Chapter 671 - 660: Fear
Chapter 671: Chapter 660: Fear
When Sword Saint Puki moved from the south to the north of the Eleanor territory, seven days had already passed.
The Sword Saint’s speed was swift, but the journey took longer because he had to avoid cities and crowds, and mainly because the boss forcibly assigned him a helper.
While passing through a certain city, the boss said, "Oh right, this will be useful," and then a commotion arose in the Blood Beast Factory. A robust lizardman with his head wrapped in cloth dashed out, followed by pursuers, causing Sword Saint Puki to run for quite a distance alongside him.
Although the lizardman is now cloaked, the Sword Saint knows that beneath the cloak lies a puppet body with opened mushrooms.
The Sword Saint truly feels that many of the boss’s abilities are quite uncanny.
Only the thriving scene of the Fungus Castle and Mushroom Garden, where multiple races coexist harmoniously, gave the Sword Saint a foundation for trust.
It’s unclear what special ability this lizardman has, making the boss insist on taking him along.
Moreover, from the Sword Saint’s observations, the cloth wrapped around the lizardman puppet’s mushroom head should be a simple sealing tool.
As for what specifically is sealed, Elvyn does not know, as he is a Sword Saint, unfamiliar with magic.
The Sword Saint and lizardman puppet have already searched several areas along the edges of the fungal mat where traces of cultists have appeared, but found nothing.
This hardly surprises; the Hand of Death, cornered now, is certainly more cautious than before, creating numerous false leads to mislead potential trackers.
Unfortunately, Lin Jun, observing from above the fungal mat, won’t miss any information here.
Though unsure of the exact location of the cult’s stronghold, tracking down all the places they’ve appeared will eventually lead to discovery.
And indeed, that was the case.
...
Northern edge of Eleanor territory.
A horn demon deviates from the main road, looking back every few steps as he weaves through the woods.
After taking several big loops to confirm he is not followed, he swiftly slips into a little ditch.
There, the Hand of Death’s remaining two priests are waiting for him.
"Meow, how’s it looking?" Crescent asked expectantly.
The horn demon cultist hung his head in guilt, shaking it: "I’ve been staking out for several days, but the Mushroom Race hasn’t made an appearance. Apparently, it went out once a few days ago, but we completely missed it."
Crescent sighed and looked around at the cultists.
They were all infiltrators within Eleanor territory, assigned to try contacting the Mushroom Race.
Unfortunately, all efforts failed.
Ultimately, this hastily devised plan was too rushed.
Jini, anticipating this outcome, comforted, "Don’t be discouraged; let’s return and perform the ritual first. We can plan further contact with the Mushroom Race after the ceremony."
Although she said this, everyone knew it was a ritual of internal sacrifice.
After the ritual, it was uncertain how many cultists would remain.
With fewer hands available, the task would only become harder.
But there was no other choice now.
Just then, a sickeningly sticky, horrifyingly overlapping voice came from the ditch entrance: "Hehehe, sneaking around here, scheming some mischief, are we?"
The voice was also said simultaneously in both Human Language and Demon Language, ensuring everyone or mushroom present could understand.
"Who?!" The cultists hiding here drew their weapons one after another, nervously watching the entrance.
Puki, Puki —
The Sword Saint laid a tentacle on the sword’s hilt and was the first to walk in.
He completely misunderstood what the boss was thinking; even though it was a perfect ambush opportunity, the boss insisted on a dramatic entrance.
Soon after, the robust lizardman puppet stepped in.
Seeing the figure, Crescent’s feline eyes widened, but she quickly calmed down, realizing she might be overthinking.
"Could it be... the Mushroom Race?" a cultist beside her whispered.
"That one called Thirteen doesn’t look like this, does it?" someone questioned.
If their recent attempt to contact the Mushroom Race attracted its attention, it seemed plausible that it had come.
Jini reckoned the newcomers weren’t friendly, but remembering the High Priest’s expectations, she spoke to the Sword Saint: "Are you from the Mushroom Race? We mean no harm, we just want to..."
Before she could finish, the heads of two cultists on the outermost fringes flew up.
And Sword Saint Puki, stepped in moonlight, was already spinning towards Jini with a slash.
Half his life had been spent hunting down cults; from his experience, whether it be the Hand of Death or other cults, speaking only meant plotting or trickery.
If not attempting to seduce hearts, they must be stalling for time, anything but good intentions.
After suffering a few minor losses, Elvyn had learned to purge his mind of distractions, finding the most prudent action was to chop off heads before their words were finished.
Even now transformed into Puki, without the caution his previous single life demanded, he maintained this habit.
Cultists’ words were not worth listening to!
Jini hadn’t anticipated a Puki to be this fast; seeing the blade closing in, she couldn’t defend in time.
In the moment of crisis, a stone giant’s hand emerged in front of Jini, at the cost of half a shattered palm, briefly delaying Sword Saint Puki, allowing Jini to retreat and adjust her stance.
Crescent had been tense after the lizardman entered, enabling her to barely react to the ambush.
The Stone Giant hadn’t fully climbed out of the ground before its body shattered into rubble beneath the sword Qi.
Sword Saint wanted to chase, but Jini raised her magic staff high.
"Fear!"
Invisible waves spread outward.
The scenery before the Sword Saint changed, returning him to the Elf Royal Palace.
Inanna and Galadriel stood one on each side, caressing his mushroom body, yet neither had smiles on their faces, only staring coldly at him.
Alama, Lorenzo, Shi Wu, etc., those acquainted with the Sword Saint were gathered at the entrance, silently observing the scene.
Alama even held intelligence on the reincarnated Puki.
Suddenly, a sword light flashed, and the entire scene splintered.
[Sword Heart (Rebound Spiritual Damage)]
Jini, hit hard, leaned on her staff, blood pouring from her nose and mouth, as the adjacent cultists dragged her, retreating.
The Catman hastily withdrew, erecting stone walls to separate both sides as much as possible.
The Sword Saint wasn’t in a hurry to chase.
This clearly was a temporary stronghold; he wanted to capture the Hand of Death in one fell swoop.
With the tracking ability of this Puki body, the cultists wouldn’t escape, just as well to let them lead the way.
However, when he turned around, he found the lizardman puppet unmoving.
Really? The boss afraid of spiritual attacks?
The Sword Saint silently noted this possibility in his mind, then tried calling the boss.
Driven by curiosity to actively succumb to the fear illusion, Lin Jun felt his mushroom entity being gradually dissolved by the slime, solidifying his resolve to obliterate all evil slimes.
As for what constitutes an evil slime? Living slimes are all evil!