The pause in hostilities did not truly lift the kingdom from its gloom.
Though the demons had suffered catastrophic losses and temporarily lost the strength to annihilate the kingdom, the fall of High Fort was like the kingdom losing the gate to its castle.
From now on, the Empire held absolute initiative. Once it dealt with other problems, it could return at any time.
In the south, Oath City and other great fortresses remained, but none could rely on natural barriers to completely lock down the enemy like High Fort had.
Not to mention the vast northwestern occupied zones still under demon control, where skirmishes and friction never ceased.
Originally, the encroaching mist had threatened demon shipping lanes; in the long run it might have naturally contained the northwestern demons and forced them back toward High Fort.
Yet after the Battle of Threehill City, the mist had quietly withdrawn.
Now, looking west from the coast, the sea met the sky without a trace of mist. Where it had retreated to, no one had yet ventured deep enough to discover.
To face the threat, humanity began constructing an unprecedented defensive network centered on Oath City.
Countless civilians and mages were mobilized by the kingdom to participate in this colossal project, hoping to protect themselves in the next great war.
War had brought endless pain. The little waitress at the Puchi House received notice that her father had fallen in battle, apparently in the opening stages of Threehill City.
Bianca and her mother received a generous pension. City Lord Farr personally oversaw it; no one dared skim a coin.
But money could not heal grief.
Old Dylan had wanted to give Bianca leave, but the stubborn girl insisted on staying busy in the kitchen.
Only when idle did Dylan faintly hear muffled sobbing from the back, and sometimes the Puchi waitress uniforms that came out had fresh tear stains.
War also forged countless living heroes whose names were sung in taverns.
For example, Nashi the demon-slaying archer from a fallen western village.
After her home was destroyed, she loosed quiver after quiver until her fingertips were raw flesh, successfully covering the villagers’ retreat to Goldvalley City.
Or fortress mage Olivia.
When the gates fell, the elderly mage poured all her mana into the earth beneath her feet, raising layer upon layer of towering walls with masterful earth magic, buying precious time for the city’s evacuation. She herself nearly failed to escape, saved only by an elf named Nightowl.
Of course, the brightest hero was Inanna Saint-Clair.
The duke’s daughter perfectly embodied “like father, like daughter.”
When the two dukes and their remnants were trapped and doomed in Dragonroar Valley, Inanna had arrived just in time!
It was said she commanded raging storm elementals with her left hand and endless Puchis with her right, routing the invading demons and preserving this vital force for humanity!
Through word of mouth, the term “mushroom race” gradually spread.
In Dragonroar Valley, Number Ten had stayed low-key, almost always guarding Pink Puchi.
But Number Four had no patience for subtlety.
Without explicit orders from Lin Jun to stay hidden, it ran around the valley preaching the glory of the mushroom race to any Puchi master it found.
A talking Puchi approaching people had scared quite a few at first.
This completely blindsided Alama and Lorenzo.
They had no idea Number Four had zero intention of hiding; it practically wanted to hold a propaganda rally.
The two dukes had to come out and explain.
After the battle, the surviving warriors naturally adored the Puchis that had saved their lives, so most circulating tales were glowing praise.
There were mushroom-threat theories, but they mostly circulated among minor nobles and scholars.
In taverns, one-armed veterans would slam the table at doubters: “To hell with your scholars! If not for those talking mushrooms, my bones would be bleaching in that canyon!”
Testimony from those who had lived it carried far more weight with common soldiers and adventurers.
Great nobles like Alama and Lorenzo never commented publicly.
The mushroom race also caught the demons’ attention.
The Battle of Dragonroar Valley had nearly reversed the entire war. As one of its decisive factors, Puchis could not be ignored.
Through spies embedded in the kingdom, the demons quickly gathered intelligence on the mushroom race.
Many demons linked it to the demonkin tribe that had suddenly risen in the north, speculating that tribe likely controlled at least one mushroom race member.
But the north had nearly become a frozen wasteland. The demons couldn’t even confirm how many of that tribe still lived.
When northern border lords gathered, their first topic was finding the source of the unnatural weather. If they couldn’t solve it, their territories would soon be ghost towns.
In short, the demons were now blocking fungal mat spread into imperial lands while every lord dispatched agents to gather intelligence on the mushroom race, hoping to capture or steal one for study and safe utilization.
Except for the Emperor—he had no time for Puchis or mushroom races.
Every blood guard and spy under his command was hunting a slime-like thing.
He had not publicized the previous Demon King’s escape. In fact, few demons even knew a fragment of the Demon King had been sealed in Duskfall Fortress.
And the fact that the Demon King’s race wasn’t demonkin was not common knowledge.
Only a tiny handful who knew some inside details quietly guessed at the Emperor’s actions. They wisely kept silent. Even Sigismund remained in the dark.
…
Regardless, the outside situation had temporarily eased. Lin Jun finally had time to tally his harvest.
【Level: LV69】
Normally, Lin Jun leveled through the fungal mat’s passive collection.
Compared to the experience from vast fungal mats, decomposing corpses usually contributed little.
But this time there had been too many bodies!
When the mushroom forest covered Threehill City and finished decomposing everything, Lin Jun was just one step from Lord tier!
Of course, experience was secondary. This war had most improved his combat skills.
Heavy Strike, Trample, Swordsmanship, Archery, Blade Storm, Casting Level…
Countless commonly used skills maxed. Even niche ones unlocked.
Lin Jun even gained two new titles.
【Weapon Master: +10% damage with weapons】
【All-Element Mastery: +10% spell effect】
The latter was more useful to Lin Jun. Automated Puchi armies were clumsy with weapons; skills were best left to the numbered Puchis for maximum effect.
And of course, the greatest harvest: [Sword Extremity].
It was as if countless skills had been specially compressed and condensed. Lin Jun couldn’t bite through it; he could only slowly dissolve it in his soul.
Lately he checked progress several times a day, growing impatient yet powerless.
Today, while reviving the numbered Puchis that had died at Threehill City—including Number Four—Lin Jun stared at his Sun Stone, then at the Sword Saint’s soul still dangling from the other end of [Sword Extremity].
He suddenly had an idea for an experiment.
(End of Chapter)
