Chapter 159: The Land of Fungi

"Seventeen in total, not a single one is normal."

Those wedge-shaped wood chips lay scattered around the fire, from different locations and different tree species, varying in size; the only thing they shared was the identical, inside-out mottled erosion. Kraft kicked them one by one into the bonfire. The undried wood crackled as it burned, then quickly turned black. The loose, mottled parts shriveled and curled up unnaturally, releasing steam that smelled of Jiaohu, mixing into the swelling clouds of smoke.

Those with a good capacity for association, upon seeing the diseased wood chips, looked up in unison. The unusually abundant sunlight here, however, caused those gazing up at the canopy to feel a chill that had nothing to do with their bodies.

It was the sparse foliage compared to other parts of the forest, allowing extra light to reach the ground, yet this light did not spur the growth of more low-lying plants. On the contrary, shrubs and weeds were especially sparse; even those still alive tended to look withered and prostrate, creating that special sense of flat openness.

Martin drew his sword and slashed down at a cluster of mushrooms sprouting by the tree roots, cutting both the cap and the wood in half. Only then did he discover that those tender things were not growing on the hard wood surface, but were rooted in the almost hollowed-out roots, with fine threads and wood fibers woven into bundles pointing underground.

"Dig deeper," he ordered the squire holding the shovel.

The iron shovel plunged into the earth, turning up the invisible root systems beneath the soil surface. Without needing to be washed, one could see the web-like adhesion clinging to the mottled surface. Branches that should have been tough were easily shovelled off, like moldy radishes that failed to dry properly, exhibiting a nauseating, rot-like softness.

The dug-up clods of earth gave a sense of fine, fertile vitality, depositing an unbelievable amount of humus nutrients, as if flowing back from the forest to be injected into the earth.

And with the digging, aside from these obviously unnatural images, the silent onlookers increasingly felt the absence of something unobtrusive yet important.

The insects active everywhere on the surface and underground did not crawl out due to human disturbance, as if they had collectively migrated away from this land, or... just like the hollowed-out parts within those trees, had merged into this land?

【Mushroom Forest】

Kraft recalled the scene Martin had described: mushrooms were everywhere, growing in every visible spot. They were actually already surrounded by fungi, just in a form that was not obvious, a more sinister form. From the unknown depths beneath their feet to the canopy twenty-plus meters overhead, the fungi thrived in the unseen places.

"What is the situation here?" Knight Barro observed Kraft and Martin, sensing some unspoken understanding between the professor and his colleague that had guided the party to this spot. "Some kind of tree disease?"

"I suppose you could say that." Kraft took the iron shovel from the squire, thrust it straight into the pit to cut off a tree root and lift it out, then easily crushed it with his boot.

In the roots, the erosion and integration by mycelia far exceeded the proportion within the trunks. The infection spread from bottom to top, adopting a posture that was both predatory and symbiotic with the trees, turning these tall plants into part of the mycelial network. In the process of dying, they provided nutrients to this massive whole, aiding its expansion.

From the first appearance of the anomaly in memory to the campsite, they had walked on the body of the fungi for at least half a day without realizing it.

"But... this shouldn't have anything to do with us, right?" the squire digging the pit asked in a low voice. Being in a forest suffering from such a severe disease was by no means pleasant, and he soon realized something even more unsettling than the current discomfort. "I just don't know if it will affect the wheat harvest."

As vassals of low-ranking nobles and trainee knights, the squires were far from having lost their sensitivity to the land. Anyone who had seen plant diseases would have a clear memory of that omen of hunger. If this phenomenon penetrating the earth were contagious, it would be a disaster more cruel than war in any territory.

If this area were to expand, it would eventually affect Hudson Town. Or rather, the impact had already occurred; they had heard complaints about reduced yields in the forest more than once.

"That's none of our business either. Mention it to the steward on the way back. No matter how much the wheat harvest drops, the Duke won't cut your rations, kid." Seeing the atmosphere turn strange again, Barro cut off the squire, forcibly dragging the topic back to business.

"We came to find heretics. Maybe it's those godless folks hiding here that provoked Father Heaven to send down punishment." With hands on hips, he glared around, then turned and kicked the dirt back into the pit, flattening it. "Everyone back to camp. Prepare for the night early."

The somewhat rough attitude had a good soothing effect, or perhaps it was the lingering authority of commanding the guard. The camp quickly resumed operations. Barro stood in place, waited for the crowd to disperse, and called out to Martin.

"We agreed we were here to find heretics, right?"

"That's right, the same heresy that was particularly active a while back." Without hesitation, Martin affirmed the statement made at the start of the journey. "You saw it yourself. They even dare to stick their hands into the church. If we let them continue, what else might they do?"

"Then that's strange." Barro stared at Martin, and at the professor who seemed to have something to say too, as if trying to drill a hole through his breastplate with his gaze. "Intuition, and my understanding of you, tell me this has to do with why we came, but you have something inconvenient to tell me."

He pointed at the filled-in pit, stomping twice on the loose soil. "I think you're not lying, but it's definitely not what I thought."

From an angle Martin couldn't see, Kraft nodded slightly in deep agreement. Telling half the truth and hiding half to ensure things went smoothly was very much in line with his impression of Martin.

"Then you are wronging me. I said it before we even set out. These are a group of rather unusual heretics who possess some vicious witchcraft. Those afraid of death shouldn't come to make trouble." Martin spoke solemnly.

"So that 'vicious witchcraft' is real?" Barro looked somewhat surprised, but then his expression twitched. "So these..."

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"That's right, this might be part of that 'vicious witchcraft'." Kraft answered the question for Martin, his tone heavy. He hadn't expected such a scene, nor could he figure out exactly what was going on.

"But don't think too highly of them. The fact that they are still hiding in this Lin Zili itself explains a lot. Of course, if you're afraid and want to back out now, it's not too late."

"You are insulting the most important quality of a knight." Turning back now was absolutely not an option, and Barro didn't think there was any problem in the Westmin region that this party couldn't solve. "Just to be safe, I remember we brought fire oil, right?"

"That amount isn't meant to burn down the whole mountain; you couldn't finish lighting this forest that's wet as if soaked in water." Nor could it kill the mycelia hidden deep underground. "We have to find the source of these things."

It should be hidden deeper within this fungal forest, waiting for Kraft to uncover it, and to answer a question that came with the new discovery.

【What does it need so many nutrients for?】