A large portion of them were cheap cannon fodder Puki, thrown into the battlefield solely to boost the Empire Army’s kill count and confidence.

Moreover, the dead Puki could be recycled, and the dead enemies could be decomposed, minimizing the real magic power loss.

Not to mention, with the skill of [Fungal Filament Reassembly], many Puki would crawl back with a Gululu as soon as the Imperial Army departed, using underground networks to return for a second death.

The correct way to fight against Lin Jun, the first step is always to destroy the fungal mat and burn the bodies.

Sadly, very few people realize this now.

Obviously, the imperial generals leading this Northern expedition haven’t grasped this key point.

Although General Leonard’s troops have repeatedly secured victories against Puki in various engagements, the frequent battles inevitably drained the soldiers’ physical strength and spirit.

Fearing the seemingly endless number of Puki, Leonard in the old city chose to cautiously delay advancement.

As for the Demon Race troops, as Leonard anticipated, after initially engaging with Puki and easily winning, they mercilessly mocked their allied forces’ incompetence.

Yet, after a few more battles, they couldn’t laugh anymore.

It’s not that these Puki were any mighty, for the Demon Race were top elites.

On Leonard’s side, soldiers still had to tussle with Puki, while on the Demon Race’s side, it was completely like chopping vegetables.

Even after several consecutive battles, they only suffered casualties of around ten men.

However, now they were even more troubled than Leonard.

These damned northern tribal Puki... they actually steal Demon Cores!

The Demon Core, being the sole source of new-born population for the Demon Race, is of undeniable importance.

In past battles, if victory was achieved, they could naturally gather the Demon Cores of fallen comrades; even when unfortunately defeated, Demon Warriors would often try their utmost, willing to suffer more casualties just to retrieve as many Demon Cores as possible.

Initially, when a Demon Warrior was unfortunately killed by a self-destructing Puki, and during the post-battle cleanup his Demon Core couldn’t be found, they attributed it to bad luck, perhaps the explosion had flung the Core into an unreachable spot.

But now, sixteen have died, with only two having reclaimed their Demon Cores, the rest were stolen.

Yes, stolen!

Once a Demon Warrior falls, all the surrounding Puki, regardless of who they’re attacking or the extent of damage they’re suffering, swarm toward the body like bloodthirsty piranhas on a frenzy!

They disregard all losses, using their rotund mushroom bodies to form fungal walls, suicidally blocking other Demon Warriors from retrieving their fallen comrade’s body.

And in the brief interval bought by sacrificing countless Puki lives, the Demon Core of the dead Demon Warrior would be snatched away and hidden inside the belly of some unknown Puki.

The Puki scatter all over, leaving the Demon Warriors relying on luck to intercept. With hindrance from other Puki, it could easily result in getting surrounded and suffering further casualties.

Boom!

A Demon Race squad leader’s iron-clad heavy fist smashed hard on a nearby exposed glacier rock, splitting the hard rock in half.

"Damn it... It must be them! The Northern Territory’s previous wastrels! Only they would meticulously collect Demon Cores!"

"Look at these wastrels, their Demon Patterns are all Cold Resistance, other tribes have survivors, but their survival rate must be higher!"

The other squad leaders nodded in agreement, as indeed there had been sightings of horned, potentially demon-like figures among those lurking far away Puki Masters during the battles.

Thinking of the Northern Territory tribe’s tactics disgusted all the squad leaders present.

Those cowards always hide far away, never appearing on the battlefield, relying solely on these Puki to fight.

If ever spotted, they immediately turn tail and run.

Several Demon Race squads pursuing detected Puki Masters came up with no results.

Instead, they found themselves surrounded by newly emerging Puki on local grounds, suffering further losses until rescued by fellow Demon Race warriors.

In repeated clashes, only a mage and an archer have long-range kill achievements, while the rest are all Puki cleaners.

It was a miserable fight.

Initially, they comforted themselves that once the Puki were exhausted, these tribesmen would then be easy pickings.

But now, seeing yet another batch of unabated Puki ahead, none could utter such optimistic words.

Most importantly, they couldn’t afford to lose any more Demon Cores in the Northern Territory.

Thinking it over, unlike Leonard who planned to complete the mission alone, the Demon Race command reported the Puki stealing Demon Cores issue to their own Duke, hoping for reinforcements to once and for all eliminate the Northern Territory Demon Tribe and seize their cradle and Demon Cores.

...

As expected, the front line stalled, allowing Lin Jun to divert her attention elsewhere temporarily.

After all, the opposing Dukes had mistakenly underestimated the power of the Fungus Castle and weren’t exerting their full strength.

To the current Fungus Castle, this was mere child’s play. Even if things went awry, there were plenty of backup strategies in place, making it unnecessary for Lin Jun to expend her valuable energy monitoring it extensively.

Meanwhile, the Abyss Magic experimental site was still under construction, and during this break, Lin Jun planned to fulfill the rewards from the Yellow-covered Book.

Speaking and acting, Lin Jun has always been recognized for Honesty.

In the past, she didn’t understand why she hadn’t acquired the Title for this virtue, but upon meeting the Demon King, she realized it was Old Deng who had taken her spot.

How come that Link didn’t just slay this Slime with one strike back then?

Costing me the loss of a virtue!

[Finally... Finally...]

After enduring half a month of waiting, during which even devouring D Level personnel souls lost its savor, the Yellow-covered Book finally received a call from the boss!

"Don’t get too excited, I’ve not promised you a sure outcome. If you make a fuss due to a lack of results, I won’t hold back." Lin Jun candidly laid it out.

[Of course, of course, the little one understands...]

Despite its written assurance, its pages occasionally turned in anticipation, clearly still brimming with excitement.

However, once it was carried into the laboratory by Marshal Puki, much of this excitement instantly dampened.

In the secluded experimental site, a glowing stone lay at the center, illuminating the nearby fungal mat.

And on the left side of the site, there was a massive Rift leading to a void.

Beside the Yellow-covered Book, various vigilant Puki stood ready.

The wall’s patterns showcased an array of anti-detection and trap magic arrays.

It seemed as if execution might follow the experimentation...

But soon, the Yellow-covered Book’s attention again shifted from its surroundings to the glowing stone.

Vaguely, it felt its core being stirred by the stone’s emitted light.

Could it be...?

"Alright, let’s first test the direct exposure effect!" With those words, Puki maximized the Yellow-covered Book’s opening toward the Sunstone.

The Sunstone’s light painted the pages with a golden hue.