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Chapter 527.5: The Living Jungle
Chris carefully adjusted his breathing, holding a probe the size of chopsticks.
The faintly glowing probe brought a collective sigh of relief.
Scanning the surroundings, Alice decisively called out:
"No one move. Clear all the surrounding shrubs!"
"Chris, release the construction golems. Sentry units, gather and rotate using the probes—stay alert for any approaching creatures."
"Shield bearers form an outer perimeter. Prepare to build a watchtower and protect the spellcasters constructing the teleportation array..."
Remaining vigilant, the Alice Adventurers swiftly cleared a large area, as they had practiced.
In no time, a small camp emerged.
Always on guard, Matthew carefully reviewed each team member's status panel.
Suddenly, Matthew turned to Chris and said:
"Have Dwarf Fourteen take the antidote."
Without hesitation, Chris dashed off, shouting,
"Fourteen! Take the antidote!"
Fourteen, who had just slapped a mosquito off his cheek, looked over in confusion.
He felt a slight itch on his face, his body stiffened, his vision darkened, and his head began to feel muddled.
Just then, Ash pried his mouth open and poured in a vial of antidote, followed by a healing potion.
Once the "poisoned" status was lifted and his health recovered, Matthew turned back to Alice and said:
"Be cautious of all insects. Sprinkle repellents and form groups of four. Keep a close eye on everyone's condition."
Alice loudly relayed these precautions. The adventurers, seeing the disoriented dwarf slowly recover after lying down, quickly snapped to attention.
Thankfully, the construction golems weren't affected by these poisonous insects.
They hardened the ground with transmute mud to stone spells and cleared away all reeds and weeds.
The adventurers got busy, pulling out various tools and materials to set up the camp.
After half an hour.
The camp was fully built, and the protective barriers and wards were activated on the walls.
All manner of snakes, insects, rats, and ants fled the area, finally giving the adventurers some peace.
Scanning the nearby thickets, Matthew noted that the Alice Adventurers' noisy activities had likely scared off most weaker monsters.
However, he had a faint sense that powerful predators were lurking within the surrounding mist.
Yaya, intently watching the mist, seemed eager to act.
But she held back for now—it wasn't the right time.
Matthew took out the large teleportation array crafted by Kron Norman and set it in the center of the camp.
As a burst of teleportation light appeared,
a well-prepared contingent of Bay Territory soldiers stepped out first.
Led by Jifan, who had already received detailed instructions from Matthew, they took their positions on the walls.
Along with them came more construction golems.
The walls were quickly reinforced and raised, and both surface and underground structures rapidly expanded.
The aim was to prevent monsters from launching subterranean attacks and to ensure the large teleportation array remained secure.
Following them out,
were the somewhat anxious adventurers.
Observing the bustling construction golems and the growing camp, their respect for Bay Territory deepened.
Having golems didn't necessarily indicate strength.
But being able to deploy golems on such a large scale proved the territory's formidable power.
As the adventurers took in their surroundings, Jifan, armed with fresh information, issued a call:
"First mission: exploration."
"Any new information you gather can be exchanged for gold and merit points."
"You can pick up a batch of probes here."
"These probes will show different colored signals when they detect magical materials or enemies. The more lights, the higher the grade."
As soon as the first adventuring team leaders received the probes, their eyes lit up with intrigue.
Before they could fully react, the newly constructed adventurers' hall displayed a large magical projection.
A multitude of tasks appeared, dazzling the onlookers.
Leading the way, Alice approached confidently and immediately accepted several scouting missions.
Seeing someone take the lead, the other waiting adventurer teams quickly rushed forward.
The first wave of adventurer teams cleared out all the scouting missions.
The second wave of adventurer teams was left stunned, but soon, a second batch of missions appeared on the task board.
"Clearance task: clear 1,000 meters around the camp of magical creatures ×300."
"Construction task: control engineering golems, dig a moat, expand the city ×120."
"Collection task: collect all plants and creatures within a 100-meter radius ×500."
"…"
More and more adventurers began leaving the base.
The adventurer teams receiving clearance and killing tasks were typically new arrivals to Bay Territory.
They found these tasks the easiest and simplest.
Meanwhile, the more experienced adventurer teams chose to quietly take on construction and collection tasks.
In the words of the cautious:
"As time goes on, Bay Territory will gather more information and surely produce matching adventurer supplies."
"That makes sense. We don't need to show off right away. Survival comes first; let the rookies test the waters."
"We're not like the Alice Adventurers who get insider info from Bay Territory. Playing it safe is the smart move."
"Don't let the current calm fool you. The danger could come at any moment…"
The newly arrived adventurers weren't entirely convinced by these seasoned words.
But they quickly realized the veterans were right.
What appeared to be peaceful shrubs actually concealed a great deal of danger.
Within ten minutes of setting out, several unlucky adventurers directing the engineering golems to clear the shrubs ended up poisoned.
One of them, bitten on the head by a jumping insect, didn't even survive long enough for the antidote to take effect.
This death served as a stark warning, putting all the adventurers on high alert.
As he moved forward, Matthew rapidly gathered and processed information, noting down the details of the insects leaping onto the magical barrier.
"Until we find a more effective repellent, we'll need fully enclosed protection…"
Standing nearby, Alice glanced at Matthew hidden under his cloak as they approached the jungle.
"With him here, our safety has greatly improved."
The other members of the Alice Adventurers felt the same way.
With the protection of an Arcanist, their chances of survival significantly increased.
Upon entering the jungle.
The once bright light immediately dimmed.
Towering trees, like enormous umbrellas, blocked out the sky.
Dangling roots and sprawling vines made the already crowded jungle even more constricted.
The varying shades of green painted a strange stillness in the misty drizzle.
The experienced adventurers formed multiple smaller groups and slowly advanced around Matthew.
Out in front scouting, Elio cautiously surveyed their surroundings.
Suddenly, Sera at her side raised a hand in a warning gesture.
There was an enemy!
Elio instantly stopped, her hand moving to her sword hilt.
Standing tall, Beelzebub did not halt. Clad in heavy armor, he marched forward. His team's strongest defender, he was the ideal bait to draw out the enemy.
"Hiss…"
A low, raspy sound emerged from the distant mist.
Sensing the approaching threat, Beelzebub narrowed his eyes and raised his upgraded twin slaughter axes, assuming a defensive stance.
Crack!
The sound of snapping wood came from above.
A shadow fell, and a wide-open maw lunged at Beelzebub!
Boom!
Though appearing cumbersome, Beelzebub sidestepped nimbly, swinging his ready axe directly into the attacker's head.
The heavy black scales and axe blade struck together, sending out a shower of sparks.
With a terrifying strength of 30, Beelzebub's blow sent the creature crashing into trees, snapping trunks, and revealing its distorted form.
Its shriveled body concealed muscles that weren't particularly strong.
Its camouflage skin blended perfectly with the surroundings.
Its powerful legs provided bursts of speed, while the black scales offered survival ability.
Its entire body resembled a squashed, menacing giant toad.
"Catachan Face-Eater, high-level magical creature, challenge level 12+!"
"Special abilities: scale armor defense +4, camouflaged disguise."
Seeing the detailed information, Matthew regarded the familiar Catachan Face-Eater without a word.
Proper combat should be left to the team. That's how their skills would grow.
Although the Face-Eater had decent defenses, its most dangerous moment was its initial ambush.
Once it committed to a frontal fight with Beelzebub, its defeat was sealed.
Moving quickly, Beelzebub wasted no time with the grotesque Face-Eater. Before it could recover, his axe was already descending upon its head.
Boom!
Crack!
The hideous head was cleaved into pieces, and the massive body crashed to the ground.
Yet, to everyone's horror, the headless Face-Eater didn't stop moving. Instead, it struggled back to its feet.
Keen-eyed Beelzebub spotted the cause in its wounds.
Gray-white flesh harbored eerie gray-black thorns.
This ghastly sight made the other adventurers break out in cold sweat.
Having faced mutated creatures before, Beelzebub wasn't shaken. He pulled out a flask of fiery oil and hurled it at the charging Face-Eater.
Smack!
The bony, elongated claws shattered the oil flask, and thick fuel coated its body.
"Release!"
At Beelzebub's shout, a fire arrow shot forth, embedding itself in the Face-Eater's chest.
Whoosh!
The Face-Eater instantly erupted in flames, its body crackling and hissing as it burned.
Amidst its convulsive thrashing, the "revived" monster was reduced to a charred heap by the blaze.
Beelzebub cautiously kept his distance, watching as blackened spines, slick with dark blood, emerged from the charred remains.
The battered body, supported by those sinister spines, rose again.
Thwack!
Two axes swung down.
The severely weakened body was chopped into several pieces.
Ever careful, Beelzebub tore the body apart further, ignoring its grotesque spasms, and set it ablaze once more.
This final measure completely finished it off.
A crisp, pleasant notification confirmed what Matthew already knew:
"Ding! Your officer Beelzebub killed the Mutated Bloodthorn Vine, earning 40,000 destiny points."
The Mutated Bloodthorn Vine: high-level mutated plant, challenge level 14+.
Special abilities: parasitism, body manipulation, form transformation.
The detailed information made Matthew ponder deeply.
While Bloodthorn Vines were dangerous, Matthew had encountered them before.
However, the clear signs of mutation and distortion pointed Matthew toward an essential truth.
This place was contaminated.
Mutation had tainted it.
At that moment, the adventurers let out cries of alarm.
They saw the blackened, charred remains being consumed by moss and plants on the ground.
An overwhelming sense of dread filled their minds as they looked around, seeing nothing but a twisted green expanse.
Every plant here was alive!
Including this jungle!