This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms - Chapter 604

Dragonfire poured down relentlessly, each breath hotter than the last, setting half the sky ablaze in crimson.

Yet every blast was absorbed by Puji Fort’s astonishingly resilient defensive system.

Each impact dimmed the layered barriers slightly. The consumption was enormous.

But what unsettled the red dragon most was this—

Puji Fort’s overall defensive recharge speed was actually faster than the interval between its own breaths.

The shields, weakened moments ago, visibly regained brilliance and strength before the next wave of dragonfire descended.

The defensive system overseen by the Yellow Book… was unexpectedly formidable.

Of course, that might also have something to do with Puji Fort’s founding philosophy.

Traditional cities, when designing defensive arrays, had to carefully budget mana reserves, calculating how to stretch limited resources through prolonged sieges.

But Puji Fort was different. Its mana came directly from the fungal carpet. When Lin Jun instructed the Yellow Book to build defenses, he simply said: make them as strong as possible.

Now it seemed… that decision had paid off.

After seven or eight breaths powerful enough to melt hills failed to breach the core, morale among the defenders soared.

Red dragon Talgara finally ceased the futile aerial bombardment. It had clearly identified the problem.

Its golden pupils swept coldly across the city. Through Magic Perception, it locked onto the structural nodes where physical walls and magical arrays intertwined.

It would dismantle the foundation first—destroy those hybrid nodes and cripple the shell.

But how could Little Pig, Puji Fort’s commander, allow that?

The counterattack began.

At first it was like torrential rain—impressive in volume, but little more than an itch.

Over a thousand puji mushroom cannons atop the walls fired in unison, yet their magical blasts were entirely deflected by dragon scales.

Next came the heavy ballistae mounted along the ramparts. Steel bolts as thick as arms, engraved with acceleration and armor-piercing runes, screamed through the air toward the dragon.

This time, there was effect.

Though the bolts still failed to pierce the shield-like scales, the kinetic force transmitted through.

A dull ache spread beneath Talgara’s scales. It roared—pain laced with rising fury—and whipped its head toward the tiny siege engines.

Dragon’s Might mixed with tangible heat washed over that section of wall, draining color from the soldiers’ faces.

But the ballistae were only distractions.

Puji Fort’s true strike came from its arcane towers.

Unlike other cities where mage towers amplified individual spellcasters, Puji Fort’s towers amplified resonance cannons.

Resonance LV7

While Talgara’s attention was briefly divided by ballistae and countless mushroom cannons, immense mana silently gathered atop several towers.

By the time it noticed—after tearing apart a section of outer wall—it was too late.

A massive explosion erupted, snow scattering skyward. Dragon scales shattered. Dark red blood sprayed for the first time, streaking across Puji Fort’s walls.

“RAAAH—!”

This roar was different—shock and disbelief.

Talgara had not expected to be wounded so quickly.

It channeled mana, igniting flames over the injury, slowly regenerating.

From then on, it could no longer focus entirely on destroying wall nodes. It had to divert attention to evaluate incoming threats.

After smashing two more nodes and seeing Puji Fort’s arrays still functioning smoothly, Talgara considered retreat.

Then Four appeared in the distance.

Standing atop Four’s mushroom cap was the Sword Saint puji, four blades faintly visible through the snowstorm.

So there was someone not hiding inside the shell.

The discovery ignited all the frustration and rage Talgara had been suppressing.

If it couldn’t crack that damned array, surely it could crush these two insects outside?

Though Four’s size nearly rivaled its own, Talgara saw through the bluff. Four had little actual power—far less threatening than the resonance cannons.

To be fair, that judgment was accurate.

Facing the descending shadow of the dragon, Four brimmed with fighting spirit—but soft-bodied as ever. One strike toppled it.

Its fungal tendrils, devastating against ordinary foes, barely registered against Talgara.

But Four was tough.

The giant puji’s body was torn repeatedly, only to regenerate moments later.

Impatience flared in Talgara’s eyes. It opened its massive jaws and bit down on Four’s mushroom cap.

And then—

“Uu—rrr—AOOO—!”

A completely off-key, uncontrollable moan of overwhelming sensation leaked from the dragon’s throat.

Delicious LV10

An indescribable, supreme flavor burst through its taste buds, mouth, nerves, and stormed straight into its brain as the mushroom cap shattered.

The colossal body that had withstood ballista impacts without flinching now convulsed violently as if electrocuted.

The dragon claw pinning Four weakened and slipped free—only to be entangled by Four’s tendrils.

At that moment of chaos, the Sword Saint descended from the sky.

Two short legs kicked midair, shattering moonlight. His falling speed surged. He became four silver threads too fast for the eye, slicing past the dragon’s lowered head—momentarily lost in overwhelming ecstasy.

The silver lines vanished. Sword Saint Fourteen had already landed beneath the dragon’s jaw.

An instant later, cross-shaped fissures appeared simultaneously across both blazing dragon pupils.

“ROOOAAAR!!!”

This scream tore the air apart.

Far in the distance, half-hidden behind snow-covered hills, the Jishen Unit—camouflaged against the pale wasteland—finally revealed its fangs.

From its left arm, a colossal cannon formed from countless linked resonance cannons fired.

Embedded A-grade mana crystals resonated in perfect synchrony, generating a mana fluctuation that inspired primal dread.

Vast energy was extracted, compressed, layered—condensing into a sphere over thirty meters wide. Its core glowed devouring dark violet, while its edges flared with blinding white brilliance.

Just before the apocalyptic strike launched, Talgara sensed it.

It struggled desperately to break free and take flight.

But blinded, it could not immediately escape Four’s restraints.

Carrying Four with it? Even dragons had limits.

“No! No! I am Talgara! The destined ascendant to the throne of Ancient Dragon! How could I… perish here?!”

Despair and fury birthed one final madness. It squeezed the remnants of power and life force from its chest, forming the most searing ultimate dragon breath yet—a dying god’s last roar—hurling it toward the incoming sphere.

But when flames that could incinerate cities struck the energy mass, they were like ink dropped into a lake—rippling faintly before vanishing entirely.

Then came the explosion.

Centered on the impact point, a colossal detonation erupted.

A towering mushroom cloud swallowed the red dragon, Four, and even the Sword Saint puji—who had sensed danger and attempted a moon-step retreat.

Even at great distance, the shockwave battered Puji Fort. Several unlucky soldiers were blown clean off the walls.

…

…

…

Half a day later, when Inanna and Aiden arrived at Puji Fort in a rush of frost and anxiety, they found no apocalyptic battlefield.

No raging inferno.

The walls still bustled with repairs.

Far out on the tundra lay a massive crater, as if struck by a meteor.

Norris, clad in silver scales, leaned casually against a half-repaired battlement, holding a steaming bowl and slurping loudly.

Seeing them, he grinned.

“Good timing. Any later and the dragon meat stew would’ve been gone.”