Crimson Servant

John and others stepped into the myconid territory, with John in front, Barnes in the middle, and Lillian behind. Arlington did not join the team. His exaggerated size and evil appearance easily aroused uneasiness and hostility among the myconids. Arlington was on standby outside the mushroom forest. At this distance, as long as there was any movement or instructions from Barnes, he would fly in and join the battle as soon as possible.

The myconids patrolling the periphery discovered this team of adventurers. Their first reaction was not to turn their heads and observe a few people with their small eyes hidden under their crowns, but to twitch their bodies as if their tails had been stepped on. The cat made a basic reaction, and then turned in the direction of several people.

John raised the soles of his feet and looked at the ground beneath his feet. A small network of blue-gray mycelium was just under his feet. The myconids' cordon is not as lax as Vivian said, and not everyone can hide their weight like the female ranger.

The myconids did not hold weapons, and their way of warning was to get closer, stop outside the warning range of John and the others, and lean forward with a curious look.

The body of the mushroom man is like a twisted humanoid plant. Most of the body lines are diagonally upward in a spiral shape. The torso is almost light white and maintains a certain humidity, so it looks moist and shiny.

One of the myconids raised his hand, and there was a large red mushroom on his arm (about the wrist). After he raised it, the red mushroom began to tremble slightly, and the frequency of the trembling was like a pulse, and some light was shed. spore. The spores were in the form of clouds, floating towards John and the others.

John stretched out his hand to stop Vivian's action of drawing the sword, and took a step forward, taking the initiative to walk into the spore cloud. As a cold and wonderful feeling arose in his mind, a soft voice appeared in the warlock's mind.

[Hello, adventurer friends. 】

Myconids have no vocal organs and cannot speak, but they can communicate telepathically with people by spreading spores.

John nodded politely, but the myconid didn't seem to care about these etiquettes and didn't respond with any action.

[Hello, fungus friend. We are looking for a tall human male to be my companion. His hair color and eye color are black, and he was injured. We followed the footsteps and came here. If possible, I hope to find him where you live. 】

The guard myconid communicated silently with the other myconid, one returned to the camp and the other stayed to continue communicating with John.

[Friend adventurer, I am not sure if I have your companions in my homeland. If he is injured, the hunting party will surely bring him back for medical treatment. My companions are reporting the news of your arrival to our king. The king knows everything about our homeland. If your friend is here, the king will definitely give you the answer. 】

John and the others did not wait too long. The myconid who reported the report came back quickly and brought an order from the Myconid King to invite John and the others to enter the residence.

Everything so far is consistent with John's objective understanding of the myconids. The myconids are a kind race from the underground, friendly enough to accept any intelligent creature that will not attack.

John and the others headed towards the living area of ​​the myconids under the leadership of the myconids. Along the way, strange mushrooms poked their heads out from time to time and looked at a few humans with their small eyes. This island is located in a chaotic sea and is rarely visited by outsiders. Perhaps this is the first time that other species have entered here. Myconids express their friendship while satisfying their own curiosity. There is little fun in the boring life of the dark world.

Too many, John muttered to himself. This was not a sigh of relief at the total number of myconids, but a surprise at the number of myconids who walked out from both sides of the road and paid attention to John and his friends. Many myconids had stopped what they were doing before John arrived and stood waiting on the marching route. When John and the others passed by, they would stare at him as if paying attention. This gave a few people an unusual sense of being overly concerned. Myconids should be a relatively easy-going race.

John and others were led to a twenty-square-meter dark blue flat mushroom. The gills like a door curtain spread to one side, revealing the open space inside.

Raven was sitting on a protruding pale white mushroom bush, and the soft umbrella cover became a soft cushion. He was already awake, and the hyphae sticking to his body fell off one after another with the warrior's movements. Raven stood up after his companions appeared. He didn't want to show his weakness in front of his companions.

"Are you okay, Raven?" The companion's greeting received an expected answer.

"It's nothing serious." Raven replied calmly.

"We looked at the battle scene, and it's not something that can be summed up in just four words."

The warrior frowned, and his companion's worried look finally overwhelmed Raven's reserve. He briefly summarized what happened to him, skipping the memory of what he saw under hypnosis and the tragic battle after the rage.

"After I woke up, I saw a team of mind flayers. We started fighting, but I was outmatched and injured. When I thought I was going to be killed, those mind flayers suddenly exploded and sprouted Mushrooms, and then I met these myconids.”

Standing next to Raven, waiting for several adventurers to complete their exchange, was a myconid with a special appearance. Its body is taller than its kind, the mushrooms on its body are more colorful, and the mushroom crown is also the most plump and beautiful. The myconid's eyes are like two precious black agate stones, and there is a royal aura in every move.

It is the Myconid King, the manager and leader of this Myconid Woodland.

[Stoffals is here to say hello to you, great adventurer. 】

Myconid King Stoffals humbly expressed his presence to several adventurers. Its spores spread silently in this space, completing telepathy without even being noticed by John.

"Great?" This special word aroused John's doubts. Thinking of the inexplicable respect shown by the Myconids along the way, John had a new view on the existence of this king. The Morning Star team received special treatment from the Myconoid King. .

[Yes, great adventurer friend. The Father of Fungi granted me his wisdom, and I was ordered to leave the dark underground and come here, waiting for adventurers with a great mission, and provide help in any way I can. There is no doubt that that person is you, and every spore in me is alive with your presence. 】

John thought of what Francis once said, that every move he made was in the eyes of the gods. The myconid king, Stoffals, is probably the father of fungi, the priest of the myconid god. He was the first to show kindness to John, just as the myconids always did.

"If possible, I need you to provide us with some information, His Excellency Myconid King Stoffals."

[Tell me everything I know, my great adventurer friend. 】

"Do you understand this land shrouded in fog? Does the Father of Fungi have any guidance?"

The Myconid King showed a clear sign of distress, his shoulders dropped, and his crown tilted forward and narrowed in a circle, like a man lowering his head.

[This is the Forgotten Island, a place abandoned by the gods. I'm very sorry, but my tribe can't leave our territory very far. We only occupy a small part of the island. But there is no doubt that the island is rife with danger and evil. 】

The myconids provided little information, which was certainly their nature, and John was flattered by the fact that these myconids were here to welcome them in accordance with God's will.

"What about those mind flayers? Have you had any contact with the outsiders who landed on this island within a month?" John raised another doubt in his mind.

[No, not really, great adventurer friend. My people discovered those mind flayers with strange beards early on, but their dark and corrupt minds were like warning signs of danger. We didn't dare to get close, and we avoided them. but……】

There was a few seconds of silence in the Myconid King's telepathy, and then Stoffals made up his mind. John tasted his emotions based on the telepathy, which was a little determined, a little ashamed and helpless.

[However, some of my corrupted kin came into contact with those mind flayers, and a battle broke out, a fierce battle. 】

John's mind instantly thought of those mind flayer fungi, which turned out to be the parasitic spores of the corrupted myconids. The myconids managed by Stoffals were also resistant to those corrupted spores, so they placed the mind flayer's corpse in the There, instead of taking it back as fertilizer for the mushroom field.

"Your people have been corrupted?"

[Yes, a group of my tribe broke into an area in the center of the island while exploring, and they have since lost contact with their homeland. It was not until later that the expedition team set out again and discovered the corrupt compatriots entrenched in that forbidden land. They have become dangerous and violent, dry and lacking in nutrients, completely refusing our communication, and they will attack all creatures that try to approach the forbidden area. I didn't even know that my tribe could unleash such fighting power. We couldn't defeat those corrupt compatriots. Even if we were lucky enough to escape, those tribesmen who encountered the battle and were parasitized by dangerous spores would soon be killed by the spores. Fortunately, these spores lose their activity after killing the parasite, unlike those in the forbidden area. 】

There was obvious sadness in the Mycoid King's heart, and then he looked at John, with some hope emerging in his heart. The Warlock quickly understood what the Mycoid King meant: it hoped that the Day Star Team could deal with those dangerous corrupt compatriots. , bring them relief and ensure the safety of their residence.

John covered his head, he already understood the general outline of the matter. After the mind flayers arrived here, their goal was the forbidden land guarded by the corrupted myconids. The mind flayers clashed with the corrupted myconids, and some were completely left there.

Not surprisingly, that forbidden area was also the target of several of them. The things the Mind Flayer took from Mariana and the other slaves taken away by the shell ship were all transported there.

The warlock has already thought of the enemy he is about to face.

A group of ferocious Corruption Myconids and their fungus zombies.