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Chapter 517: Powerful Modified Warriors
It was just a few brief breaths' time.
The drow warrior, forced into the fray, had already been dispatched by Sera's ruthless strike.
The remaining dozen drow warriors' expressions shifted abruptly as they scattered and ran toward different parts of the passageway.
More agile than ordinary warriors, they relied on the dangling stalactites to evade the incoming arrows.
Sera, who sensed the gaze in the darkness, stood silently at the edge of the bright light, sharp gleams reflected in her pupils.
An arrow flew toward her!
Silent and incredibly swift!
Sera already knew who was attacking.
Previously, even if Sera had been prepared, she would have found it extremely difficult to dodge such a swift arrow.
Yet now, that spinning arrow seemed "slower" to her.
With a twist of her wrist and a flick of her blade, she easily avoided the incoming arrow.
The severed arrowhead emitted a faint golden glintâevidently infused with fine gold!
The gleaming blade reflected Sera's delighted expression as she felt the surging power within her, smiling as she declared loudly:
"Krahe, come out! Haven't you always wanted to kill me?"
Sera's voice echoed through the pitch-black passage, carrying faint reverberations.
The drow warriors, fleeing in all directions, were shot down by flying arrows before they got very far.
The entire passage returned to silence.
Sera seemed utterly at ease, though in truth she was intently focused on the passage ahead.
At that moment, Sera took a step forward.
A spinning arrow suddenly struck the spot where she had just been standing.
Its tip was embedded in the ground, leaving only half the shaft visible.
Feili, hiding behind her, drew a sharp breathâshe hadn't noticed the arrow's presence at all.
If it had been her instead of Sera, she would likely have been killed on the spot.
Dodging the arrow, Sera pressed forward without hesitation, rushing straight toward the narrow part of the passage.
A dark figure leapt out, eyes wide with fear, reflexively drawing and firing a bow.
The attacker only needed Sera to pause or dodge to make her escape.
However, Sera neither dodged nor avoided, allowing the arrow to strike her squarely in the chest.
Krahe was elated. She had coated the arrow with potent poisonâ even if Sera's armor absorbed most of the damage, even a slight scratch would weaken her significantly.
"Just because you've gotten a bit stronger doesn't mean you can forget the drow's cautious survival instincts. You deserve to die."
Clang!
Sparks flew, illuminating the smile on Sera's face.
Krahe felt her blood rush to her head and immediately reached for her waist.
Her vision suddenly went black as a lightning-fast fist struck her forehead.
Thud!
Her entire body flew backward like a rag doll, slamming against the stone wall.
Her slender frame made a sickening cracking sound, and splattered blood stained the ground.
Krahe passed out instantly, her face twisted in pain.
Her forehead split open in a massive gash, blood gushing out.
A level-18 extraordinary rogue.
Defeated by Sera with a single punch.
With her formidable 20 points of extraordinary strength, Sera effortlessly overpowered Krahe.
Despite her preparations, Sera couldn't help but feel profoundly grateful for her newfound power and superior equipment.
She was lucky to have "backed down" early!
Glancing at the panicked, fleeing drow figuresâ
Sera grabbed Krahe in one hand and, ignoring the dozen drow slaves charging toward her, gracefully leapt away.
A few sharp arrows flew toward her, but she casually swept them aside with her blade.
The exposed drow were immediately shot down by the waiting drow modified warriors.
The gap in base attributes and combat expertise was simply too wide.
The surgical modifications increased their base strength, constitution, and agility by at least a third!
Their average challenge rating jumped from 9+ to 13+.
Crossing such a major tier turned them into elite fighters.
On top of that, they had mastered various combat techniques and received upgraded weapons and equipment.
This allowed their combat capabilities to grow exponentially.
They could now crush enemies who once outclassed them with ease.
Seeing how formidable Sera was, and noticing the captive in her hand, Feili finally relaxed and promptly issued a directive:
"If it's safe to do so, try to capture them as prisoners."
This was a reminder from Matthew: until the Bay Territory's soldiers raised their average professional level,
these drow, who reached mid-tier strength upon adulthood, made excellent candidates for modification.
The second route's surroundings weren't limited to this one concealed passage.
Even in the narrower side passages, Feili had stationed considerable manpower.
Despite sustaining some losses, they maintained firm control over the passageways.
The main battlefield remained the most critical area.
The first group of modified warriors, led by Jifan, was at the forefront of the battle against the gnoll horde.
Through initial testing, Jifan discovered that their magical armor's defense was impenetrable by the gnolls' simple weapons.
He promptly led the modified warriors into the gnoll ranks.
These modified warriors made the stocky gnoll fighters look half a head shorter in comparison.
With their extraordinary physical capabilities, the modified warriors, equivalent to high-tier combatants, easily overpowered the gnoll soldiers.
Even the rare high-tier gnolls were no match for Jifan and his warriors.
The reason was simpleâthey couldn't break through the defense.
Using himself as bait, Jifan lured out the drow assassins hiding among the gnolls.
With their impressive reflexes and sturdy armor, they decimated the elite drow assassins, making them too wary to attempt further ambushes.
The gnolls who bypassed them clashed with the well-prepared Bay Territory soldiers.
The elite soldiers of the first division easily held off the gnolls' assault, demonstrating their combat readiness.
Once they confirmed their ability to hold the line, this information was passed to the commanding officer, Arnold.
Gazing at the seemingly endless horde of gnolls, Arnold, following the backup battle plan, quickly made a decision:
"Bring in the third wave. It's time for the recruits to shed some blood."
These gnoll fighters, with average challenge ratings under level 5, were a suitable match for the Bay Territory's new recruits, guided by veteran soldiers.
Over the past few months, nearly 6,000 new soldiers had joined the Bay Territory. Despite their solid foundations and rigorous training,
they still needed the tempering of real combat to truly mature.
As Matthew put it, "How else are they going to gain experience and level up if they don't kill some enemies?"