This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 242, Section 241: The Return (4K)

"no!"

Although he was responding to Inanna's request to go out, Eric's scrutinizing gaze was fixed on Edin, who was sitting on pins and needles to the side.

To defend against the fierce attacks of the demons, Duke Alama needed to personally oversee the High Fortress, entrusting all affairs of the rear territories to his most trusted steward, Eric.

Therefore, Far's request regarding the control of creep did not need to alarm the Duke, who was far away on the front lines; it only required Eric's approval.

Eric agreed with Far's request, which included refugees as only one aspect.

He had far more intelligence than Fal. The demons were coming on strong and their offensive was not going to stop in the short term. Meanwhile, the elven allies, on whom they had placed high hopes, were acting ambiguously, and the food supply had become a huge threat.

Although procurement from the archipelago has been initiated, it is clearly insufficient to fill the gap.

Food shortages are likely to escalate into a long-term crisis, making it reasonable to bring this strategic resource under control.

As for the resentment of those speculators?

The prestigious St. Clair family would never care about such a thing!

but……

His agreement did not include allowing Miss Inanna to personally go and risk her life!

"Why?!" Inanna looked at Eric with dissatisfaction, her cheeks puffed up in anger.

“It’s too dangerous!” Eric’s voice left no room for argument. “Isn’t that underground city on the verge of collapse? How can Miss go to such a dangerous place?”

“I’m not going into Silent Wind Town! I’m just on the outskirts, near the temporary camp!” Inanna argued, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers.

“The outer perimeter?” Eric’s lips tightened further as his gaze swept across the window. “It’s now teeming with desperate refugees and greedy adventurers, a chaotic mix! The master has taken most of the elite guards with him. Outside the manor, how can we guarantee your safety, Miss?”

"I have it!" Inanna suddenly lifted the knight in her arms high, then quickly pointed to Aidin, who wished he could shrink into a crack in the wall: "And Aidin! He will protect me too!"

When Edin was suddenly called out, he froze, feeling as if Eric's dagger-like gaze had pierced right through him. He managed to force a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and his scalp tingled.

"Oh?" Eric took a few steps forward, straightened his cuffs expressionlessly, and said in a flat voice, "In that case... let's give it a try."

"Try...try what?" Inanna blinked her big eyes, still not understanding.

Eric said, word by word, "Let's see just how capable these two 'guards' you're relying on really are. If they can hurt me, I'll acknowledge their abilities and stop interfering."

Inanna glanced at Eric, then turned to look at Edin.

Aidin's expression had completely frozen; he desperately wanted to shake his head.

“Okay!” Inanna agreed confidently.

Aidin: Oh no!

……

Soon, Aidin and Knight Puji stood in the Duke's training ground.

The bluestone pavement gleamed with a cold, hard sheen in the afternoon sun, and the rows of weapon racks around it added to the somber atmosphere.

Eric, on the other side, took off his impeccable butler's uniform and put on a sharp, dark gray outfit. The pair of dark metal gauntlets on his fists, with their menacing knuckles, exuded a dangerous aura.

"Eric, you're not allowed to hurt Puji once it starts!" Inanna, standing in the stands, cupped her hands around her mouth, her voice filled with worry as she made a rather unreasonable request.

Aiding, standing in the arena, really wanted to say, "Please also worry about whether I'll get hurt..."

Inanna waved her hand: "Begin!"

Knight Puji was the first to attack. Its round body suddenly lowered, and a mushroom cannon with power far exceeding that of an ordinary Puji suddenly blasted out! The solid ground of the training ground was instantly blasted into a large crater!
However, amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Eric's figure had already vanished from the spot, moving so fast that only a blur remained.

He ignored Puji's threat and pounced on the mage Aidin first!

With a flicker of his figure, several indistinguishable phantoms split off from his main body. At the same time, each "Aidin" raised his hand without hesitation, and several sharp wind blades, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, intertwined and slashed towards the rapidly approaching butler.

"Illusion?" Eric snorted, his forward momentum halting as he stomped his right foot down!
A tremendous force pierced the ground, causing it to tremble violently and sending countless fragments of rock flying in all directions!

The rubble passed through the illusory images without any hindrance, except for Aidin, who instinctively dodged to the side!
Immediately afterward, Eric used his arm guard to block the wind blade, and at the same time, his right fist, covered by a metal gauntlet, slammed mercilessly towards Aidin's true form with a whooshing sound!

Another mushroom cannon shot came, but it made no attempt to avoid Aidin, enveloping both of them in its attack range.

There's no way around it; Lin Jun isn't in control now, and Puji's fighting style has never been about harming friends...

Aiding cursed under his breath, and in his haste, he could only forcefully use the gust of wind to throw him away in a sorry state, narrowly avoiding the double attack of the fist and the mushroom cannon.

Even while in mid-air, he didn't forget to unleash several wind blades, attempting to block Eric's escape route.

Faced with this pincer attack, Eric turned around on the spot and punched straight at the mushroom cannon!

A condensed fist wind, visible to the naked eye, shot out and slammed into the flying mushroom cannon!
Boom——!
The mushroom cannon was abruptly detonated halfway by the powerful force of the punch, and a violent energy shockwave swept out, causing Eric's clothes to flutter wildly, but he remained as steady as a rock.

As soon as Aidin landed awkwardly, Eric's figure reappeared in front of him, the cold metal gauntlets rapidly enlarging in his vision, leaving Aidin no time to dodge!
With a "crack," the illusion shattered, and a piece of broken crystal fell to the ground, causing Eric to raise an eyebrow slightly.

On the other side, Knight Puji suddenly jumped and launched himself straight over, his body spinning rapidly like a top.

Several tough tentacles stretched straight under the centrifugal force, transforming into a gleaming, impenetrable blade wheel that twisted toward Eric!
【Blade Storm LV6】

As a close-combat skill that Lin Jun enjoys and practices frequently, the Knight skill is naturally included.

Eric's arms moved in a blur, his sturdy metal gauntlets clashing violently with the sharp tentacle blades, producing a series of ear-piercing metallic clangs.

With his superb parrying skills and formidable strength, he forcefully withstood the violent spinning attack, at the cost of several deep slash marks on his arm guard, and the three tentacle blades were shattered by the force of his punch!
"Eric! You promised not to hurt the knight!" Inanna cried out in distress from the stands.

Eric sighed inwardly, about to exert his strength to completely subdue the fearless Puffy, when suddenly he swung his right hand and swatted flat a small flying insect phantom perched on his shoulder—it had just tried to bite Eric.

Meanwhile, the opposing team's Puji started releasing hallucinogenic spores while simultaneously unleashing a [subsonic attack].

The sound of a bottle shattering came from Eric's waist.

At the same time, his body swayed slightly, and a trace of bright red blood uncontrollably seeped from the corner of his mouth. Although thanks to his strong physique, the injury he suffered was extremely minor, but he still bled!
The attack ceased. Eric stood still, not pursuing the enemy.

He looked at Puji, who was always being held in Miss's arms, with a strange expression, then turned to look at a corner of the training ground, where the real Aidin was slowly emerging from the air, looking a little embarrassed, with a bit of cold sweat on his forehead.

Eric wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then touched the broken bottle at his waist, his poker face revealing no emotion: "You do have some skill."

"We won! I can go now!" Inanna cheered immediately from the stands.

Eric paused for a moment, then quickly assessed the situation: a slippery illusionist skilled at creating chaos and cover, coupled with a magical pet named Puji that was fearless of pain, possessed astonishing attack power, and could launch bizarre attacks, could indeed provide the young lady with a considerable degree of protection.

Even so, he remained completely unconcerned.

In the end, Inanna's entourage, in addition to Aidin and the knight Puji, included four more gold-level guards with calm demeanor and sharp eyes, as well as a full set of life-saving equipment.

Before leaving, Eric's eyes were fixed on Edin: "I urge Mr. Edin and Chairman Far to ensure Miss's safety."

The subtext couldn't be clearer: If anything goes wrong, you'll be in big trouble!
On the road, Dylan sat wearily on the horse's back, still riding the same chestnut horse. This old fellow had amazing stamina and could keep up with even the best horses when traveling, so Dylan didn't switch it halfway through the journey.

After traveling continuously, Dylan has lost a lot of weight. His cheeks are sunken and there are heavy shadows under his eyes. Only when he gets closer to Silent Wind Town does a sliver of life flicker in his eyes.

Just as he was trying to clear his head and shake off the dazed feeling from the long journey, he caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of his eye—mycelium!
There were traces of fungal carpets in the woods by the roadside. They spread among the trees and even climbed onto the road!

However, Dylan wasn't sure if this was the boss.

"Boss?" Dylan tried calling out through the fungal web.

Before a reply could be received, three men wielding sharp blades suddenly sprang out of the bushes ahead, blocking the way. Dylan pulled his horse to a sudden stop, the chestnut horse pawing nervously.

Just as he was about to turn around, more figures moved behind him. Two more bandits emerged from behind with sinister smiles, completely blocking the narrow forest path.

Almost simultaneously, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from not far away, and two accomplices riding inferior horses were brandishing weapons and quickly flanking from the side!

Seven against one!

How many times have they robbed us along the way?

The security situation outside is getting worse and worse. What should we do this time? Fight or run?
The leader of the bandits was a tall, fat man who carried a rusty mace. His voice was hoarse and grating: "Old man, be smart! Leave your horse behind, throw your money bag over! I'll spare your life!"

His accomplice beside him brandished a long knife, eyeing Dylan's valuable attire with ill intent.

Dylan looked at them, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Seven against one means you have to run, but the enemy not only blocked your way from the front and back, but also had two riders on horseback.

Although it's a poor horse, the one beneath me has been on a long journey, so I'm not sure it can outrun it.

It's all my fault for getting distracted by the fungal carpet earlier; I usually spot something amiss beforehand and stay far away.

The bandits exchanged glances, but they couldn't wait any longer and slowly surrounded the group, weapons in hand.

Just as Dylan was about to make a desperate attempt to break through using his Ice Spike Ring, he noticed a number of bulges sprouting on the fungal carpet not far away...

*Kiss...Kiss...Kiss...Kiss...*

A series of sounds rang out from the fungal carpet, and when the bandits turned around, they saw a scene that made their scalps tingle: countless round, chubby monsters popped out of the forest and rolled over swiftly!

Like a tide, they swept across the road, and hundreds of puffy creatures quickly surrounded everyone.

The bandit on horseback reacted the fastest; the incomprehensible sight before him made him yank the reins and turn to gallop away!
However, turning the horse around takes time, and this distance is nothing more than a blink of an eye for Puji!

Several plops rolled quickly to the side of his horse, their round bodies crashing straight into it!

Bang!
The violent explosion sent mud and blood fragments flying into the air. The inferior horse was killed before it could even neigh, and the bandit on its back, covered in blood, screamed as he lost a leg.

"Help me! Help me!" he cried out in anguish as he dragged his mangled body, desperately reaching out to his accomplices.

But the remaining six were already surrounded by the Puji. Facing the circles of Puji around them and hearing their companions' shrill screams, they felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads. They dared not even move a step, let alone save anyone!

They could only watch helplessly as the second batch of plops rolled up, amidst their companions' pleas for mercy.

Several more muffled explosions rang out, sending dirt flying.

The wailing stopped abruptly.

The bandits' fierce expressions vanished, replaced by expressions of terror!
The fat man at the head of the group gripped the heavy mace tightly, his arm muscles bulging, but he couldn't muster even the slightest courage to swing it at his side. Large beads of sweat rolled down his greasy cheeks.

"Puji... the underground city!"

"What's going on?! What the hell is going on?!"

The robbers were completely panicked, cursing in a panic, utterly unable to comprehend the nightmarish scene before them.

They've been entrenched in this area for over ten days, so why did they encounter such a strange thing today?
Dylan, the only one who knew the inside story, finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart. His own safety and his boss's safety had been answered at the same time, and an indescribable warmth and sense of security welled up inside him.

He simply stroked the neck of the chestnut horse beneath him, calming the old horse, which was also restless from the bloody explosion.

Just as the bandits were racking their brains for a way to escape, a commotion broke out among the Puji, and a wrinkled, slender Puji was "pushed" out by its companions.

Its body writhed towards these guys who dared to lay a hand on Puji's subordinates.

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying sound, as if countless voices had been squeezed together, emanated from its body: "Make a wail like a pig, and then die!"

The swarm of Puji instantly erupted, sharp blades tearing through the air, and acid sprayed out like a torrential rain!

"Dylan! You're still alive!"

In his mind, the boss was happily greeting him, but in reality, a shrill, inhuman scream instantly drowned out the chirping of insects in the forest. The pungent smell of blood and acid filled the air, causing Dylan, who had just been moved, to vomit on the spot.

　4 updates = 8K+, done. It's a pity I didn't reach 10,000 words a day; I've been writing all day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)