Chapter 656: Windfall Fortune!
"Hehe, bloodsucking moss, this stuff's great! Each piece sells for 2 gold coins."
"Don't even think about stealing it, or you'll be cursed with some serious bad luck."
"Haha, this is prime time for picking up money—who'd be dumb enough to screw it up now?"
"You never know. Even with Bay Territory's great system and benefits, there are still idiots getting caught every day."
"That's actually a good thing. The fewer idiots there are, the more money the rest of us can make."
"Cut the chatter. We don't have much time."
"Slave warriors incoming—deal with them quickly."
"Get the supplies into the containers and haul them back to base fast..."
"..."
Listening to the commotion inside, Triss clutched her enchanted crossbow tightly, aiming at the charging slave warriors.
Before Triss could even act, the ever-alert Trist had already raised his staff.
Sleep Spell!
Over a dozen charging slave warriors instantly collapsed like rag dolls.
Viconia appeared behind the sluggish and staggering slave warriors and smacked them on the back of the head without hesitation.
Thud!
The last few slave warriors hit the ground.
They weren't dead, which was exactly Viconia's intent.
Killing slave warriors wasn't hard, but the moment they died, it would alert the Mind Flayers.
Though their condition couldn't stay hidden forever, Bay Territory didn't need much time anyway.
The seasoned adventurers, experienced in battlefield cleanup, used every method and tool available to shove all usable supplies into the dug-out transport tunnels.
Fifteen minutes later—
The Mind Flayers finally sensed something was wrong and immediately sent waves of slave warriors toward the ruins and outpost.
The Mind Flayers were seriously pissed off.
"We spent so much effort and paid a heavy price to take this loot."
"And now you guys just sneak in and snatch it without even saying hi?"
"Is there no law left? No order at all?"
Of course, all this was just Sera daydreaming as she watched the loot flood back to camp.
As for the Mind Flayers' reaction and counterattack, Sera had no intention of pulling the adventurers back.
She had long since dispatched the powerful Catachan warriors!
So when the slave warriors came charging in, they were met with a torrent of fierce counterattacks.
A massive volley of crossbow bolts wiped out nearly a third of the regular slave warriors.
A few elite slaves who powered through the barrage were quickly met by enthusiastic one-on-one "attention" from the Catachan warriors.
One swing of a blade, and any elite slave warrior under Tier 13 was instantly taken down.
The battlefield fell silent again in moments.
The adventurers, who had been ready to jump in, saw the hidden Catachan warriors and decisively sped up their supply hauling.
Realizing how nasty the opposition was, the Mind Flayers immediately pushed thousands of slave warriors toward the front, flanked by two iron golems.
At the same time, their "sinister" attention locked onto this part of the battlefield.
The more cunning Mind Flayers thought fast.
If they couldn't breach Azshara Camp, they'd just change targets.
Capturing some slaves from Azshara Camp and extracting their memories might give them the answer.
The secret behind their resistance to Mind Control!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A stream of whistling sounds sliced through the air.
A torrential downpour of crossbow bolts mowed down the charging slave warriors.
The swaying mechanical arms, guided by magical scanners, fired with pinpoint precision at the slave warriors.
The auto-loading mechanisms clicked and clacked with a complex, rhythmic beat.
Two Catachan warriors closely monitored the auto-turret's condition, recording all kinds of data.
Watching a single auto-turret suppress hundreds of enemies, their minds wandered to the advanced models in Bay Territory's weapons lab.
They could already picture these powerful turrets unleashed on the Catachan demi-plane, holding the line against the Green Tide.
So they were dead serious about learning and mastering the auto-turrets, hoping they could become even more badass.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The iron golems were closing in, trying to raise their shields against the relentless barrage of bolts.
Suppressing his urge to attack, Gatel sensed a faint wave of psionic energy beginning to spread around them.
He kept a straight face, glanced at the retreat countdown—three minutes left—and locked his gaze on the massive iron golems.
The reason he left the Catachan demi-plane and came to Bay Territory for enhancement and modification...
It wasn't just to become stronger—it was to gain support and help from Bay Territory.
After fighting for who knows how long on their demi-plane, the Catachan warriors could barely hold on.
Now, Gatel saw hope for reclaiming their entire demi-plane and their home.
And he had seen firsthand Bay Territory's rapid progress and their passionate, hands-on "assistance."
Gatel was very clear: only by surviving could there be hope.
If they were to perish now, no matter how glorious their past, it would all just vanish into a forgotten sigh.
As Gatel eyed the approaching iron golems, a tiny sense of danger trickled from one of them.
Narrowing his eyes, the "Eagle Eye" technique he learned in Bay Territory revealed the "invisible" enemies.
Irregular movement of tiny pebbles.
Fast-moving shadow energy.
Unnaturally consistent airflow shifts.
All of it exposed the attackers' movement paths.
Feeling a bit sentimental, Gatel thought of all his patched-up weaknesses and newfound enhancements. He waved to the nearby vigilant Catachan warriors.
Two Catachan warriors burst from the ruins and charged straight at the Drow scouts whose tracks had been exposed.
Seeing their movement, the Mind Flayers observing the battlefield immediately perked up.
But they didn't launch an attack just yet. Instead, they cautiously moved more Drow scouts in, trying to surround them from all directions.
They didn't understand why the Catachan warriors were being so "cocky," leaving cover to engage.
But they instantly realized—it was a golden opportunity to capture them!
The Drow scouts in the lead stopped advancing under Mind Flayer control.
They intentionally revealed themselves from stealth, then quickly drew their bows and fired at the Catachan warriors.
Noticing the other Drow scouts' movements, the Catachan warriors also paused and dodged the incoming arrows.
"Units 3 and 5, take them alive if possible."
Hearing the command, Thorn didn't show much emotion.
Back in the day, he wouldn't have had the confidence to deal with so many stealthed enemies.
Especially since these enemies, like the monsters in the Catachan jungle, had deadly "venomous fangs" and insane speed and explosiveness.
But after the enhancements—and truly understanding his body and power—Thorn was absolutely confident dealing with the Drow scouts.
Raw strength, agile speed, lightning-fast reflexes, and an ability to track enemy movements and patterns...
All that combined into overwhelming power that gave Thorn full confidence to crush the dozens of Drow scouts trying to encircle him.
He didn't treat Gatel's "mission" with the same indifferent attitude he had when first arriving at Bay Territory. Now, he was totally focused.
Because Bay Territory had given him way too much.
More importantly, after meeting many of Bay Territory's talented and gifted individuals—
Even Thorn, along with most Catachan warriors, had toned down their arrogance.
Sure, Catachan warriors were amazing in one-on-one combat, and even more lethal in jungle warfare—
But so what?
They'd only just begun their journey as Professionals. All those intricate skills and combat techniques? They could study them forever.
Meanwhile, Bay Territory's geniuses had unique insights and natural talent in these areas.
Especially when they learned that even things like "Dragon Warrior Augmentation"—which they saw as miracles—
Were already being studied and practiced by students at Bay Territory's Professional Training Academy.
Not to mention the top-tier gear, enchantments, and nearly unfathomable spellcasting techniques.
The Catachan warriors still had a long road ahead.
So they had no reason—or right—to be arrogant.
After being re-educated by Bay Territory, the Catachan warriors gradually came to value teamwork and collective strength.
Completing missions meant progress for the territory—which benefited everyone.
With this in mind, Thorn saw more Drow scouts stopping and preparing ranged attacks—so he rushed out to strike first.
Thorn moved incredibly fast, with explosive force, reaching the Drow scouts in no time.
Sensing his immense pressure, they instinctively tried to scatter.
But when Thorn closed within 30 meters, he whipped out his magical pistol.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blazing bullets flew and instantly struck four fleeing Drow scouts.
Their thighs burst with blood as they crashed to the ground.
Even though they ignored pain, their crippled legs took them out of the fight.
Thorn was fast—and a damn good shot.
Every shot landed cleanly.
The Drow scouts couldn't dodge in time. Whether they tried to run or close in, they all got shot in the legs.
Even with their numbers, they couldn't do a thing to Thorn.
He rampaged through them like a tiger among sheep—unstoppable, swift, and lethal. He broke through their encirclement over and over, dealing heavy damage.
Another Catachan warrior didn't engage directly, just aimed his enchanted crossbow from a distance.
When Thorn was swarmed, he picked off a few enemies to keep him safe.
The two Catachan warriors, not even going all out, held off over a hundred Drow scouts with ease.
Every few seconds, more Drow scouts were disabled.
Just ninety seconds in—
The whole situation was crystal clear.
Before the iron golems could even join, the slave units sent by the Mind Flayers had made zero progress.
Despite the heavy losses among the Drow scouts and nearly a third of the slave warriors down...
The Mind Flayers, who had been waiting, finally started their move.
At first, they were afraid if they used Mind Control and failed, the Catachan warriors might retreat.
Now, they couldn't wait any longer—they wanted to crack those skulls open.
To suck their brains and taste their memories!
Because they'd realized—this spot didn't have the same area-wide mental resistance that Azshara Camp had.
The next second—
Just as Thorn dodged two deadly daggers, a terrifying psychic pressure surged in from all directions.
"Ding, psionic attack detected. Activating psychic defense module."
"Ding, you've taken 35 points of psionic damage. Remaining defense value: 265."
"Ding, incoming psionic surge detected. Countdown: 29, 28, 27, 26..."
A sharp alarm rang in Thorn's ears.
Snapping out of it, he dodged the blades lunging at him.
The Mind Flayers had timed their strike perfectly—right as Thorn was under attack.
Even if he resisted Mind Control, the psychic shock would still mess him up.
In that vulnerable moment, he'd be wide open to a fatal hit.
"Too bad—we know Mind Flayers inside and out. They still know jack about us."
That thought flashed through Thorn's mind as his signal light turned red.
"It's time!"
Then Gatel's attack signal rang in his ears.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thorn calmly fired, blowing out the thighs of several nearby Drow scouts, crippling them.
Then he pulled out a gray-brown potion and smashed it on the ground.
A rolling cloud of gray mist spread out.
In a heartbeat, it enveloped the wounded Drow scouts.
They inhaled twice—and dropped unconscious.
No matter what orders the Mind Flayers gave, they got no response.
The shocked Mind Flayers saw 30 or 40 more Catachan warriors suddenly burst in from the battlefield's edge.
They struck with lightning speed, taking down most of the Drow scouts surrounding Thorn.
Then they used sleep agents to knock them all out.
The Catachan warriors secured them and bailed from the battlefield, slipping back into the ruins before the iron golems and slave army could catch up.
The whole thing took just 50 seconds.
Not just the loot—they were stealing people too!
The Mind Flayers, feeling played, only had time to launch a second wave of Mind Control.
The result was the same.
Just like the first time, Thorn showed zero response.
Before the Mind Flayers could figure out why, the Catachan warriors had already vanished.
Furious, they sent slave warriors to storm the Drow ruins.
Only to find it completely empty—no supplies, no bodies.
Just five or six huge tunnels.
The Mind Flayers prepared to give chase.