Our Family Has Fallen

"What are you afraid of? It's not like we haven't seen it before." Lance immediately cast 'Bless' on everyone, including the dog. The spell provided 'Strengthening', enhancing their condition and eliminating their bodily fatigue.

It had to be said, the previous preparations had paid off, as everyone snapped out of it upon hearing his words.

Right! It's not like we haven't seen it before, and we were here to find this, what was there to fear?

At the same time, they felt a warm current within their bodies, erasing the exhaustion of the recent night's forced march and reversing the negative atmosphere that had arisen due to the monster's appearance.

Lance's attention wasn't on them, though. Instead, he raised his crossbow and locked onto the quadruped with particularly twisted limbs, knowing that it was best to eliminate this one first.

His perception far surpassed that of ordinary people. This allowed for precise control when shooting at moving targets. Even in the dimly lit environment, an arrow found its mark.

The crossbow arrow precisely hit the monster's drooping human head, embedding itself in an eye socket. However, this shot did not seem to have a very noticeable effect on it; the creature just kept flailing about with the arrow still stuck in its head.

Lance realized this thing's weak point wasn't its head; his previous experience had been mistaken.

But the corrupted parasites were already closing in, giving him no time to reload.

"Wang Cai, bite it!" Lance commanded, essentially marking the monster for his dog.

Wang Cai sprang into action, chasing after the Wolf Spirit. When facing enemies, it was far from docile. On the contrary, its face was fierce, teeth bared in a snarl. The wild frenzy of its wolfish nature was unmistakable as it lunged at the monster.

In Lance's hand, the Giant Slayer appeared, and he set his sights on the three approaching mushroom-headed creatures.

"I'll split the big mushroom open!" Boudica charged from behind, war halberd in hand.

A whistle sounded. William raised his hand, pointing towards the enemy Wang Cai was pursuing, "Take them down, lass!"

Paracelsus, holding a torch in one hand, rummaged through his pouch with the other, his expression calm as he observed the battlefield.

But the enemy wasn't just a training dummy; it was a bizarrely twisted monster.

After being shot, the large red mushroom immediately retaliated. Its red cap, growing from its abdomen and looking as if it were alive, stretched slightly, then instantly contracted. Next, a thick, yellow, viscous substance shot out from one of the holes in the cap, aimed directly at Lance.

It looked just like a four-legged fungal artillery piece.

After firing, the fungal cannon seemed to sense Wang Cai approaching. The cap inflated as if breathing, then deflated, puffing out yellow spores from its pores to form a smoke cloud that concealed its body.

Wang Cai burst through the murky smoke formed by the spores, only to find the creature had used the chance to flee. Wang Cai quickly pursued it.

Lance had been watching that exchange, but now he had to defend himself. He reacted instantly, raising his greatsword to block the bizarre projectile.

Although the phlegm-like viscous substance had no impact force, it splattered and adhered firmly to the sword body. The remaining three mushroom heads, as if guided, quickened their pace. They extended their twig-like long arms toward Lance, attempting to claw at him.

Damn it! I've actually been marked by the monsters too!

Lance realized this attracted the creatures but, though facing three of them, he was not afraid at all; his Giant Slayer already thirsted for blood!

A sweeping blow, leveraging his own strength and the weapon's advantage, should have at least cut them in half at the waist.

But when the sword blade made contact with the enemy, there wasn't a clean, crisp cutting sensation; instead, he felt strong resistance. It was like chopping a thick, old tree, not a person.

Still, the creature was knocked away by Lance's brute strength. It did not die but struggled to rise.

On one side of its body was a huge gash from the recent slash, exposing a dense mass of white mycelium and slimy, sticky threads within.

It was evident that the creature lacked any muscle, having completely transformed into fibrous matter; this entity was truly a humanoid mushroom.

He had no time to observe further, as the other two had already pounced, but his support had also arrived.

Boudica charged forth, thrusting her war halberd. She encountered a similar obstacle: the tip of the halberd only embedded itself slightly before being caught by the sturdy fibrous tissue, but her forceful impact still pushed the mushroom creature away.

Why is this mushroom so tough? Boudica stopped in her tracks, feeling the monster's strange composition.

Meanwhile, another mushroom creature, drawn by the commotion, lunged at Lance, its hands outstretched.

"Slay!"

With a roar, Lance's muscles swelled, unleashing tremendous strength. With a swing of the Giant Slayer, he cleaved the mushroom creature's head. This blow, unlike his earlier probing strike, was delivered with full force, splitting the head in two, the sword blade stopping just above its chest cavity.

"Begone, demon!" Lance kicked it, pulling his weapon free. The mushroom creature, its upper body rent in two, fell, not to rise again.

A devastating strike!

This single strike greatly relieved everyone's pressure—if the monsters could be killed, they were no longer so frightening.

"Witness my bravery!" Boudica exclaimed, swinging her war halberd down onto the mushroom creature's head...

The other mushroom creature, the one Lance had previously slashed at the waist, also stumbled forward. It extended its hands in a scratching motion but was then bisected by Lance's backhand strike.

However, Lance did not aim to kill it outright. Instead, he swung his sword and lopped off the monster's hands, completely neutralizing its threat.