Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 311 - 303: The Old One Arrives

In the Number Three Mushroom Garden, Norris was holding the yellow-covered book, nostalgically reading its exclusive cult stories.

[Mary’s hundredth birthday banquet was so grand, all the visiting dignitaries were great vampires who could be called dukes!]

[They all offered blessings to Mary, making her the brightest star of the night]

[Although Mary felt that some people were looking at her strangely, they were high-ranking figures, so she couldn’t interrogate them as casually as she would with other lower blood races]

[Mary was happy. Her father loved her so much that he forgave her for all the mistakes over the past century, stood by her side, and even cried for her at the banquet!]

[Mary threw herself emotionally into her father’s arms, but he held her tightly with a force strong enough to break her waist]

[At the end of the banquet, Mary’s father, with tears streaming, drained her to a withered corpse under the watchful eyes of all the guests]

"???"

Norris leaned his head back slightly, looking confused: "I don’t understand, why did this happen..."

[You’re not supposed to understand!]

[Let me tell you, vampires are all a bunch of twisted freaks, don’t try to figure out what they’re thinking!]

Norris instinctively looked into the distance, where Louisa was intently drawing blood from a captive who had made a mistake, studying skills.

She was so focused that the prisoner was nearly drained and still failed to notice.

Or perhaps he noticed but didn’t care...

Suddenly, the voice of the boss came into his mind: "Doo-woo—Doo-woo—Doo-woo—"

"Boss, what is ’Doo-woo’?" Norris couldn’t help but ask.

"Can’t you tell? It’s an alarm! The old ones are attacking! Everyone retreat home immediately!"

Norris wanted to say that an alarm should sound like the big clock’s "dong-dong", but obviously, now wasn’t the time.

The entire Number Three Mushroom Garden sprang into action.

First were the core members, followed by the demon race, and lastly the captives under the guidance of Marshal Puki and the Mushroom People.

Lin Jun didn’t give communication access to the fungal network to these captives. To this day, all they knew was that the "boss" was a Marshal Puki.

The group was far from orderly, and the sudden transfer, coupled with their first sight of the gigantic rift, filled the ranks of prisoners with uneasy whispers and unrest.

Yet no one questioned or attempted to cause trouble or escape; nearly ten days of discipline had weeded out the troublemakers, who were now responsible for maintaining order at the edges of the prisoner ranks.

Most of the supplies had been moved ahead of time, so the transfer was completed in just two hours.

Then, under computational power coverage, the rift steadily shrank, finally stabilizing at the size of half a palm, concealed beneath the fungal mat.

It wasn’t Lin Jun’s fault for being timid; the "old one" coming this time was really too old!

[Level: 84]

Covered in a sky full of purple blood, flying into the range of the fungal mat—impossible to ignore!

There was no sign of skills like [Extreme Sword] on the panel, but the unprecedented level alone was enough for Lin Jun to avoid its edge.

...

Beneath the northern sky, a sinister canopy of purple blood sped across the ice fields, guided by a bat.

Since leaving the empire’s territory, all life along the way became blood reserves for Prince Visarius’s journey.

Whether the two small tribes he encountered along the way or the invisible creatures under the frozen river, everything was killed, becoming part of the canopy.

The demon race, and those behind them, dared to harm his treasured gem; this matter would not end like this!

At the moment, even His Majesty the Emperor must sympathize with his grief of losing a daughter, tacitly allowing him to leave his post without permission.

Yet, after flying for another entire day, what greeted him was an empty fortress, devoid of any signs of demon race life.

As for other life signs...

A massive purple blood blade sliced through, splitting the thick rock shell of the Arctic Castle, revealing the fake-death state heavy armor Puki inside.

Clearly, this was the intelligence indicating those controlled by the demon race, assisting in combat.

Visarius landed on the edge of the crack, just about to step in and investigate for clues...

The entire fortress exploded without warning!

An unprecedented terrifying explosion engulfed everything around, hurling boulders, ice shards, and dust violently skyward, forming a turbulent mushroom cloud!

However, the smoke and dust were cleaved by the sharp blood blade, and Visarius hovered above the massive crater.

The explosion, sufficient to destroy a palace-level powerhouse, failed to harm him, though it depleted much of the surrounding purple blood.

The remaining purple blood fell, spreading close to the ground, shredding all the mycelium within sight.

But soon, he ceased this meaningless action.

Such a vast fungal mat, especially since he discovered entrances to those pervasive underground networks, was beyond his ability to clear completely.

This required a massive human force for long-term removal, which the harsh environment of the far north did not permit...

No longer fixated on the fungal mat issue, he just wanted to locate the demon race’s whereabouts.

However, after a thorough search, no trace was found.

Even in the unstable, semi-abandoned underground city, there was only the omnipresent fungal mat, without any other living souls.

He did discover the palm-sized rift Lin Jun was hiding, leading to what seemed like a desolate void with no confirmed connection point.

However, at this size, no living thing could pass through except for liquid demons.

In contrast, the slowly and steadily collapsing lower area appeared far more suspicious.

Visarius stood at the edge of the lower area, gazing at the chaotic space, uncertain if the demon race had recklessly ventured deep inside, but there seemed to be no other possibilities...

If indeed so, one could only admire their ruthlessness.

A shattered space, even a being like him, entering could pose dangers.

"Since you’re hiding, then never come out!"

Visarius stepped back slowly. Behind him, the surging purple blood condensed and deformed, forming several seals, completely sealing off the lower area of the Stone Castle Dungeon.

After finishing everything, he spent another day searching the surroundings, finding no more traces before heading back in the direction of the Empire.

He couldn’t endlessly waste time on this matter; the plan against the Mountain Dwarves in the east still needed his leadership, and His Majesty’s tolerance was limited.

...

Once confirming the old one had indeed left the fungal mat’s range, Lin Jun then withdrew the computational power from the edge of the rift. It should be open wide enough for people again in a week.

These rifts, as long as they’re not completely closed, with computational mastery, I can always restore them to their original state.

Just before, if that old bat tried to deform and squeeze through, Lin Jun would have completely closed the rift, either sever him or trap him completely.

In the deep area, only those captives remained; the demon race and core personnel were moved by Lin Jun to the seventh floor. If things went awry, they’d continue transferring to the Divine Wood Dungeon.

Then, figure out a way to let humans "accidentally" find out.

While teleportation is expensive, if the target is a high-tier blood race, surely humans wouldn’t begrudge the cost...

Of course, all this happens on the assumption that the opponent is a brute who’d charge at any hole they see.

And in reality, no brute should have survived to such a high level...except perhaps dragons.