Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 414 - 405: This Surname Seems Familiar

In the eyes of the crowd, they saw the silver-armored Captain of the Guard surge forward through the waves, the Holy Sword in his hand gleaming brightly, decisively slicing the fierce Pigman leader in two.

As for the magic arrow that disabled the Pigman’s wrist at the critical moment, few noticed it.

The Pigman soldiers had long been tormented by the relentless rain of arrows from the sea, their morale completely shattered.

Now that their leader had fallen, their remaining fighting spirit utterly collapsed. Despite their overwhelming numbers, they fled in all directions.

Facing the retreating troops who exposed their backs, Sofia’s guards showed no mercy. They pursued relentlessly, and with flashes of their swords, Pigmen fell wailing to the ground.

Unfortunately, there were only about twenty guards, and even with their best efforts, they could not kill all of over five hundred fleeing Pigmen.

In the end, the guards numbered only twenty or so, and facing over five hundred Pigmen fleeing in different directions, they couldn’t possibly wipe them all out.

Meanwhile, the survivors of Golden Valley City, who should have joined the counterattack, were lying twisted on the ground, with foolish smiles at the corners of their mouths.

The Hallucinogenic Spores released by Puki did not distinguish between friend and foe, disorienting not only the attacking Pigmen but also most of their own.

On the bow, Sofia drew her bow again.

This arrow was aimed at a Pigman escaping in a tumble four kilometers away.

The magic arrow cut through the air, but ultimately it brushed against the Pigman’s heel, sinking into the mud.

The Pigman, consumed by panic, didn’t even realize he had just brushed past death.

Seeing this, Sofia resignedly lowered her bow, as the four-kilometer distance was still a bit too much for her at the moment.

Moreover, her continuously trembling right hand indicated that her body was nearing its limit.

"About half escaped," Sofia said somewhat regretfully.

"This was to be expected," Priest Samuel sighed softly.

If not for Sofia’s insistence, they shouldn’t have shown themselves here at all.

Rescuing a small team is of no use to the larger situation, but it might increase the risk of exposing the Hero’s position.

The Hero had just reached Diamond Level, and although her combat power far exceeded ordinary people, she was still too weak for the entire Demon Race, requiring further patience and restraint.

In fact, if it weren’t for some strange movements in the Archipelago Mists recently, they wouldn’t have appeared here during this period to guard against possible surprises.

Sofia was still too kind-hearted. She understood Samuel’s principle to stay away from uncertain risks and was willing to cooperate.

But when something happened before her eyes, she couldn’t resist stepping in to save people.

Samuel often regretted silently that if only Sofia could have been summoned earlier, perhaps she wouldn’t have triggered the disaster from three hundred years ago.

"Parasitic... Connected Fungal Network... Puki..." Sofia’s murmur caught Samuel’s attention.

At this moment, the ship was still about two kilometers from the shore.

For Samuel, rescuing people was acceptable, but the Hero’s true appearance must never be exposed to these people.

At this distance, Samuel could roughly perceive the situation onshore. However, when it came to "clear observation," only Sofia on the ship could achieve that.

Not to mention she also possessed a thing called a panel, which in many cases had reconnaissance capabilities surpassing even Samuel, the Palace Level Priest.

"Samuel," Sofia suddenly spoke, "Most of the people onshore seem to be parasitized by some kind of mycelium. Do you know what’s going on?"

Samuel shook his head. He had been drifting at sea with the Hero for over half a year, making contact with the Archbishop only a few times, exchanging important information in those rare communications. Naturally, this parasitism was not included.

However, based on experience, Samuel analyzed, "Those onshore appear to be some variant Puki. Since it’s mycelium parasitism, it’s probably some means of connected control."

"Parasitism? Isn’t it dangerous?" Bella interjected.

"I don’t know," Samuel’s tone was calm, showing little surprise at such things, "but as long as it can be used to fight the Demon Race and buy us time, some sacrifice can be acceptable. Lady Sofia, you should head back."

Sofia took one last look at the shore, her gaze lingering on the Pukis that, after losing their master’s control, sat dazed.

These mushroom creatures clearly had low attributes, but their skill level was high, which was novel to Sofia.

"Bella, handle the situation onshore for me, please. Leave it all to the Captain of the Guard; I fear he’ll just leave those unconscious people behind."

"Leave it to me!" Bella readily accepted the task.

She infused her feet with the Ocean Staff to walk on water, then handed the staff to Samuel, flipping off the ship to run towards the shore.

...

Lin Jun’s camera was also mixed in with the dazed Pukis.

Under the effect of mycelium parasitism, Angela barely stabilized her injuries.

Parasitizing her didn’t have much deeper meaning; primarily, after understanding the plight of these Beastmen, Lin Jun figured it was worth investing some effort in them.

Since this Beastwoman could be easily saved, there was no reason to let her fend for herself.

Lin Jun was somewhat surprised at the sudden arrival of reinforcements. Lin Jun had some impression of the ship, having caught a glimpse of it from afar while with Dylan—it turned out to be a Church ship.

Unfortunately, when Lin Jun wanted to see who was on the ship acting as a sniper, the ship’s magic array blocked both [Sound Wave Detection] and [Magic Perception].

Hmph.

Lin Jun detested these sneaky individuals, suspecting they harbored secrets they didn’t want to reveal.

Soon, another person treaded over the sea from the ship, though this one was dressed as an adventurer, not in the church’s priest robe or a warrior’s armor.

Opening the panel.

[Name: Bella Slick]

[Level: LV48]

Stronger than a regular warrior, but still just Gold Level.

Hmm...

Slick...

This surname seemed familiar from somewhere?

And Bella...

Shifting the viewpoint to Puki’s House.

Dylan was there with a face full of affection, watching Bianca lead the Pukis running around the store, preparing for its opening.

[Name: Dylan Slick]

So that’s it!

This was Dylan’s daughter, whom they had been searching for without success!

Thus, when Bella had just reached the shore, she saw a Puki standing at her feet.

She walked a couple of steps, and the Puki followed suit, as if pleading to be taken in. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"What? Want to come with me?"

Seeing the Puki almost hugging her leg, Bella squatted down, gently stroking its soft, plump body: "Haha, how amusing, but no way. I can’t feed you magic potions at sea... yet, how could it be so affectionate..."

Of course, the Puki didn’t respond, just snuggled closer.

Bella was amused by the Puki’s enthusiasm and laughed softly, squeezing its soft body, habitually activating [Realm of Truth].

Her silver gaze fell on the Puki.

The next moment.

"Bleugh---!!!"

Human stomach acid mixed with undigested food scraps sprayed all over the Puki...