CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: SIGNS OF COLLAPSE

[Level Up LV50→LV51]

After a long day of battle, Lin Jun leveled up.

It hadn’t been long since the last level up.

Truly worthy of being called a Demon Tide, the experience gain is immense.

Inside the stairwell, Puki’s blast could take out six or seven demons at a time, such an output environment is rare.

However, as time went on, the strength of the demons gradually increased.

Besides some Dragon Beasts, Lin Jun also saw flesh monsters from the ninth layer.

These things are even more troublesome than the Dragon Beasts—their life force and regeneration are too strong.

So strong that it made him feel nauseous.

Even if you blow them apart, as long as the core remains, they can absorb surrounding flesh bits to reassemble a grotesque body.

And now, the stairwell was littered with chunks of meat...

Fortunately, each flesh monster’s control over the body size is limited, otherwise assembling a giant would be a real problem for Lin Jun.

The current situation is that although the flesh monsters are hard to kill, they are still suppressed and cannot climb up.

The situation at the Rift is much more difficult.

There isn’t the unique terrain like the stairwell, where thousands of troops pass on a single-plank bridge.

The firepower gradually couldn’t keep up with the speed at which demons poured out, turning from a siege into a melee.

Without additional Pukis, it won’t be long before they can’t hold on, but this was within expectations.

What was unexpected was the Dragon Man’s side.

The giant rat that had been fighting with the Dragon Man had already become chunks of meat on the ground.

Towards the end of the battle, the Dragon Man, incensed, crushed the giant rat’s throat and, after it fell, tore it to shreds.

This battle had evidently drained the Dragon Man’s energy, so much so that it didn’t plan to guard all the Pukis anymore.

Just now, as if it had come to a realization, it bundled up six Pukis and flew towards the forest.

Without the Dragon Man, the demons moved unimpeded.

Upon entering the fifth layer, they swarmed in confusion like headless flies, running everywhere.

Large swathes of the Fungal Mat were trampled, mushrooms were crushed to bits.

The feared situation came true.

The demons, though receiving the command to rush out of the Underground City, evidently didn’t include navigation.

The only Fungal Mats likely to remain intact in the fifth layer are those hanging from the dome.

Fortunately, up until now, enough demons have been killed.

If the Mushroom Garden can’t be saved from destruction, then at least minimize the time and cost required for rebuilding.

Nothing speeds up the rebuilding process like a massive number of corpses.

Now all the demons are focused on rushing upwards, not devouring the corpses on the ground.

Except for the Dragon Man, who fixates solely on munching Pukis.

The Rift can no longer hold; continue guarding the stairwell and soon they would be surrounded.

Lin Jun commanded two Puki squads to fight and retreat towards the Swamp Area, terrain most suitable for Puki’s final counterattack.

To maintain maximum firepower during the retreat, Lin Jun even developed a back-jumping volley tactic.

After the front line of Pukis fires in unison, during the pause for magic power recharge, they jump to the rear.

This way, hopping and shooting, more corpses of demons were left behind.

Once the Pukis entered the Swamp Area, the battle moved into its final stage.

Smaller demons had their mobility greatly reduced upon entering the swamp, hardly a threat.

The real threats were those that could fly and the gigantic ones.

With less than five hundred Pukis remaining, they engaged in a final chaotic battle with the swarming demons from all directions...

...

The plan had almost been completed; monsters started wandering near the cave.

Lin Jun decisively detonated several Self-Destruct Pukis at the cave entrance, sealing the entry.

Incidentally, also detonating the Fat Otaku Puki in the forest being gnawed by the Dragon Man.

Really thinks it’s a buffet?

Fatty Puki, hiding in a cave at the forest’s edge, was still found.

Self-destruction surely won’t kill it, might not even injure it.

Lin Jun couldn’t deal with it at the moment.

The previous poisoning plan had failed, as it seemed to distinguish, only choosing cannon mushrooms or Self-Destruct Pukis to consume.

Just hoping it might quickly leave the fifth layer along with the other Dragon Beasts.

However, after the Demon Tide, won’t there be a large number of high-level demons left in each layer?

Will they automatically retreat to the lower areas, or will the Underground City itself handle them?

The Underground City’s issues seem to be piling up, including the suspicion raised by the voice that triggered the Demon Tide.

But, being a mere weak mushroom, I shouldn’t be concerned with such things now.

Wait until I’m Level 99 before investigating!

Without further thought on the Underground City, Lin Jun squatted in the cave, tuning into the outside live broadcast.

Though the ground’s fungal mat and mushrooms were trampled, those on the dome remained largely unaffected.

Thanks to them, Lin Jun could still observe the outside—just with slightly poorer underground reception.

The things pouring up from the Lower Area were increasingly bizarre.

A Snake Monster with three heads, leaving a trail of venom where it crawled, raising doubts on whether mushrooms could ever be planted there again.

A beetle engulfed in flames that managed to ignite Dylan’s little heart-shaped wooden house.

There’s even a supersized golem, how did it manage to climb up with such a massive physique?

These demons emerged one after another, finding the stairwell to continue upward, those that couldn’t found wandered aimlessly.

Good thing no one seemed interested in the collapsed cave... except a certain Dragon Man...

Lin Jun watched as the Dragon Man exited the forest, heading directly towards the cave.

What’s it planning?

Has it discovered the Pukis inside the cave?

The fifth layer was littered with dead Pukis, does it really need fresh ones?

However, even if it has sensed them, it shouldn’t be able to dig its way in.

But... better safe than sorry, preparations must still be made...

————

"No... It’s impossible to hold it any longer!"

At the gate of the Underground City, from a certain moment, the strength of the demons suddenly soared.

Flesh monsters, advanced Dragon Beasts...

Adventurers suffered heavy losses, caught off guard.

Even two Gold Level adventurers had perished.

And it wasn’t just this batch that was strong, the later ones contained even stronger monsters!

By now, the casualties had reached a critical point the adventurers could bear.

A lot of them were starting to think of retreating, planning to slip away given a chance.

"No retreat!

If you retreat, will you let Dumb Wind Town suffer?

Anyone who flees will have their adventurer status revoked by the Guild!

Reinforcements are almost here, hold your ground!

After the crisis, everyone’s bounty will be tripled!"

Obel had personally come to the front line at this time.

Truth be told, he had no choice but to come.

Here he stood, adopting a stance of fighting to the end.

If they lost, he could argue he fought to the end and retreated with serious injuries to garner some sympathy.

Perhaps leniency in the aftermath...

As Obel loudly reassured, his luxurious, exquisite magic wand burst into brilliant light.

Tier Seven Light Magic—Celestial Vault Arrow.

Arrows composed of light shot forth, precisely striking several small Dragon Beasts flying in the air.

Under Obel’s encouragement, the adventurers’ morale slightly lifted.

But he knew, collapse was merely a matter of time.

After all, the ’reinforcements soon to arrive’ were actually a whole day away.

And by then, who knew how many adventurers could still escape with their lives.

As for himself?

A Level 55 adventurer couldn’t stop the Demon Tide, but escaping amidst a morale collapse was straightforward.