This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 670, Section 669: The Faceless One

When Yvette arrived with her troops riding on a giant bat, Duke Eugene's camp had already covered the entire area outside the city.

Yvette's gaze swept over the densely packed tents and the soldiers moving about, and she quickly estimated the size of the force in her mind—at least thirty thousand, perhaps more.

It seems that the Duke of Eugene not only emptied his own coffers, but also sought out many reinforcements like himself.

This puzzled Yvette somewhat: "They're just the remaining tribespeople after the cold disaster, is it really that big of a deal?"

Soon, she obtained the latest intelligence from the officials who came to greet her.

Dwarven banners have appeared in the North, and this war seems to be no longer just about clearing out one's backyard.

Duke Eugene received her in the city.

“Your subordinate Yvette, by order of my lord Eleanor, has come to deal with the traitor Louisa.” Yvette knelt on one knee, her voice cold, “and to assist His Excellency the Duke in pacifying the North.”

Eugene nodded and said a few polite words: "Our vampire clan hasn't had a traitor for a long time, and I believe there must be other reasons for it. Since she dared to betray the empire, she will pay the price. Yvette, you take your men to the east side to rest first. The main army will have to wait several days before setting off."

Yvette accepted the order and withdrew.

In her view, Duke Eugene seemed to want to hold all the power in his hands and then crush them all in one fell swoop.

After all, the North has the support of the dwarves, and delaying for too long could lead to unforeseen changes.

As Yvette left the castle, she passed a group of strange men dressed in black tunics and masks, without any adornments or emblems.

Yvette couldn't help but take a few more glances. The leader seemed to have noticed something and turned his head slightly.

Hundreds of steps away, Yvette met that cold gaze.

"The Faceless One..."

The most fearsome daggers under the Duke of Levi's command; it is said that each of them can move in the shadows and kill without a trace.

Duke Levi guarded the eastern border and often fought with the dwarves.

In the last hundred years, half of the dwarves' powerful warriors and generals have fallen to their poisoned blades.

Even the hero Bardot, it is said, almost died at their hands in the last war.

I wonder if Duke Levi had anticipated the dwarves' movements beforehand, which is why he sent these guys to gather intelligence and act accordingly.

Yvette withdrew her gaze, not wanting to have anything to do with these venomous snakes.

Indeed, the facts were not much different from what Yvette had imagined.

After reporting to Duke Eugene, the Faceless Men squad rejected his offer to bring them under unified command.

"We only obey our master's orders. We are here only to deal with the dwarf Bardor and will not cooperate with anyone." The Faceless One's reply showed no respect for Eugene.

Although Eugene was displeased, he still coldly reminded them, "Don't underestimate those tribesmen in the North who control the Puji. Before the dwarves appeared, many of my spies were lost in the North. You'd better travel with the army. Otherwise, you might end up losing yourselves instead of completing the mission Levi assigned you."

“We are Faceless Ones.” With that, they turned and left the room.

Eugene's attendant stepped forward and said indignantly, "This is extremely rude, sir. Should I go and teach them a lesson?"

“A bunch of tools, no need to get angry with them, besides…” Eugene glanced at the servant, “you don’t have the ability either.”

Although they were merely tools, Eugene knew that these Faceless Men were indeed quite capable.

……

On the other side, after the Faceless Ones left, they immediately began their operation without any delay.

A dozen or so dark figures moved silently toward the northern border.

Their mission was clear: first locate Bardot, wait for the opportune moment, and then carry out the assassination.

In terms of combat ability, even if the entire squad were to commit all its strength, they would not be able to defeat that dwarf hero in a head-on confrontation.

But assassins never engage in direct combat.

Bardor, however powerful, was still a dwarf.

He will sleep, he will use the restroom, he will feel tired, and he will take off his armor when he lets his guard down. All they need to do is wait patiently, wait, or even create that moment of opportunity.

Even if they are unlikely to escape unscathed afterward, it doesn't matter. Just as Eugene said, they are all tools that can be sacrificed at any time.

[Shadow Travel]

Led by their leader, the Faceless Ones slipped into the shadows one by one.

Moving swiftly northward along the boundary of shadows, both fast and stealthy, only occasionally leaving a fleeting silhouette as one shadow leaps into another.

They quickly crossed the border where laborers cleaned the fungal carpet day after day. These demon laborers carried torches and burned away patches of mycelium, from south to north, only to start again the next day as the fungal carpet grew back.

No one noticed that a group of assassins were silently passing by in the shadows beneath them.

……

In the shadows, the Faceless Captain calculated that, at their speed of movement in the shadows, they would reach the dwarves' camp in just half a day.

It will be midnight then, and under the cover of darkness, they will have ample time to thoroughly investigate the dwarf camp of several thousand people.

As for encountering obstacles along the way?

Ordinary patrols and obstacles cannot stop them.

Just like the petrified mushroom forest and the corrosive mushroom forest they encountered along the way, which were indeed very special and strange, they still did not affect them as they walked in the shadows.

When passing through an area where dead trees and huge rocks intermingled.

"Watch out—ah—!"

The short scream made the captain pause abruptly; it was the voice of one of his men.

In the shadows, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings but found nothing.

Although the captain didn't see the subordinate, he had already assumed that the man was dead.

The fact that they could intercept and kill the fast-moving opponents without causing large-scale damage to the terrain shows that the opponent must be a master.

But...where is it?
Suddenly, the sounds of battle came from the shadows not far away.

Immediately afterwards, an arm holding a poisoned dagger suddenly rose from the shadows, plunging the dagger into the ground beside it, as if trying to crawl out.

However, several tentacles emerged from the shadows, wrapped around the arm, and slowly dragged it back into the shadow of the stone.

Without a sound, only a mark left by a dagger was left behind.

"The enemy is also lurking in the shadows!"

Having spotted the enemy's trail, the captain led the charge out.

Although they don't encounter each other often, they still know how to fight enemies with similar abilities.

However, only three of his men followed him out.

"How could this be...?!"

Amidst the crisscrossing shadows of the surrounding trees, countless mycelial tentacles extend out, grasping at the earth.

One by one, they crawled out of the shadows, some of them even bringing out pieces of the Faceless Ones that had already been dealt with, and tossing them onto the fungal carpet.

"A creature that can move through shadows...Puji?"

Puff puff puff puff puff—boom—

……

Dwarf Camp.

General Duvalin looked at the dwarf hero returning alone from the Fungus Fortress camp, carrying a bag of delicious mushrooms, and couldn't help but say, "Bardol, where are the men I assigned to you? How many times have I told you to travel in groups! Have you forgotten what happened with the Faceless Men?"

"You mean those men who have to stand guard outside even when they go to the toilet? Spare me! If I encounter those rats again, I'll just chop them up again, don't worry about me!" Bardo said, brandishing his giant axe, which made Duvalin roll his eyes.

(End of this chapter)