Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons-Chapter 503 - 461: Majestic Barrier

The shattered sky and the disordered light have made it impossible to distinguish the approximate time.

Only by relying on the sunlight pouring through the gaps can one discern whether it is day or night.

At this moment on the ground battlefield, there was not a single enemy left wearing blue-and-white armor.

The soldiers still wandering the battlefield were all clad in red-and-white armor.

Many places on the ground were already covered with a thick layer of ashes. These soldiers in red-and-white armor were searching for something amidst the ashes.

Longbei came to Kane’s side, sat down next to him, and grumbled.

"Once again, after capturing a camp, we got intercepted by other enemy forces. We still had some troops left, but the losses are heavy again now."

Listening to Longbei’s words, Kane glanced at the remaining soldiers on the battlefield.

Counting carefully, there were indeed only about five or six thousand left.

To say the losses were heavy was indeed not an exaggeration.

Kane patted Longbei’s shoulder and said, "Shouldn’t you be used to this by now? It’s something unavoidable."

They have now taken over half of the map’s territory.

The center of the dungeon has always been the most intense battleground, where the soldiers and various commanders are exceptionally strong.

If the entire map were to be divided based on strength distribution, it would be divided into three parts.

The top 1/4 and the bottom 1/4 belong to areas with roughly equal strength, mostly consisting of the most ordinary recruits.

The strength of the commanders isn’t very formidable either, mostly serving as the rear of both sides.

Then comes the middle 1/2 section.

This has always been the most fiercely contested area in the entire dungeon, so the soldiers here are almost all of intermediate level, and the strength of the military units mostly reached Silver.

Each unit’s commanders possess formidable strength.

Kane and his forces found capturing the rear 1/4 very easy previously.

Losing a few hundred soldiers was considered a heavy loss.

Now that they’ve captured half of this middle 1/2, it took them over a month.

And nearly every battle resulted in heavy losses.

In the past month, each of their ranks was promoted to lead 5,000 troops.

Because one person was needed to guard the main camp, they would take 20,000 troops on each expedition.

Capturing a camp usually required losing six or seven thousand troops, and if they encountered other enemy forces intercepting them after taking the camp, they could almost only retain six or seven thousand troops.

Just like the current situation.

They had just captured a camp, and shortly after finishing, they encountered enemy forces coming to intercept them.

Moreover, the number of troops the enemies brought was usually less, meaning they always fought from a position of greater numbers.

However, the quality of the soldiers was evident.

One enemy soldier could match two or even three of Kane’s ordinary soldiers.

These were unavoidable situations.

And if the enemy’s support troops managed to arrive after Kane’s forces had captured a camp and then left, they would easily take back the camp Kane’s forces had struggled to obtain.

Although Kane’s forces have gained quite a few intermediate units during this period, compared to the enemy’s combination of intermediate units and the dungeon’s fortifications.

It’s just a drop in the bucket.

It’s fortunate that once Kane’s soldiers receive a promotion in rank, they can become Spirits of Freedom and join the Lantern Knight Order, with their strength greatly enhanced.

The current Lantern Knight Order under Kane already had over 800 members.

Additionally, among the remaining forces, Kane recently checked, and another 100 soldiers under his command were eligible for promotion.

Once they return, the number of Defender Army members in the guild will reach over 1,000.

Many of these Spirits of Freedom have already exploited the dungeon’s rules to boost their strength to the peak of Silver.

If they were to become Explorers of the outside world, they would have to clear the entire dungeon to obtain an energy boost.

But in this dungeon, as long as their soldiers’ level cap hasn’t been reached, they can keep improving by winning battles.

At most, they can reach the peak of Silver but won’t hit a bottleneck.

However, this is sufficient; once they become free Explorers, they’ll save a lot of time and effort.

But since they cannot equip Explorer gear nor have Explorer’s origin skills, their combat effectiveness doesn’t match that of Explorers.

Also, most of these soldiers’ potential and aptitude fall short compared to Explorers.

Thankfully, the Defender Army’s system offers them protection, allowing them to maintain the highest-level unit combat power in the dungeon.

Moreover, thanks to the healing skills provided by the Defender Army, the Lantern Knight Order has over 100 members focused on healing units.

These 100-plus members of the Lantern Knight Order have completely specialized in various healing and rescue professions.

In their spare time, they study holy light magic with Finaris or learn anatomy and rescue techniques with Meizike.

Sometimes they even seek Ironhoof for lessons on herbal knowledge.

Ironhoof is Meizike’s general, the black-haired Minotaur.

His knowledge of herbs is not weaker than Meizike’s.

And he is also a Spirit of Freedom, brought into the guild by Kane.

Thanks to these people specializing in healing and enhancement, the soldiers’ losses were reduced significantly.

Otherwise, relying solely on Meizike and the other two to heal, tens of thousands of soldiers would hardly be taken care of.

Kane was chatting casually with Longbei, watching as Kreya had already organized the soldiers, he got up and prepared to return with Longbei.

Meanwhile, Meizike and the others had already rescued most of the soldiers whose lives were at risk.

Fully prepared, Kane and his remaining troops headed back to the main camp.

Kane rode his Mechanical Warhorse over to Kreya’s side.

"Kreya, who intercepted our troops this time?" Kane asked.

Hearing Kane’s words, Kreya pulled out a list and flipped through it: "The attackers this time should be the Magic Group. The nine mages who cast magic spells to attack you should be theirs."

"Are there any of them left alive?"

Kreya silently crossed the Magic Group off the list, then said, "Today’s interceptors should be the last of their strength, there will be no more of this minor force in the future."

Hearing this, Kane nodded. After fighting for so long, he was almost impressed that they were still holding on.

The reason their battles in this area were so difficult was that it was filled with warlike individuals.

Even though the camps Kane attacked previously didn’t belong to the same faction, other leaders would still come to intercept and attack them.

They would even team up for ambushes and sneak attacks.

For nothing else but the name of Kane and his group.

Bloodwashers.

Known for their brutality and not leaving any enemy alive.

Fortunately, Kane had Eagle Eye and Cotton Candy always scouting for intelligence in the sky above them.

Thus, almost all ambushes and sneak attacks failed, and instead, Kane and his group ambushed them back.

This led to situations where ambushes and sneak attacks virtually disappeared, and confrontations were straightforward frontal assaults.

The worst instance was when Kane and his group, on their way to attack the enemy camp, encountered a wave of enemies.

During the attack on the camp, the enemy was reinforced by other forces.

When they finally captured the camp, they were hit by another wave of enemy assault.

After several battles, Kane’s soldiers were reduced to only a few hundred men on the spot.

Kane even used up all the Magic Tears in that battle, and Longbei and the others sustained significant injuries.

As a result, Kane and his group became extremely cautious in choosing their attack camps and routes, constantly sending out Sentinels and Dark Servants to patrol.

It wasn’t long before they saw their large camp in the distance.

This time the main camp was integrated within the foremost outpost.

The fort was erected in the central location of the entire Dungeon.

Towering and majestic.

Kane and his group spent three days and two nights to capture this fortress.

They had to clear out almost all the surrounding camps and eliminate all camps that previously belonged to the same faction with the fortress before daring to attack it.

They also pulled up quite a few soldiers stationed at the rear camps for perimeter defense.

They ensured nothing was left to chance and spent considerable time capturing it.

But after capturing it, having control of the fortress was worthwhile.

Because they could directly recruit intermediate soldiers through this fortress, and there seemed to be some kind of morale bonus that enhanced their soldiers’ aggression and morale.

However, if Kane directly recruited intermediate soldiers, they wouldn’t turn into the Spirit of Freedom immediately.

Kane would need to promote them, and only after promotion would they become the Spirit of Freedom.

The potential of the promoted intermediate soldiers wouldn’t necessarily be better than ordinary soldiers, mostly just coming with some better skills.

This resulted in Kane seldom recruiting intermediate soldiers, instead continuing to train and fight with ordinary soldiers.

Still, Kreya and the rest swapped the soldiers entirely for intermediate ones, as they didn’t have to do like Kane.

Ordinary soldiers who weren’t promoted to intermediate soldiers almost died out in the battles.

After Kane and his group entered the fortress, the soldiers behind them were taken away by their respective lieutenants and commanders.

The Lantern Knight Order also entered the Knight Residence.

From afar, they saw Lily Lulu flying over with a group of people.

First, two little girls with green hair lunged directly into Polona’s arms.

Among those following Lily Lulu, the most conspicuous were the three Minotaurs.

Two with brown long hair, and one with white long hair.

Their hands held not Totems, but wooden staffs made from withered wood.

The three of them were the leaders Ironhoof introduced to Kane’s group after joining the Guild.

Ironhoof’s siblings were far from useless; they all belonged to magic professions.

They resembled either Shamans or Druids of magic professions.

And they became commanders under Lily Lulu’s command. Naturally, as magic professions dealing with nature, they immediately saw potential in Lily Lulu, competing to be her subordinates.

Now one could see vines twining around their bodies, with tiny flowers blooming on some of the vines.

Their prowess was even stronger than Ironhoof’s.

Now, aside from guarding Lily Lulu, they also helped her manage all sorts of plants in the Fairy Tale World.

They assisted in the evolution and maintenance of the Fairy Tale World flora and fauna, teaching and enhancing their abilities.

They’re essentially the administrators of the Fairy Tale World.