Chapter 98: The Master's Task

The hot wind swept over invisible spores, scattering a green glow undetectable by the naked eye.

Marina turned to leave, waving her hand to signal her people to fire.

Sporadic gunshots rang out, overshadowed by a chorus of panic and screams. Marina's heart skipped a beat as she gripped her submachine gun and spun around forcefully.

Her body felt heavy, as if her feet were sinking into a swamp. Trying to turn, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Marina watched in horror as fungal growths surged over her body, pale and slender, with grey-white caps marbled throughout, and their undersides etched in clear lines, as dark as ink.

Before anyone noticed, the ground had become overrun with vines that spread rapidly, entangling the soldiers' bodies and binding them in place, rendering them immobile.

White fungal caps sprouted from the exposed skin of their faces, enveloping their ears and eyes, covering their mouths and noses.