Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 360 - 352: Mushroom Race

The delivery, due to the distance, will take some time to arrive.

And before that, Lin Jun had another experiment to conduct.

"So cold! So hot! Ahhhh! Kill me! If you have the guts, just kill me!"

The piercing screams echoed in the cold winds of the Land of the Far North. Among the duo who initially came to assassinate Inanna, the bald human assassin had long fulfilled his purpose, while the other, Vampire Viscount Giles, was now being utilized by Lin Jun.

Now, with his entire body glowing green, he was firmly tied to a tall pole, "enjoying" the direct rays of the pale noon sun in the icy wasteland.

Obviously, the little benefits brought by [Photosynthesis] couldn’t conceal the vampires’ inherent fear of sunlight.

Fortunately, the sunlight in this world didn’t have the direct lethal power on vampires as it did in previous world settings, otherwise Giles would have long turned into a pile of ashes.

But it wasn’t without gains; after a whole day of alternating hot and cold treatment and healing to sustain him, Giles painfully managed to manifest a new skill in his skill bar, [Sunlight Resistance Level 1].

This didn’t surprise Lin Jun, as he had seen [Sunlight Resistance Level 2] on Sigmund’s panel.

For now, this skill seems to only slightly reduce the direct burn damage from sunlight on vampires, but it doesn’t significantly improve the weakness caused by sunlight.

Of course, this might be because the level is too low.

But looking at Sigmund, it’s clear that under normal circumstances, no vampire would roast themselves daily for decades just to train such a resistance skill.

However, Lin Jun could try it out since it’s not him getting burned.

Thus, this "daily training task" was happily scheduled to continue. Several members of the Demon Race, chatting and laughing, took on the duty of guarding and "attending to" Giles.

Unlike Lin Jun, the Demon Race members were not pleased by Giles’ screams but were excited because they were finally replenishing their new clan members.

Initially, Lin Jun had asked the Demon Race to wait, as he wanted to conduct an experiment on skill stacking. Now, the time had finally come!

...

In the Divine Wood Dungeon, after initially assessing the severity of the [Frenzy] contamination, the Royal City Guard Captain, who was at a high Level 83, personally led a large force of elite Rangers and Druids into the dungeon for a large-scale purification and cleanup operation.

[Frenzy] is not entirely irreversible, and with the continued purification efforts of the Druids, its effects can be eradicated.

However, the problem is that its spread is far faster than the speed of purification.

Helplessly, the elves had to approach the issue from two fronts, striving to save some individuals of value while unhesitatingly eliminating the majority of deeply infected demons.

A large-scale cleanup operation was underway, with magic arrows and purification light flashing everywhere, even accidentally injuring many innocent Puki.

Thankfully, no one cared about the fungal mats silently covering the corners.

A large number of dead demon corpses were casually discarded in the forest, becoming perfect nourishment for Lin Jun’s fungal mats.

As the demons were decomposed and absorbed, various skill levels were improved, and most importantly, the [Physical Resistance] that Lin Jun had been longing for finally reached full level!

Now, the Empire Demon Race member Gallon, who had been raised for half a year, was ready to be put to use.

The current Gallon was a far cry from the sturdy and fierce figure he had when first captured.

Being detained long-term in a dark and sunless dungeon, having his blood regularly drained by Little Pig, and occasionally being toyed with in his dreams by Lin Jun, he was now thin, pale, and weakened to the core.

Yet, the gaze he cast at the other Demon Race members around him remained as arrogant as always.

When he was brought to the "Cradle," he, being a Demon Race member, naturally understood the fate awaiting him.

He didn’t struggle, simply and silently accepting a steaming bowl of delicious mushroom soup and drinking it all in one go.

After the last trace of fresh sweetness completely disappeared, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over his fellow tribesmen, whose bodies were entangled with fungal threads among the demon patterns.

"In battles between Demon Race members, the demon core of the loser belongs to the winner’s ’Cradle.’ It’s a tradition, after all." His voice was hoarse yet full of sarcasm, "But... looking at your current forms, do you really still deserve to call yourselves ’Demon Race’?"

"Anything else to say?" asked the Marshal Puki’s Guard, with a voice devoid of any emotion.

Gallon spat out a mouthful of saliva, grinning a twisted smile, "Make it quick, brat!"

"Alright!"

As Guard’s reply fell, a cold glint flashed by! The move was so swift it left only an afterimage, and Gallon’s head was already severed from his body, rolling onto the icy snow.

Xing Huo, who had been waiting beside, immediately stepped forward, solemnly presiding over the ancient rebirth ceremony of the Demon Race. With Lin Jun’s cooperation, two hours later, a brand new Demon Race member was born!

His body was adorned with intertwining black and white demon patterns, with the deep black being the base color brought by [Physical Resistance], while the translucent white lines were the symbiotic fungal threads entwined within.

The surrounding Demon Race members cheered and celebrated the birth of their new clan member, yet within Lin Jun’s consciousness surged an even more intense wave!

The combination of two [Physical Resistance Level 10], indeed, caused a change!

"Haha... Hahahaha!" Lin Jun’s uncontrollable laughter echoed in the minds of all Demon Race members, interrupting their celebration.

Everyone involuntarily stopped cheering, their eyes all turning towards the Marshal Puki shimmering atop Guard’s head.

"I think he’s right!" Lin Jun said excitedly.

"What?" Guard couldn’t immediately understand the seemingly out-of-context remark.

"You really shouldn’t be called ’Demon Race’ anymore!" Lin Jun’s voice rose, "Your future will far exceed the limitations of ’Demon Race’! Under my command, you will undoubtedly become the most powerful race on this continent!"

The Demon Race members had yet to see the new tribe member’s status panel, not fully understanding why their leader was suddenly so excited and confident.

And Lin Jun displayed it to them in the most direct way!

He instantly took control of a nearby Elite Puki, and before anyone could react, the Puki swung its sharp blade whip with thunderous momentum, striking from a blind spot aimed squarely at the newborn Demon Race member cradled by Xing Huo, who was only Level 1!

In a sudden turn of events, the surrounding Guard instinctively wanted to intervene, but after a moment’s hesitation, he ultimately suppressed his impulse to act.

Clang—!!!

The full-force strike of the Elite Puki hit the target solidly.

The newborn Demon Race member was catapulted by the tremendous impact, tumbling into the distant snowdrift.

This unexpected occurrence left all Demon Race members stunned and silent.

Only Xing Huo, exclaiming, rushed over anxiously and awkwardly retrieved the new clan member from the snowdrift.

"Is there... nothing wrong? Not a single injury?!" Xing Huo inspected the clan member’s body, his voice shaking with shock.

[Physical Immunity]!

Then, Lin Jun’s voice rang out once more, as though proclaiming the arrival of a new era: "From today on, you shall call yourselves ’Mushroom Race’! And one day, this name will replace ’Demon Race,’ resounding across the entire continent!"