Mushroom Lord in the Underground City

Chapter 453 - 444: The Birth of the Complete Mushroom Lord (Extra)

Dense arrows and destructive magic radiance relentlessly struck the massive body of the Heavy Armor Puki, causing fragments of its sturdy Rock Armor to shatter and fly apart.

Finally, another arrow hit the already riddled body of the Heavy Armor Puki. It swayed in place, then fell heavily to the ground with a muffled thud.

However, the death of the Heavy Armor Puki was merely the beginning.

A swarm of Self-destructive Puki emerged from the remains of the Heavy Armor Puki, charging towards the Demon Race’s positions.

Despite enduring layer upon layer of arrow storms and magic, a few lucky ones managed to break through the barrage and plunged into the ranks of the Mages.

"Sir!" The adjutant anxiously glanced back at Sigmund as casualties began appearing in the rear.

His left arm hung unnaturally, a price he paid earlier to cover the retreat of the Blood Knights.

"Stay calm!" Sigmund scolded. "Panicking—how can we respond to the ever-changing battlefield?"

He recognized the adjutant’s abilities and loyalty, but the latter clearly needed more tempering to learn to stay calm at all times.

Sigmund’s gaze remained locked on the battlefield, analyzing the nearly insane tactics of the Puki.

This battle style, which disregards its own losses and aims for self-destruction, was something he, as a seasoned veteran, had never witnessed before.

And the casualties suffered by the Demon Race soldiers often only resulted in the elimination of some "Magic Pets"!

While he wasn’t certain about the replenishment speed of these mushroom creatures, judging by their vast numbers, it probably wasn’t slow.

This extremely unequal exchange made him feel utterly disgusted.

Nonetheless, the situation remained under control.

He quickly issued new orders, redirecting some Mages’ firepower to the flanks, targeting not Lin Jun’s troublesome elite Puki, but the ragtag armies controlled by the Puki Masters.

These Mages unleashed wide-range attacks, and even if the attacks were less powerful, potential friendly fire was acceptable—the fragile ragtag Puki would collapse before their own soldiers.

After easily suppressing the ragtag Puki on the flanks, Sigmund reorganized his forces to focus on the tougher elite Puki.

While his tactics weren’t particularly fancy, under his seasoned command, the entire army operated with precision and order.

Although Lin Jun’s Puki could occasionally inflict damage, they couldn’t penetrate the Demon Race’s lines or expand localized victories.

Under Sigmund’s steady and precise approach, both sides fell into a war of attrition.

However, as the battle dragged on, the Puki Masters on both sides were barely holding on. Yet, the Puki didn’t seem to have lost too many numbers!

...

At this moment, Lin Jun directly commanded about 8,300 elite Puki on the battlefield.

The battle was really frustrating.

Feeling constrained made Lin Jun uncomfortable, and he couldn’t resist squeezing out a few hundred more Puki from the rear. New Puki continuously emerged from the Fungal Mat in the center of the camp, quickly filling the front lines.

Lin Jun was indeed frustrated. His first away match had left him bewildered.

The hastily dug underground tunnels were far from sufficient, incapable of allowing Puki to launch surprise attacks from all directions like they could in the Northern Territory stronghold.

Meanwhile, the Demon Race army under Sigmund’s command was like an old turtle retracting into its hard shell.

After much effort, using Self-destructive Puki or elite assaults to open a small breach, it was promptly and snugly patched by reinforcements, making the entire line so solid that it drove the mushrooms to despair.

Relying on sheer attrition alone, he could indeed win, given the seemingly endless supply of Puki.

But wouldn’t that be blatantly telling Sigmund that he was cheating?!

Most crucially, Lin Jun was well aware of Sigmund’s troop movements and overall deployments, yet he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage in combat. If it weren’t for continuously exhausting magic power to replenish Puki and maintain the battle lines, he might already have shown signs of defeat.

This left Lin Jun, who was initially confident and hoped to replicate the crushing victory from the Northern Territory, far from happy.

Why was it like this?

After thinking it over, the humble Lin Jun felt that he might need some advice from a "professional" to understand where the problem truly lay.

...

"Stay hidden! Keep moving, don’t stop!"

A group of Fungus Castle soldiers moved rapidly between cover under Louisa’s stern scolding, changing positions as they advanced.

"On the battlefield, you commanders of Puki squads are the most conspicuous targets in the enemy’s eyes! If you don’t want to die pointlessly, learn to survive in complex environments!"

Under Louisa’s relentless training, the Half-demons, Lizardmen, and humans present all groaned, but thinking about the generous Contribution Points rewards, they gritted their teeth and endured.

Suddenly, Louisa stopped her training, uncharacteristically announcing, "Training ends here today! Assemble an hour earlier tomorrow!"

Although they had to get up earlier the next day, seeing the training end midway brought the soldiers close to cheering!

Of course, they had to wait until this devilish instructor turned and left.

Louisa quickly walked to a secluded corner and respectfully asked through the Fungal Network, "Boss, you suddenly summoned me, is there something urgent?"

"Of course there’s something! Little Pig, come quickly and help me figure out where the problem lies, why can’t I fight happily?"

As Lin Jun complained, he poured the real-time battlefield images into Louisa’s mind through the Fungal Network.

At the moment she saw those images, Louisa’s breathing suddenly became heavier, her mind tinged with excitement: "Boss, is this...?!"

"Had a little skirmish with your old company in the south, never mind that, quickly help me analyze why I can’t tear through the enemy’s defenses?"

"Understood!"

Louisa quickly composed herself, swiftly scanning the battlefield images, her brain working rapidly to analyze the ever-changing situation.

She didn’t make Lin Jun wait long and soon pointed out a Demon Race unit.

It was a unit heavily damaged after a fierce battle with the Storm Elements, retreating to regroup with other forces.

"Here’s your chance! Sacrifice everything to send the fastest Self-destructive Puki to disrupt them! Follow with the Heavy Armor Puki to hold the line, and have the Artillery Puki provide fire harassment!"

She promptly pointed out several other subtle weaknesses and offered a series of tactical adjustment suggestions...

"Oh? Oh! Good! Let’s do that!" Lin Jun exclaimed in sudden realization, while hastily adjusting the Puki’s attack rhythm and tactical coordination according to Louisa’s suggestions.

...

On the battlefield, Sigmund watched the remnants of the third battalion, which had been completely disrupted during its retreat, his brow furrowed.

Was it an accident? How did they suddenly manage to seize this fleeting weakness?