Chapter 675.5: Adventure in the Dark Forest
With his rising merit and power, Chris had gained access to Bay Territory's deeper secrets and classified info.
Currently, Bay Territory offered four types of combat armor for sale to adventurers.
The first: Exoskeleton Armor.
Price: 10,000 gold.
Effect:
Exoskeleton enhancement was limited.
Without compromising agility, it provided +3 Strength, +2 Agility, +3 Armor Defense, and +20% body mass boost.
Purchase requirement: 2000 merit rank, and 3 months of service/adventuring in Bay Territory.
For ordinary adventurers, buying Exoskeleton Armor wasn't worth it.
Not only was it expensive, but it also hindered strength development.
On the other hand, adventurer squads and teams preferred it.
New recruits could use it to show decent combat power and get more training experience.
Second type: Combat Armor.
Price: 30,000–200,000 gold.
Available in multiple models.
Roughly divided into heavy, light, and battlefield types.
Attribute boost of around +5, with 80% body enhancement.
Purchase requirement: 100,000 merit level, with at least one high-level Professional in the team.
The heavy type is suited for team battles, offering considerable strength and defense boosts.
It allows the use of heavy weapons and shields and can contend with larger enemies and prey.
The light type is ideal for solo combat, commonly used by scouts or loners.
It features multiple combat support abilities and decent personal power boosts.
The battlefield type is designed for large-scale warfare.
Usually only large adventurer groups consider buying it.
It aids in operating large war weapons for powerful suppression and destruction.
However, it's not very agile and has high maintenance and operational costs.
Third type: Magic Armor.
Price: 1,000,000–2,000,000 gold.
Effects: +5 to main attribute, +3 to all attributes, superior magic weapon defense, high-level damage reduction.
Purchase conditions: 500,000 merit level, Super-Class Professional.
Available in two models.
Standard and Flying.
The latter has flight capabilities for up to two hours.
Flight time can be recharged for reuse.
This is a luxury item for most adventurers—a flagship product used by Bay Territory to attract attention.
However, according to Chris, many large adventuring teams have bought one or two sets.
If not for the emergence of Thunder Magic Armor, getting one set of Magic Armor would've been Chris's ultimate goal.
Fourth type: Thunder Magic Armor.
Price: 2,000,000–4,000,000 gold!
Effect: +10 to main attribute, +5 to all attributes, six combat support systems, six enchantment boosts, mastery of thunder power and flight, with defense matching Magic Armor.
Purchase conditions: 1,000,000 merit level, Super-Class Professional, intermediate armor operation proficiency.
Comes in three models: Standard, Enhanced, and Flying.
All three have the same attribute enhancement and defense values.
Enhanced model has greater thunder power reserves and control.
Flying model has flight control, enabling over 4 hours of continuous flight.
Operating Thunder Magic Armor consumes 1 Bay Territory High-Efficiency Energy Crystal per hour.
Price of one High-Efficiency Energy Crystal: 100 gold.
Its sky-high price and steep requirements intimidate most adventurers.
Yet its powerful enhancements, imposing look, and thunder-wielding allure make it the dream of any adventurer.
Buying a Thunder Magic Armor became Chris's top goal after becoming a Dragon Warrior!
Such a cool suit of armor is the perfect match for a Dragon Warrior!
The roaring outside the city wall temporarily stopped.
Click! Click! Click!
The massive metal gate slowly lifted, and giant engineering golems filed out.
They were ready to clean up the battlefield at top speed.
Chris eyed the loudly shouting goblin engineer and muttered to himself:
"I need to figure out a way to recruit more engineers from the Goblin Engineering Academy."
Looking over the magical equipment in the armored truck, Laura commented softly:
"With so many magic parts and mechanical systems, dedicated operators and maintenance personnel are definitely needed."
Chris shrugged and folded his arms, shaking his head:
"Most of them don't like adventuring. The few who do always get snatched up fast. Skilled labor really is in demand."
Only in Bay Territory would this be the case!
Laura didn't say it out loud—she just quietly watched the golem engineering team clean up the distant battlefield.
The adventurer convoy pushed forward.
The roaring engines drove the golem trucks forward at speed.
Chris and Laura climbed onto the roof instead of staying in the cabin.
The convoy rolled over the dry ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Laura felt the scorching heat and instinctively squinted.
Her combat helmet collected various data, showing elemental fluctuations far beyond normal levels.
The twisted jungle loomed ahead, with danger seeping closer.
Chris rested his hand on a nearby flamethrower, grinning as he shouted over the team channel:
"Welcome to jungle hell, folks!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Flames erupted, instantly igniting the twisted jungle ahead.
Shrill screams rang out, drilling into Laura's ears.
Alert, she scanned the surroundings, nocking an arrow with effortless grace even as the truck jolted.
Drawing the bow with ease brought a gleam of excitement to her eyes.
A crimson marker appeared, and detailed data flashed across her combat visor.
"Brainflayer bug. High-value target. Shoot the wing joint for quick capture."
Without hesitation, Laura aimed and loosed an arrow at the Brainflayer bug 30+ meters away.
Whoosh!
The spinning arrow arced beautifully under immense force.
It struck precisely at the joint in the bug's wing as it panicked and fled.
Crack!
The arrow pinned the bug to a tree, and the toxin hidden in the shaft was quickly released.
The Brainflayer bug stopped struggling, and the shaking tree fell still.
Chris cheered loudly and shouted into the comms:
"Target 14, one Brainflayer bug."
Under Laura's curious gaze, a massive Wyvern descended, grabbed the immobilized bug, and stored it in its dimensional space.
Then, it beat its wings and soared back into the sky.
Ordinary prey wasn't worth its time—but a rare Brainflayer bug was an exception.
The blazing fire burned through twisted plants that had grown just days ago, warning the lurking monsters.
Convoys like the Alice Adventuring Party weren't rare.
Most had golem-armored trucks and Sub-dragons in tow.
If they ran into unbeatable foes, they could pay for support from Bay Territory's Wyvern Riders.
Of course, a fee was required.
But it was worth it—as long as they returned alive, even partial harvests of magical plants and materials could mean huge profits.
Otherwise, why would so many adventurers take such risks?
Adventurers in the Catachan demi-plane were usually disciplined and strong.
The region with the highest adventurer population had quietly become the Dark Forest.
Two hours later.
Bay Territory's Troll Fortress.
Alice checked her magic wristwatch, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
With a flash of arcane light, a group of tall Catachan warriors stepped out of the teleportation circle.
Wearing refined magical gear, they looked around the bustling fortress with curiosity—clearly their first time here.
Dale, who had undergone Dragon Warrior modification and led the group, quickly approached Alice, eyeing her Thunder Magic Armor with envy:
"Catachan Patrol Combat Squad reporting."
"Welcome. Follow me to get your mission details."
With a gesture, Alice led them toward the central command building.
In the operations command center...
Dale studied the massive Dark Forest map. Seeing the blinking green and red lights, he asked solemnly:
"The enemy's less than 50 kilometers away?"
Alice, seeing the red markers outnumber the adventurers' three to one, calmly shook her head:
"That's just their scouts. The main force is still forming."
"Your task is to lead the adventurers in clearing them out."
"Also, slow down their mass troop formation."
"If necessary, infiltrate and strike key areas."
A high-difficulty mission—but Dale wasn't fazed. In fact, it piqued his interest.
He took the documents Alice handed him and flipped through them carefully.
Alice, calm as ever, continued her briefing:
"This will be the trolls' main scout and attack zone."
"Bay Territory's 172 outposts in this area will all be targets."
"Each outpost has 30 elite soldiers, able to hold out for at least 3 hours."
"You can assist in defense and resupply, or use them to ambush trolls."
Having studied Bay Territory tactics, Dale understood what she meant.
He recorded most of the adventuring teams' data and then began reviewing troll intel.
Thirty minutes later...
Dale left the fortress with his team, driving the golem-armored trucks prepared by Alice toward the densest troll scout zones.
They moved quickly and drew attention with their roaring engines.
"Who's being that flashy? Are they insane?"
"Looks like a Bay Territory combat squad. They're about to go after the trolls."
"That's great news—tell the others!"
"No need. They already signaled—it's the Catachan Special Ops. Bay Territory's making big moves."
"Heh, big moves are good! We can go troll-hunting again like before."
"Glad we came back early to prep—would've missed out otherwise."
"Troll prices are up now—100 gold per head! Perfect time to get rich."
"Good thing we're in Bay Territory, or prices on everything would've gone up."
"Let's follow them—might catch some action."
"..."
Got to say, these adventurers had a keen nose. They quickly tracked down the Catachan squad.
But what piqued their interest...
Dale and the Catachan warriors were "observing" and "studying" the captured troll scouts.
Their methods were a bit brutal, making some adventurers flinch.
Still, they knew Bay Territory played by the rules. Anyone allowed out was tightly regulated.
Though slightly scared, more adventurers gathered.
Dale lowered his dagger and looked at the troll's rapidly healing wound—he'd already figured out a plan.
With just a few dozen men under him, they'd never kill enough trolls on their own.
Even with reinforcements, they were outmatched in numbers and strength.
To complete the mission beautifully, the key lay in these adventurers.
After thinking through the strategy, Dale turned and signaled to the growing crowd:
"Join us in the troll hunt!"
Every adventurer's eyes lit up with fiery excitement!
Dale didn't hesitate—he rallied over a thousand adventurers and marched straight into troll-held territory.
He personally led 200 strong adventurers to surround a group of aggressive troll scouts.
200 vs. 30!
The adventurers showed Dale exactly what it meant to outnumber and overwhelm.
Bolts flew, nets unfurled, steel hooks launched.
The trolls barely had time to react before being subdued in a wave of attacks.
Most weren't killed—they were tied up and stored alive in loot spaces.
Watching the adventurers work like wolves, Dale quickly issued new orders:
"Each group, find troll scout teams outnumbered at least 4-to-1!"
The seasoned Catachan warriors sprang into action.
They became expert hunters, leading adventurers to their prey.
With overwhelming numbers, the adventurers quickly crushed the trolls.
After a short break, the Catachan warriors continued the hunt.
In just half a day...
Over 1,000 adventurers had captured or slain more than 4,000 trolls.
Each adventurer earned at least 400 gold—and a sizable amount of merit!
When Dale returned, he spread the word of their success.
Scattered adventurers quickly gathered, driven by profit.
They wanted in on the big money!