This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 598, Section 597: Airdrop
Cold Bay Fortress, the city on the northern border of the empire where Tanaka and Kiro first met.

The city walls here are built with gray iron rock, which is unique to the North. They are rough and hardened by the cold wind all year round, and are covered with a layer of frost white.

The waterways that meander through parts of the city have long been frozen, reflecting a cold light under the sun.

A young demon soldier wrapped his not-so-thick standard cloak tighter around himself and tentatively stretched out his scale-covered foot to test the ice at the edge of the waterway.

click-

A faint but clear cracking sound rang out, and the ice surface sank slightly, but did not shatter.

He withdrew his foot and exhaled a long, white breath from beneath the bone armor covering his face:

"It's finally getting warmer. I really thought I was going to freeze to death in this godforsaken place. The wind before was so strong, it felt like knives cutting into my flesh when it blew through the gaps in the scales."

Another soldier, slightly older and with a hunched forehead, leaned against the opposite stone wall and merely twitched the corner of his mouth upon hearing this.

His gaze swept across the eerily quiet street, where most of the houses on both sides had their doors and windows tightly shut, and some were even damaged or collapsed, half-hidden by snow.

"So what if it's rebounded? Look around, in this Cold Bay Fortress, besides us unlucky souls bound by military orders who can't even leave even if we wanted to, how many of us are still breathing?"

"Anyone with a foothold and connections would have run away long ago! Heading south, heading inland, where wouldn't it be better than staying here and starving? Even if it's warmer now, who would dare to come back? Aren't they afraid of freezing into an ice sculpture one day while they're sleeping? With people's hearts scattered, this place is like this ice; it looks like it's still there, but underneath it's already hollow."

The young soldier still held a sliver of hope: "Didn't we hear there was some movement from above? It seems Duke Eugene is planning to take advantage of this warm spell to join forces with Duke Dean, the demonic prince, to investigate the origins of this extreme cold? With the two northern dukes working together, what can't they handle?"

The older soldier was about to say something more
Snapped--!
A dull thud, like wet mud hitting hard ground, came from not far away, sounding particularly abrupt in this deserted city where only the sound of the wind and their own idle chatter remained.

The two fell silent instantly, their muscles tensing, and they almost simultaneously gripped the weapons at their waists.

They exchanged a glance, then cautiously moved their feet toward the direction from which the sound came.

Finally, they found a patch of white mycelium in a corner, its shape resembling a drop from an extremely high place.

The two demon soldiers looked up at the sky, but there wasn't even a bird in sight.

……

Sixth mana storage unit has disengaged! Remote airdrop sequence, continue forward!

In the extremely high altitudes beyond the reach of conventional detection methods, five little bat-winged creatures were flapping their wings vigorously in the sky.

Unless one possesses Sofia's extraordinary vision, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish them against the backdrop of clouds and sky.

The wind is very strong here, and Puji has to flap its wings with all its might, and even rely on magic to maintain a certain speed.

They intertwine tightly with their mycelial tentacles, forming a peculiar aerial formation that looks like a flying centipede.

Apart from the head, which is a Knight Puji, the ones connected behind it are all Magic Energy Puji, which are full of magic power and provide continuous energy support for this long cross-border journey.

Whenever a magic-storing creature runs out of energy, it will detach from the connection and fall downwards, where its companions will continue to supply magic power.

After all, the Yellow Book was to be airdropped into the Empire, a long journey.

Lin Jun ultimately gave the Yellow Book this opportunity. Whether it was to secretly set up the large magic array related to the transfer of abandoned spatial coordinates within the Empire, or to create enough chaos to distract the Empire and buy precious time for Fungus Castle, it was a necessary move.

Under Lin Jun's command, the Yellow Book was practically the only option capable of completing these tasks in a short period of time.

In exchange, Lin Jun promised Huang Bishu that if the mission was successfully completed and he returned safely, he would formally begin research on how to create a soul that truly belonged to it.

But since it was causing trouble within the empire's borders, it was fraught with danger.

Although Eleanor had temporarily put aside her mission to search for the Holy Scriptures due to the previous Rift Transfer Technique, and was now busy exchanging feelings with Thirteen and dealing with the Keith in the sea, no one could say for sure when she would turn her attention back to it.

At that point, the Yellow Book, located within the Empire's territory, will likely be much harder to hide. More importantly, Lin Jun cannot completely trust the Yellow Book.

Therefore, regardless of whether the Yellow Book makes some unusual moves on its own or is unfortunately captured by the Empire, Lin Jun will choose to crush its core directly to ensure that the various intelligence of Mushroom Garden will not be leaked.

The Yellow Book itself is well aware of this, but it seems to have made up its mind to take a big gamble.

Having stayed with Puji for so long, it knows a thing or two about the apocalypse.

No one knows what the future holds, but before all that may come, the Yellow Book yearns for that coveted soul that will allow it to truly "exist"!

……

The number one demon storage device popped out!
Upon arrival at the designated area, the Yellow Book will be distributed!

Below, a sizable caravan is slowly making its way along this forest road.

"Finally almost there... Once I get these treasures to the giant beast bone farm, I'm going to take a good rest for ten days to half a month! Carrying all this precious stuff, I've had to sleep with one eye open the whole way, I haven't had a single full night's sleep in ages!"

A horned demon guard with a weathered face and crooked horns on his forehead complained, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

The goods they were escorting were the most sought-after luxury items within the empire: Blood Jade Wine from the Crimson Tower in the south!

Transported from the southernmost production area of ​​the empire, across nearly half the empire, to this giant beast bone farm, its value can increase several times over.

Although the caravan was equipped with nearly a hundred armed guards, and it seemed like there were many people sharing the spoils, as long as the transaction went smoothly, each demon could receive a generous commission, enough for him to live a life of pleasure in the den of iniquity for quite some time.

Thinking of the benefits that were about to be in his grasp, the horned demon guard grinned and patted the shoulder of a young fellow tribesman beside him forcefully: "Hey! Cruma, what are you daydreaming about? Silly boy, your luck is unbelievable! You have a good older brother leading you, and you've landed such a lucrative job on your first trade run! Do you know how much you'll make on this trip? Heh, enough for you to save up for ten years back in your mountain village!"

He leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said with a mischievous smile, "After we get the money, want to come with me and see for yourself? I know that bone farm area like the back of my hand. There's a shop run by a succubus there, and the taste... tsk tsk!"

The young horned demon called Cruma withdrew his gaze from a certain point in the sky and replied somewhat absentmindedly, "Sorry, senior, we'll talk about that later. I think I saw something fall over there. I'll go take a look and come right back. Could you please tell my brother for me?"

Before the other party could react, Kruma had already turned around nimbly, and with a few leaps, his agile figure disappeared into the dense and dark woods beside the road.

"Tch, pretentious brat," the old mercenary who had been left behind scoffed, "If it weren't for your big brother's sake, who would bother with a newbie like you..."

The forest was dimly lit, and Cruma navigated through it by following the directions in his memory.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"A book?" Kruma's heart skipped a beat. He quickly stepped forward and carefully picked it up.

In the Empire, ordinary demons mostly use rough straw paper for recording things, and those who are slightly better off use leather scrolls. Books bound like this, even with exquisite covers, are usually only found in the studies of wealthy merchants or noblemen, and are a symbol of knowledge and status.

This is undoubtedly a valuable and unexpected gain!

However, expectations were quickly dashed.

The book has only a few pages, and apart from the delicate gold trim around the edge of the first page, there is nothing inside.

The books themselves might sell for some money, but their value is undoubtedly much lower than those books that record secrets, spells, or crafts.

With a sigh, Cruma felt he had been a bit too greedy; this was an unexpected bonus.

"Take it back and show it to your older brother..."

Just as the pages were about to close, his peripheral vision inadvertently swept over the previously empty page.

The previously blank space now had a line of text:
[Young man, if I were you, I wouldn't choose to go back now.]
(End of this chapter)