After Kane and his team gathered at the tavern entrance, they began making their way to the dungeon entrance. Today, they planned to fight up to the final boss.
When Kane and his team arrived at the dungeon entrance hall, they were met with a sea of people.
Feeling puzzled, why were there so many explorers today?
"It seems that the last magazine has been seen by more people," Kreya suddenly said.
Only then did Kane come to his senses—he had completely forgotten about that.
When Kane and his team lined up, following the flow of people into the dungeon, a commotion suddenly arose from behind.
Kane turned to look back and saw a few squads approaching. These teams were clearly a group, as evident by their equipment and its color scheme, which were mostly in a similar series.
The main equipment was a combination of purple and black, with a metallic sheen, indicating their superior equipment forging or modification skills.
Other explorers noticed these squads too, and discussions began to arise.
"It’s actually them. They’ve come too?"
"It seems the magazine’s information was true."
"I didn’t expect the Dark Weakling Battle Group to come explore this dungeon too."
Hearing the discussions around, Kane realized this was a battle group.
In this world, there are various official organizations, as well as many world-class private organizations.
Initially, explorers formed teams to explore, and some teams performed extremely well, standing out in strength and other aspects.
This attracted others who wanted to join them, so they gathered and helped each other. This formed the earliest battle groups.
As the number of people joining increased, people of all levels from weak to strong, and those with various skills and crafts, joined.
With more people, naturally, more conflicts arose. To manage these people and better foster them, these battle groups slowly evolved into guilds.
Newcomers gradually followed this process, and as the number of such battle groups and guilds increased.
The Mist Council began establishing rules and regulations. To form a battle group, one must have a scale of over 20 explorers, and the main leader must be at a gold level.
To form a guild, one must have a scale of over 300 explorers, and the main leader must be at a color level.
Both conditions must be met to achieve the corresponding level.
Of course, the Mist Council also provides these organizations with corresponding levels of convenience, various assistance, and privileges.
At the same time, they must also take on certain roles.
Their power, in some cases, exceeds that of some cities and countries.
Or rather, they truly have the ability to establish a city, even a country.
Of course, to truly establish one, they require timing, a rare opportunity that might only come once in a century or millennium.
Kane, looking at the battle group members behind them, suddenly turned to Kreya and asked, "Do you know about this battle group?"
"I do," Kreya whispered in his ear, "This battle group is famous because most of its members are orphans or people who had unfortunate childhoods. They’ve established many orphanages and aid stations. They despise those who abandon their families and don’t adhere to local laws, punishing all crimes against children."
Hearing this, Kane couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
In this world, orphans or single-parent families are very common, often due to the high risks associated with being an explorer.
In addition, the world is vast, with each region having local governments and powers.
Though nominally under the Mist Council, they still have significant autonomy. Policies regarding orphans, for example, depend on local civilization and cultural systems.
Some countries have adopted government systems, while others remain monarchies, and even some tribes still exist.
The Mist Council does not interfere in these matters, and with the extreme rise in personal power, some outdated systems remain safely in place.
But having a battle group come to explore this dungeon indicates that its information has become well known among many explorers.
After a period of queuing, Kane and his team finally entered the dungeon.
Standing on the starlit platform, Kane and his team conducted a final equipment check.
Once the check was completed, the captain led the way into the Fog Gate.
Passing through the familiar dim corridor, they arrived next to the central hourglass.
The surroundings were largely unchanged from when they last left.
Now the front and right doors were gone, but the doors to the rear and left still depicted images of Beastmen and Barbarians.
After waiting for a while, as the roar in the stands subsided, lights began to flash back and forth on the two large doors.
Finally, it stopped at the Beastman door.
Kane quickly rushed to the Beastman door, with Kreya and the others following closely behind.
After setting up two steel walls at the entrance, they planned to use the same tactic again.
The Beastman door slowly rose; though no figures were visible yet, their wild roars had already erupted.
The figures hadn’t arrived, but an axe was already flung out, slamming against the steel wall with a clanging sound.
Finally, the Beastmen charged out, still wearing no armor, wielding various crude axes and blades.
Originally about to rush to the wall, the Beastmen suddenly halted with a roar.
They stood still, quietly waiting for the roar’s owner to arrive.
Heavy footsteps echoed; from the shadows of the door, a robust figure clad in ancient armor emerged. A flag was strapped to his back, depicting a bird, seemingly the totem of their tribe.
This was a Beastman Commander, one Kane’s team had encountered before. His armor was very intact, suggesting he was stronger than the previous Commander they’d faced.
He took a flying axe from his waist and hurled it towards Kane and his team.
The flying axe smashed into the transparent steel wall.
The Commander’s eyes flashed with intelligence. He waved his hand and spoke some words they couldn’t understand.
Subsequently, the agitated Beastmen began to gather around him.
Longbei looked at the scene and said, "We’re in trouble now; he seems to have sensed our intentions, unlike those goofy green-skins before."
Kane remained silent, continuing to observe the Commander’s actions.
The Beastman Commander kept taking flying axes from his subordinates and hurling them at Kane and his team.
Each throw landed in a different spot, as he was searching for a gap in the invisible wall in front of him.
Seeing the situation, Kane realized they couldn’t wait any longer.
"Longbei, get ready to transform and taunt him. Remember, only taunt the Commander; you must draw him over."
Longbei nodded after hearing this.
"No problem, leave it to me."
As he spoke, his beard began to ignite, and he started to expand in size.
In an instant, he transformed into a small giant over two meters tall.
He roared at the Beastman Commander inside, "You green-skinned coward! Come to Papa and play."