Dragonroar Valley.
“One, two, push! One, two, push!”
Under the command of Inanna’s adjutant Warren, the soldiers pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, throwing their full weight against the enormous, round rump of the giant Burrowing Puchi in front of them.
Their bodies sank deep into the soft yet incredibly resilient mushroom flesh, inching forward with every rhythmic heave.
The concentrated heat gathered at the Burrowing Puchi’s head wouldn’t directly burn the soldiers, but the waves of scorching air that escaped still turned the entire tunnel into a steamer.
Everyone, Warren included, was drenched in sweat. Every fifteen minutes they had to rotate a fresh batch of men; otherwise no one could endure the stifling heat.
Even Duke Alama, whose wounds had only just begun to heal, had personally joined the pushing line once.
Unfortunately, with his monstrous strength he accidentally tore a small hole in the Puchi’s rear the moment he really leaned in. After that, Inanna strictly forbade him from joining the push team again.
Suddenly, the resistance up front vanished. Caught off guard, the soldiers stumbled forward several feet along with the Puchi, a few of them tumbling into a heap.
When they looked up, blinding sunlight poured in from the opening ahead, so bright it forced them to squint.
After three whole days, the valley had been dug through!
Warren stared dumbly at that beam of light, momentarily lost for words.
He wasn’t the only one; every soldier who had taken part in the project wore the same look of disbelief.
In a world where magic existed, carving a path through mountains was still a colossal undertaking.
To tunnel through an entire valley in three days? Unheard of!
What was even more absurd was that the only magic used throughout the entire project had been the most basic Illumination spell.
The unique mana interference in Dragonroar Valley drastically weakened any high-tier spell. If they had relied on conventional magical engineering, it probably wouldn’t have been finished in half a year.
And now, in just three days (and rather easily at that).
This Burrowing Puchi wasn’t just terrifyingly efficient; it could also expel pulverized rock from the sides of its body like a tunneling worm, compacting it automatically against the tunnel walls. Collapse was practically not a concern.
The only trouble was that the fungal mat couldn’t keep up with laying down such a long stretch of tunnel. The mana consumption for keeping the Burrowing Puchi running was staggering; more than half the army’s remaining mana potions had been poured straight onto that Puchi’s backside.
Word spread quickly. Alama and Lorenzo rushed to the scene at once.
Looking at this miraculous passage, Alama was so excited he kept shouting “Good! Good!” His rough palm repeatedly stroked the tunnel wall, and he happily slapped the short, thick leg of the Burrowing Puchi that was still lying on the ground, unable to get up. The Puchi’s leg flailed wildly in response.
Inanna arrived last.
She came holding Number Four comfortably curled in her arms, while Number Ten scurried behind her, short legs pumping furiously to keep up with her brisk trot.
Number Four had now completely accepted (no, embraced) the feeling of being carried by Inanna.
As a noble member of the mushroom race, it had initially refused such treatment.
But the way Inanna held it was perfect, and her technique for stroking its mushroom cap was nothing short of masterful; especially when she lightly scratched the underside of the cap… that sensation…
In just a few days, Number Four had convinced itself with the excuse “This is to better carry out the mission and protect Pink Puchi,” and now enjoyed it with a perfectly clear conscience.
As for Number Ten, Inanna wasn’t playing favorites.
It was just that Number Ten remained utterly unmoved by Inanna’s techniques. It felt being carried would hinder its ability to react in emergencies, so it always refused.
The three gathered at the newly opened tunnel exit, exchanged a few brief words, and immediately split up to act.
Alama and Warren returned to the valley to organize the soldiers into groups to pass through the tunnel. Lorenzo cast detection spells to monitor movement outside the valley and guard against possible ambushes. Inanna, naturally, was in charge of managing the Puchi forces inside the valley.
Over the past several days, thanks to “Inanna’s hard work,” a massive number of Puchis had sprouted from the fungal mat inside the valley.
Not only had they filled the slots under the various Puchi masters, Inanna herself had rebuilt an elite force several thousand strong.
When the remaining soldiers stood alongside the swarms of Puchis, they actually formed an imposing army tens of thousands strong; at first glance, it looked quite formidable.
Alama’s next plan was, of course, to lead the troops to reinforce Threehill City; but not with the entire force.
After battle after battle, far too many soldiers had been left crippled.
Some of those wounded in the Battle of Dragonroar Valley had been parasitized by mycelium and turned into Puchi masters; they still retained some fighting strength.
But the ones injured even earlier were completely incapable of combat now. The only way to give them strength would be to give each a fatal wound and let the mycelium take them, but that would surely damage morale. Alama could never force such a thing.
These wounded would retreat to the rear under the escort of a small guard.
When Alama’s gaze finally landed on Inanna, he hesitated; something rare for him.
How he wished he could assign his daughter to escort the wounded!
Rushing to reinforce Threehill City was tantamount to marching to their deaths. He himself could face death calmly and lead his brave men into a bloody last stand without hesitation, but to bring Inanna along to die; that decision was simply too hard.
In the end, people are selfish.
Or rather, a large part of why Alama could fight fearlessly on the front lines was precisely because of Inanna.
Taking her to the front lines felt utterly backwards.
“Old man,” Inanna said firmly, hugging Number Four tightly to her chest. “No matter what you say, I’m going with you!”
Only then did Alama suddenly realize that the Inanna standing before him was no longer the little girl he could decide for.
Lorenzo patted Alama’s shoulder in consolation, as if telling him to accept that his child had grown up.
The one most in favor of this decision was, without a doubt, Number Four. It excitedly waved its tentacles in Inanna’s arms: “Yes, yes, yes! Let us fight side by side! This battle will make the mushroom race’s name resound across the world!”
Number Ten, meanwhile, stood quietly to the side, calmly calculating the difficulty of protecting Pink Puchi on this journey.
Lin Jun, on the other hand, felt that for safety’s sake it would be better to recall Inanna.
After all, they had already obtained the Sun Stone; the original objective for sending her out had been achieved. There was really no need to put her in further danger.
The fight in Dragonroar Valley had looked dangerous, but in truth heaven, earth, and timing had all been under his control.
Terrain perfectly suited for Puchis, completely transparent intelligence, even the demon commander had been subtly influenced by him.
If anything truly went wrong, he could always slam the brakes on that guy called Xiao Xi.
But the situation at Threehill City was entirely different.
The fungal mat coverage there was still incomplete, and among both enemy and allied forces were monsters like the Sword Saint and the Blood Prince; powers far beyond what Lin Jun could currently control.
He had already arranged for Number Nine to follow Fifteen into Threehill City and wait for the right moment. There was simply no need for Pink Puchi to personally go to the front lines.
If something unexpected really happened there, Lin Jun might only be able to tearfully decompose Pink Puchi… Hmm… thinking about it that way, it didn’t seem like a total loss…
But this time, Inanna made the decision herself:
“I can’t just watch the old man go off to die. Will you help me, Lin Jun?”
Hearing his real name suddenly called, Lin Jun was slightly taken aback.
He had almost forgotten that he had once told Inanna his true name.
Phew—
“Fine. But you have to follow orders, rookie!”
“Yes, sir, boss!”
(End of Chapter)
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