This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 665, Section 664: Louisa's Old Acquaintance
“My lord, there are traces of high-level earth magic remaining.”

Listening to her subordinate's report, Eleanor unconsciously raised her hand, her fingertips touching her lips, and gently bit down.

The hideout had been turned upside down, revealing not only traces of battle but also the outline of a ritual array.

The Hand that Ferry the Dead?

Or is it some restless lord in the surrounding area secretly up to something?

Whatever it was, Eleanor felt a sense of crisis.

She's finally seeing some improvement lately, thanks to that silly mushroom creature, she's sold a lot of delicious mushrooms to other lords, and her research on Blood Jade Wine seems to be making some progress as well. Everything is moving in a positive direction.

But now it seems that some people are already envious.

Want to cause trouble? Or want to get a share of the profits from her?

After returning to her manor with a heavy heart, Eleanor took out a box from a hidden compartment.

Inside the box, a red ribbon lay quietly.

The material is soft, and the color is so bright that it looks like it has just been pulled out of blood, but it has no bloody smell at all.

Only upon closer inspection can one discover the countless fine runes flowing within the deep red depths—the Slave Rune Belt.

She acquired this treasure from Prince Vesalius at a great cost.

The prince smiled as he quoted a price, clearly knowing she had no room to bargain and was about to rip her off.

The high-level contract item, as long as it is used to restrain Thirteen, Eleanor will no longer have to worry about other forces abducting her Mushroom Clan.

But she didn't act immediately.

The Empire has conducted a lot of research on Puji, and judging from the results, the path of mind control is not very feasible, and most of the test subjects died from the loss of their mental strength.

Moreover, Thirteen is a Mushroom Clan member, which is bound to be more different from ordinary Puji.

Even if this item is a high-level contract that has never been used before, Eleanor is not entirely confident.

If it doesn't work out, it might cause her to fall out with Thirteen, which wouldn't be good.

After thinking about it, Eleanor put it away again, keeping it as a backup plan.

Ultimately, it's not the right time to take such strong measures.

Half of her forces had already been transferred away by His Majesty, and recently another thing has happened that is making her even more upset.

Eleanor pulled the intelligence document that had enraged her from the depths of the drawer, crumpling the edges of the parchment.

The intelligence report included a portrait of a tall, slender vampire woman dressed in a daring manner reminiscent of a succubus, with minimal covering revealing her battle-hardened muscular physique.

She stood on a high platform, below her were large groups of tribespeople, and around them were countless puji.

Eleanor recognized that face.

Louisa.

The portrait is drawn from a bird's-eye view, clearly by a vampire who can transform into a bat.

The intelligence was sent by Duke Eugene from the north via a communication crystal. Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the message, the questioning tone was clear to everyone.

Why is Louisa, whom she thought had died in human territory, in the North? And judging by her demeanor, she's even become some kind of leader?
However, according to the unwritten rules of the vampire clan, if a traitor appears among her bloodline, she will inevitably be held responsible.

Eugene clearly intended for her to send someone over.

"That damned piece of trash!" Eleanor slammed her hand on the table. "If you can't complete the mission, then die! How dare you betray me, betray me!"

But no matter how harshly she cursed, she couldn't change the situation.

Eugene has come knocking on her door; she has to take action.

She had to at least contribute; otherwise, if things escalated to the meeting, the price she would pay would be even greater. "Call Yvette!"

The servant's footsteps hurried away, and soon after, a figure knelt before her table.

That was yet another female vampire; in fact, most of Eleanor's subordinates were female vampires.

The vampire named Yvette was more slender than Louisa, but equally sharp. She lowered her head, her posture impeccably respectful: "My lord, what are your commands?"

Eleanor didn't let her get up, but looked down at her and said, "You pick out the elites from the Third and Fourth Armies and send them to the North to assist that Eugene guy."

"The North?" Yvette frowned slightly, her tone tinged with confusion. The two territories were far apart, and even if Duke Eugene were to seek aid, he should have gone to the nearest one.

“You’ll have to ask your best friend!” With that, Eleanor tossed the intelligence report with the portrait to Yvette.

Yvette looked down, and the moment that familiar face came into view, her scarlet pupils dilated slightly.

"Luisa is still alive?!" There was an undisguised joy in his voice.

Seeing this, Eleanor sneered, "Not only are you not dead, but you seem to be doing quite well! What, do you want me to send someone else, so you can bring yourself to do it?"

"No, my lord, please entrust this to me!" Yvette straightened her body as if afraid the opportunity would slip away. "Dealing with Sister Louisa, who is still stuck at the Diamond level... let me handle it, that's perfect!"

……

Eugene was making a big show of recruiting people from all sides to organize his punitive army, while things were quiet on the Fungus Castle side, and the Fungus people didn't even have a sense that war was about to break out.

After all, Lin Jun's mind was not on this matter at the moment.

The Sword Saint (who has turned evil) is still crawling back through the underground tunnels with that stone in his hand.

Lin Jun then went to find Elder Gulu Lu, the fishman.

At this time, most of the fish-people in the Tide Sanctuary had developed symbiotic mycelium and roamed the sanctuary with sea sprites every day.

Without any small talk, Lin Jun locked onto the old fishman and went straight to the point: "I saw Death."

The usually calm Gulu suddenly straightened up: "Lord Puji, what you said... is true?"

Lin Jun briefly described the scene of death's arrival, and upon hearing it, Gulu immediately knelt down on the spot: "It really...it really is my Lord!"

Seeing this, the other merfolk around them also pounced on them, and a large number of them fell down as well.

The Puji Fish next to him grabbed the old fishman and lifted him up: "Don't rush to kneel. Tell me first, why have you been so cooperative all this time? Do you know something?"

The old fishman glanced at Puji with his somewhat cloudy eyes, then knelt down again, this time kneeling before Puji.

“You are the messenger of the goddess, and I will tell you everything I know.”

The old fishman explained the reason in detail, but it was not the secret that Lin Jun thought he knew.

When Lin Jun first arrived in the underground city, Gulu, who had been out of contact with Death for a long time, sensed the fluctuations of Death's aura in the deep zone. Although it only lasted for a moment, it still remembered it.

Subsequently, various anomalies occurred in Dungeon No. 13 due to the spread of the fungal carpet. Gululu regarded Puji, who brought about the anomalies, as the work of the Grim Reaper.

Although it couldn't be 100% certain, it still chose to believe in its guess.

And now, for Gulu, the guess has been confirmed!
"Great Lord Puji, messenger of the goddess, the fish-men... not just us, but all fish-men, are willing to become your power. Please do not begrudge our lives, use them as you wish, all for our lord!"

All around, there was the loyalty of other fishmen within the mushroom net.

Well, although it's not quite what I expected, the result is still acceptable.

However, they still believe in the Grim Reaper and can only temporarily act as subordinates of the partners. Their core business must still be in the hands of "their own mushrooms".

Even if the mysterious and enigmatic Grim Reaper summoned her, Lin Jun wouldn't completely trust her.

Also, Gulu said that all the fishmen would listen to Puji, but... are there any other fishmen around?

(End of this chapter)