Following Julia’s release, other detained Baygu Cult members also regained their freedom one after another.
However, Julia was not in a hurry to reorganize the sect and spread the faith.
She gathered those companions still willing to follow Puchis and announced the establishment of a brand-new organization—the Great Mushroom Charity Association.
“Charity?” A cultist released not long ago, whose face still carried the pallor of not seeing the sun for a long time, repeated this word in confusion. “Are we going to distribute porridge on the streets for relief like the Church of Light did in the past? But now…”
In the past, whenever natural or man-made disasters struck, the Church of Light would often unite with local lords to distribute porridge outside churches. While providing relief to the hungry, they also spread the teachings of the God of Light.
It was just that such scenes were no longer visible nowadays.
Not because the Church was no longer benevolent, but because hunger itself had almost disappeared in the United Kingdom.
Even though the Kingdom lost nearly one-third of its territory and countless people were displaced.
But the yield of wild mushrooms grew even more. Even if the number of these refugees unable to engage in production for a short time doubled again, it could be afforded.
Unless a person had lost even the strength to bend down and pick, it was hard to imagine anyone would truly die of hunger nowadays.
Naturally, there was no need for people to distribute porridge.
“Similar, but different,” Julia explained to these confused believers before her. “We won’t dispense food, but rather help those refugees still wandering in the wilderness outside the cities to build shelters that can be called home.”
Refugees wandering outside the cities—this was also one of the changes nowadays.
In the past, refugees always flocked to towns seeking shelter. But now, many vagrants with nothing instead chose to wander in the wilderness and on the edges of forests.
Mushrooms inside the city were cleared regularly and were limited in number, whereas outside the city, they could pick as they pleased.
However, the abundance of the wild was accompanied by danger.
Monsters wandered, cold nights were merciless, wind and rain offered no shelter…
Seeing everyone still looking puzzled, Julia turned slightly sideways, respectfully letting No. 12 stand before the crowd.
No. 12 walked onto a patch of fungal mat. It didn’t make any exaggerated movements, just gently pressed a few mycelial tentacles against the ground.
In the next moment, a miracle happened before everyone’s eyes!
Mycelium bulged rapidly from the ground, interweaving and thickening, the structure taking shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Before long, a round-shaped Mushroom House over ten meters high stood before everyone.
Its outer wall had a texture similar to tree bark but was softer and tougher. The top opened slightly like an umbrella cap, with wisps of glowing fungal whiskers hanging naturally from the edges, providing soft illumination.
A soft ladder woven from mycelium hung down; climbing along it allowed one to enter the hollow dwelling located in the middle.
And this wasn’t over.
As No. 12 Puchi tapped a few mycelial threads in different directions, a second and third Mushroom House similarly broke through the earth.
Even more amazingly, between several towering Mushroom Houses, bridge-like structures actually connected in mid-air, forming a tiny aerial settlement.
This was a shelter Lin Jun designed referencing the Tree Cities of the Forest of Elves, but unlike the Elves, they didn’t live directly on giant trees a hundred meters high.
At that height, the vast majority of ordinary humans would feel acrophobia.
Later, adding some hallucinogenic spore traps near these Mushroom Houses would effectively ward off those wild monsters, at least allowing those refugees wandering in the wild to have a relatively safe dwelling.
“What we need to do is actively seek out those refugees scattered in the wilderness and use the grace of the Mushroom Tribe to build such homes for them. Let them no longer have to tremble while clutching sharpened wooden sticks every night, no longer have to wake up in panic at the slightest disturbance. We want to make the coming of night something to look forward to again.”
“And, we want to tell them that whether it is the inexhaustible mushrooms in the wilderness or these Mushroom Houses that can now shelter them from wind and rain, all of this originates from the favor of Puchis and the gift of the fungal mat!”
…
Julia and No. 12 led a small number of hands and quietly left the Mushroom Capital.
Despite Inanna’s protection, continuing to preach publicly in the Kingdom’s major cities was ultimately too conspicuous.
More importantly, city residents lived relatively stable lives. The possibility of them changing their original faith and converting to an emerging sect instead was minimal to begin with.
But the vagrants scattered in the wilderness and border areas were just like an unexplored blue ocean market.
Just imagine, when these homeless people moved into tall Mushroom Houses, relying on mushrooms growing everywhere to fill their stomachs, and needing to rely on Puchi protection to resist the dangers of the wilderness.
Regarding the matter of “believing in Puchis,” more or less, some inclination would always arise in their hearts, right?
Wait until the number of shallow believers accumulated to a certain extent, then Lin Jun could display some skill means akin to divine miracles at the right time. Presumably, the Puchi faith could truly form a scale then.
For now, better to let them develop on their own first. Anyway, their range of activity was all on the fungal mat. If they really encountered any trouble, No. 12 could call out and Lin Jun could come to solve it.
To be honest, it was only because the God of Light seemed to have disappeared nowadays, with neither miracles nor oracles, that Lin Jun dared to engage in such petty actions.
If one day later, the God of Light suddenly popped out again, Lin Jun could only recall No. 12 on the spot and complete the severing at light speed.
No choice; Lin Jun couldn’t even see through that Old Geezer Divine Tree, let alone a true deity.
Cowardice when it was time to be cowardly had always been Lin Jun’s excellent virtue.
…
While the United Kingdom side was arranging long-term development, the Northern Territory presented another scene entirely.
With the temperature rising significantly, the entire Mushroom Fortress seemed to be injected with brand-new vitality.
Repressed life force burst forth, and every Mushroom Citizen’s face brimmed with joy.
For the vast majority of Mushroom Fortress residents, life in the fortress was stable, orderly, and full of hope.
But facing the temperature that had been dropping continuously as if endlessly, although propaganda said everything was under the Boss’s control, to say people had no worries in their hearts would definitely be false.
If the Mushroom Fortress was defeated by the severe cold, where could they go?
The dungeon couldn’t accommodate the activities of tens of thousands of people, and if they were displaced to the Empire… except for those two vampires who called the door, probably no one would like this ending.
Therefore, when the threat of cold truly began to recede, the entire Mushroom Fortress naturally fell into a heartfelt jubilation.
Recently, even the sales of mushroom wine had climbed significantly, and the air seemed to float with a slightly tipsy, relaxed aura.
However, distinctly different from the relaxation and joy of the bottom-layer Mushroom Citizens, the core management layer led by Shou, Starfire, and Piggy had their nerves taut to an unprecedented degree.
That extreme cold was indeed a threat to survival, but it was equally a sturdy barrier isolating the Mushroom Fortress from the Empire.
Maybe, in the Empire’s intelligence, the Northern Territory at this time was already a blank land with no living creatures surviving.
But this misunderstanding wouldn’t last too long. It was sooner or later that the Mushroom Fortress’s existence would be detected by the outside world, subsequently landing on the desks of the Empire’s border lords or even higher levels.
It was hard to imagine the Empire would tolerate a threatening emerging force appearing out of thin air on its own northern border.
This was precisely the first and most severe challenge the Mushroom Fortress had to face directly after its novice protection period ended.
“If they dare extend their claws, chop off their claws. If they dare stick their heads over, chop off their heads too! Showing strength is the best diplomatic means, isn’t it?” Piggy, whose eyes were full of blood and fire, proposed at the council.
(End of Chapter)
