Chapter 161: 159 Washing Away Shame

What was the greatest failure in Lin Jun’s career?

It wasn't being chased for a meal by slimes when he first arrived; that was just how the beginner phase was.

Nor was it being nearly finished off by three gold-ranked humans; that time, Lin Jun had suffered no real losses other than being hit by an arrow.

The greatest failure was the Earthworm hunt!

He had consumed all the resources produced by the fire mosquitoes, exploded a force of 400 Turret Puji beyond the limit, and even sacrificed a large amount of magic crystals he had saved for two years.

The result was that he gained nothing. Not only that, but only a tiny fraction of the Turret Puji who went on the expedition escaped back, and the great general Inanna had almost been lost in it.

Re-development was nowhere in sight, which directly led to Lin Jun’s decision to take the risk of relocating.

Fortune plays with mushrooms; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Lin Jun’s current state was all thanks to those two Earthworms.

Lin Jun had never forgotten this humiliation for a single moment.

However, the Deep Zone was so vast that Lin Jun had thought that meeting them again would require him to control the core and then search painstakingly.

Unexpected, truly unexpected!

Was it because your activity area was nearby?

Or did you sense the aura of the Turret Puji that had caused you such great trauma and intentionally appear?

Whether intentional or coincidental, it didn't matter.

Today, I will absolutely not let you go!

"Piggy, coordinate with me to kill this Earthworm with everything we've got!"

"Boss?" Louisa had never heard the boss in such an excited tone, but she still raised an objection, "But most of the Turret Puji here are melee types!"

That was indeed true; the proportion of Mushroom Cannon Turret Puji was small.

But there were still hundreds of them; could it be worse than before?

"Full power! Louisa! Kill this Earthworm, and I’ll let you drink until you're satisfied! I’ll even reward you with equipment! But if you let it escape... you can just wait to pull the mushrooms off your body in the middle of the night!"

She wasn't called Piggy this time, but Louisa was even more terrified.

The boss was clearly not joking!

Not daring to hold back, blood quickly gathered in her hands, and even the blood that had been drawn from the fat troglodytes and saved as dry rations was brought out to be used for the battle.

The Turret Puji’s mushroom cannons poured out firepower without reservation, and the melee Turret Puji, even if they couldn't cause much damage, tried their best to get close to attract the Earthworm’s attention.

At the same time, countless magic power was transmitted to this cave through the fungal carpet.

Lin Jun naturally wouldn't rely entirely on Louisa.

【Turret Puji Creation lv8】

Under the catalysis of magic power without regard for consumption, Turret Puji were produced rapidly.

And the first Turret Puji to drop down was a Magic Turret Puji!

The Magic Turret Puji’s mycelium tentacles connected to the fungal carpet, and a magic crystal scavenged from the troglodyte warehouse was placed on its mushroom cap.

Lin Jun manually operated it to start casting magic—Mud Swamp!

As a first-tier spell, Mud Swamp wasn't hard to learn, and how could Lin Jun not learn this spell that had left such a deep impression on him!

Although he wasn't proficient, and although the casting time was longer than Inanna’s, Lin Jun still released the spell!

The Earthworm, which was rapidly shuttling between the Turret Puji, suddenly stalled; this familiar feeling gave it a bad premonition.

And this was just the beginning.

The Magic Turret Puji was connected to the fungal carpet, so there was no need to worry about magic power; Lin Jun just used Mud Swamp over and over again to turn all the ground the Earthworm touched into mud.

And new Turret Puji kept dropping onto the fungal carpet.

Except for the first one, which was a Magic Turret Puji, the others were all Cannon Turret Puji.

Occasionally, a few Bat Turret Puji would be generated to fly over and self-detonate.

Louisa also used all her strength; at first, she had been at a loss when the Earthworm shuttled back and forth at high speed.

Now that the Earthworm’s movement was restricted, she decisively condensed her blood into the shape of an axe and slashed fiercely at the same spot on its shell, seemingly wanting to cut the Earthworm in half.

The Earthworm’s counterattack was to swing its giant body; with just one swing, it knocked Louisa into the rock wall.

But Louisa, relying on her high recovery ability, would always rush back quickly, even directly going up to extract the Earthworm’s blood during the process.

The entire battle could not be called elegant at all; it even felt primitive and barbaric.

It was clear they were truly fighting for their lives.

However, making a vampire go head-to-head with an Earthworm of the same level and massive size was still difficult for Louisa. After being slammed into the wall again, Louisa couldn't crawl out quickly.

Lin Jun took a moment to check her panel; she had one-third of her health left.

She definitely still had strength, but she had fought hard, so Lin Jun wouldn't hold it against her.

Louisa had successfully opened a large wound on the Earthworm, and the Turret Puji, under Lin Jun’s control, focused their fire as much as possible near the wound.

The Earthworm no longer had the arrogance of the beginning, when it would shuttle back and forth to crush Turret Puji; instead, it was struggling to shrink back into the ground. Now, it finally remembered that it had been just as miserable last time.

If it weren't for the other Earthworm...

Then would the other Earthworm come this time?

Lin Jun guessed while attacking with all his might.

The ground under the Turret Puji’s feet kept vibrating, but this was caused by the constant slamming of this Earthworm, not the digging vibration of another Earthworm.

More than a dozen Bat Turret Puji burrowed into the Earthworm’s wound, which had already expanded several times over, followed by another series of self-detonations.

The Earthworm’s body was directly blown apart, flesh and blood separated, and it was only barely holding the two halves of its body together by its rock shell.

Looking at the limp worm on the ground, Lin Jun didn't hesitate and continued to control the Turret Puji to finish it off.

Only when its health bar hit zero and the panel disappeared did Lin Jun stop the attack.

This time, the Earthworm’s hero didn't come!

He stopped the Turret Puji that were still being produced; even with Lin Jun’s abundant magic power, a trip like this had consumed more than half of his stored magic.

As for the expeditionary force?

Most had died and some had been replenished, but the number was much smaller; the plan to return to the front lines seemed to have to be delayed for a few days.

The Turret Puji dug Louisa out, although judging from her panel, she could have gotten out on her own.

"My strength was insufficient; I failed the boss’s expectations," Louisa said weakly.

"Not at all, Piggy, you did very well. Rest well; as promised before, there will be enough blood!"

"Boss!"

"Piggy!"

Although Louisa had slacked off a bit, she had made a contribution.

Lin Jun had just killed the Earthworm and was in a great mood; he didn't mind playing along with her act of a harmonious lord and subject.

He had the Turret Puji carry Louisa to rest and, by the way, sent the two captured minotaurs over.

Now that he had troglodytes, Lin Jun couldn't be bothered to spend effort on these one-track-minded fools anymore.

The Magic Turret Puji stepped on the motionless Earthworm corpse.

Lin Jun savored the fragrance called victory, letting it permeate every single mycelium.

This taste was far more intoxicating to the mushroom than conquering ten caves.

The ugly worm corpse under his feet was the boundary between him and the past—that weak little mushroom that had lived in fear and struggled to survive in the shadows had been thoroughly crushed.

The current Lin Jun not only mastered his own destiny, but his every move could even influence the destiny of others, whether it was Earthworms, troglodytes, or Louisa...

If there was any regret, it was that his greatest fear of the past—the Balrog—had been finished off by adventurers.

If he could personally end that monster that had made Lin Jun fear for two years... just imagining that sweet scene was enough to make his soul tremble!

What a pity...

Lin Jun, while intoxicated, didn't forget to collect the spoils.

The Turret Puji scattered spores, and the mycelium covered the worm corpse, slowly decomposing everything except the rock armor.

Lin Jun didn't accelerate the process, but slowly enjoyed the harvest.

A few days later.

【Seven Sins: Greed triggered】

【Plundered Skill: Rock Eating lv5 → lv7】

【Plundered Skill: High-Temperature Resistance lv7 → lv8】

【Plundered Skill: High-Temperature Burrowing lv1】

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 163 =====