Chapter 689 - 678: The Price of Escape
Chapter 689: Chapter 678: The Price of Escape
Xiao Hai landed on the ground, staring blankly at the blood splattered everywhere.
She gathered up bits here and there, piled them up, but the Bright Crystal gemstone did not reappear.
She couldn’t understand how such a large person could just disappear like that.
And even her Bright Crystal was gone.
Suddenly, an image appeared in her consciousness.
It was a Puki placing that gemstone outside her Mushroom House.
The large tail that had been dragging on the ground instantly perked up, then slammed down twice with great force.
Then, the wings flapped forcefully, transforming once more into a shadow, flying quickly back.
...
After all, this time wasn’t Xiao Hai’s fault. Who knew that a bloodsucker would Puki self-destruct?
On the other side, the battle at Gong River was nearing its end.
Even though there was a reserve team left by Eugene on the other side of the river and they carried out a retreat, counterattack, and resistance under the adjutant’s command.
But the scene of Eugene being beaten to a bloody escape severely impacted the morale of his subordinates.
Added to this, the unequal strength between the two sides made defeat inevitable.
The adjutant died, command was lost, chaos ensued.
Except for some small groups of the Demon Race still persisting in resistance, the others of the Demon Race became lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
The key point was most of them couldn’t outrun the rolling Pukis.
Everyone was busy harvesting Contribution Points, except for No. 4 who lay despondently on the bank of Gong River.
All it wanted now was to revert back to its small body and plunge into Pink Puki’s embrace.
However, Lin Jun did not capture all the routed soldiers, only grabbing two-thirds, then had Little Pig withdraw the troops.
The Pukis tied up prisoners one by one, while the soldiers of Fungus Castle cleaned the battlefield and gleefully calculated how many Contribution Points they might earn within the Fungal Network.
They were all confident about the distribution of Contribution Points; Fungus Castle never mishandled or misallocated battle merits.
Over on the Dwarf side, Bardor was in a mixed state of joy and displeasure.
Nothing pleased him more than seeing the Empire Army crumble; even though he was covered in wounds, he still happily cleaned up the Demon Race still resisting.
As for displeasure, naturally, it was because Eugene had escaped.
Unlike the simple-minded Bardor, General Duvalin, who was in charge of command, had many considerations.
Turning defeat into victory certainly delighted him, but the power displayed by Fungus Castle exceeded the expectations of both him and the Mountain clans.
Not to mention Louisa’s lord-level strength.
The endless Puki antics during the battle, the nearly infinite Pukis, and finally the two ultra-giant Pukis that broke through the ice under Gong River.
Those things were even larger than the complete form of a Fire Elemental Lord!
Their size rivaled that of the Empire’s strategic weapon, the Abyss Beast.
Although their exact strength remained unknown, their sheer size was enough to turn the tide of battle.
It could even be said that if those two giant Pukis were released from the beginning, they wouldn’t have experienced the hard-fought phase at all.
Of course, in such a case, the enemy would certainly choose to retreat orderly, making total annihilation unlikely.
Anyway, the power of the Northern Territory exceeded the previous expectations of the Mountains.
To think, this was a new organization formed by tribes that survived the extreme cold!
Yet it possessed such mighty strength.
Naturally, Duvalin would emphasize this at the clan meeting when he returned.
However, in Duvalin’s view, this should be considered good news.
After all, everyone shared a common enemy in the Empire, and a stronger Northern Territory could attract more attention from the Empire, relieving some pressure on the Mountains.
But...
Seeing one Dwarf Warrior after another pulled from caves by the Pukis, safely treated by Puki methods, Duvalin grumbled to himself:
"Clearly we have enough strength ourselves, yet they still asked for us. Next time, we can’t be easily fooled into supporting them again..."
...
"Ha... ha... ha..."
On the ice field, three members of the Demon Race were fleeing south.
Among them, the Lizardman led the way.
Nearby trailed the Horned Demon, carrying a severely injured member of the Demon Race on its back.
All three had discarded their armor; with it on, there was simply no chance of escape. Only the Lizardman still held a chipped long knife.
After a day of fleeing, they confirmed there were no pursuers behind.
Not to mention pursuers, they saw no other routed soldiers either.
Everyone scattered to flee, not daring to gather, eventually dispersed into the boundless icy snow.
However, although the pursuers stopped, the Northern Territory itself presented a threat—cold!
Food and drink were not a concern, as mushrooms were everywhere, containing juice inside, preventing hunger and thirst.
But the cold was truly unmanageable!
Following the army, they had collective heating, range-limited warming spells, and warming potions.
But now, all that was gone.
If they didn’t quickly escape the Northern Territory, they would simply freeze to death.
The Lizardman turned back, grumbling to the Horned Demon: "Why are you still carrying that Demon Race member? Remember what a high-and-mighty attitude he had before? Now we can barely save our own skins, and you’re still dragging him along?"
The Horned Demon glanced at the Lizardman, continued forward while carrying the wounded Demon Race member: "He got injured saving me from a Puki encirclement, I can’t abandon him."
"But if you don’t leave him, he’ll die anyway! Surely you don’t think his state, having barely a breath left, can last until we’re out? I say, we take his Demon Core back, and that’s good enough!"
The Horned Demon stopped responding, continuing onward, causing the Lizardman to curse his foolishness.
When they were unbearably cold, they gathered some firewood, found a small cave, and managed to start a fire, trying to warm up a bit.
The shivering Lizardman clung closely to the fire, appearing as if he wished to jump into the flames for warmth.
No one noticed that some mushrooms on the cave roof dropped a few spores onto the cadaver of the Demon Race member.
Feeling a bit warmer finally, the Lizardman approached the Demon Race member who hadn’t yet died.
"Tough luck!"
Another day passed.
The thick-furred Horned Demon was already trembling, tortured by the cold, let alone the Lizardman, who was naturally less resistant to cold.
He had a premonition; he wouldn’t survive the coming night.
The Lizardman looked at the Horned Demon carrying the Demon Race member, more and more perplexed.
Suddenly he lunged over: "Why? I’m on the brink of freezing to death, yet this severely wounded guy lives this strong?"
He grabbed the Demon Race member, noticing mycelium spreading throughout his flesh.
After a brief daze, the Lizardman didn’t feel fear but exploded in joy at discovering a chance of survival.
"Puki Master... mycelium symbiosis?! So that’s it! Hahahahahahaha!"
Then, before the astonished eyes of the Horned Demon, the Lizardman rushed to a Mushroom Tree, raised his knife, and stabbed it into his own belly...
...
Ten days later, the three members of the Demon Race finally escaped the Northern Territory, and were taken by the Demon Race members who had taken over the border into a barrack.
The Demon Race member was taken away separately.
Upon entering the barrack, the Lizardman found it filled with soldiers who had survived and escaped the battle.
And nearly all the survivors had... symbiosis with mycelium like them.