The Exiled Sentry, with only one arm remaining, had white steam rising from its body.
It raised its greatsword and swung down fiercely once more.
However, every attack was firmly blocked by Weiss's shield, impossible to break through.
The Exiled Sentry tried to bypass this tough obstacle.
Weiss immediately charged forward, using his shield to interrupt the Exiled Sentry's movement.
Then, he followed up with a heavy hammer strike.
Seeing Weiss close in, the Exiled Sentry no longer hesitated; it gripped its greatsword and leaped into the air.
"Weiss!" Manfred shouted.
Weiss didn't speak, answering with his actions instead.
He didn't dodge; instead, he stepped forward, holding his shield with both hands as a brilliant light erupted from the shield and his entire suit of armor.
First-rank heavy warrior ability: Immovable Fortress.
It sacrificed mobility in exchange for immense defense, toughness, and resistance.
The ultimate defensive form of a heavy warrior!
The leaping Exiled Sentry smashed downward, attempting to crush Weiss with its weight.
However, at the moment of impact, the first thing to shatter was the sentry's lower body.
The Exiled Sentry felt as if it had struck an indestructible boulder.
Toxic mist gushed out from its shattered lower half.
Weiss remained motionless, his high resistance allowing him to completely ignore the toxic mist hitting him head-on.
"In the name of the wind spirits, I summon thee."
"Grass-Tracing Wind!"
Rhine had just finished her incantation, and a gentle breeze blew forward.
The gushing toxic mist was instantly dispersed.
Simultaneously, wood chips began to peel away from the surface of Weiss's armor as the breeze hit.
First-rank spell: Grass-Tracing Wind.
It was capable of weakening the defense of plant-type monsters.
The Exiled Sentry retreated; without the cover of the toxic mist, its shattered lower body didn't have time to heal.
Manfred, positioned on the flank, wouldn't let this opportunity slip by and charged out like a blur.
The longsword in his hand swept through the air like the wind.
The Exiled Sentry swung its greatsword to meet that wind-like strike.
They clashed and separated in an instant.
Everything went silent, without the slightest ripple.
Manfred landed with the lightness of a dragonfly skimming water, sword in hand.
Then, the Exiled Sentry's greatsword snapped cleanly in the middle, crashing onto the water's surface.
The sentry's massive body followed, collapsing as its head rolled across the floor.
Victory in a single strike.
This was the true power of Manfred's team.
Weiss, the strongest defender, drew the enemy's fire in the front; Rhine, providing wide-area damage and debuffs, unleashed her power from the back—together, they created the opening.
This allowed Manfred, who possessed the strongest single-target burst, to finish the enemy in one blow.
Manfred turned and walked toward the Exiled Sentry.
Then, he knelt on one knee.
They were plunderers, stealing the treasures of the dungeon; this essence could not be hidden, no matter how much they dressed it up.
Manfred understood this.
Condemning such behavior would be hypocritical, as he was also plundering the dungeon.
The most he could do was maintain respect for these guardians and never lose his reverence for the dungeon.
The Exiled Sentry's body gradually dissipated, leaving behind an irregular brown wooden board pulsing with immense magic power.
A material dropped by a monster leader.
In the dungeon, the most precious materials were those dropped by monster leaders and floor overlords.
No matter how high the floor or the level, the value of materials dropped by ordinary monsters could never compare to those from a surface-level monster leader or floor overlord.
Monster leaders do not respawn and have a 100% drop rate for a material upon death.
Floor overlords can respawn, but while the first kill guarantees materials, magic items, or magic equipment, the drop rate becomes extremely low after they respawn.
Picking up the wooden board, Manfred stood up.
"This board should be enough to craft a piece of magic-infused equipment. Once it's finished, we'll decide how to distribute it based on its effects and form."
Hearing Manfred's words, Weiss nodded, and Rhine spoke casually.
"I have no objection."
Both trusted Manfred as their leader.
Even if this material was made into a piece of magic equipment, they believed Manfred would distribute it fairly based on who it suited best.
Next was the treasure chest.
The three walked toward the chest.
One of the keys to a harmonious team was its leader.
Manfred didn't waste time with polite refusals; he stepped forward and opened the chest before the others.
In the silent space, the breathing of the three became slightly hurried.
Inside the open chest lay a single leaf.
The leaf was inscribed with the shape of an eye and pulsed with immense magic power.
"What is this? A monster material?"
Manfred picked up the leaf, finding it difficult to identify.
Rhine stepped forward, taking the leaf from Manfred to examine it closely.
"I've never seen anything like this. This dungeon truly is extraordinary."
Hearing Rhine's words, Manfred asked curiously,
"What exactly is it?"
"Perhaps it could be called... a Power Leaf..."
"Although I'm not sure what it is exactly, its use is clear."
Rhine looked at the eye pattern on the leaf.
"This leaf can grant the user eye-related abilities, enhancing their Dynamic Vision and making everything in their sight appear slower."
"This is a true treasure. I've never heard of anything like it appearing in other dungeons before."
"Because it's never appeared, its rarity far exceeds its value. I'm sure many nobles would be willing to pay a high price for this Power Leaf."
Rhine looked at Manfred and handed the leaf back to him.
As vassals of the Grey family, raised by them since childhood, there was no doubt that such a treasure should be preserved and handed over to the family.
However, there were only the three of them in this cave right now.
And in Rhine's heart, her leader Manfred took priority over the Grey family.
Weiss, who never spoke due to psychological trauma, felt the same way.
"Captain, this ability suits you perfectly. You need to think about your own future too. We're just orphans raised by them; even with the Grey surname, we'll never be treated as their own."
"No matter how loyal we are, we'll only ever be seen as tools."
Rhine spoke in persuasion.
Meanwhile, Weiss silently guarded the entrance of the cave to prevent anyone from entering.
"Do not mention this again. I will pretend I didn't hear it."
Manfred put away the Power Leaf, speaking with a serious expression.
"Alright," Rhine replied, sounding a bit dejected.
The three left the cave, and everything that had happened before seemed as if it had never occurred.
Manfred once again became the leader guiding the group.
Rhine and Weiss stood by his side as the three continued their exploration into the depths.
And in the depths of the dungeon, a silver orb watched their progress throughout.
"Too strong. The Exiled Sentry didn't even have a chance to fight back."
"Is this the power of specialized classes cooperating with each other?"
To face such a challenger team, what kind of boss would he have to create to stop them?
Every class specialized in one direction to the extreme; when they cooperated, the boss was quickly suppressed.
A boss must be strong in all aspects and possess some crowd control capabilities.
It couldn't just follow a heavy warrior's rhythm.
At the same time, to deal with a swordsman with insane single-target burst, it would need specialized reaction speed and defense.
Against a mage, it would need a high-burst long-range attack for a one-hit kill.
The large-scale toxic mist would have to be abandoned.
The resistance of extraordinary beings made the toxic mist ineffective.
But poison couldn't be abandoned.
Turn the toxic mist into venom and inject it directly into the body through wounds. Even an extraordinary lifeform wouldn't be able to fully resist that.
That's it. Combine all of these...
The true [Wellmouth Sentry]!
Dalun Li took out the skeleton, then plucked enough branches and leaves from the tree on the fourth floor.
Finally, he fetched some of the magic-infused spring water from the seventh floor.
Rate on N.U.
