The first figure to emerge from the darkness was so immense it took one's breath away.
The cavern floor trembled slightly with its heavy footsteps.
It stood at least five meters tall, towering over the Frost Troll Chieftain Slad'ran that Lin Qingyue and her party had encountered before.
Its body was covered in thick, white fur that resembled a frozen glacier. Two massive, ivory-like tusks jutted from its lower jaw, glinting with a chilling light.
A tattered animal hide wrapped around its waist was the only thing distinguishing it from a pure beast.
An icy aura, as if from the far northern ice plains, washed over them—not merely cold, but a physical pressure that seemed to freeze the soul.
[Noinam Lv. ??? Yeti Chieftain]
"It's a Yeti! The legendary King of the Snow Mountains from the Northern Territory!" an Elven Ranger cried out, his voice filled with disbelief.
Yetis were among the oldest and most mysterious creatures of the Northern Territory.
They were notoriously violent, possessed immense strength, and had an innate mastery over frost.
An ordinary adult Yeti was enough to trouble a fully armed army. But the one before them, in both size and presence, far surpassed any recorded in the ancient texts
This was clearly a Yeti Lord that had lived for countless years!
"ROAR—!!!"
Noinam threw its head back and roared, spewing a visible stream of white frost from its massive maw.
The roar materialized into a tangible shockwave that slammed into the shield wall at the front of the Elf Army.
BZZZZ—!
The ground beneath the front-line Elf Knights cracked. The tower shields in their hands, engraved with the Moon Goddess Sigil, trembled violently, groaning as if on the verge of shattering.
Several knights were thrown back, their blood churning, nearly forced to their knees.
Lin Qingyue stared at the colossal Yeti, a chill running down her spine.
Another BOSS with three question marks!
This thing's aura is even stronger than the Troll Chieftain Slad'ran! Just standing there, it feels like an immovable iceberg.
"Sis, this thing looks ferocious," Lin Xiyue said, tightening her grip on her shield, her expression more solemn than ever. "It seems even tougher than that Troll we fought last time."
"Be careful. Its frost attacks must be incredibly powerful," Su Wan warned, frost already condensing at her fingertips, ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice.
However, this was only the beginning.
Immediately after, a second dark figure emerged from behind the throne.
It was a slender man dressed in a well-tailored black formal suit. His steps were calm and elegant, as if he were heading to a banquet, not a bloody battlefield.
He carried an exquisite silver lantern, inside which burned an eerie green flame.
He had smooth black hair and a handsome face, but his complexion was deathly pale, completely devoid of color, like the master of an ancient castle who never saw the sun.
A thick, suffocating aura of decay and plague emanated from him.
Wherever he passed, even the Fluorescent Moss on the cave walls withered and turned black.
When he lifted his head, revealing two malevolent green Soul Fires flickering in his deep-set eyes, Aeldara's crimson pupils contracted sharply!
"Plaguebringer... Noth!"
Aeldara forced the name through gritted teeth, her voice laced with profound dread.
What the hell?
Lin Qingyue's inner critic flared to life.
Is this BOSS's design all over the place? First an ugly-as-sin Goblin, then a fluffy Yeti, and now a pretty-boy undead with a yandere vibe? Is this some kind of villain boy band? One for comic relief, one for cute appeal, and one for eye candy?
"Commander, you know him?"
"More than just know him." Aeldara's voice was bone-chillingly cold.
"In the Undead Scourge's command structure, Noth is one of the Legion Commanders who wields plagues and curses. His rank is far above Mograss's!"
"Don't be fooled by his appearance. His greatest talent is creating and spreading all manner of vicious plagues."
"Creatures infected by his plagues die in excruciating agony, only to be reanimated as his most loyal undead servants. He is a mobile catastrophe, a walking source of pestilence!"
Aeldara's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.
An Undead Legion Commander whose rank far surpassed Mograss's!
This meant the man who looked like a melancholic poet was likely as powerful as Aeldara herself!
Lin Qingyue immediately checked his stats.
[Noth Lv.??? Necromancer Lord]
Another triple question mark!
"Hahahaha! It seems my Queen has someone with discerning taste in her ranks!"
Gyrus the Goblin burst into smug laughter.
"It took me a great deal of effort to 'persuade' Noth to join my ranks! His plagues are one of my favorite works of art!"
Before everyone could recover from their shock, a third massive shadow stepped forward with heavy strides, moving to the front of the stage.
It was a Frost Troll over four meters tall. Its skin was the deep blue of a glacier, covered in menacing ice crystal bone spikes.
In its hand, it gripped a crudely crafted metal club that radiated a cold aura even more savage and primal than the Yeti Lord's.
[Korrak Lv.??? Frost Troll Warlord]
A third triple-question-mark BOSS!
The King of the Snow Mountain, the Plaguebringer, and the Frost Troll!
Any one of these powerful beings could trigger a regional catastrophe on their own, yet all three were subordinates of this goblin!
Lin Qingyue felt her scalp tingle.
This is getting out of hand...
Just who is this goblin? How did he manage to subjugate three monsters of this caliber?
Does he really have some kind of 'overlord aura' that makes powerful beings bow down at his mere presence? That's just ridiculous!
"So? My dear Queen?"
Gyrus spread his arms wide, like a child showing off his collection. "Are my three 'generals' to your satisfaction?"
"With them, plus me, what chance do you think your paltry army has of winning?"
His words were filled with undisguised mockery.
Ilanier's silver radiance dimmed for a moment. Her normally placid, wine-red eyes finally churned with tumultuous waves.
She had expected the Dungeon Core to be difficult, but she had never dreamed of a situation this absurd.
The enemy before them was no longer a problem an army could solve.
These were three Lord-level monsters, plus a mysterious and bizarrely powerful Goblin King!
This lineup was enough to flatten a small kingdom in the Northern Territory!
"And we're not done yet!"
As if the shock wasn't enough, Gyrus stomped his foot, and the entire cavern shook violently.
"My children! Come out and greet your future mistress!"
As his voice fell, a tidal wave of dense footsteps and roars echoed from the depths of the dark cavern behind him!
Countless pairs of eyes, glowing with various colors, lit up in the darkness, merging into an endless sea of stars.
Undead, Trolls, Yetis...
Tens of thousands of monsters surged out from the darkness like a bursting flood!
Among them, Lin Qingyue spotted a few familiar figures.
For example, Ghost Blade, wielding dual blades with eerie agility.
And The Blighted, a mage-like figure clutching a book.
The last time he appeared, he was Mograss's second-in-command. Now, he was just an insignificant low-ranking officer in this vast monster army!
"My god..." Lin Xiyue swallowed nervously as she stared at the endless, overwhelming tide of monsters.
"How... how many are there? Did we just kick the hornet's nest of monsters?"
The tide of battle had reversed in an instant.
The Elf Army, which had previously held the advantage in numbers, now seemed frail and insignificant before the monstrous onslaught.