Chapter 71: Afterglow of the war, a farewell gift from the dungeon!
As Arthur obliterated Zargnat in a flash of lightning, Riveria's long-prepared High · Sword of Victory also erupted.
A scorching pillar of flame violently rose from beneath the super-large worm's feet, and a sky full of fire arrows poured down like a sudden rain!
The fire instantly engulfed the monster's massive body, the worm and the female figure on its back both fell into the sea of fire, emitting a mournful wail!
Immediately after, it turned into rustling ashes in the high temperature that could melt gold and iron!
Hot waves rolled on both sides of the dilapidated forest, and on the charred earth, scattered clusters of fire stubbornly burned, not extinguishing for a long time.
Afterward, the temporary camp was in a mess, and the air was heavy due to the high temperature.
The Loki Familia members gathered again, counting the losses from this battle.
Ordinary members hurried about, either tending to the wounded or reinforcing the damaged defenses.
Inside the tent, Finn put down the report list with a solemn expression and gave a bitter smile to the waiting crowd.
"There is still a surplus of food and water, but the reserve armaments have been completely depleted, and even a lot of the drop materials from the spoils of war were destroyed by the new species monster's corrosive liquid."
"Although I don't want to admit it, from the current situation, our expedition will probably have to stop here."
Upon hearing this, the executives frowned and nodded, no one raised any objections.
There were simply too many unexpected changes in this expedition.
First, there were unprecedented new species monsters, then a super-large new species BOSS whose strength was no less than a Floor Boss, and finally, even the Dungeon's Cleaners appeared.
Even though they had not yet officially set foot in the Hell's Dragon Pot, everyone already felt exhausted.
Gareth, with his hands behind his back, thumped his somewhat stiff waist and sighed, feigning an old and decrepit appearance.
"Last time, we encountered the Cannon Dragon and Wyvern's ambush, threw away our armor, and fled back to the surface."
"This time, we encountered new species monsters and Cleaners, and almost got stuck on the 51st Floor again."
"The Dungeon's temperament is really quite nasty."
The others felt the same way, their faces showing sadness.
Finn, however, was relatively optimistic. He turned to Riveria and asked loudly.
"Are you sure Arthur defeated that Cleaner by himself?"
Riveria rolled her eyes in annoyance and repeated again.
"Of course I'm sure. If you don't believe me, why don't you ask Ais and the others?"
Finn quickly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, no longer provoking his inexplicably irritable old friend, and explained.
"I haven't heard of such a thing before, so I wanted to confirm it again. After all, this is the 50th Floor."
Hearing the hidden meaning in Finn's words, the more experienced Gareth and Riveria's eyes became a little more complex.
The latter suggested, "Are you really not considering promoting Arthur to an executive now?"
"Even if the Familia members don't understand the significance of a Cleaner, his achievement of single-handedly luring away the worm swarm is undeniable."
Tiona, who had been quietly listening to the three giants' discussion, her eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately raised her hand and said.
"I agree! Young Arthur is clearly stronger than all of us, yet he doesn't even have an executive title, that's too strange!"
Tione quickly held down her sister, her eyes gazing at the thoughtful Finn with a hint of adoration, and warned in a low voice.
"Idiot Tiona, don't cause trouble for the Captain!"
Bete, leaning in the furthest corner, recalled the thrilling high-speed offense and defense battle from earlier and spoke indifferently.
"Why are you all so worried? That guy's leveling speed is like a rocket, and now he's defeated that Cleaner, so maybe he'll be LV5 when he gets back?"
Hearing Bete say this, Ais's eyes flickered slightly, and she pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something.
But Finn, who had finished his thoughts a step earlier, clapped his hands and explained to everyone with a smile.
"I had a special talk with Arthur before. He doesn't care about titles at all, and even said he wanted to experience life in the second squad."
"It's just a pity that things didn't go as planned. Now it seems that the entire Familia already regards him as an executive."
Everyone recalled the scene when they first arrived and set up camp on the 50th Floor, and nodded in agreement.
"Then let's follow Bete's suggestion and decide when we return to headquarters."
"I never thought Bete could come up with a useful suggestion."
"Hey! I'm still here!"
"I'm complimenting you, you stupid wolf!"
"Heh, well thank you very much then!"
...
Time passed quietly, the lights of the magic stone lamps in the camp gradually dimmed one by one, and most of the members who had fought all day fell into a deep sleep.
Arthur sat alone on the edge of a rock, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the 51st Floor, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
He raised his left hand, gazing at the two mysteriously shimmering starlight marks on his palm, lost in thought.
The number of marks had not increased.
Was it because he wasn't the one who ended the opponent?
Or was it because that super-large worm wasn't its main body?
"Fuwu~"
The pure white young beast quietly darted out from behind him with light steps, its whereabouts as elusive as ever.
Arthur laughed helplessly, reached out and picked up Fou by the scruff of her neck, bringing her into his arms, and while gently stroking her fur, he murmured in a low voice.
"That guy's clone crawled up from the 51st Floor, so its main body must be on a deeper floor. What do you say, should I go explore it myself?"
"Fua~~~"
Fou seemed not to have heard his whisper, stretched and let out a long yawn, nestled comfortably in his arms, and fell into a deep sleep.
Arthur gently stroked Fou's soft fur, shook his head helplessly, and fell into thought again.
Excluding the disgusting but not very useful dissolving liquid, the combat power of the super-large worm BOSS would at most fluctuate around LV6.
Even if its main body's various ability values far exceeded Zargnat's LV9, he still had the Limit Overclock trump card that had not yet been unsealed.
With the five-minute full power burst obtained after advancing to LV4, he was confident he wouldn't lose to the opponent's main body.
So, should he go?
Arthur shook himself, gathered his scattered thoughts, and his gaze returned to the temporary camp.
The haphazardly stacked supply boxes, the makeshift cloth shelters temporarily erected due to insufficient tents, and the occasional painful groans of the wounded emanating from within the shelters.
"Just in case, I'll ask the Mysterious Voice next time."
Arthur carefully picked up the sleeping Fou and turned to walk back into the camp.
...
The next morning, the Familia members who were still able to move quickly dismantled the camping equipment, packed up the remaining spoils of war, and embarked on their return journey.
Considering that large-scale troops move slowly in the underground labyrinth and are difficult to respond to sudden monster attacks.
Finn ordered the entire team to be divided into three.
Riveria led a small squad of elites to clear the way in front; in the middle was the supporter team carrying the spoils of war; and he, along with Gareth, protected the many wounded at the rear.
Arthur and the others were all assigned to Riveria's vanguard squad, and for the past few days, they had been responsible for the important task of pioneering.
The group did not choose to stop briefly on the relatively safe 18th Floor, but instead passed directly through the forest and arrived at the entrance to the 17th Floor's rock cave labyrinth.
Arthur looked back at the tired faces of his teammates and quietly reminded Riveria beside him.
"The middle squad is very exhausted. We need to be careful not to have a situation where the front and back get separated."
Riveria also looked back at the weary-faced members, her voice filled with worry.
"But we are the vanguard after all, and our marching speed directly affects whether the wounded can receive timely treatment."
Arthur shook his head: "That's why we need to be even more cautious here. Once we get separated, it will take even more time to deal with it."
Saying that, he stepped towards Ais and the others who were waiting at the entrance of the rock cave.
"The subsequent task assignments remain unchanged. Riveria will command the middle, I will be responsible for the rear, ready to support the supporters at any time, and the task of clearing the way is still up to you few."
"Pay attention to controlling the speed, don't rush too hard, everyone is very tired."
The three girls, Ais, nodded one after another, while Bete, with a slightly displeased glance at the dispirited long line behind them, walked into the rock cave first without a word to clear the way.
And soon after everyone entered the 17th Floor's labyrinth, heavy, oppressive breathing sounds, like the panting of giant beasts, reverberated against the rock walls!
This was the Dungeon's purest malice, determined to deliver its final "farewell gift" to this weary group of homeward-bound travelers!