##DONE## Facing the incoming Fire Mosquitoes, Linden, who had been neighbors with them for a long time, wasn't flustered at all.
Only when they flew within a 50-meter range did a few Digestive Mucus Puff spray their digestive mucus, drenching all the unsuspecting Fire Mosquitoes and bringing them down.
The Fire Mosquitoes that fell to the ground tried to shake off the mucus and fly again, but as the mist sprayed by the Hallucinogenic Puff enveloped them, these guys completely lost their ability to resist and were smashed to death one by one by the Hallucinogenic Puff's carapaces.
But it wasn't over yet; more Fire Mosquitoes swarmed in, and Linden and the Fire Mosquitoes engaged in a meat-grinding, frantic battle at the entrance of the passage.
Facing Fire Mosquitoes several times their number, even though the Hallucinogenic Spores sealed the space below and restricted the Fire Mosquitoes' attack direction, Linden couldn't intercept all the enemies with mucus.
From time to time, Fire Mosquitoes would break through the firepower net, thrusting their mosquito mouths down to pierce a Puff, only to be paralyzed themselves by the Hallucinogenic Spores on the ground.
"Ice Blade! Ice Blade! Water Snake Technique!"
Inanna also had good news – she had finally killed a few Fire Mosquitoes!
With the overwhelming number of Fire Mosquitoes, even casting attacks with her eyes closed would hit. Now, the Fire Mosquitoes' evasion skill was almost useless in this scenario.
Casting spells and killing magical beasts in a real battle for the first time made her so excited she laughed. Compared to this, the hunts she had participated in before were truly not battles.
However, the excitement ended there. A mosquito that broke through the firepower net used its mouth to nail a Turret Puff next to Inanna to the ground, scaring her so much she instantly trembled.
If that Fire Mosquito had charged at me just now...
"Linden! What do we do now? So many Puff have died!"
Only a dozen Puff died, what's the big deal?
The guy whose main body was still hidden deep within the Mushroom Garden sighed at the lack of psychological resilience in the new recruits.
However, Linden still offered his suggestion:
"Stop using attack magic all the time, use Illumination Technique."
Illumination Technique?
What good would that do?
Inanna couldn't figure it out, but she remembered her promise to follow orders, so she still used the Illumination Technique. Anyway, the spell consumed very little energy.
To Inanna's surprise, as soon as the Illumination Technique appeared, the Fire Mosquito swarm immediately became chaotic.
The Fire Mosquitoes in the front row started scurrying around like headless flies. Some crashed into other Fire Mosquitoes behind them, while others simply plunged headfirst into the hallucinogenic mist below.
Inanna was stunned by the sight.
"It actually worked!" Linden was also surprised.
"Huh? You didn't know it would work?"
"I just didn't expect the effect to be so good... It's fading, keep casting!"
"Okay!"
The deep layers were perpetually dark or only dimly lit. Seeing that these Fire Mosquitoes still had eyes, Linden wanted to try the flashbang tactic, but he didn't expect it to be so effective.
At this time, the superiority of mushrooms not relying on eyes to observe things became apparent.
Aided by the Illumination Technique, the Fire Mosquitoes, who were already no match, became even weaker and fell down in droves.
When the number of Fire Mosquitoes could no longer completely seal off the passage entrance, these almost brainless monsters seemed to finally remember the taste of fear and scattered, disappearing into other passages.
Leaving behind the empty Fire Mosquito cave and the high-temperature pool filled with larvae.
"Finally... it's over."
Inanna plopped down.
Even though she had the advantage the whole time, she had first cast several attack spells in a row, and then used over twenty Illumination Techniques in one go. Inanna felt truly exhausted, and her magic power was almost depleted.
However, despite her physical fatigue, Inanna was still in a state of excitement from participating in such a "big scene" for the first time.
"Linden, what do we do next?"
"Next? Next, of course, we collect the spoils of war!"
The 20 Cattle Puff, who had been at the back of the team and hadn't participated in the battle, began their work – using their tentacles to pack the Fire Mosquito corpses into their bodies.
The number was about as estimated. Two trips for the Cattle Puff would be enough. By the time Linden finished dissecting these Fire Mosquitoes, his High Temperature Resistance should have leveled up again.
As for this Fire Mosquito cave, Linden didn't consider expanding the Mushroom Garden here.
This cave was connected to too many passages, extending in all directions, making it impossible to defend.
The Mushroom Garden was a location Linden had carefully selected, with only four passages on one side, making it particularly suitable for hunkering down and developing.
As for the white Fire Mosquito larvae in the pool, after Linden had the Turret Puff blast the pool with all their remaining magic power, they turned into debris floating on the surface.
"These are the spoils of war?"
Looking at the transported mosquito corpses, Inanna always felt that they were a little different from the spoils of war she had imagined.
"Otherwise, what, Duchess? What kind of spoils of war do you expect from defeating some monsters?"
Could it be that if you broke open their bellies, you could get swords and gold coins...
"No, maybe. There might be some good stuff in that pool."
"The pool?"
The pool with floating debris was still steaming, but what was heating it?
Underground magma?
It didn't seem like it. The place where the Flame Demons lived wasn't close to here, and the surrounding environment wasn't hot at all.
Linden felt that there was a high probability that there was something inside that could continuously generate heat.
But now the problem arose—
He couldn't swim.
Although the Puff wouldn't melt in water, they would only turn into a bloated state, floating on the surface and unable to move, after being soaked.
These Fire Mosquito larvae did have the [Underwater Adaptation] skill, but that would require transporting them back to dissect, obtaining the skill, and then creating a new species of Puff before it could be done.
While Linden was still thinking of a solution, Inanna had already plunged into the pool to look for treasures.
Only then did Linden remember that she had LV6 Underwater Adaptation.
The second generation is truly amazing...
"Linden! Look what I found!"
Inanna crawled out of the pool, her Water Snake Technique coiling around a fragment emitting an orange glow behind her, constantly radiating heat and evaporating the surrounding water.
The Water Snake Technique couldn't hold it for long, so Inanna threw the fragment onto the ground by the pool.
"Do you know what this is?"
Linden originally didn't know, but this thing actually had a panel?
You know, Linden had never seen a panel on an inanimate object until now!
[Divine Artifact: Sunstone (Fragment)]
???
What the heck, killing a swarm of LV20 mosquitoes can drop a divine artifact? Is the monster drop design flawed?
There was no other description besides the name. Was it because it was just a fragment?
In any case, it was definitely right to put it away and study it.
"Linden?"
"Uh, how would I know? But it looks somewhat useful. We can take it back to keep the mushrooms warm."
A Cattle Puff wrapped the fragment in mud to form a large ball and carried it away. Inanna didn't have any objections. She was working here for that A-grade Magic Crystal anyway. The spoils of war naturally belonged to Linden; she was just curious.
While Linden and Inanna were happily on their grand expedition here, another group on the surface was having a headache because of Inanna.