Chapter 115: Exposure

An overwhelming bombardment engulfed the area where the cat in boots stood, covering it completely within seconds. The attack was far more powerful than the previous ones, spreading over a wider range and employing a stranger method. Catherine even saw one of the shorter figures in black robes; from the ‘hand’ he extended, small, finger-sized mushroom-like columns fell away, their stalks emitting exhaust like a cruise missile as they hurtled toward the cat in boots.

Under such relentless, intense assault, the white cat finally struggled to maintain its former elegance. Its dodging steps became erratic—if one were a skilled dancer, they could discern that the rhythm occasionally faltered by a beat or two. Each time this happened, the cat’s mouth twitched in frustration, clearly annoyed.

The continuous bombardment stirred up clouds of dirt and rotting leaves, obscuring the cat’s figure in a haze, making it hard to see clearly. Viss sighed softly and said, “I never expected the Cayo sect’s followers to take this step. They have finally begun using this forbidden technology on humans.”

Ling Mo chuckled darkly. “Finally? Since when? The Cayo sect has been implanting mushrooms in living creatures for years now.”

“Originally, it was all done on magical beasts,” Viss shook her head. “Applying it to humans is relatively recent. Essentially, these mushrooms introduce magical energy into the host. Without a doubt, all the altered test subjects should have gone mad, turning into monsters. But they use the mushrooms as a medium, creating a bridge between magic and the human body, avoiding those dreadful consequences. From what I understand, this technology is still immature. There’s a long way to go before it’s truly applicable to humans…”

“Bull—!” Ling Mo abruptly interrupted Viss’s explanation with a curse, his eyes burning with oppressive anger as he glared at her. “Immature technology? Not applicable to humans? I’ve fought those mushroom people countless times! From the Endless Sea to the South Arctic, then from the South Arctic all the way to the Beast Rainforest! Finally, we entered the Beast Rainforest thinking we had escaped your disgusting sect followers—only to find that in these seventeen years, you crazy people’s mushrooms might be growing in anything we eat! What else do you have to do?!”

Oh, so “fought” here means literal fighting! Catherine silently mocked his choice of words, suspecting his language teacher was a magic instructor. Yet, she wisely kept silent amidst the tense atmosphere, for Viss’s expression was one of utter shock.

Caught off guard by Ling Mo’s tirade, Viss was momentarily at a loss. After a while, with a hint of panic, she said, “But… three months ago, I first saw the Cayo sect’s human mushroom soldiers. The technicians told me the technology has only just made some breakthroughs. If I lied about that, I’d have Eio strip away all my magical powers!”

“You don’t need to swear useless oaths,” Ling Mo’s tone softened slightly but remained harsh. “You’re just a ‘poster girl’ for the sect. How much could you really know about this damned cult? The sect is a cesspit—lift the lid, and the darkness beneath reeks unbearably!”

Viss opened her mouth to retort but found no words. After a long pause, she forced a bitter smile. “In your eyes, I’m a follower of the Baiye sect. No matter how many deaths the Cayo sect causes, what does it have to do with me? I’m here just to save my little aunt.”

“Hope that’s how you see it.” Ling Mo’s gaze bore deeply into her. “That cat in boots is about to finish off the last three mushroom men. I hope you won’t interfere.”

No sooner had he spoken than the mushroom men’s bombardment ceased. The dust settled, and the view cleared. The cat, which had maintained a flamboyant pose, was now anything but graceful. Its pure white fur was streaked with dirt, and its short denim jeans, stained with green and yellow, made it look utterly disheveled.

Yet no matter how ragged it appeared, one thing was certain—the cat had not suffered a single scratch despite the three’s relentless onslaught.

Clearly displeased, the cat first inspected its boots carefully, finding a deep scratch on the heel of the left one. It gasped with pain, then removed its wide-brimmed hat, revealing a bent corner, surely scraped somewhere. Its face twisted with barely contained fury.

“I was going to go easy on you, but now I see you’re not even worthy! All the garbage in the sect deserves to die!” the cat in boots shouted angrily. As it spoke, it stowed away a strange dustpan from the ground. Then, fumbling in a snake-skin bag on its back, it quickly drew out a slender rapier.

Historically, such rapiers were favored in noble duels of the past. In modern times, apart from fencing competitions, they had nearly vanished. Seeing the sword, Catherine immediately recalled the classic line from the fairy tale about the cat in boots:

“I’ll grind you into mince!”

Indeed! The cat curled its paw around the roughly one-meter-long rapier, twirled it expertly a few times, then pointed the tip forward and declared with that iconic phrase:

“Disobey my orders once more, and I’ll grind you into mince!”

Before the words had even faded, the cat shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, moving so fast Catherine barely had time to react. With her keen eyes, she could just catch the rapier’s blurred flicker in the cat’s paw as it passed among the three mushroom men. Almost instantly, their bodies exploded into a grisly shower of blood, raining down like a dreadful crimson storm.

Against the blood-red backdrop, the cat in boots smiled coldly, pressing the rapier’s tip forward, aiming directly at Catherine’s hiding place. It spoke aloud:

“Miss, you’ve been watching for quite some time. Have you perhaps fallen for this dashing rogue? Or maybe you’d like to share a drink with someone as romantic and carefree as me?”