Chapter 705 - 694: Boss’s Mercy
Chapter 705: Chapter 694: Boss’s Mercy
On the streets of Cold Bay Castle, the orange afterglow is fading.
Troops of Demon Race soldiers laying down their weapons are being escorted by Fungus Castle soldiers, gathering from various street corners, each prisoner entangled with a Puki, ready to self-destruct if the tendrils are broken.
After several precedents, these Demon Race soldiers have dejectedly accepted the situation.
Deep inside the city, there’s still occasional magic power fluctuations and sporadic shouts of battle; these are small groups of enemy forces still resisting after the city was breached, but they no longer affect the overall situation.
Norris walks along the main road, looking around.
"So this is the Empire..." he murmurs, with a hint of emotion in his tone.
Before joining the Mushroom Garden, he hadn’t been on a real battlefield. But in the tavern, he had heard too many stories about the Empire from adventurers who traveled far and wide.
Although he knew that there was quite a bit of exaggeration mixed in, there must be some truth as well.
They would poison water sources in human settlements, use the lives of relatives to threaten nobles as insiders, capture people and send them off as blood livestock...
In these stories, the Empire’s Demon Race was sinister, cunning, cruel, and almost unbeatable.
Yet now, he had almost effortlessly seized a city of the Empire, and those unbeatable Demon Race soldiers either defected or were herded to the square like pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Previously, even in field battles, the Imperial Army had been defeated, and it was a great victory.
But defending and attacking feel different.
Repelling enemies on the wall or walking into the enemy city watching them surrender are two different tastes.
"The Empire seems to..." he paused, "not be that formidable."
"Of course!" Ming nearby responded quickly, matter-of-factly as if speaking about the sun rising in the east, "The boss is the strongest!"
...
"Behave, move quickly!" A group of recently surrendered Demon Race pressed two people out from the side alley, jostling and shoving through the crowd, finally stopping in front of Norris and Ming.
The lead Demon Race, with a face full of smiles, a smile Norris was very familiar with, the kind wishing to tear their face open with sycophancy when facing "those above."
"Praise the boss!" The person shouted loudly, seemingly deliberately, and then bowed deeply, almost touching the ground, "Two masters, we captured two rebels, presented for your disposal!"
Norris looked at him, without speaking.
He didn’t like this Demon Race’s demeanor, reminding him of some people he’d encountered before who flattered those above and bullied those below; back then, he was the bullied "below."
This guy might not even know what "Praise the boss" specifically refers to, merely taking it as a slogan from the Fungus Castle here.
But soon, Norris was relieved.
A new mix entering the Fungal Network, naturally a mix of fish and dragons, having anyone is normal.
Those tribesmen, when they first joined, had various problems, but now they’ve improved.
As for those who can’t be improved, the boss has suitable places for them to go.
Mushroom Garden differs from all other forces; sycophancy is the least useful ability.
If this guy can’t realize that in time, he’ll suffer greatly sooner or later.
His friend Xiaoming beside him thought nothing of it.
He "mmmm-ed" and asked about the crimes of the two.
One of them was the servant who first killed the Blood Race lord.
Notably, his face was clean, without being parasitized by mycelium.
"Why did you do that?" Ming asked.
Pressed to the ground, the man grinned. His smile wasn’t flattery, not fear, but... satisfaction.
"I helped you," he said, voice hoarse but clear, "just to slaughter that beast!"
Pressed down, he struggled to lift his head, neck straight, eyes fixed on Ming.
"Haha, I’ve already done it, do what you want, whenever."
Saying that, he lowered his eyelids, no longer looking at anyone.
Ming turned to the other captured person, a Demon Race with evident mycelium marks.
Ming asked, "Is he an accomplice too?"
The Demon Race pressing him replied, "Master, no, this guy is called Ke, we found him releasing another Demon Race amid the chaos."
Ming stood up, looked at Norris, clearly unsure about punishment.
Norris, meanwhile, adeptly planned to contact Xing Huo within the Fungal Network, something he’s familiar with.
Actually, contacting Sister Blood is also an option, but Sister Blood should be commanding the main forces now and not suitable to disturb.
However, Norris ultimately couldn’t contact Xing Huo.
He looked up, glanced around, "The boss says... he’ll handle it personally."
Ming immediately became energized, standing upright.
But the surrendered Demon Race looked around with some confusion, not seeing anyone resembling the boss, until a Puki, like a piece of rag, wriggled up to that servant.
"Gerhard, the assistant to breach the city, yet privately executing that lord." The voice wasn’t loud, but like a nightmare’s whisper.
Except for Norris and Ming, everyone shivered uncontrollably.
The vocal Puki continued, "Considering you destroyed valuable material, contribution points will be deducted from your merits."
No other punishment, leaving Gerhard and the Demon Race who captured him momentarily stunned.
The vocal Puki then wriggled to the Demon Race, and Ke revealed a fearful, bitter smile, "Boss..."
While he awaited his judgment, he heard the vocal Puki say, "Let him go, he did nothing wrong."
"What?" Now not only Ke and the surrendered Demon Race were taken aback, but Norris and Ming also showed confused expressions.
Lin Jun explained, "Their previous status was purely assistants, not officially part of Fungus Castle yet. Just releasing a friend doesn’t count as a rebel, set them free."
With the boss’s word, others naturally had to release the two.
Ke, who thought his fate sealed, lay on the ground, thanking profusely.
Gerhard said nothing, only flexed his wrists numbed from being pressed, incredulously watching the vocal Puki climb up Norris’s leg.
The vocal Puki crawled onto Norris’s shoulder.
Norris expressionless, "Boss, you could easily say it directly within the Fungal Network."
The vocal Puki moved closer to his ear, "Release those captured Imperial soldiers too! Arrange for those wanting to join Fungus Castle to stay, let others leave on their own."
"Huh?" Norris endured the ear discomfort, "No need for reformation?"
"Of course not!" The vocal Puki intently said in mercy, "Those attacking us require reformation, this time, we’re the aggressors! These soldiers were merely defending their homeland, nothing to be harsh about, let them go!"
For a moment, surrounding Demon Race took a sideways glance - despite the boss’s frightening voice, actually, he was very benevolent?
Some Demon Race felt touched, while others worried about the future. They thought that for a ruler, excessive mercy might not be a good trait.
Only Norris appeared oddly, quietly asking within the Fungal Network, "Boss, is it... ’treat first, then release’?"
"Treat only if they’re wounded! Those fighting resiliently till now, of course, should have their injuries healed before being released. Those surrendering quickly without injuries naturally need no treatment either."
...
Days after, the cities behind Cold Bay Castle watched those released fleeing southward, eventually gathering outside the city, whether parasitized or not, those scattered troops posed a challenge.