After the Miracle City mercenaries cleared out the outer sentries and patrols, bypassing the defensive works and vaulting into the mining camp, the dark goblins finally became alert.
The alarm was sounded at once.
"Have we been exposed?"
"It's already too late!"
"We've successfully broken in!"
"Hmph, perfect. I hate sneaking around anyway. Everyone together—kill these darkspawn bastards!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Taking advantage of the goblins' failure to organize in time, the Miracle City mercenaries launched a sudden assault, clubbing five goblin warriors to death on the spot.
"#!%￥%..."
The goblin warriors screeched wildly, shouting incomprehensible goblin speech as they raised repeating hand crossbows and opened fire on the adventurers.
A storm of bolts erupted.
Several Miracle City mercenaries were hit, yet not a single one fell. The riot zombies' armor was exceptionally tough, enough to offset most of the damage.
Even when bolts pierced through the armor, the damage dealt was minimal. With the zombies' powerful vitality, it posed no real threat in the short term.
"You dare shoot your grandpa?"
"Die, all of you!"
The adventurers surged forward in a ferocious counterattack. Caught off guard, the goblin warriors were slaughtered, armor discarded and ranks shattered.
In less than five minutes, most of them were wiped out.
Another wave of noise followed.
The adventurers spotted dozens of goblins carrying iron pickaxes and wearing crude gear rushing in—clearly the miners responsible for extracting ore from the site.
"Careful!"
"They look weak."
"But there are a lot of goblin miners!"
"What's there to fear? Kill them all! Every darkspawn must die!"
After already cutting down over a dozen goblin warriors, morale among the adventurers was soaring. With fighting spirit at its peak, how could they possibly fear a rabble like this?
Charge!
The two sides clashed at close quarters.
Although the Miracle City mercenaries were barely more than half the number of the goblin miners, their momentum completely overwhelmed these frail laborers.
If things continued like this, defeat for the goblins was inevitable.
Just then, another goblin charged out—nearly 1.7 meters tall, muscles bulging, wielding a spiked club.
The average adult goblin barely reached 1.4 meters in height. With a build like this, the creature was practically a Schwarzenegger among goblins.
"Not good!"
Lonely Bladesman recognized it instantly.
"There's a goblin warrior elite! Don't engage it head-on!"
The goblin elite roared as it plunged into the crowd, the spiked club swinging with a howling wind, about to smash the intruders' heads to pulp!
But before it could bring down a single Miracle City zombie—
A massive boulder suddenly fell from above, crashing toward it.
The goblin elite was startled and smashed the boulder apart with one swing.
At that moment, a gigantic figure burst through the camp gates, charging into the battlefield like a living war chariot. Any goblin in its path was sent flying.
It was secured.
The Tank Zombie had entered the fight!
The adventurers' hearts immediately settled.
The Tank Zombie let out a thunderous roar, its presence overwhelming even the goblin elite. Two fists, each like massive pumpkin hammers, smashed down.
The goblin elite raised its spiked club to block. When the crushing force descended, its legs sank straight into the ground. Veins bulged beneath gray skin as corded muscles twisted like steel cables.
"ROOOAR!"
The Tank Zombie hammered down relentlessly, like driving a giant nail. Though the goblin elite managed to endure it, dark green blood sprayed from its mouth and nose.
Clearly.
This was agony.
Before the goblin elite could counterattack, the Tank seized it violently and hurled it away. The body flew like a cannonball, collapsing a goblin stone hut in an instant.
"Continue!"
"Tear it apart!"
From behind the scenes, Kanzaki Ren issued the command.
The Tank Zombie's fury did not diminish. Roaring wildly, it charged again, resuming its brutal duel with the goblin elite.
"So strong!"
The adventurers watched, dumbfounded.
It was a truly heavyweight clash.
The goblin elite was no ordinary foe, possessing strength equivalent to a four-star monster. Its spiked club could shatter stone slabs; crushing a human skull would be no harder than smashing a watermelon.
Even the Tank Zombie would be injured if struck.
Yet the Tank Zombie was even more dominant. With greater raw power, solid muscle armor, relentless vitality, and the most primal battle instinct, it held the upper hand from the very start.
The Tank Zombie was still a zombie.
Its blood and claws carried violent toxins.
During combat, this inflicted stacking debuffs on its enemies.
After a fierce exchange, the Tank Zombie tore the goblin elite into pieces on the spot, winning the battle at the cost of only minor injuries.
"Beautiful!"
"Worthy of a five-star monster king!"
"The Tank Zombie's strength and defense are top-tier even among five-star monsters. I'd say it rivals some elite-class beasts!"
"We've won for sure!"
"..."
With the strongest and most dangerous goblin elite destroyed, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.
Though injured, the Tank continued fighting without issue, charging through the camp and mowing down the remaining goblins.
With this humanoid weapon—
And the adventurers surrounding and cutting them off—
The goblins were swiftly exterminated.
This battle resulted in the elimination of one goblin elite, thirty goblin warriors, and fifty-two goblin miners.
Another glorious victory!
Miracle City lost ten riot zombies, while rarer units such as the Hunter, Smoker, and Tank remained unharmed.
Blackstone Hammer King: "Another win!"
Irritable Chick: "Combat—feels good!"
Pig King: "Darkspawn are nothing special. This big guy could fight ten more!"
Shirasawa Yukari: "Two strongholds captured in just two days. Betting on Miracle City really was the right choice."
"..."
The adventurers were filled with pride.
They wasted no time, immediately looting the battlefield, stripping over a hundred intact gray-quality pieces of equipment from the corpses.
They also discovered piles of fire copper ore, along with stockpiled supplies such as alcohol and meat, and finally located the Sanctuary Divine Stone.
[Divine Stone activated successfully!]
[You have successfully occupied 'Red Rock Camp' and obtained 'Chaos Treasure Chest (Gray)' ×1!]
150 Spirit Power consumed!
Kanzaki Ren refined the Divine Stone of Red Rock Camp.
Another teleport point was activated for the territory, and a Chaos Treasure Chest was obtained.
Open it immediately!
[You opened 'Chaos Treasure Chest (Gray)' and obtained 'Soul Crystals' +400, 'Skill Secret Crystal: Lord Possession' +1!]
The soul crystal reward from Red Rock Camp was double that of Red Claw Village. Although no blueprint was obtained this time, a Skill Secret Crystal dropped instead.
A Secret Crystal was equivalent to a skill book in a game.
It granted the lord a specific lord skill, enhancing combat power or overall capability, making it an extremely important resource.
[Skill Secret Crystal: Possession] — Tier-1 Lord Skill. Requires 200 Spirit Power to cultivate.
Excellent!
Lord Possession was a relatively common lord skill. Its effect allowed the lord's will to descend into a specific territorial monster.
For example, if Kanzaki Ren used Possession on the Tank, he could remain in Miracle City while acting directly through the Tank's body.
He would be able to command troops on the front lines and personally participate in battle, gaining deeper immersion while executing fine control impossible through pure mental commands.
A highly practical ability.
It seemed today's battle had yielded excellent rewards indeed.