Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 430 - 421: Xenophon

The shadows of war loom over Red Stone City.

At dusk, Nova stands on the city wall, able to see the smoke rising from the distant Demon Race camp.

On the other side, he can see a long line of people fleeing from the city.

Even if only a detachment of the Demon Race is coming, the supposedly easy-to-defend but hard-to-attack Earthpeak Fortress couldn’t last two days; no one thinks Red Stone City will fare any better than Earthpeak Fortress.

Nova is also uneasy.

"Found out." A lazy voice comes from the shadows, Night Owl appears at the corner of the wall at some unknown time, stretching his slender body not so elegantly, "Leading them is Xenophon, that pig-headed Duke."

"Xenophon!" Hearing this name, Nova’s eyes slightly brighten!

"Hey, hey, you aren’t still thinking about that decapitation plan, are you?" Night Owl raises an eyebrow, "That’s not Palace Level, it’s a Duke! Have you stuck too many Demon Crystals in yourself like the old man and ruined your brain?"

"I’m very clear-headed." Nova stands up, pacing back and forth at the edge of the parapet, "If it were another Duke, I would turn around and leave. But Xenophon is different... He was seriously injured by the Sword Saint before, and he certainly hasn’t recovered yet. And this piece of wood’s strongest ability is to magnify the life loss caused by injuries. As long as we hit, we have a great chance to severely wound him, maybe even... kill him!"

His tone becomes increasingly excited: "And as far as I know, Xenophon is a notoriously reckless man. As long as we provoke him with a weak posture, he might take the bait!"

Night Owl doesn’t agree: "You have too many assumptions. What if his injuries have healed? What if he doesn’t respond to provocation? What if this branch doesn’t kill him?"

"Then," Nova stops in his tracks, says calmly, "Among us, only you might escape alive."

"Why go to such lengths?" Night Owl’s voice is tinged with incomprehension, "We can totally fight symbolically and then retreat amidst the chaos. That would still be justifiable to the Kingdom, do we have to risk our lives?"

"This is a gamble!" Nova turns to face his companion, eyes blazed with fervor, "If we succeed, we’ll become undisputed heroes of the United Kingdom! Honor, wealth, power! As long as the Kingdom can survive this war, we will possess everything! Haven’t you always wanted to set up those weird traps for law enforcement? Become a landed noble, and you can do whatever you want with your territory. Of course, I bet your territory will be a mess."

Night Owl smirks but doesn’t refute.

Nova takes a deep breath and continues: "Besides, I don’t want to see the Kingdom utterly defeated by the Empire either. That future... is too tragic."

Night Owl stares at Nova for a while, then suddenly reaches out her hand.

"What?"

"The branch! I’m a Shadow Walker, best suited for ambushes. And I’m an Elf, with a long lifespan. Look at your forehead, you already have gray hair coming out, using all your strength might just kill you, let alone glory, wealth, power!"

Nova knows Night Owl speaks the truth, lets out a bitter smile, and solemnly places the wood core in Night Owl’s hand: "Remember, if it doesn’t work in one strike, immediately escape with it. Do not use it continuously... it’ll cost you your life."

"I’m not looking to die."

Clang—

The sudden noise puts both on high alert, and they quickly find the source of the noise—a standard-issue spear that dropped to the ground.

"Which lazy guy left his weapon lying around?" Nova frowns, stepping forward, thinking the wind knocked it over.

Night Owl, however, is silent, her eyes swiftly sweeping across the surroundings.

The next second, she dives into the shadows at the corner of the wall like a fish.

Just moments later, she suddenly leaps out from the shadow of the city wall in front of Nova, a black dagger in her hand skewering an equally black and ethereal strange worm, pinning it deathly to the stone wall.

The worm struggles silently for a few seconds before dying, and its corpse decomposes rapidly, leaving no trace behind.

"What’s this?" Nova asks gravely, he hadn’t even sensed this creature. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

But Night Owl also doesn’t know: "Never seen it before, but it hides in the shadows, should be a method from the Demon Race."

Nova nods, quickly descends from the wall to rearrange and strengthen the patrol.

...

The sunset sinks into the west, but the Demon Race camp not far outside Red Stone City remains "bustling."

"Ahhhhh—!" A Snake-man missing half its tail writhes in pain on the ground, but no one pays him any mind.

Not far away, a circle of Demon Race soldiers is nervously holding torches, closing in on the figure at the center. In the firelight, a mass of darkness is dashing to and fro, trying to dodge the searing light sources.

"Faster, faster, close in! Don’t let it run away again!"

"Tighten the circle! Tighten the circle!"

"It’s coming out... coming out!"

The Shadow Worm that leaps out is shot through the air by an arrow from a Lizardman, causing waves of cheers from the surrounding.

However, the cheer soon gets cut short by another scream from afar, and the soldiers have to lift their torches again, rushing to the next disturbance spot under the officers’ shouts.

Similar chaos repeatedly erupts throughout the encampment.

Inside the central command tent, the sword wound on Duke Xenophon’s abdomen faintly aches, the clamor outside makes it impossible for him to rest. He lifts the tent flap with fury, ready to erupt, but keenly senses an anomaly above.

A long axe cuts through the air, slashing a balloon-like creature on the spot.

As it dies, its nauseating stench permeates through the air.

No poison, just an unbearable stink that clings to the tent for a long time, refusing to disperse.

With a clatter, the long axe slams heavily to the ground: "Nothing but these lowly tricks!"

A consultant, evidently more knowledgeable on this matter, steps forward and says: "Duke, these must be Abyss summons."

"Abyss? Like the Abyss Beast of Virelis"

"Yes, but these are much weaker, probably the work of a bunch of Low Tier Evil Mages."

Xenophon sneers: "Humans preach about rigorous Abyss Magic, but at the critical moment don’t they just turn to using it! Since it’s summoned creatures, then go and pull those Evil Mages out and chop them all up to feed the Goblins!"

The consultant awkwardly lowers his head: "I’ve sent people to search, but... they hide too well..."

"A bunch of Evil Mages, yet you can’t find a single one..." Xenophon glances at his subordinate who’s too afraid to raise his head, snorts coldly.

His pig brain flashes brightly, as he grasps the key: "They’re playing these tricks only to stall for time. Pass the order, regardless of how well we rest tonight, launch a full attack on Red Stone City at first light tomorrow!"

After saying so, he turns back into the tent, dismissing the chaos in the camp.

...

At the same time, hidden within layers of counter-reconnaissance Magic Arrays, with Edin looking like he’s consumed an excess of Magic Potions, Puki is diligently pulling summons from the Abyssal Ceremony, even showing a slight sign of frustration: "No more Shadow Worms or Stink Bugs, these trash things, I’ve nearly thrown eighty times, isn’t it about time to get something good?!"