In the United Kingdom, centered around the capital City of Oaths, four other major cities and eight fortresses were linked together from the northeast to the southwest, establishing a defensive system known as the "New Defense Line."
Now, with the power of the entire nation and the support of Elven aid, the main body of the New Defense Line had been completed, leaving only the sections at the two ends still rushing construction.
And on the inner side of the southwest corner of the New Defense Line, in a gently sloping woodland far away from the cities, a small patch of mushroom houses had appeared.
The tall mushroom houses were connected by bridges woven from mycelium. In this small settlement lived nearly a hundred refugees.
There were several other mushroom forests like this in the nearby wilderness, all created for refugees with nowhere to go by the Big Mushroom Charity, or rather, the Mushroom Envoy of the Church of Mushroom.
Will was one of the residents here.
During the demon invasion, he unfortunately encountered monsters while fleeing, losing his dominant right arm and becoming a cripple.
This made it impossible for him to find a job in the city. In past years of war and chaos, a refugee like him with a severed right arm, far from home and without anyone to help, would likely not survive a single winter.
But this time was different.
Fungal mats appeared all over the kingdom. The inexhaustible mushrooms allowed the one-armed him to easily fill his stomach.
Therefore, he always scoffed at those guys who preached about the hidden dangers of the fungal mats.
Without the fungal mat, he would starve to death in a week. Who cared about a risk that might not manifest until who knows when?
Later, Julia of the Church of Mushroom found him.
She said they wanted to build a mushroom house shelter to protect refugees like him—who could only forage for mushrooms in the wild to fill their stomachs—from the wind and rain, and asked if he was willing to move in.
Julia didn't attach any conditions to this gift, but Will, who was already full of gratitude toward the fungal mats and the Puchis, naturally joined the church.
The following month was a life he had never experienced before.
He worked alongside the congregation to survey the terrain, chop wood, clear obstacles, and level the land.
Lacking a right arm, he used his left arm to carry rocks and his shoulders to carry vine baskets.
No one rushed him, and no one pitied him.
On the day the Mushroom Envoy performed the ritual dance to catalyze the mushroom houses, he watched those grayish-white fungal pillars slowly bulge up from the soil, ultimately growing into massive mushroom houses.
This act of a group of people working together to help others without expecting anything in return was something Will had never experienced in the past.
A month had passed since then, and Will was already a devout mushroom worshipper.
And today was an important day.
The batch of believers who joined the church along with Will would formally participate in the Church of Mushroom's initiation ritual.
He had long been told that it was merely a symbolic ceremony without any magical elements.
But since it meant gaining the recognition of the Church of Mushroom, Will was at least very excited.
Not everyone who wanted to join the church could make it to this step.
Those guys who tried to profit from it and enjoy privileges had been gradually filtered out over the course of this month.
Those who remained were the people who truly believed in something.
In the mushroom house where the ritual was held, over a dozen newcomers like Will were either whispering to each other or communicating somewhat unskillfully through the mycelial network. Everyone was curious about what kind of ritual it would be and wondered if they would be able to see the Mushroom Envoy again.
Then they saw Julia bring people in carrying a pot. They started pouring mushrooms and various ingredients into it, while a Puchi steadily breathing fire heated the pot from below.
"Drinking mushroom soup together? Feels... a bit ordinary?"
"True, didn't everyone often eat a pot of mushroom porridge together before? There shouldn't be any difference."
Listening to the discussions beside him, although Will didn't speak, he also felt it was somewhat ordinary in his heart. He originally thought there would be a midday prayer, singing hymns together, or some other ritual like the Church of Light.
However, Will was still a bit curious about a set of stairs placed beside the pot, not knowing what it was for.
He felt a tiny bit of disappointment.
However, this small disappointment quickly turned into horror.
Because No. 12 came in with puchi puchi sounds, then climbed up the stairs to stand beside the pot, and under the somewhat horrified gazes of everyone, jumped into the pot with a plop.
"B-boiling the Mushroom Envoy alive?"
Will couldn't help but stand up, instinctively wanting to rush up and fish the Mushroom Envoy out, but was stopped by Julia.
"Don't be nervous, the Mushroom Envoy is fine."
Only then did Will notice that the Mushroom Envoy wasn't struggling at all in the boiling pot, as if it weren't boiling water, but a hot spring for bathing.
Will felt somewhat embarrassed. The Mushroom Envoy was the emissary of the Mushroom Lord, so naturally, it wouldn't be as fragile as other Puchis.
Fortunately, Julia didn't scold him, just told him to return to his seat.
After boiling slightly for a while, No. 12 climbed out of the pot dripping wet. A believer immediately stepped forward to wipe its mushroom body clean, and it left the room.
Julia then distributed this pot of Mushroom Envoy soup.
"Drink it. This represents that the Mushroom Envoy is with us!" After speaking, Julia took the lead and drank the soup in her hand.
The others followed suit one after another, and then...
"Oh oh oh oh oh!" xN
[Deliciousness]
[Juicy]
Amidst the trembling, Will tasted the flavor of happiness.
...
The initiation ritual concluded, and Will became a formal member of the Church of Mushroom.
But this also meant that Julia and the others had to leave this place to establish the next mushroom house sanctuary.
Formal believers could choose to stay and maintain the existing mushroom forest, or follow Julia to help other refugees.
Considering that he only had one arm and didn't want to become a burden to others, Will, although reluctant to part, still chose to stay.
This couldn't be helped, but he still wanted to do something for everyone leaving at the last moment, so he took the initiative to accept the purchasing task before the team set off, entering the nearest city again after a long absence.
Two other believers came with him. In order to complete the purchases before the city gates closed at sunset, they chose to split up and act separately.
After keeping busy for a while, Will looked at his list and frowned.
The other items were fine, but this Firefly Grass alone... he had checked several material shops, and they were all out of stock.
It wasn't because this was some scarce commodity; it was purely because this thing was almost extinct in the United Kingdom.
People had long discovered that its compatibility with the fungal mat was poor. Wherever there was a fungal mat, Firefly Grass would be eaten by the fungal mat. This was also one of the examples often cited by those guys who supported the "Fungal Mat Threat Theory."
Firefly Grass could only be obtained through trade with the Mountains over there. The time intervals were too long, plus it wasn't some strategic material, so it was normal for merchants to be out of stock.
Just as Will was hesitating over whether to just go rendezvous like this or try harder to find some, someone patted his shoulder from behind.
"Friend, I see you seem to be looking for Firefly Grass? If you're in a hurry for it, I actually know a place that still has stock, just that the price is a bit higher."
After asking and finding out the price was fifty percent higher than the already inflated price, Will ultimately chose to agree, following him toward the lower city.
(End of Chapter)
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