Presenting Treasure and Swearing Fealty

Earlier, the Gray Dwarves had painted such a vivid and sinister picture, but after squeezing through the narrow rock crevice, the view suddenly opened up, revealing an entirely different scene.

Glowing mushrooms, fireflies, inverted stalactites, scattered glimmers, transparent pools of water—and Mushroom People and Little Stone Spirits brawling with each other.

The air smelled clean and fresh, like something out of a fairy tale.

The tense atmosphere vanished like smoke, and the Dragon Hatchlings let out a breath, their claws, prepared for battle, relaxing.

"This is a nice place."

Moqi muttered, "It'd be great if we could make it our secret territory."

The scene ahead was chaotic. Another round of fighting had just ended when several Stone Sprites rolled out, stopping at Moqi's feet. They scrambled up, ignoring everything else, and began hacking wildly at his clawed toes.

"They're pretty strong."

Moqi bared his teeth and swept them away with one claw. "Still, these little things seem to be having a grand old fight, and it has nothing to do with us. What do we do next?"

Xilong observed for a moment and confirmed that, whether Stone Sprites or Mushroom People, both sides were charging toward the center of the battlefield, fighting over the rock orb wrapped in mycelium.

"Xilong."

In Tas saw it too and raised his head in indication. "Is that Iron Grease hanging from those mycelia what you came looking for?"

Before setting out, Xilong had already explained the purpose of their trip. Moqi had added a few words and even recounted how they had caught mushrooms for the first time, though he had omitted some details.

Things like imitating mushroom cries had long since slipped his mind.

"Looking at it this way, that must be the Mushroom People's mycelial bed."

Moqi scratched the scales beneath his jaw. "Pull out the mycelium and scrape off the Iron Grease. Then today's haul will be a bumper harvest. This is pretty easy."

"That rock orb is unusual as well. It seems to possess some kind of spirit. With so many holes in it, it is probably a Stone Sprite nest. Because the mycelium has tangled around it, they've ended up fighting in a tangled mess."

In Tas spoke softly as he paced and observed, noticing more details. "There are many traces on the ground."

Following his gaze, Moqi saw a shallow groove in the fungal carpet. The groove stretched upward, winding all the way down from a patch of shadow high in the cavern.

"These were pressed into the ground."

In Tas said, "The rock orb was not originally here. It rolled down from above and smashed into the Mushroom People's mycelial bed."

As he explained, he climbed to the cavern ceiling. His tail and membranous wings hung down as he walked upside down above their heads. After training with Xilong for so long, In Tas had learned this much.

He found where the trail began. His eyes flickered as he searched around, examined the surroundings, and sniffed quietly for a while before returning to Xilong's side.

"A section of the rock wall above collapsed."

In Tas told Xilong, "There are many old traces there. It should have been where the Stone Sprites originally built their nest. There is no scent of other creatures, so it does not seem to have been caused by an outside force. The rock likely loosened over time, and the stone orb rolled free, landing right in the Mushroom People's territory."

Then the Thunderclap Dragon walked to the front and lowered himself, bringing his head close to the bright brown mycelia on the ground. The threads curled slightly beneath his hooked toes, winding around the Dragon Hatchling's claws.

"The mycelium has no consciousness, but it naturally spreads and clings."

In Tas stepped back. "When the rock orb fell and came to a stop, the mycelium burrowed into those holes. That is how they became entangled."

"The Gray Dwarves said they had heard strange and terrifying sounds all month. Those must have been the sounds of these two races fighting, only altered in pitch by the layers of rock between us."

The Thunderclap Dragon had laid out all the details. "The Nurturer was right. There was no major disaster below."

"Impressive."

Moqi praised him. "That makes things easier. We just need to cut the rock orb apart. Chrome Dragons are best at that. Then we'll scrape all the Iron Grease from the mycelium, and the job will be done."

"We cannot cut it apart."

In Tas shook his head. "Didn't you say the Mushroom People cannot survive without their mycelial bed? I think the same is true for these Stone Sprites. If we cut it apart, we would be extinguishing all their life."

"Extinguishing them? Then I'll be an exterminator."

Moqi's eyes shone, utterly unconcerned. "What does it have to do with us whether they live or die?"

"Indeed, we cannot cut it apart."

Xilong shook his head as well. "Do you remember the Nurturer's lord lessons? The Iron Grease in the mycelial bed can be produced in cycles, and the Stone Sprites seem like they can be subdued. Both are very useful to me. I do not want to be an exterminator. I want to be a conqueror."

"Well said." In Tas nodded with great seriousness.

"Oh no."

Moqi froze for a moment. "How did you praise him even faster than I did?"

Xilong looked at the rock orb in the center, his expression faintly contemplative.

"If there are no living creatures left, this underground space will not be fun."

Xilong added, "Even if it became a secret territory, it would still be meaningless."

"Then what do we do? We can't exactly untangle the rock orb and the mycelium. Look at those roots—they're wound into the cracks in the stone. It's a hopeless snarl, with a thousand threads and ten thousand ends."

Moqi muttered, "Even if we wanted to help them out, we couldn't do it. No one could."

In Tas also fell silent. His observations were meticulous, but precisely because of that, he understood how thorny the matter was. If they could not simply cut it apart cleanly, resolving the rock orb's problem would be exceedingly difficult.

"If no one can do it, then we have even more reason to try."

Xilong was eager to give it a go. He stepped forward. "Come help me."

Only now did the uninvited guests who had entered the underground space finally reveal their "mighty" forms.

The Little Stone Spirits and Mushroom People across the field were stunned by the sudden appearance of these monsters. They all stopped fighting, raised their heads, and stared blankly as the dragons passed through the center of the battlefield, forgetting to continue the battle for a moment.

Xilong lowered his head and brought it close to the rock orb covered in mycelium.

The rock orb was only about the size of a Kobold. In Tas had said it was a Stone Sprite nest, but that was likely incorrect. It was more like a Creation Rock Orb for Little Stone Spirits.

Neither Mushroom People nor Little Stone Spirits could reproduce on their own. Their populations relied on mycelium and rock orbs that served as Creation Rock Orbs.

Yet at this moment, that rock orb was completely covered in mycelium, like a ball of thread impossible to untangle.

Xilong blinked. His vertical pupils expanded and contracted, finally narrowing into tiny pinpoints. Faced with the countless tangled threads, he examined them patiently, as though appraising a rare treasure.

The mycelia were like the blood vessels of a living creature. Some were inconsequential, merely incidental connections formed while clinging to things, while others were main arteries sustaining the life of the mycelial bed.

The fate of their race was at stake, so no matter what, the Mushroom People would not allow the Stone Sprites to cut or touch it.

After a long while, Xilong slowly raised a claw. Like a seasoned tailor sewing clothes, and like a butcher dismembering prey, he began to cut.

The tips of his claws gleamed with exposed sharpness. With only the slightest tremble, a thin strand snapped at once.

When the first cut fell, Xilong's foreclaws moved swiftly. Like five straight, unsheathed daggers, they extended and folded back, their sharp edges dancing elegantly at his fingertips.

With perfect precision, he cut only the connections that absolutely had to be severed. Then he peeled them away and guided them aside, freeing the mycelia entwined within the stone's holes strand by strand.

Every cut Xilong made deftly avoided every vital point. He neither damaged the Mushroom People's main mycelial bed nor harmed the Creation Rock Orb upon which the Stone Sprites' lives depended.

The sight was nothing short of miraculous. Even Moqi and In Tas, though Chrome Dragons were renowned from birth for precision and sharpness, watched in near stupor.

The Little Stone Spirits and Mushroom People were equally dumbfounded, though they quickly grew restless and erupted into a great commotion.

To these two races, dragons were completely unfamiliar. With their intelligence, it was difficult for them to understand what those monsters were doing in such a short time.

To protect their mycelial bed and mother pool, the Mushroom People and Stone Sprites stopped fighting each other. Instead, they gathered in full force and charged together at the monsters in a suicidal final assault.

As the Stone Sprites stomped the ground until it clattered and the Mushroom People struck sparks with ringing blows, Moqi cautiously retreated a step. "This number... might be a little too much."

Xilong remained calm and unflustered, his eyes fixed ahead. "I need a little time. Drive them farther away. Do not disturb me."

"Understood."

In Tas immediately crouched and waited, taking a combat stance as blazing electric arcs flashed over his body.

Moqi bared his fangs. "The exterminator is coming."

He charged straight ahead in great strides, sweeping his tail to clear a fan-shaped space before him. Then he leaped, clawed, struck, and roared low. Moqi had chosen battle of his own accord, and it gave him the thrill of the dragon wars of extermination he remembered.

But although these Little Stone Spirits looked unremarkable, once they assembled into ranks, the fighting strength they displayed was extraordinarily high.

Their bodies were extremely hard. Even when struck and sent flying, they did not die. Before long, they climbed back up and charged bravely again. After several waves, drops of dark red blood actually began to trickle from between Moqi's claws.

On the other side, In Tas focused intently on dealing with the Mushroom People. His situation was much like Moqi's. As he attacked, he pondered, striving to apply the magical control Xilong had taught him in actual combat.

Xilong had said he needed a little time, but once he truly began, not much time passed at all. Moqi had not even had his fill of fighting when, after knocking away another group of Little Stone Spirits, he discovered that the overwhelming charge had stopped in perfect unison.

At the center of the field, the ferocious steel-gray monster set aside the main body of the mycelial bed, lifted the rock orb from the ground, held it before his eyes, and examined it closely.

The Stone Sprites and Mushroom People across the field stared blankly at the scene, at their intact mother pool and "clean" mycelial bed, each quietly standing whole and separate once more.

Then—

"Bujibujibuji."

"Creak creak creak."

The Little Stone Spirits and Mushroom People all burst into cheers.

They finally understood. These monsters had not come to hurt them, but to save them. They were also incredibly wise and powerful; from the moment they entered to the moment they finished, only a short while had passed, yet they had resolved the problem that had tormented them for a month.

"Haha, whatever treasures you have, bring them all forth now."

Moqi held his head high and puffed out his chest, looking enormously pleased with himself, as though he had rendered the greatest service.

The Little Stone Spirits laid down their stone swords. They circled Xilong one after another, then gradually crouched down, pressing their round bodies against the ground.

The Mushroom People slowly pushed their mycelial bed closer. Hidden among the mycelia was a large piece of Iron Grease, already solidified into shape, dark red in hue and gleaming with a metallic luster.

The oldest Mushroom Person climbed onto the mycelial bed and waved its short arms at Xilong. A group of Mushroom People lifted the Iron Grease, struggling to hold it above their heads.

Xilong looked down at them.

After holding it up for so long without any reaction from Xilong, the little creatures shuffled forward a few more steps together, rising onto their toes and trying their hardest to lift the Iron Grease even higher.

As though presenting a treasure.

"No matter how formidable Ladon is, does any living creature swear fealty to him?"

Moqi looked at the Little Stone Spirits kneeling before Xilong and chuckled happily. "Xilong has followers now, just like the dragon lords of the Lineage. Hehe, the first dragon lord among the Dragon Hatchlings."