Chapter 545.5: Victory's Spoils
Matthew pondered the connections between the Scarlet Moon, abominations, and dark gods.
He discovered many unique relationships hidden within.
The abominations' ability to twist minds and bodies, their assaults on thoughts and spirits.
This influence was unique in that it was tied to willpower.
What did this imply?
It suggested that their effect targeted the psyche and soul, and that ordinary defenses would be insufficient.
Watching the fire-engulfed deep abomination, Matthew suddenly realized something.
The reason this monster hadn't severely affected the Bay soldiers
was that it was simply too pathetic right now!
It had been on the receiving end the entire time.
All it could do was rage impotently.
It was like a helpless punching bag.
The soldiers' initial impression of it wasn't one of horror or mystery.
Under such circumstances, they even had the luxury of mocking it, which naturally strengthened their mental defenses.
This gave Matthew some insight.
In the future, as encounters with such monsters increased,
the Bay would need to prepare in advance!
"Roar…!"
Having recovered, Yaya unleashed a blast of scorching dragon's breath on the immobilized deep abomination.
The particle-stream-like flames tore open a ghastly wound.
The fearsome creature was gravely wounded.
It ceased its struggle with Yaya and instead tried to attack the Bay's forces or devour the fleeing gnoll slaves.
It wildly swung its tentacles and desperately lunged forward.
Its toothy, mucus-covered maw opened and closed, consuming the scorched debris-strewn ground.
But now that it had lost the upper hand, it was firmly held in check by Yaya.
Keeping a close watch on her condition, Yaya confirmed that the abomination's mutation had no effect on her. Without hesitation, she dove in.
"Beat it up good!"
Those were Matthew's exact instructions.
Yaya did just that, tearing into the deep abomination with claws and tail, widening its wounds with every strike.
To counter its extraordinary regenerative ability, Yaya relentlessly dismantled its body piece by piece.
Chunks of tissue and limbs were torn off and thrown into the fire to be incinerated.
No matter how strong the abomination's regeneration, it required souls and flesh as fuel.
With Yaya exerting total dominance, the deep abomination's size drastically shrank. It was severely threatened and forced to undergo its next stage of transformation.
Yaya allowed this transformation to proceed, curious about the creature's subsequent changes.
However, her hopes were dashed.
With no energy replenishment and already severely injured, the deep abomination collapsed and fragmented as its body began to contract.
Disappointed, Yaya watched it dissolve into a puddle of rotting, melted flesh. Annoyed, she unleashed another blast of scorching dragon's breath.
When the flames finally subsided, the only remnants of the deep abomination were hundreds of gleaming, crimson meat cores—its final traces.
With this troublesome monster eliminated, the Bay's forces turned their attention to dealing with the slave army.
Surrounded by near-invincible Dragon Cavalry golems, encircled by the Blade troops, and with Thunder warriors cutting off their retreat,
the slave warriors, without a leader, quickly chose to surrender.
Of course, a key reason they surrendered
was that they realized the Bay wasn't exterminating the gnoll slaves who surrendered.
If the gnoll slaves could survive, so could they.
After all, even being a slave was better than the treatment they'd receive under the drow.
With the final group of slave warriors surrendering,
this sudden war ended with a comprehensive victory for the Bay.
The Bay captured 130,000 gnoll slaves and 35,000 elite slave warriors.
The former would undergo "purification" before participating in labor reform to contribute to the Bay's development.
A portion of the latter would have the "privilege" of entering the underground laboratory.
The majority would serve as training opponents for the Bay's soldiers.
Only those who performed exceptionally well, were eager to learn, and capable of change would be granted freedom of movement.
On the drow elves' side.
They lost nearly 250,000 slave soldiers.
About 2,000 drow elves also became Matthew's destiny force.
The gnoll kingdom suffered heavy losses.
Its last bit of elite forces was completely exhausted.
Even the kingdom's master, the fire dragon Diago, ended up as the Bay's trophy.
Burst after burst of flames illuminated the dark space.
The stench of burning bodies gradually spread to the surroundings.
The ashes left after the bodies were burned would be simply treated and turned into fertilizer for the Bay's underground development.
This was how the Bay typically handled all the intelligent underground creatures it killed.
Matthew's "wariness" toward intelligent creatures was essentially maxed out.
He thought very clearly that a steady, cautious approach was the Bay's best path forward.
In this strange world, only caution would grant one the right to develop.
Gazing at the blazing battlefield from afar,
Riya, who had been observing the battle, slowly turned around and whispered to herself,
"As expected, the Bay never disappoints. It's no wonder my master values them…"
Glancing at the distant and now-vanished Shetril, a faint smile appeared on Riya's lips. Her golden hair shone faintly.
She gestured a retreat to the elven warriors following her and disappeared into the dark tunnel.
Fleeing far away, Shetril nervously watched the twisted figures around her.
Confirming that the Thunder Warriors weren't pursuing her, she slowly calmed down as her sanity returned.
There was no sound in her ears; it seemed that with the arrival of her "reward," all the things tormenting her mind had completely vanished.
She stared at the roaring, twisted figures around her, and a cruel, sinister look gradually appeared in her eyes…
After clearing the battlefield.
The last batch of soldiers began post-battle inspections and purification.
Every soldier needed to be washed with holy water, rinsed with purification potions, and have their wounds thoroughly examined.
All wounded soldiers would undergo follow-up checks to ensure no hidden complications arose.
Once all the soldiers were back in proper condition, Matthew gave the order to continue advancing.
Their mission wasn't over; they needed to push forward and capture the gnoll kingdom's castle to bring this battle to a proper conclusion.
However, no further battle occurred.
When Yaya landed on the castle, the remaining gnolls chose to surrender.
The gates slowly opened, and the inspection team's cavalry entered first, swiftly securing the entire castle.
Matthew and Yaya stepped into the castle, leaving the rest of the army outside to avoid any unforeseen dangers.
For the groveling gnolls, Matthew assigned Gold-Fang to oversee them.
Interestingly, Matthew noticed traces of dragon blood transformation on these gnolls.
It was evident that Fire Dragon Diago had invested considerable effort into this gnoll kingdom.
If this had been another time,
the now-legendary and relatively young Fire Dragon Diago might have overcome his bloodline limitations or created a true gnoll kingdom.
Unfortunately, there were no "ifs."
With Diago's death, the underground gnoll kingdom completely collapsed.
Matthew approached the brightly glowing magma river, feeling the intense heat and softly remarked with a smile:
"This magma river alone will make this venture worth it."
Yaya sniffed the strong sulfur scent and curiously asked while observing the flowing magma river,
"What's this river good for?"
Recalling a player guild that had prospered thanks to a magma river, Matthew replied with anticipation:
"The Gray Dwarves and Dwarves have a unique metal forging method that relies on a magma river like this."
"This river's fast yet steady flow makes it ideal for forging."
"Moreover, aside from forging, it will yield many rare elemental gems and underground metals…"
Yaya nodded thoughtfully, then pointed to a massive cavern by the magma river and said,
"That must be Fire Dragon Diago's lair, right? Let's take a look inside!"
A dragon's attachment to wealth is deeply imprinted in their blood.
As a legendary dragon—albeit not a true dragon—Diago once ruled a gnoll kingdom.
Surely his lair holds considerable treasures.
Matthew nodded at Yaya, gesturing for her to lead the way. After all, Yaya's contributions to this battle had been the greatest.
This ceremonial exploration of the spoils was rightfully hers to initiate.
Upon entering the lair, waves of intense heat rolled over them.
Matthew cast a fire elemental barrier, instantly feeling refreshed, as a shining silver mountain came into view.
"Wow!!! There really is a silver mountain!" Yaya exclaimed excitedly as she rushed over to touch it.
She examined it closely, inspecting it here and there.
With her excellent discernment, Yaya suddenly brightened, tearing open the shiny surface and revealing a brilliant chunk of gold.
"Mithril! Haha, I knew it wouldn't be so poor!"
Happily pocketing the mithril, Yaya became even more eager, ripping open a large hole and crawling inside.
Excited exclamations occasionally echoed from the cavern, and Matthew faintly caught words like "Thorium," "Rubies," and "Diamonds."
Clearly, Yaya's haul was substantial.
Turning his attention elsewhere, Matthew began to examine the lair's contents.
In one corner, there were many blackened metal blocks, likely metal ores the gnolls had offered.
The dwarven research lab would surely take an interest in these ores,
as rare metals often formed under unique conditions, leading to remarkable properties.
Beyond the metals, Matthew also spotted a small pile of glowing fire elemental gems.
These gems were of exceptional quality, likely formed from the magma river's output.
Matthew's appreciation for the magma river's value only deepened.
Among the other treasures, Matthew discovered a large pile of scales and teeth.
These were most likely left behind by Diago. After enduring long exposure to fire elements, they had transformed into rare magical materials.
Their quality ranged between extraordinary and legendary, just right for the Bay's current level of magical equipment and item production.
"Wow! Look what I found!" Yaya's excited voice suddenly rang out.
What could make Yaya so surprised?
When Matthew turned to look, Yaya was holding two glowing red eggs.
Dragon eggs ×2!
Dragon eggs, extraordinary creatures, evolving…
Evolving?
Matthew's interest was immediately piqued.
Dragon eggs weren't particularly rare—after all, the Bay raised numerous dragon-blooded creatures and had gathered plenty of dragon eggs.
However, most dragon eggs were in a normal state. None had ever been marked as "evolving" like these two.
Without hesitation, Matthew took the eggs from Yaya and examined them closely.
Unlike the average chicken egg, these dragon eggs weren't significantly larger—just about half a meter tall.
The gray-black metallic shells radiated a vigorous vitality.
The fiery patterns glowing with red light were freely absorbing fire elements from the surroundings.
From the egg stage, dragons already began their development.
They would adjust their bodies to their environment, ensuring optimal adaptation.
Other dragon-blooded creatures could do this as well, so these eggs didn't seem especially unique at first glance.
Yet Matthew sensed a particular vitality in these two dragon eggs.
This vitality allowed the embryos inside to emit faint spiritual waves.
It seemed as though they were resisting the ever-growing influence of the "Mad Dragon Enigma."
This peculiar trait greatly excited Matthew.
Among the Bay's over 30 extraordinary dragon-blooded species, only two or three showed enhanced mental evolution.
Matthew wasn't sure whether this evolution was specifically intended to counter the "Mad Dragon Enigma."
Nevertheless, it was clear that these creatures were less affected by it.
In other words, while they might not ultimately withstand the "Mad Dragon Enigma," they could endure longer than most.
Based on his current research on the "Mad Dragon Enigma," Matthew knew that enhancing and defending the mind and intelligence were the only ways to resist it.
What surprised Matthew was that Fire Dragon Diago, who seemed powerless against the "Mad Dragon Enigma," had left behind such a legacy.
As Matthew gently stroked the dragon eggs, sensing the robust and resilient growth of the tiny lives inside, he quietly reflected:
"Life always finds a way."