No need to rush the assault yet.
These two statues didn’t even have panels—most likely some sort of trap mechanism.
Would they be stiff and predictable?
Earlier, the Puji had only been attacked once it crossed the midpoint. But what about attacks from outside that line?
With a thought, Lin Jun sent a disposable Puji to the edge of the platform, hugging the dividing line. An Artillery Puji charged up, aimed, and—
Boom!
Unlucky shot. The spore shell flew just past the statue and slammed into the shut gate behind it, leaving not even a scratch.
Still, the statue activated!
It stepped forward, stone club sweeping with a heavy whistle, smashing the sacrificial Puji to pulp.
Lin Jun had the Pujis retreat back outside the platform, but distance made accuracy plummet.Another spore shell clipped the statue’s shoulder, knocking off a small chip of stone—yet again the statue awoke.
This time, both statues surged forward. After stomping one more Puji flat, they didn’t stop—they turned their massive eyes upon the whole swarm.
The real battle erupted, sudden and brutal!
The Pujis were still clustered together when a colossal shadow of stone descended like a mountain.
In an instant, whole ranks were obliterated, shredded to spores and smears before they could even counterattack.
Lin Jun frantically ordered them to scatter and retaliate, but the outcome was plain as day.
Artillery shots only chipped stone flakes. Each sweep of those clubs was a farmer’s scythe in a wheat field, clearing vast swaths at once.
The two statues slaughtered the Puji main force almost effortlessly. Only chasing down the stragglers took them longer.
When no intact Puji remained, the statues lumbered back to their places, violet eyes dimming once more to still stone.
Total annihilation. Irrevocable.
Whether crushed flat underfoot or pulverized into fragments too small to reassemble, not even [Mycelium Reconstitution] could save them.
But Lin Jun still had the Mycelium Carpet.
If it could spread across the line…
The instant it crept over, the statues’ eyes blazed violet again.
Flames swept the entire platform clean.
“Tch!”
He’d guessed brute-forcing a “bug exploit” wouldn’t work, but hadn’t expected the statues to be this smart.
Only the third probe, and they’d already identified every Puji as hostile—and even detected the Carpet itself, purging it precisely!
Looked like only a direct fight would do.
But the Artillery Pujis barely scratched them. How many lives would it take to break these colossi?
For now… best to summon the rest of the army.
…
One by one, Pujis leapt through the rift back into the Amethyst Dungeon.
Two hundred stayed behind to maintain the fortress.
The rest all marched toward the core.
Lin Jun even brought Gray along—she was happy enough to leave the frozen north for warmth.
Norris and Piggy, however, remained behind.
Norris was simply too weak for this battle. Even piloting Jigda, he wouldn’t survive more than a swing or two.
Piggy’s task was different—acting as a northern commando, watching for demonkin migrating south.
The statues’ strength was overwhelming. Even armored Pujis couldn’t endure a direct blow. Their speed was frightening for their size, though against Gray’s nimbleness, they were still clumsy giants.
Lin Jun had no interest in wasting Pujis on grinding attrition. That would take forever. Better to bring Gray into the fray.
And if things turned bad—well, Gray could always run.
Nearly a day later, over two thousand Pujis reached the core. Heavy-armored Pujis, elite Pujis—all ready.
Gray, who had slept comfortably the whole way inside a chubby Puji’s belly, finally crawled out, blinking groggily. The Pujis pointed and gestured until she understood the statues were the enemy.
No rash charge. That was the advantage of trigger-type guardians—you could take your time preparing.
The Pujis spread out. Burrowers busied themselves setting traps, some even carried to the ceiling by Bat Pujis to work above.
Half a day of setup later, Lin Jun was finally satisfied.
At his command, every Artillery Puji fired at once.
A thousand magic blasts roared, drowning the statues in fire and smoke.
Stone chips flew, dust billowed sky-high.
When the statues strode out of the haze, their bodies were cratered with pits, one club even blasted short—a lucky bonus.
But once they moved, accuracy plummeted again. Stray shots struck allies.
At the front line, thirty Armored Pujis braced themselves.
Not to tank blows. To explode.
The lead statue swung its club like a golf stroke, swatting four Armored Pujis away in one sweep. Then it stomped, crushing another into mush.
But its second step plunged into a waiting pit trap, locking its foot.
The Armored Pujis swarmed the trapped leg and detonated.
The explosion shook the dungeon, mushroom caps flying like shrapnel. One even arced high through the air and crushed a distant artillery unit.
But the sacrifice paid off. When the smoke cleared, the statue’s foot was shattered, the other cracked with fractures. Its movement crippled.
Still, its upper body raged, club lashing out at anything that drew near. But Lin Jun didn’t need melee, or even artillery anymore.
High above, Burrowers had carved free a massive boulder from the ceiling.
A crude trap, but devastating. The only problem was timing its fall. That’s why pinning the statue in place was critical.
At last, the boulder broke free, along with a dozen Burrowers that lost their hold and plummeted with it.
The statue noticed, swung its club—
But the colossal rock crashed down like a mountain, shockwave hurling Pujis aside, fragments killing dozens more.
Still… it worked!
The statue lay buried, silent.
One down.
One to go.
“Gray!”