Spread Spores, Spread Spores…
While the Elf was busy running, she did not forget to hinder the approaching pursuers.
Things were different now.
As the Lord of Fungi, she would shed her lonely past and welcome loyal, reliable, and fearless subjects.
When Spores released through skills landed on the Fungal Blanket, they rapidly grew into Small Puff-shrooms equipped with the Spore Ejection skill.
These Purple Mushrooms, which featured an extra nozzle under their caps, were still just fodder with stats below 10, but they were cheap and numerous.
The Mana consumption was almost negligible.
Crucially, she could fully control every individual through the Fungal Network, no longer limited to the Elf and her main body in the wall crack.
Even if she lacked physical freedom, this freedom of consciousness felt quite good.
‘Mm-hmm, enemies spotted.
All fungi, concentrate fire!
Spore rounds, load!
Fire!’
When the other supporting Knight Bees led their swarms over the Fungal Blanket, the unnoticed Purple Mushrooms suddenly turned their muzzles and fired a volley of Spores at the bees within range.
Pale purple spore rounds, resembling thick liquid, struck the bees, making them stumble in the air.
It was indeed a “strike.”
Compared to bullets from a firearm, the mushroom’s skill was more like a cannon, dealing damage through powerful impact.
However, limited by bio-kinetics — specifically the principle of creating compressed air within the mushroom’s sealed cavity — the damage of the spore rounds was actually quite limited.
If more than three hit, the impact would cause the bee to lose flight and fall to the ground.
At that point, four more shots would complete the kill, allowing the Fungal Blanket to quickly decompose the corpse and absorb nutrients.
In other words, the damage from seven successful spore round hits could instant-kill an ordinary bee.
This might seem a bit weak.
However, there were simply too many mushrooms created via the skill.
While a single individual’s output might be weak, their massive numbers compensated for this flaw.
She could effectively control nearly fifty mushrooms.
Beyond this number, even if the mushrooms were infused with the Unified Will skill, they would behave like witless drones that had disconnected…
She could give orders — for example, to attack or eject Spores — but their accuracy was truly embarrassing.
Missing the target entirely was one thing, but there were even instances of one mushroom blasting its own kin into mushroom scraps.
She would rather have fewer units than deal with such teammate-killing nuisances.
Marlow thought this was somewhat like the concept of a population cap in games.
To increase the number she could effectively control, it might involve skill levels, will nodes, or even the strength of her own consciousness.
But she would set that problem aside to experiment with later.
For now, a squad of around fifty mushrooms provided more than enough firepower.
While a counterattack against the bees was unrealistic, protecting the Elf’s retreat was well within her means.
After an initial wave of wasted firepower, she began to plan and control the firing frequency… groups of seven mushrooms, with three responsible for knocking a bee down and the other four finishing it off.
Striving for instant kills wasn’t efficient because the bees moved, and the speed of the spore rounds wasn’t incredibly fast.
Missed shots happened frequently.
It was better to knock the bees down first and then finish them off once they lost their aerial advantage.
A swarm led by a Knight Bee consisted of about thirty or so bees.
Thanks to the sneak attack and seizing the initiative, twelve bees were killed in this exchange — much faster than when she and the Elf had been cautiously hunting them together.
Truly, individual strength could not compare to the power of a group.
Just as she was thinking about wiping out the entire squad of bees and turning them into warm, reliable Experience Points, the Knight Bee suddenly turned around.
That silver, sword-wielding figure charged directly at the mushroom positions.
Well, it seemed individual strength was still superior after all.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
The Knight Bee’s iron armor completely ignored the power of the spore rounds.
When her only means of attack proved ineffective, it didn’t even need to defend.
A single dash wiped out a large swath of mushrooms.
With HP in the single digits, the mushrooms died upon impact.
Some didn’t even wait for a thrust from the knight before meeting a bitter end from the shockwaves.
‘No, my subjects!
My loyal fungal army!
I will remember your glorious sacrifice, your supreme honor…’
After a small burst of drama, Marlow’s consciousness left this area of the Fungal Network.
Before leaving, she didn’t forget to recycle the dead mushrooms through the Fungal Network, converting them into pure Mana and nutrients.
Regardless of whether the bees were herbivores, she would not leave them a single bite.
With this strategy of attrition, perhaps wiping out all the bees would not be a problem in the future.
‘Alright, the next fifty-mushroom army is ready.
Time to continue the defensive delay.’
When Lumina returned to the Temporary Camp at the edge of the swamp and the Woodland, the campfire had not yet burned out.
Even though the trip had not been long, it felt as if several days had passed.
The buzzing in the distant forest had not ceased.
The bees were still searching for that hateful enemy that had targeted them, but that no longer had anything to do with her.
She had left the bees’ territory and reached a relatively safe area.
The Elf tucked her staff into her belt and slumped down against a tree trunk, her body relaxing.
She was exhausted, but it had been thrilling.
As a Priest, she had actually killed a monster like a Knight Bee head-on.
Although she had Marlow’s support, the result made her heart pound in disbelief.
Even though the excitement caused dull pain to throb from her unhealed wounds, she could not suppress her joy.
“Marlow, Marlow, Mushroom Miss.”
“I’m here.”
After being repeatedly blocked by mushrooms, even with a Knight Bee capable of crushing obstacles, the bees finally chose to retreat and stop causing trouble.
It was likely because they realized further pursuit would bring only losses with no gain.
Marlow thought happily.
“We worked together and took down a Knight Bee!
A monster that usually requires an entire squad!”
‘A full Black Iron Rank party shouldn’t have too much trouble with a knight.
Oh, well, maybe if the knight has its swarm, it would be about right.’
“Don’t get too excited, Lumina.
Under the leadership of the great Lord of Fungi, defeating a Knight Bee is just a small matter.
We could even face the Queen Bee now without any problems.”
Automatically ignoring the last sentence, the Elf wore an admiring smile and suddenly asked, “Then, great Miss Marlow, could you clarify something for me?”
“Of course, ask anything.”
“What is on top of my head?”
Had she noticed?
Surely she would.
After all, the Spores that hit the Knight Bee had been fired from the mushroom on top of the Elf’s head.
However, Marlow had not intended to hide it.
It was too obvious; she would find out sooner or later as long as she looked in a mirror.
Marlow considered her words and replied briefly.
“A Purple Mushroom.”
“Is it the anchor for your consciousness, Marlow?”
The Elf’s hand reached for the top of her head.
Her fingers gently rubbed and touched it, feeling the general shape of the mushroom.
Without hesitation, Marlow said, “No.”
Maybe it was, but she wasn’t sure herself.
Even if it were true, she would definitely say it wasn’t.
Though the Elf’s stroking was gentle, her entire right hand had already enveloped it.
Like holding a hostage, there was a faint hint of a threat.
The Elf was no longer that simple Priest from before.
If she had any leverage over Marlow, it was hard to imagine what kind of treatment she might face.
‘Miss Marlow, you wouldn’t want…’
“Anyway, it was already there since I saved your life.
You could try taking it off, but I can’t say for sure what the consequences would be.”
Hearing this, Lumina pretended to casually drop her hand, afraid to touch it again.
Since Marlow had previously intimidated her with the idea of Mycelium controlling human consciousness, she was truly afraid that the mushroom on her head was related to that.
She would leave it for now.
It wasn’t that strange anyway; others would just see it as a uniquely styled hair accessory.
That question was skillfully dodged by the mushroom, but the Elf still had another.
She sat up straight, lowered her eyes, and asked softly, “Um, do you know about the skill Pain Mitigation?”