This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 278, Section 277: Gray! You tricked me!
"call--"

Gallon's breath instantly condensed into frost in the biting cold wind.

His mood was even more gloomy than the frozen land of the far north.

He had just finished mocking Gray's "hard job" when he himself was transferred to this godforsaken place.

He even suspected that Gray had gossiped about him to the clan leader and was deliberately trying to frame him.

There was a reason why the empire allowed this far north region to remain outside its territory.

As far as the eye can see, there is only endless ice and snow.

Roads were impossible to build in this godforsaken place, and horses could not survive there. Travel was only possible by trudging along on foot, one foot in deep water and the other in shallow water.

Not to mention that resources were extremely scarce, and the empire simply couldn't be bothered with this barren land.

His mount could only be kept in the last town on the border of the empire, and he had to complete the long journey thereafter on foot.

Apart from the extremely bad road conditions, we didn't encounter any major obstacles.

Just before leaving the border of the Empire and entering the far north, he was ambushed by two invisible monsters on the banks of a glacier. He dealt with them easily and then there were no further incidents.

Along the way, they passed through some scattered settlements, and no one dared to provoke the empire's envoy. In fact, at his request, they all "voluntarily" provided supplies.

And now, we're finally almost at that demon tribe.

“Recruit? Ha…” Galen couldn’t help but scoff at the thought of the mission. “What value is there in recruiting a bunch of trash who live in this godforsaken corner and have probably never even experienced a proper fight!”

pat-

A slight noise came from under his feet. Galen frowned and looked down. It seemed that the sole of his boot had stepped on something.
He used his fingertips to scrape up a small amount of the barely perceptible white substance on the ground, which was almost the same color as the ice and snow.

"Mycelium?"

He looked around and then discovered that fine white mycelium could be seen everywhere in the crevices of the rocks covered with icicles and in the sheltered corners. Even a few gray mushrooms stubbornly emerged from the cold.

Although he was somewhat surprised that the mushrooms could survive in such icy and snowy conditions, Galen didn't think much of it.

When he arrived at the demon tribe, he found that the number of demons there seemed to be pitifully small.

Gray's intelligence report clearly mentioned two or three hundred people, but in this settlement, most of the shacks were empty and there were few people around. At a glance, it would be difficult to find even fifty living people.

“I come on behalf of the Demonic Bloodline of the Empire.” His voice sounded particularly cold and hard on the empty snowfield.

"Your Excellency, the clan chief awaits in the main tent," a demon guarding the gate said respectfully.

"Chief?" Galen scoffed without any attempt to hide his laughter, striding towards the largest tent in the center.

Inside the tent, he met Hunt and Starfire.

He quickly noticed that the hunter's hand was not as disabled as reported, but that was not a problem. Although limb reconstruction was not easy, there were actually many methods, especially for them, the demon race.

Ultimately, he's only at the diamond level; even if there were one or two more, they wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.

But when he noticed the mycelium entwined within the two people's magical runes, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

He immediately recalled that the guards at the gate seemed to have the same thing in their magical runes, but at the time he just thought it was a special pattern. Now it seems...

Galen was worried that something had contaminated the tribe's magic core, which would make it difficult for him to explain himself.

There was another thing he was very concerned about: what was that monster in the very center of the tent, holding a stone cup and looking just like a walking mushroom?

"I wonder, what is the purpose of your visit, Your Excellency?" Hunt's question drew Galen's attention back to the present.

Galen's gaze fell on Hunt and Starfire, his tone condescending as an imperial envoy: "The chieftain is merciful, and out of consideration for our shared bloodline, he has granted you, a group of abandoned people, permission to move into our territory and receive the protection of the empire. Pack your things immediately and come back with me."

Hunt's voice was as steady as a rock: "I am very sorry, Your Excellency, we have been established here for a long time and have no intention of moving." Galen, who could no longer contain himself, instantly broke into a cruel and excited smile.

Recruiting? Escorting? That's a complete waste of time!

Slaughter them all, pack up the magic cores and take them away—it'll save you time and effort! If they actually submit obediently, Galen will find it rather pointless!
Just as Galen's magical runes began to glow, and he was about to unleash his attack—

In the center of the tent, Puji, who had been holding the stone cup the whole time, suddenly threw the stone cup out without warning!

The rough stone cup crashed onto the ground covered with thick animal hides, making a dull cracking sound.

The instant the stone cup slipped from their grasp and fell, Hunt and Starfire were like arrows released from a bow, their bodies bursting with astonishing speed. Instead of rushing towards Galen, they retreated rapidly towards the outside of the tent!

Their actions were extremely swift, clearly premeditated!

Almost simultaneously, the light inside the tent distorted, revealing more than a dozen puffy figures.

boom!
The shockwave from the self-destruction exploded suddenly, and the blast wave, carrying fragments of fungus, overturned the large tent!

During the explosion, Galen's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints, and his smile was replaced by shock and rage.

He instinctively sensed a threat, not from the self-destructing walking mushrooms or the two fleeing demons, but from something much further away!

Following his instincts, Galen charged out despite the explosions around him.

His combat instincts proved to be accurate!
The instant he left his spot, a high-concentration magic cannon, ten times more powerful than a self-destruction, struck the tent precisely!

Galen steadied himself and looked at the still-smoking pit, his expression becoming completely serious.

Even with his strong defense, the power of this attack was such that taking a few hits would definitely be bad for him!

He quickly pinpointed the source of the attack—on a distant snow slope, several strange, never-before-seen creatures, each four meters tall, were carrying together a large, tubular object several meters long, covered with handles.

At this moment, inside the tube, destructive magical light began to gather wildly once again!
Again!
The frozen ground beneath Galen's feet cracked, and his body shot out to the side like a cannonball, instantly shifting more than ten meters to the side!

boom!
The second terrifying beam of magical energy grazed past his afterimage, carving a deep furrow in the snow behind him!

Seeing this, Galen felt relieved.

Although he didn't know what kind of magical artifact that powerful long tube was, it was obviously very cumbersome, and the speed at which it could be turned and aimed was too slow for him.

Only the first sneak attack is somewhat threatening; once you are on guard, it is almost impossible for it to hit you.

"A bunch of ignorant country bumpkins!" Having figured out his opponent's hand, Galen's arrogant anger flared up again. "How dare you attack me first? Who gave you the guts?!"

"It was probably me who gave it to him!" A sticky, twisted, and disgusting voice, filled with countless overlapping sounds, suddenly rang out at Galen's feet!

How could he have been completely unaware at such close range? A chill ran down Galen's spine!
Almost instinctively, he spun around and kicked down hard with a shrill screech that tore through the air!
boom!
The mycelium burst out, ice shards flew everywhere, leaving only a crater in the ground!
"What is that?!" Galen asked in surprise, glancing around but finding nothing.

However, that nauseating voice rang out again, this time clearly coming from behind him: "Wow, level 10 physical defense! That's great... Galen, let's be friends?"

How do you know my name?

Various pieces of information flashed through his mind, and Galen analyzed the "truth" in an instant.

"Grey! You tricked me!"

They actually teamed up with outsiders to get rid of him?!
Galen, filled with shock and anger, became extremely cautious. Gray, that treacherous villain, knew his strength well. Since he had prepared a trap, it couldn't be that simple; there must be more tricks up his sleeve!

Galen turned and retreated quickly, and this time he saw clearly what was speaking.

Right behind where he had just been standing, a bizarre, twisted creature, resembling a crumpled and carelessly discarded rag, was writhing on the snow, emitting that chilling sound: "Don't stay so far away! My friend~"

(End of this chapter)