Arcane Journey

Chapter 66
In the caverns of silt and mushrooms, a large pool of clean water flows in the middle of the fungus woodland.

Glowing phosphorescent fungi covered the ceiling and stone walls of the cave, forming strange constellations, contrasting a dark chasm and a small cave shrouded in mist ahead.

Bastifer, the old and emaciated mushroom man, stood in the only dry place: the central mound.

In its deep eyes, it looks sadly at the small crack rising from the cave floor far away from the forest glade, and there are many giant mushrooms.

"My king."

Lobam, the leader of the hunter association, sounded from the bottom of Mushroom King's heart: "All the clansmen in the entire forest have been gathered here, just"

The leader of the association paused for a moment, and then said in a sad tone, "In addition to the members of the Master Association, there are also a small number of clan members who have been completely corrupted by the demon-polluted spores. We can't stop them, so we have to take tough measures." .”

"That's the only way to do it," the Fungus King sighed in his heart.

The fungus family advocates simplicity, sharing joy, and living in the fungus woodland in the Underdark region relying on the perception and insight generated by their own thoughts.

Because of their naive personalities and unique ways of empathy, as well as their fungal nature, many tribesmen are extremely vulnerable to the depraved infection of the Fungal Queen Zugmoy.

Standing on the high platform, the mushroom man king could not help but feel sad when he looked down at the many tribesmen who became more and more unrestrained, intoxicated by the cycle of saprophytic and crazy transcendental dreams behind the fungus demon.

They are pushing this forward with childlike ignorance, seeing the corruption of all life as a sense of wonder and delightful carnival, unable to comprehend the fact that they are steeped in evil.

"We must not let our allies fall into crisis." King Fungus ordered the leader of the association beside him.

The golden elf Severil confidently assured it that he would be able to deal with the lich hiding in the depths of the forest.

And the half-elf Brian, who knew the fungus people well, was more willing to take the most dangerous mission and chose to face the fungus queen who lived in Yogmogu Palace.

These kind-hearted adventurers from the surface have fought the deadliest enemy for their mushroom people, and they must not be dragged down by this.

"Remember, you have to try your best to stop those less corrupt fungus from going to the Master Society and Yogmog Palace to attend the wedding, because this is the only way to save them! It is also the way to drive the Fungus Queen back to the Abyss The only way!"

The mushroom man Bastife recalled the warning that Brian gave it in an extremely solemn tone before he left.

At this time, it didn't have time to think about why the other party knew so much about the fungus queen and their mushroom people.

All it knew was that the mysterious half-elven adventurer's warnings made sense.

Because if these tribesmen cannot be prevented from going to the wedding scene, they will be completely corrupted by the fungal queen, and they will turn against each other, hindering Brian's plan to expel Zugmoi.

After all, the characteristics of their mushroom people make it dare not let people approach the range of the fungal queen at will to support Brian.

This also means that if they fail in this link, Brian and his companions will face enemies in addition to the twelve bridesmaids and six housekeepers of the Fungal Queen, and they will have to meet all the enemies in the entire Dark Forest at the same time. A completely corrupted mushroom man.

This is by no means what it wants to see.

Feeling the evil sound and light effect spread by the fungus queen in the lightless forest, the fungus king Bastifei looked down at the people who were more and more indulgent, intoxicated and carnival.

It gazed at the void devoutly, and called out the divine name of the great fungus lord Boslofer deep in its heart:
"My Lord Boslofer!"

"You are the benevolent god of mushroom people, the protector of the mushroom people!"

"Your humble disciple Bastife begs for your answer!
I pray that you will bestow purification magic to help our people! .Zugmoy the Fungal Queen is wreaking havoc on our homeland!
The dream shared by the queen through spiritual communication! ...planting corruption deep into the entire colony! .Make the calm and peaceful nature of Fungiman become restless and frenzied!
Our people have lost a lot!Many people who are pure and innocent by nature have completely become the slaves of the fungal queen.
If even you can't help us!All myconids throughout the Underdark are at risk of corruption! "

Persia Lophael is the benevolent god of the fungus.

A meditative deity who lives in a mechanical mirror.

He is also the god of teaching of their mushroom people.

His only concern is the protection of the myconid race and the pursuit of perfection through meditation.

At this moment, Zugmoy, Queen of the Fungus, is planning a wedding in Yogmog to the consciousness of the Sunless Grove.

When she has no time to be distracted, Bastifer must take this opportunity to free the less corrupt clansmen from the queen's control, and buy more time for Brian to drive her back to the bottomless abyss.

As the priest of Persian Lofeel, Bastifer naturally knew how to pray to the gods he believed in to get help from the Great Fungus Lord.

In the cave full of silt and mushrooms, the mushroom man king is still praying to the great fungi lord with his devout spiritual words.

The gathered mushroom people, however, were affected by the evil sound and light effects of the fungus queen in the depths of the forest, and gradually became restless, and even walked towards the wedding scene involuntarily.

Apparently, the wedding in Yogmog's ancient palace is about to begin.

If Busty couldn't appease the mushroommen gathered here before the wedding reached its climax, then it would be a catastrophe to welcome them.

"The greatest, grandest moment of the Darkwood has come!"

The leader of the builders association gathered in the crowd is like a tall tower in the building complex, which is particularly conspicuous. I saw it spewing out the spores of telepathy, raised its hands, shook the wide umbrella-shaped cap, and shouted frantically:

"Rejoice, the day of joy has come! Let us build a mushroom tower that is more magnificent than the palace of Yogmog, and welcome the arrival of the great sower!"

"A very wonderful surprise is coming!"

"The generous and great lady of decay will give us fertile ground and nourishment!"

"Darkwood with Lady Fungus!"

"No one can stop us from meeting the great sower!"

…………

The shout of the leader of the builders association was like an omen, and all kinds of carnival echoed in all directions at the same time.

Thick spore clouds spewed out from the glistening caverns, and the myconids rushed toward the wedding venue amidst cheers, sharing their mad joy.

The leader of the hunter association suddenly felt the pressure double.

It mobilizes the mushroom guards, spore servants, and mushroom warriors in its hands as much as possible to form a fungal forest wall on the only way to the wedding site, blocking the progress of the mushrooms affected by the corrupt spores.

Looking around, the fungus people gathered here are like a forest that is being ravaged by a strong wind, swaying frantically and dancing wildly.

Just when the chaos was about to lead to a large-scale riot, Bastifer finally got a response from the fungus master.

In a trance, it was pleasantly surprised to see a majestic fungal tree growing blue-gray hyphae at an extremely fast speed.

These hyphae traveled through distant time and space, distant planes, to their distant worlds, and took root in the land of the sunless woodland.

Little by little divine light emerged in the darkness.

"Welcome, my lord! The great lord of fungi."

The mushroom king knelt on the ground devoutly, with a misty blue-gray spore cloud on the gleaming umbrella above his head.

Luminescent spore clouds float in the mud and mushroom-strewn caverns under the silent breeze.

at the same time.

The moment the rioting mushroommen came into contact with the blue-gray spores, the frenzy in their eyes immediately returned to clarity, like a mushroom tree rooted in the ground, they just stood there motionless.

This is a chanting ceremony!
Fungi people share everything through Nianhe.

The telepathic spores transformed by the divine power of the fungus lord can connect the telepathy of all the fungimen here, and share the views, fears, hopes and dreams of the fungi king.

Only through the unique method of reunion, these mushroom people corrupted by the fungal queen can jointly build the heart and soul of their own colony, and save their corrupted souls from the abyss.

Then, the dull forest land in front of the mushroom man king Bastifer disappeared.

In its place was a field covered in spongy moss, dotted with puddles of ooze.

In the distance stands a magnificent palace made of giant mushrooms and interconnected bridges.

A cloud of spores fell from the sky, covering all matter.

A tall creature smiled and beckoned to it.

Her upper body was vaguely humanoid, with four slimy, fibrous tentacles growing from her forehead, making her even more disgustingly beautiful.

Her lower body was a mass of writhing, throbbing tentacles overgrown with fungus like a hideous robe.

This is Zugmoi, Queen of the Fungus Demon, and her fungal palace on the 222nd floor of the Abyss.

Any myconid who sees this vision will be driven into Zugmoy's madness.

With the blessing of divine power, the fungus king Basdi Fei successfully resisted the fate of being corrupted.

It finally saw the images of the tribesmen that were rooted deep in their minds, and also understood the reason why they fell into madness.

To purify their clansmen, it must completely remove this illusion rooted in the depths of their minds.

Under the permeation of the blue-gray purification spores, the fungus king Bastifer immediately connected with the telepathy of the clansmen, showing his spiritual space to everyone.

It began to recall good things, recalling the quiet and peaceful days of the mushroom people.

With its continuous fantasies, the illusions of the fungal queen and the fungal palace rooted in the depths of the mushroom man's mind began to gradually disappear.

In its place is a beautiful and rich fungal woodland.

As the breeze blew, all the colors—lavender and pale blue, brown red, rust and dark green—continuously changed in that patch of mushroom forest.

The thick, wrinkled stems of fungal mushrooms are mossy in the water of underground rivers.

The water flow is slowly blown into gentle swirls by the wind, and seems to be hindered and stagnant by rocks, mushroom roots, and luminous moss hanging and falling.

In the spiritual space of Nianhe, there is no clear path, no direct fluorescent light, only luminous fungi, toadstools, mushrooms, lichens and other plants are mixed with the tall fungal fluorescence to form a A shadowy mass.

Immediately afterwards, all the mushroommen saw a giant mushroomman in Bastifer's mental space at the same time.

He floated in mid-air, with a huge mycelium complex floating behind him.

Its cap is covered with star-shaped blue-gray mushrooms, interspersed with other distinctive fungi.

Mushroom people threw themselves into the fragrant fungus, intoxicated by the spectacle.

I do not know how long it has been
The fungus king Basdifei was pleasantly surprised to find that the phantoms of the fungus queen in the minds of his people had been eliminated by the purification spores bestowed by the fungus lord.

Then, the picture in front of it disappeared again.

In its place is its familiar lightless woodland.

It saw many tribesmen regain their silence and monotony, looking around blankly, as if they were talking about what happened.

This made him smile in relief from the bottom of his heart.

Now, the corrupt fungimen have been purified under the guidance of the Fungus Lord. As long as Severil and Brian succeed, the entire Sunless Forest will be rejuvenated.

"My king."

At this moment, the leader of the Explorers Association rushed over and reported to him through the teleportation spores, "Temo is missing again."

"what?"

The joyful Fungus King Basdifei was startled when he heard this, and said in disbelief, "Didn't you guys keep watching over it, why did it disappear again? What's going on, Lashalu?"

It knew that Rashalu, the leader of the Explorers Association, had always been loyal to him.

Lasha Road, which frequently leaves the woodland, can use this to compare the changes in Filo and the entire colony more clearly, so no one can believe it except itself.

Because of this, in the process of the people being corrupted by the fungus queen, it gave Rashalu one of the most important tasks.

That is to let it prepare for fleeing in advance, and prepare and store supplies in the tunnel where it left, and be ready to abandon the lightless forest together at any time.

Although they have now decided to live and die with the Sunless Forest, it doesn't mean that the myconids will all be wiped out here.

Take advantage of the adventurers on the surface to fight the fungus queen and lich.

It had already secretly dispatched the leader of the Explorers' Guild to lead Teemo away from the Sunless Woodlands to the remote Fungal Forest.

Who would have thought that when the accident happened again, Timo would disappear again.

In the heart of the fungus King Bastifer, he would rather the entire Dark Forest be destroyed than allow Teemo to suffer any harm.

Because Teemo is the mushroom man larva chosen by the Lord of Fungi, and also the hope of the fungal forest in the future.

"This time is different from the last time I met the drow patrol." The leader of the explorer association said, "It left on its own initiative, and we can't stop it at all."

"Do you need to send someone to look for it?" The leader of the hunter association suggested.

The fungus King Bastife stared at the clansmen who had recovered to their original state. It was silent for a long time, and said in a rather difficult tone:

"If you distract yourself from looking for Teemo at this time, these purified tribesmen are likely to be polluted again. In this case, the plan of the surface adventurers to deal with the fungal queen will be ruined."

"That Timo it."

"The Great Lord of Fungi will bless it." The Fungus King raised his umbrella-shaped mushroom head, facing the void, and murmured.

It knew that the wedding of the fungus queen Zugmoi was about to reach its climax, and it had to use the purification spores given to it by the fungus lord to perform a second reunion ceremony for the clansmen.

Otherwise, they will face the risk of being corrupted a second time under the influence of the queen's evil sonic effect.

As for Teemo, the subconscious told it that its departure was an instruction from the Fungus Lord.

Just as it disappeared for the first time, it accidentally brought back a group of adventurers who saved the lightless woodland.

At the same time, one after another of crazy and joyful ravings penetrated the consciousness of the mushroom man Bastifer and echoed in the depths of its mind.

It was startled slightly, and deeply realized that this was the harbinger of the wedding in the ancient palace of Yogmogo.

In other words, the fungus queen Zugmoy's 'stinky wedding' is about to begin!

…………

(End of this chapter)