Mushroom Net Restraint!
Morris activated his ability.
The moment his palms touched the ground, the natural mycelium networks and several creeping mushrooms with climbing properties—normally lying quietly across the forest floor—seemed to be injected with wild vitality.
The pale fungal threads rapidly thickened.
Then they burst upward from the ground.
Nearby ghost-vine mushrooms whipped their slender stalks like living whips. Together with the expanding mycelium, they wrapped layer after layer around the wounded hind legs of the giant boar.
The suddenly awakened fungal network became incredibly tough.
Though it could not completely stop the boar's momentum, it greatly slowed the beast down.
The enraged animal struggled violently in place, flinging mud and snapped fungal strands everywhere.
"Nice one, Captain!"
"You stopped it!"
"That's our Captain Morris!"
The pirates, recovering from their fright, cheered and prepared to move in to help finish off the injured monster.
But just then—
A swift figure burst from the direction the boar had come from.
In a few light leaps, the newcomer landed on the stalk of a large mushroom nearby.
It was Marcus.
He glanced briefly at the boar tangled in mushrooms, then cast a cold look at the ragged strangers below.
Islanders? No… dressed like that… pirates.
"Tch. Tough creature," Marcus muttered.
"After taking that many cuts, it still managed to run this far."
His tone carried a faint irritation, as though annoyed that his prey hadn't collapsed sooner.
He paid no attention to Morris and his crew.
His focus remained entirely on the boar.
His figure blurred.
The next moment he appeared beside the struggling beast.
"This farce ends now."
With a quiet click, his thumb nudged the sword guard.
Shing—
A silver line so thin it was nearly invisible sliced through the air.
It appeared instantly at the boar's exposed neck.
Thud!
The giant body shuddered violently.
The red madness faded from its eyes.
Without even a final cry, the massive creature collapsed, throwing up clouds of dust mixed with spores.
It was finished.
Marcus landed lightly and dusted off his clothes as if nothing had happened.
Looking at the fallen prize, he smiled with satisfaction.
He turned toward his teammates who were running up behind him.
"Hurry up!"
"Hahaha! Look at the size of this thing!"
"This pig alone can feed the whole crew for two days!"
"Ardo definitely didn't catch anything this big!"
"Drag it back tonight—we're having a feast!"
"You… you bastards!"
Morris finally snapped out of his shock.
Seeing the fallen boar, his injured men, and Marcus's completely dismissive attitude—
A surge of fury exploded inside him.
He was Mushroom Tyrant Morris.
A pirate with a 43 million berry bounty.
The future ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.
And these unknown fools dared—
"Are you blind?!"
"Can't you see we're standing here?!"
"You injured my men and stole my prey!"
"You've got some nerve!"
His crew immediately joined in.
"Yeah! Didn't you see our men got hit?!"
"Do you even know who our captain is?!"
"Kneel down, apologize, and leave the pig behind!"
"Then Captain Morris might show mercy!"
Marcus blinked slowly.
As if only now noticing them.
His gaze swept across Morris and the shaken pirates.
"Oh. You people?"
"Judging by the way you look… you're pirates too."
"This boar was already our prey."
"We wounded it and chased it here."
"As for your men getting hit…"
He glanced at the two pirates groaning on the ground.
"That's not something I need to explain."
"In a forest, if you hear a rampaging beast and still stand there instead of dodging…"
"…that's just slow reflexes."
"Hahaha!"
His teammates burst out laughing behind him.
Marcus's casual, almost lecturing tone completely enraged Morris.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"Do you know who I am?!"
"I'm a pirate with a 40 million bounty!"
"Mushroom Tyrant Morris!"
"This forest—this island—will soon belong to me!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Marcus smirked.
"Hahaha…"
"A pirate calling himself a great pirate?"
"That's some thick skin."
Morris's eyes turned savage.
The air around him seemed to distort slightly as his anger rose.
The mushrooms covering the ground and trees began to stir faintly.
"Looks like I'll have to teach you idiots a lesson!"
"Let me show you who rules this island—"
Just as he prepared to unleash his power—
A scar-faced officer grabbed his arm urgently.
"Captain Morris! Calm down!"
"We're in terrible shape right now!"
"Don't forget our primary objective!"
"If we waste time fighting these unknown guys, and the Marine forces land…"
"…we're finished."
He glanced nervously at Marcus's sheathed sword and the positions already taken by his teammates.
"And they look… dangerous."
Morris's chest heaved with rage.
He glared at Marcus, then toward the island center.
Finally he forced himself to calm down.
"Hmph."
"Consider yourselves lucky."
"I have more important matters right now."
"But remember this—"
"Everything on this island…"
"Even that pig you hunted today…"
"…will eventually belong to me."
"Move out!"
He shot Marcus a final sinister look, as if memorizing his face.
Then he waved his hand.
The pirates hurried past the fallen boar and Marcus's group, heading deeper into the forest toward the gigantic mushroom in the island's center.
Soon they disappeared into the fungal jungle.
Marcus watched them leave.
The mocking expression on his face slowly faded.
His brow furrowed slightly.
"Mushroom Tyrant Morris…"
"Never heard of him."
"His ability… controlling mushrooms?"
"On an island like this… that could be troublesome."
One of his crew asked,
"Brother Marcus, they're heading toward the island center."
"Should we follow them?"
"No need."
Marcus shook his head.
"Our mission is hunting and supplies."
"Priority is completing the task."
He turned back to the boar.
"Process the prey."
"Get it back to the ship as soon as possible."
"Everything else—we'll report to the captain later."
Mushroom Village
Back in the village, Chief Old Mushroom Head had already organized defensive preparations.
"Chief! New report!"
A young villager responsible for scouting rushed in.
"The pirates who landed on the west shore—about thirty to forty of them."
"They didn't stop after landing."
"They went straight into the mushroom forest."
"Direction… toward the island center."
"The island center?"
The chief frowned.
"There's nothing there…"
"Why would they go there?"
"And there's more good news!"
The scout continued excitedly.
"Not long after the pirate ship landed—"
"A Marine warship arrived!"
"It's anchored at the western reef bay!"
"The Marines are already landing!"
"They must be here to catch those pirates!"
"The Marines are here?!"
"Really?! That's great!"
"It's the Marines!"
"We're saved!"
----------------◇ Bonus Chapter Reward◇-----------------------
Every 10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◇ You can read 60 chapters ahead on Patreon if you're interested:
patreon.com/Luna023
Your support helps the story grow and motivates faster updates.