Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 428 - 419: The Crisis of Red Stone City

Nova’s hands clenched tightly under the table, his mind racing as he repeatedly recalled every detail from the past, pondering exactly where he might have been exposed.

He vividly remembered that when the Yesheng Wood Core was used in the Underground City, the pink Puki that Inanna had transformed into had already been taken to the tenth level by the Night Owl and couldn’t have witnessed that scene.

Could it be that someone came down later to analyze the Flame Demon’s remains?

But this doesn’t make sense either; a tiny residual energy doesn’t explain anything.

And after that task was completed, he hadn’t used that Divine Artifact again.

Could it have been exposed earlier than that?

Another possibility was that someone else in the team leaked information...

But the thought was immediately suppressed. If he couldn’t trust the teammates who shared daily life with him, then the Silverthorn Squad should have collapsed long ago.

He raised his head and looked towards Edin, who remained calm and composed across from him, and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

The value of this Divine Artifact fragment in his hand was far beyond a mere desperate trump card; he couldn’t just...

Three S-Class Demon Crystals were gently placed on the table. As soon as they were taken out, they instantly attracted the surrounding magic power!

Gulp—

Ashamed to admit, Nova had only seen those S-Class Demon Crystals from afar during the ambush on the Demon Race Duke in Oath City.

And this was the first encounter up close.

Even more shocking was their size. Each one was as big as a fist, and he had never imagined that S-Class Demon Crystals could be so large.

In his impression, even the one embedded on the Magic Staff of the Relic Association’s Vice President seemed much smaller than these before him.

Nova couldn’t help but marvel at the extravagance of the Saint Claire Clan.

This was clearly just the initial offer, suggesting room for negotiation.

Miss Inanna’s sincerity in this matter was indeed moving.

And considering the potential consequences of refusal, Nova’s resolve began to waver.

He carefully chose his words and said in a negotiating tone, "For such a matter, I must consult with my teammates before I can decide. Could I..."

Edin nodded, reached out, and methodically put away the three S-Class Demon Crystals back into his bag.

After the last Demon Crystal vanished into the sack, he lifted his hand to remove the veil of mist surrounding them, gesturing for Nova to proceed.

Watching the disappearance of the Demon Crystals, Nova knew that the old mage Ivan would surely go mad over this.

...

The four gathered in the side hall of the City Lord’s Mansion. As soon as Nova finished recounting the meeting with Edin, Night Owl jumped up first.

"Are you sure your eyes aren’t playing tricks?" She braced her hands on the table, leaning forward, "Could it be someone used illusions to fool you?"

Nova sighed helplessly, "Edin is a prominent figure; it’s impossible he’d impersonate the Duke’s envoy openly. You’ll see the Demon Crystals yourselves later. The real issue now is whether we should exchange them."

"Exchange! Of course, we should!" Ivan exclaimed, nearly knocking over the ink bottle on the table, "Those are S-Class Demon Crystals! As big as fists! Do you realize what this means? If we had these when fighting the Flame Demon, I wouldn’t have needed that broken branch, let alone... let alone..."

Night Owl squinted, "You fool, you wouldn’t actually want to taste the S-Class Demon Crystal, would you?"

"N-No, not so wastefully..." Ivan’s gaze drifted unintentionally, his Adam’s apple moving gently.

Night Owl clicked her tongue, folded her arms and sat back in her chair, no longer opposing.

Just as Nova thought the discussion was about to conclude, the always silent half-dragon Gall quietly pushed forward a slip of paper, "But wouldn’t crafting a Magic Wand and items with the S-Class Demon Crystal take a lot of time? I think you should look at this information first."

The message on the slip was simple yet weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts: The Earth Peak Fortress between Three Mountains City and Red Stone City had been besieged by the Demon Race.

Since the human army had retreated to Three Mountains City, activating a large Protective Magic Array to buy time, the Demon Race had been systematically clearing surrounding outposts.

The Earth Peak Fortress is just a common stronghold and likely won’t hold for long.

What’s more concerning is that once the Earth Peak Fortress falls, it’s only a matter of time before the Demon Race aims directly at Red Stone City.

At this critical juncture, they simply don’t have enough time to convert the S-Class Demon Crystal into actual combat power.

"Keeping that branch now still allows us to attempt a decapitation tactic," Gall suggested, "Or after the deal, we run? To the Archipelago..."

He hadn’t finished before Night Owl kicked him, "I don’t want to spend my life at sea!"

Unlike the decision of whether to rescue Inanna back then, running at that time would only offend Duke Alama, and once out of the United Kingdom, they’d be safe.

But now, being the City Lord of Red Stone City, retreating before the battle in such dire times, abandoning their duties, even the Elf Dwarves wouldn’t accept them; they’d truly be forced to live between the islands.

Nova pondered for a while and made a decision.

He re-entered the office and said to Edin, who had been waiting for a long time, "We are willing to trade, but not right now."

He handed the intelligence to Edin and continued, "The Church’s reinforcements are about to arrive at Three Mountains City, and the situation will certainly change. Before then, we still need the Wood Core."

Nova didn’t mention how the situation might change, as he secretly didn’t have much faith in the Church’s reinforcements.

When the time comes, it will be one of two scenarios: either the Church helps Three Mountains City successfully repel the Demon Race army, thereby resolving Red Stone City’s crisis.

Or they prove unhelpful and are defeated alongside the others.

At that point, if he abandons Red Stone City, it becomes much more reasonable, and even if held accountable afterward, it wouldn’t warrant the gallows.

Of course, by then, whether the United Kingdom can pursue accountability is another matter.

The premise of all this is that Red Stone City persists until that time.

Edin looked at the note, somewhat surprised. What unfortunate timing.

If only they’d arrived sooner...

After leaving the City Lord’s Mansion, Edin entered an inn, went into the booked room, but didn’t rest.

Instead, he quietly jumped out of the window, turning into an alley, and after confirming he wasn’t being followed, snuck into an abandoned building.

Soon, his form blurred and dissipated, leaving only a tool encased in his chest, which fell into the hands of the real Edin.

The advanced illusion tool crafted from finger-long S-Class Demon Crystal made it hard to distinguish reality, could activate the tool, and even allow some simple spells to be performed through them, mimic death realistically, and not reveal abnormalities unless specifically checked.

Edin wouldn’t personally handle such dangerous affairs with his true self.

And inside the room, sat the actual key figure for this trip—a Scout Puki.

"Boss, what’s your plan?"