Our Family Has Fallen

When physical monsters appeared, everyone could scream and rush to cut them down. But when this non-physical creature showed up, everyone, including Lance, was dumbfounded. Since the ghost-like entity didn't attack first, he was unsure of the situation.

However, Lance was merely surprised by his first encounter with a banshee's unique form; he wasn't scared of it at all. In fact, after regaining his composure, he felt a surge of excitement. He was determined to figure out what this thing was today.

"It's a wild banshee. I'll go check it out. You guys be careful," he said.

Confidence breeds courage. Lance lit a torch and dared to approach it alone…

Unexpectedly, the banshee, which had been covering its face and sobbing, became enraged the moment Lance stepped within a certain range. Its entire form underwent a huge transformation: its clothes billowed as if in a gale, though there was no wind, and the hands covering its face were flung aside, finally revealing the distorted visage beneath.

Only then did Lance see that the banshee's neck was severed from its body; he could even see the clean cut. Was this how she died?

Before Lance could ponder, the banshee floated towards him, body tilted back, moving at an incomprehensible speed. In an instant, it was before him, emitting a piercing shriek as its ten fingers, like ten scythes, slashed towards Lance.

Lance simply stood his ground, unmoving. HMMPH! Let's see how this thing can hurt me.

As expected, the banshee's shriek was like a whisper in the wind to him. Its claws passed directly through his body, causing no harm whatsoever.

Lance laughed. How could there be monsters even more susceptible to him than the Collector?

The banshee seemed to have only two modes of attack: shrieking or frantically clawing. Neither posed a threat to him.

But the situation was far from simple. Along with that shriek, Lance felt the ground begin to tremble.

"Watch out!" Lance shouted, raising his torch high. In the firelight, where the banshee had been wandering, a huge fungal conglomerate was revealed.

The ground was a raised mound covered by a fungal mat, upon which grew mushrooms unlike any he'd ever seen. Some were as tall as a man, nourished by some unknown fertilizer in the earth below.

Seeing this, Lance was certain it was the Witch's handiwork. Only she would enjoy playing with such disgusting pathogens.

But it wasn't over. A mushroom-covered hand stretched out from the mushroom forest, then a figure squeezed through the giant fungi. Its towering, stout frame was hard to hide, even in the darkness.

For a moment, Lance was reminded of the Corrupt Giant. But while the Corrupt Giant was tall and lanky, this creature was bloated. Its remaining clothes were stretched taut over its massive belly, indenting the flesh. It resembled a swollen, rotting corpse, looking as if it might burst open at any second.

The mushrooms on its back also differed from the typical white-stemmed, yellow-capped variety. These were much larger, their caps shaped like pointed hats but riddled with holes.

Furthermore, the Corrupt Giant at least had a somewhat human-looking head. This creature's head, however, was mostly a rotten skull. Its facial muscles had decayed so much that its mouth hung agape, revealing a cavity choked with mushrooms.

Too disgusting!

But it still wasn't over. Another twisted monster crawled out from the mushroom thicket.

A thin, emaciated figure, draped in a simple sackcloth dress, still bore a roughly human shape. Its head was covered with a ragged cowl, from which its gaunt arms protruded.

Long-stemmed mushrooms sprouted from its shoulders and back, clear signs of a parasitic infestation.

"Fight! Be careful, they aren't ordinary parasites!" Lance ordered.

Lance had no choice. The banshee raised a hand, pointed at him, and shrieked again. As if under her control, the two peculiar parasites instantly launched their attack.

The skinny one bent over, its back splitting open to reveal a massive gash. Countless slender-stemmed mushrooms sprouted from within, bordered by large mushroom caps on each shoulder blade that resembled the Corrupt Giant's "little wings." They flapped, spewing dense spores.

The fat one tilted its head back, emitted a gurgling noise, and then, as if burping, spewed out a cloud of poisonous miasma.

CRAP! Wasn't one a Corrupt Giant and the other a Forest Wicked Woman? Only, their abilities were switched…

Faced with this, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He immediately retreated, not wanting to be contaminated by the pathogens.

"Balistan, you and Dismas take on the skinny one! Don't get behind it—watch out for the spores! Reynard, Wang Cai, you handle the fat one! Be careful of its poison spit. If you can't interrupt it, hold your breath and fall back!" Lance yelled, assigning combat tasks. As for himself, he naturally took on the simplest yet most difficult job: to keep the banshee occupied.

This creature could bypass armor and directly damage the soul. Reynard and the others wouldn't be able to withstand it. Lance was the only one who could contend with her.

The battle erupted. Wang Cai shot forward, pouncing as he neared the fat creature. His claws, sharp enough to tear through cowhide and rip bark, only left shallow marks on its flesh.

The fat creature reacted, swinging its arms to smash Wang Cai. But Wang Cai agilely dodged. Reynard seized the opening, joining the fray and bringing his sword down on the monster.

Reynard struck with all his might, yet only managed to carve a shallow gash. Before even reaching bone, he felt immense resistance—this creature's hide was extraordinarily tough.