Chapter 585, Section 584: Fei Xi's Concerns

Sigismund asked this question not because he sensed any special connection.

The hidden bond between the Mushroom Clan and Lin Jun, originating from the same soul, was irrelevant to him, and he also lacked the skill to directly probe the essence of the soul to discover its secrets.

The group of defeated soldiers who had escaped were all in such a sorry state that they looked like the most desperate refugees, yet they still brought along a seemingly ordinary Puji.

With a little speculation, it becomes clear that even if this Puji is not one of the Mushroom Clan that the empire has been secretly searching for recently, it must have some other extraordinary value.

Faced with the Duke's direct questioning, Mengya dared not pretend to be ignorant.

She knelt on the ground and answered carefully and respectfully:

“Your Excellency Sigismund, your insight is astute. This is a strange creature that I stumbled upon on the edge of the occupied territory. Thinking that it might be of value to the Empire… to Duke Eleanor whom I serve, I risked my life to bring it back.”

"You're one of Eleanor's men?" Sigismund raised an eyebrow.

"yes."

Mengya hoped that Sigismund would not steal the Mushroom Clan's thunder out of consideration for Eleanor, but having been away on field missions recently, she was clearly unaware of the current relationship between the two dukes.

The business battle between Eleanor and Sigismund is raging.

The "red wine" shipped from within the empire to various locations had previously encountered several attacks, some successful and some unsuccessful.

They openly operate under the guise of robbers, but behind the scenes, they all have the shadow of Eleanor's faction.

Sigismund wasn't particularly angry about this; in fact, he found it somewhat amusing.

He knew perfectly well that Eleanor was driven to desperation because she couldn't find the exact source of his goods.

In response, Sigismund simply adjusted his trading methods with the vampire nobles, allowing them to send their own people to his territory to collect the goods.

Sure enough, no further "accidents" occurred during the subsequent transport.

Although Eleanor was foolish, she was clearly not foolish enough to dare to offend all her fellow vampires at the same time.

And now, a mushroom-type creature, discovered by her subordinates by chance and most likely secretly sought by the empire's higher-ups, has unexpectedly arrived in her territory...

What else is there to say?

Sigismund stepped forward, lifted Thirteen up, and turned it left and right to examine it carefully.

To Mengya's surprise, the mushroom that always hated being picked up was surprisingly well-behaved this time, and did not resist even when Duke Sigismund squeezed it hard to test its elasticity!

Perhaps it was out of awe of the Duke's unfathomable majesty and power—that was the only guess Mengya could make.

As for Number Thirteen, its feelings at this moment were more complex. On a physical level, it instinctively loathed being manipulated like this by this non-mushroom. But on the other hand, deep down, it felt a sense of peace, almost like returning to the embrace of the fungal carpet.

Torn between these two feelings, it chose to crash.

After a while, Sigismund seemed to have finished his inspection and gently placed Number Thirteen back on the ground.

He turned and walked back to the noticeably wider high-backed chair, his heavy body sinking into the shadows.

"Keep your 'puji' safe." His gaze swept over the anxious Mengya and Chouyu. "Simon, arrange for them to go down and rest, and change into decent equipment. As Imperial soldiers, they shouldn't leave looking like beggars."

"Yes!" Adjutant Simon immediately accepted the order and gestured for the surviving soldiers to follow him out of the hall.

...

After changing into brand-new standard leather armor and cloaks, and enjoying a long-awaited hot water bath, Mengya returned to her temporary military camp room, feeling refreshed, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew—that scared me to death!" She patted her chest, her face showing relief as if she had escaped a disaster. "I thought the Duke would definitely detain Puji! I didn't expect him to let us leave like that... Duke Sigismund is indeed a man of extraordinary stature!"

Stinky Fish, standing to the side, nodded in agreement, unusually not contradicting Mengya. In that situation, if it were him, he would definitely have intercepted that plop first.

Even if they don't directly take possession, they should at least take the opportunity to get involved in the affairs of the mushroom tribe.

Unexpectedly, the duke was so principled, showing no greed whatsoever in the face of something so important.

“But speaking of which,” Mengya leaned closer, lowered her voice, and looked slightly puzzled, “Lord Sigismund has been commanding troops on the front lines all this time, hasn’t he? If I’m not mistaken, the chair he’s sitting in is twice as wide as Lord Eleanor’s! Commanding battles on the front lines, how can he become so…well-off? Or rather, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a fat man…”

"Shut up! You idiot!" Stinky Fish jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his withered hand covering Mengya's mouth tightly, his eyes filled with shock and anger. "Are you tired of living? This is still High Fortress! This is their territory! Do you want to be turned into a blood slave and hung on the city wall to dry in the wind?"

Mengya whimpered as he covered her mouth, then quickly pried his hand away, shrank back, and dared not say another word.

Thirteen, standing to the side, kept reminiscing about the feeling of being picked up by Sigismund. It felt that it would be nice to stay here.

Unfortunately, the vampire, whose size was almost like a poop, didn't seem to have any intention of keeping it.

...

"Sir, are we really... not going to get involved?" Adjutant Simon couldn't help but suggest again in a low voice, his eyes full of regret.

“I have my reasons. You may leave.” Sigismund waved his adjutant away.

"Yes." Simon dared not say another word and bowed as he withdrew.

Sigismund was the only one left in the empty, cold hall.

Mushroom Clan, Puji...

The disastrous defeat in the battle of Dragon Roar Valley was due to the army of the Puji Masters.

He understood the importance of the Mushroom Clan better than most people in the empire.

However, he also had his own concerns.

It wasn't that he wasn't tempted, nor was it that he was afraid of the possible entanglement that Eleanor, that stupid woman who only knew how to use underhanded tricks, might cause afterward.

What he was really worried about was his roommate who shared this body with him.

Despite being constrained by the inability to conceal his actions, he was unable to conduct a full-scale investigation into his roommate's background.

Based on various clues, he guessed that his roommate was likely connected to the suddenly emerging mushroom clan forces.

Even more boldly, the roommate himself might be a member of the Mushroom Clan!

In the confrontation on a spiritual level, he was already at a disadvantage.

If he were to rashly introduce another mushroom into his territory that is highly likely to be related to his roommate, he feared he would completely lose control of the situation.

After weighing the pros and cons, he generously allowed Mengya to leave with the creature that resembled a mushroom.

In any case, he was facing the United Kingdom, and humanity was too busy protecting itself to fight a large-scale war in the short term. Therefore, it was not an urgent matter to enhance combat power by relying on Puji.

Why not let Eleanor be the scout, so we can observe the reactions of the Mushroom Clan and the Vampire Clan after they come into contact?

After a moment's thought, he raised his arm, preparing to summon his trusted confidants and arrange for more spies to infiltrate Eleanor's territory to monitor the mushroom clan's next move.

Just then.

Clang... clang... clang...

The clock embedded in the wall behind us struck the hour precisely on the hour, its chimes long and deep.

Sigismund paused halfway up his arm, then changed course.

He deftly turned to the side and pulled out a jar of clear, golden honey and a bottle of delicious, scarlet red wine from a hidden compartment behind the large seat.

Unscrew the jar lid, pull out the cork, take a sip of honey, and a sip of wine.

He squinted his eyes contentedly, and his entire being transformed from a tall, fat vampire into a pool of vampire.

(End of this chapter)