This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 401. One Body, One Heart (4K)

Lin Jun, holding a jar of honey, strolled slowly to the front of the formation.

The closest pursuers behind him were not the adjutant, but two half-vampires who remained hunched over, their eyes fixed on the most subtle changes in his facial expressions.

One of them was "Loyal One," who had narrowly escaped death from Veralis that day.

According to his tearful account afterward, the crazy woman simply thought his hand shape and the face of another companion were "good-looking," and casually "took" them away.

Lin Jun, being kind-hearted, did not hesitate to give him a bottle of precious regeneration potion, which restored him to health.

As for the other person, he is Lin Jun's newly selected loyal subject number two.

At this moment, Lin Jun looked around and finally saw that Loyal Minister No. 1 had better judgment and decisively lay down on the ground so that Lin Jun could sit comfortably on it.

Upon seeing this, Loyal Minister Number Two was immediately filled with remorse and deeply reflected on why he had been a step too slow and failed to seize this opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty.

This is why Lin Jun insisted on finding two people. The service industry must introduce competition; only with competition can there be progress, and monopolies will only lead to a decline in service quality.

On the battlefield, both armies were already on high alert, their chilling killing intent almost tangible, waiting only for Sigismund's order to begin a bloody battle.

However, Sigismund, as the supreme commander, simply sat upright in front of the battle, using his fingers to slowly dip into the thick, amber-colored honey from the honey pot and put it into his mouth.

His overly nonchalant demeanor seemed to be adding to the intensity of the battle. This invisible pressure caused many human soldiers on the walls of High Fortress to break out in a sweat and barely be able to breathe.

However, Eleanor and Verallis, who had been working with him for some time, had a different thought.

They knew that Sigismund had probably done something wrong again.

Since the last siege of Alama, when Sigismund messed up at the crucial moment because of honey, and considering his current physique, the two easily noticed Sigismund's current problem.

Without a doubt, Sigismund was likely cursed or paid a terrible price for gaining some kind of power!
He must consume large amounts of sugar regularly, otherwise he will become weak, or even... his life may be in danger!
The latter is even more likely!
After all, Sigismund's feud with Alama was well-known, and what could be more important than killing Alama with his own hands, except for his own life?
It can't be said that this dignified border duke has really become so deluded that he craves a little sweetness and doesn't even want the merit that is within his grasp!
Eleanor was secretly delighted that Sigismund had such a fatal weakness.

Although she was annoyed that Sigismund had let Alama escape, Alama was now trapped, and the fortified high fortress wouldn't hold for long. Sooner or later, the credit would be hers.

In contrast, the power struggle between her and Sigismund will obviously continue for countless years.

From this perspective, being able to grasp a fatal weakness of an opponent without lifting a finger is undoubtedly a great thing.

On the other side, Veralis's thoughts were much more direct. She licked her lips, her purple eyes flashing with excited and dangerous light, and murmured, "The way he licks the honey...it's so cute! I want to kill him right now!"

At the heart of the entire battlefield, inside Sigismund's mind.

"Stop eating! Order the attack now! If we delay any longer, the sun will be rising!" Sigismund's voice was almost a roar.

"What are you yelling about?" Lin Jun's consciousness responded casually. "In the end, this is your war in Sigismund. Why should I bother to help you command it?"

"This is your body now too!"

“I don’t care,” Lin Jun smacked her lips. “I’m content as long as I have honey to eat. As for power and strength, I think what I have now is enough.”

"Then let me do it, and I'll make up the time later!"

"Nine out, thirteen back, interest compounded, calculated daily."

Sigismund fell silent immediately.

Even though they currently have a significant advantage, the High Fortress is not made of paper; it would take at least a week to two weeks to completely breach it.

If you really calculate the interest based on the "nine out, thirteen back" compounding rule, it's no different from directly selling your body to the other party.

Time passed slowly, and the silence on the front lines was eerily profound.

Lin Jun had already leisurely consumed nearly half of the golden honey in the jar before Sigismund finally spoke again.

In a tone none of his subordinates had ever heard before, almost gentle and friendly, he spoke in his mind: "I understand, you resent my previous carelessness in sending your dog...many men into danger. That was a miscalculation on my part. But didn't you already retaliate when you ambushed Alama? We are now one entity; if we continue to seek revenge, it will only result in mutual destruction and benefit outsiders!"

That makes a lot of sense, and Lin Jun couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Sigismund seized the opportunity to suggest, "How about this? You name your conditions for helping me. It won't take up too much of your time; just give me a few simple attack orders. The rest of the time, you can enjoy your sweet talk. How about it?"

"Nine times out..."

"Except for this one!" Sigismund interrupted through gritted teeth, struggling to suppress his surging anger.

Fortunately, my roommate finally stopped clinging to that horrible loan shark.

"You're right, we should really stick together and not undermine each other."

Sigismund wanted to yell, "You've been the only one undermining me from beginning to end!", but since he had finally waited for the other party's attitude to soften, he was naturally not stupid enough to refute it. Instead, he mentally sent out a "hmm" of deep agreement.

"So, I think I deserve half the credit for your contribution. Your Majesty has some kind of book called 'The Book of Miracles' about the Abyss, right? When we're rewarding our merits after the war, could you exchange it for this book and let me see it?"

"That really is... half..."

This book was the bait he used to lure the evil sorcerer Margas into doing his bidding.

Of course, this is not an empty promise.

If the original plan had gone smoothly, he would indeed have asked His Majesty for the book as a reward.

At that time, if the Dream Ritual succeeds and severely damages Alama, he will be the sole credit for capturing the High Fortress, and obtaining a book will be of little significance.

But now... there are three dukes fighting side by side on the field!

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that even if he successfully captures High Fortress, after obtaining the Book of Miracles, the remaining material rewards and territorial distribution will inevitably be greatly reduced.

But... when faced with two evils, choose the lesser. This is much better than being punished by His Majesty because my roommate inside me ruined the battle!
……

Lin Jun beckoned, summoning her adjutant.

"Notify Verallis to have her trolls charge the left flank, with the rest of the troops following closely behind. Ideally, they should be able to destroy the underground magic transmission node... Have Eleanor lead her men to attack the rightmost magic tower; it's already somewhat damaged, so that should be enough... You take the Blood Knights and divide them into three squads of 100 men each, spread out in skirmish lines, and accompany the main gate in a show of force, but retreat immediately upon contact with the enemy..."

After repeating Sigismund's instructions over and over in one breath, Lin Jun felt her mouth was dry.

Watching his adjutant leave to receive his orders, he curled his lip: "With such superior military strength, why not just go straight for F2A? ... All that fancy stuff..." Of course, Lin Jun didn't want the demons to win this war so easily. A demon clan with overwhelming power would foreseeably pose a huge obstacle to his creeping cultivation project.

But to be honest, he can't help humanity much either.

He only controls half of Sigismund. It's one thing for him to make small moves, but if his defection is too obvious, Sigismund himself will choose to fight him to the death without the Imperial high command having to deal with him.

Lin Jun had no intention of sacrificing herself for the benefit of humanity.

I just hope that Fenpuji's dad will be supportive and that Lin Jun will be willing to give them the greatest possible support on a spiritual level!
-
Golden Valley City, a small city located in the middle of the western part of the kingdom, has a garrison of two thousand men.

Although it was close to the front lines where Duke Brunus was located, fortunately, the flames of war never reached this area.

During the standoff, like other places in the area, Jingu City became a temporary shelter for the wounded and a transit point for transporting military supplies.

If we had to pinpoint any difference between this place and other city fortresses in the surrounding area, the two thousand troops stationed here consist of five hundred Puji warriors and five hundred orc troops, with human soldiers making up only half of the total.

The various orc tribes, as nominal members of the United Kingdom, have always lived in the relatively undeveloped southeastern jungle region.

Although the combined territory of all orcs is no larger than any duchy in the kingdom, and although the kingdom usually does not consult them when making important decisions, and although orcs face discrimination to varying degrees in many parts of the kingdom.

But faced with the threat of the empire, they are clearly an indispensable part of the kingdom, and they will certainly be included in the conscription!
Unlike humans, their kingdom has strict recruitment quotas.

Tiger-men are naturally strong, and leopard-men are agile; both are extremely excellent soldiers.

The only problem is that the recruited orc troops are not just tigermen and leopardmen; orcs are a very mixed group.

Rat people, fox people, bird people... many of them are quite weak.

Furthermore, some groups that could be considered orcs joined the Empire, such as the pigmen.

The recruited orc troops were also a mixed bag, and were not very effective in situations like the battlefield where unified command and discipline were required.

But... something is better than nothing!
As the commander of this orc force, Angela wished she had more troops under her command, even if they were ragtag units.

She feels completely insecure right now!
News of Brunus's army's defeat, the Sword Saint's serious injury, and even the possibility of his death, spread throughout the city as fleeing soldiers poured in.

The common people abandoned their illusions, packed their belongings, and began to flee in large numbers, hoping to find refuge in a safer rear area.

Golden Valley City has no towering city walls, nor any powerful magic towers.

No one believed that Jingu City could stop the demons' advance with just the moat surrounding the city, without a large army.

Even Angela herself didn't think she could hold on to it.

However, no order was issued from above to withdraw the troops.

Naturally, desertion occurred.

Just a month ago, those guys were complaining about not being able to go to the front lines and earn some credit. In just a few days, more than 30 Puji Masters and more than 50 ordinary soldiers deserted. On the contrary, there were no deserters in her orc troops.

This wasn't because she was better than her colleagues, but because according to the kingdom's laws, orc soldiers who deserted faced harsher punishments, which would affect the entire tribe.

As for her own situation... unless she was planning to defect or deliberately trying to harm her family, the officer had no choice but to obey orders.

Now all she could do was pray that the demon army would continue its eastward advance after Brunus's remnants and not remember them, the little Karami.

But this is obviously impossible.

The demon army naturally pursued the remnants of Brunus's forces, but they would not give up on these easy targets as well.

Several demon forces were separated and rushed towards the surrounding areas where the defenses were weak.

They came for only two things—to kill and to rob!

When Angela saw the snake-man army appear in the distance, she felt despair.

Judging by appearance, it was also a force of about two thousand men, but... the enemy was clearly a front-line combat force, and their morale was high.

On their side, however, they were mostly stationed in local garrisons, and new deserters were arriving every day.

The result is obvious!
As for the city walls... if they weren't reinforced by various special magic arrays, their main use would be collecting city taxes...

Clearly, as a small city that is not particularly important, Jingu City does not have the kind of treatment that only fortresses and strongholds receive.

The snake people did not seem to be in a hurry to attack the city, but instead set up camp far away from the range of their arrows.

Angela felt that they were waiting for their side to collapse naturally.

And so far, it seems to be working very well.

“Viscount Knight, perhaps… perhaps we should retreat!” a commander suggested, his voice trembling. “We can’t win. Even if we do, it will only attract more demons, and they might even retaliate! We should retreat now…”

Before he could finish speaking, the viscount responded with the sword in his hand.

The head rolled to Angela's feet, and she swallowed hard.

Angela and the other commanders were completely taken aback. Viscount Knight, who was usually quite easy to talk to, would actually draw his sword at the slightest provocation.

"Where can you run to? Will you take your family and be enslaved with them? Or will you surrender to the demons and become slaves there?" Viscount Knight, his hair now gray, shook the blood from his sword. "Hold your weapon tight, for your family, for your own dignity!"

"Yes..." No one dared to directly disagree.

That very night, nearly a hundred more deserters joined the ranks, including the commander of the Puji Division.

So, inexplicably, Angela and another colleague were promoted to commanders of a thousand men, and the Puji Shi were placed under her command...

The next day, as expected, the snake-man did not wait any longer and attacked.

But... once the fight actually broke out, the situation seemed to be quite different from what both sides had anticipated?!

(End of this chapter)