This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

The thick tentacles, carrying crushing force, slammed down onto the deck again and again. The defensive runes etched across the ship’s surface flashed wildly as they resisted the direct bombardment, but many demon soldiers who failed to dodge were smashed into pulp on the spot, blood and shattered bone splattering across the planks.

The battleship shook violently under the impact. Demon soldiers had to cling desperately to ropes, masts, or anything secured in place just to avoid being thrown into the sea.

In contrast, the Six-Clawed Qis[‘Chiss’] displayed astonishing adaptability. Their sharp hooked claws dug deep into the wooden boards like iron hooks, allowing them to stand far more steadily than the demon soldiers on the swaying deck.

Hovering in the air, the two gigantic Evil Eyes unleashed continuous blasts of [Petrification Ray] downward.

Wherever the grayish-white beams swept, numerous demon soldiers were partially petrified. With the ship rocking violently, these soldiers—now unable to control their limbs—lost their balance and plunged into the sea with screams, only to be ripped apart instantly by the Qis lurking below.

The bloodborn viscount’s expression grew increasingly grim.

He tried chanting Explosive Flame. The burning fireball exploded against one of the tentacles, filling the air with scorched stench, yet it failed to cause fatal damage. The tentacle regenerated rapidly—by the time he cast a second spell, a significant portion of the flesh had already healed!

He switched targets and fired flaming arrows at the Evil Eye instead, but the blue magical barrier around it absorbed the hits, only rippling slightly.

However, among the three ships, he was not the only diamond-ranked combatant.

And the Empire’s elites were not at all comparable to those tribal upper warriors.

At this moment, on another skeletal-class escort ship, a diamond-ranked horned demon warrior made his decision.

Ignoring the tentacles coiling around his own ship, he bent his powerful legs and launched himself upward like a cannonball. His long spear pierced straight into the eyeball of one Evil Eye with a sharp whistling sound!

Heavily wounded, the two Evil Eyes immediately tried to ascend higher while concentrating their Petrification Rays on the horned demon. Gray spread rapidly across his armor and skin.

But the horned demon showed no intention of letting go. Instead, he dragged the spear deeper and deeper, intent on killing the Evil Eye outright.

The viscount attempted to take flight to assist him—but the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted.

He turned. The demonborne, Lord Hess, his body marked with flowing icy-blue runes, had finally walked out of the sealed cabin.

The viscount knew it wasn’t that Lord Hess didn’t want to engage earlier—he couldn’t leave the cabin lightly.

This man’s power was among the very top of the Sanctum-tier, yet incredibly difficult to control.

Once he left the chamber inscribed with the sealing runes, the leaking frost alone could freeze the sea and immobilize their fleet.

Just then, another thick tentacle slammed down. Hess stepped forward—not dodging in the slightest—and strode directly beneath it.

He raised one arm upward. With a heavy thud, the massive tentacle, capable of smashing boulders, was forcibly held in place!

“When did the ocean get infested with disgusting things like you?”

Bone-chilling cold surged from the point of contact. The flesh rapidly died and froze over with thick ice. In only a few breaths, the entire tentacle had turned into a stiff frozen pillar.

Even the bloodborn viscount had to retreat to avoid being frostbitten by the frigid aura spreading outward.

The terrifying cold did not stop there—it spread through the frozen tentacle toward the sea.

Crackling sounds echoed everywhere. The surrounding waters froze at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming the battlefield into a frozen arctic plain.

With a sharp exertion, Hess snapped the frozen tentacle with a crisp crack.

He swung his arms and hurled the enormous icy limb into the sky!

The ice pillar shrieked through the air and crashed squarely onto the Evil Eye entangled with the horned demon. With a heavy thump and a burst of viscous fluid, the Evil Eye exploded on the spot, while the horned demon dropped straight down onto the frozen sea.

……

Qis’s heart was bleeding.

Ever since being chased by that mushroom all the way into this foreign sea, losing its precious last chance to split, it had been living like a terrified animal.

It carefully avoided deep-sea beasts radiating terrifying auras. It only dared operate along the relatively barren and safer outskirts, feeding like the lowliest scavenger on ordinary sea beasts and stray merfolk…

Bit by bit, it painstakingly rebuilt its strength.

It generally never attacked ships—not even isolated ones.

It was no longer the ignorant, reckless predator it once had been.

It had learned patience, learned to weigh risks.

It knew that attacking ships could draw the attention of land-based powerhouses it absolutely could not resist.

But this time…

The energy waves flowing from those demon battleships were simply too rich—like the sweetest bait in the darkness—igniting its hunger beyond restraint!

The result?

It crashed right into solid steel!

Watching its painstakingly-cultivated Tentacle Beast being heavily injured, its precious Evil Eye destroyed, its elite Six-Clawed Qis slaughtered on the deck—how could it not ache in anguish?!

That damned mushroom was probably occupying its former nest right now, expanding its Mycelium Carpet wildly and producing countless mushrooms!

And itself?

It was about to lose the meager foundation it had managed to rebuild!

At this rate, forget gathering power to take revenge on that mushroom—one day it would simply perish in some corner of this cold ocean, silently, leaving no trace.

Under repeated failures, Qis felt a wave of despair and defeat.

Maybe…

Maybe it should just give up?

Abandon that impossible revenge.

Find the deepest, most remote trench.

Live by catching small fish and shrimp…

Survive by hiding, day by day.

And when the mushroom’s mycelium or Pujis eventually reached that area, it would just run a little farther…

The ocean was vast.

Surely there was a place for it somewhere?

That wouldn’t be so bad… would it?

After all…

How could it ever defeat a monster like that mushroom?

Its mushrooms were far more numerous than its insects—and they could even steal its insects’ abilities.

Last time the Tentacle Monster died, that mushroom must have grown much stronger again…

Just give up.

Give up and be done.

Except—

How could it possibly accept that?!

That mushroom—

The one that toyed with it, devoured it, drove it from its own home like a mangy dog, forcing it to flee into the cold, dark, perilous sea to survive…

How could it stomach seeing that enemy thriving on land that once belonged to it, while it cowered like a pathetic insect, scraping out a miserable existence in hiding?!

Eat it eat it eat it!

It must eat that mushroom!

Before that—

It would eat these ships first!

With thunderous booms like collapsing glaciers, the frozen sea shattered apart!

Several thick tentacles with gaping maws burst through the ice, flinging shards everywhere. Filled with raging malice, they whipped toward the demon battleships like monstrous serpents!

The last remaining Evil Eye abandoned all caution. The pale light in its central eye blazed, and it charged straight toward Hess on the bow, recklessly attempting mutual destruction!

The Six-Claweds on the deck let out frenzied screeches, abandoning defense entirely as they launched suicidal assaults.

But reality would not soften simply because of a creature’s desperate resolve.

If Hess alone had faced this all-out counterattack, he might indeed have struggled.

But behind him stood an intact demon fleet.

“Hold the line! Block these insects!” the bloodborn viscount roared, leading elite soldiers to form a defensive wall. Sword-lights and spells intertwined as they resisted the crazed Six-Clawed attackers.

The diving Evil Eye was targeted by the shadow mage on the other ship. Supported by the battleship’s active attack arrays, a storm of Arcane Missiles and Corrosive Rays pounded its barrier endlessly.

The blue magic shield flickered violently—it was on the verge of shattering.

And at the bow, Hess looked at the enormous tentacles swiping toward him. Instead of anger, a flicker of curiosity surfaced in his eyes.

“Instead of fleeing, it can coordinate its forces for a unified desperate assault… This creature gets more interesting the longer I watch.”

A tentacle lashed horizontally.

“Throwing a tantrum now, little octopus?” Hess smiled, gathering frost into his right fist before punching forward with plain, brutal force.

However—

Swish!

The expected scene—of the tentacle freezing and shattering—did not occur.

Instead, Hess was struck squarely and sent flying, tracing a high arc through the air!

“Milord!?” The viscount, commanding the battlefield, sensed the sudden change and turned in shock. “Impossible—what happened—”

Swish!

An arrow’s shrill whistle cut off his cry.

While he was distracted by Hess being blown away, a silver arrow formed of compressed pure mana pierced straight through his chest!

The arrow even carried holy damage!

The viscount staggered, half kneeling on the deck. In disbelief, he stared toward the direction the arrow came from.

Far across the distant sea, a large, unadorned battleship—matching a skeletal-class vessel in size—had somehow appeared on the horizon without anyone noticing.

“So… far away… how…?”

Even at that distance, he could not comprehend how the enemy landed a hit.

That silver glow appeared again.

The viscount tried to form a blood shield—but the wound in his chest slowed him for a fatal fraction of a second.

Too slow.

The second silver arrow bypassed the half-formed shield and pierced straight through his forehead.

As darkness swallowed his consciousness, he toppled backward. In his fading vision, he saw Hess in midair, roaring as he battled the raging tentacles.

Except—

Hess’s right arm now hung limp.

And embedded in that arm…

Was the exact same kind of silver arrow.