Chapter 488 - 478: Undying
The rain of arrows poured down on the path ahead, and explosive fireballs burst into scorching heat waves by my side. Pukis kept falling on their charge, but even as No. 4 Puki was hit by some attacks, its speed was not reduced at all.
The Puki Army led by Alama had yet to reach the battlefield, but the Demon Race detected them ahead of the Three Mountains City thanks to their aerial scouts.
What appeared ahead was the blocking unit set up by the Demons.
This could not be considered a true ambush; given the myriad of scouting methods, hiding a large army was nearly impossible.
What the Demons did was simply seize the advantageous terrain on the inevitable path and lay in wait.
As soon as the battle started, No. 4 Puki was the first to rush out of the line amidst Inanna’s worried cries.
Though impulsive, No. 4 was exceptionally agile.
Even when curled up into a ball and rolling rapidly, it could still leap off protrusions on the ground, dodging the whistling arrows and magic missiles.
As No. 4 Puki leaped into the air again, the Demon soldiers below couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
The spinning mushroom body suddenly unfurled in mid-air, with mycelium tendrils whipping around like a spinning top.
[Blade Storm]
[Sharp]
In front of the sharp blade whip, the iron-forged breastplate of the Demon soldiers was cut open like paper, with the flesh beneath bursting open.
At the instant No. 4 Puki landed, four mangled bodies had already fallen around it.
The sole survivor was a mage who had blasted himself away using an explosive spell at the last possible moment, now dragging a broken leg as he struggled on the ground.
As the nearby Demons prepared to counterattack, No. 4 Puki’s body rippled like water, and it vanished without a trace under the watchful eyes of all.
"It’s Invisibility! Mage, quickly cast—"
The squad leader, who was issuing the order, suddenly had a line of blood drawn from his throat and fell backward, clutching his neck.
The panicked Demons haphazardly attacked in the direction of the "Puki" sound in the void, mistakenly injuring many comrades with arrows and magic.
Having experienced the blood battle for the first time, No. 4 Puki did not get dizzy like No. 9; instead, it exhibited amazing adaptability amid the slaughter.
The chaos it created tore open a gap in the Demon line, and swarms of self-destructive Pukis rolled into the defenses.
Amid continuous explosions, flying soil mixed with limbs burst all around, and the organized formation gradually disintegrated.
Meanwhile, Alama’s main force gradually pressed forward under the cover of the Heavy Armor Pukis.
Heavy giant axes sliced through the air, creating ear-piercing sonic booms.
Having just revealed its form through a spell, No. 4 Puki narrowly dodged, the ax blade grazing past its mushroom cap, yet still severed two mycelium tendrils and a short leg.
Xenophon finally couldn’t stand idly by any longer and took action.
A hint of surprise flashed in the Pigman Duke’s eyes; he had not expected a mere Diamond Level mushroom to dodge his surprise attack?
But it was just that, a startlement.
He swung the giant ax again, unleashing a sustained offensive. No. 4 Puki dragged its battered body, desperately dodging, yet new wounds continued to appear on its mushroom form.
Each time the ax blade grazed past, fragments of mycelium flew, and the originally smooth mushroom body became dilapidated.
"What to do? How to save it?!" Inanna tapped her foot anxiously behind the lines, her nails digging deep into her palms.
No. 4 had charged too far ahead, completely detached from the main force, and she had no idea how to save it.
No. 10 Puki gently patted her back with its tendrils, the thoughts conveyed through the fungal network rather calm: "It’s no big deal."
Inanna looked at No. 10 Puki with hope, her voice trembling: "Little Ten, do you have a way..."
Before she finished speaking, the heavily wounded No. 4 finally couldn’t hold on, its movements slowing. Xenophon’s giant ax, carrying tremendous force, slammed down, shattering the mushroom body into pieces amidst a dull explosion, scattering fragments of fungus meat all over the ground.
"Bah!" The Pigman Duke spat on the remains on the ground, his eyes full of impatience. He hadn’t expected it would take so much effort to deal with a Diamond Level mushroom.
"Little Four!" Inanna covered her mouth, tears blurring her vision.
But No. 10 Puki calmly crawled to an inconspicuous burrow, inserting its mycelium tendrils to carefully probe inside. Shortly after, it pulled out an ordinary cannon fodder Puki from the hole.
"That hog is really tough, couldn’t retaliate at all." A familiar thought transmitted through the fungal network.
Inanna raised her head abruptly, looking at the Puki adapting to its new body through teary eyes: "Little Four? Aren’t you... what is going on?"
"You didn’t know? The great Puki will bless us with its will, death is just switching to a... "
Before the words were finished, No. 4 was embraced tightly by Inanna, squeezing so hard that the cannon fodder Puki’s body felt a bit uncomfortable.
No. 4 rarely felt a sense of embarrassment.
No. 10 even expressed a rare hint of dissatisfaction in its thoughts: "Did you forget what our mission is? Wasting a body like this, how do you plan to protect Pink Puki later? Rely on Self-Destruction?"
"Ha... hahaha..."
The battle continued, with both sides finally engaging in a melee, but the situation wasn’t looking promising.
Even though the Prince was still keeping an eye on the side of Three Mountains City, the portion of forces he deployed here was more than enough to deal with Alama’s ragtag soldiers.
Actually, the bulk of the cannon-fodder main force was entirely borne by Pukis.
Unlike the battle at Dragon Roar Valley, they were ambushed this time. Lin Jun didn’t have much time to pre-arrange the battlefield, and there was not much fungal mat, making Puki production less efficient.
Meanwhile, Alama and Lorenzo struggled against the Pigman Xenophon and another Blood Race Duke.
Both had lost their favored greatswords and magic staffs during the battle at Dragon Roar Valley, and the temporary weapons greatly reduced their combat effectiveness.
For Alama’s side, just after a few engagements, his weapon was already nicked in several places, forcing him to switch mainly to dodging in the face of Xenophon’s relentless attacks.
Lin Jun observed the scene in front of her, weighing whether to use [Family Maker] here.
A giant Puki could certainly turn the tide of battle, but to think it could crush the Demon Race’s army was wishful thinking.
This wasn’t an astronomical pass like Dragon Roar Valley; the open terrain greatly diminished the threat level of a giant Puki.
The skill could only be used once a week, so it had to be saved for critical moments.
Lin Jun decided to wait and see the situation on the other side.
...
On the other side, more than a dozen giant drilling Pukis emerged near the lightly defended Demon camp. The Mushroom Race led the Pukis to swarm out from these burrows.
These Pukis were far less capable in combat compared to the elite force currently fighting on the main battlefield, but they weren’t meant for frontal battle. Under the high-efficiency command of the fungal network, Nos. 1 and 2 each led small teams to infiltrate indiscriminately, with clear objectives to charge at supply points throughout the camp.
"The granary at the northwest corner is on fire!"
"The munitions depot on the east side is under attack!"
"Invisible Puki spotted in the Demon Crystal reserve area!"
The Blood Race leader was instantly turned into a fire-fighting captain, extinguishing the granary fire one moment, then rushing to the munitions depot to intercept the acid Pukis corroding the weapons the next...
Although he possessed formidable strength, he was beginning to struggle with handling everything at once.
Even more headache-inducing were the Pukis’ elusive tactics; they transferred anytime through the drilling tunnels and would quickly vanish upon encountering a strong enemy. Each time Ern reached a site of disturbance, new chaos would suddenly erupt elsewhere.
Twice, after he thought he’d cleared an area and turned to leave, hidden Pukis would immediately reappear and rekindle fires that hadn’t been fully extinguished.
The guards with fewer numbers would be mobbed by the Pukis, while abundant defenses prompted Pukis to strike softer targets elsewhere.
From a high vantage point, Visarius observed the chaos overtaking the rear camp with slightly contracted crimson pupils.
But he didn’t order reinforcement; instead, his gaze shifted toward the direction of Three Mountains City.
There, Sword Saint Elvyn was leading the main force of defenders out of Three Mountains City, the silver luster of the crescent moon radiating cold brilliance under the night light.