Our Family Has Fallen

The movement of monsters on such a large scale left an obvious trail. Because the monsters had swarmed out, there were no enemies along the way. Thus, they didn't need to worry about much and could simply follow the trail.

Lance led the team from the front. This was different from before; each member was an experienced and tough warrior, capable of self-protection and combat. Therefore, he didn't need to be distracted by protecting them. They only needed to keep advancing, which significantly increased their pace.

Lance didn't know what the Witch had been doing in the wilderness all these years, but the current situation didn't look promising.

Mushrooms had even begun to sprout on the paths where the fungal parasites had passed. Though they were just emerging, it was clear they would soon spread extensively.

Simply put, this area had been corrupted and polluted, rendered useless unless it was burned.

It was hard to imagine what would happen if this dragged on, allowing those monsters to break through the farm and contaminate the fields and crops.

How malicious... This discovery further urged Lance to pick up the pace. If the Witch continued like this, the wilderness would be completely ruined.

Lance knew that everything within his territory was his; every plant and tree was his property, and any damage felt like a piece of his own flesh being cut away.

They didn't encounter any particularly strange enemies along the way. Looking ahead, there were only increasingly dense mushrooms growing on the ground, on treetops, and on tree trunks.

This wasn't normal parasitism. The connection between the mushrooms and their hosts looked more like a forced fusion, with strange, irregular pustules emerging like sloppy soldering joints.

The advantage, however, was that one could easily discern the monsters' route through the wilderness by observing where the mushrooms grew. They simply had to charge ahead, following their spread.

As they ventured deeper, normal plants became increasingly rare, while the mushrooms grew larger. What were initially palm-sized were now as big as human heads.

Further ahead, the parasitized vegetation had merely yellowed and contorted. But here, it had withered completely, leaving behind bare branches that resembled ghostly claws, stripped of all greenery. Meanwhile, the mushrooms thrived, bursting with vitality.

The stark contrast made the already eerie wilderness feel even more oppressive, placing an unspoken pressure on those walking through it.

However, because the trees had withered, light could penetrate their bare canopies, offering a glimpse of the sky and a moment of respite for the group.

At this moment, Lance, who was leading the way, halted and surveyed the surrounding environment.

"Something's wrong," Lance said. "The tracks converge here, and there's no longer any visible difference between them."

Everything around them looked the same. There were no weeds or shrubs to be seen, only dead trees and large mushrooms. This wasn't just a small patch, but a vast expanse.

"Everyone, be careful. Spread out and look for clues," Lance instructed.

The group began to spread out, searching for potential clues.

CRACK! Dismas felt he had stepped on something and abruptly stopped. He looked down at the mushroom-blanketed ground. Curious, he used his Short Sword to pry open the fungal carpet, exclaiming involuntarily a second later.

"Quickly, look at this!"

Dismas continued to clear the fungal carpet with his Short Sword, revealing what lay beneath.

The others rushed over. They saw that the area beneath was covered with piles of white bones—human and animal remains. Their Flesh had been consumed by the fungi, turning into nutrients, yet stubborn mushrooms still grew strong upon them.

Lance drew his greatsword and thrust it into the ground, flipping over a large cluster of mushrooms to expose the bones hidden beneath.

With a casual stir, Lance found that most of these bones belonged to small creatures, such as children, or animals like mice and rabbits.

"These must be the remains of those unsuitable for hosting the parasites, those who were discarded, or those unqualified to become carriers for the fungi. They became nourishment for the monsters to cultivate these fungi," Lance observed.

Hearing this, the others looked around the area. It was hard to imagine how many bones were buried beneath, but they were certain the number was terrifyingly high.

"Oh, what have those things done…" one of them murmured. "All the life in the wilderness has been buried here. The power of corruption is devouring nature itself."

Lance had no intention of lamenting. The scene before him gave him a rough understanding of the situation.

"Those creatures set up corruption points in the wilderness," Lance deduced. "Then, they attracted all the infected parasites here and used the Flesh of the unsuitable ones—the failures—to cultivate these fungal parasites, completing their transformation and creating that terrifying army."

Saying this, Lance couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that the parasites were primarily based on larger organisms. Otherwise, if an army of small creatures, like a swarm of rats, had directly attacked and contaminated the fields and food, an epidemic would have erupted from within by the time he noticed.

After exploring the surroundings, they became even more certain of their previous deduction. Here, they found not only the yellow-capped mushrooms but also the red ones known to attract the parasites.

They continued onward for a while but saw only mushrooms, with no trace of the Witch.

"Hey, look over here! What's this?" one of them suddenly called out.