Thud—thud—
Familiar sounds ca from behind the person-high bushes, and Norris turned to look.
Now he was wearing adventurer’s clothes, unlike the beginning when he only had a pair of underwear.
The clothes were sothing he got from the boss—although the boss said it was an unnecessary sha...
After recognizing his situation, Norris quickly chose to accept it, accepting that becoming a "powerful" monster wasn’t harder than accepting the 40 gold coins debt back then.
At least the sense of happiness when replenishing nutrients and the satisfaction of becoming stronger after killing a demon were much better than waking up to debts every day.
Norris didn’t have to wait long.
Thud—
A human-sized red Sli jumped out of the bushes.
Inside it was still wrapped a half-digested Puki and so weeds.
Norris crossed his claws, pouncing the mont the Sli landed!
[Wind Splitting Claw Level 4]
His sharp claws tore through the Sli’s liquid body, and the Wind Elent entangled in his claws not only increased sharpness but also further expanded the opening on the Sli when it scattered.
Norris didn’t pause; he had to grab the core before the Sli’s body recovered...
Bang—
A Mushroom Cannon shot at the already cut-open Sli, causing it to explode instantly.
The closest one, Norris, was drenched in red liquid with neurotoxin at once, though he wasn’t afraid of neurotoxin, but he sure looked quite bedraggled.
Turning around to see, there was a Puki walking away like nothing happened after firing the cannon.
"Sigh..."
What could he do; his seniority in the organization wasn’t even higher than that Puki, so he could only look for the next target...
Thud—
Another Sli leaped out, but this ti it was green.
Norris turned around and left, for he didn’t have [Corrosion Resistance]. Even if he fought such Slis with [Digestive Mucus] and won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, better left to other Pukis.
Norris wasn’t hunting alone; he was sent by the boss to clear out nearby Slis so as not to interfere with the inside operations.
Not far behind him, on a small hill near the rock wall, a cleared open space bustled with over two hundred Pukis engaged in a major project!
This open space wasn’t natural; on the sixth level, there was no such thing as natural open spaces.
Only when the Pukis ca did it beco an open space.
Just becoming an open space wasn’t enough; Lin Jun wanted to excavate the entire area!
A group of Pukis specially fitted with [Sharp Claw Level 7] used their small legs to till and loosen the soil in circles.
The Cow and Horse Puki, through their special pipeline fungal mycelium tentacles, sucked up the loose soil into their bellies, and when full, they transported it far away to dump it.
Another group of digger Pukis began excavation work in areas where the rock layer was exposed.
The reason Lin Jun went to such great lengths was mainly that the Tree Demons had completed the waterway detection task, and according to map markers, the center of the underground waterways, the source of the Slis, should be inside the hill.
After a three-day project.
The vegetation on the open space had completely receded, leaving only a large rock pit that continued to expand.
The continuous clinking of chiseling never ceased, with the Cow and Horse Puki transporting rubble along designated paths like an assembly line.
Norris stood at the edge of the rock pit, looking at the scene below in utter disbelief.
Having mined for so long himself, he naturally knew how adventurers typically mined in a cave.
Chiseling a bit here and there, leaving a tunnel pockmarked, and allowed rubble to pile up until it blocked the path and had to be cleaned.
Before, he thought that was normal, but after observing the Pukis work over the past three days, he felt in comparison, the adventurers’ efforts didn’t even deserve to be called mining—at most, playing with rocks.
The Pukis had a clear division of labor, were orderly, and highly efficient.
Such a large pit, even if the Lords organized it, would probably take at least half a month, yet the Pukis did it in just three days...
Initially, Norris thought of himself as a seasoned miner and even wanted to help, but ended up being sent to the periter by the boss.
The reason given: in the way.
He couldn’t pretend not to be affected, as mining was the only skill he had honed over the years...
But after watching the Pukis work, he couldn’t help but agree; maybe he could mine faster than them, but he surely couldn’t achieve such coordination.
Pukis!
In the face of such a massive collaboration, minor differences in individual mining ability were wholly insignificant.
The Pukis were far more formidable than anyone ever imagined!
Crack—
In the pit, a seemingly ordinary crisp sound, just like any other rock being smashed open.
But following the opening made by a Puki’s shell, a mass of red stuff suddenly spurted out.
Before the Puki in front could react, it was enveloped.
It was a red Sli!
And it wasn’t over; a green Sli burst out from the crack!
The crack was squeezing larger, like slicing open a stuffed sack below; more and more Slis broke through the rock layers, pouring out like a flood.
In just over ten seconds, they filled the bottom of the pit and continued to overflow!
Most Pukis in the pit were engulfed in this slurry of Sli, and Norris, at the edge, retreated in shock.
If he were down there mining...
Lin Jun was also watching in horror.
What the hell?
Did they just poke a Sli nest?
No, it indeed was a Sli nest, but what did this many an?
Moreover, they were so fat! So big!
What were these Slis feeding on?
The Slis that erged along the waterway before were at most person-high, but these in the pit, the smallest surpassed any previously encountered!
No!
Lin Jun suddenly had a realization.
It’s likely because they were so big, even with liquid bodies, they couldn’t fit through the waterways and all stayed in the nest?
The ones that could co out were the "diminutive" batch among them!?
We’re in trouble!
Lin Jun quickly mobilized all Pukis guarding the periter, striving to suppress the Slis before they climbed out of the pit.
Simultaneously, a new batch of Pukis from the fifth layer began a large-scale assembly.
If the suppression failed, a fierce battle was imminent.
This batch of Slis couldn’t be ignored, given their size and number, typical plant-type demons couldn’t prevail against them.
If they were allowed to wreak havoc, the entire sixth-level ecosystem would suffer; if so, all of Lin Jun’s efforts lately would be in vain!
"You go back to the fifth layer first!" Lin Jun directly ordered Norris to retreat.
These Slis were no longer suitable for practice targets.
Norris was still hesitating about whether to do sothing, but upon hearing the boss’s order, he imdiately turned and passed by the incoming Pukis.
Bang—
Bang—
Not only were the incoming Pukis attacking, but the fixed turrets on the rock walls had also begun bombarding downward.
Due to the distance, the Mushroom Cannons on the rock wall were hardly accurate when targeting the ground.
But now that the entire pit was Slis, the target was so large, that this was no longer an issue; it was all about firepower coverage!
For a mont, Sli juices splattered all over the pit.
However, as the surface Slis died, their remaining juices naturally ford a barrier, greatly weakening subsequent attacks as they penetrated the juices.
Moreover, the Slis, when injured, absorbed nearby juices to repair themselves, making Mushroom Cannon barrages increasingly ineffective in inflicting sufficient damage.
And the number of Slis in the pit kept increasing...increasing...
This can’t go on!
It’s about to overflow!
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