Chapter 682: Miss Xi Solved It Ahead of Time

“They’re coming!”

Lanna had no clue what Hilia had gone through.

Shortly after Hilia closed her eyes, the intensity of the tentacle attacks surged.

All the tentacles, which initially were like slime jelly, had solidified into forms as sturdy as branches and vines.

This form had high defense; even a Tier Five Mage like her would need some time to deal with them.

Of course, she had no thoughts of attacking at all.

Her two teammates’ bodies were likely completely dissolved by now, and she just wanted to leave this place.

This journey had rekindled a long-lost sense of crisis within her.

Such a lurking threat had seldom occurred since she became a Tier Four Mage, especially after joining the Royal Court, becoming a Guardian Mage of the Holy Tree.

Now, the blood that had experienced countless dangers was slowly boiling once more.

The Elf Forest was not safe, because the Recovery Temple was secretly discharging pollution, frequently causing mutated demons to appear, which were extremely dangerous for low-tier mages; one careless move could be fatal.

Most elf mages had experienced battles during their low-tier stages, decreasing only gradually after reaching Tier Four.

Because demons of this rank were scarce, and even if they did appear, individuals wouldn’t face them alone; at least a squad would deal with them to minimize loss.

“The situation here, everything Miss Xi has done, must be taken back to inform the king; we absolutely cannot stay here.”

A burning flame flickered in Lanna’s eyes.

Her aura surged rapidly as copious amounts of magic power were unleashed recklessly, transforming into high-intensity defensive magic to resist the corrosion by the tentacles outside.

The captain’s voice echoed: “If we really can’t resist, we can quickly clear a batch of tentacles for some breathing room.”

“Alright.”

Lanna nodded.

They also had some simple combination techniques; in a truly desperate situation, they could quickly clear out the current tentacles.

However, considering that the tentacles might become stronger, this method should only be used if absolutely necessary.

Zzzzzz!

The tentacles made eerie sounds upon touching the defensive magic they released, corrosion marks rapidly appeared and dissolved swiftly outside the magic.

A high-intensity vine would be completely corroded in less than a minute here.

Fortunately, using vines was the most basic and energy-saving method of nature magic; as soon as one vine was corroded, another would regenerate to replace the corroded position, blocking the tentacles’ advance.

Nonetheless, the tentacles steadily inched closer to them.

Initially, they could keep the tentacle encirclement ten meters away, now the distance was less than five meters.

Moreover, with Hilia’s actions and the tentacles’ rampage, this range was compressing inward.

Time gradually passed, five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes…

As thirty minutes passed, Lanna saw the vine blocking the corrosion almost touching them and looked at the captain.

“Captain.”

“Let’s start, push the battle line outward.”

“Okay!”

The two Tier Five Mages erupted in a strong surge of magical power.

Moments later, the entire underground space was enveloped by natural elements.

Then, all tentacles vanished in an instant as though deleted.

The long-lost spaciousness appeared in the underground space.

Lanna’s face turned pale, and she gasped twice.

“These tentacles’ strength has become so much stronger than before; the next time, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to clear them all out.”

“We can.” The captain’s expression was serious, “But at most, it’ll work twice.”

“Afterwards, the magic won’t be effective on them?” asked the Tier Four member who had become a supporting role.

“No, it’s that our magic power will be exhausted.”

“Ugh…”

A multitude of tentacles re-emerged.

This time, there was hardly any space left uncovered as tentacles filled the cave walls, clustering tightly together, charging at the group from all directions.

Only the ground beneath their feet was spared as it was specifically cleared with magic.

Time became extremely arduous.

Another fifteen minutes dragged by painfully.

The defensive perimeter shrank again before the group.

Lanna looked at the captain and found that he was looking at her as well.

They nodded silently, and the deletion magic was used once more.

“The last time, it can only be used in the most desperate circumstances, or we’re doomed.” The captain said.

Lanna nodded solemnly.

The remaining team member hesitated to speak but said nothing in the end.

He could hold off but only a tiny bit, one or two minutes, which wasn’t an issue.

Though here, he had no place to speak, he had already decided that if they reached a critical point, he would burn all future potential to secure them that one minute!

“Miss Xi saved me, how can I not repay her?”

Time slowly passed.

This time was even tougher.

In the last five minutes, they couldn’t hold out anymore.

“Hold on a little longer.” The captain yelled, his face pale.

Lanna said, “We might not make it.”

The remaining teammate stood up.

“Ladies and gentlemen, use the magic, don’t worry, I can hold on for the remaining time!”

Lanna and the captain looked at him in surprise.

“Really?”

“Please trust me!”

The team member began to burn his potential.

Seeing this, the expressions on their faces changed, nodding seriously.

Then, the last bout of elimination occurred.

The entire underground space was cleared, the next moment, a swarm of tentacles re-emerged.

By this time, the underground space’s temperature was scorching, to the point that low-tier mages could not survive.

The Tier Four member stood up.

Numerous vines emerged, blocking the tentacle attack.

“Hmph, don’t underestimate me! Bring it on!” The member yelled!

Zzzzzz!

Tentacles touched the vines he released, instantly burning all the vines, continuing their momentum.

“This…”

The team member was dumbfounded.

Lanna and the captain were also shocked.

“No, this strength—it’s not right.”

“It’s gotten way stronger.”

“Finished!”

This was unforeseen.

Despair was evident on their faces.

Lanna and the captain were out of magic power, unable to even burn potential.

All they could do was watch helplessly as the team member’s efforts were futile, unable to stop the tentacles’ approach.

Soon, the tentacles were right in front of them.

Just as they were about to close their eyes, preparing to embrace the tentacles’ ‘assimilation,’ all tentacles suddenly stopped advancing, then slowly retreated back into the cave walls, disappearing entirely.

Everyone was stunned.

Lanna thought of something and looked behind them with surprise.

Hilia had already opened her eyes, smiling at them.

“Looks like I succeeded.”

The team member rejoiced: “Haha, I actually held on for five minutes!”

The captain looked at the time and shook his head.

“No, Miss Xi took 55 minutes to handle it.”