For some reason, after the Cave Dweller whom you had influenced and voluntarily became your diplomacy emissary stood out, the opposing Cave Dwellers' team became even more chaotic.

The declaration had just finished when the Cave Dweller Warriors on the opposite side tore down the vine holding the Giant Stone.

The polished, round Giant Stone rumbled down, heading straight for Louisa.

Blood morphed in Louisa's hands, transforming into a spear.

Although she usually preferred using the more finely controlled Blood Line, it didn't mean that was all she could do.

With movements like a bow, Louisa hurled the Blood Spear with force, shattering the Giant Stone and continuing onward, impaling the shouting Cave Dweller Warrior's head.

Splinters of stone flew, and one piece headed straight for Norris's face.

Norris reacted quickly, deflecting the stone with the Yellow-covered Book.

[You're using me to block stones?]

[Norris! You're using my noble cover to block stones!]

"N-no… sorry, it was instinct…"

[Darn Vampire!]

Norris was fine, but the other Pukis had it rough.

A wave of stone fragments took away more than twenty Pukis.

Lin Jun didn't care about the loss of the Pukis; he was more concerned about the Cave Dweller who had died.

"Louisa, one."

Louisa, who was feeling proud from her previous feat, jolted and remembered the kill limit her boss had set—no more than five Cave Dwellers.

Catch an ant without crushing it?

This task was much more difficult than conquering a cave.

Break their limbs… shouldn't kill them directly right…

Facing the approaching Louisa and the Puki army, the Cave Dwellers didn't collapse immediately.

Although their fear was almost tangible, as soon as a fat and old Cave Dweller appeared among them, all the other Cave Dwellers tightened their grips on their weapons.

This anomaly made Lin Jun open its panel.

[Skills: Informational Pheromones Level 6]

Comparing with the other Cave Dwellers' panels, Lin Jun found that the fatties in the nest all had this skill at Level 6.

Lin Jun roughly understood—submission to individuals with higher Informational Pheromone concentration?

Lin Jun also had this skill, though at a low level, and he had never used it.

This wasn't some Charm control ability, just a mere release of information-laden chemicals, and it only worked on members of the same species who could receive the information.

Considerably inefficient, Lin Jun, who had the Fungal Network, naturally saw this useless skill as nothing but waste.

But for the Cave Dwellers, it was an important skill related to their hierarchy—at least within the tribe.

Thinking it over, submitting to individuals with higher pheromone concentration could probably make it easier for the Cave Dwellers to unite, which was beneficial for survival.

However, that was as far as it went.

After achieving basic survival, these individuals, apart from having a high concentration of pheromones, were useless in other aspects and would become parasites, hindering further development of the tribe.

Their slave-based social structure likely stemmed from this.

No wonder the Cave Dwellers, despite having the intelligence to make traps, could only exist at the very bottom rung.

Lin Jun leisurely studied the sociology of the Cave Dwellers, while the battle to reclaim the Old Mushroom Garden officially commenced.

To avoid unnecessary Cave Dweller casualties, Lin Jun hadn't brought any turret Pukis, only those adept in close combat with their fungal tendrils.

This somewhat gave the Cave Dwellers a chance to resist… a little…

Blocking the entrance, the Cave Dwellers poked their spears out repeatedly, continually skewering the advancing Pukis.

But occasionally, a tendril would seize the right moment, wrapping around a Cave Dweller and dragging it out.

Once pulled out a bit, more tendrils quickly entangled it and pulled the Cave Dweller away completely.

Facing such a scene, the other Cave Dwellers could only poke even more vigorously, hoping in vain to stop the Pukis' advance.

Louisa didn't join the Pukis in storming the gate; what if she accidentally crushed a few Cave Dwellers in such a crowded environment?

Given her understanding of the boss, exceeding the kill limit could lead not just to missing a good meal but possibly being starved half to death or growing a few mushrooms on her body.

Thinking of this, she distanced herself from the breach.

But clearly, she couldn't just loaf around doing nothing; otherwise, the boss would bother her as well.

[Blood Manipulation Level 8]

The prepared blood at her side transformed into a Giant Axe in her hand, and she raised it high, striking the living Wooden Wall with all her might!

The axe embedded into the Wooden Wall but didn't split it as expected.

Louisa frowned.

She took out a vial of Minotaur blood and drank it.

[Bloodthirsty Enhancement Level 7]

"Ha—"

Stimulated by the Minotaur blood, Louisa's eyes glowed red, her muscles swelled, and she slammed down the axe again.

With splintering wood flying everywhere, the Wooden Wall burst open, and several Cave Dwellers behind it were knocked to the ground by the flying debris, uncertain if they were dead or alive.

Louisa's expression changed, and she rushed over to dig them out, tossing them to the Pukis behind her.

...

The suddenly opened second entrance plunged the Cave Dwellers into chaos, as the surging Pukis kept rolling away the outer Cave Dwellers, whether Warriors, Supervisors, or Slave Workers.

The highest-ranking Cave Dweller roared, trying to order them to retreat to the center to continue resisting, where they could utilize the terrain.

However, as they retreated to the mushroom cultivation area, they encountered tentacle Pukis no different from the outside.

The mycelium they previously cultivated for food was now constantly forming into Pukis landing on the ground.

At this point, there were already more than thirty tentacle Pukis here!

This number wasn't much, certainly far from the overwhelming numbers outside, but they blocked the Cave Dwellers' retreat.

And they shattered their last psychological defense.

The fat Cave Dweller leader, even emitting pheromones, could no longer suppress the chaos of its subordinates; they ran everywhere, trying to escape this former nest from any direction they could.

Some lucky Cave Dwellers, under the "cover" of their companions, managed to flee to other tunnels not yet fully sealed by the Pukis.

There, they would meet Norris, standing with the Yellow-covered Book, clad in Scale Armor impervious to blades or arrows, moving with lightning speed.

Watching the Cave Dwellers knocked to the ground by a kick, bound by the Pukis.

"This task… is pretty easy."

Although the area to block wasn't small, hardly any Cave Dwellers managed to escape, and their levels were low.

Most Cave Dwellers were only in their ten-levels; those at twenty were already considered powerful among them.

Their skills were trash, and under the Yellow-covered Book's detection, they couldn't even evade Norris's pursuit; not a single one got away.

However, before each Cave Dweller was sent off, Norris always checked if it was still alive, unsure if worried about being too harsh, or guarding against a certain book sneaking a bite.

[...]

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