This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 290, Section 289: Everything Goes Well

Deep within the half-demon camp, Bastardos scratched at the sparse scales on his body with his fingernails in frustration.

These dull, unevenly distributed scales are clear evidence of his mixed bloodline, offering only negligible defensive capabilities—a relatively common situation among half-demons.

For several days in a row, the reconnaissance team sent to the Demon Tribe remained silent, and the unknown turned his initial excitement into worry.

Just then, a member of his tribe stumbled into his animal-hide tent, bringing new and terrible news:
"Chief, several members of our tribe have gone missing by the Luo River. They must have been attacked while fetching water, but the warriors only found bloodstains and no bodies. The traces are very few, and they don't seem to be from the monsters that live nearby."

The Luo River, the seasonal river south of the tribe that is about to freeze completely, has been attacked?

Bastardos's nerves tightened instantly, and his first thought was of the demons—could it be their infiltration force?
However, he quickly dismissed this guess himself.

They went through so much trouble to infiltrate here, only to kill a few ordinary tribesmen. At best, it might create some panic, but that's completely pointless.

"An unknown monster..."

The unknown ahead, coupled with the dangers behind, led Bastardos to decide to leave more manpower in the rear.

This ensures the safety of the rear, and if the attack on the demons goes poorly, there is still room for maneuver if they retreat.

However, Imperial envoy Payne immediately noticed when the size of the assembled force was smaller than expected.

With a grim face, the demonic Pain questioned the reason, and Bastardos hurriedly explained his concerns and the attack from the rear, trying to emphasize the necessity of splitting the forces.

"Fool!" Payne's rebuke was like an icicle, piercing with undisguised contempt. "A few lowlifes disappearing makes you cower? You're just feeding some blind beast! What use are these people? Do you think the fertile land promised by the Empire is something you can just lie down and pick up?!"

He took a step closer. "Give me your full strength and set off immediately! If you dare to make excuses again, you won't get anything!"

Despite both being of the Hall of Fame caliber, Payne's insults were utterly unrestrained. This stemmed from his absolute confidence in his own demonic power, his deep-rooted contempt for half-demon bloodlines, and even more so from the backing of the empire behind him.

In fact, even Bastardos himself didn't find the other party's condescending attitude strange.

"Yes... my lord. The entire army shall depart immediately!" Faced with the imperial envoy's unquestionable order, Bastardos ultimately chose to compromise, leaving only a small number of warriors to deal with the wild monsters.

……

Urged on by the messenger, the lizardmen and half-demons set off.

1,500 half-demons and over 900 lizardmen, totaling 2,400, are known as...

There was no claim that the envoys they sent to the demon race had all returned.

Instead of meeting up, they set off from their respective tribes directly to the Demon Tribe.

The two tribes were not "brotherly nations," and their subordinates were tribal warriors rather than soldiers. They were not lacking in individual strength, but their discipline was far inferior to that of a real army.

If they were to actually unite, dealing with the underlying frictions would be a huge challenge; it would be better for them to march separately.

Anyway, there are only three hundred demons, so they can win against anyone.

In terms of supplies, besides food, the most important thing they carried was wood for starting fires and keeping warm.

The tundra region where they live is relatively safe; although there isn't much timber, it's enough if they spend time looking for it.

However, things were different once they entered the icy plains where the demons lived. It wasn't that they couldn't find any trees at all, but it was unrealistic to find enough wood to keep two thousand people warm, so they had to bring the wood along as baggage.

On the third day of their march, they entered the area covered by fungal carpet. However, most of them did not notice the mycelium that was the same color as the snowflakes, and a few who did notice it did not pay any attention to it.

Everything went smoothly on the way forward, without any obstacles.

Within the tribe, there were many skilled scouts, but they didn't discover any enemies, because there really weren't any. Lin Jun didn't even send any invisible Puji to harass them.

With thick animal skin coats and a campfire burning all night, the half-demon and the lizardmen successfully approached the former demon tribe, which was only a day's journey away.

The smooth sailing made Bastardos feel a little unreal.

After all, none of his scouts had returned, and he was already prepared to venture deep into the lion's den.

Even if the demons were short-handed, they should have set up more traps along the way to hinder their progress. Their ease made him uneasy.

"Chief, the demons are definitely scared! They'll either cower in the tribe and wait to die, or..." Inside the tent, the campfire crackled, and a senior warrior whispered, "They've already abandoned their nest and fled north!"

Someone worriedly said, "The demon race is too small to contend with us. But if they really want to run away, that would be troublesome! We can't just chase after them as far as they want, can we? What will the imperial envoy say in this situation?"

These words caused everyone to become worried.

It's one thing to chase them for a day or two, but if they chase them for more than a week, their supplies simply won't hold out.

But the imperial envoy's demand was again to annihilate the demon tribes and bring back the demon core...

At this moment, Bastardos said, "Don't worry, how much better off are the demons in terms of supplies? Without that semi-abandoned dungeon, they'd have a hard time surviving even a week. Their only chance of survival is a decisive battle to the death!"

After calming everyone down, Bastardos reminded them, "However, we still shouldn't let our guard down. The demons don't seem to be going to sit idly by; they're already approaching their tribe. We should use whatever methods we have. Divide the supplies into four portions and hide them in four different locations. Double the nighttime guard!"

"Yes!"

Under Bastardos's arrangement, four senior warriors personally kept watch at night to guard against any possible sneak attacks.

The following morning, Bastardos was awakened by the panicked shouts of his men.

"Chief! The supplies are gone!"

Bastardos sat up abruptly, but there was no panic in his eyes: "Oh? The demons have finally made a move! So the target is the supplies after all!"

Bastardos was relieved; the enemy's actions were not unexpected. If he were a demon, facing an overwhelming army, he would have no choice but to target their supplies.

He looked at the pale-faced messenger kneeling before the tent, his voice carrying the calm composure of someone in control: "What's the panic? Stand up and talk properly!"

"Ah...yes, yes!" The leader's composure impressed the half-demon who brought the news, and he stood up.

"So, which supply depot did the demons attack? What are the casualties among our night watchmen?" Bastardos asked while straightening his clothes.

"A...ambush?" The soldier looked up, his face blank. "There was no ambush, Chief! No fighting, no enemies...but...but all the supplies have vanished overnight!"

A deathly silence fell over the tent for half a minute. The warrior looked at his leader with some confusion.

Bastardos's composure crumbled inch by inch. He stepped forward, his hands gripping the warrior's shoulders like iron clamps, his nails almost digging into the flesh. His bloodshot eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and a hoarse, distorted roar escaped his throat: "All of them?! What the hell did you say?!"

(End of this chapter)