What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 331 The Mother Nest, the Swarm

To be fair, these "dishes" taste quite good—if you can ignore their origins.

Watching his companions eat, Want couldn't help but ramble on, "These are all things that the mushroom people have accumulated over generations, but I don't know why these mushrooms can be perfectly replicated."

Companions: "..."

Actually, they don't really care about knowing the origin of these foods. The world is so strange that tracing the origin of some things might be unacceptable to people.

Fortunately, after being glared at angrily by his companions for a while, the mushroom-like figure that Want had transformed into realized what was happening and chuckled awkwardly, "I meant to say that this special kind of feast mycelium can be used in different places."

This finally had some effect. Lina, while munching on a type of mushroom that looked almost identical to a chicken leg, pondered, "Will it provide enough nutrition? What kind of conditions does this mycelium need to grow?"

If it could actually grow into a delicious meal on the spot, it would be great whether sold as a local specialty or used as logistical supplies for the army. Moreover, this thing has high research value.

If mass production in the real world were possible, the students from the Earth Academy would probably go crazy for this project—they're even researching artificial insemination of breeding pigs now.

Wonte replied, "Fungi are very nutritious. I can see a lot of fiber in this, so it should be quite filling... As for growing conditions, it seems that it only needs a simple fungal nutrient solution to grow."

As he said this, he stretched out his hand and waved it, and immediately a huge mushroom grew into a cup, filled with a pale white liquid that seemed to be constantly wriggling.

To be honest, it looks pretty weird. Fungi... sometimes they can be really weird. They don't have the relaxed, natural vitality that plants should have. Instead, they look like some kind of mutated monster.

In such a special environment, Lina and the others could not discern the magical structure of these things. They could only sense the twisted and powerful vitality within them, which was... like a mammoth tiger being juiced and still alive.

Lina was immediately startled by her own thought. "Can we take this back? According to your permissions, what is it made of?"

"I haven't figured it out yet. I feel I need to go back and do a thorough check and analysis."

The mushroom-shaped figure scratched its head and said, "According to the rules here, if you can go through the ritual and walk up to me, you can make a wish for something."

"But you must finish eating all of this before we can proceed to the next step!"

"Then what are you still saying? We've already finished eating!"

Lina immediately gave the order—the apprentices brought over a group of feathered boars. The boars gracefully and swiftly used wind elemental magic to summon feathers, lifted the food to their mouths, and then devoured it.

They hardly need to move; they just need to lie down on the feather bed formed by wind elements, wait for the food to be brought to their mouths, and then enjoy their meal.

The food that the apprentices couldn't possibly finish was devoured in less than half an hour by their rapid consumption.

After a pleasant meal, Wante didn't linger and immediately began the second welcoming ceremony—

Before them appeared a huge, flowing river, and what was in that river... was actually clear water.

This is actually very abnormal. They have been here for so long and have never seen water. The only water they had was in their drinks just now. How come water suddenly appeared?

They instinctively sensed something was wrong, and they began to distrust the place.

"What appears before you now is the second welcoming ceremony, within the traditions of the mushroom people... a test of the degree of compatibility with the elements."

Wonte was actually a little uncertain, because according to the information he saw in the core center where countless mycelia converged, it was not a test, but... a fusion.

But the final result was indeed able to test the sensitivity to various elements, so he felt very strange, as if his thoughts were being affected.

He himself was unaware that his thoughts were gradually drifting towards the direction of the mushroom people. But Lina remembered Chloe's warning, so she cautiously first found a group of magic crystal mice to test it out.

"Let the Magic Crystal Rat Squad test the magical structure of these liquids first."

"it is good."

The crystal-clear white mice, chirping and jumping merrily, came out and went straight to the riverbank, then jumped in with a "plop, plop."

At first, they swam leisurely in the river, but before long, their bodies were pulled by an invisible force, and their flesh and organs were gently and swiftly decomposed by the mycelium.

—This scene is very strange.

The fur and flesh of the cheerful Magic Crystal White Rats were washed away by the flowing river, but they were still alive, and were even flowing along the river towards the deepest part of the Fungal City.

Imagine a person whose flesh, internal organs, and bone marrow have all been broken down, yet they are still alive and can even communicate with you...

The female apprentice who usually took care of these white mice looked terrible and said, "My contract with them hasn't been broken. They are currently flowing in the river... no, the river of fungi, about to converge into the ocean of fungi."

She felt a chill run down her spine. The contract had split into many different strands, yet it still maintained its thoughts and vitality, making her deeply doubt whether these magic crystal mice were the same batch she usually fed.

If she weren't here, with trusted companions by her side, her first reaction would definitely be to leave, because this place has far exceeded her comprehension.

Knowledge does indeed come from exploring the unknown, but if everything is unknown and there are no clues, then exploration is meaningless.

As she described her guess, and the apprentices exchanged horrified glances, another strange event occurred—

"Please enter the river."

"Please enter the river."

"Please enter the river."

As if mushrooms were sprouting from the ground after a rain, they forcibly pushed them toward the river, emitting cold and hard mental fluctuations.

That's why they were all on guard, which is why they didn't fall directly into the river. If they had relaxed even a little bit, they would have fallen in long ago if they had been pushed from behind by the mycelium.

Even so, they couldn't help but angrily say:

"What?"

"Are these things alive?"

"Did you do this, Want? You want a beating?"

Lina's first reaction after regaining her balance was to grab the dissolving mycelium figure, Wante, and then take out the chain that Kroa had personally blessed from her pocket and bind it tightly.

"You'd better calm down."

She said, "Something is very wrong with you right now. You need to remember that you are human, that you are Lord Kroya's apprentice—these identities precede even the lord of this fungal city!"

"If you are consumed by the consciousness of these fungi, your wife will be taken away by someone else, and your newborn son will not only have to call another person 'father,' but he will also beat him!"

Upon hearing this, the little man bound by the golden chains immediately showed a look of terror on his face.

"Absolutely not!"

Wonte jolted awake, clearly becoming more alert.

Lina was pleased with her mental magic attack.

A subtle expression appeared on her face: "Do you remember anything about what would happen if a visiting guest just called in?"

She believes that if the current situation continues to follow the fungus people's hospitality rituals, some strange things are likely to happen.

More importantly, she felt this was a ceremony to pay homage to the Fungal City Lord. Would Wonte really become the Fungal City Lord during this process?

Lady Kroya's warning still echoed in her mind: it's a good thing for the fungus people, but for them, for humans... it's really not a good outcome.

Therefore, she decisively decided to take violent measures to take control of the situation, as it couldn't possibly get any worse than it is now.

Anyway, they originally planned to just break through directly. Compared to slowly deciphering the mystery, they felt that breaking through was faster and more cost-effective.

"Well……"

Wonte, who was being scolded by her, struggled to break free from his consciousness, which had already been assimilated by the fungus.

Then he replied, "The mushroom people greatly admire strength. If you manage to fight your way here, you should be able to receive even higher-level treatment..."

Before he finished speaking, the four apprentices, led by Lina, had already pulled out standard battle mage robes and staffs from their pockets. Their hands were covered with rings like those of nouveau riche, and they even carried a watch-shaped orbal device.

Why didn't you say so earlier?

"I've disliked these fungi for a long time!"

"Why waste time when you can fight?"

Not far away, the magical beasts and magical plants also received orders and lined up in their respective ranks, with the indestructible city wall potatoes as the first echelon, followed by small trees growing bright red chili peppers, corn-shaped cannonballs, and vines that emitted electrical energy...

Needless to say, they had already begun to unleash a powerful offensive in front of them, with various elemental bullets and fiery ice spikes directly engulfing the fungal forest.

Far away in the core hub, Wante inexplicably felt a surge of anger rising in his mind—these people, who had clearly been treated with the highest level of courtesy by "himself," why did they still launch an attack!

The golden and azure light of the potion still lingered in his soul, emanating a chilling aura that was sharp enough to pierce the very soul.

Anger and bone-chilling cold enveloped him, but ironically, they made him more clear-headed. He finally realized that something remained here, gradually eroding him!

Realizing this, he tightened the chains around his body, even digging them deep into his flesh, and then jumped into Lina's pocket and stayed there obediently.

He knew very well that the situation was beyond his control, and the only thing he could do was not cause any more trouble.

Without his conscious intervention, the fungal forest came to life.

One after another, the fungal beasts pounced wildly, still carrying the consciousness and combat experience left behind by the fungal people when they were created, and began to tear apart the army of magical plants and magical beasts.

Because of their virtually indestructible bodies and the constant influx of reinforcements, they overwhelmingly suppressed the army of magical beasts and magical plants.

Even though these magical plants and beasts were carefully cultivated and were top-notch in their respective fields, they were quickly defeated and forced to retreat, only able to defend.

Even so, there were apprentices around assisting with spellcasting, using both ordinary magic and the magic contained in the orbment to help.

This is an extremely rare occurrence, considering that even the armies of magical beasts and magical plants did not suffer a defeat against the elite knights of the Holy See.

The more this happened, the calmer the apprentices became, and they began to set up some magic circles on the spot for amplification.

Lina hesitated for a long time before taking a giant egg, half the height of a person, out of her pocket, then piercing her finger and dripping blood onto it.

This is the ultimate measure that all pioneering squads possess, a seal personally set by Kroya that can only be broken with the blood of the squad leader.

She wouldn't have used this if the situation weren't truly urgent.

After the blood was dripped in, the magical seal on the surface of the giant egg gradually dissipated, and it quickly hatched.

A worker bee slowly crawled out and circled around on the ground a few times.

Then its body suddenly sprayed out mucus, which enveloped it completely, and before long, a miniature mother nest was born.

The larvae around the mother hive quickly hatch into more worker bees, who then dig up the mycelium and transport it all into the mother hive.

They are truly cold and efficient; in almost half an hour, the pale gray fungal carpet belonging to the mother nest gradually covered the mycelium that was originally on the ground.

Then more nests, split pools, towers and other structures sprang up. These structures seemed to have their own life, contracting and breathing, continuously transferring the digested essence to the nest.

Lina watched as swarms of springtails, hydralisks, dragonflies, cockroaches, and other strange insects emerged from the eggs around the mother nest. Each one of them was bizarrely shaped, even ferocious.

Yet they were comparable to the most disciplined human army, with an accuracy of almost a centimeter when they were lined up—this strange feeling instilled an instinctive fear in Lina.

They even feared them more than those fungal beasts.

Even though these alien insects were her allies, even though her blood had soaked into the alien nest and she could clearly feel the heartbeat of the nest, she still felt fear.

The mother nest also noticed this; it gently contracted, its keratinous shell dripping a viscous liquid, emitting an elegant and melodious feminine sound:

"You don't need to worry."

"My master."

It sent several waist-high jumping insects to Lina's vicinity. These creatures, with sharp teeth, pointed claws, and even wings like locusts, nudged Lina with their heads.

That was their only weakness, covered by a thick keratinous carapace, but through that hard carapace came abundant heat, which was continuously transmitted to Lina—the apprentice who had been somewhat fearful just moments before seemed to have lost all fear at once.

Compared to humans, or rather, monsters... these insectoids have exceptionally clear emotions; they like what they like. This reminded her of the little guy she kept at home for several years—not a monster, just an ordinary puppy.

"You guys are really...love-obsessed?"

She remembered what Chloe had once said, and suddenly it felt very apt: Aren't dogs just love-struck? Their whole heart is only devoted to their owners, wanting to be close to them and wanting their company.

The springtail looked up at her in confusion, carefully retracting its sharp wings and fangs, afraid of hurting this overly fragile human.

This scene stirred Lina's heart. After thinking for a moment, she took out a treasure that Chloe had given her from the deepest part of her pocket—a sunflower-shaped badge.

The crystal-clear glass encases a series of spinning musical notes, which intertwine and entwine like movements on a musical score.

She slowly walked towards the mother nest, stood before the towering nest, and held up the sunflower emblem: "Eat it, and then help us win."

"You..." The mother hive was somewhat moved, but it did not hesitate at all. A worker bee carefully took the sunflower badge and then entered the mother hive.

As the mother hive of war, it cannot survive for long; its only goal is to quickly complete the tasks assigned to it by the summoner while it is still alive.

The entire mother nest trembled violently. The melody contained within the crystal was beyond its complete control; it could only go with the flow and quickly created several "angels" through the melody... with feathered wings, muscular bodies, and dog-like heads.

They flapped their wings, playing harps made of keratin and flesh, leading their swarm of insects like arrows shot from a bow, directly into the battlefield.

—Of course, there were also those jumping insects that had just nudged Lina with their heads, or rather, the ones that shone the brightest. Their ferocious appearances looked sacred and majestic under the halo of light.

And then... no more.

Lina clearly saw the two leaping insects that charged into the swarm of fungal beasts being ganged up on and beaten. Even with all sorts of holy magical blessings around them, they couldn't withstand the onslaught.

They died quickly, having killed thousands of fungal beasts before they died. Their bodies fell into a muddy mass of mycelium and flesh, and were indistinguishable within seconds.

"..." Lina clenched her hands slightly.

The mother nest responded with a still very calm voice:

"Don't feel bad for them, it's our destiny."

Even though it said that, Lina still felt a lump in her throat. After hesitating for a moment, she took out Wonte, who was curled up in a ball and trembling, from her pocket.

"Would it be alright if this body of yours died?" Her tone was filled with rising murderous intent.

"...No, no problem." Wonte tried to shrink back.

Before Wond could finish speaking, Lina tossed him directly to the Mother Nest: "He's a life form closely related to the mycelium here. Analyze him!"

The mother hive silently opened its gaping maw and caught Wond.

Even the calm Mother Nest knows that it's best not to say anything right now, or it will definitely be in trouble.

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