Chapter 537, Section 536: The Great Dao Has Been Annihilated
Scout Puji hopped quickly through the forest, waving its tentacles and casually slicing two overconfident slimes in half mid-air.
Lin Jun was also impressed by the sheer number of slimes in this area.
It feels like if left unattended, the forest would be completely eroded in three or four months.
It's unclear whether the abnormal increase in magic concentration caused by the fog is a temporary phenomenon or a permanent change, but at least for now, there's no sign of it decreasing.
The fog itself is completely unknown, and Lin Jun still hasn't figured out the pattern of its forward encroachment and sudden retreat.
Scout Puji, being a reconnaissance-specialized Puji, is very fast. Despite being far away, it was the first to arrive.
It landed steadily on a thick, horizontal tree branch, with a small, newly blasted crater on the ground below, surrounded by charred wood chips and metal fragments.
This is... an explosive arrow?
It wasn't that Lin Jun was particularly perceptive; she was simply quite familiar with this thing. Explosive Arrows were one of the commonly used items for adventurers.
However, apart from the explosion crater, there were no other battle remnants at the scene, making it strange that a single explosive arrow detonated there.
By switching between several sensory skills, a discovery was made immediately.
Further away, a succubus was stealthily moving away.
Nearby, a team composed of a mix of humans and demons was cautiously making its way to the explosion site. They were very close and would arrive soon.
And in front of...
The scout slightly raised his mushroom hat.
On another leafy branch not far away, a dark green slime, almost blending into its surroundings, was quietly lurking in the shadows of the leaves.
The key point is that Lin Jun's initial use of [Magic Perception] completely failed to detect its existence!
It wasn't until we switched to [sound wave detection], which relies more on physical feedback, that its outline was finally revealed!
And its panel is also quite extraordinary:
Status: Family Member
This status label will only appear on the panel of individuals controlled by the [Family Control] ability.
Just like the scout Puji controlled by Lin Jun, this status is also displayed on the panel.
We're in the same industry!
The other two groups were no longer important; Lin Jun's vision was now focused solely on the slime.
Puji and Slime face each other across a branch.
The wind stopped, and the forest was silent.
The scout's tentacles drooped slightly, and its center of gravity lowered.
The surface of the dark green slime opposite it rippled almost imperceptibly, quietly gathering its power.
A withered leaf, breaking free from the branch, twirls and drifts leisurely into the gap between them.
The moment the leaf tip touches the ground!
The slime shrank, and the accumulated power suddenly exploded, transforming its entire body into a dark green arrow that slammed fiercely towards Puji!
There were no feints, no detours, only the most direct and deadly strikes.
madness!
Although the slime moved quickly, Lin Jun was able to react in time.
The mushroom cannon, which had been ready to fire, was launched and shot towards the target that could not change direction in mid-air!
However, the expected scene of the slime being blasted into a spray of juice did not occur.
In mid-air, the dark green slime stretched itself into a hollow tube, allowing the mushroom cannon to pass right through it!
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Puji used the recoil from the cannon fire to retreat quickly, but it was still a beat too slow. One corner of its round mushroom cap was shattered by the high-speed passing slime, sending fragments of mycelium flying everywhere.
In the first round of combat, the scout Puji was surprisingly at a disadvantage.
The damaged area of the mushroom cap was quickly stained with a dark green color, which was obviously the toxins attached to the slime's bodily fluids.
However, Puji has never been afraid of most poisons.
Without pausing, Lin Jun lashed out with her tentacle blade, striking straight at the opponent's core.
Not to be outdone, the slime also split its liquid body into several sticky tentacles to fight back.
When the nine cult members drawn by the explosion rushed to the scene, they were met with a sight that defied all comprehension:
The two "Supreme Ones" were fighting from the tree branches to the clearing under the forest. Wherever they passed, the grass and trees were either silently cut off by their sharp energy, shattered by their magic cannons, or quickly withered and turned black by the splashed dark green venom.
"Slime...and Puji?"
The cult leader rubbed his eyes, almost unable to believe the absurd sight he was witnessing.
The ones that caused that explosion were these two... low-level monsters?
Puji is one thing, but the events of the past year have changed people's impression of it. But what's with this slime?
Are these lowly monsters lining up to stage a comeback?!
*Sizzle!*
A severed, dark green liquid tentacle flew over and slammed into a tree trunk next to the cultist, splashing out a few drops of viscous venom.
The leader reacted quickly and dodged in time, but another cultist behind him was not so lucky; a few drops of venom splashed into his wide-open eyes.
"My eyes! They're burning! So hot—!!!"
The man screamed and collapsed to the ground, covering his face with his hands. The other cultists were too late to help, as the two demons, engrossed in their battle, were getting closer and closer.
The mushroom cannon shot was dodged by the slime at the last second, but landed on the unfortunate cultist, ending his suffering.
Faced with a deadly battle between two obviously strange monsters, the cultists originally did not intend to get involved, even if it meant losing a companion.
However, as the battleground continued to shift, it inevitably drew in these unrelated individuals, turning them into a chaotic melee.
...
The chaos of the battle and the bursts of magical energy drew Mengya back from where she had been hiding.
She cautiously peeked out, looking at the woodland that had been completely turned into a chaotic battlefield, and thought it was outrageous.
I only activated one explosive arrow... how did it turn out like this?
However, she noticed that a cultist who appeared to have an injured arm was taking advantage of the chaos to scramble away from the battle, abandoning his companions and fleeing in a sorry state into the woods, which was slightly off-center from the church.
He's obviously a guy with a weak will.
Mengya's eyes darted around, she hesitated for a moment, and then quietly followed.
...
On the other side, inside the abandoned church.
The church's structure is not complicated, but the space is quite large.
Vera hid in the shadows of the corner with Feiyin, while Feiling nimbly leaped onto the beam and stealthily crept over.
Vera and Fyne huddled together in the shadows behind a thick stone pillar, holding their breath.
Like a feline, Feline used the crisscrossing broken wooden beams and the shadows of the dome high above to move forward lightly and silently, finally landing on a cantilever beam that overlooked the hall below.
The original altar area of the church has been completely transformed. A huge and intricate circular magic circle has been carved into the ground, with deep, dark trenches filled with magical materials.
Seven or eight humans were tightly bound with ropes and placed at the edge of the magic circle like livestock to be slaughtered. Most of them were unconscious or semi-conscious.
Fei Ling's gaze swept quickly across the group, and she soon spotted Anton's figure among them.
The adventurer captain who had once helped them now had his eyes closed, his face pale, and his chest rising and falling slightly. He seemed to be still alive, but his condition was clearly not good.
Closer to the shadows in the corner, she also spotted a goblin.
Perhaps because they felt that a mere goblin posed no threat, the cultists didn't even bother to knock it out.
Therefore, it became the only one among all the sacrifices that was completely conscious and also the most fearful.
It seemed to have something stuffed in its mouth, and it was wriggling restlessly, its eyes wide with terror as it stared at the center of the magic circle.
Its mouth was firmly stuffed with a dirty rag, and it could only whimper incoherently. Its eyes were wide open in terror, staring intently at the figure dressed in priest's robes.
The priest presiding over the ceremony wore a light blue and white priest's robe, made of soft material, with a simple yet solemn cut, completely different from the cultists around him who were wrapped in black robes.
Her hood was half-lowered, revealing her delicate profile and chin.
In the firelight, her face appeared serene, even bearing a compassionate expression of pity for all living beings.
If people are not familiar with the attire of the Church of Light, they might even mistake her for a regular clergy member serving the Church of Light.
At this moment, she lowered her head slightly, her slender hands elegantly clasped in front of her, and she murmured a prayer.
As the last syllable faded, she slightly raised her eyelids, her gaze passing over the dappled shadows and landing in the direction where Vera and the others were hiding.
Her voice remained gentle: "Lost traveler, there is no need to hide. The goddess will not reject any child who suffers in the mortal world. Come out, there is still room in the ceremony."
If Lin Jun were here, she would recognize Gini, the cult priestess she had met once before, who had sacrificed almost the entire adventurer team.
After a year apart, she has now reached the diamond level.
(End of this chapter)
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