Rooar!
Starting the journey back towards the dreamscape outpost, it didn’t take long before the group of ten- nine, encountered a dreamscape monster at the S Rank alongside a large number of small dreamscape monsters ranging between the C and A Rank. Forcing them into a difficult battle almost immediately after leaving behind the edge of the dreamscape. The peaceful journey that they had experienced so far proved to be nothing more than the result of the intimidation that had been caused by the demigod of the dreamscape that had passed through the region earlier.
Although this was expected from all of them, it was a bit surprising for the situation to change so fast. Barely giving them any time to react before they were thrust into a deadly battle that began attracting more powerful dreamscape monsters that had been too scared to emerge only a day earlier.
From the original S Rank dreamscape monster that had led the charge, the group of nine found themselves encircled by over a dozen S Rank dreamscape monster. Showing why this region had been unexplored in the past even with several groups of S Rank Adventurers attempting to explore the region.
The only positive about their deadly situation being that the S Rank dreamscape monsters encircling them were far slower than they were-
BANG!
"Ruuuun!"
Giving one of the adventurers who was clearly proficient in escaping dreamscape monsters the chance to knock back a rainbow-colored boar before calling out to everyone else, who wasted no time following him in escaping from the dreamscape monsters. Understanding that they didn’t stand a chance facing off against the dreamscape monsters, as no matter how many they ended up killing, there were always new dreamscape monsters there to take the place of their fallen companions.
In the end, the escape from the dreamscape monster encirclement was only the first hurdle that the group faced on their journey back to the dreamscape outpost, as they barely had any time to rest with dreamscape monsters constantly attacking them without pause. The little rest they got was hard fought for, as half the group had to remain awake and guard against dreamscape monsters while the rest barely got a bit of sleep with the constant fighting taking place just outside their tents.
If the five from the Holy Light Church had managed to gain a bit of insight into how deadly the dreamscape was with the unfortunate death of the adventurer who had been snatched up by a passing dream jellyfish, the journey back to the outpost taught them just how lucky they had been during their journey to the edge of the floating continent, as they understood full well that there would have been no chance of them ever reaching the edge of the floating continent if the dreamscape monsters hadn’t been scared into hiding by the battle between the two demigods of the dreamscape.
In fact, the four remaining adventurers told them that the dreamscape monsters they were currently facing were likely not the strongest ones lurking near them, but instead just some of the weaker ones that had started surfacing again as the intimidation brought by the terrifying clash began to fade.
This information alone was more than enough to scare all five of them into doing their best to get back to the outpost as fast as possible and out of the dreamscape. None of them wanted to spend even a second longer than necessary inside the dreamscape.
But fate had other plans, as the group of nine soon discovered that the battlefield between the two demigods of the dreamscape that had cut straight through the floating continent, had been overrun by dreamscape monsters that had previously been contained underground.
"How are we supposed to get through this...?"
"That... I don’t know..."
"I should have never stepped into the dreamscape..."
Helplessly staring off towards that seemingly endless tide of dreamscape monsters that blocked the path forward, even the four skilled adventurers were rendered helpless, as none of them had any idea how to get past so many dreamscape monsters. Especially considering that there was no lack of S Rank dreamscape monsters and even a few who far surpassed those normal S Rank dreamscape monsters in strength present.
"Maybe we can sneak past them?" Seeing the helpless expressions on everyone’s faces alongside the depressing and helpless atmosphere, one of the five from the Holy Light Church could not help speaking up in a vain attempt to cheer everyone on-
"""..."""
Only to be met with what could be a death stare from everyone else, as it was clear from a glance that it was impossible to sneak through the former battlefield of those two demigods of the dreamscape, as any potential forest or hill that might have originally hidden them had been flattened by the terrifying battle.
"Haaa... Looks like we will have to go around..." Knowing that there was absolutely no way to cross through the former battlefield of the two demigods of the dreamscape with dreamscape monsters from below having surged up from underground to take over the surface, one of the four adventurers sighed audibly to himself as he stated the only realistic path for them to take.
A path that everyone understood was possible but had been reluctant to take given how it would add potentially weeks to their journey that would normally be over in a few days if they continued straight ahead.
But given the state of the former battlefield, there was simply no way for them to do this, so after a few silent complaints, everyone began their journey along the edge of the former battlefield of the two demigods of the dreamscape that had by now turned into a deadly battlefield for dreamscape monsters that normally lived below the surface.
After all, there was no way those dreamscape monsters were peacefully coexisting on the battlefield. Instead, it had become a chaotic melee as countless dreamscape monsters clashed with each other and fought to the death.
This kind of environment was terrifying but also a boon for the powerful dreamscape monsters, who took full advantage of the chaotic battlefield to rapidly increase their strength by engaging in slaughter on a scale that none of nine had ever seen before.
S Rank dreamscape monsters died by the hundreds, while even the dreamscape monsters standing above weren’t all powerful and still ended up falling during the bloody battles.
If there was anything positive about the current situation, it was the fact that the group of nine realized that by staying along the edge of the deadly battlefield that spanned an area the size of a small kingdom, they could avoid being attacked by dreamscape monsters, as those not part of the chaotic battlefield dared not approach, while those of the battlefield didn’t have the time to care about them as even a slight lapse in judgement could cost them their lives.
The journey that they had originally believed to be fraught with danger around every corner became the most peaceful part of their journey back to the outpost. Not that any of them felt the slightest bit relaxed during this weeklong journey with the chaotic battlefield right next to them.
By the time they reached the outpost and finally stepped inside the high walls that surrounded it, the group directly collapsed on the ground with tears in their eyes at finally having returned to safety. Earning a few weird glances from the passing adventurers and guild staff members.
However, the weird glances disappeared almost immediately after one of the four adventurers explained that they had just finished exploring an unexplored region to a curious adventurer who had stepped forward and asked him what had happened to them.
In a few short seconds, the group of nine no longer got any weird glances from the surrounding adventurers but were instead met with awe and respect. After all, the danger involved in exploring an unknown region of the dreamscape was well known. The fact that they had returned alive was a testament to their strength and worthy of respect.
This respect only grew as the four adventurers began detailing their harrowing journey and the deadly battlefield that had been left behind by the two demigods of the dreamscape.
Of course, the five from the Holy Light Church didn’t want to get involved in any of this, as after calming themselves down, the group of five wasted no time and rushed towards the building at the center of the outpost where the dream gate was located to get out of the dreamscape as fast as possible.
The fear they had felt when thinking about how they had failed the mission that the cardinal had assigned to them had completely disappeared by now, as all they wanted was to leave the dreamscape and never return.
"Sorry... The dream gate isn’t up and running yet, so there is no way to leave the dreamscape for now..."
However, fate was unkind to them, and they were met with the words they feared the most...