Cold Bay Fort, half a day before its fall.
Having received news of the Mushroom Fortress's vanguard army approaching early on, the Lord in the city didn't hesitate in the slightest. Orders to prepare for battle were passed down one after another. The entire fortress was like a giant beast abruptly awakened, slowly tensing all of its muscles.
The defensive magic arrays on the city walls operated at full power. Pale blue patterns of light flowed across the surfaces of the bricks and stones, with a node lighting up every few dozen paces.
Soldiers stood densely packed behind the battlements, their hands gripping their weapons, tightening and loosening, loosening and tightening.
Even Demon-kin who had previously been in charge of investigation, like Grey and Ke, were no exception; they were organized into the supervising unit by the nobles.
While inspecting alongside the supervising unit, Grey noticed something.
The city walls were packed with soldiers, but their positioning was very particular.
The vast majority of the parasitized individuals were arranged in the very front, the positions most likely to engage the enemy.
Meanwhile, those whose faces were clean and devoid of mycelium stood behind them.
Grey frowned.
The City Lord's intentions were obvious: consume those "unstable elements" first.
Regardless of whether the parasitized individuals had betrayed them or not, as long as they had those things on their bodies, they were a potential threat.
Rather than wait for them to cause problems at a critical moment, it was better to have them stand at the very front right now.
To be honest, Grey felt a bit of injustice in his heart.
Losing the battle wasn't these people's fault.
They were also victims caught in the crossfire, yet upon returning, they had to endure all sorts of unfair treatment.
Discriminated against, suspected, and placed in the most dangerous positions.
But he also knew that quite a few traitors had indeed emerged from among the parasitized.
Those who secretly brought Puchis into the city, those who stealthily spread spores.
They had all been cleaned out, but the shadow they left behind wasn't so easy to disperse.
Things can't go on like this.
This thought popped into his mind, but was quickly suppressed.
What could he, a recently pardoned prisoner, possibly do?
He could only hope that the big shots higher up would have follow-up countermeasures.
Fortunately, the ones standing on this city wall right now were all truly loyal to the Empire.
Those parasitized individuals, even when placed in the most dangerous positions, didn't utter a single word of complaint.
They gripped their weapons, gazing north, remaining silent... Of course, they might also have been chatting in the mycelial network to alleviate their tension.
Regardless, with the power of Cold Bay Fort, holding off a vanguard army from the Mushroom Fortress should surely not be a problem.
Even if the battle situation turned unfavorable, they could evacuate calmly and orderly.
Behind Grey, Ke's eyes kept darting toward him, filled with apology.
At dusk, beneath the orange light of the sky, the silhouettes of Puchis appeared at the edge of their vision.
Count Rona stood atop the fortress, a hand resting on the stone railing. Looking at the grand army of Puchis at the edge of his vision, he couldn't help but sigh.
If possible, he truly didn't want to fight these guys who had even killed Lord Eugene. But Cold Bay Fort was his territory; it was impossible for him to hand it over on a silver platter.
Fortunately, it was only a vanguard army.
Thinking this, he retracted his gaze from the enemy formation in the distance, letting it fall upon the soldiers standing in strict formation on the city walls.
As long as the main force hadn't come this way, relying on Cold Bay Fort's defenses, holding off this vanguard army shouldn't be a problem.
Creak—
The door behind him was pushed open.
A servant holding a jar jogged over with quick, small steps. His face was piled with a sycophantic smile, and his back was bent so low he almost snapped in two.
"Lord Count, the Blood Jade Wine is here."
Rona nodded, casually took the jar, and flicked his finger. The servant understood, bowed, and retreated, his footsteps as light as stepping on cotton.
The Count held the jar up to his eyes to take a look. He tore off the seal, and a mellow fragrance immediately drifted out.
After multiple improvements, the Blood Jade Wine now possessed a fragrance as well.
Then he saw the things inside the jar.
"Hold on."
The servant, who had already reached the door, instantly froze. He turned around and said respectfully, "My Lord, what other commands do you have?"
Rona pointed at the jar, his face darkening: "What are these?"
The servant took two steps forward and craned his neck to peek inside.
Floating on the surface of the wine were some cyan-colored fragments, like the residue of something.
He blinked, retracted his neck, and lowered his head even further.
"My Lord, this lowly one does not know. However... this lowly one heard from the person delivering the goods this time that this batch seems to be a new product developed by Duke Sigmund..." He paused, then carefully added, "My Lord, do you need this lowly one to go exchange it for another jar?"
Rona didn't answer.
He raised his hand, activating two rings on his fingers.
One was emerald green, the other milky white. Two ripples of mana spread out from the rings one after another, sweeping over the jar of Blood Jade Wine.
The results showed that this jar of Blood Jade Wine posed absolutely no danger, and even had some special benefits.
"It's fine, you may leave."
The servant acted as if he had been granted amnesty. He bowed again, walked backward out the door, and gently closed it behind him.
Once outside, the terrified expression on the servant's face vanished without a trace, and he walked away quickly, seemingly racing against time.
Rona looked down at the jar of wine, frowning.
Sigmund's new product?
Being able to taste a newly released Blood Jade Wine before the great battle could be considered a stroke of good fortune.
He lifted the jar and took a large gulp with full anticipation.
Amidst the sound of tearing clothes, white mist surged out from the top of the fortress!
"Enemy attack?"
"What's going on?"
"Is this... the Mist?!"
The guards shouted, and in the blink of an eye, they were submerged in the white mist.
There, they saw the scene of Count Rona drinking Blood Jade Wine for the very first time. Those wild movements, as if he wished he could lick the bowl completely clean, lacking even the slightest hint of his usual elegance.
Some guards tried to awaken the Count, but the Count pushed them away, seemingly afraid they would snatch that bowl of fine wine...
On the other side, the Mushroom Fortress's vanguard squad had already arrived below the city walls.
The Puchis lined up in orderly formations, vast and mighty, bringing quite a bit of oppressive pressure to the Demon-kin on the walls. However, the vanguard army didn't attack immediately. A Demon-kin walked out from the ranks and arrived below the walls.
"Uh... I'm just here to ask, do you surrender?" Ming asked from below.
Just as he finished speaking, an explosive crossbow bolt shot toward him, hitting him dead center between the eyebrows. The explosion engulfed him entirely.
On the city wall, a Demon-kin military officer lowered the crossbow in his hands and spat fiercely.
However, the next moment, that voice sounded again: "Is that so? Well then..." Ming cleared his throat, then roared loudly, "Everyone, praise aloud!"
"Praise the Boss!" An enthusiastic response erupted from the vanguard army as well.
The Demon-kin military officer on the city wall sneered: "You actually didn't die; I'll consider you somewhat capable. But this kind of shouting and hollering can only scare green recruits. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of me—"
"Praise the Boss!"
Another voice of praise made the Demon-kin military officer swallow the rest of his words.
Because this praise didn't come from outside the city walls, but from behind him, even not far from his side.
"Praise the Boss!"
"Praise the Boss!"
"Praise the Boss!!!"
Shout after shout of praise echoed across the city walls, sounding like a demonic curse in the ears of the military officer.
"Y-you... you dare..." He turned around with difficulty, only to see his subordinates lunging at him...
The defending military officer died in battle, Count Rona was enveloped by white mist and lost contact, the main gates were opened by traitors, and the Mushroom Fortress vanguard army drove straight in.
The resistance only lasted for a short while. Once everyone saw the situation clearly, they either surrendered or fled.
By the time the white mist began to disperse, the Mushroom Fortress vanguard army had already effectively controlled more than half of Cold Bay Fort.
As for Count Rona, Norris and Ming, who were leading the troops, had originally planned to capture him alive.
However, before they arrived, the Count's heart was pierced by that servant who had returned at the very first opportunity.
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