On the biting cold ice field, a few Lizardmen staggered desperately, fleeing for their lives.
They were part of the first group to collapse in battle. At the start, there had been more than a dozen, a mix of Lizardmen and a few half-demons. But now, only a handful remained.
Puff… puff… puff—
The dreadful sound of Pujis running echoed in their ears across the snow, but not a single enemy figure could be seen.
“Damn invisible monsters! Damn it all!” Gora forced the last air from his lungs, moving his heavy legs frantically, trying only to run half a step faster than his companions.
At this moment, he envied those half-demons he had once looked down upon. When the army first scattered, many half-demons with wings simply flew into the gray sky and vanished. Others, with joints adapted for frozen ground, sprinted across the tundra with ease.
Unlike them, these Lizardmen had almost no hope of survival.
“Ah! No—! Help me!!”
One of the Lizardmen at the back suddenly tripped over something unseen, his desperate cry tearing through the silence.
No one even looked at him. Everyone just kept running wildly.Stopping now meant certain death.
Screams and the muffled thuds of bodies dragged under the snow echoed again and again, but Gora didn’t even dare look back.
He still had a wife and children. He had to return to the tribe alive!
He didn’t know how long he had been running when finally, only the sound of his own gasping remained.
Exhaustion crushed him. He stopped, leaning on his knees, panting as he looked behind. Nothing but a vast expanse of white snow.
“At least… at least, I escaped…”
Puff—
Puff, puff—
Round footprints appeared around him on the snow, one after another…
Despair filled his chest. Gora collapsed to the ground, giving up all resistance.
A chubby Puji waddled slowly toward him. Its tendrils wrapped him up and stuffed him easily into its swollen belly, releasing waves of hallucinogenic spores.
There, Gora finally reunited with his companions.
When consciousness returned, he found himself in a filthy, overcrowded dungeon. The stench was overwhelming. Half-demons and Lizardmen crammed shoulder to shoulder in the narrow space.
Above, several Pujis hung upside down, buzzing faintly, releasing weak but constant warmth that kept the prisoners from freezing.
But though frostbite was avoided, the foul air, the lack of space to stretch, and the constant noise made Gora suffocate.
Not far away, a Lizardman and a half-demon suddenly started fighting. Just as they were about to grapple, several Pujis floated in and dragged them off.
When the troublemakers were tossed back, their bodies were covered in frost, half-dead, left only shivering.
Later, the Pujis dropped a pile of mushrooms into the dungeon.
Starving nearly to death, Gora didn’t care about poison anymore. He snatched them up and devoured them greedily.
With his stomach finally filled, he slumped into a cold corner. Like the other prisoners, his gaze turned blank, staring at the Pujis above, silently awaiting an unknown future.
…
The dungeons were full!
Nearly six hundred captives crammed into a few hastily dug pits.
Half of them had been wounded and captured on the battlefield. The other half were fugitives hunted down by the Puji pursuit squads.
Not all who fled survived. Many, too injured, died. Others, fleeing alone into the deep tundra, froze into ice sculptures.
Of course, a rare few escaped—those with unique abilities. The vast majority of them were half-demons with wings. With wings, one really was born superior…
Still, the demonkin side had paid a price as well. More than twenty warriors had died, and over seventy were injured.
Even though Lin Jun had instructed most of them to stay at maximum range and command Pujis instead of fighting directly, there was no such thing as true safety in battle. Accidents happened.
Fortunately, the number of dead was within expectations. As for the wounded, fungal regeneration and prepared medicine made recovery simple.
Once treated, the demonkin began cleaning the battlefield, gathering spoils.
From corpses already sprouting mushrooms, they stripped whatever equipment was still intact. The frozen bodies were left behind, food for the growing Mycelium Carpet.
The tribe might have been poor, but in the mountain of loot, one could still find a rare piece or two glowing faintly, carrying attributes or skills.
And Lin Jun got exactly what he needed.
【Seven Sins: Greed Triggered】
【Skill Looted: Demon Common Tongue LV8 → LV10】
【Skill Looted: Physical Resistance LV8 → LV9】
【Skill Looted: Cold Resistance LV8 → LV9】
【Skill Looted: Scales LV7 → LV8】
【Skill Looted: Fire Magic LV6 → LV7】
【Skill Looted: Water Magic LV6 → LV7】
【Skill Looted: Sensory Enhancement LV4 → LV5】
…
【Skill Looted: Charm Humans LV3】
【Skill Looted: Kiss of Temptation LV2】
【Skill Looted: Feign Death LV1】
【Skill Looted: Regeneration LV1】
…
…
Even before, by studying with Piggy, his Demon Common Tongue had reached LV8, leaving him with almost no communication barriers. But now, he had officially become a bilingual master.
With just this skill, he could even pass as a scholar in this world!
Thanks to the half-demons’ variety, the skills he plundered were dazzling.
What left Lin Jun speechless was that he somehow acquired signature Succubus abilities, even though he hadn’t seen a single succubus on the battlefield.
It seemed half the half-demons owed their bloodline to succubi…
But Lin Jun wasn’t complaining.
Look at how many treasures these despised mongrels of the Empire had gifted him!
He quickly spotted several fun skills among them.
But there would be time to study later. His “spoils of war” weren’t fully collected yet!
Those two tribes that had lost most of their defenses were like peeled cakes, just waiting for him to devour!
Though the Mycelium Carpet would reach them in another ten days or so, Lin Jun had a bad feeling.
A few days ago, at the edge of the Carpet, he had seen two Six-Clawed Stealth Monsters chasing a half-demon.
The moment they spotted the traces of the Carpet, the half-demon turned and vanished in the direction he had come from.
Coupled with the half-demon leader’s reason for retreat, Lin Jun couldn’t help thinking of his migrating neighbor, Qis.
That was supposed to be his loot!
Because he had to move beyond the Mycelium Carpet, this time Lin Jun sent a Puji army led by demonkin.
Gray went with them, while Piggy stayed behind at the main base.
Unfortunately, when the army reached the half-demon tribe, they found nothing but ruins.
The half-demon leader and a hundred survivors remained.
Bastaldos looked visibly aged, his scales dull and sparse, his spirit broken.
Faced with the Puji army, he simply surrendered!
On the other side, the Lizardman tribe had stayed in place. That somewhat comforted Lin Jun’s wounded heart.
Their defense force was easily crushed. Lin Jun parasitized over a thousand Lizardmen on the spot, boosting his Cold Resistance in the process.
Then he packed up the entire tribe and dragged them back.
After some basic re-education, they would be branded as sinners.
Just like the others, they would have to earn contribution points to atone for themselves and their families, and one day buy back their freedom!