Chapter 13 13. The Garden is Empty
“This, this…” The young man’s mushroom hat trembled, and he looked around for an outside figure. “What should I do? If it’s really a killer…”
"Then you're dead."
"Huh? No hope of winning?"
Seeing that Inanna was still fantasizing, Lin Jun mercilessly analyzed the situation for her:
"Just think about it, we are trapped on this floor and can't escape, but they can easily get down from above. The difference in strength is obvious, right?"
"Then what should I do?"
"How about being ready to self-destruct with the magic crystal at any time?"
"perish together?"
"It's possible to die with dignity."
"That makes sense..."
When the Silver Thorn Team reached the center of the mushroom garden, they saw a pink Pooji with a large magic crystal on its head, magic power surging around it, and it was ready to self-destruct at any time.
Lin Jun also considerately arranged two Pujis on her left and right, which made her look more powerful.
The explosion of such a large piece of magic crystal is incomparable to the one at the door.
The night owl immediately wanted to use its speed advantage to eliminate the threat as soon as possible.
Shadow Binding
As expected of a teammate, Ivan used a spell to restrain Night Owl right from the start.
"Calm down, you fool."
It was only after Ivan's reminder that Night Owl noticed that Captain Nova was looking at the pink Puji in front of him with excitement.
Feeling the direction of the positioning crystal in his hand, there was no doubt that the Puji in front of him was their rescue target - the Duke's daughter Inanna St. Clair.
Nova immediately knelt on one knee and performed standard aristocratic etiquette towards Inanna.
"Ms. Inanna, we are adventurers sent by your father, Duke Amara, to rescue you. We are sorry to have frightened you."
As he said this, he winked at Night Owl, who was standing stupidly beside him holding a dagger.
He was now extremely glad that he had stopped Night Owl from clearing the area before coming in.
He didn't even dare to think about what would happen if the Duke found out that the adventurer who was supposed to save his daughter was stained with his mark of revenge...
Gulu——
I'm afraid that not only will the Duke himself be hunting them, but the Adventurer's Guild will also definitely issue a high bounty on them in order to clear themselves of this mess.
At that time, I realized that the world was so big and there was no place for me to live.
Thinking of this, Nova shuddered and looked at Night Owl with an increasingly unfriendly look - she had indeed become more and more reckless recently, and it was time for her to go back and hold a self-reflection meeting.
"How should I know..." The glared Night Owl muttered, put away his weapon, and knelt down in the captain's posture.
Although he didn't understand the conversation, seeing several people kneeling in front of Inanna, Lin Jun was sure of their purpose.
Inanna was so excited that she jumped up with the magic crystal which was still in critical state.
Lin Jun was so scared that he quickly advised her to calm down, otherwise it would be a big joke if she exploded.
"Old man... my father actually came to save me!"
Inanna didn't know that she had positioning magic. After listening to the two traitors, she always thought that the Duke would be too busy to save her.
Just now I suspected that the people in front of me were here to wipe out the roots of my evil, but now I feel like crying for joy, but there are no tears.
"Boss, did you hear that? We can go out now!"
“When you get out there, you can grow mushrooms all over my private woodland.”
"The old man will definitely agree."
"We can still...we can..."
"Boss, why don't you speak?"
"Lin Jun?"
A Puji came to Inanna with an A-grade magic crystal slightly smaller than the one on her head.
"Newcomer, you've done a good job these days. Here's your bonus."
"Don't mention me to these people. I wish you better luck in the future."
Lin Jun finally replied, but the content of the reply made her confused.
"Don't you want to go out too? Why?"
“…”
"Ms. Inanna, can we communicate like this?"
The voice rang directly in Inanna's mind as usual, but it was not Lin Jun who spoke.
Inanna looked at the old halfling in front of her and realized that he was the one who used telepathy.
"able……"
"I'm glad to see you're safe and sound. I know you've been solidified by Transfiguration. Don't worry. We'll prepare a reversal ritual for you once we get out of the dungeon. Please be patient for a while."
"Um."
Ivan felt that the girl in front of him was a shy and somewhat introverted girl, which did not match the information they had collected before.
But the positioning crystal was definitely correct, the one in front of him must be the Duke's daughter.
Think about it, a little girl is suddenly betrayed and her life is hanging by a thread. It is normal for her personality to change a little.
"Ms. Inanna, can you tell me what you went through?"
"I...I don't want to say..."
Inanna remembered Lin Jun's words, and after thinking about it for a while, she chose not to make up a story, but to keep it to herself.
Sure enough, after a moment of hesitation, Ivan took the initiative to comfort her: "Ah, it's okay, it's not an inquiry."
Ivan certainly knew what secrets might be hidden in this mushroom garden.
Otherwise, the Duke's daughter would not have been able to survive here. It seems like she gets along well with the Pujis here.
At any other time he would have definitely found out to satisfy his curiosity.
But now this is a task that involves the reward of an entire city.
The Duke's daughter in front of him had turned into a pink puff. Even if she wanted to step on the Night Owl's head and spray spores, he had to help hold the Night Owl down so that it wouldn't move.
Not to mention the little secret here.
"We will be returning soon. Is there anything we need to take with us?"
At Inanna's signal, Ivan took out a box and put away the magic crystal that came later.
As for the piece on Inanna's head, she still insisted on tying it on her head.
It’s just that Ivan replaced the mycelium tentacles originally used to bind the magic crystals with a tough ribbon.
After that, Ivan briefly communicated with his teammates and returned the same way carrying Inanna.
As we get further away from the mushroom garden, the connection of the mushroom network becomes weaker and weaker.
Without the vision provided by the fungus net, Inanna felt as if she had returned to the time when she was turned into Puji.
Loneliness, fear—
————
Looking at the team of adventurers disappearing in the passage, Lin Jun came out from his hiding place driving the strongest Puji.
Of course he couldn't go with Inanna.
After spending so many days with Inanna, he knew that what Inanna said were her true thoughts.
But it was impossible for Lin Jun to trust adventurers, let alone a great noble like Inanna's father.
He didn't know if there was anything about him that was worthy of these people's attention.
Even if I was taken out and located, I would probably just be the pet of the Duke's daughter.
And what would the Duke do if he found out that he could gain great benefits by killing his daughter's pet?
This is just a hypothesis, but Lin Jun will never put his hopes on others.
Moreover, not going with Inanna did not mean that he would not follow them from a distance and use these adventurers to open a safe path for himself.
He placed his collection of sunstone fragments and an S-class magic crystal under the shell of Super Puji.
Gather the only 40 combat Pujis.
Lin Jun took a last look at the mushroom garden he had created, which had helped him through the most difficult times - it had completed its mission.
Following Inanna's weak bacterial network signal, Lin Jun also stepped into the passage.
(End of this chapter)
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