Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 390 - 382: The Elf’s Choice

In the chatter of bird songs, Salian slowly opened his eyes.

The sound came from his sister’s blue parrot, though Salian wasn’t upset about being woken up, as the sun was already high in the sky.

His treehouse had been half-demolished by a rampaging giant tree during the chaos, and now having a bed to sleep on was thanks to his sister.

But...

When he pushed open the door, the sound of his sister’s weeping suddenly filled the small house:

"Oh, Xiao Ji! It’s all my fault for giving you to my useless brother so casually, now look at what you’ve become..."

Elarwen was holding the Scout Puki with its tilted mushroom cap, sobbing and glancing repeatedly in his direction.

Salian himself couldn’t understand why this Puki was fine before coming back to his sister’s house but suddenly became dumbfounded once inside.

His sister insisted it was because of the tilted mushroom cap, and at this moment, the happiest one in the house was probably the parrot Feifei, chirping triumphantly atop Elarwen’s head.

Truth be told, he really should take responsibility.

"Alright, alright," Salian sighed helplessly, "Once I’m done with my errands today, I’ll take Xiao Ji to find some Druid friends to take a look. They should have a way."

"That’s more like it..." Elarwen finally returned to normal.

After Salian left, Elarwen also went out to catch fish for Earth Bear Douding and Shadow Swamp Python Bubble, leaving only Feifei and the silly Puki in the house.

Feifei first landed by the window, confirming Elarwen was indeed far away.

Then it made a swoop inside the house, accompanied by a high-pitched bird cry, diving down and without hesitation, unleashed its deadly Dragon Claw on Puki!

Smack—

Feifei, knocked to the ground by a tentacle, began to ponder its bird life.

...

In the council hall of the Elf Royal Palace, around the long table that once hosted human delegations, gathered almost every voice of importance within the Elf Race.

Even a veteran elder who had stepped down due to old age was specially called back, except the Ranger leader responsible for overseeing Scarecrow Abyss was absent.

The most eye-catching in the hall were undoubtedly the two from the Ranger Corps.

The deputy of the Ranger Corps was wrapped up like a half-mummy; Ilo had knocked him down and, not lingering in the fight, the deputy’s life was saved by timely treatment from the Druids and Mages in the team.

The other focal character, Eco, was even more striking, with white mycelium interwoven in his flesh and, astonishingly, a round Puki sitting atop his head, yet he maintained a composed demeanor.

In reality, Eco’s injuries were far more severe than the deputy’s, but he moved as usual, vaguely realizing it was likely the effect of those strange mycelium on him.

"Eco," the old elf with graying temples and less than ten years left of his lifespan spoke first, being the only one in the hall with enough seniority to speak candidly, "Do you really have to wear a Magic Pet on your head during the meeting?"

Other elves had been trying to avoid this awkward sight since entering the room.

"This guy saved my life, it insisted on staying up there, and there’s nothing I can do!"

Saying this, he grasped the Puki with both hands as if to take it down, but the Puki wrapped its tentacles around his head in response, indicating it wouldn’t let go unless torn apart.

Only when Eco let go, it returned to its original posture with short legs clasping his head.

Seeing this, no one could say anything more; they couldn’t possibly force Eco to tear apart the life-saving mushroom cap, could they?

However, the old elf was still somewhat uneasy: "Eco, about your appearance... Is there really no problem?"

This time, before Eco could speak, it was Galadriel who explained on his behalf: "There should be no need to worry. According to the information I received, the phenomenon of symbiosis with mycelium has appeared in human cities for quite some time. This is a new symbiotic mode evolved by Puki, which can significantly enhance the host’s recovery ability, with the only cost being a change in appearance and a slight consumption of magic power."

Galadriel did not mention the Puki Master’s control over the Puki, after all, Eco had no use for Puki’s little combat power; mentioning it would be meaningless.

"On the human side... Then why is it also in the Divine Wood Dungeon?"

"Perhaps it came through a space rift during the previous upheaval in the human Purple Crystal Dungeon."

Galadriel hoped the others wouldn’t hold grudges against Eco because of the mycelium symbiosis, whereas Eco, on the other hand, felt they should be somewhat vigilant: "To be prudent, I will concentrate on border affairs of the Forest Patrol from now on and will not participate much in internal Royal City matters."

Afterwards, the elves discussed many things, including searching for the missing Ilo and the whereabouts of the Divine Artifact, rebuilding Ishildorin, and planning new city structures capable of preventing another rampage of giant trees.

When the discussion extended to external policies, most elves believed the current state of the race was unfit to become entangled in the continent’s conflicts.

Only Salian had a different idea, as the world he saw engulfed by mist in the Abyssal Space left a deep impression on him.

He also thought the Elf Race should attempt to venture out, although not supporting his teacher’s more radical approach.

However, as a promising figure of the younger generation, Salian had the right to attend the meeting but lacked enough influence to sway opinions, and his proposal was soon drowned out by the voices of other elves. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The elves, however, did not completely shut their doors and ignore everything; they had considered the current situation on the continent.

The internal chaos in the Elf Race was too extensive; even with closed borders, it was impossible to completely seal off information.

With fewer concerns, the Demon Race would naturally increase pressure on humans.

Thus, the meeting ultimately decided to make it easier to assist humans with resources, including food and Magic Potions, and to extend similar support to the Dwarves.

Having the Dwarves put pressure on the Demon Race at the Empire’s border should help humans withstand the situation.

As for the humans’ Hero, presumably, the Demon Race is even more anxious about it than the elves, and in this scenario, humans and the Demon Race can only struggle amongst themselves.

The elves began to rebuild their homeland, gradually becoming accustomed to the Pukis that were now everywhere, as it was natural for carrion-eating creatures to proliferate after disasters.

No one deemed these round Pukis harmful, especially when even former Royal City Guard Captain Eco walked around with one on his head at all times.

Occasionally, upon discovering the fungal mats decomposing elf bodies, everyone remained quite calm.

In their view, whether decomposed by trees or by the fungal mats, it was essentially a way of returning to nature.

However, the entire Elf Race was still shrouded in a faint sadness. Every time they dismantled severely damaged treehouses, seeing the familiar items invariably brought nostalgic thoughts of acquaintances lost or missing during the chaos, arousing sorrow.

Beside the ruins of a Magic Potion Shop, a female mage cleaned up debris while secretly wiping tears.

She could never forgive herself for forgetting to rescue little Riel, who lacked the ability to protect herself, on the day of the tree rampage.

Now, little Riel was officially "missing," but everyone understood she had either become unrecognizably damaged or had her body dragged away by demons in the chaos.

"Poor little one... It’s all my fault for forgetting you..."

The female mage would never know that in the warm Deep Area of the Underground City, the little Riel she worried about was clutching a big mushroom, trembling in front of a terrifying Lizardman with claws ten centimeters long...