Can you not be so predictably dumb?
It’s hard to keep up!
Luckily Knight Puffshroom was there!
A Mushroom Cannon blasted at casting Payne, then mycelium blade whips spun fast, triggering [Blade Storm LV7], crashing into the target like a spinning top!
Gray flashed in front, his burning fist scattering the cannon, costing him a mangled bloody hand!
Ignoring the pain, he whipped a leg, kicking Knight Puffshroom flying!
The whips carved bone-deep gashes in his leg!
Not that he lacked skill, but he had to shield Payne with his body, no dodging allowed!
Knight Puffshroom bounced twice, burning, then stood. Flames fizzled under [High-Temperature Resistance LV8], leaving only scorch marks.
As it charged again, Little Black, with Puffshroom help, locked their position. Gray figured he was done for.
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
“Move!” Payne barked!
His eerie spell finished, a light-swallowing black portal opened at their feet. He yanked Gray, diving in, swallowed by darkness!
A teleport gate?
Knight Puffshroom No. 3 switched to [Minion Control], ready to chase.
A sudden shift!
Lin Jun always kept a sliver of focus on the Yellow Codex.
Just now, it dared snatch a battlefield soul!
Lin Jun had banned that!
Greedy slip or thinking he was distracted?
Didn’t matter!
In the Yellow Codex, Lin Jun’s vast soul surged, ready to crush it.
At the last second, the half-formed book scrawled on its single torn page:
[Don’t kill me yet, keeping that vampire has big use]
Sloppy, no punctuation.
Lin Jun’s soul held, poised to crush, attention snapping back.
Yuneer’s body compressed into a blood arrow, shooting at the black portal!
Too fast for Little Black to block!
Tch!
Knight Puffshroom No. 3 pivoted, slamming the blood arrow!
Yuneer didn’t dodge, aiming to pierce through.
No crashing for me!
[Self-Destruct LV8]
Boosted by [Crystal Symbiosis], it unleashed a blast far beyond Fatshroom Puffshroom’s!
Wall-mounted Resonance Cannons added a volley.
The shockwave flipped even Little Black back!
Yuneer, hit hardest, shattered from blood arrow to scarred human form, crashing like a rag doll!
Dust swirled. The black portal was gone—blown apart or timed out.
Only one battered vampire remained, unable to control blood freely. Her fate was clear.
After futile fierce struggling, she was caught.
Piggy trotted over, stomping her a few times, face glowing with more glee than after a blood feast.
The battle ended.
The battlefield was a wreck.
Lizardmen, half-demons, and countless Puffshroom corpses piled high, Puffshrooms the most.
Among the dead, many wounded groaned in blood pools. Ox-Horse Puffshrooms began orderly tending.
Scattered escapees were already being chased by Puffshrooms.
Most wouldn’t escape Lin Jun’s Mycelial Network.
The half-demon chief’s group? Lin Jun wasn’t rushing to deal.
Tribes could flee, but not their homes. Relocating wasn’t easy.
Once Puffshrooms cleaned up, he’d settle scores.
On the demonkin side, despite Puffshroom fodder, some casualties happened. Healing was underway.
Parasitic mycelium and prepped herbs could pull even the gravely wounded back.
Pity the two Empire demonkin escaped. The Mycelial Network sensed nothing in range.
Long-range teleport?
Lin Jun recalled this world’s teleport magic needed fixed two-way arrays and huge mana.
What was Payne’s trick?
Abyss Magic… that strong?
Those port cultists should’ve set up in Mushroom Town!
Lin Jun wanted to study that slick magic.
As for this vampire…
The red-caped Marshal Puffshroom sidestepped Little Black, scavenging with a wagging tail, and reached Norris, taking the Yellow Codex.
The Voice Puffshroom on its head spoke. “Spill it. What’s the big use? I blew up a strong Puffshroom. If you’re lying…”
Lin Jun’s soul squeezed tighter.
[Boss! I swear I’m sorry! It’s real!]
[This vampire’s got big use, I wouldn’t dare lie!]
“Cut the crap!”
[Yes yes yes]
[She can boost Louisa’s tier! Super useful, right?]
“How?” Lin Jun perked up.
[Easy… consume her!]
[But not the usual way, needs a rare special ritual!]
[And… I happen to know a bit… heh.]
“Hmm…” Lin Jun mused.
Louisa, still stomping Yuneer, savoring crushing a countess’s pride, didn’t notice the book.
Boosting Piggy’s tier…
Tempting offer.
Louisa’s loyalty was rock-solid. Lin Jun didn’t fully trust her over demonkin, but close.
Using this captive to skyrocket Piggy’s power was a sweet deal.
Plus, Lin Jun wasn’t worried about Yellow Codex tampering. Piggy’s status was clear on the panel, and the book wouldn’t risk its life to sabotage her.
“Not bad,” Lin Jun approved.
[So… if I pull it off, can I…] A cautious hopeful line appeared on the page.
“Not enough!” Lin Jun shut it down, not hearing the request.
[…]
“But,” Marshal Puffshroom’s tendrils tapped the scribbled page, “you can keep this page.”
[Thank you, boss! Thank you!] The text turned fawning fast.
[You’re too kind!]
“Cough… hack!”
Blood’s tang woke Gray, shaking his foggy head, struggling to look up.
No dragonkin loomed, no mycelium or Puffshrooms in sight. His tense nerves eased slightly.
He tried to stand, but his left arm tugged.
Gray glanced back, stunned—his arm was half-sunk in a gray-brown rock.
Clenching his jaw, he mustered strength, smashing the rock!
Stone shards flew, but his entire left arm crumbled to dust with it!
“Not… sunk, fused…” A faint voice drifted from behind.
“Payne!”
Gray spun, horrified!
Payne’s body was half-fused with a tree!
Rough bark swallowed his waist, arms, and half his head, leaving one limp foot and a heaving chest exposed.
He looked moments from death.
“You… got lucky…” Payne’s lips twitched, coughing bloody foam. “I’m… a bit… less…”
“How do I free you?!” Gray rushed to the tree, clueless against this alien magic.
He reached for potions, but they’d all shattered.
Payne shook his head weakly, eyes fading, looking at Gray. “My… Magic Core… please…”
His last syllable faded in the cold air, chest still.
Gray sighed, silently reaching into Payne’s chest, prying out the Magic Core.
Clutching it, Gray eyed the strange surroundings. He had to get back!
(End of Chapter)
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