The teacup smashed in front of Hicks, shattering instantly!
Hicks's face paled with fear!
The entire room fell silent!
Except for Allen, no one was confused...
Miss Pamela, why had she suddenly exploded with rage?
Was she enraged by Allen's alleged treason and planning to kill him without further investigation?
But if she was going to be angry, it should have been directed at Allen.
Why did the teacup hit Hicks?
Pamela rubbed her fair, smooth forehead, looking a little annoyed.
"It wasn't Allen's fault he wasn't on patrol last night."
Miss Pamela's words touched everyone's heart.
"I ordered him to go to my room."
"What in my room?"
"Hehe... a single man and a single woman, meeting in the middle of the night. I said we were playing chess, would you believe me?"
Huh?! This...
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Except for Julie, who already knew the inside story, everyone was stunned!
Is this kid Allen really that unstoppable?
Even the self-admiring and arrogant Miss Pamela has been taken over by him?
What other woman in the world could escape his clutches?!
At the thought of this question...
Olivia puffed out her chest with pride.
Others were only interested in the gossip about Allen and Pamela, but Hicks was struck by lightning!
"Alan! You beast!"
Hicks was hysterical, his face contorted.
"What on earth did you do to the young lady last night?!"
"I answered the first question, and Pamela answered the second for me," Allen said flatly. "Your third question has nothing to do with tracking down the traitor, so I have no comment."
"Damn bastard! I'm going to kill you..."
Hicks was seething with jealousy, furious and lashing out.
Alan scratched his ear, ignoring him.
Pamela had too many sycophants; he couldn't handle them all.
In fact, he'd rather he and Pamela were innocent.
Marvin's expression shifted unpredictably.
Was Allen really in Pamela's room last night?
Whether it was true or not was unimportant.
What mattered was that Pamela, a married woman, was willing to sacrifice her own reputation to protect Allen!
Pamela's attitude was the most important thing! Since she insisted that Allen was in her room last night, even if others had suspicions, it would be difficult to pursue them further.
"I will secretly investigate the traitor."
"Today's meeting ends here. Everyone go back and rest."
Marvin sighed, stood up, and dismissed the meeting.
...
The night raid left both the North and South sides suffering losses.
The goal of seizing the mushroom garden was unsuccessful.
The North Island Sorcerer Group and their allies temporarily withdrew.
The South Island side, at the cost of heavy casualties, finally managed to secure the secret realm, gaining a moment of respite.
External threats haven't subsided yet, and internal troubles are brewing.
The fierce fighting between the North and South has severely damaged the mushroom garden's ecology.
The secret realm's inherent barrier has developed numerous flaws.
The monsters of the Underdark are taking advantage!
In recent days, more and more subterranean creatures have been invading the mushroom garden to cause trouble.
If this continues, it won't be long before it becomes an overrun disaster!
Pamela and Marvin noticed this dangerous sign.
Not bothering to track down the traitor, they quickly dispatched troops to clear out the monsters.
Aside from the regular patrols of the mushroom garden, the remaining warlocks have joined various jungle teams.
Olivia is the captain of one of these teams.
She has ten subordinates, all nature warlocks from the Russell family, with cultivation levels ranging from late first to early third level.
Olivia also invited her friends Julie and Feilin to join her jungle team.
In the recent night raid, the Griffin siblings performed exceptionally well!
The siblings' griffon bloodline has evolved into griffonmen.
Both of them broke through their cultivation bottleneck and reached the early stages of the fourth stage!
This remarkable news has become a hot topic in the mushroom garden, drawing widespread envy!
With these two powerful teammates, Olivia is confident that sweeping through the wild monsters is a piece of cake!
As soon as Olivia's team left camp, they tackled a tough challenge.
A large group of dire bats invaded the mushroom garden.
They occupied the mushroom forest and harassed the myconids.
Olivia's team, receiving a request for help from the myconids, rushed to eliminate the dire bats.
Dire bats are the most common aerial beasts in the underground world, possessing dark vision and echolocation.
Most of Olivia's naturalists cannot fly, making it difficult to guarantee a hit rate when attacking dire bats from the ground.
Luckily, the team has the Griffin siblings.
Julie and Felin, activate the fourth stage of atavism!
Transformed into giant griffon forms!
The brother and sister spread their wings and soared into the air, dominating the dire bats.
To avoid the two ferocious giant griffons, the dire bats had to lower their flight altitude and hide in the dense forest.
That was embarrassing.
The dense forest is the home turf of nature warlocks!
Olivia's men immediately became excited.
Emerald Vision!
Forest Step!
Entangle!
Snare!
Thorn Whip!
The dire bats had taken refuge in the forest, walking into a trap.
The first jungle battle went smoothly.
Olivia eliminated three dire bats and retreated.
She left the remaining prey for her fellow apprentices to practice with.
Pulling out a bear-patterned water bottle from her storage bag, Olivia took a sip, smacking her lips and furrowing her brows.
During wartime, supplies were scarce.
The mushroom garden's sugary condiments were no longer in supply.
Olivia, who loved sweetened water, had to switch to plain water.
She felt a little unhappy.
She took another sip from the bottle.
Huh?!
So sweet!
A hint of confusion crossed Olivia's eyes.
She took a sip, and it was indeed sweet.
It was plain water, how could it suddenly taste sweet?
Olivia's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look beside her.
A tall, handsome young man sat leaning against a giant mushroom, his arms crossed behind his head, as if leisurely enjoying the cool breeze.
Olivia snorted and walked towards the young man angrily.
"You lazy idiot! Did you use your 'seasoning magic' to turn the boiled water in my kettle into sugar water?"
"It was just a joke, please forgive me," Allen replied with a smile.
"Hmph! You thought I'd be fooled by your little trick?"
Olivia put her hands on her hips, a proud look on her face.
"Another woman might be surprised by this, develop a liking for you, and fall for a philandering man like you."
"I won't fall for that! Humph!"
"I wasn't trying to seduce you in the first place, what are you imagining?" Allen gave her a sullen look. "If you don't appreciate it, forget it. I'll cast a spell and turn the sugar water back into boiled water."
"No!"
Olivia quickly hugged the bear water bottle tightly.
"It's rare that you do a good deed, so I'll forgive you!"
"You shameless little girl!" Allen scoffed.
Olivia's cheeks flushed, and she pounced on him in anger, scratching him!
"You can't scratch my face, but my arms are fine." Allen covered his face with his arms.
Olivia scratched his arms twice, but she still felt unsatisfied.
"Hmph! You rely on your face to seduce young women!"
"It's not all about your looks. You're still young, and you wouldn't understand if I told you."
"You playboy! What are you so arrogant about? I'll scratch you to death!"
"Stop it, I want to take a nap. Go play somewhere else. Be good."
"I'm not being good! I'll kick you to death!"
Olivia gave him a light kick, accusing him angrily.
"You brat, you're so shameless trying to join my team."
"I took you in for Sister Julie and Feilin's sake, but you're so lazy and don't do any real work!"
"If I'd known you were so lazy, I shouldn't have taken you in!"
Alan turned his head and made a disdainful gesture at Olivia.
"Don't make it sound so nice."
"I just don't believe you took me on for nothing at all because of the envelope I gave you."
Olivia blushed and avoided his gaze awkwardly.
That's right! In exchange for joining her jungle team, Alan secretly gave her a bag of Wood-attribute magic stones.
Miss Olivia, incorruptible and impartial!
I didn't want to accept the bribe...
But the philandering man gave her too much.
The eldest daughter of the Russell family was never short of money.
But things are different now.
The supply channels to the Mushroom Garden Secret Realm have been cut off by the enemy.
Including Wood Magic Stones, all cultivation resources are in severe shortage.
Olivia hadn't been able to use magic stones to aid her cultivation for nearly half a month.
Alan immediately thrust thirty Wood Magic Stones at her, enough for a month's cultivation.
Look at that... such a generous gesture, it would be disrespectful to refuse!
So, Olivia blushed and accepted the gift with a smile.
I had thought Alan was a powerful monster-killing ally.
I hadn't expected him to be a vacationer.
"Alan! You're not going to fight anyway, so why bother following us around? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to go back to camp and sleep?"
Olivia asked irritably.
"I'm afraid I won't sleep well back at camp," Alan sighed.
Olivia rolled her eyes and whispered, "Are you avoiding Pamela?"
Alan nodded gently.
"Do you really have...that kind of relationship with her?"
Olivia couldn't resist the urge to gossip and eagerly inquired.
Alan was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Sure enough, I knew it!"
Olivia suddenly felt indignant.
"Actually, Julie and I had a private conversation about this."
"I feel so bad for Julie!"
"It's a shame, Julie's been so swayed by you that she's not angry, and she's even speaking well of you."
"She said Pamela forced you into it, and that you'd already confessed to her, so she'd forgiven you."
"Flirtatious man! Tell me the truth, was it really Pamela who forced you?" Olivia couldn't help but question. "I know a little about sex! It's normal for a man to force a woman, but I can't understand how a woman could force a man into doing that."
"There was an element of coercion, but it wasn't completely forced."
Alan frankly admitted that he wasn't innocent.
"The reason I ended up with Pamela is mainly my own fault. I couldn't control myself, and I'm sorry, my friend."
Olivia couldn't help but feel sympathy when she saw his self-blame.
"I can't really blame you. After all, Pamela is so beautiful, and her figure is impeccable. I couldn't help but be tempted, let alone a lecher like you! Ahem... I was just saying it like an example!"
"Also, when you said you were sorry for your friend, were you referring to Angel?"
Alan nodded, a gloom in his eyes.
Olivia was still sensible. Not wanting to poke at his wounds again, she turned to inquiring about something else.
"Flirtatious man, are you having an affair with Sonia from the Human Demon Cult?"
"Look at what you're saying, it's so harsh!" Allen rolled his eyes at her. "Sonia and I were childhood sweethearts."
"It's a pity Sonia had such a hard life."
"One misfortune after another took her away from me."
"We met again many years later, and everything has changed."
Alan recounted Sonia's life story and the life-saving grace she had given him.
Olivia listened intently.
Until he finished.
The blue-haired girl's eyes were already slightly moist.
"Sister Sonia, how pitiful!"
"You philandering man! You're her only relative in the world now, so you mustn't let her down!"
"Of course," Allen asked knowingly. "Why are you suddenly bringing up Sonia?"
"Actually, many years ago, right here in this mushroom garden, Sister Sonia... saved my life!"
Alan had already heard everything Olivia was recounting, including his recent encounter with her, but he feigned ignorance in front of the girl.
"Olivia, things in this world aren't always black and white."
Alan counseled the girl earnestly.
"For example, in this war, there's no question of who's right and who's wrong."
"The major sorcerer families on both sides of the North and South are all vying for profit, stirring up conflict and causing countless suffering."
"So, there's really no need for us to worry too much about the enemy camp."
"If you like Sonia, feel free to make friends with her. I won't interfere, and I won't tell anyone."
"Yes! Thank you, Brother Allen! I'll keep it a secret for you, too!"
Olivia held out her hand seriously.
"Let's make a pinky promise!"
Alan suppressed a smile and hooked his finger with hers.
Olivia bit her lip, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally couldn't help but speak.
"Actually, what happened between you and Pamela is really not your fault! Don't blame yourself too much!"
"I'm not just offering words of comfort, I have proof!"
"And proof?" Alan raised an eyebrow, becoming interested.
"Yes! There's something I've been feeling a bit strange about, but I just didn't think of you at the time."
"What is it? Tell me more."
"On the first day you arrived at the mushroom garden, after dinner, Pamela came to me alone and asked for a medicine!"
Olivia lowered her voice, her expression mysterious.
"You know, most of us naturalists specialize in pharmacy and toxicology, and I have some experience in these areas."
"I was collecting hallucinogenic spores in the mushroom garden, combining them with ingredients like hangman tree pollen, and I accidentally concocted a potent hallucinogen!"
"What level of toxin is it equivalent to?" Alan asked.
"About... level 6!"
"Good technique," Alan confirmed. "Listen to me!"
Olivia tugged at his sleeve, her face a touch of excitement.
"This mixed poison, besides being hallucinogenic, also has a strong aphrodisiac effect. It's what's called... an aphrodisiac! You understand?"
Alan suppressed a smile and nodded.
"What did Pamela want from you for this drug?"
"Hey! You hit the nail on the head!" Olivia clapped her hands. "I didn't understand it before, until you and Pamela had that incident. Then I suddenly realized it!"
"Pamela has been plotting against you for a long time!"
"If threats don't make you surrender, she'll drug you, making you lose your mind and have sex with her!"
"So, you, this unfortunate playboy, even if you're determined and resist Pamela's seductions, you can't escape the drug!"
"Since you're destined to be in her clutches, why feel guilty about it and sorry for Angel?"
Drugging...
Alan laughed to himself.
That was what he feared least.
However, telling the truth inevitably embarrassed Olivia.
So he breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
He looked down at the little girl, gratitude in his eyes.
"Olivia, thank you for your advice. I feel much better."
"Hehehe! No, I just can't help but gossip!" The blue-haired girl grinned.
"Speaking of pharmacy, I also have a little research. We can discuss it."
Except for the part involving the Gluttony system, Alan unreservedly shared his understanding of pharmacy and various toxins with Olivia.
The blue-haired girl was mesmerized.
"Wow! Playboy! You know so much! So impressive!"
Olivia clapped her hands in admiration.
"I always thought I was a genius in pharmacy, but after listening to you today, I've finally realized how far I've come! I'm actually far from perfect!"
"Don't underestimate yourself," Allen encouraged her with a smile. "You're already quite impressive."
"How impressive?" Olivia asked seriously.
"Compared to me, I'm still a little behind."
"But compared to others..." Allen pondered. "Your pharmacy skills are on par with Beiting, the second-ranked pharmacist in the Beast Cult."
"Beiting... I've had my eye on her for a long time!"
Olivia clenched her fists, a fighting spirit gleaming in her eyes.
"Sooner or later, Beiting and I will have to face off and decide the winner!"
To thank Allen for his guidance, Olivia gave him some of her Level 6 hallucinogen for his reference.
Just then, Julie approached.
Seeing Olivia and Allen sitting side by side under a tree, joking and chatting cheerfully,
Juli's expression shifted to something subtle.
"Olivia, it's rare to see you and Allen getting along so well..."
"No, Sister Julie!" Olivia quickly jumped up to defend herself. "It's not what you think. We're innocent!"
Alan couldn't help but laugh.
Silly girl, you're making things worse!
Alan stretched, stood up, and said to Julie:
"Olivia is a nice little girl."
"I like her very much, but this kind of liking isn't romantic; it's more like a brother's affection for his sister."
"I want to adopt Olivia as my adopted sister, but I'm afraid my good brother will misunderstand."
"How about taking her in as your goddaughter?"
Juli was stunned.
She wasn't sure if he was serious or joking. "Playboy! Big jerk!"
Olivia couldn't handle the joke and flew into a rage.
"I treat you like a buddy, and you actually want to be my dad?!"
"I'll scratch your face and make sure you can't live off me!"
Hound steps!
Alan dodged Olivia's "Friendly Face Punch" and pushed her toward Julie.
Olivia slipped into Julie's arms, whining and acting like a spoiled child.
"You two... you're so old, and you're still so naughty!"
Julie hugged Olivia, a look of helplessness on her face.
At this moment, Feilin also approached.
"Alan, the dire bats have been exterminated."
"Just as you said, pick out the intact bodies and gather them in a pile."
"What do you want these large bat carcasses for?"
"Of course they're very useful!" Alan smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out in a moment."
The four of them arrived at the pile of dire bat carcasses.
Alan glanced around, confirming that no one else was present.
Using his vortex dragon claws, he snatched a dire bat carcass from the pile.
Opening his storage bag, he took out two bottles of spores.
He mixed a trace amount of psychic spores with parasitic spores and implanted them into the dire bat carcass.
Once inside the body, the spores multiplied rapidly.
The fine mycelium sewed the wound, stopping the bleeding and healing it.
In a blink of an eye, the bat carcass was parasitized by the spores, transforming into a fungus beast.
Alan and the parasitic spores communicated telepathically.
The remote-controlled fungus-beast bat flapped its wings and took flight.
Olivia and the Griffins watched in amazement as the bat "resurrected" and circled overhead!
Olivia, a natural genius, quickly saw the clue.
"Alan! You transformed the bat corpse into a puppet?"
"It's called a fungus-beast. I learned this skill from the Fungus Master."
Alan's response further shocked Olivia.
"You can actually communicate with the Fungus Master?!"
"What's so strange about that? The Fungus Master is very gentle and easy to deal with."
"That's not right!" Olivia objected fiercely. "I once tried to use 'Plant Talk' to establish telepathic communication with the Fungus Master, but she rejected it..."
"Plant Talk" can also communicate with supernatural fungi, but the other party might not be willing to open up.
"Olivia, the Master is the mother of all the fungi in the mushroom garden," Feilin said, grinning. "Alan can get close to any female. It's a natural talent, something we can't learn."
"That's not necessarily true!" Olivia said proudly. "I don't buy into philandering men! This guy just wanted to be... uh, sworn brother and sister with me, but I won't give him the benefit of the doubt!"
"Olivia, stop interrupting. Let Alan continue. How to transform a monster corpse into a Fungus Beast."
Julie brought the topic back to where it had strayed.
"Two special spores are needed," Alan whispered. "Silver Heart Spores, which can be collected from Fungus People, and Green Parasitic Spores, which can only be found on Masters."
Alan took out three medicine bottles and distributed them to his three friends.
"Use the parasitic spores in the bottle to practice transforming fungus beasts."
"Before implanting the parasitic spores, you must first use the mind spores to establish a mental link with them and offer to find a host for them. In return, they must control the host and obey your commands."
"Parasitic spores crave a host to reproduce and thrive, so they usually don't refuse a deal."
"Once the deal is concluded, you can use the mind spores to remotely control the fungus beasts as servants or use them in battle."
"Fungus beasts have no memories of their past lives and cannot cast spells."
"However, their physiological functions are similar to those in life. They can run and fly, and can even undergo atavistic transformations. Their combat effectiveness is still quite good."
"If you master telepathic abilities, such as Olivia's 'Plant Talking Technique,' you can communicate with the parasitic spores without the help of mind spores, saving a step."
Finally, Allen emphasized solemnly.
"Once you've learned this secret, remember not to share it with anyone else!"
"Use the corpses of wild monsters to create more Fungus Beasts to make up for the lack of defensive forces."
"Next time the enemy sieges the secret realm, dispatch this surprise force at a critical moment. It might just turn the tide!"
Felin, Julie, and Olivia nodded in unison, swearing to secrecy!
Next, under Alan's guidance, the three used spores to transform the corpses of ferocious bats into Fungus Beasts one by one.
They transformed a total of twenty bat Fungus Beasts, feeling unsatisfied.
Unfortunately, the remaining bat corpses had incomplete wings.
Even after being transformed into Fungus Beasts, they couldn't fly. They were useless, not worth wasting precious parasitic spores.
Just then, a green-robed warlock hurried over to report the jungle team's latest discovery to Olivia.
"We've discovered many strange burrows in the clearing ahead."
"Preliminary observations suggest they're likely burrows dug by burrowing worms."
The name "burrowing worms" brought back memories for Allen.
Years ago, on his way to the Warlock Academy to enroll, he'd passed by a burrowing worm nest.
Another classmate was tragically killed by the strange worms, dragged into the burrow, and left with nothing but a corpse.
At the time, Allen and the others were just weak apprentices.
Unable to rescue their classmates, they fled in terror!
Time flies.
The burrowing worms are still burrowing worms, but Allen, Flynn, and the others are no longer the naive apprentices they once were.