Mushroom Garden No. 3.
Norris held Yellow Codex, diving into its exclusive dark tale.
[Mary’s hundredth birthday bash was grand, attended by vampire dukes!]
[They showered her with blessings, making her the night’s brightest star.]
[Some gave her odd looks, but as big shots, Mary couldn’t just grill them like lesser vampires.]
[Mary was happy. Her dad loved her so much, forgiving her mistakes for a century, throwing her this epic party, even… crying at it!]
[Mary, touched, threw herself into his arms. But his grip could’ve snapped her waist.]
[At the finale, under all guests’ eyes, her dad, weeping, sucked her into a shriveled corpse.]
“???”
Norris leaned back, baffled. “Why… what’s the deal?”
[You’re not supposed to get it!]
[Vampires are twisted freaks—don’t try figuring them out!]
Norris glanced at Louisa, focused on draining blood from a misbehaving captive, testing her skills.
She was so absorbed, she didn’t notice the captive nearly bled dry.
Or maybe she did and didn’t care…
Suddenly, Lin Jun’s voice echoed in his mind. “Beep beep beep!”
“Boss, what’s ‘beep’?” Norris asked.
“You don’t know? Alarm! Old one’s at the door! Everyone, back to base!”
Norris wanted to say alarms were “dong dong” bells, but now wasn’t the time.
Mushroom Garden No. 3 sprang to life.
Core team first, then demonkin, finally captives guided by Marshal Puffshroom and mushroom people.
Captives lacked Mycelial Network access and only knew “Boss” as Marshal Puffshroom.
The retreat wasn’t neat. The sudden move and first sight of the massive crevice sparked uneasy whispers and restlessness among captives.
But no one questioned or tried escaping. Ten days of training had weeded out troublemakers, now keeping order along the lines.
Most supplies were pre-moved, so the transfer wrapped in two hours.
Under computing power, the crevice shrank to half a palm, hidden beneath the Mycelial Network.
Not that Lin Jun was scared, but this “old one” was too old!
[Level: 84]
A sky of purple blood swept into Mycelial Network range—impossible to miss!
No skills like [Sword Apex] on the panel, but that insane level alone made Lin Jun dodge the fight.
Under Northland’s sky, an ominous purple blood curtain raced across the icefield, led by a bat.
Since leaving the Empire, every creature became Prince Visarius’s mobile blood bank.
Two small tribes and camouflaged river bugs? All slaughtered, absorbed into his blood curtain.
Those demonkin and their backers dared kill his darling daughter—this wasn’t over!
Even the Emperor would excuse his absence, understanding a father’s grief.
But after a full day’s flight, he found an empty fortress, no demonkin life signs.
Other life signs?
A giant purple blood blade slashed, cracking Polar Fortress’s thick rock shell, revealing a Heavy-Armor Puffshroom in feigned death.
Clearly, the intel’s “demonkin-controlled battle beasts.”
Visarius landed at the breach, probing for clues…
The fortress exploded without warning!
A monstrous blast swallowed everything, its shockwave hurling rocks, ice, and dust skyward, forming a churning muddy mushroom cloud!
But a sharp blood blade sliced the dust. Visarius hovered above a massive crater.
An explosion that could kill Hall-tier fighters didn’t touch him, though his purple blood dwindled.
The remaining blood dropped, spreading across the ground, shredding all mycelium in sight.
He soon stopped the pointless act.
The vast Mycelial Network, plus underground tunnel entrances everywhere, was too much for even him to clear.
It’d take a huge force and long campaign, impossible in the Far North’s harsh conditions…
Dropping the mycelium, he hunted demonkin traces.
Nothing.
Even the unstable, half-abandoned dungeon held only mycelium marks, no living souls.
He found Lin Jun’s palm-sized crevice, leading to a barren void, destination unclear.
Only fluid creatures could pass through.
The slowly collapsing lower levels seemed more suspicious.
Visarius stood at the edge, staring at the warped space, unsure if demonkin risked hiding deeper, but it felt like the only lead.
If so, he’d admire their ruthlessness.
Broken space could endanger even him.
“If you’re hiding, stay gone!”
Visarius backed out, his purple blood surging, forming seals that locked the dungeon’s lower levels.
After a day scouring the area with no more traces, he headed back to the Empire.
He couldn’t waste time here. The eastern dwarf campaign needed him, and the Emperor’s patience had limits.
Once sure the old bat was out of Mycelial Network range, Lin Jun pulled computing power from the crevice. In a week, it’d reopen to human-passing size.
As long as it wasn’t fully closed, his computing power could restore it.
If that bat tried squeezing through, Lin Jun would snap the crevice shut, trapping or crushing him.
Lower levels held only captives. Demonkin and core team were moved to level seven, ready to shift to Godwood Dungeon if needed.
Then, “accidentally” tip off the humans.
Teleporting was costly, but for a high-tier vampire, humans wouldn’t skimp…
Of course, this assumed the foe was a reckless fool diving into holes.
No fool lived to that level… well, except dragons.
(End of Chapter)
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