Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Chapter 675: Chapter 664: Louisa’s Old Acquaintance

"My Lady, there are traces of High Tier earth Magic remaining."

Listening to her subordinate’s report, Eleanor unconsciously raised her hand, pressed her fingertip against her lips, and lightly bit it.

This hideout had already been turned completely upside down. Not only were there traces left by battle, there were also the remnants of a Ritual Array inside.

Hand of Death?

Or was it some restless Lord nearby secretly stirring up trouble?

Whatever it was, Eleanor could feel a sense of crisis.

She had finally started seeing some progress lately. Relying on that silly Mushroom Race, she’d sold a lot of Delicious mushrooms to other Lords, and the research on Blood Jade Wine also seemed to be making some headway. Everything was moving in a good direction.

But now it seemed someone was already getting jealous.

Trying to sabotage her? Or trying to take a share of the pie from her?

Worried and preoccupied, after Eleanor returned to her own manor, she took out a box from a hidden compartment.

Inside the box lay a red ribbon, quietly.

The material was soft, the bright color looked as if it had just been scooped out of fresh blood, yet it had no bloody smell at all.

Only if you leaned in close and examined it carefully could you see that deep within the red flowed countless tiny runes—this was a Slave-Mark Curse Ribbon.

She had paid a huge price to exchange for this treasure from Prince Visarus.

When the Prince named his price, there had been a smile at the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he knew she had no room to bargain and ruthlessly fleeced her.

A High-level contract item—so long as she used it to bind Thirteen, Eleanor would no longer have to worry about other forces abducting her Mushroom Race.

But she did not act immediately.

The Empire had done quite a lot of research on Pukis. Judging from the results, the path of Spiritual Control wasn’t very workable, and most of the experimenters died from the collapse of their Spiritual Power.

What’s more, Thirteen was a Mushroom Race, and would naturally differ even more from ordinary Pukis.

Even if this item was a high-level contract that had never been used before, Eleanor was not completely confident.

If it failed and instead caused her to fall out with Thirteen, that would be bad.

After thinking it through, Eleanor still put it away again, treating it as a backup move.

At the end of the day, it really wasn’t a good time to use such heavy-handed methods.

Half of the Power under her command had already been transferred away by His Majesty, and another headache-inducing matter had cropped up recently.

Eleanor drew out that piece of intelligence that ignited her fury from the depths of a drawer; the edges of the parchment had already been crumpled by her grip.

The report bore a portrait: a tall, slender female of the Blood Race, dressed as boldly as an Enchanting Demon; the scanty coverage left the battle-tempered muscle lines of her body completely exposed.

She stood on a high platform, below her were swathes of tribal folk, and the densely packed Pukis at their side.

Eleanor recognized that face.

Louisa.

The portrait was drawn from an overhead angle; clearly it had been sketched by some Blood Race who could take bat form.

The intelligence had been sent via Communication Crystal from Duke Eugene in the north. Although the message did not spell it out, the accusatory tone was obvious to anyone.

Why was Louisa, whom she had assumed dead in human territory, appearing in the Northern Territory? And from the looks of it, she’d even managed to become some sort of leader?

Yet according to the unwritten rules of the Blood Race, if a traitor appeared among her blood offspring, she would inevitably be held responsible.

Eugene clearly also meant for her to send people over.

"That damned piece of trash!" Eleanor slammed her palm down hard on the table. "If you can’t complete the mission then just go die! How dare you betray me, betray me!"

But no matter how harshly she cursed, it wouldn’t change the situation.

Eugene had already come knocking; she had to take action.

At the very least she had to contribute some effort, otherwise if the matter was brought up in council, the price she’d have to pay would only grow.

"Call Yvette!"

The servant’s hurried footsteps faded into the distance, and before long, a figure was kneeling before her desk.

It was yet another female of the Blood Race. In fact, most of the blood offspring under Eleanor’s command were female.

The Blood Race called Yvette had a slighter build than Louisa, but she radiated the same sharp aura. She lowered her head, her posture flawlessly respectful: "My Lord, what are your orders?"

Eleanor did not let her rise, merely looked down at her from above. "Pick out the elites from the Third and Fourth Armies and take a trip to the Northern Territory to assist that guy Eugene."

"The Northern Territory?" Yvette’s brows knit slightly, a hint of puzzlement in her tone. Their domains were far apart; if Duke Eugene were seeking reinforcements, he should by rights look nearby.

"You’ll have to ask your dear sister about that!" As she spoke, Eleanor flung the intelligence with the portrait down in front of Yvette.

Yvette lowered her head to look. The instant that familiar face entered her sight, her scarlet pupils widened slightly.

"Louisa is actually alive?!" There was a barely concealed note of delight in her voice.

Seeing this, Eleanor’s lips twisted into a cold smile. "Not only is she alive, she seems to be doing quite well! What, should I send someone else, so you won’t have to dirty your hands?"

"No, my Lord, please entrust this to me!" Yvette straightened her back as though afraid the opportunity would slip away. "To deal with big sister Louisa, who’s still stuck at Diamond Level... sending your subordinate is just right!"

...

While Eugene was pulling people from all sides to assemble his grand crusade force, things at Fungus Castle remained quiet; the Fungus People didn’t even feel as if war was about to descend.

After all, Lin Jun’s mind really wasn’t on this side at the moment.

The Sword Saint (already darkened) was still carrying that stone and crawling back through the Underground City’s tunnel network.

Lin Jun, meanwhile, went straight to find the Elder Fishman Gululu.

At the moment, most of the Fishmen in the Tide Sanctuary had already undergone Symbiosis with Mycelium, and every day they wandered through the Sanctuary with sea Pukis in tow.

Without small talk, Lin Jun locked onto the old Fishman and went straight to the point. "I saw the Death God."

Gululu, who was usually so indifferent, actually straightened his body with a jolt this time. "Lord Puki, you mean... that is true?"

Lin Jun briefly described the scene of the Death God’s descent, and after listening, Gululu dropped to his knees on the spot. "It’s real... it really is my Lord!"

The other Fishmen nearby, seeing this, all followed suit and prostrated themselves in a wave.

The Puki fish beside him grabbed the old Fishman and hoisted him up. "Don’t be in such a rush to kneel. First tell me this—have you been cooperating so well all this time because you know something?"

The old Fishman’s somewhat clouded eyes glanced at the Puki, then he knelt again—this time to the Puki.

"You are the messenger of the Goddess. I will tell you everything I know."

The old Fishman carefully recounted the cause, but it wasn’t as Lin Jun had imagined—he didn’t know any hidden secret.

When Lin Jun had first arrived in the Underground City, Gululu, having long been out of contact with the Death God, had sensed a fluctuation bearing the Death God’s aura in the Deep Area. Although it had only existed for an instant, he’d still carved it into his memory.

After that, as the Thirteenth Dungeon underwent all sorts of mutations under the spread of the Fungal Mat, Gululu regarded the Puki behind those changes as the handiwork of the Death God.

Although he could not be one hundred percent certain, he still chose to firmly believe his own conjecture.

And now, for Gululu, that conjecture had been confirmed!

"Great Lord Puki, messenger of the Goddess, the Fishman race... not just us, but all Fishmen are willing to become your Power. Please do not spare our lives—use us as you will, all for the sake of our Lord!"

All around were the other Fishmen’s oaths of fealty through the Fungal Network.

Well, although this wasn’t quite what she had imagined, the result was still acceptable.

However, since they still worshiped the Death God, they could only be treated as the helpers of a partner; when it came to her core grand enterprise, it still had to remain in the hands of her "own mushrooms."

That mumbling, riddle-spouting Death God— even if it was a self she had summoned, Lin Jun was not going to trust Him completely.

Also, Gululu had said all Fishmen would heed the Puki, but... where were there any other Fishmen?