novelhk Page 257
Page 257
Any fungus can be assimilated by the Queen and have its abilities acquired.
The "Girl" in front of you may want to smash the dragon and obtain its mutated, high-powered slime as her new power.
"Your Highness Qin He, the Explosive Shattering Dragon is currently active on the ninth and tenth floors. Its strength is unknown... but it shouldn't be above the mid-stage of the Saint Realm."
"I would like to ask you and your companions to help me obtain its mutated slime mold. That way... I can endlessly produce the same high-powered slime mold to cause trouble for our common enemy—the gray dwarves!"
Chapter 343 Black Corrosion Sealing Boundary, One-Punch Immortal Mushroom
In this world, the Raging Brachydios is a newly discovered individual, also known as the Critical Brachydios, which was only identified a few years ago. The slime mold on its body surface is called Critical Slime.
When Brachydios is in an excited battle state, the slime mold on its body surface will become active and turn yellow. Critical slime mold, on the other hand, remains constantly active.
However, the origins of the critical slime mold have not yet been studied by scholars in this world. That's why Xuezhi entrusted the drow elf and Qin He with the task of capturing this ferocious shattered dragon together.
Because they were not properly preserved, and the tenth floor was ravaged by steel dragons, the continuous torrential rains and strong winds washed away and eroded the remaining slime mold. Therefore, what the mushroom people are collecting now are all dead, critically dying slime molds.
Xuezhi deduced that critical slime mold could only be collected from a live, Explosive Raptor. However, Qin He knew the cause of critical slime mold—
In certain volcanic areas rich in fire-elemental natural energy, if a dragon happens to be active, it may release dormant slime mold. These unexploded slime molds will then sink underground during geological movements.
After absorbing enormous amounts of natural energy, these critical slime molds have the opportunity to return to the ground due to geological movements such as volcanic eruptions.
This critical slime mold, which contains natural energy, is difficult for even the Brachydios, which has lived in symbiosis with slime mold since birth and is not afraid of explosive damage, to control.
Some Broken Dragons headed to volcanic regions in pursuit of the power of the critical slime mold, but many could not withstand the exponentially increasing explosive force and died from the critical slime mold.
Only truly powerful Skullbreakers can overcome the explosive damage inflicted by the Critical Slime and successfully coexist with it.
Such special individuals are extremely difficult to deal with, even for those below the mid-stage of Sainthood...
If Xuezhi only wants the critical slime mold, Qin He can easily tell her about its characteristics. Finding an area unaffected by the storm from the Steel Dragon would offer a chance to locate the critical slime mold.
But can she really withstand it? Even the mid-stage Saintly Explosive Dragon can only reduce most of the explosive damage from the critical slime mold. It is common for her to inflict a thousand damage on the enemy while losing two hundred on herself.
The Xue Zhi before them was only at the peak of the ninth rank. Unless the spores she controlled could protect her from the damage of the explosion, attempting to master the critical slime mold was essentially suicidal.
It wasn't explicitly stated at the banquet that Qin He was only discussing the matter of entering the tenth level with Xue Zhi. Details regarding the slime mold could be discussed later.
"Your Highness Qin He, you must have already learned about the Gray Dwarves' actions from Trisna. They have once again broken the agreement and secretly sent slaves to mine the Golden City."
"At the same time, they are also trying to control the ring."
Xuezhi's expression turned quite angry. Before coming here, Qin He had heard from Cuisina about the recent rebellion of the mushroom people.
Each mushroom person possesses independent consciousness, and the so-called circle is the social core of the mushroom person race. Mushroom people connected by the circle can share information and traditions with their fellow mushroom people.
Fortunately, the rebellion instigated by the gray dwarves has been suppressed, and Xuezhi remains the next Mushroom Queen, even able to control the will of the fungi.
As a manifestation of the will of the fungi, Xuezhi is a rare find in the world of the fungi people.
Qin He searched his memories for a long time but found no information whatsoever about this so-called "microbial community will." Finally, he gleaned information from the tree seed given to him by Celesi—
By becoming the will of the fungal community, Xuezhi is equivalent to the sum of the power of all individuals in the entire fungal kingdom. With a single thought, she can access the magical essence and natural energy of the fungal people within the kingdom through the ring.
In other words, even if she currently only possesses the strength of a peak ninth-tier being, she can still leap into the Saintly Godhood realm after officially becoming the Will of the Microbiome.
If she becomes the will of the fungi, her fungus kingdom will be prosperous enough. It wouldn't be impossible for her to attain the peak of godhood through this.
Furthermore, the will of the microbial community can unconditionally share its abilities with its subjects.
Now she possesses the green slime mold of the Shattered Dragon. By communicating with the ring through the will of the fungus, she can enable other fungus people to also evolve slime mold spores and a constitution that can perfectly adapt to slime mold.
She can even share those alluring spores, turning every mushroom person into a beast tamer who can unconditionally control a large number of magical beasts.
Furthermore, the will of the microbial community is an entity that does not decay naturally. It possesses an endless lifespan and, unless killed in battle like previous wills of the microbial community, is an immortal being.
The will of the microbial community also has the ability to link life. As long as there are living fungus people within the circle, the damage Xuezhi suffers will be shared by the fungus people within the kingdom.
Would a fatal injury still be fatal if it were distributed among millions or even tens of millions of people?
This means that killing Xuezhi has become extremely difficult. The options are either to wipe out all the fungus people in the Dark Region to break the life link, or to separate the will of the fungi from the fungus kingdom.
Otherwise, no matter what harm she suffers, she can recover from the life force of the entire race, and the life link can also be limited to a specific range.
If an individual within the mushroom-people tribe is corrupted by the gray dwarves or other evil forces, Xuezhi can capture it and establish a one-way life link with that heinous sinner.
In this way, when the will of the microbial community is fatally attacked, all the damage will be transferred directly to the evil fungus man.
"That's amazing!"
Zhong Liuxiu wagged her tail and rubbed against Qin He with her soft dragon tail.
Qin He sighed inwardly. Although Xue Zhi wasn't particularly powerful at the moment, as an immortal being, her future potential was extremely high.
"Your Highness Qin He... my mother understands the importance of the will of the microorganisms. She forbids me from going into danger alone, but I still intend to join you in defeating the gray dwarves."
"If you wish, the Circle and the Will of the Fungi will become loyal allies of the Dragon Emperor. I will also serve as a friendly bridge between the dragons and the fungi, accompanying you and witnessing your adventures."
Qin He understood; Xue Zhi was simply fed up with being confined at home and wanted to go on an adventure with him.
On the tenth floor, in addition to fighting the Explosive Brachydios, she can also see the Ancient Dragons.
Living in the dark underground, she could only live the regular life of a mushroom person, getting up early and going to bed early every day.
Finally, Qin He, such a significant partner, has come along. If he is willing to take Xue Zhi away, she can naturally start living a normal life on the ground.
……
"Queen Xuezhi... Lord Longyuan is pleased to cooperate with you."
Qin He reached out and clasped Xue Zhi's slender, white hand as she retracted the spores. Frankly speaking, this collaboration was a win-win situation for both parties.
Xuezhi can obtain slime from the Raging Brachydios, and Qin He can also hunt materials from the Raging Brachydios.
If Qin He were to extend his reach into the Dark Realm afterward, with Xue Zhi around, the Mushroom Kingdom would be his most loyal partner.
With half a dragon clan as their backer, even if someone wanted to destroy Xuezhi and cause the will of the fungus to die, the Dragon Domain Council would step in to stop them.
After confirming the cooperation, Xuezhi secretly transmitted her voice to Qin He:
"Your Highness Qin He, before we head out to defeat that Explosive Shattering Dragon, we can take on a few other raiding quests together."
"Would you do me the honor of... traveling with me?"
Faced with the Queen of the Mushrooms' enthusiastic invitation, Qin He did not show any hesitation.
"Since it is Queen Xuezhi's kind invitation, Qin He will naturally accept it."
……
To reach the tenth floor directly through the mushroom people's secret passage, some preparation time is still needed.
Now, Qin He has some free time to find some commissions to complete with Xue Zhi. The first commission is to hunt down the mid-level eighth-tier Swift Dragon that appears on the fifth floor.
This velociraptor lives in the jungle outside the fifth-level canyon and is a terrestrial flying wyvern. It is not good at flying and mainly moves by gliding and crawling. Its back is covered with grayish-blue fur.
The extended wing bones of the forelimb talons are like sharp blades and are one of the main offensive organs. Hunters usually refer to this structure as blade wings.
They have small, sharp teeth, are active at night, and rely more on hearing than sight.
Resembling a bat and a feline, the velociraptor possesses sonic positioning and agile speed. Its tail is covered with sharp spines, which it raises when excited in battle, making attacks such as tail sweeps even more deadly.
It can also swing its tail to send its tail spines flying like javelins, launching long-range attacks on enemies in front of it.
Now, Mira's team and Irene are approaching the velociraptor's habitat, intending to subdue the dragon that attacked the adventurers.
"Get ready," Eileen said, brandishing her long, slender defensive katana as she charged forward.
Mira drew her fairy bow, ready to provide support from the rear, while Freya's blessing magic gave Eileen more stamina to face the swift dragon's attacks.
Sensing the hunter's blade, the Nargacuga immediately closed its two sharp wing bones, and a crisp metallic clang rang out.
The velociraptor retreated at incredible speed, then swung its spiky tail at an extremely tricky angle towards Eileen, intending to pin her to the ground.
The heavy golden bell on the cowgirl's chest swayed gently, a warning to her to avoid danger. Following her preparations before coming to hunt the velociraptor, she advanced instead of retreating, executing a graceful roll to dodge beneath the velociraptor's neck.
It was extremely dangerous. The ground where Eileen had just stood was now riddled with holes from the velociraptor's sharp tail spines.
Upon realizing that the hunter was trying to ambush its neck, the velociraptor instinctively opened its sharp teeth, attempting to tear the voluptuous cowgirl in two.
Unfortunately, it can't do that.
Eileen's attack from the front was merely a feint, while Inanna used this time to find a good position, riding on the back of the golden dragon Ulu, and leaping down from the sky!
She swung the Divine Hymn with all her might, and the greatsword she had been holding back slammed down towards the top of Swift Dragon's head.
This surprise attack was quickly detected by the Nargacuga's sonic targeting. If Inanna had attempted a direct strike with her greatsword, the Nargacuga would have easily detected it and dodged.
But if she turned the slash into a strike like this, Divine Hymn would have a chance to hit the velociraptor's head. Eileen then rolled away, slipping past the velociraptor's side.
The velociraptor had no time to pay attention to the cow hunter wielding the katana, because this attacker, who was descending from the sky with a greatsword, was clearly a greater threat.
Intending to dodge the attack with all her might, Eileen, under the protection of powerful buff magic, used her katana to pin down the velociraptor's wing claws, preventing it from retreating or moving sideways.
Meanwhile, Mira's Fairy Bow, which had been gathering power for a long time, had also accumulated enough natural energy.
A beam of light pierced the air and exploded on the head of the velociraptor, and then—
Inanna landed and struck, sending up a cloud of dust.
With the combined power of numerous spells and Inanna's own monstrous strength, the heavy blow inflicted considerable damage on the velociraptor. The broad, heavy blade slammed down, instantly sending sand and rocks flying across the clearing in the forest.
Within the deep, cracked crater in the ground, the velociraptor's eyes flashed with a ferocious red light, a result of its injury. The ringing in its ears from the severe blow to its head had greatly impaired its hearing.
This is undoubtedly bad news for the Nargacuga, which relies more on sound waves for navigation than sight. Fortunately, as creatures nourished by natural energy, Nargacuga have a stronger recovery ability than other magical beasts of the same level.
Although this injury has a significant impact, given time, it will soon be no longer a problem...
"Inanna, watch out."
Qin He gave a reminder, and Inanna, who had adjusted her stance, also mobilized her fighting spirit to prepare for the velociraptor's angry charge.
Land-based flying wyverns, known for their speed, rely on sprinting as their fastest mode of movement besides gliding. In Qin He's words, this chariot-like, reckless attack is called a "dragon chariot."
Although Inanna retreated far enough after her successful attack, the dragon's charge, accompanied by the velociraptor's furious bite, followed immediately—
Taking the hammer from her waist, Inanna gradually imbued the Truth Strike with her fighting spirit, and hurled it fiercely at the velociraptor's sharp teeth and claws!
The oncoming hammer slammed into its face, and the velociraptor roared angrily amidst the excruciating pain and spurting blood.
Immediately, it felt something dark brush against its back. The stinging pain of its fur being ripped open followed.
It was Wilde; she had been hiding among the branches, looking for the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
The sharp, emerald-green fangs in her hand not only slashed and twisted along the back under cover of concealment, but also plunged viciously into the velociraptor's head.
Although it failed to pierce the velociraptor's skull, the sudden sting was enough to terrify it.
When a monster is at a disadvantage in battle, it will try to escape to other areas of its habitat. It will recover its strength through hunting, light sleep, and other methods.
But the velociraptor turned to flee, only to be suddenly blocked by a pink, furry creature. Three purple lightning darts locked onto the velociraptor's head, continuously drawing lightning and bombarding its injured skull.
"Roar--!"
Roaring again, the Swift Dragon had no inherited memories. Naturally, it was unaware of the terrifying power of the Purple Lightning Cat's light dart lock-on attack.
All it knew was that a cat would follow the hunter, and it would beat up all the cats, whether they could stand on two legs or on all fours.
The swift dragon charged again, its sharp fangs gleaming menacingly in the lightning. However, the peak eighth-tier Purple Lightning Cat before it was not afraid of it.
A flash of lightning, and the purple electric cat, the size of a winter melon, instantly lunged at the Nargacuga's left claw. Crimson Snow, seemingly harmless, charged forward on its sharp bladed wings, its jaws locking onto the scales near the Nargacuga's neck.
The Purple Lightning Cat, with its short but sharp fangs, unleashed a torrent of lightning magic after locking the dragon's neck, intending to burn the velociraptor's neck.
Not only that, but Scarlet Snow also used its two hind claws to tear open the scales and flesh of the Velociraptor's throat. The two cat claws, wreathed in lightning, transformed into razor-sharp knives in a digging motion so fast that afterimages were no longer visible.
The velociraptor's fear intensified as this horrible creature ripped at its throat. If those vicious cat claws were to strike its chest, it would rip its belly open—
"We have to get rid of this thing!"
Having made this judgment, the velociraptor glided towards the tall, ancient tree in the distance, attempting to smash the deadly reaper beside its neck into a pulp.
But just as it was about to crash into the ancient tree, the Purple Lightning Cat transformed into a dazzling bolt of lightning and grabbed the Nargacuga's fur. With a deafening roar, the ancient tree collapsed.
By the time the Swift Dragon noticed the Purple Lightning Cat's presence, its sharp claws had already torn the Swift Dragon's mane, sending it flying everywhere like goose feathers.
The match was too poor; the velociraptor's scales and fur were insufficient to withstand the tearing of the Scarlet Cat's claws. Coupled with the constant onslaught of purple lightning, the velociraptor, its body gradually becoming paralyzed, found it difficult to shake her off.
Suddenly, Crimson Snow was enveloped in purple lightning. She flew back directly from the back of the velociraptor, and because of the purple lightning protecting her, the velociraptor's blood could not stain her paws at all.
Back at Qin He's feet, the Purple Lightning Cat, which had been so fierce just moments before as if it wanted to tear the Swift Dragon apart, immediately became docile and lay openly in Qin He's arms.
If one hadn't witnessed Fei Xue's battle firsthand, no one would believe that the creature before them was the fastest and most terrifying lightning-type magical beast in the world.
He tried to escape, but was stopped by Fei Xue. Xunlong knew he had no way out; it seemed he was going to be defeated here today.
Xunlong turned around and stared fiercely at Eileen and the others with his scarlet, sharp eyes.