174: Attacked

Chapter 174: Ambush

An hour later, Yasuo and his group arrived at the entrance of the Beast Forest.

Looking at the eerie and strange forest in front of them, Hazel declared confidently, "The black mist told me, those people are right here!"

"This is the Beast Forest, completely opposite to the entrance of the Fifth Layer. What are they doing here..." Yasuo questioned.

Amis chuckled softly, glancing at the Beast Forest and shaking her head, "Hehe, could it be that they panicked and took the wrong path?"

"Hazel, confirm it again," Joseph looked at the Beast Forest with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "The kind of people who can set up a magic formation to trap us don't seem like they would panic and take the wrong path."

A wisp of black mist slowly rose from the ground, circled around Hazel, and finally drifted directly towards the Beast Forest. The meaning was clear: Dick and his group were inside.

Just like sword techniques, witchcraft also has many different schools, and Hazel belongs to the 'Mist Walker' school.

Most of the Mist Walker's witchcraft takes the form of black mist, whether for attack, defense, or everyday multi-functional applications.

It is rumored that upon mastering this school, a wizard can abandon their physical body and transform into a pure mass of black mist, thus becoming a true 'Mist Walker'.

Joseph's expression was solemn, and a faint light flickered in his cloudy eyes. He attempted to cast vision-enhancing magic to see through the entire Beast Forest.

But unfortunately, the Beast Forest itself has a natural barrier, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

"They came to the Beast Forest on purpose," Joseph sighed softly and said slowly, "They knew we would catch up sooner or later, so they want to muddy the waters!"

This is a very clever way to break the situation, because there's a high probability that other Super Squads are currently checking in within the Beast Forest. If these squads also get involved in competing for the longevity divine medicine...

The adventurers in Super Squads are all level 60 and above on average. They participate in the Championship solely to compete for rankings and don't open chests along the way at all.

Therefore, all five members of a Super Squad are powerhouses. To quickly clear the Underground City, they wouldn't bring a young boy like A Fan!

Joseph knew that if a fight really broke out, it would be a 4 vs 5 situation. A Fan was just a level 9 Holy Knight and couldn't help at all.

"What should we do, should we still go in?" Hazel hesitated.

Everyone else looked at Joseph, waiting for him to make a decision. After all, his seniority was evident; he was the undisputed captain.

After much thought, Joseph still said in a deep voice, "Let's go in, we can't delay any longer. If that purple longevity divine flower falls into the hands of other Super Squads, it will be troublesome!"

Although those Super Squads don't open chests, they wouldn't refuse the purple longevity divine flower. This is undoubtedly a priceless treasure.

But ultimately, Joseph believed that Dick and his group wouldn't dare expose the existence of the purple longevity divine flower, much less gain the protection of other Super Squads.

This is a tense and exciting Championship, where every second counts and efficiency is paramount. How could anyone have the leisure to protect a group of young men and women?

Is it because you kids are handsome?

After several analyses, Joseph believed that Dick and his group were just hiding in a corner of the Beast Forest, stealthily staying put.

Everyone approved of Joseph's decision, immediately adjusted their formation, and entered the Beast Forest.

"Amis, take good care of A Fan. Not only are there many Beasts here, but they are also very hostile to outsiders..."

Joseph instructed as usual. A Fan's identity was special; he was the illegitimate son of Chairman Farman!

Besides his identity, A Fan had an even more special trait: luck!

A Fan's luck had always been especially good, ever since he was a child. Finding money every now and then was just basic, but his real talent lay in opening chests!

In the Toya Empire, A Fan was a minor celebrity in the adventurer circle. Many high-level adventurer groups hired him to open chests, and A Fan's schedule was even booked years in advance.

However, the luckiest thing for A Fan was that, under the most coincidental circumstances, he was recognized by Chairman Farman of the Adventurers Guild in the Toya Empire!

Therefore, after entering the Underground City, the four of them carefully protected A Fan the entire time, fearing he would suffer even the slightest injury.

Joseph was as steady as ever. He held his staff high and cast many colorful magic shields.

To live to his age, being cautious had become a subconscious habit.

Unlike Dick and his group, Yasuo's five people did not carry the aura of the level 58 Spirit Snake Madam, so they were soon frequently attacked by Beasts.

Wave after wave.

But the group was very strong. Even with numerous Beasts, none could get close; almost every single one was instantly killed.

Before long, the five people reached the depths of the Beast Forest, arriving at the place where Selena had been surrounded earlier.

Looking at the horrifying battle marks on the ground, Joseph's face showed shock. He could tell that a battle of level 60 or higher had occurred here!

"Damn it, could it be that those Super Squads fought here to compete for the purple longevity divine flower..." Hazel guessed.

Yasuo casually killed a Beast, spitting out the foxtail grass from his mouth and saying, "That brat really knows how to cause us trouble. He can't even use the purple longevity divine flower himself."

Joseph squatted down, carefully observing the battle marks on the ground, and soon noticed the corpses of four Fire Phoenix Squad members.

"It shouldn't be a battle for the purple longevity divine flower," Joseph slowly stood up, sounding somewhat uncertain, "It's likely a ranking battle, two Super Squads surrounding another squad."

This is an adventurer check-in point on the Fifth Layer. The probability of a ranking battle breaking out here is high, especially at this point in time.

While the other three were analyzing the battle marks, Amis looked around nervously. She subconsciously hugged A Fan tightly, a bad premonition in her heart.

"Stop analyzing," Amis couldn't help but say, "Let's find them first, and get out of this cursed place as soon as possible..."

Suddenly, a silent swift arrow flew in stealthily. Its speed was too fast to see clearly, shooting directly towards Amis.

Thwack—

The magic shield Joseph had set up beforehand was like a fragile piece of thin paper, offering no resistance at all. The swift arrow directly pierced Amis's heart from the back.

Not only that, but because A Fan happened to be leaning his head on Amis's chest, when the swift arrow passed through, it just happened to explode his head!

By the time the other three reacted, Amis and A Fan had already been 'killed with one arrow'.

A Fan died on the spot, while Amis collapsed, gasping for breath in a pool of blood. She struggled to cast high-level healing magic, but with little effect.

Because the swift arrow also carried a severe injury toxin, a heavy sense of paralysis swept over Amis's entire body, followed by endless coldness, her consciousness continuously fading...

A level 62 Healer was instantly killed on the spot!