Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Oath City Battlefield Corner.

A large gap has formed in the outer city wall here; outside the breach lie more than a dozen corpses of trolls clad in heavy armor, while inside the breach, the ground is strewn with the bodies of fallen humans and Imperial soldiers.

A path paved with remnants stretches inward to a fallen Magic Tower.

The tower is severed at the waist, with the spire askew amid the ruins, and nearby, the battle continues.

An Imperial commander points his sword at another Magic Tower not far away: "Speed up, keep advancing! Before the human reinforcements arrive, tear down that tower too!"

His words had barely fallen from his lips when an elderly chant echoed from the opposite alley: "Celestial Vault Arrow."

An arrow made of golden light draws a curved trajectory in the air, piercing through the Demon Race commander’s shield and helmet.

The commander’s body staggered, and he fell face-up.

As the other Demon Race soldiers instinctively gazed back at their commander, a nimble figure landed among them.

[Vortex Slash LV8]

A silver flash swept across, sending three heads flying high, blood gushing from neck stumps like springs, and the three headless bodies maintained their upright postures for a brief moment before falling simultaneously.

Bella, drenched in blood, kicked away the obstructive severed arm at her feet, stood up, and pointed the swordtip at the hesitant Demon Race soldiers before her.

"Charge with me! Push them back!"

With that, Bella spearheaded the charge, leading a mass of human soldiers and a few Puki behind her.

The cacophony of clashing swords and arrows tearing through the sky, alongside anguished cries and fierce shouts, meshed into a muddled wave, slowly pushing back these Demon Race invaders.

After reclaiming this area, Priest Samuel approached the fallen Magic Tower, brushing his hand over the runes on its exterior.

After a while, he shook his head regretfully: "Destroyed thoroughly, all the critical rune nodes have been ruined, rendered completely ineffective. The Empire has evidently figured out the rune structures inside these node towers, perhaps even unraveling the entire defense composition of Oath City."

"That’s the second one..."

Bella gazed back at the city with a worried expression.

The entirety of Oath City, with dual inner and outer city walls defense, twenty-three Magic Towers, seven of which are key nodes to the new defense line’s operation, and the other sixteen are ordinary Magic Towers meant to mislead and distract.

And now, two such node towers have been seized by the Empire.

If two more Magic Towers are lost, the connection between Oath City and the new defense line will be severed.

When that happens, Oath City will lose its ceaseless supply of Magic Power and the formidable resonant defense system provided by the new defense line.

Boom——!

Bella turned her gaze toward the sound; on another corner of Oath City, blood surged into the sky, trying to shield the formidable Abyss Beast assailing the city wall.

Inside the city, Heroic Sophia’s magical arrows and Number Ten from the Mushroom Race’s magic rained down, endlessly tangling with the blood mist.

That side is the true frontline, while Bella’s side was merely a detachment conducting a surprise attack.

Bella swung her longsword: "The pressure over there seems intense. Let’s speed up and deal with these invading Demon Race soldiers so we can assist the Hero."

Samuel cautioned, "Don’t act rashly; the enemy that managed to destroy the tower and the Palace Level Mage within must be strong as well."

"I know, but with these Puki accompanying me, my Realm of Truth is truly..."

Bella’s words hadn’t fully left her mouth when Samuel suddenly stepped forward, lifted his Magic Staff, and conjured a Light Wall.

The next moment, the Light Wall shattered with a crisp "crack," as a fist engulfed in extraordinary flames charged toward them with blistering heat.

Bella crossed her sword to block, but was still struck, knocking her and Samuel into a roadside building.

Fortunately, Bella, who bore the brunt of the punch, merely suffered some burns on her hands and swiftly regained her footing.

However, the aged priest possessed no such resilience; when Bella dragged him out, his spine was fractured, blood trickling from his mouth, rendering him unable to stand.

In the distance, the Demon Race who ambushed them was encircled by Bella’s soldiers, yet the Empire’s Demon Race reinforcements counterattacked at this juncture, throwing the situation into further disarray.

After eliminating two soldiers who sacrificed themselves to stall him, the Demon Race pursued Bella’s direction.

Bella placed Samuel in a relatively safe spot and then turned alone to confront the Demon Race.

Fiery blue flames burned fiercely on the Demon Race’s arms. Despite being several meters apart, Bella felt the searing temperatures it emitted, muttering apprehensively: "Demon Race... where did this monstrous power come from, it’s so unreasonable!"

"Demon Warrior, Gray! That is the name of the one who will kill you."

After speaking, Gray didn’t care whether Bella understood the Demon Language. He swung his fist again.

Without direct contact, the flames unleashed by Gray incinerated anything they encountered instantaneously.

[Flame Dragon’s Breath LV10]

This power was inherited from his ancestral leader, Dean, aided by the Demon King.

The high temperatures around Gray resembled purgatory, making close combat nearly impossible for Bella. All she could do was retreat awkwardly, evading the terrifying fiery punches flying her way.

This evasive strategy won’t work!

Gripping the longsword tightly, silver brilliance began to flow in Bella’s eyes.

[Realm of Truth LV9]

Instantly, the world in Bella’s eyes was replaced by patches of color.

It was fortunate that the city’s Puki had been mostly depleted in earlier battles; only now did Bella dare to use it.

Despite this, nauseating blocks of chaotic color occasionally flashed across her field of vision.

She looked back at Gray, almost effortlessly discerning all details through the shades on Gray’s body—the second Demon Core beneath his right chest!

Why Gray possessed a second Demon Core, Bella didn’t know, but the power within this second core clearly surpassed the one in his chest.

Additionally, in Bella’s eyes, the color of the Demon Core significantly differed from Gray’s overall hue, indicating a weakness!

However, seeing a weakness doesn’t guarantee Bella can easily kill Gray.

The terrifying blue flames... Bella knew she only had one chance to strike.

Even if this strike succeeded, she would likely perish along with her enemy in the scorching heat.

Nevertheless, Bella had long prepared herself for death in battle.

Having journeyed alongside Heroic Sophia, so many have sacrificed; today, it’s simply her turn.

"Bless my success, Father! At the very least, let me severely wound this Demon Race!"

Bella abruptly halted her retreat, spinning around immediately...

Yet, at that moment, twin Sword Qi fell from the sky; Gray halted abruptly to dodge, but didn’t entirely evade, losing his left hand’s little and ring fingers to the flying blood, which quickly turned to charcoal under the blue flame’s high heat.

Gray paused cautiously, assessing the newcomer.

"Quick reflexes indeed, even a surprise attack couldn’t sever your head." Fifteen landed beside Bella, masked and wielding Dual Swords, greeting casually, "Hero’s sidekick, I hope I’m not late?"

From Fifteen’s metal backpack, No. 9 lifted the lid, poking out half of a mushroom cap, followed by courteously extending a mycelium tendril, waving it at Bella.

"No... ugh... not..." The silver glow in Bella’s eyes swiftly extinguished, and she covered her mouth, straining to respond.