"Light! There's light up ahead!"
The soldier at the very front shouted.
Leilin looked, and sure enough, at the far end of the passage, a glowing opening had appeared.
"Charge!" Viscount Jackson gripped his greatsword with both hands and was the first to rush inside.
The others followed close behind.
Light! Blinding light poured down relentlessly!
Leilin's eyes burned with pain, and tears streamed out involuntarily. He quickly covered his eyes with his palm.
"Ah!" "Monsters!" "Watch out!"
All manner of cries erupted, accompanied by the sounds of shouting and weapons being swung.
"Warning! Attack detected ahead. Optimal response: retreat and crouch!" The Chip's alert sounded, projecting a pale blue light screen.
On the screen, a claw the size of a human palm was swiping toward Leilin's face!
Leilin hastily retreated, narrowly dodging the strike.
Screams continued to echo around him, and through the din he could faintly hear Viscount Jackson's furious roars.
Through the scene scanned by the Chip, Leilin could see many monsters resembling the lizard-like creatures from before, exploiting their geographical advantage to slaughter Jackson's squad.
The ambush had come so swiftly that by the time Viscount Jackson and the others' eyes finally adjusted, the entire team had already suffered devastating casualties!
Leilin opened his eyes, now readjusted, and swept his gaze around. The ground was covered with corpses, many of them bearing bite marks from the monsters.
Of the original group, only Viscount Jackson, his two Knight-rank squad leaders, and the grey-robed figure who had been trailing behind Jackson remained.
As for the Wizard Apprentices, one had even fallen to the ground with a massive gash torn open in his abdomen, blood gushing out.
On the cavern ceiling, jellyfish-like white creatures drifted about, and it was from them that the earlier blinding light had emanated.
"The glow on those jellyfish can apparently intensify in an instant, producing an effect similar to a flashbang. The monsters know how to coordinate — there's definitely a reasonably intelligent creature directing them from behind to cause such heavy casualties!"
The jellyfish that had unleashed one burst of intense light seemed somewhat listless now, floating overhead. Though they still emitted a glow, it was no longer blinding, suggesting the flash had been a one-time attack.
"Those are flash jellyfish — a subterranean species. That attack can only be used once; they'll need a full day of rest before they can produce another burst of blinding light!"
Meierfeile, standing off to the side, had somehow produced a book from somewhere and was clutching it to his chest.
"What we need to deal with isn't the parasites surrounding us — it's that thing in the middle!" Leilin pointed toward the center of the cavern, a bitter smile on his face.
They had entered a massive underground cave. The ceiling was studded with stalactites and flash jellyfish, giving Leilin a clear view of everything inside.
Within the cave were many mutated creatures similar to those they had seen before — lizards, brown bears, elk, and more — at least a dozen in total. And at their very center, a massive yellow serpent sat enthroned like a king, surrounded by the other monsters.
"It's a Manxter — a withered Manxter serpent!" The book slipped from Meierfeile's hands and hit the ground with a soft thump.
"Chip, scan!" Leilin commanded mentally.
"Withered Serpent — Manxter (Semi-mature). Strength: 11.9. Agility: 6.5. Constitution: 14. Spirit: 8.
Skills: 1. Parasitism — The Manxter can produce highly contaminating seeds within its body, which parasitize other organisms and create subordinate creatures. 2. Wither — All plant life in areas the Manxter passes through completely loses its vitality, becoming nourishment for the Manxter. A fully mature Manxter possesses Wizard-level power and can reduce an entire forest to withered ash."
"Source materials: Bestiary of Creatures, Travels of Nigel."
The Chip relayed the information directly into Leilin's field of vision.
"Semi-mature? So it hasn't fully grown yet!" Leilin felt a brief wave of relief, then raised his voice: "Meierfeile, don't be fooled by appearances — this is still an immature Manxter. We still have a chance!"
"That's right!" Meierfeile studied the earth-yellow serpent carefully and finally recovered from his panic. "A mature Manxter is at least a hundred meters long. This one is clearly far shorter, and the number of parasites it's producing doesn't match either!"
"So this serpent is the real culprit behind the withering?" Viscount Jackson stared at the massive snake, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Exactly! Manxters feed on plant sap. They're extremely cunning and lazy — they hate moving around and typically send their parasites out to gather food and such!"
A wealth of life experience had given Meierfeile intimate knowledge of the Manxter serpent's habits.
"Then! If we kill it — the herb yield of the Dark Night Forest will recover?" Viscount Jackson pointed his longsword at the yellow serpent protected within its ring of parasites.
"In theory, yes. As long as you kill it or drive it away, the forests that have already died cannot be brought back, but all the other forests outside the Manxter's feeding range will return to normal!"
A bitter smile appeared on Meierfeile's face.
Hssss! Coiled at the center of the cavern, the Manxter serpent flicked its tongue, emitting a low serpentine whisper.
It was a sound like two pieces of worn leather being rubbed together — thoroughly nauseating and grating on the ears.