Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 338 - 330: Each Serving Their Own Master

The basement air was filled with the scent of timber and a faint trace of fungus. The glow of the oil lamp elongated the shadows of the two people, casting them on the strange wall with round holes behind them, flickering gently with the flames.

Keroro looked at Dylan, his face mixed with surprise and disbelief, "Dylan, my dear brother, I was wondering who could move so swiftly and establish a mutual assistance group in the newly built Mushroom City. I truly didn’t expect it to be you..."

He shook his head, his tone genuinely unexpected.

Dylan was equally shocked. He placed the two glasses of wine in his hand on the table and sat across from Keroro, his voice full of emotion, "Big brother... I never thought we’d meet again here, in this way."

"Who would have guessed?" Keroro took a sip from his wine glass, savoring the taste, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Dylan and the secret room. "The rookie who I had to teach step by step how to disguise himself has really come into his own now. How did your mission go on the Archipelago?"

Dylan sighed, "Luck was not on my side; I failed. Coming back safely was already quite fortunate. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, big brother, guiding me and teaching me so much back then, I might not have made it. I always remember that favor."

After a long separation, it seemed like they had endless things to talk about, from Dylan’s embarrassing survival on a deserted island to Keroro’s near-miss with Church Knights. In between laughter and conversation, their glasses quickly ran dry.

"Seeing you doing well puts me at ease, as your elder brother." Keroro said while standing up, raising his hand naturally towards Dylan’s shoulder as if trying to offer some encouragement to his young counterpart.

However, just as his hand was about to touch Dylan’s shoulder, an abrupt change occurred!

His fingers suddenly twisted and morphed, the fingertips sprouting sharp black claws, directly stabbing towards Dylan’s right shoulder and collarbone!

At the same time, a short dagger imbued with a ghostly blue paralytic toxin silently brushed towards Dylan’s side waist!

Clang—!

The sharp sound of metal clashing resonated in the secret chamber. Dylan seemed to have anticipated it. His short sword was drawn in an instant, slicing horizontally to block the claws.

The massive force caused both of them to retreat half a step, perfectly allowing the treacherous dagger to miss its mark.

In mere seconds, the two who were reminiscing in the previous moment turned into hostile adversaries.

A swift, complex emotion flashed across Keroro’s face, as if it was a blend of comfort and regret, finally turning into a low sigh, "You’ve gotten much faster, Dylan. You couldn’t have blocked that before."

"You taught me well, big brother. If only you hadn’t come here." Dylan said regretfully.

Keroro nodded somewhat helplessly, "Yes, if only I hadn’t been sent."

The traces of parasitic fungal infection were not hard to recognize. After Keroro arrived at Mushroom City and met those Puki Masters, he naturally recalled that Dylan’s original appearance was very similar to them, with just a slight difference in color.

The notion of parasitic demons didn’t hold up well under scrutiny.

If they had not met again, it would have remained a small incident known to no third party, easily buried in memory.

But unfortunately, they met again.

In Keroro’s view, this Puki’s House was likely a trap set by humans, and he was already deeply ensnared. Only by capturing Dylan might he have a chance to escape, but that too failed.

Just then, from a small round hole in the wall, a plump Puki squeezed out with effort, and its mushroom cap unfolded with a "pop" sound.

Pop—pop pop—pop pop pop—

Soon, more than a dozen Pukis popped out one after another, filling the already cramped space to capacity, completely blocking all exits.

Keroro did not continue to struggle ugly; instead, he simply laid on the ground, "Dylan, my dear brother, don’t blame me for the heavy-handed approach just now. Wouldn’t you fight in this situation too? For old times’ sake, could we skip the torture part?"

Dylan sheathed his short sword and took two steps to the tightly bound Keroro, squatting down.

"So, big brother, do you want to join us?" he asked, his tone calm.

Keroro struggled a bit, attempting a flattering smile, "Dear brother, take pity... I’ll tell you all the intel I know, just let me go, alright? Your sister-in-law and little nephew are still waiting for me in the north..."

"Big brother Keroro, since when did you have a wife and kids? Did you forget we caught someone having an affair together?"

"..."

As the awkward silence spread, a voice filled with bloodthirsty desire, as if dredged from a blood pool in the Abyss, suddenly burst forth from a torn white cloth strip on Keroro’s chest, "If you don’t join... then die!"

Keroro trembled, but survival instinct made him shout immediately, "Wait! Let’s talk about this!"

Dylan was also caught off guard by the sudden turn, quickly speaking up, "Boss, please wait—"

But it was too late.

Squelch—!

Several tendrils suddenly pierced through the clothing, embedding into Keroro’s body. The intense pain and rapidly draining strength swiftly dulled his consciousness, and the last frame captured by his vision was Dylan hurriedly pulling out a Healing Potion from his bosom.

Dylan, this boss... is too efficient... This was Keroro’s final thought before falling into darkness.

...

...

...

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the ceiling of a room in Puki’s House inn.

Everything was calm, as if it was merely a bad dream.

Keroro sat up in lingering fear, immediately discovering nearly ten roughly stitched tears on his coat, the skewed stitches making his once decent traveling merchant attire look like that of a street refugee.

Clearly, it was not a dream!

Especially when he instinctively touched his chest and felt the unusual threads of fungus inside...

Keroro sat silently on the edge of the bed for a long time, retracing the cause and effect meticulously, trying to understand who was behind Dylan.

If it were a human organization, he would either be in the grave or at least in prison by now.

These mycelium, Pukis... were evidently exceptional and not something that recently emerged.

They appeared much earlier, before he met Dylan, but had remained hidden!

And now, they were so blatantly spreading within human territories!

Such scale and ambition could even be attributed to a grand plan from an Empire Duke, he thought.

Unfortunately, he knew it wasn’t so. His tasks for this journey were twofold:

First, to investigate what exactly these "Puki Masters" were, their strength, and their weaknesses...

Second, to find the vulnerabilities of these Fungal Mat networks, attempting to sever human logistical supplies.

These mats couldn’t be part of their own plan; otherwise, wouldn’t that mean opposing the throne?

But from his perspective, this didn’t seem like something humans could come up with.

Third-party forces?

The most suspicious seemed to be the Elves... but could those long-eared ones really create something like this...

Knock knock—

The door received a light yet firm knocking.

Before he could respond, he heard the light click of a key turning in the lock.

The innkeeper, Dylan, pushed open the door, placing a steaming breakfast on the bedside table, wearing a professional, gentle smile on his face.

"Good morning, big brother Keroro, welcome to the Mushroom Garden! If there’s anything you’re unsure of in the future," he paused, sounding just as trustworthy as Keroro once did, "feel free to ask me anytime."