Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Chapter 588 - 578: Problems Brought by Mushrooms

After the reunion, Sirean presented the story he had prepared.

In his account, he narrowly escaped from the enemies in the mist with the trump card he brought from home, but he was also seriously injured.

After the mist cleared, he ended up in a more distant location, and, as luck would have it, discovered a group of the Demon Race.

He had to flee in another direction, and by the time he recovered and returned, everyone from Golden Valley City had already withdrawn.

Afterward, he not only sought news of Vera but also headed towards Mushroom City, and only recently did he finally locate Vera.

The twins were very happy to see Sirean again, and although Vera felt a bit awkward, she was genuinely delighted as well.

Only Number Five seemed frightened, automatically curling up into a mushroom ball, complete with trembling, whenever Sirean approached.

With no other option, they had to let Fei Yin hold Number Five.

The viscount title granted to Vera by Duke Lorenzo was not just an honorary title but a true viscount title with an estate.

Mist Castle, a territory located on the current northwestern border of the Kingdom, near the new frontline, including several villages and a small stone castle.

The area was equivalent to two standard baronial domains in a basin region. Although the land wasn’t fertile, the territory contained a small silver ore vein, making it quite a good land.

As night deepened, the team heading to Mist Castle set up camp in a sheltered spot by the road.

The campfire crackled, illuminating faces with diverse expressions.

"It’s like a dream... we actually have our own territory! The biggest wish before was just to save enough money to rent a small shop in Mushroom City, selling potions or something," Fei Yin said, sitting by the fire with knees drawn up, tracing in the air with her fingers, "but now, it’s a whole piece of land, with villages, a castle!"

Fei Ling, however, was not as happy as her sister.

"What’s there to be happy about? A piece of land is just a burden. With the current situation, when the Demon Race makes a comeback in a few years, Vera will likely be summoned by that Duke to defend," she mumbled, eyes filled with worry, "I’d rather be a free adventurer. This title, I think Duke Lorenzo forced it on you, to tie you to the Kingdom’s war chariot."

At this moment, he had long since changed out of his noble clothes and into familiar leather armor.

Facing Fei Ling’s concerns, Vera smiled: "Fei Ling, I understand your concerns, but even without this title, aren’t we still humans? The Demon Race threatens everyone, and it’s no different from before; you just do as much as you can. Take this title as an unexpected reward."

Fei Ling opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but a figure approached the campfire.

Considering that Vera lacked manpower and experience, Lorenzo sent a team to assist her initial governance. Leading them was an elderly butler with graying hair and meticulous manners.

He approached, bowing slightly to Vera: "Viscount, sorry to interrupt your conversation. However, there are certain specifics about Mist Castle that I think you should know in advance."

"Go ahead, Mr. Harold."

Butler Harold cleared his throat: "The previous lord of Mist Castle was Viscount Clement. When the Demon Race harassed the border last time, he failed to fulfill his duty and fled with most of his wealth and confidants under the guise of diplomatic negotiations to seek refuge in the Dwarf Mountain Kingdom."

Fei Yin exclaimed, while Fei Ling showed a hint of disdain.

"After the war, as the situation calmed, Viscount Clement seemed to want to return and regain control of the territory," Harold continued, "but Duke Lorenzo has issued a warrant for his arrest for desertion, ending his hopes of return."

Vera nodded, having no fondness for such deserters either.

"However, the viscount’s hasty departure caused chaos in the territory, with many people fleeing out of fear or lack of governance. Although some returned post-war, Mist Castle’s population is about forty percent less than at its peak," he paused, glancing at Puki playing with Fei Yin’s hem, a subtle expression on his face: "And with the population decrease and lack of land management... According to recent records, the territory, especially near the old forest and abandoned fields, seems to have an unusual abundance of mushrooms growing."

"Mushrooms?" Vera raised an eyebrow, then shrugged indifferently, "More mushrooms aren’t a bad thing, right? At least it shows there won’t be a famine, better than a wasteland of weeds."

Butler Harold gazed at him, didn’t elaborate further, but nodded respectfully: "As you say. I suggest you rest early, as you’ll need to continue your journey tomorrow. Once you reach Mist Castle, there’ll be many decisions to make."

With that, he bowed and left.

Days later, when Vera’s party finally reached the boundary of Mist Castle and stood on his territory, he instantly understood Butler Harold’s meaningful look and what "unusually abundant" truly meant.

Contrary to his expectations of roadside mushrooms.

What first grabbed everyone’s attention was the eerie blue "forest" on the distant hillside.

These weren’t trees but towering Glowing Mushroom Trees over ten meters high!

Their broad gill caps underlined by hanging mycelium strands, from which Vera recalled that the purple spores likely had hallucinogenic effects.

Closer to the road were bizarre sights of a gray petrified mushroom forest.

Vera looked around, then up at the sky.

"This isn’t Pujie Dungeon either..."

Only then did Harold come closer again, explaining:

"In fact, since the mycelium spread everywhere, this kind of ecological change has been ongoing."

"Mushrooms indeed brought endless food and convenience, as Puki does, but there are also side effects."

"Kingdom towns and villages rely on tasks or organized cleanses to maintain surrounding areas, but, as I mentioned days ago, the local nobility and some citizens fled. With nobody managing it, the mushrooms grew like this in just a few months."

Upon Harold’s explanation, Vera realized that he had indeed seen similar mushroom clearing tasks in the Guild before.

But those were newbie-level tasks not given much thought.

Now realizing the situation, he was shocked to understand!

A tour of the domain revealed severe issues; hallucinogenic spores and petrification posed significant threats to ordinaries. The citizens weren’t lacking food but had limited mobility.

The only mushroom-free area was around the castle.

But judging by the traces on the ground, this was likely due to a recent cleanup ordered by Duke Lorenzo.

"With so many mushroom trees, how much manpower, how much time would it take to clean it all?" Fei Ling couldn’t help but complain.

Harold suggested settling in first, then having Vera seek additional support from the Duke later.

Amid the woes over the lush mushrooms, Number Five, knowing it would temporarily settle here, promptly jumped off Fei Yin’s head.

It began a mysterious dance on a fungal mat outside the castle.

As Number Five’s body moved in and out, two not-yet-grown mushroom trees were broken down by the fungal mat, replaced by a solid mushroom house.

Within ten minutes, a mushroom house suitable for Puki was fully grown, identical in style to those in the Mushroom Garden.

Number Five popped inside without a word, revealing just a mushroom cap, inviting the dumbfounded onlookers to tour its new home.

Fei Yin was the first to rush over, half her body entering the mushroom house.

Touching the soft, silky mycelium bed, she exclaimed in disbelief: "You have this kind of ability!"