Chapter 10

Puji has already been fully equipped.

Filling the magic of every Puji (including Inanna) consumed not only the magic harvested from the fire mosquitoes but also every last bit of the original stock.

Naturally gathered magic from now on will inevitably fall behind consumption, meaning this batch of Puji has no chance of a second refill.

The insect hunt is today.

Four hundred Puji clustered together were still quite impressive, the vast majority of which were artillery Puji.

Earth worms are not only enormous in size but also covered in thick rock shells, rendering both hallucinogenic spores and digestive mucus ineffective against them.

As for Shell Puji, they're unnecessary—any brush with an attack from such a heavyweight creature, shell or not, would result in instant death.

To defeat such insects, Lin Jun could only choose to overload with damage.

Of course, there was still a plan.

These insects that burrow endlessly underground feed on nothing but various minerals, and their favorite snack is naturally the specialty of Purple Crystal Underground City—magic crystals.

And Lin Jun happened to know exactly how to detonate magic crystals.

In the team, Lin Jun specially prepared ten special Puji.

Their hollow abdomens were packed full of magic crystals, and each was equipped with a magic storage skill to provide the energy needed to detonate them.

For this hunt, Lin Jun had emptied his entire reserve.

All magic crystals previously stuck in the mushroom garden soil to accelerate magic collection had been dug up, directly cutting the garden's natural magic collection efficiency in half.

These magic crystals served both as bait to lure the earth worms out and as the first devastating blow against them.

As for what happens after that first blow, it'll depend on Young Lady Inanna's Mud Trap spell.

"Are we really going to do this…?"

The pink mushroom cap trembled—fighting earth worms at least fifteen levels above her, she had zero sense of security.

"Recruit, I recall the recruitment fee was already paid into your hands, wasn't it?"

Inanna felt the massive A-rank magic crystal above her head and couldn't bring herself to say no.

It was just too good!

It allowed her to cast spells even in Puji form, nearly doubling the power of her spells.

The enhancement effect was far beyond what her previous small B-rank magic crystal could match.

"If things turn truly dire, I permit you to flee—and I won't reclaim the magic crystal," Lin Jun timely relaxed the conditions.

Although Inanna still thought her short little legs might not be fast enough to escape, she reasoned that having permission to flee was better than none at all.

The pink mushroom cap nodded slightly, reaching a mutual understanding.

Allowing Inanna to flee wasn't due to Lin Jun's kindness—it was simply that if the mission became hopeless, there was no point in letting her die pointlessly.

After the battle at the fire mosquito nest, Lin Jun had realized magic was truly effective.

Puji can be bred again, magic crystals can be mined again—but where would he find another being capable of magic and easy to command if Inanna were gone?

————

This journey was much longer than the trip to the fire mosquito nest; Inanna even felt they were deliberately taking detours.

Yet along the way, they encountered almost no obstacles—only once did they meet a black-and-white giant spider, which Inanna instantly severed with a tracking ice blade.

The destination was a shattered cavern.

It could hardly even be called a cavern anymore.

The entire space was crammed with tunnels left behind by earth worms; calling it "leaky on all sides" was already an understatement.

After observing, Lin Jun found several new tunnels had appeared since his last reconnaissance.

He placed the self-detonating Puji and magic crystals on a relatively intact patch of ground, while the other artillery Puji scattered around the scattered caverns.

Lin Jun didn't assign Inanna elsewhere—he had her stay at the edge of the entrance tunnel.

Slowly channeling magic into the crystals, the massive magical fluctuations emitted by the pile made even Lin Jun feel hungry for it.

Inanna also knew the plan; she stared at the pile of magic crystals with deep regret.

Boss Lin Jun was a wastrel—he was willing to use even some A-rank magic crystals as explosives just to raise the success rate.

Sure, they weren't as big as hers, but they were still A-rank magic crystals!

This pile of magic crystals outside could have hired the Diamond Team to kill ten earth worms—now it was just being used to blow them up once.

Truly a wanton waste of resources.

After the magical fluctuations spread, no earth worms appeared immediately—only other demonic creatures arrived.

There were the black-and-white spiders they'd encountered earlier, and also grotesque monsters with sharp fangs and teeth.

But all of them were quickly killed by a few shots from the surrounding Puji, causing no trouble whatsoever.

What surprised Lin Jun was that he even spotted a Level 35 Minotaur—the so-called bull-headed demon.

This was Lin Jun's first encounter with a Minotaur, a classic demonic creature.

It clearly possessed considerable intelligence; upon seeing their formation from afar, it retreated immediately.

Had they met under different circumstances, Lin Jun would have tried to communicate—it was possible, as intelligent demonic beings, they might coexist peacefully.

But today was out of the question.

Finally,

A continuous tremor came from underground; the pebbles beside Inanna's feet shook violently within the soil, and newly opened tunnel entrances rained down crumbling stones.

One unlucky Puji was crushed into a puddle of mycelium before it even began, becoming the first casualty of this operation.

"It's coming, it's coming—when do I cast the spell? Should I use Mud Trap now?"

As the moment arrived, Inanna grew anxious again.

"Stay calm, Inanna. I'll tell you when to cast—don't panic and disrupt the plan."

Lin Jun gently urged Inanna to remain calm, but he didn't notice his own tone was tightening uncontrollably—beneath the even cadence lay uncontainable excitement.

He didn't keep the two of them in suspense for long.

The ground on one side of the cave suddenly collapsed with a boom; a giant worm erupted from the earth, and twenty Pujis vanished into its massive maw in an instant.

【Level: LV49】

It was Lin Jun's target—the Earth Worm!

"Here it comes!"

The Earth Worm's body bent in midair and dove straight toward the magic crystal.

None of the Pujis opened fire; Lin Jun even stopped Inanna from casting a spell in a near-reflex panic.

Not quite yet; the time isn't right.

Mana surged wildly into the magic crystal, and the fluctuations of mana grew increasingly turbulent.

Just as it was about to reach its peak, the giant maw descended, engulfing those ten Pujis along with all the magic crystals.

1... 2...

Boom—

An earth-shattering explosion tore apart the Earth Worm's massive maw, causing several meters of rock armor to burst from within.

Shards of rock scattered outward at terrifying speeds, inflicting considerable casualties on the Pujis.

The Earth Worm's entire mouth was completely blown to pieces.

As for the head, Lin Jun wasn't entirely sure where the Earth Worm's head was, or even if it had one.

He only knew that even with such injuries, it had not lost its vitality and was struggling in agony.

The remaining body thrashed wildly; half of the worm's body slammed against the surrounding rock layers, triggering a collapse, while the remaining digging limbs frantically clawed at the ground, trying to burrow back underground.

Inanna's body shuddered violently as Lin Jun's command, distorted and cracking, exploded directly within her consciousness:

"Swamp Spell! Now!"

(End of this chapter)