The Pujis were fully equipped and ready.
Filling the magic power of every single Puji (including Inanna) had not only consumed all the magic power gained from decomposing the fire mosquitoes, but had also depleted every last bit of their stored reserves.
The naturally collected magic power going forward would definitely not keep up with consumption, which meant this batch of Pujis wouldn't get a second chance to replenish.
The insect hunting operation was today.
Four hundred Pujis crowded together made for quite a spectacular sight, with the vast majority being artillery-type Pujis.
Earthworms were not only massive in size, but their outer layer was covered in thick rocky shells. Neither hallucinogenic spores nor digestive mucus would work on them.
As for shelled Pujis, they were even more unnecessary—getting scraped by an attack from a heavyweight existence like an earthworm meant certain death regardless of whether they had shells or not.
To defeat such creatures, Lin Jun could only choose to pour on the damage.
Of course, he still had a plan.
These worms that spent all day drilling around underground had nothing but various minerals for food, and their favorite delicacy was naturally the specialty of the Purple Crystal Dungeon—magic crystals.
And Lin Jun happened to know how to detonate magic crystals.
Within the team, Lin Jun had specially prepared ten special Pujis.
Their hollow bellies were stuffed full of magic crystals, and they were equipped with magic power storage skills to serve as the energy source for detonating the crystals.
For this hunt, Lin Jun had basically brought out all his reserves.
The magic crystals that were originally planted in the mushroom garden soil to accelerate magic power collection had all been dug up, directly causing the garden's natural magic collection efficiency to be cut in half.
These magic crystals served both as bait to lure the earthworm into the open and as the first devastating blow to greet it.
As for what came after that first strike, it would depend on how effective Miss Inanna's swampification spell proved to be.
"Do we really have to go..."
Her pink mushroom cap trembled, and crossing at least 15 levels to fight an earthworm left her with absolutely no sense of security.
"Rookie, I recall the employment fee has already been paid into your hands, hasn't it?"
Feeling the large A-grade magic crystal on her head, Inanna found herself unable to voice any words of giving up.
It smelled too good!
Not only did it allow her to cast spells while in Puji form, but the spell power was almost doubled.
The amplification effect was far beyond what her previous small B-grade magic crystal could compare to.
"If the situation truly becomes dire, I'll permit you to flee, and I won't take back the magic crystal," Lin Jun timely relaxed the conditions.
Though Inanna still wanted to say that with her short legs, running might not necessarily mean she could get away, she thought about it—having permission to flee was still better than not having it.
The pink mushroom cap nodded, reaching a consensus.
Allowing Inanna to flee wasn't Lin Jun having a sudden attack of kindness; it was simply that if things became impossible, there was no need to let her die in vain.
After the fire mosquito nest battle, Lin Jun had discovered that magic was indeed useful.
Lost Pujis could be reproduced, depleted magic crystals could be mined again, but if he lost Inanna, where would he find another magic user who was both capable and easy to command?
————
This journey was much farther than the trip to the fire mosquito nest, and Inanna even felt like they had deliberately taken many detours.
However, they encountered almost no obstacles along the way, only running into a black and white striped large spider midway, which Inanna decapitated with a single tracking ice blade.
The destination was a shattered cavern.
It could hardly even be called a cavern anymore.
The entire space was densely packed with tunnels left behind by earthworms' passage—even describing it as "full of holes on all sides" would be giving it too much credit.
After observing, Lin Jun discovered there were several new tunnels compared to his last scouting visit.
He placed the suicide-bombing Pujis and magic crystals on a relatively intact piece of ground, while the other artillery Pujis spread out around the scattered cavern.
Lin Jun didn't arrange for Inanna to be elsewhere, instead having her stay at the edge of the tunnel they'd come from.
Slowly channeling magic power into the magic crystals, the magical fluctuations emanating from the large quantity of crystals made even Lin Jun feel tempted.
Inanna, who knew the specific plan, looked at that pile of magic crystals with nothing but regret.
Boss Lin Jun was a spendthrift—to increase the success rate, he was actually using some A-grade magic crystals as explosives!
Though they weren't as large as hers, they were still A-grade magic crystals!
This pile of crystals, if taken outside, would be enough to hire a diamond-rank squad to kill ten earthworms, yet now they were just being used to bomb an earthworm once.
What a genuine waste of heaven's gifts.
After the magical fluctuations spread out, they didn't see an earthworm for a while, but instead attracted some other magical creatures.
There were the black and white spiders they'd encountered on the road, as well as sharp-fanged and clawed deformed monsters.
However, they were all blasted to death by the surrounding Pujis in a few shots, causing no trouble whatsoever.
What surprised Lin Jun was that he actually spotted a LV35 Minotaur—commonly known as a bull-headed humanoid.
This was Lin Jun's first encounter with such a classic magical creature as a Minotaur.
The creature clearly possessed considerable intelligence, taking one look at their formation from afar before retreating.
If he'd encountered it at a different time, Lin Jun would definitely have tried to communicate—as fellow intelligent magical creatures, perhaps they could coexist harmoniously?
But not today.
Finally.
A continuous tremor came from underground. The rubble beside Inanna's feet shook frantically in the soil layer, and some newly opened tunnel entrances were dropping debris.
An unlucky Puji was crushed into a pool of mycelium by falling rocks from above before the action even began, becoming the first casualty of this operation.
"It's coming, it's coming! When should I cast magic? Should I use swampification now?"
When push came to shove, Inanna grew nervous again.
"Calm down, Inanna. I'll tell you when it's time to cast. Don't panic."
Lin Jun softly advised Inanna to stay calm, but he didn't notice his own tone unconsciously tightening—beneath his even cadence was barely suppressed excitement.
They weren't kept in suspense for long.
One side of the cavern's floor collapsed with a thunderous crash, and a giant worm burst from the ground. Twenty Pujis vanished into its massive maw in an instant.
【Level: LV49】
This was Lin Jun's target—the earthworm!
"Here it comes!"
The earthworm's body curved in midair, targeting the magic crystals with clear intent as it plunged downward.
None of the Pujis opened fire, and Lin Jun even stopped Inanna from reflexively casting magic.
Just a little more, not quite time yet.
Magic power surged frantically into the magic crystals, and the magical fluctuations grew increasingly turbulent.
Just as they were about to reach their peak, the massive maw descended, enveloping those ten Pujis along with all the magic crystals.
1... 2...
BOOM——
An earth-shaking explosion tore apart the earthworm's massive mouth, and several meters of thick rock armor burst from within.
Scattered rock fragments shot out at terrifying speeds, causing considerable casualties among the Pujis.
The earthworm's entire mouth was completely blown apart.
As for its head, Lin Jun wasn't very sure where an earthworm's head was located, or even if it had a head.
He only knew that even after suffering such injury, it still hadn't lost vitality, but was writhing in agony.
The remaining body thrashed wildly, half the worm's length slamming against the surrounding rock layers causing cave-ins, while its remaining digging appendages frantically clawed at the ground trying to burrow back underground.
Inanna's body shook violently as Lin Jun's command exploded directly in her consciousness in the form of a cracked, off-key shout:
"Swampification! Now!"
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