Chapter 552, Section 551: The Iron Jaw Mercenary Group
The image flashed by so quickly that Lin Jun was not given a chance to investigate further.
Coffin, high mountains, pitch-black sky.
The meaning is unclear.
Lin Jun carefully examined the newly completed mushroom puppet.
The parasitic process was flawless; the hyphae were tightly bound to the remaining nerves and muscles, and the control feedback was smooth, without any abnormalities.
Is that scene... because the monster without a panel is related to the mist?
Let's catch a few more and try.
Fortunately, these modified puppets can also be added to the team as extra combat power.
When Lin Jun threw the mushroom puppet into the pig's temporary base camp, it triggered an unexpected reaction.
Many of the soldiers who participated in this operation were prisoners of war who had been taken in from the two defeated tribes.
They redeemed their freedom by relying on the high contribution points they accumulated during their military service.
And they are no strangers to mushroom golems!
Many people have even witnessed firsthand how those unruly members of their own kind, who were captured and still tried to resist, were gradually replaced by growing mushrooms before their very eyes, eventually transforming into the zombie-like forms they see now.
Those with stronger wills gripped their weapons tightly, their knuckles turning white, and they tried their best to maintain an expressionless face.
Those with a slightly weaker mentality began to tremble uncontrollably, and some even subconsciously took a half step back.
Even the little pig felt a chill run down its spine when it saw the puppet with fluorescent mushrooms blooming from its eye sockets, as it recalled its own past.
But she quickly suppressed her discomfort, maintaining a flawless expression.
However, unlike the others, the little pig became excited immediately after the initial chill.
Mushroom golems are great!
She had a premonition that the North would eventually clash with the Empire.
When the time comes, she will capture all those high-ranking vampires who used to ride roughshod over her, her colleagues who tripped her up, and so on... and turn them into puppets on the creep, so that they can also experience the despair she felt back then!
The fishmen's reaction was quite different. Upon seeing the former intruder enter through the secret passage, many fishmen warriors immediately raised their harpoons, making threatening grunts, their eyes filled with a mixture of anger, confusion, and vigilance.
The commotion spread until the old murmur calmed things down with a series of steady gurgling sounds.
One reconnaissance squad after another returned, bringing with them all sorts of intelligence that the little pig desperately needed, including terrain details, enemy distribution, and the status of possible traps and passageways.
Of course, some teams paid a price for this. Some lost some players, while others suffered casualties.
Fortunately, the entire squad was not wiped out.
Even the worst-case scenario involved a team whose merman guide was killed in battle and unable to escape through the secret passage. However, thanks to the desperate rearguard action of several puji, they managed to cover the escape of three team members and retreat back.
Little Pig compiled all the information brought back by these squads and soon formulated an attack route and marching plan.
With an escape route secured, seize back the dungeon entrance with lightning speed!
Looking at the mushroom puppet that had just been placed under her control by the boss, she adjusted her battle strategy.
Along the way, while ensuring that no one on our side is lost, we should capture as many of these monsters alive as possible and bring them back.
Although they are not as useful as the Puji, they can still reduce our own casualties to some extent, so we might as well use them.
Amidst Ming's excited cheers, the "Tide Sanctuary Expeditionary Force," a mixed force comprised of Fungus Fortress soldiers, various Puji, Murlocs, and newly added Golems, officially set off, heading towards the route marked on the map.
On the other side, Lin Jun completed the parasitism and limb reattachment work for the fish-man with the severed hand.
This wasn't because he suddenly became concerned about the fishman's health; rather, it was more of a test of the old fishman's attitude.
However, the old merman Gulu did not stop his kind from accepting the parasite.
In fact, since Lin Jun arrived, the old fishmen have shown tacit approval and even cooperation towards all of Lin Jun's actions, including the spread of underwater fungal carpet inside the Tide Sanctuary, without any sign of resistance.
That's really strange.
Is there really a species willing to accept its hyphae so unreservedly?
It's important to understand that even in human and elven societies where a semi-bonded symbiotic relationship has been formed with the mycelium, voices opposing mycelial parasitism and advocating for maintaining individual "purity" have never ceased.
Furthermore, as the scale of mycelial symbiosis continues to expand, perhaps foreseeing the possible future, while the number of "symbiotic" proponents is increasing, more and more people are turning to the "pure" proponents, making the voices of opposition to this type of symbiosis grow stronger.
Of course, such disputes are currently in the early stages of mutual debate.
Even among those tribes that have been naturalized, there are a very small number of die-hards who refuse to accept mycelium.
They refuse to integrate into the fungal network, so naturally they lack cold resistance, cannot earn contribution points, and cannot enjoy various conveniences.
Lin Jun didn't have the time to persecute these stubborn elements; that would be both time-consuming and exhausting, and it would also damage her image.
Although Lin Jun did not take any coercive measures against them, the environment of Mushroom Castle itself did not leave much room for these "purists" to survive.
These people either eventually succumb to reality and discover the true value of life, or they quietly disappear into some unknown corner, their bodies transforming into nutrients for the mycelium even after death.
Looking back, every time a group was asked to accept mycelium, it was thanks to Lin Jun's guidance, whether overt or covert, and her unseen efforts and sacrifices that it was ultimately achieved.
The fact that the fish-man was so willing to be picked was... actually made Lin Jun a little unsure, so she only dared to take it one step at a time.
...
On the other side, directly above the entrance to the Tide Sanctuary, on the turbulent sea.
A medium-sized sailboat bobs on the waves, anchored and at rest. At the edge of its field of vision, an endless wall of gray-white mist stands in the distance, swallowing the horizon where the sea meets the sky.
The boundary where the fog recedes is frozen in place.
The seawater around the ship was murky, a mixture of pale blue and scarlet, a remnant of a fierce battle that had just ended.
The snake-men mercenaries finally wiped out the last wave of monsters that attacked from the edge of the misty waters.
"Hold him down! Don't try to pull out the bone spurs; it'll tear the wounds open!"
"Quick! Bring two more bottles of intermediate-level healing potions! His injuries are in danger!"
The ship's deck was in chaos as the snake people treated their wounded teammates from the recent battle.
Inside the cabin, the atmosphere plummeted to freezing.
The leader of the snake-man mercenary group, a burly snake-man known as "Iron Jaw," threw a severed limb of a monster onto the deck.
His vertical pupils narrowed to thin slits as he stared coldly at his fox-man employer:
"That eerie thing that emerged from the fog—you didn't mention before we set off that we'd get so close we could see the fog wall!"
The fox-man Kiro's pointed ears twitched slightly, and an innocent and helpless expression appeared on his face: "How could I possibly know in advance where the mist had retreated to? Boss Ironjaw, look, there's still a buffer zone in the sea. As long as we're not too unlucky, we should be fine..."
He paused, then added in a more conciliatory tone, "Of course, if you and your brothers feel the risk is too great and decide to abandon this commission now, I completely understand, and the deposit will not need to be refunded. However... if you are willing to take on this additional risk, then in addition to paying the remaining half of the commission immediately after we land, I am willing to add another 50% as compensation. Furthermore... I will also speak highly of the Ironjaw Mercenary Group's courage and professionalism to my friends."
Upon hearing "an additional 50% commission," the muscles on Iron Jaw's face, covered in fine scales, twitched slightly, and he hesitated.
When Kiro mentioned helping promote his mercenary group, he finally relented.
He belonged to the Snake People who had been naturalized by the Empire during the war. This mercenary group was newly established and urgently needed to make a name for itself and build a reputation.
The fox in front of him... as far as he knew, did indeed have connections with several powerful nobles in the empire.
"Deal!" Iron Jaw gritted his teeth, took out a blank parchment scroll from the leather pouch at his waist, and swiftly signed a supplementary contract with Kiro.
Before the ink was even dry, he turned and slid out of the cabin, urging his men in a hoarse voice to make the final preparations before launching.
After Ironjaw left, Tanaka, who had been watching from the sidelines with his arms crossed, approached Kiro and whispered, "Hey, Fox, we were already trying to raise the remaining half of the commission, and now we have an extra 50%... Which lord are you planning to trick into helping you fill this hole?"
Kiro glanced at him, not answering directly, but instead abandoning his previous smooth expression and becoming serious: "Be careful this time, and make sure to do it strictly according to my requirements, otherwise, we might really lose our lives down here."
"So dangerous?" Tanaka asked in surprise. "That's strange. Isn't your self-control supposed to predict simulations? How could something unexpected happen?"
“Moderation isn’t a cure-all.” The fox-man shook his head, not intending to explain the details.
Tanaka sighed; this kind of "exciting" life was not what he wanted.
(End of this chapter)
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