"Oh! Aaaahhhhh!"
Standing beneath the Screaming Bell of the Mushroom Fortress and listening to the miserable howling of the Vampire alarm clock overhead, the half-demon Caesar suddenly felt that his previous action—taking it upon himself to kill Count Rona before the Mushroom Fortress soldiers arrived—seemed a bit hasty.
Before this, as a servant, Caesar didn't know much about the Mushroom Fortress.
From the limited information he could obtain, he only knew that the Mushroom Fortress was a faction formed by the gathering of Demon-kin tribes in the Northern Territory, relying mainly on controlling Puchis to fight.
In his eyes, this was merely a civil war among the Demon-kin.
And according to past experience, this kind of war rarely resulted in complete extermination.
Middle-tier nobles like Rona, as long as they chose to submit or paid a massive ransom, could save their lives.
Whenever he thought of his younger brother who had become blood food, Caesar absolutely refused to let this opportunity for revenge slip through his fingers!
Therefore, risking the danger of a later reckoning, he returned at the first opportunity when the white mist dispersed and slaughtered Count Rona with his own hands.
And now, he lay prone on the ground in remorse, his fists hammering the earth time and time again, drawing sidelong glances from the surrounding Fungal Citizens.
"I let him off too easy!"
That guy had been killed by him in the afterglow of a sweet dream. Due to the disparity in strength, Caesar had stabbed frantically at the Vampire's vital heart, not giving Rona the slightest chance to wake up and struggle.
But this also meant that Rona died without suffering much!
Whenever he thought about how his more than ten years of silent endurance had only bought Rona a brief moment of pain, Caesar regretted it to death.
One must know, this pain could have been long-lasting!
After a long time, Caesar got up and walked somewhat dejectedly down the main street of the Mushroom Fortress.
He looked at the Otaku Heating Puchis melting snow back and forth on the street, and the Fungal Citizens passing by in silence—a quiet city.
The occasional sounds of conversation came entirely from guys who, like Caesar, had newly joined the Mushroom Fortress and hadn't yet had the time to form a symbiosis with the mycelium.
In fact, not just anyone could come directly to the Mushroom Fortress.
No matter how large the Mushroom Fortress was built, it was ultimately just a city; it was impossible to accommodate the population of the entire North.
Therefore, the vast majority of the newly absorbed former Empire Demon-kin were settled in place. If they wanted to visit the Mushroom Fortress, they had to apply and queue up first.
As for settling down, the requirements were even higher.
Only those like Caesar, who proactively assisted in resisting the Empire, had the chance to obtain residency rights in the Mushroom Fortress immediately.
To be honest, Caesar didn't have much of a concept regarding residency rights in the Mushroom Fortress, nor did he feel it was very precious.
It was just that after suddenly succeeding in his revenge, he fell into a certain emptiness, and simply thought about coming to the Mushroom Fortress to see exactly what this faction that had helped him complete his revenge looked like.
At the Contribution Point Withdrawal Office below the Mushroom Fortress City Hall, he withdrew all of his contribution points.
The citizens of the Mushroom Fortress rarely used gold or silver for transactions. For new Fungal Citizens like Caesar, who hadn't connected to the mycelial network yet but had contributions, they could directly withdraw their contribution points here.
Although the majority of Caesar's contribution points had been deducted for arbitrarily killing a Vampire Lord, there were still some left over.
Looking at the several "slips of paper" in his hands, Caesar also found it somewhat novel.
After withdrawing his contribution points, he asked the staff member providing him with service if there was anything good to eat nearby. He was recommended to a restaurant near the Puchi Hot Spring Center and tasted what was said to be the most authentic, delicious stew in the Mushroom Fortress.
The taste left nothing to be desired; it was so delicious that he let out an "oh oh oh" right on the spot.
It would have been even better if the Lizardman clerk hadn't looked so disgusted when collecting the money.
The clerk wasn't disgusted by his half-demon identity, but by the paper contribution points he handed over.
Caesar noticed that in the entire shop, he seemed to be the only one "paying."
Everyone else simply nodded at the clerk by the door when leaving and then departed.
Upon asking, Caesar only received a suggestion telling him to hurry up and complete his mycelial symbiosis.
Following the Mushroom Fortress map, Caesar found the officially operated Mycelial Symbiosis Clinic.
The symbiotic mycelium service was free, and safety was guaranteed.
However, by paying some contribution points, one could enjoy a completely painless symbiosis surgery, which also included follow-up rehabilitation care.
Naturally, Caesar didn't lack this little bit of contribution points.
The staff here didn't show any disgust at his use of paper contribution points, and quickly finished making change. After all, everyone who came here were people who hadn't connected to the mycelial network yet.
"How is it? Can you sense my thoughts?" After the painless symbiosis surgery, the doctor asked Caesar, who was on the hospital bed, through the mycelial network.
This was Caesar's first time communicating via thoughts. He subconsciously opened his mouth and said, "I can—"
"Very good. Now try not to use your mouth to speak, but rather transmit your thoughts to me through the mycelial network! I will teach you the trick. In your mind, think..."
Under the guidance of the professional physician, Caesar took his first steps in learning the method of communicating using the mycelial network.
The next day, when he walked out of the clinic, the Mushroom Fortress suddenly became lively in his eyes!
The residents on the street were no longer silent. Some were chatting about domestic affairs, discussing whether to send their children to the newly established skills school created by the Ministry of Truth.
Others were chatting about the war on the front lines, debating whether the Mushroom Fortress should take advantage of the momentum to continue moving south, or temporarily halt the offensive to digest their gains.
If Caesar were to use one word to describe the Mushroom Fortress right now, it would be "vibrant"!
Every Fungal Citizen on the street seemed to be living very well, so well that they had the leisure time to chat about all sorts of things. This was a kind of vitality impossible to see in cities filled with slaves and bottom-tier Demon-kin.
He even saw a guy who had lost both legs—someone who, in the Empire, was only fit to huddle in a corner of the city and wait to die—getting around by controlling a Puchi. He was smiling and telling his companion next to him how many contribution points he was short of to exchange for a bottle of the Mushroom Fortress's specialty regeneration potion.
"Truly incredible..."
Caesar just stood blankly on the street for a long time. He felt as if he had arrived in another world, as if things like slaves, nobles, and discrimination against half-demons had all vanished.
It wasn't until people began surging toward the city gates in droves that Caesar snapped back to his senses.
"What happened?" Caesar grabbed a half-demon and asked.
"I heard some sinners are coming into the city to face trial. Everyone wants to watch the spectacle! Hurry up and let go, if we're late we won't get a good spot!"
Caesar followed the crowd and arrived near the city gates.
On the main road, two rows of blue-capped Puchis controlled by Ministry of Truth soldiers held back the spectating crowd.
In the crowd, a peddler passed by Caesar, lifting the basket in his hands: "Brother, want to buy some Fat Bug Eggs? Ten contribution points each!"
Caesar didn't understand the purpose. Looking at the palm-sized bug eggs in the basket, he decisively refused.
However, some people nearby bought one or two and tucked them into their coats.
The so-called sinners finally entered the city. Caesar immediately spotted quite a few familiar faces among them.
There were nobles, military officers, and slavers...
Caesar only recognized a small fraction of them—those who had dealings with Count Rona in the past. The rest he didn't know, but he imagined they were all "high-class demons" of the Empire.
And at this moment, he finally learned the use of the Fat Bug Eggs.
From within the crowd, palm-sized Fat Bug Eggs were thrown out one after another, smashing onto the heads of those once incredibly exalted and incredibly powerful "high-class demons," splattering into sticky messes.
Even when sinners roared and threatened fiercely, all they got in return was the loud mockery of the crowd on both sides.
In order to make sure these sinners could hear them, the Fungal Citizens even deliberately opened their mouths to laugh out loud.
The soldiers in charge of guarding this batch of sinners were used to this sight. They silently stood a bit further away to avoid being hit by friendly fire from guys with poor aim.
Caesar grabbed the peddler—who had already sold a round and was heading back the way he came—and looked at his nearly empty basket: "I'll take everything you have left!"
(End of Chapter)
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