Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 389 - 381: The Mission

To be fair, even though Ilo had been turned into a wooden person by the Divine Wood, Lin Jun genuinely felt that this boss was rather agreeable.

Ilo asked so many questions, and even though the Divine Wood could have ignored them, it still gave explanations one by one.

Moreover, the attitude it had towards him seemed subtly different, so Lin Jun just straight-up asked about his doubts.

"I know what you’re curious about, but I won’t tell you," the Divine Wood’s voice remained indifferent.

"Riddles? Why?!" Lin Jun couldn’t help but ask.

"Saying it would mean getting involved, and in any case, nothing matters. I just want to go back to sleep, so don’t bother me again." The tumbleweed began to gradually disperse, and the glowing "eye" at the center started to dim.

A root whisked up the Yesheng Wood Core on the ground, lifting the stubborn Puki that was clinging to the staff’s end as well.

The root shook, yet it couldn’t dislodge the Puki.

The partially dispersed tumbleweed paused: "What are you doing?"

"This is loot from a boss I defeated! Anyway, you’re going to sleep, letting me use it wouldn’t make you lose a piece of wood!" Lin Jun made one last effort.

He had worked hard and suffered heavy losses, including a knight and an S-Class Demon Crystal!

If he ended up with nothing, that would be a huge loss; he would have been working for the Elves for nothing!

"No, time is running out. I don’t want someone waking me up with it again."

The Divine Wood mercilessly shook its root, and Puki finally couldn’t hold on, falling to the ground. He watched helplessly as the Wood Core disappeared among the roots.

"But..." the Divine Wood suddenly shifted its tone.

This "but" sounded like a heavenly melody, and Puki immediately straightened his cap, assuming the standard posture for accepting a task.

"A piece of this Wood Core is missing. If you can find it for me, I don’t mind giving you some benefits." A fruit, glowing softly, appeared in front of Puki.

On the panel, a Levelless Skill was prominently displayed: [Life Essence].

"I promise to complete the task!"

Though Lin Jun didn’t get any immediate benefits, getting an SSS-level task was somewhat a comfort to his wounded heart.

The tumbleweed completely disappeared, and in the next moment, two Pukis appeared by the Divine Wood sapling at the bottom of the Underground City.

They’d been kicked out, consciousness still echoing with the Divine Wood’s last message: "Don’t come back before finding it. Your voice is really unpleasant..."

Lin Jun: "..."

I forbear!

One day, when I reach Level 99, I must send a dozen Pukis here to take turns holding a concert!

Despite having come out, the two Pukis didn’t take anything with them, making their existence unnecessary, and soon they were decomposed by the surrounding Fungal Mat.

...

On the other side, the Elf King City remained shrouded in chaotic shadows.

The first to receive the bad news was Galadriel, who stayed behind at the Royal City, responsible for maintaining the rear.

She was somewhat mentally prepared for her father Oriel’s sacrifice.

However, what truly unsettled her was the subsequent news: Ilo and Eco suddenly engaged in a death duel, resulting in mutual destruction and the simultaneous disappearance of a Divine Artifact.

As two elders of the Elf Race who combined seniority and strength, they should have jointly stabilized the situation and shouldered the task of selecting a new king after the Elf King’s death, but now they might have perished together? Let alone the disappearance of the Divine Artifact.

When Galadriel first heard this news, she felt her world spinning, as if a great disaster had befallen.

Regarding why the two had fought, the witnesses could only report the fragments of words they overheard.

Simply put, either Eco suddenly went mad, or Ilo betrayed them, and no matter which possibility, it made no sense to Galadriel.

Eco, as the leader of the Ranger unit, had a firm will and rich experience. How could he be easily infected by Frenzy and attack only Ilo?

As for Ilo betraying the Elf Race?

That was even more absurd. What would be his motive?

It couldn’t be to defect to the Demon Race in pursuit of some damn immortality, right?

Unlike short-lived humans, Elves with a lifespan of up to a thousand years generally have no desire for immortality.

The kind of immortality that Vampires pursue, forsaking various joys of the living, is seen by them as worse than dying early and returning to nature!

What’s more, Vampires have such a low conversion rate for races other than the Human Race, it’s akin to suicide.

Regardless, Galadriel promptly sent out people to search for the whereabouts of the two and the Divine Artifact.

Days later, the Elf forces, who had finally struggled to withdraw from the Underground City, brought back even worse news: Ilo’s betrayal was real!

And Salian faithfully recounted the reason the other had for doing this.

But that wasn’t the worst.

The worst part was only Ilo appeared, meaning Eco might have been killed by him?

Now... it’s not as though the high-end combat power of the Elf Race had been wiped out, but at least the loss was over half, a severe blow!

The only consolation was that the activation of the Giant Wood had completely stopped.

The Elves were not yet reduced to the embarrassment of having to fell their own giant wood.

But that was it.

During the activation of the Giant Wood, although it didn’t move, its active branches destroyed more than half of the original Elf City built upon it.

And now, Galadriel still dared not let the clansmen return home because the culprit Ilo’s whereabouts remained unknown!

Did he acquire the Divine Artifact?

What would he do next?

Galadriel didn’t know; she could only wait passively.

And this wait lasted a week!

They hadn’t waited for Ilo, but an unexpected figure!

The Captain of the Guard, Eco, who was assumed dead, had returned alive!

Galadriel’s heart, which had been suspended, finally relaxed at the moment she saw Eco.

However, the only issue was... Eco returned with noticeably unnatural white mycelium, and sitting firmly on top of his head was a... Puki?

...

At the time, Eco fell into the spiral, not bumping like the Divine Artifact into the bottommost layer but directly into the next level.

Having been observing the battle situation between the two all along, Lin Jun naturally dispatched Puki immediately to rescue him before the demon could devour him.

This was also thanks to the fact that now in the Divine Wood Dungeon, demons were one in ten; otherwise, it might not have been in time to save him.

Lin Jun had no intention of directly recruiting Eco; it was clear that would be impossible.

This was a fierce character willing to risk his life, and Lin Jun had neither enough benefits to tempt him nor bargaining chips to threaten him.

Ultimately, he merely parasitically healed his injuries, then shamelessly had a Puki climb onto Eco’s head relying on the life-saving grace plus the hint of favorability boost post-parasitism.

After all, the fact that Puki can spread spores to symbiotically keep the heavily injured alive could now be easily known by asking around in the human territory.

As for letting a Puki sit on Eco’s head, that was Lin Jun’s advertisement.

The Captain of the Guard has become a Puki Master, so what are other Elves worried about or suspicious of?

Simply put, the Elf City could be the second Mushroom City!

Of course, this was all Lin Jun’s own "perfect" plan; the real development of events differed slightly...

...

In the severely damaged lower corner of the Elf City, Elarwen’s little house remained miraculously intact.

Being on the edge brought luck to the little house.

And here, Salian, topped with a Puki, met his sister.

"Brother?!"

"Elarwen! I’m so glad you’re safe!"

Finally meeting, Salian, with tears in his eyes, approached.

The next moment, Elarwen kicked Salian, who was entirely unprepared, in the stomach.

"Why is Xiao Ji’s mushroom cap crooked?!"