Squelch!
Garon stomped down hard, crushing the noisy voice Pujis into a spray of mycelium. His lungs felt like they were about to explode with rage!
“Anger hurts your liver and shortens your life. Why bother?” A fresh voice Pujis popped its head out of the snow nearby, continuing with Lin Jun’s favorite trash talk.
Garon ignored it. With his still-functioning left hand, he clutched desperately at the gaping wound in his right chest. Each staggering step left a vivid red print on the pristine snow.
His eyes locked fiercely on the rubble where Gray had been smashed—he had to finish off that Dragonkin once and for all!
Boom—!
A mana cannon struck at his feet, blasting him into the air. When he crawled up again, what he saw was that long, familiar device, appearing not far away.
Now closer, he finally saw it clearly—on the device were countless stubby legs, looking suspiciously like the feet of Walking Pujis…
Was this weapon actually made out of Walking Pujis?
Absurd as the idea was, the more he looked, the more it seemed true.This cannon wasn’t as powerful as the first one he had seen, but his current state was also far worse than before.
But seriously—where had all these Walking Pujis come from?
He couldn’t figure it out at all.
Another resonance blast came. Garon rolled desperately to the side, barely avoiding a direct hit. But the explosion’s shockwave still slammed into his battered body, sending him flying again.
There was a gap between each attack… if he could kill that Dragonkin before the next one fired, then he still had a chance…
Lifting his bloodied face, he looked toward the ruins—only to see a sight that filled him with despair.
From the heap of ice and stone, Gray shook her head, shards tumbling off her body.
One horned scale at her brow was shattered, blood streaking down one side of her face, making her look a bit battered.
But—that was all.
So far from what he had expected.
That last attack had been a desperate strike, traded with his own grievous injury, his strongest blow!
“Even… even her defenses… are this strong?!”
Gray shook her head, her golden vertical pupils sweeping the snowfield in confusion for a moment.
When her gaze locked on Garon, the memory of his heavy punch instantly rekindled her fury!
“Rooaar—!”
Her anguished, wrathful roar shook the entire ice plain!
She kicked off the ground, her body a black streak of lightning, faster and fiercer than before, shrieking through the air as she pounced!
Her claws slammed him down, and black Dragon Breath poured over him from above!
“Shit! Not that move again—!”
The blast engulfed not just Garon but several unlucky Pujis nearby as well.
By the time Pujis with [Acid Resistance] dug out of the underground tunnels, Garon was nothing more than a charred rag sprawled across the snow, life or death uncertain.
Not entirely unknown, though—the panel was still there.
Gray growled low, clearly unsatisfied, raising her claws for the final strike!
“Gray! Stop!” Lin Jun’s voice echoed sharply through the Mycelium Network.
Gray froze, tilting her head.
Blood from her brow dripped into one of her eyes, stinging and uncomfortable.
That annoyance made her feel that maybe smashing him dead was still the better choice!
But just then, a Delicious Pujis with a bright red cap bounced up and landed neatly in her arms.
At the sight of its familiar color, even before tasting, drool welled at the corner of her mouth.
Chomp!
She bit down instinctively. A burst of exquisite flavor exploded across her tongue! The lethal temptation of [Delicious LV6] made her forget her stinging wound and the half-dead enemy on the ground.
One bite. Two bites. Three bites…
There was no problem a Delicious Pujis couldn’t solve!
At the same time, Lin Jun promised her that she’d get more of the shiniest crystals later.
Food and gems together—the dual comfort was enough to calm Gray’s fury at last.
Truthfully, even without Lin Jun’s intervention, Garon could never have beaten Gray.
His desperate attack had looked impressive, but Lin Jun had seen the actual data on the panel—it only caused a brief stun and a minor injury.
Gray’s black scales were no joke; they were a natural armor of terrifying defense.
She licked her lips after finishing off the Delicious Pujis, still wanting more.
Then she lowered her head and began combing through the snow carefully, gathering the precious black scales she had shed during the battle. One by one, she picked them up and tucked them away.
Lin Jun had no idea why she wanted them. They weren’t exactly shiny gems, after all.
Meanwhile, the Pujis were already wrapping up the near-dead Garon.
From Piggy, they fetched a bottle of healing potion and poured it into him, barely keeping his life tethered.
Later, Lin Jun would interrogate him about the Empire’s situation.
He didn’t plan to decompose him—not yet. The man’s skills were tempting, but that max-level [Physical Resistance] was too rare. Lin Jun wanted to test his theory with it.
The only problem was, his own [Physical Resistance] was only at LV8. The progress bar was close, but reaching LV9, then LV10, would take quite some time.
For now, this guy would have to be locked away.
Louisa licked her sharp fangs with her crimson tongue as she watched the Pujis carry Garon off.
Shou and Norris arrived last, far behind.
There was no helping it—only Gray had the speed to reach in time.
But once the Mycelium Carpet stretched far enough, allowing him to detect intruders hours, or even days, in advance, they wouldn’t be forced into such a rushed response again.
Gray trotted up to Norris, tapping the yellow book strapped to the front of an Armored Pujis.
The scout Pujis perched on its head tumbled off, and Norris poked his head out in puzzlement.
“Big Sis Gray, what is it?” Norris had no idea of her actual age, but with power like hers, calling her “Sis” was only natural!
Gray lifted her claws and offered the scales she had collected, still streaked with blood.
“For me?” Norris pointed at himself.
Gray nodded firmly.
He didn’t want them, but faced with her eager stare, Norris had no choice but to take them carefully.
But even after giving them away, Gray didn’t leave. Instead, she continued staring at him with those golden vertical pupils, filled with anticipation—as if waiting for something.
“She wants you to give her a gift back.” Louisa whispered with a smirk.
Norris: “……”
And so, that day, Gray cleverly managed to earn herself a few extra shiny gems.
After everyone departed, the Beast Pujis cleaned the battlefield one last time. In the snow, they discovered a fragment of a shattered magical crystal tool…
——
“Grey, the chieftain summons you!”
On the training field, Grey paused mid-swing, sweat pouring as he drilled his combat skills.
He grabbed a cloth, wiped down his face and body, and tidied himself before strolling outward.
But on the way to the hall, he found it odd.
A simple summons should have needed no escort. Yet two fully armed clansmen had come together, and even after delivering the message, they didn’t leave—instead flanking him left and right, as if escorting a prisoner.
Surely they weren’t… guarding against him?
“Pfft!”
The thought was so ridiculous that Grey himself chuckled and shook his head.
Clang!
The faintest metallic scrape sounded behind him—the unmistakable whisper of a blade sliding free of its sheath.
Grey’s smile froze.
…
Inside the hall, the clan chief stood with his back to the door, fiddling with a delicate little device.
Grey recognized it immediately—a costly magical communication tool, able to receive brief transmissions from specific sending crystals.
Such items were only issued to the most trusted operatives or powerful core members.
The chief’s hand glowed briefly with mana, activating the device.
From it came a voice Grey loathed:
“Grey! You schemed against me!”
Garon.
The clan chief turned slowly, his towering figure casting a suffocating shadow over Grey. The pressure of his presence weighed heavy, crushing.
“Grey,” the chief’s voice rumbled. “About this message from Garon… can you explain it?”