Smack!
"What an annoying monster!"
In the Fourth Layer, Mark slapped a Purple Poison Giant Mosquito dead on his leg. Its swollen abdomen burst, spraying blood everywhere. But it was not over yet. The Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes around them caught the scent of blood, buzzing as they swarmed over in groups.
Flame Storm.
Blazing flames formed a massive wall of fire. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes burst under the scorching heat, filling the air with a thick, burnt stench.
"Damn Dungeon, couldn't you have a more normal environment and some normal monsters?"
Mage Oliver lowered his staff and pulled his foot free from the mud. His face was filled with irritation and complaints. At that moment, he dearly missed the dark, oppressive cave environment of the previous layer. Compared to the Fourth Layer, that place had practically been paradise.
Half a day had passed since they entered the Fourth Layer, yet their exploration had made no progress at all. In fact, they had suffered heavy losses.
At least three Knight Apprentices had sunk into the swamp and never returned. The rest were not much better off, covered from head to toe in rotten mud while Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes lurked everywhere, impossible to guard against.
With such overwhelming numbers, one was always bound to break through their defenses. Several knights with weaker constitutions had already lost large amounts of blood, contracted diseases, and completely lost their ability to fight.
After suffering such losses, they had explored less than a hundred meters beyond the Fourth Layer's entrance. They did not dare venture deeper. No one knew whether the next step would send them into a bottomless swamp.
The three knights who had previously sunk into the swamp had vanished right before their eyes in exactly that way. With one step, they had gone under with a gulp and disappeared.
Bang!
At that moment, something heavy hit the ground behind them. When Mark turned around, he saw several knights lying unconscious on the ground, their bodies twitching uncontrollably. He hurried over, helped them up, and opened their helmets to inspect them.
"Poisoned?"
Oliver leaned over for a look. The knights who had suddenly collapsed were burning with fever, their skin beginning to fester and ooze pus, while great amounts of white foam spilled from the corners of their mouths. They were classic symptoms of poisoning.
"Poisoned? But they didn't..." Mark found no wounds on their bodies as he inspected them. How could they have been poisoned? Then, in the next instant, he looked at the dense purplish-black fog around them and immediately realized something. He shouted, "Everyone, be careful! This fog is poisonous!"
The entire Fourth Layer reeked of rot and decay. Having just entered the Fourth Layer, the group had been excited to explore the Dungeon as quickly as possible, so they had overlooked the unusual color of the thick fog.
Moreover, as knights, their constitutions far surpassed those of ordinary people. Ordinary poisons did not affect them, so no one had paid it any mind.
Only now that people had collapsed did Mark and the others finally take it seriously.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mark's warning came too late. Less than half a minute after he spoke, several more knights collapsed in quick succession. They had only explored a hundred meters beyond the Fourth Layer's entrance, yet a third of their forty-man knight squad had already fallen.
"Mark, we have to retreat!" At that moment, the captain of another knight squad came over, staring ahead with a grave expression.
The purplish-black fog began to churn continuously. His keen senses as a professional knight had detected the danger in advance. His feet, sunk in the mud, could feel faint vibrations. Something was approaching them.
Without their noticing, it had already surrounded them all.
"Ah—"
A shrill scream suddenly rang out beside them. A regular knight at the edge of the group was dragged into the fog. In less than a second, he vanished before their eyes, and a hair-raising sound of tearing came from within the rolling mist.
"Oliver, find a way to disperse the fog!" Mark stared ahead with bloodshot eyes and shouted without looking back. "Everyone else, carry the wounded! The three knight captains and I will cover the retreat!"
"We'll withdraw to the Third Layer first."
Gale Spell.
Almost the instant Mark finished speaking, a green gale blew away the thick fog around them. Once they could see their surroundings clearly, the knights could not help but gasp. Hundreds of monsters had silently surrounded them completely.
"Oliver, clear the way! Everyone else, charge with me!"
In the midst of the crisis, Mark displayed astonishing decisiveness. Crimson flames ignited on his brand-new greatsword as he thrust into the weakest point of the encirclement like a sharp blade, using the power of an Official Knight at the peak of his rank to forcibly tear open a gap.
"Move!"
"Leave us behind. Remember to take care of my family after you get back."
Several knights, pale from massive blood loss and too weak from disease to move, struggled to their feet. They pushed away the comrades who wanted to take them along. In their current state, bringing them would only slow the retreat.
Though they were only a hundred meters from the Fourth Layer's entrance, in this swamp filled with poisonous fog and surrounded by hundreds of monsters, even the slightest burden would be magnified without limit.
"Go!"
Oliver looked at the still-hesitant knights. After giving them a reminder, he immediately followed behind Mark and the other Official Knights. If they delayed any longer, not only would the wounded die here, but so would they.
With Mark and the other four Official Knights charging forward with all their strength, along with Mage Oliver's support, Mark and the others finally broke out of the encirclement and returned to the Third Layer.
But of the original forty-man knight squad, fewer than twenty remained. Everyone else had died in the Fourth Layer, forever left behind in that Venomous Swamp.
"Mark, we have to retreat." Oliver walked over, panting heavily, and looked at the unwilling Mark. "If we want to explore the Fourth Layer, we must make complete preparations."
"Whether it's magical equipment to deal with poisonous fog, boats to cross the swamp, or large quantities of antidotes, all of them are necessities."
"Instead of exploring the swamp in armor as heavy as iron coffins like we are now. When the time comes, the armor that was supposed to protect you will only make you sink to the bottom of the swamp like stones."
"Retreat!" Mark gritted his teeth and gave the order.
The remaining knights immediately reformed their ranks and headed toward the upper levels of the Dungeon. Before leaving, Mark turned back to look at the Fourth Layer's entrance. Next time, he would never flee in such a bedraggled state again.
"Thank you all for the tips, brothers! Come again next time!"
In the deepest part of the Fourth Layer, Lucifer watched Mark and the others leave, his heart filled with sincere gratitude for them.
[Devoured flesh and blood ×23, Primordial Power +23, devoured souls ×23, Primordial Power +46]
"I can level up now."
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