This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 187, Section 186: Detour
In Cave No. 8, which connects to the front-line base, a colossal mushroom rises from the ground. Its scale is unprecedented, with its cap almost touching the cave ceiling. It emits a faint but constant fluorescence and is the undisputed core of the entire space.

With a soft thud, like soldiers shaped on an assembly line, one after another emerged from the bottom of the giant mushroom.

As soon as they emerged, they quickly assembled into a silent and orderly formation, and were then dispatched to other caves to engage in battle with Qisi.

The entire cave was heavily fortified. In all the connecting passages, there were patrolling soldiers on the ground, while bats fluttering their wings and searching every space in the air.

An eye worm with the ability to [Refraction Invisibility LV7] tried its best to hide itself, but was still cornered by several bats, who eventually sensed its presence.

The next instant, the surrounding bats pounced on it in unison. After a brief explosion, all that remained of the eye worm was a pile of charred, rotting flesh.

Similar incidents have occurred multiple times in the past two days, so Keith has relentlessly dispatched reconnaissance units to infiltrate and try to obtain intelligence.

Today, it finally succeeded!
While the explosion distracted most of the bats, another eyebug precisely seized a gap in the defense line, silently slipped through the previously impenetrable security net, and successfully infiltrated Cave 8.

Then it saw it!

The unprecedentedly giant mushroom, and the endless stream of Puji produced by it.

Although the eyeworm was quickly destroyed in the subsequent intensive search, Keith had obtained the key information it wanted—the mushroom's nest was the decisive point it had been searching for, the key to turning the tide of the entire battle!

Under the absolute control of the unified will of the Qis, its troops began to assemble efficiently.

As a special attack unit that has a significant counter effect against Puji, Evil Eye is naturally among them.

The options for attacking Cave 8 are extremely limited. The adjacent Snake Cave has already been transformed into a fortress by Puji, and Qisi had already experienced how difficult it was to conquer during the first round of the pursuit.

The adjacent Cave 7 is a busy transportation hub, with a constant flow of Puji troops inside. Taking this route is tantamount to directly engaging in a decisive battle with the main Puji force.

The other passages leading to the Qisi-controlled area were also closely monitored by a large number of Puji reconnaissance troops. A forced breakthrough was not impossible, but the intention to attack would inevitably be exposed in advance. At that time, Puji reinforcements from the surrounding caves would swarm in, and the sneak attack would most likely turn into a full-scale decisive battle.

What Keith wanted was to gather all his strength, use his power to defeat the weak, and destroy the Puji's production nest in one fell swoop.

Once the puffy run out of steam, we can gradually eliminate them by slowly nibbling them away.

As for the all-out head-on clash between the two sides?
This is not what Keith wanted. It's not that he lacked confidence in winning, but rather that it was too much of a loss.

Lower-level beetles are fine; they can reproduce in swarms within a few days.

As for intermediate-level units, such as Eyebugs, Sixclaws, and Clumsy Beasts, the training time is calculated in months.

The fact that intermediate-level units can be formed in just over a month used to be an advantage, but it has become a disadvantage when facing the Puji.

Look at Puji's production efficiency! They keep coming out of the giant mushrooms one after another without stopping!
Moreover, the resource losses during the process of recovering corpses from the battlefield are also a significant loss. Now, Keith only wants to end this unprofitable war at the lowest possible cost.

So it decided to go around to the back!
From the information transmitted back by the Eyebug, it saw that almost all of the Puji's reconnaissance and patrol forces were concentrated at the front facing the Qis-controlled area, while the rear passage was practically non-existent, with very few guards!

Surely, the Puji wouldn't have expected it to take a long detour and launch a sneak attack from behind, right?

To ensure secrecy, it also sent small groups to harass, or rather, to their deaths, other caves in Puji, just to confuse the situation.

Its main force, however, quietly passed through several caves, making a huge detour, and even fought two fierce battles with the wild monsters that entrenched there before it was able to pass.

Now, after overcoming numerous hardships, the fruits of victory are finally within reach!
Keith's troops advanced all the way to the end of the passage before being caught off guard by the Puji sentries!
The counterattack was swift; the Puji tried to plug the gap with firepower, but it was too late.

Evil Eye charged ahead, and the pale [Petrification Ray] instantly turned the hastily assembled Puji into stiff stone sculptures!
Six Claws, acting as the vanguard, followed closely behind, scattering and rushing towards the approaching Puji, preventing them from gathering in groups—as long as the Puji don't gather in groups, they pose little threat!

Meanwhile, the main force of Qi's army surged towards the giant mushroom like a torrent.

Claws, acid, and bites—the base of the giant mushroom was peeled away and destroyed layer by layer under the ferocious attack.

Finally, the last inner structure was exposed to Keith!
A Qisi, impatient, swung its claws and ripped through the last layer of tough mycelium—"Clang!"

The claws snapped off, and through the torn gaps, what was revealed inside were... ten giant poopi covered in thick rock armor!

These Puji have extremely strong defenses. Even the most ferocious attacks from the Six Claws can only scratch some of their shells, making it difficult to inflict effective damage.

The heavily armored Pojis moved with heavy steps, and smaller Qis might even be trampled to death by them.

A large number of hallucinogenic spores surged out from the cracks in the stone armor, instantly turning the entire core area of ​​the battlefield into a sweet purple poisonous miasma!
Several six-clawed creatures joined forces to attack, finally managing to tear apart the outer layer of rock armor of a heavily armored creature!

However, what was exposed was not the expected snow-white mycelium, but another layer of dense scales that shimmered with a cold, hard luster!
The evil eye shifted its gaze, and the pale beam of light focused precisely on the breach!
The petrification effect did begin to spread... but with the combined boost of the heavy armor [Magic Resistance LV6] and a whopping 50 points of stamina, the petrification process was extremely slow.

When the heavily armored creature finally turned most of its body into stone and collapsed to the ground, a whole host of Keiths who hadn't had time to escape the hallucinogenic spores had already fallen around it.

Realizing something was wrong, Keith wanted to retreat, but instead of going back the way he came, he continued to charge forward!

In order to make this big detour, it almost exhausted its supplies along the way, and now it has no choice but to go through the cave and return directly to its own territory!
The Qis abandoned its engagement with the remaining heavily armored creatures; it had already discovered their weakness—slow movement—and decided to ignore them.

However, when Qisi had rushed halfway through, he noticed the presence of many Puji figures in most of the passages connecting to Cave 8. Moreover, these groups all included heavily armored Puji, who stood like walls at the very front of the ranks...

……

Welcome to the final battle, you stupid bug!
(End of this chapter)