were to upgrade too!

He hoped Norris's issue wasn't self-initiated trouble.

The rules were relayed to Norris clearly; unruley subordinates are troubles, not aids.

Thinking about it carefully, with four subordinates now, Xiao Lv the Tree Demon might be the most worry-free?

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