Chiss?
Mindless?
Mental Control?
These chitin-plated, swift-moving beetles… were the same race as that eerie, abyssal Eye Bug?
And that six-clawed invisible monster before—its purple blood meant it was a Chiss too?
It was Lin Jun’s first time seeing individuals of the same race differ so drastically.
As for “Mindless” and “Mental Control”… did it mean all these creatures were being controlled by some other will? Like how he commanded the Pujis?
Similar, but not the same. From the description, the enemy seemed to be using a kind of psychic domination.
The thought made Lin Jun’s appetite stir.
But for now, the swarm needed dealing with. Every Puji that entered the serpent den was ambushed without exception.Back then, the serpents had held off expeditionary forces for so long because of the warren of holes. They had ground the Pujis down in endless meat-grinder battles.
Now the beetles darted through those same tunnels even more fluidly than the serpents once had.
The Pujis who entered fell into bitter combat.
Two hundred strong, they relied on mushroom cannons and suicide blasts, but the beetles were endless.
The swarm surged like a tide, pincers tearing into the Pujis’ soft bodies as they pressed forward heedless of casualties.
For once, Lin Jun tasted what it felt like to be on the receiving end of “human wave tactics.”
The cavern echoed with screams, explosions, the rasping grind of carapace. Then—all was silent.
The battle ended far sooner than he’d expected.
The fallen Pujis were chopped into pieces and dragged off, destination unknown.
But even two hundred hadn’t sated the swarm.
A moment later, the beetles surged from the den mouth like a breached dam, flooding outward!
Relying on their Refractive Stealth, perhaps?
Too bad Lin Jun had already switched to Mana Sense. Every single one was laid bare before his eyes.
And outside the den, stripped of terrain advantage, charging the long-ranged Pujis head-on?
At his command, the Pujis unleashed a storm of fire.
The charge broke like waves against a cliff. A wall of death shredded the tide in minutes, leaving only shattered shells and purple blood pooling across the ground.
Their gains: none.
Louisa twitched a finger, drawing the spilled blood into her grasp.
Each beetle held little, but gathered together it was worth using.
She wouldn’t drink it. Even among monsters, this purple ichor was one of the foulest to taste.
The swarm was still vast, but after watching the vanguard annihilated, the survivors instantly withdrew, retreating in perfect order back into the tunnels.
Swift, disciplined—clearly under unified command.
The Pujis couldn’t follow into the cramped maze. The beetles feared to face the fire outside. A stalemate?
As if! Who would settle for deadlock with bugs?
The chitin-armored hallucinogenic Pujis stepped forward, edging to the mouth of the den, pumping sweet-sickly lavender spores into every passage and crack.
Lin Jun had already checked the status windows. Aside from Cold Resistance, the beetles’ defenses were pitiful. They couldn’t possibly withstand the toxins.
The advance was slow, waiting for the spores to saturate the tunnels—but the effect was instant.
Deeper and deeper, the fog crept, and beetles toppled into irresistible comas.
A few tried desperate charges, but collapsed after only a few paces, overwhelmed by the thickening haze.
Once the right counter was found, they were helpless.
Lin Jun drove the advance forward, mercilessly crushing the unconscious creatures.
Each Puji had limited spores, so midway he paused, waiting for reinforcements of fresh hallucinogenic Pujis before pressing on.
He’d expected the purge to take a full day.
But in truth, the battle was already won.
Before the next wave even deployed, the swarm chose to retreat under the smothering fog.
They abandoned the serpent den entirely, dispersing through the tunnels like a receding tide.
And Lin Jun watched it all.
His focus was never on the common swarm—it remained locked on the Eye Bug.
He tracked it slipping into a side passage, gliding out of his senses altogether.
He marked the direction carefully in his mind.
Not all fled. Some were trapped in dead-ends. When the Eye Bug left, they flailed in confusion before the spores overtook them.
On their panels, the Mental Control effect had vanished.
So yes—the Eye Bug was the one pulling their strings.
Soon, the Pujis had cleansed the den, which had long since been emptied of serpents.
Lin Jun planned to send tunneler Pujis to reshape the place: collapse stray burrows, widen main routes for swarm deployment, build fire platforms at key chokepoints.
Turn it into a forward fortress.
Unlike other caves, this one had terrain worth exploiting.
As for next steps—
He gave Piglet two days’ rest. Once the mycelium spread, they’d resume the great descent.
And the Chiss?
That, Lin Jun would scout personally with Pujis.
There was no better candidate. Aedin might’ve been suitable, but he wasn’t free to pull out.
A being capable of controlling entire swarms through psychic domination…
Lin Jun still didn’t know if it was man, demon, or monster. But after two encounters, it was close by.
And it was dangerous. The six-clawed beast, the army of beetles—if they struck one of his caves, ten Troglodytes and a hundred Pujis wouldn’t hold.
Which meant… they could cut his supply lines. And they had cunning enough to do it.
Letting such a threat linger near his mycelium? Impossible.
He would track it down. Destroy it if he could. Seal it if not.
And really—wasn’t this exactly how humans viewed him?