Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Chapter 545 - 535: Abandoned Chapel

When death was close at hand, Mengya became incredibly... cowardly.

"I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! And I’m willing to do anything! Just spare my worthless little life, esteemed ones!" she blurted out in a remarkably fluent Human Universal Language that almost had no accent, which surprised Vera and her companions.

They had actually prepared to use a precious telepathy scroll for interrogation, but it seemed now that it wouldn’t be necessary.

With a great effort, Mengya widened her already watery eyes to make them appear even more pitiful in fear and pleading, staring directly at Vera in an attempt to evoke even a sliver of compassion in this human’s heart.

If that curved saber stayed on her neck any longer, she might wet herself in fear.

"Beware of charm!" Fei Yin dashed forward, throwing a small handful of disturbing dust into Mengya’s eyes.

"I didn’t! I didn’t use charm! Ow!!! My eyes!" Mengya, for the moment, forgot about the sword on her neck and clutched her burning, stinging eyes as she rolled on the ground in agony.

"Fei Yin, she really didn’t use her charm ability," Vera said.

"I’ve never seen a real charm before. The way she was looking at you, I thought..." Fei Yin mumbled as she awkwardly stepped back.

After this encounter, Mengya dared not meet anyone’s gaze again.

Her tear-filled, reddened eyes were fixed firmly on the ground, her body trembling slightly from pain and fear, lest she cause any unnecessary misunderstandings again.

The interrogation went smoothly; in response to the questions, she confessed everything at once.

Not only had two teams of human adventurers disappeared in this area, but even some from the Demon Race had vanished nearby. She and her Goblin partner, Stinky Fish, were sent to investigate the situation.

Even though the two of them were not particularly outstanding within the Demon Race, they excelled in stealth reconnaissance, but who knew they would fall into an unexpected trap this time.

They did discover some clues, but Stinky Fish was exposed and captured because of them.

"A cult..." This somewhat took Vera by surprise. They originally thought the nearby foes only consisted of the Demon Race and hadn’t expected a third party. "Then why didn’t you immediately go back to fetch reinforcements?"

"They should be holding the next round of sacrifices soon. Reinforcements would probably be too late to save anyone..."

"So, you were planning to make the rescue yourself?" Vera pulled back the curved saber in her hand almost imperceptibly, about an inch away.

Mengya keenly noticed this subtle change, and her survival instinct led her to follow up on the conversation with a more earnest tone: "Yes... Yes, but I’m too weak, and in my anxiety, I really didn’t know what to do..."

Sure enough, Vera did not immediately press the blade back down.

Although the saber was still very close, the extreme oppressive sensation of the edge against the skin and death looming at any moment was temporarily alleviated.

Fei Ling’s fingers stayed firmly on the arrow nocked to her bowstring. She turned her head, glancing at Mengya: "So, between you Demons, do you also value ’empathy’?"

In the current situation, where people were like meat on the chopping block, Mengya dared not refute and could only pull the corners of her lips into a pitiful smile, uglier than crying.

With the intelligence Mengya provided, they soon located that group’s trail without much trouble.

An abandoned church used as a temporary base stood conspicuously on a relatively flat clearing deep in the woods.

From afar, they could see a few figures in black robes moving in and out between the ruins of the entrance and the walls, their silhouettes showing both human and Demon features, matching the characteristics of the cult.

"Strange, the map doesn’t have this church marked." Fei Ling spread open the leather map scroll she carried, her fingertips tracing the area and confirming there was no building mark.

Vera, holding onto Mengya, observed the distant outline of the building, whispering: "Perhaps it’s one of the relics left by the Mist."

After the Mist receded, the appearance of altered landscapes or buildings appearing or disappearing wasn’t uncommon.

Rough estimates suggested there were at least thirty cultists entrenched in the church, with abilities ranging from Bronze to Silver Tier.

This discovery somewhat calmed the three of them, reducing the pressure significantly.

Fei Ling and Fei Yin turned their gaze to Vera, awaiting his decision.

Vera pondered for a moment, scanning the church: "Since they haven’t started the next sacrifice yet, Anton and the others might still be alive. If we retreat now to call for help, time might not be on our side. From what we’ve observed, we might be able to handle these cultists, but remember, if we encounter an unbeatable enemy, we must retreat immediately. Safety first."

"What about her?" Fei Ling twisted her wrist, placing the nocked arrowhead against Mengya’s neck. "We should kill her."

"I’ve said everything! Didn’t we agree..." Mengya’s sobs and pleas were muffled by Fei Ling’s other hand clamped over her mouth, with the arrow pressed another half inch deeper.

Vera reached out, gently grasping the wrist of Fei Ling’s hand holding the arrow.

Facing Fei Ling’s puzzled look, he explained: "Rescuing people requires timing; she still has her uses."

Then, he patted the shoulder of Mengya, whose face was flushed with fear: "We can try to rescue your Goblin partner, but you’ll have to help."

Mengya nodded vigorously like a hen pecking rice.

In the end, she carefully ran toward the depths of the forest holding an explosive arrow taken from Fei Ling’s quiver.

"What if she’s in cahoots with the cult and just putting on a show?" Fei Ling watched the silhouette of the Enchanting Demon fading into the distance.

"Then she’ll certainly find a way to notify her companions." Vera handed a packet of dust back to Fei Yin from his pocket, "I’ve left a trail-marking powder on her; Fei Yin will know if she turns back."

Fei Yin took the packet and nodded firmly.

"As long as she successfully detonates the explosive arrow and diverts some of the cultists’ attention, our goal will be achieved. If the arrow doesn’t detonate," he glanced at the sisters, "it means everything she said was false, and we’ll retreat immediately to report."

While Vera was eager to save Anton, he was more responsible for the safety of Fei Ling and Fei Yin.

If the risk greatly exceeded their expectations, he would have no choice but to pursue a more cautious strategy of seeking reinforcements.

As for the possibility of Mengya carrying some immediate long-range communication device, Vera hadn’t given it much thought.

Such expensive and typically highly-warded magic items wouldn’t be assigned to someone of her middling strength.

Elsewhere, Mengya’s mind was swirling with numerous thoughts.

After breaking free from Vera and the others’ control, she had considered fleeing directly.

But doing so would mean Stinky Fish was truly beyond saving.

She didn’t have the courage to charge into the cult’s den alone to save anyone.

But making a big noise from a relatively safe distance, she had some courage for that.

Although she couldn’t be sure Vera and they would follow through, at least... this gave Stinky Fish a slim chance of survival...

"I... I guess this counts as me doing right by you!"

In the end, she did as Vera instructed, activating the explosive arrow at a not-too-far, not-too-close distance from the abandoned church.

Boom!

A rumbling explosion echoed through the forest, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Shortly after, there was movement from the direction of the abandoned church.

Nine cultists’ figures emerged from the ruined doorway, cautiously heading towards the source of the explosion.

Once they were confirmed to be far enough away, Vera and the others quietly made their way toward the church.

Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the forest, a Scout Puki had just shot down an annoying Slime with a cannon, stomped on it a couple of extra times to thoroughly crush its core, totally unconcerned by the slight corrosion.

[Vibration Perception Level 10]

Even though the sound was almost inaudible from here, Puki still sensed the explosion through vibration.

Without much hesitation, Scout Puki leapt lightly and disappeared into the forest.

There wasn’t just one Scout Puki in the infiltrated zone; if there’s anything happening, it’s always best to take a look.