Chapter 418: Chapter 409: Breakfast at the Gate

Far North, Fungal Drumming Fortress, in a tunnel being excavated.

Dwarf Tolin, Gleam, and Lizardman Baroque stood side by side before a large, white Fat Otaku Puki’s rear.

The entire body of the Fat Otaku Puki was wedged in the hole, with only its two fat, short legs exposed in front of the three.

“Ready!”

At Gleam’s call, all three pressed their shoulders against Puki’s rear.

“One, two… push!”

Accompanied by the “buzzing” sound of rocks being crushed, the trio pushed forward five meters in one breath, with Lizardman Baroque being the first to exhaust himself, tumbling to the ground, thus halting their progress.

Puki remained stuck in the hole, but in reality, this was a Drilling Puki in its Fat Otaku version; the entire tunnel was excavated by it.

The main reason for creating such large tunnels is to allow residents to be relocated underground in times of danger.

Similar tunnels, only Tolin and his crew know of over ten, and the actual total number is even higher.

The only problem is that regular Drilling Puki can advance by kicking the rock walls with its stubby legs, but this situation changes when it comes to Fat Otaku Puki.

Although its short legs can still barely reach the rock walls, the pitiful push they provide pales against its overweight body.

Simply put, relying solely on the Fat Otaku Drilling Puki, it cannot advance underground.

Thus, they could only revert to using manpower to push it forward.

Certainly, though it is primordial, it’s merely about constantly pushing the Puki forward, occasionally confirming the direction hasn’t deviated, which is much faster than manual digging with tools.

They all voluntarily signed up for this work; while it’s exhausting, they earn Contribution Points based on distance, making it the most profitable job for Tolin and Gleam due to their robust physiques.

As for Baroque, he’s a friend they’ve unexpectedly made recently.

They often get assigned work together, and through these interactions, Tolin and Gleam never thought they’d have a friend from the Demon Race.

Pushing the Fat Otaku Drilling Puki is a standard three-person task, so they brought him along to earn some Contribution Points.

Baroque is very grateful and works hard.

However, the difference in Power Attributes between races is evident, making his contribution only half that of a dwarf.

Moreover, while the high temperature produced by the Drilling Puki is mostly concentrated around the head, the tunnel remains very stuffy.

Only dwarves can endure such an environment for extended periods.

Leaning against the still warm rock wall, Baroque voluntarily offered to cover breakfast for the two dwarves.

Once the three had their progress recorded by a Mushroom Race member and handed over to another group, they crawled out of the tunnel.

It happened to be the dawn just before the moonset and sunrise.

There are several food supply points within the Fungal Drumming Fortress, but at dawn, the one near the gate is the favorite among the prisoners.

When they arrived, the place was nearly full.

It wasn’t because the food tasted particularly good; rather, here you could hear songs absent from other eateries.

The trio sat down, each with a plate of fried mushroom with fat meat and delicious mushroom juice, but they didn’t start eating and, like everyone else, raised their wooden cups and waited.

“Howl howl howl howl howl howl—!!!”

With the moon completely set and the sun rising from the east, a long-lasting scream echoed from outside the city gates, issued by a green-skinned Vampire forced to daily train Sunlight Resistance.

“Toasting to the Empire’s pesky vampires! Hahaha!”

The voices in Universal Language, Demon Language, and Fungal Network mixed together, everyone laughed and started breakfast.

Currently, the labor prisoners in the city are primarily composed of Northern Territory tribesmen and ransomed captives of various races. Each has their own positions and may harbor mutual disdain and conflicts.

But undoubtedly, everyone hates the Empire.

The screams of a Vampire with an imperial title serve as the best side dish, and the Vampire, after resting overnight, screams most vigorously at dawn; that’s why the breakfast here is so enticing.

“I wonder how Golden Ember Fortress is doing.” Suddenly, Tolin spoke.

Gleam gulped down the mushroom juice: “How else could it be? Heavy losses, you saw the damages inside at the time; I reckon it won’t recover its production for half a year.”

They didn’t know yet about Golden Ember Fortress’s fall; the Far North received no information from there, and their discussion was premised on the fortress retaking control of the Element Underground City.

“I really want to ransom myself soon…” Tolin murmured.

“Soon, at this pace, in about four months we can accumulate enough Contribution Points.”

Recently, the former Half-demon Leader accumulated enough Contribution Points and became the first ransomed prisoner.

However, he chose not to leave but selected a nice house near the city center to settle down.

Someone redeeming themselves clearly affected others, as everyone’s work efficiency has improved noticeably recently.

Most, like the former Half-demon Leader, wish to stay.

Since leaving, they didn’t know where to go; reportedly, the Empire was still fighting the United Kingdom, so staying in the Far North seemed much safer.

Only a few like Tolin and Gleam wanted to return.

Suddenly, Lizardman Baroque put down the mushroom juice he hadn’t finished drinking and stood up abruptly.

Not just him, many half-demons and lizardmen in the eatery put down their food and ran out.

“What happened?” Tolin asked quickly.

“Don’t know, but the officer issued an urgent gathering order!” Baroque said, rushing out.

…

Mushroom Garden No.3.

Looking at half the body lying flat outside the Mushroom House, tongue sticking out, drool everywhere, and incessantly snoring Xiao Hai, Lin Jun was speechless.

A Puki kicked twice, but there was no reaction at all.

This wasn’t Lin Jun using Hallucinogenic Spores; it was caused by a new skill.

Previously, when the Pigman Leader was moved to Golden Valley City for disassembly, Lin Jun acquired [Bloodline Enhancement Level 2].

This skill was also possessed by the Half-demon Leader; however, now they’re allies, not randomly slaughtered for a new skill, right?

After obtaining the skill, Lin Jun first experimented on Puki, shaking out more spores…

It was a disappointment!

But this was evidently caused by Puki’s lack of suitable bloodline.

Several capable followers were suitable, particularly those in the half-demon group.

But ultimately, no bloodline was more valuable than Xiao Hai’s Ancient Dragon bloodline.

However, after heavily investing Magic Power into Xiao Hai, upon first use, she ended up like this, unable to wake no matter how called.

Wouldn’t it be tragic if she was broken?

Just as Lin Jun considered using [Spiritual Guidance] to check Xiao Hai’s mental state in her dreams, Lin Jun had something more pressing to address—a few monitored tribes started mobilizing troops!

After synchronizing visuals with Little Pig, she decisively issued gathering orders through the Fungal Network.

If one were to overlook the entire Fungal Drumming Fortress now, they would see a Puki sea converging from various parts within the city, rushing toward the outer collection point.

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