“They… they’re attacking the stairway?” an adventurer stammered in disbelief.
The stairway—always thought of as the one safe zone in a dungeon.
True, it was known that Pujis could move through stairways. But never before had they fought humans inside.
In fact, few adventurers had ever even seen a Puji cross floors. Most still clung to the old belief: once you entered the stairway, the Pujis would not follow.
To think they had expected to rest, only to face the greatest battle in their worst condition…
But in Solarin’s eyes, the fault lay with their own underestimation.
According to intelligence, the fifth floor had about five hundred Pujis.
It was suspected that even the Diamond-ranked demon squad that vanished had fallen victim to them.
So, when planning, they had rated the fifth floor’s threat as “beyond Diamond-class.”
Thus they sent the Wings of Judgment’s forty warriors, reinforced by adventurers, plus Aiden and Fifteen.This was a force stronger than most Diamond-ranked squads.
And still, they had underestimated.
How many Pujis were before them now?
Certainly not five hundred.
A thousand? Two thousand?
Solarin couldn’t count, but she knew one thing: against numbers like these, even the stairway wouldn’t hold long.
Retreat?
Chased on their heels like this, retreat would turn into a rout.
But… there was still one way!
“Sir Fifteen!”
“I know,” Fifteen answered before she could say more. “Decapitation strike, right?”
She nodded.
Penetrating enemy lines to slay the general was reckless in the extreme—but their only chance. Otherwise, only Fifteen and Aiden might escape alive.
“How long can you hold?” he asked.
Solarin looked back at the weary yet steadfast Church warriors. She shook her head.
“I don’t know. But we’ll buy you your chance.”
At her command, overlapping bastions rose again. The squad captains, golden-ranked, gathered radiant spears of light in their hands.
“Release!”
Four spears flew like javelins into the Puji ranks.
For a heartbeat, silence. Then the spears linked in a chain reaction—an explosion of blinding brilliance.
When it cleared, a hundred Pujis lay smoking and dead, a gap torn in the tide.
But the captains were clearly unable to repeat such an attack often.
Meanwhile, Priest Mayne and Aiden layered buff after buff onto Fifteen: vitality restoration, defense enhancement, spiritual ward, pain immunity, and more.
All was ready. Without a word, Fifteen became a drawn blade—charging straight into the Puji army.
To be honest, he had doubts.
Why would the Puji King, who supposedly never revealed itself, suddenly appear now?
Could it be a trap?
But the aura radiating from the Knight Puji dispelled all hesitation.
In any host, who but the strongest could be king?
And this was the strongest Puji he had ever faced.
Not to mention its imposing warrior’s attire.
Yet to reach the King, he first had to carve a path. The earlier light-spear strike had cleared only a fraction.
The Knight Puji, astride a Fat Puji’s cap, spread its stubby legs wide. Though eyeless, Fifteen could feel its gaze upon him.
Now… he was the challenger.
A grin spread across his face.
Behind him, his comrades might all perish. Before him, an endless sea of enemies.
Still, he laughed.
He leapt into the horde.
[Stomp LV8]
A skill Lin Jun once used to step on Xiaohei’s face—now, in Fifteen’s hands, it shook the earth, leaving a crater and hurling Pujis skyward.
And that was only the beginning.
[Title: Army Breaker (Attributes rise while charging)]
[Flowing Step LV9]
[Wind Pressure Slash LV8]
“Ranbu!” [乱武, lit. “Chaotic Martial Dance”]
His roar split the air. Pujis were shredded midair, bursting into fragments.
Unstoppable, he became a blur streaking toward the Knight Puji.
Gales of sword qi spun around him, weaving an invisible net ten meters wide.
Any Puji entering that space was instantly diced to ribbons. Even Mushroom Cannons could not pierce the net.
Such a peerless advance made even Lin Jun feel a pang of admiration.
But then he realized—this “sword net” wasn’t a skill.
Though Fifteen had shouted “Ranbu,” no such skill existed on his panel.
It was simply his mastery—wielding [Wind Pressure Slash] so densely it became something new.
That astonished Lin Jun.
Never before had he seen another break free of skill constraints and forge their own ability.
Just like his own Voice Pujis.
Truly, heroes abounded in the world.
Not that he had underestimated Fifteen before.
But witnessing such mastery, Lin Jun resolved one thing: he would never face this head-on.
Instead, he paid Fifteen the highest respect—by refusing fair combat and exploiting every weakness.
“Ranbu? Then drown yourself in exhaustion before you reach him.”
Even as Fifteen cut down swaths of Pujis, Lin Jun directed more toward him.
From ground, sky, and tunnels below, waves of Pujis surged.
Inside his sword net they died instantly. Outside, they exploded.
Even if only the shockwaves slowed him—it was worth it.
Overhead, bat Pujis dove in clouds. Fat Pujis were hurled like living bombs, forcing Fifteen to burn more energy cutting them down at range.
From below, ambushes struck ceaselessly. He countered them all—but Lin Jun heard it: Fifteen’s breath was growing harsher, heavier.
Meanwhile, the Fat Puji beneath the Knight began retreating slowly. Ten elite Pujis, each with half-buried magic crystals in their caps, moved with it.
The retreat wasn’t fast—but it lengthened Fifteen’s charge all the same.
Caught in the high of battle, he still cursed at the cowardice.
“Despicable!”
At last, he reached them. Sweat poured down his face like streams.
Finally, he thought, the duel would begin—
But the Fat Puji suddenly coiled a tentacle, swallowing the Knight whole into its belly!
Fifteen: ???
In the same instant, the ten crystal-bearing elites unleashed—
[Subsonic Wave LV7] × 10!
The combined sonic torrent struck without warning. Fifteen’s guts churned, blood spraying from his lips.
Even the Pujis themselves couldn’t withstand it.
All ten elites died instantly.
So did the Fat Puji.
But in the very next breath—
A flash of blades tore its carcass apart from within.
The Knight emerged, bursting forth in a storm of mycelium and stone shards—the Fat Puji had been a Stoneheart variant, bred to resist sound attacks.
Without a second’s pause for its sacrifice, the Knight’s blade-whip flashed—aiming straight at Fifteen’s chest.