What was this thing?
From the ruptured belly of the Clumsy Beast, a half-dissolved corpse and a hammerhead tumbled out.
The body had been heavily corroded by digestive fluids. Lin Jun could only judge roughly from its exposed skeletal frame.
Humanoid. Horns on the head. And in the chest—was that… an embedded crystal?
A Puji picked the crystal out of the remains.
Unlike the clear, glassy shine of mana crystals, this one had complex, layered patterns inside. Sadly, it was already cracked, making it hard to discern its structure.
“This… is probably a demonkin’s magic core. To them, it’s crucial. To others… well, if you find a skilled enough craftsman, you might luck out and forge a magical accessory from it.” Louisa, summoned over, gave her judgment after a glance.
“What’s a demonkin?”
“A race that engraves power directly into their flesh,” Louisa explained. “They hunt the strong, steal their strength, and etch it into the flesh of newborns as ‘demon marks,’ thereby seizing that power. Their natural talents are also formidable. In fact, among the Empire’s Twelve Pillars, one belongs to the demonkin.”
She paused, her eyes falling once more on the ravaged corpse. A faint, mocking curve tugged her lips. “But… since we’re encountering them in this far northern land, nine times out of ten they’re the failures.”“Failures?”
Louisa gave a quiet snort. “They had neither the absolute power to make others submit, nor the humility to bow to those stronger before them. In the end, only by the Emperor’s… mercy, did they survive at all, exiled here to scavenge in the ice and snow. If that’s not failure, what is?”
“Oh! I did hear about some demons being driven north. So it’s them! Looks like their living conditions are pretty harsh!”
“At first, more than ten demon races migrated north, forming dozens of tribes. But after centuries, most either vanished in the snow or gradually returned to the Empire. Those stubborn enough to cling to a heap of ice—there shouldn’t be many left.” Louisa nudged the remains with the toe of her boot. “When I was in the Empire, I hardly ever heard news from the north.”
“So in other words,” Lin Jun concluded, “they’re a people with war potential, but rootless, and probably not very numerous… humanoids?”
Humanoids?
Louisa found his phrasing odd, but she nodded anyway.
Then, with precision, she added: “Strictly speaking, boss, they still serve the Demon King.”
“Didn’t the Demon King die ages ago?”
“There’s no concrete proof that the Demon King has—”
“Three hundred years without a trace,” Lin Jun interrupted, unconcerned. “If that’s not dead, it’s as good as dead! Masterless demonkin… good! Very good!”
The Pujis rubbed the shattered core, wiping away blood and stomach acid bit by bit, as if polishing a treasure.
Meanwhile, Norris and Gray had been ushered across the rift by a cluster of Pujis, arriving at the not-yet-fully-cleared Mushroom Garden No. 3.
Gray had been on the ground barely two minutes before tucking her tail and trying to scurry back, only to be blocked by the Pujis.
Her 【Cold Resistance】 was also LV7, enough to survive here, but she still felt the chill.
With no other choice, Lin Jun had a few Burrower Pujis circle around her, generating heat.
Unbothered by scorched paws, she hugged one hot Puji to each side, finally sighing in relief.
As for Norris…
A four-meter-tall shell-armored Gida stood in Mushroom Garden No. 3.
Since his triple reinforcement had been triggered before they decided to camp here, Norris hadn’t been fitted with 【Cold Resistance】. So he simply stayed hunkered inside the Gida, refusing to come out.
Though the prototype Gida had underperformed in testing—its combined combat strength was weaker than elite Pujis fighting separately—Norris had fallen in love with piloting it.
Lin Jun’s assessment: Good taste!
Since Norris hadn’t yet received his reward for training the cave-dwellers, Lin Jun simply built him a completed Gida unit. In battle, it would certainly be stronger than Norris himself.
And, given the Chiss’ territory, the new batch of Pujis all came standard with 【Cold Resistance LV7】.
Sealed inside the Gida’s cockpit, plus a heat-ring that emitted faint warmth, Norris could move freely in this frigid land.
…
Though the Chiss no longer engaged Lin Jun head-on, their little tricks were constant.
They relied on their knowledge of the terrain to sneak behind the Carpet, destroying tunnels and burrows, causing minor annoyances.
But with insufficient strength, such tactics could only slightly slow the Carpet’s spread. Their territory shrank by the second.
What the Chiss didn’t realize was that concentrating their harassment in one direction exposed their intentions. Lin Jun focused more forces that way—and soon uncovered a passage leading up into the fortress above…
With his Gida, Norris eagerly volunteered for the scouting mission. Gray insisted on accompanying him.
Normally, Lin Jun wouldn’t trust either alone—one lacked strength, the other lacked sense—but together…
After teaching Norris the “Scale-Plucking Wish Technique,” he sent them out.
As for the Yellow Book… it was still sitting deep underground under the Pujis’ rumps, oblivious to Norris’ modifications.
—
Dong—dong—
Krrk—krrk—
Strange sounds echoed through the fortress’ deep corridors—heavy thuds like hammer blows, mixed with harsh scraping.
Qiong froze mid-step.
“Go!” The Chiss’ voice stabbed into his mind again.
But this time, Qiong clearly sensed its urgency—bordering on panic. What was the Chiss afraid of?
Seeing him hesitate, the Chiss seemed ready to use Shou as leverage again. But from the corridor’s end, the source of the noise appeared first.
From the corner, a towering figure stepped out, nearly four meters tall. Its whole body was armored in thick shell, and atop its head… a mushroom cap, giving it a bizarre appearance.
Behind it came a figure barely half its height, clad in black scales, wings folded on its back—
“A dragonkin!?”
Growing up in the far north, Qiong just barely recognized the features that marked Gray’s dragonkin heritage.
As for the strange shell-armored giant, and the pair of buzzing, heat-radiating odd creatures in its arms—he had never even heard of such things.
Unknown though they were, there was no doubt: none of these three belonged to the Stone Fort Dungeon!
“Hsssss—”
The Chiss growled threateningly.
Yet Qiong realized—it wasn’t the same cold, silent hunting stance as before.