Chapter 160: 158 Reunion

On this day, the master of the Mushroom Garden returned once again to his loyal old capital!

However, the place had been so thoroughly remodeled by the troglodytes that even Lin Jun could barely see any traces of its former self.

Yet, the rock wall containing the high-quality magic crystals remained; these crystals were likely the most valuable items in the old Mushroom Garden.

Although these troglodytes farmed mushrooms, they clearly lacked Lin Jun’s cultivation expertise. They didn't know how to use magic crystals to fertilize the fields, nor did they bother to mine them. The few crystals in the storage room were just tossed casually into a corner—truly ignorant of their worth.

In this battle, the losses for the Turret Puji were minimal.

The greatest casualties were the twenty or so Turret Puji crushed by the rubble Louisa had sent flying; the others, poked to death by the troglodytes' spears, automatically repaired themselves after lying still for a while.

Aside from a somewhat spirited start, the troglodytes' resistance quickly devolved into a game of cat and mouse.

This result did not surprise Lin Jun.

Just like his old Mushroom Garden back in the day, it had only existed because of its remote location, away from the gaze of high-level magical beasts.

In terms of combat power, they were even inferior to the old Mushroom Garden, and the troglodytes clearly lacked luck, having caught Lin Jun’s eye...

If Lin Jun hadn't wanted to capture them alive as much as possible, the battle would have ended much sooner, rather than letting them struggle for a while as they had.

Of course, one couldn't say they were unlucky; Lin Jun wasn't trying to exterminate them.

Lin Jun simply wanted to bring equality to this slave-owning race!

Every restrained troglodyte was stunned by hallucinogenic spores, beaten until near death, and finally, specialized Turret Puji would scatter spores over them to complete the fusion with the mycelium while they slept.

When they woke up, they would find that the hierarchy once divided by pheromone concentration no longer existed; all troglodytes now held the same status—Lin Jun’s slaves... subordinates!

Of course, that was the treatment for valuable, ordinary troglodytes. As for those worthless fat troglodytes...

Louisa was very satisfied. Although their cholesterol was a bit high, it was at least the blood of intelligent life, and the taste was much better than that of low-level magical beasts.

Huang Huang Pishu was also satisfied; it had received two more souls than it had anticipated.

As for Norris, Lin Jun promised to pick out a piece of equipment for him later.

Under Lin Jun’s distribution, everyone achieved happiness.

As for the fat troglodytes?

Although they kept howling while being bled, they didn't raise any objections.

Several corpses of troglodyte elders, still fat but drained of all color, were tossed by the Turret Puji into their mushroom fields.

The mycelium swallowed and decomposed the bodies, but in the end, aside from some magic power and nutrients, no skills were gained.

One could only say... as expected?

The fact that skills were likely related to the soul had already been sensed by Lin Jun during Huang Huang Pishu’s "snacking," and this time it had been verified.

Simply put, this Huang Huang Pishu was competing with him for food; if you don't starve, who will?

This reconnection with the old Mushroom Garden also made Lin Jun realize that the parts he had spread out, even after a long time, could be brought back under control as long as they reconnected with the fungal network.

However, after losing his control, the fungal carpet would only naturally generate some primitive, skill-less Turret Puji; if the troglodytes hadn't been farming them, they would probably have been eaten by slimes or the like by now.

Lin Jun searched the troglodytes' lair from top to bottom, and the word "poverty" stood out.

Aside from food like moss and mushrooms, there were only some bone-based items.

Lin Jun even saw a minotaur skull; it seemed they had some past achievements after all.

If one had to say what Lin Jun gained besides this batch of troglodytes, it would probably be the troglodyte fortress itself.

【Race: Snail-Wood】

【Level: 25】

【Skills: Toughness lv6, Hardening lv5, Physical Resistance lv4, Rapid Growth lv4...】

This thing was defined by its hardness; Louisa’s previous ordinary strike hadn't been able to break the wooden shell directly.

Moreover, the shape of this wood after growing was just like its name, resembling an oversized snail shell, which was no wonder the troglodytes used it as their lair.

It seemed to grow quite fast, too?

Taking a few seeds from the center of the Snail-Wood, Lin Jun planned to continue the Snail-Wood and troglodyte model, only adding some Turret Puji to the mix.

Troglodytes were low-level and prone to dying; in Lin Jun’s view, they weren't suitable for the front lines of the expeditionary force as expendable units. They couldn't afford the attrition either; the Turret Puji on the front lines were replaced in batches, and those that survived from the beginning to the end of three large magical beast caves were rare.

In Lin Jun’s plan, he intended to let the troglodytes lead the Turret Puji to guard the caves that had already been conquered.

These caves had low danger and little defensive pressure. By handing these guard Turret Puji nodes to the troglodytes, Lin Jun could free up more capacity to support the expeditionary force.

Originally, he had needed to consider how to solve the problem of the troglodytes settling in new caves, but now it seemed he could just use the Snail-Wood!

Of course, these were arrangements for the future; this batch of troglodytes still needed some teaching first.

He wasn't in a hurry to move the troglodytes; no other cave was as safe as this old Mushroom Garden location.

Furthermore, Lin Jun discovered the troglodytes' nursery inside the Snail-Wood; this thing was actually oviparous...

Every troglodyte was precious, including those not yet born!

Lin Jun arranged for a few troglodytes who were still in fear after waking up to take care of their eggs.

As for the other awakened troglodytes, they were handed over to Norris and Huang Huang Pishu.

They shivered, awaiting their fate.

At this time, Louisa had already left with the main force under Lin Jun’s arrangement; she was going to re-conquer the cave that had been taken back by the snake monster.

Norris was left only with the personal guard Lin Jun had given him—two minotaur puppets and a dozen elite Turret Puji.

The minotaur puppets were tall and burly, full of presence, and indeed had a deterrent effect on the troglodytes.

But compared to nearly three hundred troglodytes, the number of people under Norris was a bit too small.

So much so that some quick-witted troglodytes had thoughts of escaping.

However, when a troglodyte that chose to run away burst into a mass of mushrooms and turned into a puppet before it had even run far, the remaining troglodytes all learned to obey.

Lin Jun gave Norris and Huang Huang Pishu only one new task.

Teach the troglodytes to use the fungal network, manipulate the Turret Puji, and most importantly—understand and obey the boss’s commands.

Even if Norris didn't know exactly how to do it, Huang Huang Pishu certainly did.

To keep Huang Huang Pishu from slacking off, Lin Jun dangled the promise of soul-eating before it.

With a full-map perspective, Lin Jun was planning which caves to arrange the troglodytes in once they were trained.

The first batch should ideally be in relatively safe caves to accumulate experience.

While thinking, a vibration came from the fungal network.

This vibration was so familiar... one could even say nostalgic!

Earthworm?

Lin Jun wasn't the only one who felt the vibration; Louisa, who was passing by the riddled cave with the expeditionary force, also stopped in her tracks as she watched the small stones jumping under her feet.

The vibration became more and more obvious; Louisa could stand still, but the Turret Puji were being shaken until they were swaying.

At one moment, the soil burst outward, and a gaping abyss of a mouth emerged from it, instantly swallowing twelve Turret Puji, while many more were crushed to death or killed by the flying rocks.

This scene was exactly the same as the punitive expedition back then.

And on the edge of the giant worm’s mouth, the scar left by the Turret Puji’s great self-detonation was still clearly visible.

【Race: Earthworm】

【Level: lv51】

We meet again, old rival!

Do you have any help this time?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 162 =====