Now that the situation has turned for the worse, the Lizardman Chief was forced to use his trump card despite the consequences. If he doesn't, the lizardmen might be wiped out, including him.
However, just as the chief was about to use the water stone, a figure suddenly accelerated and snatched the blue stone away from his hand.
The nymph from earlier that was still injured on his shoulder used his own innate magic [Accelerate], a rather simple skill.
It was an ability that doubles his movement speed. This young nymph was only an early-level Transcendent, but once he used his innate magic, his speed was no inferior compared to mid-level.
Due to his young age and shallow cultivation, he was not given one of the ten Blood Boiling Mushrooms.
In the adult's eyes, they lived more days than him. If sacrifices have to be made, it should be them and not the younger generation.
Who would have expected that not only would he be able to kill lizardmen. He is also the one who would prevent the nymphs from losing.
If the Lizardman Chief managed to use the water stone, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Little thief, give that back!"
The chief was shocked by this unexpected outcome. He didn't expect that someone would snatch his trump card before he could even use it.
In return, the young nymph simply stared at him with hatred in his eyes. The attack of the lizardmen against his tribe caused his father to die. He was filled with immense hatred, and he would never forgive these murderers.
"Attack!"
Despite the surprise that the young nymph brought, Wyden recovered immediately, and he gave an order.
With the combination of three nymphs that are temporarily elevated to the high-level Transcendent realm, they managed to besiege and kill the Chief Lizardman.
The chief's death caused the collapse of the enemy's morale, and they were soon wiped out without any survivors.
Their annihilation was just in time before the effects of the Blood Boiling Mushrooms wore off.
Sensing the temperature of his blood slowly returning to normal, Wyden released a sigh of relief. His tensed nerves, calming.
He survived!
The Mushroom Spirit didn't lie to him!
However, before Wyden could celebrate, he heard the sound of something exploding, and when he turned to look at the source, he saw two of his tribesmen exploding into pieces of blood, flesh, and bones.
"This…" Wyden muttered in pain.
The Mushroom Spirit didn't lie; of the ten nymphs that consumed the mushroom, eight survived.
Indeed, there is only the chance of surviving, and it is not guaranteed.
With the help of the mushrooms, the Butterfly Nymph's camp won, but it was a pyrrhic victory.
Out of the ten nymphs that ate the mushrooms, two died not because of the enemies but because of the mushrooms.
After all, even the weakest one that ate the mushroom grew as strong as a mid-level Transcendent, which was a strong force in the battle, and they survived.
As for the ordinary nymphs… they are less fortunate. After a tally, twenty-five ordinary nymphs died. This was almost half of their total population.
All nymphs in the tribe are families, and none didn't experience heartbreak for the deaths of their family.
"Take care of our fallen. After that, we are all to head to the gracious Mushroom Spirit's territory. Without the Spirit's help, we wouldn't have won. We must honor our part of the agreement."
As the chief, despite the fact that Wyden himself was heartbroken, he needed to be stronger than his people.
With their population being cut by almost half, despite the fact that they won tonight, they would still face a lot of danger in the future.
There is a saying that there is strength in numbers. Now that they lack numbers, their strength is at an all-time low.
——
The next day, the Butterfly Nymphs didn't even have much time to mourn the dead before they headed out.
They used some plant powder and sprinkled it on the lizardmen corpses to mask the scent of blood.
In this forest, danger is everywhere. You can't let other creatures smell the scent of blood.
Fortunately, as nymphs close to nature, the Butterfly Nymphs knew the use of some plants and herbs.
Considering that the Mushroom's Spirit territory was not far from their tribe, the procession of nymphs and corpses didn't take that long before they reached their destination.
"Your Excellency, with your kind help to us, we are successful in defeating our enemies!" Wyden, who was leading the nymphs, said humbly. He even knelt on the ground and kowtowed at Nexus.
Seeing his actions, the other nymphs followed suit. Despite the heavy casualties, they still won, and this was thanks to the Mushroom Spirit.
Not to mention, nymphs revere and worship Nature Spirits, which just made them even more reverent to Nexus.
When a whole night passed and Wyden didn't return to give the corpses to him, Nexus thought that the nymph had betrayed him, or they had lost.
He already marked them as a revenge target in the future if they betrayed him, but it seems like he was mistaken.
Well, thinking of it, even if they won the battle, they would still have casualties and need time to take care of the dead.
Arriving the day after the battle was already a good outcome that showed great respect to Nexus.
"I am pleased to hear about your victory" Nexus simply said, and he sensed the nymphs that entered the range of his underground mycelium network looking at him in awe.
They might have also heard his words. It was great that these nymphs could hear him; there is a chance for future cooperation.
While he was not able to prevent the deaths of two nymphs that ate his mushrooms last night, that was because he was still inexperienced.
But Nexus can feel that once he undergoes his transformation, making it so that the mushroom wouldn't kill their consumer might be easier. He might even be able to permanently prevent deaths.
These nymphs definitely would have more enemies in the future. If that is the case, Nexus can enter a cooperative agreement with them.
They can use his mushrooms to defeat the enemies, but they must offer the corpses of the enemies to him. This was a win-win situation.
"It is all thanks to Your Excellency's help. Today, we are here to honor our agreement. Here are the thirty lizardmen corpses as promised" Wyden said respectfully before he signaled his people, and they laid the corpses deeper into Nexus's territory, which now expanded to almost fifteen meters.
As nymphs close to nature, they can vaguely sense the range of the Mushroom Spirit's Territory, and they placed the corpses inside this almost fifteen meters area.
With such a large number of corpses, Nexus definitely would be able to grow more than just fifteen mushrooms!
He would be able to not only recover his investment in the nymphs but also make a huge profit!
In excitement, Nexus controlled his mycelium network, and they started to absorb the energy that the corpses possessed.
Considering that an entire night had passed since these lizardmen died, it was inevitable for there to be some vitality loss, but there was enough number!
Even if they are similar to the old wolf from before, which could only grow two mushrooms, that was enough.
With thirty corpses times two, that would be sixty mushrooms! More than enough to propel Nexus to his transformation.
Soon, with Nexus absorbing the energy from the lizardmen, more mushrooms grew in his territory.
Even his mycelium grew thicker and more resilient than before. The rate in which he could absorb energy definitely received a boon.
Time passed and when Nexus's mushrooms finally reached fifty in number, he felt something inside him exploding.
It was as if a shackle from within exploded and shattered into pieces, freeing him as a result.
His transformation finally started!
His mycelium greedily absorbed all the energy they could whether it be from the lizardmen corpse or the free mana particles ever present in the world.
If not for Nexus forcefully controlling his mycelium to prevent them from overdrafting the soil's nutrients, his territory might have become a barren area already.
With more mana and energy that he absorbed, his transformation was facilitated. Nexus can feel his level of existence being elevated by a level.
His transformation naturally didn't escaped the nymph's eyes and sense and their worship of him grew even more intense.
"O-only now is the Mushroom Spirit entering the realm of Transcendents?" Wyden thought, increasingly surprised.
The realm of Transcendent is the first cultivation realm, the starting point for cultivators.
He thought that the Mushroom Spirit was at least at the level next to Transcendent. He didn't expect that even his own paltry realm was already superior compared to the Mushroom Spirit.
However, if an unranked Mushroom Spirit already has enough power to create this many Blood Boiling Mushrooms and even control them to prevent deaths. What more for a Mushroom Spirit that formally entered the ranks of Transcendents?