Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Chapter 564 - 554: Regular Army

A Snake-man mercenary swam back in a sorry state to the temporarily occupied hall, scales damaged, breathing heavily, bringing back alarming news!

They encountered an unknown-sized unit composed of Half-demon Warriors, a few Fishmen, and a large number of Battle Puki. The enemy reacted swiftly and was well-organized, much like a regular army!

"Half-demon? Battle Puki? Regular army?" Iron Jaw’s vertical pupils contracted to a pinprick in shock, instinctively wanting to deny this information, but he knew there was no reason for his subordinate to lie.

These three terms seemed completely disconnected from one another.

As a Snake-man who had participated in landing battles and fought all the way into the western United Kingdom, Iron Jaw naturally knew about the new profession of Puki Master.

A Snake-man unit crashed violently in Golden Valley City, their formation shattered; this had long spread among the Snake-men.

But as far as Iron Jaw knew, the Empire didn’t have any Puki Masters, right?

Where did these Half-demon Puki Masters come from?

The term "regular army" made Iron Jaw even more nervous.

Not only was he concerned about the opponent’s combat strength, but also afraid of the implications behind it.

The most likely scenario is that this is a secret unit under a powerful and clandestine Lord in the Empire.

The opponent had hidden or docked their ships far off, deliberately avoiding attention.

And they had been here for some time already.

After all, when they arrived, there were no other ships on the sea; obviously, the opponent was not going to just come and go like them.

Yet even though they were both under the Empire’s domain, this realization did not give Iron Jaw any sense of security but instead made him feel even colder inside.

The opponent was clearly engaged in some dirty work that must not be known to outsiders.

His newly formed mercenary corps had just stumbled into this at the worst possible time...

Elimination!

From what he knew of those aristocrats’ ways, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second to eliminate a mercenary group that stumbled onto their secret to cover things up.

At least, if he were in their place, he would definitely do the same!

"Brother, what do we do now? The employer is still..." an trusted subordinate swam close, lowered his voice to ask, eyes also filled with unease.

"Employer?" Iron Jaw squeezed out a hoarse voice through his teeth, the muscles on his scale-covered face taut, "In this situation, what does the employer matter?! Surviving is the top priority! Stop banging on that reinforced wall, retreat the way we came! Quick!"

"They’re coming after us!" shouted a mercenary guarding the passage, then trembled as he added, "The numbers... are countless!"

Iron Jaw cursed under his breath, and a flash of pain crossed his golden vertical pupils. He suddenly coughed up a gem from deep in his throat that glowed with an eerie blue light— a treasure he had captured in the war.

Now wasn’t the time for hesitation; he hardened his heart and used all his strength to throw it towards the pursuing passage!

The gem struck the mural and shattered on impact.

The space where it shattered tore open, creating an extremely unstable rift out of thin air! The massive tearing force from inside the rift crazily sucked in the surrounding seawater, forming a gigantic vortex that nearly filled the entire passage!

A few of the fastest-swimming Puki at the forefront were directly sucked in, getting shredded before even falling into the rift.

The following Half-demon soldiers were obstructed by this sudden change, forced to struggle against the suction, retreating repeatedly, unable to approach.

The water flow became chaotic, vision blurry, and the passage was completely sealed off.

"Go!" Iron Jaw took one last look at the treasure he had used up and then dashed back the way they came.

The other Snake-man mercenaries followed quickly, leaving only the half-destroyed secret passage wall behind.

They hurriedly swam back, and as the Underground City’s gates came into view, Iron Jaw suddenly raised his arm and made an emergency stop gesture.

Though confused, the surviving Snake-man mercenaries quickly took advantage of the terrain, assuming a vigilant posture.

[Blood Manipulation]

A dense web of blood sealed the gate, forming flower petals outlined by blood lines.

Blood Race! It really is the Empire’s people!

Louisa was faster than the Snake-men, even taking a detour to block the exit ahead of them.

And behind her, the expeditionary force also emerged from other tunnels, a large number of Puki filling the blank spaces.

Even behind them, after the rift closed, the soldiers who had been blocked off also chased after them.

A real regular army!

These Puki Masters moved in an orderly, silent manner, Iron Jaw could tell at a glance that this wasn’t just a regular army, but the elite of a regular army!

Adding to that, their numbers meant that his mercenary corps of about a hundred probably didn’t stand a chance, and the best scenario would be him escaping alone with his skills.

But that would leave him too embarrassed to face his clan.

"Friends ahead! Please halt!" Iron Jaw’s voice struggled to remain calm, yet inevitably carried a hint of tension, "We are the Iron Jaw Mercenary Corps, hired to explore here, an unintentional intrusion!"

He paused slightly, as if to consider his words, his tone becoming more cautious, even deliberately humble:

"We didn’t know this place belonged... to you. This is entirely a misunderstanding! We’re willing to leave immediately, not looking back, and will never reveal a word!" His vertical pupils were locked onto Louisa, the obvious leader, trying to capture any reaction on her face, "May we be allowed to depart? For any future commands, we would comply; I, Iron Jaw, swear by my Snake scales and honor!"

"You... seem to have some skill?" Louisa’s voice resonated through the water.

"Somewhat, at the Palace level." Hearing Louisa’s slow-paced tone alerted Iron Jaw to danger, but he still held onto a glimmer of hope that she might be cautious of his strength.

But Louisa’s reaction was not one of fear.

She seemed to nod in satisfaction, maintaining her leisurely tone, yet it dashed Iron Jaw’s fleeting hope, "Not bad, my boss doesn’t like unnecessary casualties. How about this, I’ll give you a chance. Defeat me, and I won’t stop you from leaving."

Iron Jaw didn’t know Louisa’s strength, but from the situation, he could judge that their group probably faced dire odds.

If the other dared challenge him knowing he was Palace level, she must have some confidence.

But this might truly be their only hope.

"What you said, does it count?" Iron Jaw’s voice was hoarse, his gaze locked onto Louisa.

Louisa tilted her head slightly, a trace of a taunting expression glinted in her blood-red eyes, "Do you have any other choice?"

In fact, if Little Pig lost, she would keep her word and not stop them from leaving, but by then it would be Lin Jun issuing the orders himself.

But Iron Jaw was not some naive newcomer.

Realizing the battle was inevitable, the humble negotiation facade quickly faded from his face, Iron Jaw slowly straightened, his previously restrained aura now sharp and chilling like an unsheathed blade.

The tight muscles caused his dense scales to flutter slightly, his vertical pupils locking onto Louisa, shedding any humility, leaving only the savagery of a wild predator.

He understood that their only escape was to defeat and capture this arrogant Blood Race in this duel! Only by taking her hostage could there be a chance for his mercenary corps to survive.

Seeing the opponent quickly enter battle mode, Louisa smiled and shook her dark cloak, revealing the scantily clad Demon Crystal armor beneath.