The next expedition was even less eventful than the first one and we barely ran into any Anomalies.
The third expedition was also just as uneventful but we went a little but further and found the Gatekeeper.
For this particular rift, it seems like the Gatekeeper was well protected and I see several large sized Anomalies surrounding the Gatekeeper alongside an entire army of smaller ones.
If we want to clear this rift, we would need a lot more people than we currently have right now, even with me backing them up.
The good news is that the Gatekeeper had also hunkered down at a large Mana Crystal deposit which was practically a jackpot for us.
The amount of Mana Crystals present here was way higher than the previous rift's and it might even take us two whole days just to mine it all.
Despite the fact that there was only just a single level of difference in Danger Class, the difference in reward is immense.
Olivia was practically over the moon when we found the deposit and began making calls the moment we stepped out of the portal to arrange for miners on our final expedition.
Previously, we had to give almost all the Mana Crystals we mined from these rifts as payment to the two countries that had Mortal Gods with only a small fraction being kept for ourselves.
They would then sell another fraction of it back to all the other surrounding countries at high prices to make even bigger profits while also empowering themselves.
Now that I'm here… There was no need to share the prize anymore. We can keep all of it to ourselves if we wanted to, which was why Olivia was so happy.
On another note… I was hoping that the crowd outside the portal would get smaller after the first expedition but for some reason, it was only getting bigger and bigger.
I don't know what they find so interesting about watching us go through a portal then staring at said portal until we come out again.
To each their own I guess?
On the day of the clearing expedition, an even bigger crowd was gathered outside the rift.
I think the crowd at least tripled in size and that's not counting the Vanguards and the miners that were gathered there for the expedition.
The miners would only move into the rift after we have cleared out the Anomalies.
Since this was already the fourth expedition that I would be leading, I was already used to it and gave a quick speech before leading everyone through the portal.
I waited until everyone was through the portal before I materialised the purple fog around myself to activate the AOE buff.
I also brought out the Jade Book though I wasn't sure exactly what it did yet aside from having those pictures.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to discover more abilities from my myth yet aside from these two abilities the last few days.
Then again, to be fair, I didn't really have a lot of chances to explore my abilities since it wasn't like I could experiment at home without my family finding out about it.
And while inside the rift, I don't exactly have the luxury to experiment with the threat of Anomalies around.
Unlike the previous recon expeditions, I would be joining the front lines this time since I figured I might serve better fighting the Anomalies directly instead of just hiding behind the Vanguards.
Olivia was vehemently against it at first, stating that it was too dangerous but I managed to convince her by saying that she would not be able to fight the Anomalies either if I stayed behind.
She might not have voiced it aloud but I could tell she was itching to join the front lines but couldn't join the fight since she had to stay beside me.
The Vanguards arranged themselves in their usual formation but this time, I joined them at the front, surprising all of them.
Of course, no one questioned me, especially when I have a really tall red Oni acting as my bodyguard looking like she was ready to pummel anything in front of her right now.
"Let's go," Was my only command before I started leading the entire expedition towards the Gatekeeper.
We crested the hill and looked below to see the entire army of Anomalies before us, all of them still unaware of our presence.
I turned back, "Mages, start the initial bombardment."
The spellcasters started to charge up their spells and everyone waited for them to initiate the attack.
The first spell to be shot out was a ball of fire that arched over our heads to land amongst the Anomalies, the fireball exploding violently and burning a good number of the monsters.
All at once, the heads of the Anomalies turned as one, all of them glaring up at us with their hollow, soulless eyes.
I was expecting them to start shambling towards us since all the monsters we've met in here did so.
But contrary to that expectation, they started charging towards us in a sprint.
Shit.
"Melee Vanguards, form a defensive line! Rangers, start firing!!"
Everyone here was a veteran so no one hesitated when I gave the command.
I stood at the very front alongside the melee Vanguards right as the sound of gunshots and bowstrings being loosed filled the air, striking down several of the Anomalies.
A few of them exploded after being struck which we now figured that they were Anomalies that would specifically self-destruct when killed in this rift.
We would have to kill those at a distance or risk injury from their explosions.
The next batch of spells came hurtling overhead to smash into the ranks of the Anomalies, blasting them with various elements and softening them up.
We still held our ground until I saw several balls of light flying up to the sky to tear open a space in the air.
I then looked at the girl with the sword and shield and nodded, prompting her to slam her shield on the ground again to create a shield dome around all of us.
The giant meteor from that elven mage came crashing down, smashing into the middle of the army of Anomalies and sending out a shockwave that blew the rest off their feet.
This time, the meteor was smaller in size, not because she could not summon the bigger one but because we did not want to kill the Gatekeeper or damage the Mana Crystals around it.
The shockwave crashed into our shield and the girl managed to hold her ground, protecting everyone from the blast.
The dust cloud quickly dispersed and we were met with the remaining Anomalies that quickly got back on their feet to start charging up the hill at us.
"Mages continue the bombardment! Rangers soften them up! Watch your arcs of fire! Everyone else, charge!!" I ordered.
We cannot risk having the Anomalies get too close to our backline so I chose to make use of our elevation to meet them halfway down the hill instead, giving the others space to manoeuvre if they have to.
I led the charge and peeled away from everyone, jumping towards the crowd of Anomalies at the front of the group.
Raising my fist, I punched forward and used my full strength for the first time ever since I got buffed.
My fist made contact with the Anomaly, its face caving in before its entire body caved in and turned into an improvised projectile to crash into the Anomalies behind it.
A shockwave also blasted out, sending the surrounding Anomalies flying away.
"Isn't he a support type?!"
"He can buff and attack at the same time?"
"Damn… As expected of a Mortal God I suppose."
The Anomalies behind surged forward and I prepared to meet them, only for something red to rush past me and crash into them.
I heard the sound of maniacal laughter and I realised it was Olivia laughing as she crushed the Anomaly she was holding in her hands, turning them into meat paste.
She then took its corpse and smashed it into another Anomaly that was leaping at her, crushing both the corpse and the other Anomaly into the ground.
Yeah… She definitely loves to fight.
The rest of the Vanguards joined us and both of our lines smashed into each other, our side managing to push them back almost to the foot of the hill in just a single charge.
With the mages and the rangers still supporting us from behind, it looked like it would be a relatively easy fight.
But of course, the universe seemed to take offense at that as the ground suddenly rumbled before a giant sized Anomaly broke through the ground, pulling itself out from the hole.
The monster was at least four stories tall and it had four bony arms that looked like it could smash through concrete easily.
Shit… They have a boss type…