Chapter 162: Clash

"Really can't take it?"

Eve was suffering.

Taking everything in sight was a Naga's traditional virtue; to exert effort and leave not a single thing behind went entirely against her aesthetics.

"Stop talking. Go back and find a place to hide. I'll find someone to investigate the array."

Luo De tapped her on the head.

Nagas can't be seen in the light; no one can know she's connected to me.

If those rebel Nagas in the Death Desert rise up, it'll be trouble.

"Don't be like that! How about half? A third would do too—maybe I'll do it again for you?"

She pleaded urgently.

After speaking, she extended her long, pink tongue, curled it in midair, twisted it into intricate shapes, and kept wriggling.

"I haven't even used my real skills yet."

"Where did you learn such weird things?"

This guy had clearly never been with anyone before.

"There's far more treasure in the tomb than you imagine—I even found a manual on human and Naga reproductive techniques."

"Give it to me."

"No, I mean I lost it—but the illustrations are all in my head."

Eve realized she'd slipped up and quickly tried to cover it.

Hmph

As Mother always said, men must be controlled.

Revealing all your skills at once only makes him grow bored sooner.

I'll slowly squeeze every last bit of value out of you, then toss you away like a rag.

As for that enslavement spell… though it seems advanced, surely there's a way to counter it before us, the natural oathbreakers—the land Nagas?

Luo De had no idea what she was thinking.

He was more interested in the manual's contents.

Just as he was about to force her to hand it over with the enslavement incantation, a ripple of magic entered his perception.

"Someone's coming."

"What should we do? Kill them?"

Eve grew serious and slipped on several magic rings.

"Try to capture him alive. Find out who's behind him—Tally."

Fried Argyle remained only a hunch—no concrete proof yet; it still needed verification.

If I'm wrong, it'll be no fun—he's still from the Argyle family.

The succubus heard her master's call and immediately obeyed, casting a spell to drag both of them into shadow.

Instantly, their presence dropped to the lowest possible level.

Soon.

A ripple of magic drifted out from the small hole.

A visible cloud of spore particles—dense red dots—mixed with drifting toxic mist.

The spores rapidly clustered, forming a Myconid beside the array, propelled by the surge of magic.

The figure was Myconid Toru.

He grumbled, "All day long, just making empty promises." "Stupid fools who don't understand the value of spores."

He crouched to examine the array.

Then carved new spell formulas onto the ram skull and the lizardman hide.

Suddenly, he paused.

He stared, stunned, toward the side tunnel.

"Where's the sealing ritual?"

His expression changed instantly—he dissolved into spores and tried to dart back through the small hole.

But a shadow suddenly rose, completely sealing the hole.

Toru's 【Spore Form】 carried toxicity but had weak penetration and offensive power—it was purely an escape mobility spell.

Naturally, it couldn't pierce through this shadow.

The spore mass recoiled in terror and tried to fly into the side tunnel.

Luo De wouldn't let him get away.

When the Myconid appeared, it was clear Fried was behind this.

He leapt from the shadow, his body wreathed in pink-purple wrathfire, instantly blocking the tunnel.

Myconids naturally had low fire resistance, let alone against 【Wrathful Hatefire】, a full-elemental offensive.

Under the searing wrath, Toru immediately lost 【Spore Form】 and revealed his true body.

"Who? A fire spirit?"

He stammered.

Seeing Luo De covered in flame, he mistook him for another race.

Myconids relied entirely on innate spirit arts, mostly tied to spores; encountering a high-tier fire spirit, their natural predator, in this enclosed space was unbearable.

But Toru clearly had no intention of surrendering.

He chanted a spell and swiftly cast a high-tier 【Flame Dispel】.

A violent gust of magic surged forth.

Puff.

Half of Luo De's wrathfire was extinguished.

And his human form was revealed.

"Human? Hmph!"

He raised his hand and unleashed a 【Acid Spray】.

Green acid splashed onto Luo De, sizzling.

Toru noticed something odd.

The human's clothes were corroded, but his body showed no damage.

"Immunity?"

Luo De drew 【Sword of Devotion】, snapped off the bent portion, and turned it into a short sword.

The tunnel was narrow; the shortened blade fit perfectly.

He launched a 【Screaming Slash Wave】.

But the incomplete one-handed sword drastically reduced its power—it didn't even break his spell shield.

"Huh?"

"Hah!"

Toru laughed, judging his opponent a weakling.

He slammed his staff into the ground.

Pain spores and hallucinogenic spores surged forward instantly.

To be clear,

Myconid spores aren't traditional spells—they're naturally produced biological agents.

These spores aren't generated by magic or incantations, but by the Myconid's own bodily reactions.

The hallucinogenic spores were harmless, negated by his ultra-high mental resistance.

But the pain spores struck him directly, producing sharp stings.

"Interesting… What's this array for?"

"Human, you're tough!"

Seeing his attacks still ineffective, Toru grew anxious.

He raised his hand.

A sphere of clustered spores slowly formed in his palm.

Packed with massive, unstable magic.

【Spore Bomb】!

Using this spell in a tunnel?

Luo De instantly guessed—he wanted to collapse the tunnel, bury them, and escape using his spore form.

Though the rat's stable space-green sphere existed, he couldn't let Toru act recklessly.

His right hand flashed without warning.

【Giant Slash】—a spirit blade formed in an instant, then vanished the next.

The spell shield shattered.

Simultaneously, Toru's fungal-laden right hand fell to the ground.

"Huh?"

Toru hadn't reacted yet, staring blankly, emitting a confused sound.

Soon after, he realized the human had arrived beside him.

And he picked up the 【Spore Bomb】, swallowing it in one gulp.

"You"

A muffled boom.

Luo De let out a burp; the 【Primitive Dragon Breath】 had altered his internal organs, greatly enhancing their resilience.

"As fuel for Dragon Breath, this Spore Bomb is quite good."

The test was over.

He was too lazy to chat with this fungus-man.

Purple-pink Yuan fire rose from his left forearm, completing the 【Lament That Shakes Heaven】 transformation.

His forearm was covered in a fearsome, dominant armor of yellow and black.

The gale of 【Flame Dispersal】 struck again.

But this time, it had no effect whatsoever.

His left hand thrust forward violently, instantly shattering the newly formed magical shield and driving straight into the fungus-man's abdomen.

Watching the terror and agony on the other's face.

Luo De grinned.

"I'll ask one more time—what is this array?"

(End of Chapter)