Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 220 - 217: Stone Statue

Under the astonished gaze of the Demon Race, Fat Otaku Puki slowly pulled out piles of mushrooms from its belly, one handful after the other, forming a small mountain.

After unloading the goods, the two Pukis made no pauses and turned around, heading towards the Underground City.

"Qiong..." Shou’s voice was filled with intense confusion and a hint of barely noticeable caution, "Did you get all these from the Underground City?"

"Shou," Qiong took a deep breath, avoiding the scorching gazes of the surrounding tribe members, "Let’s talk about it when we get back."

Shou nodded, instructing the tribe members to gather the mushrooms from the snowy ground and walked back to the tribe with Qiong.

Not far from the tribe, an invisible scout Puki was hanging upside down, monitoring every move of the tribe.

After some time of observation, Lin Jun had already figured out the strength of this tribe.

There was only one Half-diamond Level, about a dozen Gold Level, a few more silver ones, with a total number of under three hundred.

They posed no threat at all, but seemed to have plans to migrate.

Lin Jun had seriously thought about exposing the Rift and the Purple Crystal Dungeon on the other side to the Demon Race.

The Rift wasn’t actually much of a secret, humans had seen this Rift too, yet they had no desire to explore it.

Only parasites amongst the Demon Race would be allowed by Lin Jun to cross to the other side, while avoiding humans as much as possible.

The biggest uncertainty seemed to be the relationship between this tribe and the Empire.

Logically, there should be no relationship, otherwise, they wouldn’t settle in such a barren place, but Lin Jun saw two Empire Demon Race members visiting a while ago, thus leaving room for doubt.

Originally wanted Qiong to sleep in the Mushroom House and extract all the information, but he didn’t lie down, and Lin Jun couldn’t use force at the moment.

In the worst case scenario, the Demon Race figures out the situation on the other side, passes the info to the Empire, and the Empire sends a troop for a surprise attack on the human rear.

It would be a surprise attack and not an army since the harsh weather was a huge obstacle, an army would freeze to death halfway here.

In this worst-case scenario, Lin Jun would most likely enter the Empire’s sight as well.

But, Lin Jun wouldn’t give the Demon Race the chance to relay the message.

From the moment Qiong returned to the tribe, any Demon Race heading south would be intercepted by Lin Jun.

Without the Fungal Mat there would be no large troops, but using Subordinate Control to command a few elites for short-range interception was easy, or Xiao Hai could be sent!

As for the tribe’s entire southward migration?

They aren’t short of food, right? Although I gave them a lot of mushrooms, relying on Shou and Qiong alone, it’s impossible to earn enough for a whole tribe’s meals.

If they want more mushrooms, they’ll have to voluntarily accept the mycelium parasitism to qualify for work.

And once parasitized, they would be half Lin Jun’s people!

By the time they consider migrating, wouldn’t they have to think carefully about whether their status is suitable for leaving the Fungal Mat?

Moreover, Lin Jun’s Fat Worm farming has started, cultivating and eating, soon the Cold Resistance would reach level 8.

Once Lin Jun can spread the Fungal Mat, this Demon Tribe would be completely within control, unable to create any chaos.

To increase the appeal of working, Lin Jun added many good things to the exchange list, like the Limb Regeneration that Qiong and Shou need the most!

Lin Jun couldn’t do this, but the Limb Regeneration Potion could be bought from humans, Edin could run some errands for that.

Of course, given the price, the required Contribution Points would be a lot too.

Now the best case would be to smoothly assimilate the whole tribe without using violence, and happily have them work under me.

The worst case...

The benevolent Puki doesn’t want to witness such a scene!

...

The Contribution Points system was something Lin Jun devised after much consideration, as the organization gradually became larger, things couldn’t be as casual as before.

To let most people willingly follow, tangible and visible "benefits" and necessary constraints were both essential.

The rewards couldn’t be handed out impulsively, as uneven rewards and punishments were prone to cause internal disputes.

With a larger organization, a clear and fair set of rules was indispensable.

Though for now it’s still a bit rough around the edges, the details need constant refinement; core members should have a meeting to brainstorm its completion later on.

-----------------

On the Demon Race’s side, the matter needed time to ferment internally, and Lin Jun temporarily shifted attention back to the Purple Crystal Dungeon.

The pioneering team heading for the core finally approached its destination!

A team of five hundred Pukis encountered no major obstructions along the way; the truly powerful demons were slain by the Sword Saint.

Lin Jun even saw a huge Earth Worm carcass, segmented into three parts, bigger than the one Lin Jun had killed!

Unfortunately, by the time the Fungal Mat reached it, this Earth Worm had been completely consumed.

Because of the nourishment from its carcass, the demon count there was more than in other caves, delaying the team’s progress considerably.

Now, Lin Jun finally reached the core area!

A huge platform, different from natural caves, paved with some kind of smooth, cold black stone.

On the platform stood an ancient instrument, covered with a thick layer of dust.

And at the end of the platform, stood a pitch-black door, flanked by two statues over ten meters tall.

No demons dared to approach this platform.

As they trekked forward, the lead Puki soon encountered a familiar air wall.

[Native Demon, entry denied]

Ah~

That familiar prompt filled with discrimination and oppression!

Really, it had been a while since I encountered it!

[Hero, restriction lifted]

Thankfully, I wasn’t the one being discriminated against!

The Pukis walked boldly onto the platform, and even the Fungal Mat began to spread across it.

Examining that old broken instrument revealed nothing; it was a bit too complex for Lin Jun’s comprehension.

The core was probably behind the door.

The Yellow-covered Book said entering the core could clarify specific issues.

But honestly, Lin Jun found it hard to trust it.

So before relying on it, Lin Jun planned to check it out personally first.

A Puki headed toward the door along the platform; as it crossed the midpoint, the empty sockets of the stone giants on both sides lit up with purple light!

Amidst the sound of heavy stone friction roaring, they slowly stood up, their massive figures casting suffocating shadows!

How should I say this... It was totally expected.

In front of such an important core door, with such magnificent stone statues standing, could there be any explanation other than as guardians?!

Just unsure if they’d consider the Hero’s face...

The thought hadn’t even settled!

One statue’s arm swung, seemingly slow but in reality, incredibly swift!

The massive stone staff in its hand cut through the air with a sharp whistle, precisely sweeping over the place where the Puki stood.

The Puki couldn’t withstand such an attack and burst into a cloud of mycelium on the spot.

This wasn’t the end; the stone statue spewed flames from its mouth, reducing all the mycelium and spores to ashes, then slowly returned to its original position.

Alright, seems like even the Hero didn’t work...

Looking at the team on site, five hundred Pukis—wondering if that’s enough to fight!