Chapter 319: Three Thousand Six Hundred

Given how freakish this thing was, and its intensity was not low either.

The two discussed for a while and decided to reseal the hidden door.

Afterwards, the two returned to the great hall.

They explained the situation to Hailey, the Star Spirit who had been holding the rear line.

"A hidden door covered in hallucinogenic spores? It's not hard to tell—this is a treasure of the Mycelium Clan, and possibly what the beastification patients were trying to seize. But why would they fight over it? That doesn't fit the usual behavioral logic of those patients."

So she said.

Rod indicated his agreement.

Beastification blood would affect the consciousness along with it, turning them into madmen who only wanted to spread the beastification disease.

The treasure being freakish was true, but what use was it for spreading blood?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

He recalled the Blood-Driving Mage they had encountered before coming to find the Mycelium Clan.

The beastification patients back then had actually been willing to line up voluntarily, each quietly waiting for the other party to use the Blood-Driving Art.

It had been mentioned before that beastification disease made people become full of bestial nature.

First and foremost was chaotic personality, madness, and disorder—so this kind of orderly behavior was somewhat unreasonable.

"Perhaps, under the premise of not violating the iron rule of spreading blood, a leader would emerge among them. The one who attacked this place might be a leader with relatively higher intelligence?"

Hearing Rod's speculation.

Both mages frowned.

Whether it was the Mage Council or the Star Association, neither lacked research on beastification disease.

"In the early stages of beastification disease, a certain level of intelligence is indeed retained."

Hailey thought for a moment. "But as the blood fully erodes, the patient will develop memory confusion, persecutory delusions, and so on. After that comes the complete loss of reason and memory, finally becoming a beast driven by nothing but instinct."

"Following your reasoning, then this leader might be someone who was infected with beastification disease not long ago, but at this stage the blood's influence isn't too deep, and the first choice is usually self-rescue. Perhaps the reason he attacked was self-rescue?"

Ona interrupted the two's speculation, saying:

"Once we find the Mycelium Clan, we might be able to get the answer."

Everyone pressed down the doubts in their hearts.

They refocused on the situation of the Mycelium Clan.

"Judging from the battle traces, the corpses were all adult combat mushroom-men; juvenile mushroom-men or those of non-combat roles did not appear—they weren't completely wiped out in this attack."

Rod said.

Hailey nodded:

"Noah, have you read out the spores left by the Mycelium Clan?"

The mushroom-man Noah wasn't just inhaling hallucinogenic spores—he needed to be in a certain hallucinatory state to find the spores that hid messages.

There was just no response.

"Noah?"

Still no response; the mushroom-man was still grinning foolishly at the wall.

Hailey sighed, raised her wand, and flung a magic missile with no real power.

With a thump, Noah was knocked to the ground by the impact.

Only then did he groggily wake up.

"Noah, the message from the Mycelium Clan."

"Oh oh! Hahaha—I got so high on the spores, hahaha."

He laughed awkwardly, and seeing no one respond, cleared his throat that didn't exist.

With a serious face:

"It's beastification disease—beastification patients attacked them."

"We already knew that when we came in. Tell us something we don't know."

"Really? Alright then, they escaped, heading south for now; as for whether they'll turn afterward, I don't know. Also, they said this cave hides something evil, and warned any mushroom-men coming here never to open the hidden door inside."

The three exchanged glances.

Suddenly not knowing what to say.

"What if it was opened?"

Rod still asked.

Noah waved his hand, unconcerned.

"Small matter—just about three thousand six hundred spore bombs planted inside. Even if the evil thing inside emerges, these three thousand six hundred spore bombs can blast the evil thing and the villains coveting it to smithereens."

"."

The mushroom-men's spore skills were quite peculiar even on the continent.

Given that spores were originally part of nature, no one would bother with a bit of spirituality on them; Spore Spirituality Art was even once considered the skill most adept at ambush.

So neither Rod nor Ona had noticed anything amiss.

Fortunately, most mushroom-men loved peace and wouldn't attack proactively.

Rod laughed optimistically:

"It's been so long with no reaction at all—maybe they've failed, who knows?"

The words had just fallen.

An intense resonance of spiritual swelling came from the passage deep within the underground river.

"Shit!"

Rod grabbed Noah and flung the mushroom-man into the tunnel they had entered through.

Haley reacted with extreme speed, already executing a spatial shift to the tunnel, snatching Noah mid-air and speeding toward the exit.

Ona could have left first, but she subconsciously came to support Rod at the rear guard, thus falling a step behind.

The next moment.

A streak of orange-red light bloomed in the passage deep within the underground river.

The stone door used as a seal was blasted open by immense force, shattering against the rock wall on the opposite side.

Instantly, a unique scent permeated the air, a mixture of fungi and gunpowder.

Then, violent energy mixed with spores scattered like clouds in a hurricane; every single spore was stimulated and detonated by the impact that followed immediately.

Rod held the petite rabbit-girl in his arms.

He shattered the ground beneath his feet, unleashing Swift Shadow with Agility Buff, instantly arriving in the narrow tunnel.

Immediately following was Dragon Scale Technique, using his body to block the tunnel.

Almost simultaneously, the spore bombs on his back began blooming one after another.

The surrounding rock walls were instantly shattered by the immense impact force.

Boom—crashing down in a collapse.

Haley flew out of the cave just an instant before the explosion's firelight could reach her.

At this moment, she soared upward.

Seeing that no one was following behind, her expression changed.

Boom!!!

The light from the continuous explosions illuminated the entire area, and the cave collapsed inward.

Then, like erupting magma, black smoke carrying flames burst forth, bearing a thick layer of mycelium that spread like a spiderweb over the surrounding trees and ground.

Three thousand six hundred spore bombs.

Although the power of each was only around Tier Four to Tier Five, the accumulation of quantity and the inherent synergy of the spores made the power of the spore bombs reach even Tier Seven, or higher.

Haley saw the mushroom-person Noah, held by the Hand of the Mage, still inhaling the hallucinogenic spores spreading from the black smoke, and felt a surge of irritation.

She might as well just throw him from high altitude into the nearby forest to give him a good fall.

"He shouldn't die, right? That mage named Ona should be of no low rank; she should be able to protect him."

Mages are more sensitive to perceived mana and spiritual energy; generally, they do not deliberately probe a fellow mage's mana accumulation.

Therefore, she did not know Ona's true rank.

As for spiritual warriors, it did not matter.

Even if she probed, they would not discover it.

Now, Haley could not care less about these things; she maximized her mana perception and swept everything below.

She still had not found anyone.

Instead, a golden crown blown toward the sky by the explosion was the first thing she locked onto.

(End of Chapter)