This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 671 (670) The Beginning of the Northern War

【Shadow Traverse】is indeed a pretty good skill in the wild, and Lin Jun has equipped many of the people in Fungus Castle who are responsible for gathering intelligence with this skill.

However, this is only applicable to the wilderness where there are no reconnaissance magic circles.

As for using this thing to burrow through the creep?
With such a large panel darting around in the shadows, it would be a miracle if Lin Jun didn't notice it.

That shadowy team was dispatched in advance to ambush them after they were discovered.

Assassins and spies are the most useless.

Since the Faceless Ones did not connect with Eugene's side, their disappearance caused absolutely no ripples.

……

On the city wall, Eugene looked at the trolls who had arrived late in the distance; all the reinforcements had finally arrived.

"So? When are we going to march?" asked Duke Dean, the demonic descendant, who was standing to the side.

This time, Eugene will personally lead the team north.

Dean needed to stay in the rear and couldn't go forward personally, but he still sent out a full three thousand elite warriors. Clearly, like Eugene, he wanted to resolve the Northern problem once and for all.

"We'll march tomorrow, but I still have a bad feeling. We have too little intelligence. They must have some special counter-surveillance methods. My spies can't get in at all, and Levi's Faceless Ones don't share information with us."

"How did they do that?"

It's no wonder Eugene felt uncomfortable. In previous wars against other races, wasn't the Empire always able to infiltrate the other side like a sieve?

Intelligence, sabotage, assassination.

Even before the battle officially began, the empire had already gained a significant advantage.

However, when facing the North, the Empire's prized intelligence capabilities failed.

Furthermore, given that there are demons in the North, Eugene estimates that they may have leaked even more information.

The information asymmetry made Eugene somewhat uncomfortable.

But he had no other choice.

The problems in the North must be solved eventually, and the reinforcements that have been summoned cannot remain stationed here indefinitely while you hesitate.

The arrow is on the string, and it must be released.

As one of the first to have clashed with the North, Dean also had a premonition that this battle would not be easy.

Dean tossed Eugene a crystal: "If things go wrong, crush it. I'll personally bring reinforcements to meet you. Don't let my people perish in the North."

"What about our rear? What if the mountains invade while you're gone?"

“I’ve already spoken to Levi. As soon as I set off, he’ll put pressure on the border fortresses of the mountains to draw their attention. If that doesn’t work, we can just lose a few cities. For us demons, the most important thing is our people.”

Seeing that Dean had already made arrangements, Eugene nodded and said no more.

The next day, after Eugene promised a generous reward, the nearly 40,000-strong army set foot on the northern border covered with fungal carpets!
……

On a makeshift platform at the northern front, Marshal Puji stood against the wind, his bright red cloak, even longer than Puji himself, trailing long trails behind him.

Marshal Puji spread out his four mycelial tentacles as if embracing the entire battlefield. Below, there was a dense array of Puji masters, surrounded by swathes of Puji, and further away, there were dwarves as allies.

Lin Jun's thoughts were transmitted to the minds of all the soldiers in the mushroom fortress through the mushroom network.

"...For many years, the North has been humiliated and enslaved by the Empire! We were driven from our homes and tormented at will. In times of peace, the Empire used the North as a slave-producing region, and in times of war, it used us as cannon fodder. This humiliation has lasted for hundreds of years!"

"Are we to endure such humiliation for another hundred or a thousand years?"

The tentacle suddenly lashed out.

"Now is our chance to avenge this humiliation!"

"No matter what, with 300,000 to 30,000, the advantage is in my hands!"

The marshal pointed his finger into the distance, towards the direction of the imperial army.

"The first battle is the decisive battle; one battle will decide the fate of the world!"

The tentacles were raised high. At that moment, a roar like a tsunami erupted from the fungal web!

"Mushroom Castle, victory is assured!"

"Mushroom Castle, victory is assured!!!"

Countless thoughts converged into a single voice, roaring within the fungal network! The soldiers gripping their weapons blushed, shouting repeatedly, venting their fighting spirit.

Of course, everyone communicates through the mushroom network, even cheers and roars take place within it.

This scene looked very strange to the dwarves not far away.

To them, the Fungus Fort camp was quiet. The creature wearing a bright red cloak stood on the platform, twisted a few times, and then the Fungus Fort soldiers excitedly raised their weapons again and again, their faces showing fanaticism.

But it was still quiet.

Although it was known that they might be communicating through a collective speech ability called the "Fungal Web," but...

"This is just too damn weird." Duvalin stared at it for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out those words through gritted teeth.

The dwarf lieutenants beside him nodded in agreement.

After finishing his rant, Duvalin turned to face his thousands of silent, waiting compatriots.

He took a deep breath, then roared at the top of his lungs:

"Warriors! Raise your battle axes—"

……

The front-line positions were still undergoing pre-battle mobilization, but the battle began the moment the Imperial Army stepped onto the fungal carpet.

"Watch out for those tunnels! Destroy them all!" A vanguard squad leader shouted, directing his men to destroy the entrances and exits of the underground network.

The previous battles were not without their gains; at least they learned to seal these holes in advance.

Although it's impossible to eliminate the Puji lurking deep underground, at least the Puji will make a big commotion if they want to emerge from the ground again, giving the troops behind them enough time to react, so that they won't be hit by the center several times like last time.

Suddenly, the squad leader discovered a creature, Puji, trying to crawl out of a hole that hadn't yet been destroyed.

He drew his knife, threw it, and did it all in one swift motion.

Before Puji could even emerge, a knife pierced its mushroom cap, and it fell silent.

"The captain's prediction is spot on!"

The vanguard captain's smooth and fluid movements left one of the new recruits in awe, his face filled with admiration.

"Kid, practice more, you can do it too. Then I'll teach you a little more..."

As he spoke, he not only pulled his knife out of the Puji mushroom hat, but also reached in and pulled the dead Puji out by its feet.

"These puji can be taken back as military rations. If you cook them with the dried meat, they taste pretty good!"

"team leader……"

"Don't worry, apart from those with green mushroom caps, most pomfret are not poisonous, so you can rest assured..."

"Captain, it looks like it's moving!"

"what?"

Before the squad leader could react, Puji, who had been confirmed dead, suddenly stretched out its tentacles and wrapped them tightly around his back.

boom--!
After the mycelium fell from the sky, the recruits, pale with fright from the sudden explosion, heard their captain's painful screams.

The captain, who had just been smugly imparting his experience, was now covered in wounds and both his arms had been blown off, but he was still alive.

The new recruits and other soldiers rushed forward to help stop the bleeding and bandage his wounds, trying to save their squad leader's life.

In the chaos, no one noticed that some spores stuck to the squad leader's wound. Nourished by the blood, they grew into mycelium and then burrowed into the flesh...

(End of this chapter)