"Uncle Eric, is there something... wrong with my body?" Having just walked out of that room filled with precise magical instruments, Inanna blinked her clear eyes, a trace of barely noticeable tension showing as she looked toward the old butler.
"No, not at all, Miss." Eric's face showed his usual gentle smile as he bowed slightly. "You're very healthy, all indicators couldn't be better."
After safely escorting Inanna away and watching her slender figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Eric let out a soft breath of relief.
It seemed he really had been overthinking—it wasn't the worst-case scenario he'd feared most.
Next, he needed to devote all his energy to thoroughly investigating the traitor.
Inanna maintained her elegant and dignified posture, walking back to her room at an unhurried pace. However, the moment the door gently closed behind her, that forced composure instantly collapsed.
She practically threw herself toward the bed, clutching that silent and loyal Knight Puffshroom tightly in her arms, then curled up in the darkest corner of the room, burying her face deeply into the mushroom cap.
After learning she was going to be examined, the boss actually cut off her connection to the Mycelial Network!
There was completely no need for that! She could control it perfectly well and would definitely not let any abnormalities be discovered!
At this moment, unable to feel that omnipresent, warm and reassuring mycelial network, Inanna felt as if she'd been thrown back once again into that cold, dark, silent abyss.
Only herself, with no one else able to perceive her existence.
Fortunately, the contract formed through a special item with the Knight Puffshroom still remained, and she could still feel that faint connection—this became her only solace now.
She desperately wanted to immediately cast Puffshroom Transformation on herself and return to that warm network, return to the boss's watchful gaze.
But it was still daytime, and Uncle Eric or other maids might come looking for her at any moment. She could only forcibly suppress this impulse and silently endure.
Time passed slowly in torment.
Finally, the sky outside the window completely darkened.
As night fell, Inanna immediately locked her door and couldn't wait to cast Puffshroom Transformation on herself!
Her soft dress rustled as it slipped to the floor, and a round, pink-capped Puffshroom emerged from the clothes.
The Knight Puffshroom that had been quietly waiting at her side silently stepped forward, its cap gently touching the Pink Puffshroom.
Back in the Mycelial Network, her originally blurry vision suddenly became clear and expansive!
Countless familiar and intimate presences reappeared in her perception, like stars lighting up the darkness in her heart.
The Pink Puffshroom visibly relaxed completely, softly sprawling on the ground.
"Boss?" she asked tentatively in the Mycelial Network.
"Mm? What's wrong?" That familiar voice responded to her almost immediately, just as always.
"Nothing... nothing..." The Pink Puffshroom's voice carried a trace of dependency after feeling wronged. "Just wanted to see if you were there... Boss, now I... won't have that nightmare again, right?"
"Shouldn't happen again." Lin Jun's voice answered with certainty. "Don't worry, even if you have nightmares again, just call me anytime."
Having received the boss's solid assurance, the Pink Puffshroom's nerves that had been tense all day finally completely relaxed, and she fell into deep sleep.
That night, she indeed had a peaceful and sweet dream.
......
One day after the battle, it ultimately ended with the demon side suffering a minor setback and being forced to retreat within Crimson Spire's magical defense range.
After personally engaging Duke Alama in combat for several rounds, Duke Sigmund realized that although his opponent's condition seemed poor, it was far from the point where he could be directly defeated.
Continuing to press the attack, his own side would also have difficulty expanding their gains and might instead needlessly increase casualties, so he began to consider retreating.
On Sigmund's side, he was beset by troubles both internal and external—inside his body was a guy who refused to leave and might seize control at any moment, and he only wanted to quickly end this inexplicably fought battle.
The commanders of both sides tacitly understood each other, and with remarkable coordination began maneuvering their troops, like untangling twisted ropes, slowly separating the armies locked in combat and withdrawing, ending this somewhat anticlimactic great battle.
Afterward, to stabilize morale and internal opinion, Sigmund didn't hesitate to pin the blame for defeat on Duke Eleanor, who had kept her troops inactive throughout.
If only Eleanor had mobilized, attacking from two sides in a pincer, everything would have turned out fine!
Most of the demon soldiers and mid-to-lower level officers who didn't know the full story accepted this seemingly reasonable explanation, gnashing their teeth in hatred over Eleanor's "betrayal."
Only that adjutant who had personally experienced the command chaos and vaguely sensed the Duke's abnormality harbored doubts.
As a trusted confidant of the Duke, he could sense more keenly than others that His Grace's behavior over these past two days frequently revealed an indescribable strangeness.
For example... right now!
Lin Jun was currently slouching inelegantly in a large chair, one hand continuously stuffing sweet and cloying sugar cubes into his mouth, while the other hand casually flipped through a thick tome with a pitch-black cover.
This book had been confiscated from the belongings of the accidentally deceased evil mage Margas, and recorded a large amount of profound, obscure, and extremely dangerous abyss magic knowledge.
Yet Lin Jun read it with great interest, as if reading some entertaining adventure novel.
What a shame there was no Creep here—otherwise, by directly decomposing that evil mage, he might be able to try casting these abyss magics.
However, Lin Jun quickly thought of an alternative method.
Due to the harmful characteristics of abyss magic, users were naturally quite rare.
In the United Kingdom it was even strictly forbidden as taboo, which meant Lin Jun never had the chance to capture one.
On the demon side, though equally rare, at least the law didn't explicitly prohibit it.
So Lin Jun grandly waved his hand and, in the Duke's name, openly issued a recruitment notice, widely seeking users of abyss magic, without setting any level requirements—even the lowest-level abyss magic apprentices could come serve, with excellent compensation!
First lure people over, then arrange some tasks for them like "traveling to Shroom City on business," and then just wait for the delivery to arrive.
As for whether this would bring trouble to Sigmund?
Lin Jun didn't care about that at all!
Anyway, Sigmund would have to clean up the mess himself in the end.
Just like that adjutant currently standing not far away, secretly sizing him up with complex and suspicious eyes.
So what if he suspected?
Lin Jun couldn't care less!
This feeling of throwing a wild party in someone else's home, then patting his butt and leaving while the homeowner cleaned up the complete mess—it was quite comfortable indeed!
Right now, what Lin Jun wanted to figure out more was that void leading to the abyss!
In that enormous chaotic information stream pouring out, it seemed not everything was useless garbage—carefully filtering and screening, perhaps some valuable things could be found.
For example, that [Justice], which looked like it might be an acquisition guide for one of the Eight Virtues titles.
Unfortunately, what exactly the "Reaping Phase" and "Justice Points" mentioned inside referred to was still unknown.
This massive amount of information would completely burst the consciousness of ordinary beings even with just a moment's contact.
But Lin Jun, relying on his own enormous scale, could try to utilize them.
What he needed now was to level up and learn how to open that void!
Of course, matters of enjoyment couldn't be neglected either!
This vampire body couldn't taste normal food, but surely he could try some "delicious" blood!
First, consult with Piggy.
(End of Chapter)
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