Chapter 447, Section 446: The Best Boss
Inside Dragonroar Valley, almost every warrior who returned with Alama was carrying minor injuries.
As for those who were seriously wounded, they were unable to retreat with them; the mad dog-like Verallis still left behind quite a few soldiers.
But the eyes of the crowd were even brighter than before they set off.
The arrival of the support troops gave these soldiers, who thought they were doomed, a glimmer of hope.
Duke Alama's gaze swept over this peculiar reinforcement force—the Puji Division—as it was the first time he had ever seen them in person.
He had observed most of their battle, and although there were many questions, such as who was controlling those obviously much stronger Puji, he was still amazed by the combat capabilities of this new army.
Suppressing her surprise, she quickly walked towards the man who appeared to be in charge, who was at the very front of the Puji Master team.
“Thank you for your assistance in this situation. I am Alama St. Clair.” His voice was weak and hoarse, yet still carried an air of authority. “Are you the commander of this force?”
The adjutant instinctively straightened his back, but a barely perceptible hint of embarrassment flashed across his face. He opened his mouth, "I just..."
Before he could finish speaking, a clear, even slightly smug, girlish voice came from the tallest heavy armored vehicle behind him: "Commander, it's me!"
Under the astonished gazes of Alama and Lorenzo, a fair hand pushed open a crack in the edge of the heavily armored mushroom cap, and a head popped out.
Her long pink hair flowed like a waterfall, cascading down from the edge of her mushroom cap, almost touching her firm belly.
Inanna, her face still smeared with fungal hyphae, looked down at her father with a gleam in her turquoise eyes that shone with a mixture of excitement and a "praise me" light.
"Old man!" she announced loudly, as if she had just won an epic victory, "I've come to save you!"
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The first to react was Lorenzo, who was standing to the side: "Niece? You, you, you, how did you get here?"
He then turned his head, wanting to say something to Alama, but the latter was no longer in a state of listening to him.
Alama's expression shifted from initial seriousness to shock upon recognizing her daughter, then to bewilderment after confirmation, and finally, all emotions, like the calm before a storm, were replaced by suppressed rage.
He stared blankly at his daughter, the daughter he thought was still safe behind him, now appearing in this desolate place filled with corpses and blood, where she could be wiped out at any moment?!
The scene that Inanna had envisioned—her father bursting into tears and hugging her legs with overwhelming gratitude—did not occur.
"Inanna...how...how...did...you...get...here?!"
...
Among the crowd, a soldier covered in blood stared wide-eyed at Inanna's exposed head.
He then naturally took a few steps back, quietly slipping away from the crowd that was regrouping, and moved towards a corner in the valley where broken equipment was piled up and where no one was around.
Although the military discipline under Valeries was chaotic, she herself was certainly not a cowardly and reckless fool like Eleanor.
In the chaotic battle at the valley entrance, although she was caught off guard by Lin Jun's stealthy self-destruction and failed to stop Alama from receiving reinforcements, she still managed to drive a wedge in during the chaos of the battlefield in a very short time.
[Race: Shapeshifter]
[Level: LV42]
However, what the spy didn't know was that another knight had also broken away from the group and was following behind him.
In the shadows of the corner, the spy cautiously glanced around, and after confirming that no one was watching, his hand swiftly slipped inside the tattered lining of his uniform, his fingertips touching a short-range communication device.
A completely transparent and tough mycelial tentacle suddenly shot out from behind him, tightly wrapping around his mouth and choking any possible scream into his throat.
Pfft—!
Immediately following were several muffled sounds of sharp blades piercing flesh, and several other sharp-tipped tentacles pierced through his chest.
The shapeshifter's body convulsed violently, and he could only make muffled "ooh" sounds in his throat. He tried to use his talent to change his form to break free or fight back, but the fatal wound had already drained all his strength.
The disguise peeled away like faded paint, revealing the withered core beneath, which collapsed limply to the ground, lifeless.
Several more Puji walked around the corner and surrounded it. When the Puji dispersed, apart from a few traces of blood, there was no other trace left.
That is to say, there are only scattered fungal carpets in the valley now, and the underground network tunnels are being excavated at an accelerated pace. Otherwise, if a shapeshifter disappears, there would be no need to move the corpse.
...
Meanwhile, Inanna's touching reunion with her father was not over yet, only it had moved indoors from the public.
"Do you know where this place is? It's a death trap! A dead end! What are you doing here? Are you looking for death?!" Alama's voice trembled slightly with suppressed anger, veins throbbing on his forehead as he glared at his clueless daughter.
"What do you mean 'looking for death'! I already told you, I'm here to save you!" Inanna raised her head defiantly, her blue eyes filled with stubbornness.
"Save me? When did I need your help? When did I ask you for help?! How dare you... how dare you..." Alama's chest heaved violently with anger, and the rest of the words were squeezed out through clenched teeth. For a moment, he couldn't find the right words to express his shock and anger.
Lorenzo, standing to the side, had never seen Alama so angry that she was almost speechless before. He stood awkwardly between the two, a stiff smile plastered on his face, futilely trying to smooth things over: "Um... let's talk this out. My niece is just being filial..."
Alama abruptly turned to look at Lorenzo, as if grasping at a lifeline, and grabbed his arm tightly, so tightly that Lorenzo grimaced: "Now! Lorenzo, it's not too late! Take her and immediately cross the valley back to Oath City!"
Before Lorenzo could answer, Inanna shouted, "I'm not leaving! I said I came to rescue you, and I meant it! My actions are none of your business!"
After saying that, Inanna angrily turned and left, with the two knights following closely behind her, making a series of "plop plop" sounds as they left together.
Alama roared at his daughter's retreating figure, but only received the sound of fading footsteps in response. He seemed to have all his strength drained away, and his tall body hunched slightly.
Lorenzo sighed and patted his old friend's tense shoulder: "Alright, alright, calm down first. Now that things have come to this, let's think about how to ensure our niece's safety in this godforsaken place."
...
Inanna, who had finally reunited with her father only to be met with a severe scolding, returned to the area where the Puji Masters were stationed, filled with resentment and anger.
The adjutant wisely refrained from sending anyone to disturb them.
Alone in the makeshift corner, as the initial anger subsided, a barely perceptible sense of unease crept into my heart.
She recalled the fierce battle that had taken place, in which a large number of Puji had died tragically, and many Puji Masters had also suffered casualties, but in the end they could only retreat into the valley in a sorry state.
There are not many Puji left now, and outside is a powerful demon army. My father is stubbornly refusing to leave... Are we really going to be trapped here and die?
She hugged the knight tightly to her chest, as if only then could she draw a sliver of security from it. With a hint of uncertainty, she asked softly, "Boss, do you think... we can really save Father?"
"Little Pink, Little Pink," Lin Jun's unique, always slightly lazy and teasing voice rang in her mind, "You just haven't spent enough time in the Mushroom Garden. Do you even know what the first rule of the Mushroom Garden is?"
Inanna shook her head blankly, completely unaware of any other precepts.
"That is, never question the boss!" Lin Jun didn't know what the rule was, but since he said there was one, it would be there from now on. "Do you remember that time we performed at the temporary camp outside Silent Wind Town?"
“I remember!” Inanna’s eyes lit up.
Let's do it again!
"Yes!" Inanna immediately understood Lin Jun's plan, nodded heavily, and the gloom in her heart was dispelled a lot. "Boss, you're so great!"
“After all, it was to save your father!” Lin Jun’s tone sounded very generous. “However, there might be a little ‘help’ I need your assistance with later, we’ll talk about that later.”
"Okay! Yes, okay!"
...
After Alama and Lorenzo spent half a day discussing in the stone chamber but still couldn't find a reliable solution, they walked out of the room looking exhausted and serious, only to be stunned by the scene before them.
A large number of soldiers and Puji masters gathered together, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, curiously watching something.
In the open space in the center of the crowd, Inanna, with an awkward yet determined expression, hugged the knight's pouch and danced a strangely rhythmic and primal "dance" as if performing some ancient prayer ritual.
Even more astonishingly, on the small patch of fungal carpet beneath her feet, tiny, budding creatures were visibly emerging at an alarming rate!
(End of this chapter)
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