Chapter 804: Chapter 790: Marching South

The pass of Wind Breath Canyon is wedged between two steep stone mountains, resembling a rift cleaved by a giant axe.

The city wall rises from the valley floor, with a row of crossbow cannons perched on the battlements and several magic towers standing tall on the inner side of the pass.

The wind rushes in through the mouth of the canyon, whistling like something crying from afar.

Inside the pass, a demon soldier leans against the wall and whispers to his companion, "I heard those Puki from Fungus Castle are bizarre and strong. The Earl and his elite troops have been transferred away, leaving Viscount and just us here. If Fungus Castle really attacks, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold it."

Another soldier, sitting in the corner holding a standard explosive crossbow, squints his eyes: "It’s not certain Fungus Castle will attack."

"Even if Fungus Castle plans to invade the Empire, do you think they’re stupid enough to choose this hardest pass to attack?" He points his chin towards the outside of the valley, "Take a detour and traverse the rubble-strewn area on the west side. Along the way, there are a few small towns easy to conquer. Isn’t it easier than spending energy on us? After they finish off what’s behind, we’ll be isolated here. Fighting us makes even less sense."

As he speaks, he shifts his position to tuck the crossbow under the other arm.

"Besides, hasn’t Viscount himself gone out for reconnaissance? When the lord returns, we’ll naturally know Fungus Castle’s move. Thinking aimlessly here is pointless."

The demon race soldier who asked the question nods but still looks anxiously towards the north.

After watching for a while, he suddenly nudges his companion: "Hey, get up and look, what is that?"

Below the pass, several riders wrapped in dust are galloping from the other side of the canyon.

The person in the lead wears a dark robe, the hood drawn low, riding a war beast, slightly hunched, as if having traveled a long journey, followed by a few attendants.

"It’s Viscount! The Viscount has returned!"

Just as a soldier is about to lift the magic seal at the city gate, the captain in charge of guarding the city stops him.

The captain doesn’t rush to open the gate, instead, first activates the detection magic array at the gate.

An almost invisible magic ripple spreads from the array’s core, sweeping over the riders below the city.

Quickly, the core of the array identifies the recorded magic fluctuations of the Viscount.

Only then does the captain wave his hand, "Raise the portcullis!"

The iron gate is completely lifted, the city entrance opens wide, the Viscount rides into the city, followed closely by his attendants.

Facing the captain who jogged down to greet him, the Viscount asks discontentedly, "Why such a delay?"

Upon hearing this, the captain puts on a smile, "Viscount, have you forgotten? The Earl specially instructed before leaving that anyone entering the city must pass the magic lock first, that’s why it took a bit longer, please don’t mind."

"I see, you are very dutiful."

The captain nods while bowing, yet feels a bit awkward internally—the Viscount is clearly riding the war beast, but the voice sounds as if coming horizontally from in front of him, not from above.

He stealthily lifts his eyelids, shifting his gaze from the Viscount’s boots to the hem of the robe, from the robe to the belt, and finally to the part of the face concealed under the hood.

And then he sees the face beneath the hood, pale and sprouting chaotic mushrooms.

The Viscount’s eyes, one replaced by a mushroom, the other hollow and silent, staring fixedly at him.

"Ah... ah..." The captain’s voice gets stuck in his throat; he wants to retreat, yet his trembling legs feel rooted to the spot, unable to move a step.

Meanwhile, the Viscount speaks again.

"You... have seen it."

This time, he hears clearly; the voice is not coming from the Viscount’s mouth but from the package hung on the side of the war beast by the Viscount.

At some point, the package has opened a slit, revealing half a smooth mushroom cap from the gap.

The long spear in the Viscount-turned-mushroom puppet’s hand suddenly thrusts out, piercing through his chest.

"What’s happening?"

"Viscount... why?"

In the shocked gazes of the other city gate guards, the "attendants" following the Viscount one after another tear off their robes, revealing puppet bodies covered in mushrooms beneath, pouncing on them, stirring a bloody storm in the narrow gate opening.

Several puppets quickly seize control of the city gate and leverage the defense magic array of the gate itself to resist the subsequent guards rushing upon hearing the commotion.

Meanwhile, outside the city, at the edge of the wilderness, countless Puki rumble towards the wide open city gate!

In less than three hours, the most fortified Wind Breath pass in the path of the first fungal swarm was breached, with minimal losses for Fungus Castle.

Norris commands Jida to enter the pass and reiterates precautions to other soldiers via the fungal network:

"Destroy all slime generators, eliminate resisters and slimes, gather all the willing to surrender outside the pass, and refrain from wantonly damaging buildings and facilities!"

After emphasizing twice, Norris exits Jida and turns his head, catching sight of those broken mushroom puppets, causing him to shrink back instinctively.

No matter how many times he sees them, those mushroom puppets always give him the creeps.

Just then, a bloody Ming drags a nearly beaten-to-death resister over to report.

Norris instinctively stands in front of the puppet, fearing it might frighten Ming.

However, Ming has already seen them and shows no sign of discomfort.

He even chats with Norris about the battle he just experienced while casually plucking a mushroom piece from the puppet to fiddle in his hand.

After Ming leaves, Norris smacks his lips, realizing that he might be the most fragile one in the Mushroom Garden...

...

After the first fungal swarm breaks through the Wind Breath pass, they advance smoothly, heading straight for the Empire’s capital, Muling Castle.

However, on the other side, the second fungal swarm moves much slower.

It’s not that they’ve encountered tough resistance.

The Empire has transferred all elite troops to the south this time; the northern cities and fortresses can only delay the advance of Fungus Castle at best.

The main reason for the slow pace of the second fungal swarm is Number Four, which progresses too slowly.

As for the cities blocking the advance?

Though Number Four’s size still doesn’t match Chis of the past, it’s already an overwhelming giant from an ordinary person’s viewpoint.

Merely stepping over can render catastrophic damage to an entire city.

Most ordinary soldiers facing such a Leviathan don’t even entertain thoughts of resistance.

Thus, after Number Four charged up the mountain, ramming a fortress arrogantly claiming to resist firmly.

The cities and fortresses encountered afterward either sent delegations to surrender at the sight of Number Four’s mushroom cap appearing on the horizon or were discovered as empty cities when Number Four arrived.

Consequently, this time, the anticipated glorious advance of Number Four has been unceremoniously transformed into a leisurely march.

Lastly, the third fungal swarm.

This is the army that just defeated the dwarves, due to geographical constraints, they’re somewhat late to reach the Empire battlefield.

They don’t march westward, but proceed towards Stone Castle Dungeon, intending to cross the rift to assist the United Kingdom.

Though they might not make it to Oath City in time, protecting Mushroom City is still possible.

As Fungus Castle triumphantly advances within Imperial territory, as if unopposed, conversely, the Empire Army rampages throughout the United Kingdom, forcing humans to keep shelter within Oath City, passively waiting for the decisive battle.

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