Chapter 121: 120 Prisoner

Gulu-gulu—

The long-forgotten sensation of hunger forced Louisa to open her eyes.

The back of her head rested against a protruding piece of gravel; what she saw upon opening her eyes was a cramped and damp basement, and what reached her nose was the earthy scent mixed with rot.

No, calling it a basement was too generous; where she lay was merely a hole dug temporarily, and not far away, a Pujiji was even pushing soil to expand the space.

She still remembered what had happened before: before the two cannon fodder could even scout the path, they were surrounded by an endless horde of Pujiji.

Endless!

Even now, recalling it, that deep sense of powerlessness—knowing halfway through the fight that victory was impossible, and that even escape was a luxury—still lingered in her heart.

But... why hadn't she died?

When the blood sphere dispersed, she should have been blown into fragments, just like her subordinates; why had she woken up intact in this hole?

Had the Pujiji left her here to die, or was there another reason?

She didn't know, but she knew she was hungry.

Louisa glanced at the Pujiji still expanding the cave; it seemed to pay no attention to her awakening.

She leaned against the wall and struggled to stand; the cave's exit was directly opposite her; if only she could reach it...

A terrible thing happened!

When she took her third step, a mushroom sprouted from her palm without warning: a white stem, a gray cap, appearing to be an utterly ordinary mushroom.

But growing out of her palm was terrifying.

Louisa frantically pulled the mushroom out, yet felt pain like flesh being cut; already weak, she nearly collapsed to the ground.

What was happening to her?

Countless terrible speculations swirled in her mind; instinctively, she took another step forward.

This time it was the back of her other hand; two green mushrooms grew side by side, perfectly fused with the flesh on the back of her hand.

"This, what exactly is this?"

In fear, Louisa retreated repeatedly until her back pressed against the earthen wall and she stopped—the mushrooms stopped growing.

She understood; she could not get out of here...

If she had been cut down in battle, that would have been one thing, but watching herself become fertilizer for mushrooms was something Louisa simply could not accept.

She endured the pain and pulled the mushroom out again; this time, Louisa dared not step toward the cave entrance.

But staying here in place would probably just mean starving to death and becoming fertilizer for mushrooms anyway.

This mission was one Louisa had taken on voluntarily; after all, unlike some vampires who started loafing around after receiving their titles, she wanted to climb higher; stuck at level 50, she needed the chance for her next promotion.

She also knew this mission would not be simple; she had envisioned various possibilities before departing.

Whether she was discovered and killed by the human Church, or unlucky enough to encounter a big shot and be instantly slain, or even if the Holy Scripture had already been obtained by humans and used as bait to lure and kill her.

She had thought of all sorts of ways to die, but never imagined she would be used as compost by a group of Pujiji!

"Say it with your mouth: today the weather is very good."

Louisa widened her eyes and looked around, but saw no one.

Where did that voice come from?

And what did that sentence mean, "the weather is very good"?

How could she see the weather from inside this hole?

Just as she was confused, the voice appeared again, repeating the same words.

"Say it with your mouth: today the weather is very good."

This time, Louisa realized the voice was inside her head!

"Who are you? What is your purpose? Do you know what it means to imprison a Vampire Viscount like this?"

Louisa questioned angrily, yet the other party gave no response.

Suddenly, a small mushroom bloomed beneath her eyelid, its cap blocking the view of her left eye.

"Ah... ah..."

"Say it with your mouth: today the weather is very good."

The voice repeated for the third time; this time, trembling, Louisa opened her mouth and spoke in the Common Tongue of Humans: "Today the weather is very good."

"..." After a brief silence.

"I mean, say it in the Demon Language..."

A strange feeling lingered in Louisa's heart, but she no longer dared to disobey this voice.

"Today the weather is very good." Louisa recited these words using the distinctive, jagged syllables of the Demon Language.

Then the voice vanished; Louisa dared not ask more questions, so she squatted in the corner, staring blankly at the only living thing in the hole besides herself—that Pujiji—watching it slowly dig the soil.

She did not know how much time passed; just as Louisa was so hungry that double vision appeared before her eyes, the voice appeared once more.

"Say: I am a little pig who loves to eat."

This time, Louisa almost without thinking complied and recited the request.

A miraculous thing happened: after she finished speaking, two Pujiji entered from the cave entrance, carrying a dead wolf.

With a thrust of their tentacles, they flung the dead wolf in front of her.

Monster blood, or even dead monsters, was no better than stale pig slop to a vampire; eating it for long would inevitably leave one extremely weak.

But now she had no choice; no matter how bad it tasted, it was better than starving to death!

Ignoring the wolf fur all over its body, Louisa bit down; the fresh blood flowing down her throat finally restored a glimmer of life to her eyes.

Very good, a Demon Language learning machine is now available.

Although, for now, there seems to be no place where the Demon Language is useful, but it is always wise to prepare for a rainy day; when one mushroom is outside, learning an extra language is never wrong.

Her cell was dug by Lin Jun beneath the Mushroom Forest; round numbers, it counts as staff quarters.

Lin Jun decided to dig a few more rooms for reserve use.

In fact, had that mage named Hake not fled to the first floor, Lin Jun would have captured him too.

If he could pass the employment screening, recruiting him under his banner would not be impossible.

Who could have imagined a Gold-rank nearly accomplishing what even a Diamond-rank vampire failed to do—escape the dungeon.

Relying on a few scrolls and sheer ruthlessness, he forced his way through the encirclement despite a body full of wounds, nearly getting away.

Fortunately, the light barriers of the Church warriors outside helped.

Unfortunately, precisely because he reached the first floor and risked discovery by adventurers or Church members entering to investigate, Lin Jun had to dismantle him completely, tossing even the bones to feed the slimes.

Even if he had escaped, he could not reveal many secrets; at worst, Lin Jun would simply move the Yellow Book to a new location, but that would be a slap in his face!

What would others say?

Five whole floors of Pujis, yet unable to handle a single Gold-rank mage; where then lies the Pujis' deterrent power? Would not any with some strength attempt to challenge the rules henceforth?

So it could only be regretted.

Through this battle, Lin Jun gained a clearer understanding of his own strength compared to a Diamond-rank.

Given the current situation, a Diamond-rank without forming a squad and fully stocked with supplies would find it hard to pose any significant threat to his Pujis army.

Remember, Louisa drank a full three bottles of high-grade mana potions yet failed to cover even one-fifth of the distance from the cavern to the stairs.

Likewise, Lin Jun has roughly gauged the strength of his elite Pujis—Silver-rank and above, but below Gold.

Four versus two; had Hake not been scared off, it would have cost one heavily wounded Gold-rank to eliminate all four elite Pujis.

Of course, such strength is already sufficient as the core combat force of the Pujis.

Overall, the gains were substantial, yet this time also brought some new problems.

Those Church members who worship the God of Light, along with the adventurers, have begun searching the dungeon for Louisa's whereabouts.

After all, the Amethyst Dungeon lies within human territory; dealing with a Vampire Viscount, whether by killing or imprisoning, poses little issue, but confronting something like the Church promises much trouble.

He hopes they are sensible enough to limit their search to the outskirts; entering the Swamp Zone or the Mushroom Forest is something Lin Jun will never permit.

(End of this chapter)