Trees grew thickly, forming a giant arboreal labyrinth reminiscent of a tropical rainforest, where danger could lurk anywhere—let alone here, in the deepest part of the Middle Floors!
Having reached the final destination of the enforced Familia Expedition, Liang Yue remained vigilant as he led the team to explore the current area.
The monsters they faced were still the same old types. The only ones that posed any real threat were the upgraded "Death Wasps" evolved from killer ants—small-type monsters whose size allowed them to easily evade wide-range attacks like Draw Blade Slash.
Timing his strikes during the moment when a Death Wasp lunged, Liang Yue swung his sword with flawless precision, dispatching the monster cleanly.
They were now at the most crucial stage of the expedition—exploring the 24th floor of the Great Tree Labyrinth. If he remembered the Guild's objective correctly, it wasn't enough to simply reach this location—they had to bring back proof of their arrival.
After confirming there were no other threats in the vicinity, Liang Yue looked toward the girl packing up their things ahead.
"Lili, the Guild's expedition requirement—is it to turn in the floor's monster drop items?"
"That's right."
"If we want to be safe, the Armored Beetle is a large-type insect that's relatively easy to handle."
Lili gave a decisive suggestion. Other monsters, such as the Gem Trees or the rare Moss Giants, were a different story entirely.
According to the Guild's intel, encountering them and choosing not to flee meant that for an average Lv.2 party, the chance of total annihilation was as high as 60%—a true high-tier threat.
The Takemikazuchi Familia members who had tagged along exchanged glances and remained silent. They knew they were only here thanks to Liang Yue's strength; without him, people like Kashima and Chigusa would never have reached the 24th floor.
From here on, they would simply follow Liang Yue's lead.
"Then we'll see which monster we run into first," he decided quickly as the party's leader.
The exploration was far from dull—the real excitement came from the unknown.
Before long, they emerged from a stretch of safe zone into the sight of a calm, shallow body of water—barely ankle-deep.
Dark green vines dangled from the walls, dripping water. But what truly drew Liang Yue's eyes was the figure ahead—
A humanoid plant creature, its whole body covered in moss.
The Moss Giant.
Its size dwarfed even that of a Minotaur or Owl Bear, and the thick coat of bright green moss gave it an almost grotesque appearance.
A rare monster.
Like the Blue Butterflies or Young Dragons of the Upper Floors, it was of the same rarity—but the more fitting word was troublesome.
Liang Yue's calm gaze swept over the monster. His Draw Blade Slash skill had been performing impressively during this expedition—so long as the target wasn't airborne, it could be handled with ease.
Now, he was genuinely curious: could his current combat abilities take down a Moss Giant?
"Looks like our luck's pretty good?"
"Or maybe it's the worst luck possible!!" Lili shot back, the only one willing to challenge his offhand remark. She knew exactly how difficult this monster was.
She pulled out her trump-card magic sword, giving instructions to the Takemikazuchi Familia members:
"Prepare for battle."
As Hestia Familia's supporter, Lili had mostly followed Liang Yue's plans without protest—but now, she was uncharacteristically serious. Even when Liang Yue had exhausted himself yesterday, she hadn't brought out this one-use weapon of immense power.
Seeing her draw it now, Kashima looked again at the Moss Giant, his expression growing heavier.
"Alright. What do you need us to do?"
They knew that surrounding the monster in melee would only burden Liang Yue—and possibly hinder his fighting.
Mikoto had gradually found her role in the team: a long-range control mage. To apply her Futsunomitama magic effectively, she would have to cover the giant's entire area.
Finalizing the strategy was important.
"Just the usual methods to restrict its movement."
"Got it."
This control combination was one Liang Yue and Mikoto had used many times before. As the girl began chanting her spell, Liang Yue started charging Draw Blade Slash.
Compressing the focused sword aura into his short blade until it gave off a deep, trembling hum, he stopped adding more energy.
As Futsunomitama's effects took hold, he unleashed a devastating wave of sword energy, sweeping across the moving Moss Giant in a massive arc.
The outer armor coating the giant's massive frame shattered instantly. But instead of killing it outright, the strike caused it to split in two—
This was its self-preservation tactic. When in danger, it would divide into multiple smaller bodies and scatter to escape.
Still maintaining her spell, Mikoto's eyes widened as she saw the split-off fragments dash away, slipping free of her magic's range. One was even running straight toward her. Unable to hold the magic any longer, she reached for her katana—
Only for another figure to move faster.
With a draw-blade stance, Liang Yue surged forward. If a monster's health was high enough, the attack could chain into follow-up strikes—but so far, no monster had survived long enough for that.
Now, he was determined to see the limits of his Breaker's Rising Dragon Strike.
Channeling strength into his legs, he exploded into a sprint, blade poised, colliding head-on with the Moss Giant fragment before cleaving it upward in two halves, its body dissolving into dust.
Without pausing, he continued his rapid advance, hunting down the other fragments in succession.
The chained Rising Dragon Strikes easily outpaced the monsters, ending the battle swiftly and cleanly.
Compared to the triple-slash short rush, repeatedly using this skill put a heavy strain on his body.
"The stamina cost is… a bit much."
"But the good news is, as long as I've got the energy, I can chase to the limit."
Stopping at last, Liang Yue searched for the Moss Giant's magic stone drops. Then, turning to the far-off expedition members frozen in place, he smiled casually:
"We've reached the deepest point of the Middle Floors. Beyond this is the new world of the Lower Floors."
"The enforced Familia Expedition ends here."
"That's… it?" Kashima had expected a fierce, drawn-out fight. The sudden end caught him off guard.
Realizing what Liang Yue meant, he finally understood—the expedition was over. As a supporter, he'd done little more than play a background role, while others like Mikoto had offered modest assistance.
"Mm."
Having met the expedition's goal, Liang Yue felt no special sense of achievement—it was just another dungeon run, though a longer one than usual. What he was looking forward to was returning to Orario.
Heading back through each floor, his Sword Soul class level would almost certainly rise to 35—something as good as guaranteed.
By his estimate, they might even run into the freshly spawned 17th floor boss, Goliath, on the way home.
"Let's head back."
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