Chapter 112: Mushroom People and Skin

A few kilometers away from Grindstone Town, the retreating barbarians had reached this place.

"Stop!"

The priest, with blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth, spoke with a slight lisp. He straightened up and determined the direction.

"Over there, that tree, go!"

The group started moving again.

Suddenly, a sharp cry came from above.

A giant bird swooped down from the sky.

A massive black shadow rapidly enveloped all the barbarians.

A blonde woman clad in full armor jumped directly from the bird to the ground.

Second-tier wizard Kira expressionlessly drew the longsword from her waist. "Another nest."

Whether it was the barbarian priest or the ordinary barbarians, all of them fell to the ground, trembling under the pressure of the second-tier wizard’s aura.

No one dared to resist.

Kira swung her sword in a sweeping motion, and the blade instantly expanded to several times its original size.

With a single slash, blood sprayed into the air.

In one strike, all the barbarians on the ground were cut in half at the waist—none survived.

Her golden eyes glanced at the severed heads tied to the barbarians’ belts.

"Fleeing with food all of a sudden? So, word about the border-clearing operation has indeed been leaked." She snorted coldly, though her face showed no real anger.

"My early departure half a month ago wasn’t in vain. I want to see just how many people have received the message."

Kira made a hand gesture, and when the giant bird swooped down again, she leaped onto its back once more.

The two quickly disappeared into the sky.

At that moment, Saul, who had just returned to his carriage, seemed to hear something. He looked up toward the sky.

However, he saw nothing. The dense branches and thick clouds overhead blocked his view.

"Master." The ever-loyal coachman, who had been waiting in place, immediately stepped forward to greet him.

"To Mobei City." Saul swiftly climbed into the carriage.

The coachman asked no questions, jumped onto the driver's seat, tugged the reins, and set off immediately.

Meanwhile, Saul sat inside the carriage, tallying the gains and losses from this operation.

Shelly’s death and the disaster in Grindstone Town had to be reported to Mentor Rum. To ensure the accuracy of the information, he would have to deliver the report personally.

Saul felt that the appearance of these barbarians was anything but simple.

Especially the fact that they had been negotiating with border wizards in exchange for living space—something that didn't align with their usual behavior.

And what they traded for was Grinding Sound Fruits?

Moreover, the barbarians had suddenly launched an attack, overturning the negotiation table unilaterally.

Saul couldn’t shake the feeling that things weren’t as straightforward as they seemed.

Perhaps Senior Byron and Nick would have deeper insights into the matter.

The carriage sped forward, and two days later, Saul arrived outside Mobei City—one day earlier than scheduled.

The coachman did not take Saul into the city but instead turned onto another path, leading uphill toward a forested area.

The forest wound its way up the mountainside, and halfway up stood a tall, slender black castle.

Black Castle—this was Saul’s arranged meeting place.

As they entered the forest, Saul noticed a sign by the roadside, inscribed in Common Tongue, Northern Language, and Noah Language:

"Black Castle Forest – No entry for ordinary people."

The atmosphere changed completely as the carriage passed the sign.

The forest path was narrow, just wide enough for the carriage to pass.

Through the window, Saul observed the grotesquely twisted trees outside. Oddly enough, their eerie forms gave him a strange sense of familiarity and comfort.

Just then, the speeding carriage suddenly came to a halt.

"What’s wrong?" Saul pushed open the door, only to see that the coachman was sitting there with a deathly pale face, head bowed.

Receiving no response, Saul looked ahead.

By the roadside, beneath thick layers of foliage that even sunlight could not penetrate, figures crouched with their knees hugged tightly to their chests, heads buried into their stomachs.

They were completely naked, their heads pressed firmly into their torsos.

The strangest part was that each figure had a massive, umbrella-like mushroom cap growing from the top of their head.

When the wind blew, fine white spores drifted from beneath the mushroom caps, settling into the dark undergrowth.

Saul covered his mouth and nose, watching the spores cautiously.

He began visualizing the Human-Monster Walking Diagram, but nothing changed. The forest remained dark, and the mushroom people continued crouching on both sides of the path.

"They’re not spirit bodies… No, wait!"

Saul immediately stopped visualizing and stared at the floating white spores with a troubled expression.

He meditated again, but this time, he couldn’t see a single spore!

This was unprecedented. He had never encountered something that was visible to the naked eye but completely invisible in meditation.

"What the hell are these spores?"

Shaking off his thoughts, Saul kept his guard up. Nothing related to wizards was ever safe.

Remaining cautious, he patted the coachman on the shoulder. "Let’s slow down and move past them carefully. Avoid touching them."

However, the coachman didn’t react.

Saul patted him again, but something felt off.

Turning his head, he saw that the one holding the reins wasn’t his coachman anymore—it was a crouching mushroom person!

The mushroom person sat there, hunched over, staring fearfully at the reins in its hands.

"What the—!"

Saul kicked the mushroom person off the carriage.

Grabbing the reins, he looked around and saw no sign of the real coachman.

Flicking the reins, he urged the horse into a slow trot while keeping a close eye on the mushroom people.

Then, he spotted something even more disturbing.

One of the mushroom people by the roadside looked exactly like the coachman!

Saul leaned out of the carriage, and as they passed the mushroom coachman, he grabbed him and hauled him onto the carriage.

The coachman’s eyes were tightly shut, and he seemed unconscious.

Checking his pulse, Saul confirmed that he was still breathing. However, there was now a mushroom growing on his head, though his clothes remained intact.

Having no immediate solution, Saul decided to take him along and deal with it later.

Was Senior Byron really in this place?

If this was a branch of the Wizard Tower or an allied faction, why would they attack his coachman?

Then again, the Wizard Tower wasn’t exactly known for treating its own people well.

Remaining on high alert, Saul’s hands started to shimmer, transparent boring worms wriggling around them.

As the carriage climbed the slope, the Black Castle gradually came into view.

But just as they reached the next stretch of the road, Saul was forced to stop again.

The mushroom people had vanished.

In their place, small, sparsely-leaved trees lined the road, their twisted branches extending over the path.

Hanging from one of those branches, a human skin dangled in mid-air.

The skin hung limply, its surface stretched by the force of suspension, forming deep wrinkles.

It was a complete human skin.

Saul pushed the unconscious mushroom coachman into the carriage and cautiously observed the skin.

After a while, seeing no immediate danger, he urged the carriage forward.

The wizard horses, accustomed to bizarre sights, showed only slight agitation in the eerie atmosphere.

Saul patted one to calm it down, though he himself remained tense, his eyes locked on the hanging skin.

As they passed by it, the skin suddenly swelled up, inflating like a balloon from head to toe.

With a plop, it dropped from the branch and landed firmly on the ground.

Then, it took a step toward Saul.

"Arrow Shot!"

Saul raised his hand, conjuring an arrow that whizzed through the air toward the walking skin.

If it’s a balloon, let’s pop it.

But the skin suddenly tilted its head, effortlessly dodging the arrow.

At that moment, its features fully stretched into place, forming a face that looked at Saul in confusion.

"Hmm?"

Saul: "…Senior Byron?!"

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