Chapter Summaries

Little Black captured Eugene, who realized the Fungal Carpet was monitoring the Northern Territory before killing himself with Blood Manipulation. Dean learned the truth from Eugene’s blood and ordered a retreat to the Empire, while Linden resolved to bring the northern border under Mushroom ownership.

• Little Black seized Eugene and escaped Dean’s pursuit while Linden explained that the gemstone she saw was only an image.
• Eugene deduced that the Fungal Carpet let the Fungal Fortress monitor the Northern Territory and track him.
• Eugene used Blood Manipulation to explode into scattered blood, and his panel vanished.
• Dean received information through Eugene’s blood and ordered his companion to withdraw to the Empire.
• A temporary Magic Array killed Dean’s companion, but Dean destroyed the array and escaped.
• Linden abandoned his plan to pretend to be weak and decided to bring the Empire’s northern border under Mushroom ownership.

Little Black returned to her Mushroom House after realizing the shiny gem was gone, while the battle at the Luo River ended in a decisive victory for Linden's forces and their allies. Three Demon Race fugitives escaped the Northern Territory through mycelium symbiosis, and the Lizardman discovered that many survivors had done the same.

• Little Black remembered a puji carrying the shiny gem to her Mushroom House and flew back toward it.
• Linden's forces defeated Eugene's remaining troops, captured two-thirds of the routed soldiers, and left the rest to flee.
• General Dvalin considered Fungal Fortress's unexpected strength and resolved to report it to the Clan Council.
• A Lizardman, a Horned Demon, and a badly wounded Demon Descendant fled south, struggling against the Northern Territory's cold.
• The Lizardman discovered mycelium spreading through the wounded Demon Descendant, then stabbed himself beneath a Mushroom Tree to seek mycelium symbiosis.
• Ten days later, the Lizardman and Horned Demon reached a Demon Race barracks, where the Lizardman found that most surviving soldiers were also symbiotic with mycelium.

Mortis concluded that the Demon King was behind the Northern Territory’s upheaval and prepared a concealed Anti-Magic Array as a trap. In the north, Dean received command of the border without reinforcements and chose to release and reorganize the suspected parasitized soldiers as the Dwarves remained unaware of the danger.

• Mortis learned that Eugene had been killed and refused to divert forces from his plans, granting Dean full authority over the northern border.
• Mortis linked the northern abnormalities to the missing Holy Scripture and the Demon King, then inspected the secret Anti-Magic Array being built beneath Dragon Cliff Dungeon.
• Dean received Mortis’s appointment letter and faced the challenge of defending the north with depleted forces and no reinforcements.
• Dean’s Demon Descendants debated whether to kill or confine the soldiers who had returned from Eugene’s campaign under suspicion of mycelial parasitism.
• Dean ordered the suspected soldiers released and reorganized, while the victorious Dwarves at the Fungal Fortress remained unaware of the parasitism’s severity.

The Fungal Fortress celebrated its victory as Baduo learned that the red-cloaked Puji conducting the Blood Clan chorus was the fortress’s Boss. Baroque helped newly transformed Mushroom Race members adjust to losing their sense of taste, while Piggy quietly enjoyed the half-petrified statue Boss had sent her.

• Baduo watched the dwarves and Fungal Fortress Soldiers celebrate, then learned from Spark that the conducting Puji and the towering statue both represented their Boss.
• Baroque sensed the newly advanced Second-Generation Mushroom Race members feeling dejected because they could no longer taste food or wine, and offered to show them another way to enjoy themselves.
• Baroque led the Mushroom Transformers to the Hot Spring Center, where they relaxed in the Puji-exclusive massage area and stopped mourning their lost sense of taste.
• Aisha pinched Baroque’s Mushroom Cap and scolded him for seeking a massage at the center instead of going home to her.
• Piggy watched the banquet from the command room, then tenderly touched the half-petrified statue and called it her beautiful little sister.

The Fungal Fortress held a tasting event for the newly grown Ultimate Taste Mushrooms, whose intense magic created vivid illusions based on the eater’s memories. Old Dylan relived moments with his daughter Bella and Bianka, and Little Black’s vision began as she ate her mushroom.

• The dwarves left the Northern Territory with a Battle Puppet, while the Fungal Fortress resumed operations and processed its captives.
• Linden gathered the core members in Puji Dungeon to sample the three Ultimate Taste Mushrooms.
• Marshal Puji coaxed Ming into volunteering, and Little Black, Ming, and Old Dylan each took a mushroom.
• Old Dylan ate his mushroom and released a cloud of magic that drew everyone into an illusion of his memories with Bella and Bianka.
• Little Black ate her mushroom and saw herself sleeping in a glittering place while Delicious Cave Seven crawled into her mouth.

Linden discovered that the Ultimate Taste Mushroom could store negative emotions and provoke extreme madness, while Dean's treatment of mycelium-parasitized soldiers deepened their isolation and distrust. As the Dwarves and Fungal Fortress prepared for war, the confused Parasites heard a whisper promising them a new home through worship of the Mushroom.

• Old Dylan, the Sword Saint, and Marshal Puji experienced the Ultimate Taste Mushroom's memory-filled illusion, and Linden realized Mushroom Transformers could share the experience indirectly.
• Linden had an Ultimate Taste Mushroom planted in a restricted cave and saturated it with fear and despair until it turned nearly black.
• The black fog from the altered mushroom drove those inside the cave into a frenzy, and Linden concluded that this was the mushroom's true use.
• The Dwarves prepared to attack Dean's weakened defenses, while the Fungal Fortress trained for an assault on the Empire's northern border.
• Dean conscripted forces and placed many mycelium-parasitized soldiers in positions that could be abandoned, prompting rumors and widening divisions between them and ordinary troops.
• As the Parasites grew fearful and uncertain, a whisper in the Mycelium Network urged them to worship Mushroom for a new home.

After being pardoned, Gray was assigned with Ke to investigate Parasites spreading spores in Cold Bay Fortress. They exposed one culprit and learned that a group of discontented Parasites was plotting in Waste Alley.

• Dean pardoned Gray after the demon descendants learned how powerful the Northern Territory had become and why Gray's intelligence had been wrong.
• Gray was paired with Ke, a young mental-type spellcaster, to root out traitorous Parasites in Cold Bay Fortress.
• Gray and Ke saw that Parasites and ordinary soldiers distrusted each other while the Fungal Carpet threatened the city.
• Ke detected a lying Parasite during questioning at a Spore Diffusion site, and Gray seized and burned him.
• The captured Parasite revealed that a group of dissatisfied Parasites was plotting and usually met in Waste Alley.

Gray and Ke investigated spore spreading in Waste Alley, where the Parasites exposed them and a fight broke out. After the soldiers suppressed the alley, Ke discovered mycelium had infected and healed his wounds, leaving him unsure whether to report it.

• Gray and Ke entered Waste Alley disguised with imitation mycelium, but the Parasites surrounded them and tore off Gray's disguise.
• The bald Blood Clan member confronted Gray, then attacked after Ke's clumsy hints revealed their suspicions.
• Gray and Ke fought the Parasites until soldiers arrived and subdued Waste Alley; the bald man accused the Empire of abandoning him before soldiers dragged him away.
• Gray visited the injured Ke the next day, and Ke discovered that mycelium had spread across his wounds and healed them.
• Ke remembered a Parasite scattering powder over him during the battle, but hesitated to report his infection and slid down against the ward door.

Ke secretly joined Linden’s side after the Mycelium Network concealed his infection, while Linden prepared to expand north before the Empire could respond. A ship from the supposedly lost Archipelago reached the United Kingdom, carrying Bella on a mission for Lady Sophia and searching for her father.

• Ke used Emotion Perception with Gray to investigate city residents, then secretly met Linden and admitted he had let the traitors go.
• Linden’s voice promised to help Ke, and the Mycelium concealed the fungus on Ke’s skin with Mimicry Camouflage.
• Ke learned Linden was the one behind the Mycelium Network and chose not to report him to his superiors.
• Linden prepared Piggy’s army to march south after the Dwarves made their move, aiming to seize northern cities and fortresses while the emperor focused on Dragon Cliff Dungeon.
• A ship sailed from the mist-swallowed Archipelago through the Fluorescence Floating Mushrooms toward the United Kingdom.
• Bella stayed in the captain’s cabin to avoid seeing the mushrooms’ true nature and wondered whether her father was all right.

Dylan learned that the Hero had sent a messenger to the United Kingdom and hoped the news would reveal something about Bella. When Bella arrived at The Port and saw the Mycelium covering the land and its people, her Vision of Truth showed her a world of chaos, and she vomited on the officials greeting her.

• Bianka invited Dylan to dinner at her new home, and he accepted.
• Clolo told Dylan that the Hero had contacted the Kingdom but would not come in person, and Dylan passed the news to Boss.
• Boss reassured Dylan that the Empire was unlikely to interfere with the Hero's subordinates, though Dylan remained preoccupied with Bella.
• Bella arrived at The Port and was disturbed by the Mycelium covering the docks, soldiers, and officials.
• Bella shook hands with a Mycelium-bonded official, saw a chaotic world through her silver-lit eyes, and vomited on their clasped hands.
• Linden watched Bella's reaction through Fungal Carpet Vision and wondered whether the scene was truly that disgusting.

Bella reached Oath City after a miserable journey through the fungal-covered mainland and arranged direct communication with Duke Lorenzo for the people on the Archipelago. She met Solalin, who urged her to use Vision of Truth more, and the chapter ended with Inanna giving Bella a Recording Crystal.

• Bella arrived at Oath City, where Duke Lorenzo welcomed her and arranged a clean residence for her.
• Bella explained that the Archipelago’s survivors needed to return to the mainland as the mist advanced again, and she arranged a way to contact Lorenzo directly.
• Lorenzo introduced Bella to Solalin, a Church of Light warrior who also possessed Vision of Truth.
• Solalin told Bella to use Vision of Truth more, claiming it revealed the Lord’s salvation, and left Bella unsettled.
• Bella met Inanna, whose appearance triggered Bella’s Vision of Truth, and Inanna handed her a Recording Crystal on Boss’s instructions.

Bella reunited with her father, Dylan, in Oath City and learned that he had become a green-skinned Mycelium host. She left to continue her mission, while Dylan remained hopeful she would return and accept Mycelium Symbiosis.

• Inanna showed Bella a recording of Dylan with a woman and child, and Bella mistakenly thought they were his new family before Inanna said the girl was her younger sister.
• Dylan arrived in Oath City and embraced Bella, and they tearfully celebrated their reunion.
• Cave Four dispelled Dylan’s [Mimicry], revealing his green skin and Mycelium-covered face, and Bella vomited in shock.
• Dylan explained that Parasitism mutation had granted him skills, and Bella left on her mission after promising to find a way to remove the Mycelium.
• Dylan considered explaining Mycelium Symbiosis to Bella when she returned, while Linden kept quiet about Kees becoming active again along her route to the Archipelago.

Linden’s Fluorescent Floating Mushrooms and the Kith fought to a stalemate at sea as Kees adapted to Linden’s tactics. While the Jellyfish Puji fled pursuit, Kees Heart-Mind ambushed and killed it.

• Linden killed a Kith Whale Worm with the Jellyfish Puji and escaped as marine bugs pursued him.
• The Kith launched guerrilla attacks on the Floating Mushroom Fungal Carpets, while Linden tried ambushes, poisoned mushrooms, and airdropped Giant Pujis to repel them.
• Kees learned the Giant Puji’s roughly ten-day cooldown and adjusted its attacks, leaving the Floating Mushroom expansion in a slow stalemate.
• As the Jellyfish Puji crossed an ocean trench, Kees Heart-Mind rose from the depths, engulfed it with its tooth-lined mouth, and killed it.

Linden learned that Kees Heart had gained the unranked [Leviathan] skill and was growing stronger, but he postponed dealing with it while preparing to spread Floating Mushrooms. At sea, Bella’s crew was nearly overwhelmed by bugs until an enormous Giant Puji appeared and began sweeping them away.

• Linden discovered Kees Heart’s [Leviathan] skill and concluded that Kees had consumed the sea’s remaining resources to grow.
• Linden decided he could not yet reach Kees in the trench and considered forcing it toward land, where it would face his territory or the Empire.
• Bugs attacked Bella’s ship while devouring the Fluorescence Floating Mushrooms, and the crew retreated through the ship as their numbers dwindled.
• Bella’s sword broke as a bug prepared to strike her, but something dragged the creature away and tentacles swept its severed limbs off the deck.
• Bella found a gigantic Giant Puji churning the water and shouted for the ship to turn hard to port before it was swept into the currents.

Sophia defended Silver Sand Bay from a Kees probe while its survivors worried about food and whether everyone could escape. Bella returned with a Communication Crystal and news that The Kingdom might help transport them, as well as an account of Puji’s rise to power.

• Two Tiger-men fishing near Silver Sand Bay worried that dwindling fish stocks would prevent everyone from leaving the Archipelago.
• Sophia killed a Kees with a long-range magic arrow, forcing the surrounding swarm to retreat into the sea.
• Sophia told the Captain of the Guard that she would not abandon any survivor, while he warned that some might have to be sacrificed.
• Bella returned to Silver Sand Bay, and the survivors cheered as she brought back hope and a Communication Crystal.
• Bella told Sophia, the Captain of the Guard, and Priest Samuel that Puji had nearly occupied The Kingdom and was now fighting the Kees for control of the ocean.

Dean tracked the Puji Vanguard Army’s advance toward three possible targets and led half his main force toward Round Tower City, fearing the city’s fall would open a route between the Northern Territory and the Dwarven lands. He learned that Cold Bay Fortress had already fallen after traitors opened its gates and killed its defender, leaving him confused about how the Empire’s defenses had failed.

• Blood Clan scouts reported that the Puji Vanguard Army was advancing along three routes toward Cold Bay Fortress, Dragon Horn Fortress, and Round Tower City.
• Dean studied the map and chose to lead half his main force toward Round Tower City while keeping the other half in reserve.
• A messenger informed Dean that Cold Bay Fortress had fallen.
• Dean learned that traitors had opened Cold Bay Fortress’s gates and ambushed and killed its defending noble.
• Dean crumpled the report and recalled how cities had once surrendered to the Empire’s army, wondering how the situation had reversed.

The Fungal Fortress Vanguard Army captured Cold Bay Fortress after Blood Jade Wine left Count Rona incapacitated and Ming’s praise call turned defenders against their own officers. Count Rona was killed by his servant, and the invaders secured control of more than half the fortress.

• Gray noticed Parasites had been assigned to the most dangerous positions on Cold Bay Fortress’s walls, though none complained.
• Count Rona received a jar of Sigismund’s new Blood Jade Wine and drank it after his rings confirmed it was harmless.
• White mist enveloped Count Rona and the guards, showing them his frenzied first taste of the wine as Puji arrived below the walls.
• Ming asked whether the defenders would surrender, survived an Explosive Crossbow bolt, and called for everyone to praise Boss.
• The praise spread among the defenders, and they turned on their officers as traitors opened the gates for the Vanguard Army.
• Norris and Ming found Count Rona had already been killed by the returning servant, while the Vanguard Army took control of more than half of Cold Bay Fortress.

After Cold Bay Fortress fell, Norris and Little Ming brought captured rebels before Boss for judgment. Boss punished Gerhard for killing the Blood Clan Lord, freed Ke for releasing a friend, and ordered the Empire soldiers released, leaving the cities to the south facing a stream of returning defeated troops.

• Norris reflected on how easily the Fungal Fortress had captured an Empire city as surrendered Demon Race soldiers were gathered in the streets.
• A fawning Demon Race soldier presented Gerhard, who had killed the Blood Clan Lord, and Ke, who had helped another Demon Descendant escape.
• Boss ruled that Gerhard would lose Contribution Points for destroying precious materials, while Ke had done nothing wrong and was released.
• Boss ordered Norris to release captured Empire soldiers, offering those who wished to join the Fungal Fortress a place to stay and letting the others leave.
• Boss ordered injured soldiers treated before their release, and days later the cities south of Cold Bay Fortress faced the returning defeated troops.

Norris’s growing Puji army captured another city as fear and distrust weakened the Empire’s forces. Meanwhile, Louisa concentrated the Fungal Fortress’s main force against Dragon Horn Fortress, and Dean marched to meet her in a decisive battle.

• City lords drove parasitized soldiers to distant outposts, while rejected Parasites fled, defected, or vowed revenge.
• Norris led his expanding army against a nearby city, where frightened defenders broke and fled after Ming reached the wall.
• Norris incorporated surrendered soldiers and continued conquering until his army of Demon Race troops far outnumbered the Fungal Fortress Soldiers.
• Dean learned that Louisa had focused her main force on Dragon Horn Fortress and recognized her plan to decide the war in one battle.
• Dean led his remaining forces toward Dragon Horn Fortress and declared that he would meet Louisa’s attack.

Feng Yi and the defenders of Dragon Horn Fortress endured another brutal assault, including a dangerous underground incursion that cost them a mage and wounded two guards. Outside the fortress, Linden and Piggy discussed the Demon Descendants’ resistance and awaited the Siege Battle Puppets.

• Feng Yi used a wind-charged arrow to destroy Flying Puji, then ducked as Resonance Cannon shots struck near him and the wall.
• Feng Yi sent earth-element spellcasters underground to crush Puji tunneling toward the fortress after mycelium had drained a third of its mana reserves.
• Drilling Pujis broke into the basement during the three-minute shutdown of its protective runes, killing one mage and gravely wounding two guards before the runes reactivated.
• The defenders cleared the tunnels and recovered the dead mage’s Magic Core while a physician checked the wounded for Spores.
• Linden remarked on Dragon Horn Fortress’s resistance, and Piggy explained why the Demon Descendants’ parasitized fighters chose death rather than betray their comrades.
• Piggy said the Siege Battle Puppets would arrive the next day, and Linden threatened to cut Marco and the others’ funding if they underperformed.