You promised to wreak havoc on the dungeon, but instead you've got Dragon Slime!

Inside the North Ridge Lord's manor, the lord was still having breakfast when a guard rushed in in a panic to report: "The army from Black Language Cave... has reached the city gate!"

He nearly spat out his tea: "Are they crazy?!"

Before he could give the order, the dull sound of crossbows and the crackling of exploding talismans came from outside the mansion.

Before long, the guards had rushed into the outer courtyard of the lord's mansion, and the lord was forced to retreat into the main hall with his guards.

Ron pushed open the door and entered, followed by his fully armed guards.

Without wasting words, he threw a bill on the table: "The quantity and value of the supplies you withheld from me over the past two months are all here. Pay it all today, plus double the penalty."

The lord's face alternated between pale and flushed: "This is a blatant threat of force!"

Ron said coldly, "You're just asking for death."

Half an hour later, the Lord of the Northern Ridge had no choice but to sign the compensation agreement and open the pass on the spot, guaranteeing the supply of goods to the Black Language Cave and the free passage of caravans.

More importantly, the entire process was deliberately recorded.

The next day, this scene appeared in adventurer taverns in Emerald Town and several neighboring territories—

The Black Language Cave Guards broke through the North Ridge Pass like cutting vegetables, and the image of the lord bowing his head to sign the compensation agreement spread throughout the city.

After reading it, the lords of Red Rock Territory and Gray Sail Harbor all fell silent.

They knew very well that if they continued to stand up for Bakus, the next target would be their own territory's gates being blasted open by ballistae.

In just three days, all the potential "agents" who were initially eager to try their luck gave up.

The proxy war collapsed completely after only a few shots were fired.

In the stone chamber of the Carnival Maze, the man in black robes whispered, "They've all retreated; even the Crimson Rock Territory doesn't dare take your money anymore."

Bacchus remained expressionless and downed his drink in one gulp.

"Ron...you've forced me to use my last resort."

On the high platform of the Black Language Cave, Ron closed the intelligence scroll.

He knew that Bacchus's patience was almost exhausted, and the game was about to enter its most dangerous phase.

"Come on," he whispered, "I can handle your last move too."

In the stone chamber of the carnival maze, the air felt so heavy it seemed to solidify.

Bacchus stood in front of the huge map, his fingertips slowly tracing the paths around the Black Language Cave.

The man in black hesitated before speaking: "All the agents have withdrawn, and the guild is keeping a close eye on things. Are you really going to use the mercenaries?"

“This is no joke,” Bacchus said coldly. “I’m going to make the final decision. Give them three times the price and let them bring their toughest troops.”

Within three days, several notorious mercenary groups quietly gathered on the outskirts of Emerald Town.

The "Skullcrusher Axe Gang" consists entirely of madmen who retreated from the border battlefields. They are heavily armored, wield axes, and prefer to hack and slash relentlessly.

"Ironscale Hunter" - specializing in hunting large magical beasts, with unparalleled skill in using traps and explosive arrows.

"Dark Swamp Poison Shadows" - a hybrid group of poison masters and assassins, specializing in night raids and infiltration.

These three groups, totaling nearly eight hundred men, were well-equipped, ruthless, and, with the help of hired siege equipment, were enough to flatten a small city.

Meanwhile, Bacchus secretly transferred a portion of the Carnival Maze's elite private army to the outer camp, ostensibly to "protect the caravan," but in reality to await the signal to encircle and annihilate them.

He knew very well that this time he had to overwhelm Ron in one fell swoop, otherwise all his previous failures would have been in vain.

On the high platform of the Black Language Cave, Ron frowned slightly as he watched the movements on the intelligence water screen.

“The Skullcrusher Gang, the Ironscale Hunters, the Dark Swamp Vipers… they’re all here.” Claudia’s voice was somewhat low.

Ron nodded: "This is aimed at deciding the outcome in one battle."

He reached out and brought up the full map of the dungeon on the console, his finger quickly swiping across several key nodes.

"The first line of defense is to lay traps in advance, the second line of defense is to release all the sand snakes, and the third line of defense is to double the preparation of the rockfall formation."

Additionally—activate emergency respawning within the city to double the monster density.

Claudia hesitated: "Isn't this too risky?"

Ron said coldly, "This isn't defense, this is a hunting ground."

As night fell, the mercenary camp outside the Black Language Cave was brightly lit.

The Skullcutter's Axe Gang was sharpening their axe blades, the Ironscale Hunters were tuning their crossbows, and the Dark Swamp Poison Shadow's poison master was preparing a sweet and pungent powder behind a row of wooden tables.

In his command tent in the center of the camp, Bakus whispered the order: "Move out before dawn, take down his outer defenses first, and don't give him a chance to breathe."

As the first cold wind blew before dawn, eight hundred mercenaries lined up neatly and slowly advanced toward the Black Language Cave.

This team's attack was heavier and more oppressive than any of Bakus' previous offensives.

On the platform, Ron's finger was already on the main launcher of the console.

He whispered, "Welcome to the final hunting ground."

As dawn broke, the mercenary army's large formation had already pressed against the outer edge of the Black Language Cave.

The Skullcrusher Gang led the way, their heavy armor gleaming coldly, their footsteps trembling slightly as they stepped onto the frozen earth.

The Ironscale Hunters split into two wings, their heavy crossbows fully drawn, the arrows gleaming coldly.

The Dark Swamp Shadows did not show themselves; they lingered in the mist like ghosts, ready to infiltrate at any moment.

Ron watched all this coldly from the high platform, pressing the first key on the control panel.

The first line of defense – the pit zone.

The ground was originally flat, but as soon as the mercenary vanguard stepped in, the soil beneath their feet collapsed as if a skeleton had been removed, revealing a bottomless pit.

Dozens of heavily armored soldiers fell directly down, engulfed by the barbs and explosive runes at the bottom, exploding into a bloody mess.

The Skullcutter's Axe Gang reacted quickly, stopping abruptly at the rear and beginning to probe the way with their shields and rubble. But just as they rounded the pitfalls, the trees on both sides suddenly shook—a swarm of sand snakes charged out, their scales scraping against each other like steel blades rubbing against iron, carrying a damp, cold, and fishy stench towards the group.

The first sand serpent's tail swept across, and the resulting impact lifted three heavily armored soldiers into the air, where they slammed heavily against the edge of the pit.

The second one bit directly onto the arm of a shield bearer, dragging the entire person into the fog.

The Ironscale Hunter immediately retaliated, firing more than a dozen crossbow bolts simultaneously, which struck the sand snake in the neck and abdomen.

But these arrows only shaved off a few scales; they didn't penetrate any vital organs.

The sand snake became even more ferocious after being injured, hissing and coiling around the hunters' front ranks, disrupting their firing rhythm.

Ron's control runes slid again—the sand snakes retreated from the flanks, and the slime swarm slowly crawled up.

Once these seemingly clumsy monsters occupy the terrain, they turn the battlefield into a sticky hell.

Sure enough, the mercenaries' advance speed suddenly dropped by half. Some soldiers got their feet stuck in the slime and couldn't pull them out, becoming sitting ducks that were swallowed whole by the monsters behind them.

Dark Swamp Poison Shadow finally made his move.

They circled around to another hidden path, infiltrated through a tunnel, and planned to directly break through the flank of the second line of defense.

But as soon as they entered the passage, the stone slabs beneath their feet collapsed with a "crack"—this was a trap that Ron had set up in advance.

A dozen or so Poison Shadow Assassins were thrown directly into a deep pit filled with barbs, unable to climb out. The runes on the pit walls lit up, blue flames burned along the barbs, and screams echoed from the ground.

Ron said coldly, "Open the second line of defense."

The monster spawn array was fully activated, and murlocs rushed out of the canal, thrusting their spears straight at the mercenaries' knees and ribs.

The Sand Serpent rejoined the battle, leaping out of the slime-covered area and scattering the front ranks.

The leader of the Skullcrusher Gang finally roared and swung his giant axe, forcefully splitting the attack from the slimes and murlocs, leading more than twenty people into the second line of defense.

The main force of the Ironscale Hunters also charged forward despite casualties, engaging the Sand Serpents in close combat.

Ron watched the energy curve rise sharply, knowing that the first major battle was about to begin.

With a flick of his finger, the third rockfall formation was activated ahead of schedule.

boom!

Dozens of boulders cascaded down from above, crushing the mercenaries who had just stormed into the defensive line into a cloud of blood.

The momentum of the charge was abruptly cut off.

The battlefield descended into brief chaos, the air thick with the stench of acid, blood mist, and scorched earth.

Ron knew this was just the first test. Bacchus's true trump card was yet to be revealed.

He looked up at the mercenary camp in the distance and whispered:

"Come on, use all your best tricks."

The first wave of attack was disrupted by the falling rocks, and the mercenary lines were thrown into chaos.

Bacchus didn't give them much of a rest, immediately ordering: "Elite squadrons advance! Siege engines push forward!"

The hundred-man heavily armored squad of the Skullcrusher Axe Regiment were at the forefront, their steps steady, their shield formation so tight that almost no gaps could be seen.

Two magical battering rams slowly advanced under the cover of a shield array. The runes on the front of the rams glowed with a dark red light, and their impact force was enough to smash a stone wall into dust.

The Ironscale Hunters' crossbows fired simultaneously, dozens of heavy crossbows pinning the defensive line and sending up clouds of earth and rocks.

Dark Swamp Poison Shadow once again infiltrated the flanks of the battlefield, searching for a breakthrough along the edge of the falling rocks.

Ron stared at the control panel from the platform, his finger landing steadily: "Global refresh."

The underground rune array suddenly lit up, emitting a low hum.

All monster spawn points in the Black Whisper Caverns activated simultaneously—slimes poured out from the slippery cracks, rolling towards the battlefield like streams of green mud.

The fishmen crawled out of the canal in rows, spears raised in unison;

The sand snake emerged its massive body from behind its cover, its scales gleaming like steel.

Stonewing beasts even swept across the sky, swooping down with sharp whistles.

This is Ron's rarely used "All Monster Tide," which is equivalent to throwing the entire food chain of Blacktalk Cavern onto the same battlefield.

The moment the monstrous tide subsided, the mercenaries' advance was instantly slowed down.

The slime stuck to the axle of the crash vehicle, and the slime seeped into the mechanical joints, making a screeching sound.

The sand snake coiled around from both sides, its tail lashing out at the crash vehicle and splitting the wooden beam in two.

The runic energy inside the crash vehicle was exposed and pierced by a murloc's spear, causing it to explode with a bang.