This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 295, Section 294: The Strange Movement of the Yellow Book
Can you please stop being so stupid and fluctuating?
This makes it very difficult for me to cooperate!
Fortunately, there was still a knight in shining armor at the scene!
First, a mushroom cannon shot was fired at Pain who was casting the spell. Then, the mycelium whip spun rapidly, activating [Blade Storm LV7], and crashed into the target at high speed like a spinning top!
Gray dodged in front of Payne just in time, his burning fist shattering the mushroom cannon, at the cost of his entire fist being mangled and bloody!
He endured the excruciating pain and delivered another whip kick, sending the charging knight flying with a thud!
The sharp, slicing whip left several deep, bone-revealing wounds on his legs!
It wasn't that he didn't know other techniques, but at this moment, he had to use his body to build the last line of defense for Payne, and he couldn't dodge at all!
The knight bounced twice on the ground, still burning, before standing up again. The flames on his body quickly extinguished under the protection of [High Temperature Resistance LV8], leaving only a few scorch marks.

As the knights charged forward again, Little Black, who was a little further away, finally pinpointed their location by leaning on the knights. Gray figured he was probably doomed.

Just then, a hand suddenly grabbed Gray's shoulder.

"Go!" Payne shouted!
He finally completed the bizarre spell. A pitch-black hole that seemed to devour light suddenly opened beneath his feet. He grabbed Gray and jumped in without hesitation, their figures instantly swallowed by darkness!

What is that? A portal?

Knight No. 3 switched to [Fellowship Control] and immediately gave chase.

A sudden change occurred!

Lin Jun's attention was always focused on the yellow book.

Just now, it dared to secretly devour a soul that was drifting on the battlefield!
This is something Lin Jun explicitly forbids!
Is it simply because I'm greedy, or do you think I'm focused on the enemy and want to take advantage of the situation?

never mind!

Inside the yellow book, Lin Jun's enormous soul immediately enveloped it, ready to crush it completely.

At the critical moment, on the only remaining half-page of the yellowed book, not even a single complete page had been restored, a line of writing instantly appeared:
[Don't kill me yet, leave that vampire alive, he's very useful]
The handwriting was messy and distorted, with no attention paid to punctuation.

Lin Jun's soul remained poised to crush it at any moment, and her attention shifted back.

Yunier's entire body was compressed into a blood arrow, shooting straight towards the dark hole at an extremely fast speed!
It was so fast that even Xiao Hei couldn't intercept it!

Tsk!
Knight Puji No. 3, who was originally about to rush into the cave entrance, changed direction and crashed into the blood arrow in the opposite direction!
Yunier neither dodged nor evaded, seemingly intending to pierce the knight directly.

I'm not going to collide with you!
[Self-declaration Level 8]

Its inherent properties, combined with the enhancement of [Crystal Symbiosis], resulted in a devastating explosion far exceeding that of the fat otaku Puji!
At the same time, the resonant cannons on the city wall fired another salvo in this direction.

The violent shockwave even sent the chasing Blackie tumbling backward!

Yunier, who was the first to be hit, suffered the worst fate. Her blood arrow form was blasted apart, revealing her battered human form, and she fell heavily to the ground like a rag doll!
Smoke and dust filled the air, and the dark hole in the ground had vanished without a trace, whether destroyed by an explosion or because the spell's time limit had expired was unknown.

In short, only one vampire remained on the battlefield, wounded by the explosion and unable to control her blood. Her fate was predictable.

After a futile but intense struggle, he was finally captured.

The little pig came over and stomped on her feet a few times, its face showing an expression of satisfaction and pleasure that was even more satisfying than if it had sucked its fill of blood.

The battle is over.

The battlefield was in a mess.

Lizardmen, half-demons, and countless Puji corpses piled up in layers, filling the field of vision, with the Puji corpses being the most numerous.

Besides those who had died completely, there were many seriously wounded soldiers groaning in pain in pools of blood, and the cattle and horses began to process them in an orderly manner.

Of course, there are many more that have fled in all directions, and we have already sent Puji to chase after them.

Most of them could not escape Lin Jun's fungal carpet.

As for the half-demon leader's team, Lin Jun wasn't in a hurry to deal with them.

These tribes are like monks who can run away but not temples; relocating the entire tribe is no easy task.

Once Puji has finished cleaning up the house, then we'll settle accounts with them.

On the demonic side, even with cannon fodder Puji at the front, there have still been some casualties, and rescue efforts are underway.

Fortunately, the parasitic mycelium, along with the herbs prepared in advance, allowed them to recover even from severe injuries.

The only pity is that the two demonic offspring from the empire seem to have escaped; they couldn't be sensed within the creep's range.

Long-distance teleportation portal?

Lin Jun remembered that the teleportation technique in this world had many limitations, requiring a two-way fixed magic array and a huge amount of magic power to support it.

What did that Pine use?
Abyss magic... is it that powerful?

Why don't those cultists we encountered at the port come and expand their influence in Mushroom Town? Lin Jun also wants to study this powerful magic.

As for this vampire...

Marshal Puji, wearing a red cloak, bypassed Little Black, who was "treasure hunting" on the battlefield and wagging his tail happily, and came to Norris, taking the yellow book from his hand.

A voice popped up from above: "Tell me, what's so great about it? I just self-destructed a powerful Poji, so if you're just making this up..."

The pressure on his soul tightened a little more.

[Boss! I truly repent! Absolutely!]
[Vampires really are very useful, how could I dare lie to you!]
"Do not talk nonsense!"

Yes, yes, yes
[She can help your Louise advance in rank! Wouldn't that be very useful?]
"How do we improve?" Lin Jun asked, intrigued.

[Then naturally... we should wear her down!]
[However, the ordinary method definitely won't work; a special ritual known to very few people is needed!]
[Coincidentally... I know a little about this... hehe]
"Hmm..." Lin Jun pondered.

Louisa was still in the distance, trampling on Eunice and enjoying the thrill of crushing the count's dignity, completely oblivious to the contents of the book.

Upgrade the pig's rank...

That is indeed an enticing offer.

Louisa's loyalty is beyond question. Although Lin Jun is not entirely without reservation, her level of trust in her is even higher than that of the demons.

If this prisoner can be exchanged for a leap in the pig's strength, it would undoubtedly be a worthwhile deal.

Moreover, Lin Jun wasn't afraid that the Yellow Book would tamper with the ceremony. Little Pig's status was clearly displayed on the panel, and the Yellow Book would never risk its own life just to trick Little Pig.

"It is indeed quite useful," Lin Jun affirmed.

[Then... after it's done, could I...] A line of cautious, expectant handwriting appeared on the page.

"Not enough!" Without even hearing the request, Lin Jun refused without hesitation.

[......]
“However,” the marshal’s tentacles tapped the page filled with writing, “you can keep this page.”

[Thank you so much, boss! Thank you so much, boss!] The handwriting instantly became incredibly obsequious.

[You are so kind!]
"Cough...cough cough!"

The metallic taste rising in his throat jolted Gray awake. He shook his groggy head and struggled to lift it.

As they looked around, they saw neither the ferocious figures of the dragon people nor the mycelium and the puffs, and their tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

He tried to push himself up, but a pulling force came from his left arm.

Gray turned around in astonishment and saw that most of his left arm was deeply embedded in a gray-brown rock beside him.

He gritted his teeth, mustered his remaining strength, and slammed his fist into the rock!
The rubble shattered and scattered, but along with it, his entire left arm also shattered and fell to the ground as dust!

“That…it’s not embedding, it’s fusion…” A very weak voice drifted from behind.

"Paine!"

Gray turned around abruptly, and the sight before him horrified him!
Most of Payne's body had become one with a tree!
Rough tree bark enveloped and swallowed his waist, abdomen, arms, and half of his head, leaving only a limp foot and half of his violently heaving chest exposed.

He was barely breathing, looking like he could die at any moment.

“You…are really lucky…” Payne’s lips twitched with difficulty as he coughed up blood-tinged foam. “I…was just…a little unlucky…”

"How can I get you out of here?!" Gray rushed to the tree, completely helpless against this bizarre magic he had never seen before.

He tried to retrieve the medicine, but he didn't realize that it had already completely crumbled.

Payne shook his head very weakly, his gaze, already beginning to dwindle, fixed on Gray: "My... magic core... please... please..."

The last syllable dissipated into the cold air, and the last remaining chest stopped rising and falling.

Gray sighed, silently reached out, and carefully slipped his hand into Payne's chest, then pressed down hard.

Clutching Payne's magic core tightly, Gray looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He had to find a way back!
　In the initial draft, Payne actually survived, but then I thought, "Two of them survived, what kind of protagonist's halo is that? Everyone's just trying their best to live, where do all these lucky breaks come from? I might as well just kill him off."
　　
　
(End of this chapter)