At this moment, Samuel Jenkins waved to Michael Anderson, saying, “I’ve heard about you. You were here last time.”

Michael Anderson scratched his head a bit, awkwardly replying, “Let’s not bring up the past. I didn’t do a great job, admittedly.”𝑜𝗏𝓛xt.𝗰𝒐𝑚

Samuel Jenkins waved off the apology, motioning for Michael to sit next to him, “That’s not what I meant. I know about what happened last time too. The Dark Lord is just too cunning. Now we only have a handful of people in our team, so the situation from last time is unlikely to happen again. Relax, it’s all good.”

Michael Anderson nodded. 

He had learned a lot from the past mishap. 

If he could turn back time, internal strife within the team would definitely not happen again.

Samuel Jenkins then asked, “What do you think, where could this elusive Dark Lord’s camp be?”

After a moment’s thought, Michael Anderson surveyed their surroundings, “The last time I was here, there were trees everywhere, but now they’ve all been reduced to stumps. I suspect the Dark Lord’s camp must be somewhere around here.”

Samuel Jenkins followed Michael Anderson’s line of sight and nodded, but he looked puzzled, “If Dark Lord’s camp is nearby, how come we can’t find it anywhere?”

Michael Anderson could only shake his head helplessly, “That’s exactly what happened last time too. I sent out a lot of people to look for it, but they all came back empty-handed.”

A spark of inspiration flashed in Samuel Jenkins’ eyes as he heard Michael Anderson’s reply, “What if this elusive Dark Lord has the ability to become invisible?”

Hearing Samuel Jenkins’ hypothesis, Michael Anderson furrowed his brows, unsure what to say. 

After all, information on the elusive Dark Lord was scant at best. 

All they knew was that he was very sly, but nothing else about his abilities.

Seeing Michael Anderson silent, Samuel Jenkins pointed to an open area, “Have you explored this area?”

Following Samuel Jenkins’ line of sight, Michael Anderson spotted an open space amidst the tree stumps. 

He shook his head, “I didn’t explore this area… Last time I thought this was the previous camp of Dark Lord, so I sent people to look for his new camp in the surrounding area.”

Samuel Jenkins nodded, then said, “Alright, let’s check this place out. If nothing happens, we’ll continue looking for Dark Lord’s new camp.” With that, he vaulted onto his horse and galloped towards the open field.

Seeing this, Michael Anderson had no choice but to follow on foot. 

Thankfully, the camp was not far away and he was able to keep up. 

Suddenly, Samuel Jenkins pulled hard on the reins and stared blankly at the field.

When Michael Anderson caught up and was about to ask what happened, he saw a staircase leading down in front of him. 

ƥαṇdαs ηθνε| Torches were lit on the walls next to the stairs, giving off an ominous, bottomless feel, akin to a dungeon.

Looking into the pit, Samuel Jenkins muttered, “Just as I thought! This Dark Lord is really clever, moving his camp underground and using some invisibility trick to hide the surface. This way, no one can find him.”

Excitedly, he pulled Michael Anderson onto the horse and rode back to where William Wilson was. 

William Wilson was napping along with David Sanders. 

Samuel Jenkins excitedly yelled, “Wake up, everyone! We found the Dark Lord’s camp!”

William Wilson instantly woke up, rubbing his eyes and asking, “What? We found it? Where?”

A smile played across Samuel Jenkins’s face as he said, “Get the team ready first. I’ll brief you guys in a bit.” 

William Wilson smirked, “Alright.”

Minutes later, all team members had been gathered in front of Samuel Jenkins. 

“Captain, the team is assembled,” reported William.

Samuel gave a curt nod and quickly sized up the group. 

Fifteen strong. 

Including him, there were six with power levels of C and above. 

The others hovered between D and D+.

In a grave voice, he addressed the team, “Folks, the Dark Lord’s hideout is right there on that empty patch. To ensure his safety, this Dark Lord moved his camp underground. There are no visible structures above ground. The entrance, cleverly concealed or maybe even camouflaged, has hoodwinked us all.”

A wave of discussion rolled through the team, “The Dark Lord’s lair is underground. Can we really pull this off?”

Spotting this, Samuel shouted, “I know what you’re all thinking. You’re worrying about failing. But listen, if you’ve already decided you’re going to fail before you even fight, I’d advise you to scram back to Riverside now, and quit calling yourself a Hero!”

William Wilson chimed in, “Right on, captain! Success or failure will be determined by a real battle! All members of the Bounty Guild, no further discussions! Moreover, our captain is a C+ level hero, if you can’t trust my words, at least trust him, right?”

William’s words immediately put Samuel Jenkins on the spot.

Samuel Jenkins, noticing William’s teasing look, could only reaffirm, “Indeed, with me around, your safety is guaranteed! Enough chit-chat now, let’s move out!”

Arriving at the spot where Samuel had discovered the dungeon entrance, they tethered their horses and, led by Samuel, began their exploration.

Meanwhile,

Ethan, seated on his throne, received a system notification.

[Ding! 15 Heroes have entered the first level of the dungeon. Please proceed to the first floor for defensive operations!]

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

Bring it on!

Just what he needed to test Baymax’s strength. 

For good measure, he summoned three divine dragon warriors to accompany him to the first level.

Meanwhile, Samuel Jenkins was carefully descending the staircase. 

Finally reaching the end, a large iron door stood before him.

“William, come take a look at this.”

Someone from the team pointed at the wall, a look of horror on his face.

William Wilson strode over and read out the message on the wall, “Enter this door, and step into a cycle of reincarnation.”

The team exploded into whispers again, with some even discussing their escape route in hushed voices. 

Seeing this, Samuel quickly said, “Humph! That’s quite the bluster! I want to see what he’s got! All those with high defense, stand on the right. Those with strong attack power, in the middle. Healers, to the left.”

Under Samuel’s command, the team quickly split into three groups.

Those with high damage output formed the largest group, followed by defense, and then healers.

William Wilson moved towards the high-output group and said, “My special ability is to increase the attack power of nearby allies by 20%. It’s more of a support ability, but it works best when I’m with the main force.”

David Sanders took his place among the healers. “I’m good at healing, I’ll be on the support line.”

Next, Michael Anderson stepped into the defensive line, saying, “I’ll take care of protection then. This way, our arrangement should be more balanced.”

Samuel Jenkins gave a nod of approval, pulling the sword from his back, his face serious. 

“We’re officially launching our attack on the Dark Lord now. The defensive group, stand on the outermost ring to protect the main force. Those with strong attack power, stand on the inner circle for the onslaught and breakthrough. The healers should stay at the core.”

“Everyone, stay in formation. Is that clear?”

“Loud and clear!” everyone responded in unison. 

With that, Samuel Jenkins took the lead and entered the first level of the dungeon.

In the depths of the dungeon’s first level, Baymax’s blood-red eyes were a horrifying sight in the pitch black.

Without giving them much time to think, Baymax let out a furious roar and charged at the team.

Samuel Jenkins, at the forefront, cried out, “Everyone, stay alert! Something’s coming!”

Baymax was unnaturally fast, and he moved like a fish in water in the darkness. 

Among Samuel Jenkins’s team, only a few people carried torches, so they couldn’t make out Baymax at all.

Seeing this, Samuel Jenkins could only say, “Tighten the formation! Stay close!”

“Yes, sir!”

Meanwhile, Ethan was watching the scene from a high, hidden place, speaking to himself with interest. “They’re quite clever, but it won’t help.”

With a flick of his thought, the goblins, serving as cannon fodder, suddenly charged towards the team.

The appearance of the goblins gave the whole team a chance to vent. 

As the weakest D-level monsters, even the defensive heroes could easily kill them.

The morale of the team shot up instantly. 

So, the mysterious Dark Lord was a goblin Dark Lord, no wonder he was relegated to petty thievery, afraid of being discovered.

The team’s spirit was high and the formation became somewhat lax. 

Samuel Jenkins saw this and felt anxious.

“Everyone, hold your formation! These goblins are just probing our strength, don’t let your guard down!”

Samuel Jenkins’ warnings seemed to fall on deaf ears. 

Only Michael Anderson managed to gather his troops around him. 

William Wilson’s and David Sanders’ men had slowly strayed from the formation, hacking their way towards the goblins.

The goblins were lined up, fearlessly charging at the team. 

Those heroes who had left the formation had taken down more than a hundred goblins. 

Samuel Jenkins observed from the side that the number of goblins appearing was very stable, as if someone was deliberately controlling it. 

Samuel Jenkins’ warnings seemed to fall on deaf ears. 

Only Michael Anderson managed to gather his troops around him. 

William Wilson’s and David Sanders’ men had slowly strayed from the formation, hacking their way towards the goblins.