When Anthony led the mercenaries to retreat to the upper level, he found that the team he led was less than half of the time, only about thirty, and the others were either separated from them or died in the hands of those monsters: pierced by black thorns like black needles, blood stained with cold white frost, or swallowed by the disgusting flesh-and-blooded slug body - this is the most terrifying thing. These monsters will swallow people directly. As long as they are caught by the monster's slender hands, they will be pressed under the slug part, and the food hiding under it will eat people.

Anthony was almost pulled in, and he threw a shoe for this, but fortunately Vader saved his life.

At first they solved all the four monsters that had just appeared - although the flames did not play much role, in the end, the violent mercenaries used iron tools to dismantle the monsters to stop them - but more monsters hidden behind the white frost broke open the door after a sound like the sound that the monster had just appeared before, and entered the frosted corridor from the dark room.

The two sides separated by monsters were led by Anthony and the Alps. Anthony watched more and more monsters and asked them to retreat immediately, while the unable to evacuate Alps decisively led the people around them to the deeper part of the dungeon. The newly emerging monsters did not immediately pursue them, but looked around in a daze corridor, and then leaned towards the corpse of the players on the ground.

Anthony, who noticed this, walked at the end of the team. He observed the action patterns of these monsters, and kept thinking until he had to leave that layer in the end.

"How is it?" Vader immediately walked up to ask after Anthony returned to the upper level from the lower level.

"They are eating corpses." Many people were disgusting when they heard Anthony's answer. Many people were panting. Some even sat directly on the ground, took off their helmets, and wiped the sweat on their foreheads. Although the next layer became extremely cold due to the white frost, those who survived after a crazy fight with the monsters were already exhausted at this moment - after all, even if the monsters were cut off, the chopped hands would squirm and grab anything they touched on the ground.

However, Anthony still saw some clues from this chaotic attack. He didn't have more time to observe and think about the most perfect countermeasures. "Get time to rest," he said to his team crowded in the corridor, frowning at his team, "We must seize time to break through here. If we don't hurry to save others, they will definitely not last long."

"We will be killed if we go again!"

Someone shouted in dissatisfaction, but before the others could agree, Vader pointed at the man and shouted loudly: "Shut up! Take the time to rest!"

Anthony couldn't help but whisper behind him: "If you do this, you will be scolded by my lackey behind your back."

"Hmph, as long as you don't stab me in the back." Vader deliberately raised the volume. He glanced at the others. Most of them lowered their heads and didn't pay attention to him at all, but someone obviously turned their heads away. "Compared to this," after scanning the others, Vader leaned his hands on the hilt of the standing Black Knight's Great Sword and said to Anthony, "What should those monsters do? Can you kill them directly?"

Anthony looked at the great sword in his hand, with a layer of disgusting mucus on the blade, but there was no sign of freezing.

"That's right. To be honest, the situation is not optimistic." Anthony said in a low voice, and Vader also saw the uneasy expression on his face. "Those monsters are not the ones that make me most uneasy at this moment."

"What does it mean?" Vader asked immediately.

"Have you noticed that those white frosts are made up of the mucus frost on the insects we encountered before."

"Is that true?" Vader was stunned, "I really didn't pay attention."

"At the beginning, when we threw the oil pot, the flames were roasted into a large piece, and they all turned into a sticky mucus."

"Is there any other kind of bugs besides that kind of monster?" Vader asked with a frown.

"You really didn't expect it?" Anthony asked in a deep voice.

Vader was silent for a moment, then he turned his head, "You might be trying to say that those white frosts are traces left by a big bug crawling over?"

"If you guess correctly, you should be the boss, right?" Anthony exhaled.

At this time, a player immediately ran over in panic, "Drake! The sound of monsters came from above!" As soon as he walked to the edge of Drake, he immediately shouted in panic. The people around him became restless because of his cry. The people sitting on the ground immediately stood up again with the wall. They all immediately looked at the side where the person was pointing.

"Above?" Anthony looked in the direction he pointed. It was pitch black, but he knew there was an upward staircase. "There are monsters on the upper floor?"

Are those guys from the Iron Chain Knights...?!

Anthony immediately walked forward two steps, raised the volume and shouted in the team's voice: "Did anyone notice any movement behind? Is there anyone who saw the Knights of the Iron Chain?"

The others were silent for a moment.

"No." said one person decisively, "I have always been behind the team and I have not seen anyone from the Iron Chain Knights."

"Drake! The sound coming from above is getting louder and louder! It seems that it is beginning to approach the stairs!" Another person who was close to the upward stairs said nervously in the team's voice.

"Tsk." Anthony stopped and turned around, "Everyone! Turn your head and be ready for combat!"

Someone cursed in a low voice, some people picked up the iron helmet at their feet and held it over their heads in silence, but they all pulled it out and picked up their weapons. Anthony looked at Vader, Vader nodded, then picked up the big sword and carried it on the hilt of the sword. The wide blade pressed on the shoulder armor, and he took a step and walked towards the lower level first.

...

"What should I do now?" Aleya asked beside Joel, she raised the lantern, and the fire lights dispelled the darkness, but she could not tell her position at all, because the surroundings had been the same since the beginning.

Joel looked around. Because he had a white mask on his face, Eleya couldn't see his expression, and his voice always sounded in the same tone. "Hurry up and find Anthony." Joel said calmly. He held the torch and walked slightly faster than Eleya, so he walked half of his body in front of Eleya, "Go here." As he said that, he turned a corner at an intersection.

"You actually recognize the way." Aleya was obviously a little surprised. If a player has special skills to "find the way", he can easily remember where he has been, but Aleya doesn't think that Joel can master these things so quickly in just over a month. "It looks the same nearby."

"This is a residential area." Joel replied faintly. Before the last tavern meeting, he talked with the old man's ghost for a long time. He handed him some memory fragments to Joel in some way - it could be said to be an extremely uncomfortable process. Joel really didn't want to recall too much, but after that incident, Joel walked into the dungeon and saw certain scenes and saw those fragments in his mind. The old man used this method to tell him the prison cell where the "king of the monsters" was imprisoned.

This is also the reason why Joel was unable to tell others the map of the dungeon and could only lead the way in person. After Joel came to the dungeon, he found that some other strange memory fragments appeared in his mind. Those memory fragments had nothing to do with the cell they wanted to go to, and were other information about the dungeon, such as this "residential area". Joel did not think that these memory fragments were given to him on purpose by the old man. The more he thought of the more memory fragments he became, the more suspicious the old man and became more and more uneasy in his heart.

"Residential?" Aleya looked around. The doors were indeed like rooms inside the castle, but it was underground. "How do you know these?"

"What someone else told me." Joel said calmly, then turned around first, "Go here."

Seeing that Joel didn't want to answer, Aleya didn't continue to ask about this question, but she couldn't help but say, "Why do there be residential areas in this kind of place? Underground residents? After all, is this dungeon really for people to live in? Is it obvious that when I first came in, I found that the structure was very strange, but the more I went inside, the traces of human life appeared."

"What does it mean?" Joel slowed down slightly, turned his head and looked at Eleya.

Alya obviously didn't expect Joel to be so interested in this issue. Because of her mask and a cold tone, Alya even thought that Joel was reluctant to pay attention to her at this moment. "Ah, this was learned through special skills, "learning". At first I didn't pay attention until I got the message prompted me that we are in the area where we are now "having traces of humans", and what you have walked before - is it that wide area that cannot be seen in the ceiling?"

Joel didn't reply, but he still unconsciously thought of the strange corridor, so he nodded.

"In that area, there is no trace of humanity at all. According to the information I received, that area is far more 'older' than the area we are in now."

"It means that the construction time of the two areas is different?"

"It should be that." Aleya nodded, then looked into a broken door. Through the fire, he saw a chair full of dust and spider silk. "Maybe after discovering this weird dungeon, someone chose this place, and then built an area suitable for people to live here. But unexpectedly, the monsters here were all dead in the end?"

No, no, the people here were not killed by monsters. Joel thought so, but he did not say it. If he continued to discuss it like this, there would be no result. After all, they lacked evidence, and no matter how much they said, they were just speculations. And these were not urgent. Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Joel held up the torch and turned over another intersection. A cold air came in front of him. Joel stopped and raised the torch. The white frost was reflecting the flames at the edge of the flames.

"Do you want to go back the same way? Wouldn't you meet the monsters you mentioned?" Aleya asked at Joel beside her, with her pale blue eyes unravelling. According to what she said, she had not encountered any monsters since she entered the dungeon. However, Joel did not feel any uneasiness or concern when she looked. Sure enough, are the mercenary women like this?

Joel remembered Xiao Qiao again, no, it seems that the mercenaries have their own personalities. "If we don't go back along the way, it will be difficult for us to meet Anthony and the others." Joel replied lightly.

"But there may be monsters ahead. Didn't you say that these white frost are traces left by monsters?"

"Well." Joel did not deny it, "but there is no guarantee that you will not encounter anything bad if you go other roads."

Aleya thought for a moment, "It's true, then that's it."

But before they could take two steps, their feet stopped again before they touched the white frost on the ground.

"There is a voice." Aleya whispered, and Joel's other hand had already grasped the hilt of the black sword. They looked at each other, and then quietly looked at the darkness ahead. Baifrost stretched along the walls, the ground and the ceiling toward the darkness. At this moment, the rustling sound of footsteps were heard, as if someone was stepping on Baifrost.

"Is it a monster? Or a human?" Aleya asked in a low voice.

"It's a human." But Joel did not let go of the hand holding the hilt of the sword. He had seen the monster's appearance and knew that the monster had no feet, so he would not make such footsteps. However, even if the person came, Joel could not know whether the other party was an enemy or a friend. After all, Joel learned from Aleya about the conspiracy between the Beggar Brotherhood and the "wizard".

"Let's hide first." Aleya immediately walked towards a door next to her. She took out a small lock-opening tool from somewhere, then squatted down, put down the lantern, and put the small lock-opening tool into the lock hole of the old wooden door. Her movements were swift and accurate. When Joel turned his head to look at her, a click sounded. "Huh," she breathed a sigh of relief, then lifted the lantern beside her and stood up again, "I'm afraid the lock will rust and cannot be opened." She turned around, blocked most of the fire of the lantern with her cloak, and urged Joel in a low voice: "Hurry up!"

Joel no longer hesitated and quickly followed her into the room, then gently covered the door.

The two of them leaned against the door. Aleya held the door handle and pressed her ear to the door. She also bowed her body and leaked it out of the position for Joel. Joel was not polite. He put away the torch, took off his mask, and put his ear to the door.

Rust, rustling.

There were two people, Joel frowned.

Rust, rust, rust.

The pace was very slow, and... it seemed that someone was injured? The footsteps of the two of them were almost stacked together, and it seemed that they were walking side by side, one person supporting the other.

Rust, rustling.

Joel also heard heavy gasps and low moans. It was two men, exhausted and messy, as if they were escaping something.

Rust, rustling.

"Kayri! Look over there! You can go out soon!"

"Um... hurry up, hurry up! They, they are coming..."

Joel recognized the first voice, and he pulled Aleya who was lying beside the door, "Hey, hey?" Aleya couldn't react at all, so Joel had already opened the door and walked out, and the black sword in his hand poked out from under the cloak.

"Who?!" Obviously the two men also found Joel here. Joel saw two people not far away from the opposite side, one of them was supporting the other, holding a torch in his hand.

"Flying Fish, come here! Hurry!" Joel's voice made Feiyu stunned.

"Mr. Joel?!" Feiyu immediately screamed in surprise. He immediately helped Kaili and walked towards Joel. Joel immediately walked towards them. At this time, Aleya behind him also walked out of the room.

"You know each other?" Aleya asked in surprise, but Joel did not answer.

Rush rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rus

When Feiyu and Kaili walked through the intersection a huge shadow came out of the intersection behind them, and Aleya also exclaimed. The shadow was illuminated by the torch held in Feiyu's hand. Joel saw its appearance clearly: it was a little different from the monster he first met. It was dark red all over and was much larger. His thin hand was holding a black spear-like black needle.

It was too late. Joel thought to himself, and then he speeded up. Feiyu obviously noticed the sound behind him. He wanted to turn his head in horror, but Joel shouted to him: "Let's lean on your left! Keep going forward!"

Feiyu was stunned for a moment, but immediately bit his lip and followed Joel's instructions.

"No hurry to come!" Aleya obviously noticed the weapons in the monster's hands.

In time, a pale glimmer ring bloomed under Joel's feet, and then Aleya was stunned. Joel's speed instantly increased by more than twice, and his whole person turned into a blurred shadow. Speed, speed, Joel's movement became slower as he looked at everything outside the white ring, and he began to slowly start to feel dizzy as he moved, but this dizziness did not affect his movement, but it only made him feel a little uncomfortable.

The monster changed to lift its thin right arm, and the black length in his hand targeted the flying fish in front of it. Joel saw the skeleton on its face grinning, and it looked so bloody under the torch in its hand, but the fire was disappearing from its face, and the flying fish was slowly walking forward.

Joel walked past the flying fish. Joel could see him looking ahead in surprise, his pupils were also slowly moving, but this was just a moment for Joel, and he didn't care so much.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Feiyu heard the sound of flesh and blood being cut behind him. He turned around and saw only the ripples of pale light left on the ground. Joel stood there, holding the black sword in both hands, and the monster's dry arm holding a weapon was so fragile when it was under the sharp blade of the black sword.

But Flying Fish is more terrified than the monster at this moment with Joel's speed.

What is that? Feiyu's mind was blank. It was no longer just speed improvement...

That's...that's like speeding up time.
Chapter completed!