This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 559, Section 558: The Broken Seal

While the main force rushed out with Louisa, some soldiers remained behind to deal with the surrendered snake people prisoners.

They put a puji lock on each snake-man prisoner, which is a puji hanging on their back to bind their arms.

The soldier waved his hand, signaling the next snake-man to step forward.

The snake-man swam slowly with its head down and tail trailing behind it, its eyes filled with gloom, looking completely resigned to its fate.

"Hai?" the soldier suddenly spoke, calling out a name.

The snake-man raised his head blankly, looking at the face of the half-demon soldier; he had no recollection of him.

“As expected, you don’t remember.” The soldier smirked and said self-deprecatingly, “That’s normal. Back then, you were a senior warrior in a large snake-man tribe, while we were just a medium-sized tribe, and I was just an ordinary soldier. We only met twice when trading supplies, so it’s normal that you don’t remember.”

"A half-demon tribe... from the North?" The snake-man was stunned for a moment before he reacted. "You... actually joined the Empire ahead of time and weren't wiped out in that great cold wave!"

He still firmly believed that the soldiers in front of him belonged to the regular army of a certain lord of the empire, after all, the tribes in the north did not have the ability to sail far out to sea.

Moreover, as far as he knew, the Northern Territory had become a forbidden zone for life due to the massive temperature drop that swept across the land. Even the border towns in the northern frontier of the empire were now mostly deserted and sparsely populated.

If even imperial city-states are like this, the fate of those tribes already struggling in the harsh lands is predictable.

They either sought refuge with the empire early on, or their entire clans were frozen into ice sculptures in the endless snowstorm.

For this reason, although the Serpent People tribe's current situation in the Empire is far worse than expected, they are still secretly glad that they made the choice they made, at least they survived.

At this moment, I suddenly encountered an "old friend" from the tribal era. It seems that the other party could only survive by also being under the empire's command.

However, the half-demon soldiers opposite them laughed so hard they could barely stand up straight, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

It took him a long time to stop laughing. He reached out and patted the snake-man on the shoulder: "Never mind... you'll understand in time. It's just a pity you chose the Empire back then... you really missed a good opportunity."

The lock was already in place, and the soldier casually waved his hand, signaling his former superior to swim to the pile of prisoners.

The snake-man Hai was completely confused, but as a prisoner, he dared not ask any more questions and could only turn away silently.

As he slowly swam toward the prisoner group, on the other side, a diamond-level snake-man warrior he knew, seeing that the half-demon soldiers were no longer strictly guarding him after they were tied up, and that the main force had temporarily left, actually had the idea of ​​breaking free and escaping.

He exerted his strength suddenly, his body shooting out like an arrow, heading straight for the underground city exit!
The muscles in his arms bulged, and the mycelial tentacles wrapped around his body showed signs of cracking under the monstrous force.

As Hai watched the figure disappear into the distance, his heart began to pound uncontrollably.

If he can escape... then will I be able to too...?

"Sigh, there are always idiots like this." A half-demon soldier sighed calmly from behind.

Hai was then surprised to realize that none of the guards around him got up to chase after them.

The fleeing snake-man unleashed tremendous power and finally broke free of the tentacles that bound him!
Then, with a loud "boom," it exploded into pieces of all sizes.

Broken scales, fractured bones, and fragments of flesh slowly sank before the numerous pale-faced snake-men.

Hai obediently swam into the ranks of prisoners, trying his best to relax his tense body, afraid that he might accidentally break the mycelial tentacles on his body...

……

Lin Jun didn't care that she was missing a diamond-level prisoner.

This is just normal wear and tear from making an example of someone.

Similar probing and cleanup operations will occur several more times during the subsequent containment phase.

After that, these snake people will gradually be transformed into qualified mushroom castle prisoners, willingly dedicating themselves to the great construction of the mushroom garden in exchange for their freedom, contributing every bit of their strength.

Compared to the prisoners, Lin Jun's attention was almost entirely focused on the seal in front of her.

Outside the dungeon, soldiers cleared out wandering mist monsters while spreading out to the surrounding sea, trying to search for any traces of ships. However, Lin Jun had already given up hope.

The seal appears to have been partially damaged by the strange artifact that the knight Puji stole, but the overall structure is still functioning.

Judging from the chaotic magic power constantly emanating from the damaged area, if left unchecked, collapse is probably only a matter of time.

The problem is, Lin Jun doesn't know how to fix it!

Or rather, does anyone actually know how to repair the seals inside the dungeon?
So, what exactly is this Tide Sanctuary all about?

My own dungeon core still has two gatekeepers, so why is this place so empty, letting people come and go as they please, relying solely on an invisible wall to keep people out?

The senses spread outwards, and apart from a huge, broken metal ring, there was nothing unusual.

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Jun notified the old fishman and asked him to come and take a look.

In fact, the Yellow Book is the most likely source of information about repairing the seal.

But Lin Jun dared not take the risk. If that damned book suddenly went mad and was willing to sacrifice its own existence to release its former owner, then things would get really messy.

Norris and Min also rushed over from behind.

Ming looked very down. He felt he hadn't been of much help this time and probably wouldn't get any praise from his boss.

He's still a weak mushroom-born who needs Norris's care... He has to become stronger, strong enough to truly become a useful asset to his boss!
While waiting, Lin Jun suddenly felt a strange magical fluctuation.

Its source is... within the seal!
Was the leaked magic power used by the sealed demon king to cast spells?

But with such meager magic power... what can it possibly achieve?
Despite their doubts, Knight Puji, Norris, and Ming immediately went on high alert.

The knight slightly raised his tentacles, his whole body tensed, and Norris controlled the Jida, which had the magic power of the resonance cannon to its fullest extent, the muzzle trembling slightly, ready to strike.

Time passes slowly in silence.

Lin Jun could clearly sense that the magic beneath the seal was gradually taking shape.

What's frustrating is that he's helpless. There's a seal between them, and he can't very well say, "In order to prevent the Demon King from using magic to break the seal, Lin Jun broke the seal first and interrupted the Demon King's spellcasting," can he?

The army is already on its way. If the Demon King really breaks the seal, then... we'll see how strong he is before making any plans.

As the magic beneath the seal took shape, something emerged from within.

The knights were poised to strike, Ming clenched his fists, and Norris was controlling Jida's resonance cannon, which was now fully charged with magic and ready to unleash its power at any moment.

Finally, the faint light on the seal's surface flickered, and something slowly seeped out from within.

All eyes were fixed on that one point.

In the tense atmosphere, a gelatinous, ethereal figure swayed and floated out of the seal.

Lin Jun recognized the magic; it was a second-tier imaging spell.

It has no offensive capabilities whatsoever, and it doesn't even qualify as a physical projection; it's far too rudimentary to be used to confuse the enemy.

That makes sense; with that little bit of dissipated magic power, it would be impossible to cast any threatening magic.

The tense atmosphere we just witnessed was simply because the title "Demon King" carried an overwhelming sense of oppression.

But... what exactly is this phantom in front of us?
Ming blinked and muttered under his breath, "Slime?"

The illusory figure turned around: "My apologies, young man, you're clearly a prodigy... Waaah, when will Puji be able to go into the sea?!"

(End of this chapter)