Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 340 - 332: Priorities

In the dock area of Fish Sail Port, the salty sea breeze couldn’t dispel the tense heat as a conflict suddenly broke out.

A recently successful Puki Master heard the malicious taunts from several adventurers leaning against cargo boxes, aimed at the mycelium marks on his face.

With just three exchanges of heated words, rage overwhelmed the dam of reason, and fists took the place of pale arguments.

The scene instantly spiraled out of control.

Nearby Puki Masters saw this and immediately directed the Puki, who had been busily unloading fish from fishing boats, to gather around and support.

On the other side, the adventurers’ companions also roared and joined the chaos. In an instant, the roars of men, the screams of women, and the unique "puff puff" sounds of Puki mingled together, as human fists and fungal tendrils clashed savagely.

With a screeching metallic sound, someone couldn’t hold back and drew their weapon!

Just as the brawl was about to escalate into a bloody conflict, a synchronized and heavy footstep sound timely resonated.

"Wing of Judgment! Stop immediately!"

A voice imbued with authority shouted harshly. Solalin, leading the squad, arrived just in time. The holy emblems on the team members’ chestplates gleamed with undeniable authority in the sunlight, instantly suppressing the out-of-control scene.

The well-trained church warriors quickly intervened in the melee, efficiently separating and subduing both sides of the conflict.

Soon, the humans involved in the brawl, whether Puki Master or adventurer, were all detained. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, when the team members faced nearly a hundred Puki staying put, they were at a loss.

In the past, capturing troublemakers with a magic pet only required finding a sturdy cage to lock them up.

But these densely packed Puki... there weren’t enough cages...

A team member instinctively turned to look for their team leader, Solalin, for instructions, only to find their captain leaning in the distant corner, bent over, vomiting intensely as if even her bile was being expelled.

Just a moment ago, when her gaze swept over those familiar-looking Puki scattered across the dock, Solalin almost instinctively activated the [Realm of Truth]...

In an instant, the sunny, sea-breeze-kissed port city scene shattered and faded away!

What replaced it were countless chaotic color blocks, climbing greedily over the city’s every corner, seemingly trying to assimilate everything into that blasphemous sight!

"Mein... the rest is... up to you..." Solalin, trembling, said with all her strength to the priest who came running.

She then stumbled away, nearly collapsing, towards the temporary command center of the sub-commander.

...

Ten minutes later.

"You ask what’s going on with this city... haven’t you noticed in the past two months, there’s been a lot more dried mushroom slices in our rations?" The sub-commander of the Wing of Judgment asked Solalin, who had suddenly sought him out, with some confusion.

"You mean..." Solalin’s face visibly paled.

"Ugh—!"

Watching his subordinate vomiting relentlessly while holding onto the wall, the sub-commander stepped forward, patting her back helplessly.

"Is it really that uncomfortable? Your... that thing..." The sub-commander gestured at his eyes with his fingers.

"Realm... of Truth." Solalin weakly responded, her stomach churning again.

"Yes, yes, is that skill really so sinister?" The sub-commander, knowing his subordinate’s special abilities, obviously couldn’t personally feel that impact.

Solalin took the paper handed to her and wiped the corner of her mouth, her voice still trembling somewhat: "It’s not just nausea... it’s severe pollution! I absolutely don’t dare to use it again now! And what’s with those Puki? How could demons be running around the streets at will?"

"They’re not running around," the well-informed sub-commander patiently explained, "those are Puki controlled by ’Puki Masters’. It’s a principle similar to contracted magic pets but more convenient and with a lower threshold."

After the sub-commander explained in detail about the Puki Masters and symbiosis, Solalin could hardly believe her ears.

"For... for a bit of power, you let unknown things parasitize your body? How is this any different from those who, for eternal life, pledge allegiance to the Empire, willingly becoming the fallen vampires?!"

"Hey! Watch what you say!" The sub-commander urgently interrupted her bold statement, "Our task is to resolve conflicts and maintain order, not to incite more trouble! Not a word of this outside!"

"But these demons... they’re essentially... the same thing..." Solalin struggled to describe the suffocating uniformity and chaotic nature behind every Puki she sensed.

Back then, she also thought this thing would only stay in the Underground City and perish with it, yet she never expected it to become like this today!

The sub-commander frowned after hearing her out, pondered for a moment, and said, "Simply determining that all Puki are the same entity because they share the chaotic color is too arbitrary."

Solalin wanted to argue, but the sub-commander quickly continued:

"However, your discovery and concerns are not entirely without merit. Do this: during your spare time, write a detailed observation report, objectively describing the phenomena you observed, excluding all subjective speculations. I will attach it to the regular report and submit it to the bishop for judgment. In the meantime, refrain from using that skill, remember, maintaining order is our primary mission here."

The handling was reasonable and fair, and Solalin had no choice but to agree, turning to leave.

"Oh, by the way," the sub-commander added behind her, pointing at the mess on the ground, "don’t forget to call a retainer to clean this up when you go out."

...

"How was it?" asked the waiting priest companion, Mein, outside.

After Solalin recounted the sub-commander’s arrangements, she asked, "Mein, do you also think I’m overthinking?"

Mein looked at her and replied honestly, "I can’t imagine there’s something in the world capable of simultaneously controlling such a large number of individuals to act independently. You have to understand, this isn’t Puki within an Underground City range, but spanning across Mushroom City, Fish Sail Port, and Novid. Who knows how many Puki Masters and Puki there are, saying it’s all one entity is just too..."

Mein wanted to say "ridiculous," but felt the word might be somewhat hurtful and couldn’t think of a more suitable expression at the moment.

However, Solalin didn’t seem to mind this. She seriously contemplated and, just as Mein mentioned, couldn’t imagine what kind of existence it would be.

If everything was it, and it was everywhere, wouldn’t that make it akin to a god?

It’s too absurd, so absurd that she even started doubting herself.

The sub-commander and Mein were right, she was being too arbitrary.

In the end, it’s just speculation stemming from this rare, scarcely referenced skill [Realm of Truth], lacking further evidence.

In any case, it’s best to just honestly write the report...

...

What Solalin didn’t know was that her report was not overlooked.

The report was submitted by the sub-commander to the regional bishop’s hands and eventually, the document found its way onto Archbishop of Light Ditas’s desk.

Ditas’s gaze slowly swept over the content of the report, his aged and deep-set eyes showing not a ripple of emotion.

He remained silent for a moment, then calmly placed the report into a drawer, without issuing any related instructions.

He had an important meeting with several dukes today, the core topic being how to systematically incorporate those seemingly potential ’Puki Masters’ into the Kingdom’s military system to counter the imminent Demon Race invasion.