Chapter 163: Operation Lockbreak - Phase Two

As the flames died out, the battle within the Black Forest came to an end.

The field army had expanded from a ten-person combat squad to fifteen, with all their weaponry upgraded to superior magma gear.

Mo Fangyuan adopted a training method where veterans led fresh recruits—pairing every two battle-hardened veterans with one green, tender recruit. This boosted the combat effectiveness of the field army twofold in a very short span of time, making it much easier for them to handle monster hordes.

"These monsters truly deserve to die."

Picking up the monster drops scattered across the grass blocks, a recruit waved a magma sword in his hand and said excitedly.

"I heard from the older generation that monsters are terrifying and hard to kill, but looking at them now, they're absolute trash... I could take ten of them by myself!"

The fresh blood brought new vitality to the field army, and the veterans merely smiled and conversed in the face of the recruit's arrogance.

"It is indeed difficult to kill monsters before receiving professional training, but after undergoing professional combat instruction combined with the coordination of your comrades, killing monsters naturally becomes simple and easy."

Rong Huang held the hilt of his magma sword and spoke slowly. His intention was a kind reminder, yet his cold demeanor and serious tone made his words sound more like a reprimand.

"Got it, Captain~"

Another recruit spoke playfully.

She had just turned fourteen this year and was already considered an adult morally.

Classes were an arcane concept, and both males and females had a chance to become combat class professionals. However, combat class professionals were rare, and there was no division between male and female squads within the combat units; meaning that combat professional teams were mixed-gendered.

It was entirely possible for a combat squad to have only one female warrior, none at all, or to consist entirely of female warriors.

"Although women hold up half the sky, you'd better still be careful. Don't always be so rash, or there won't be anywhere to cry if something goes wrong!"

This recruit's captain knew her parents and was considered her uncle, so he reminded her earnestly.

"Your personality is bound to get you into trouble."

"Got it, Uncle~"

The field army continued to march deeper into the Black Forest. Over the past few days, they had taken the initiative, smashing their iron block-man fists heavily into the monsters. They had successively annihilated four small monster hordes, one medium monster group, and countless scattered monsters, achieving remarkable results.

Their target for today was another small monster group recorded on the map, located near the border of the Black Forest.

Intelligence indicated that the number of monsters in this group was roughly below one hundred and above fifty, but this was intelligence from a month ago. The possibility of unexpected changes during this period could not be ruled out, so they still had to proceed with caution.

"Minister, the monster horde has not changed; it matches the description in the intelligence!"

A novice-tier ranged combat professional equipped with the "Hundred-Step Eye" skill reported the intelligence he had gathered to Iron Nose, leaving the final decision to him.

"Very good! Squads, disperse and encircle!"

With a wave of Iron Nose's hand, the fifteen-person combat squad broke down into smaller units, dividing into five teams to close in and encircle the small monster group not far ahead.

"Glory of Kings... prioritize attacking the damage dealers!"

This was something His Majesty had casually uttered once, which his fanatical followers recorded down and turned into mandatory knowledge for every combat professional. The general meaning was that true powerhouses among zombies would prioritize attacking the enemy's damage-dealing units; only thus was it honorable.

What constitutes a damage-dealing unit?

Those who dealt high damage and caused heavy losses were damage-dealing units.

Ranged skeleton archers were the epitome of monster damage dealers, and the first step for the field army was to annihilate them preferentially.

"Get the TNT ready!"

Quietly eliminating a few monsters scattered around the periphery of the horde, Iron Nose gave a hand signal.

This was not the Block Kingdom; there was no loss in recklessly bombarding monsters with TNT and destroying the terrain.

"Throw!"

In an instant, dozens of TNT blocks flickering with white light were hurled into the monster horde from various angles.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The dead silence of the Black Forest was shattered once again. The quiet monster horde began to churn, and under the consumption of the initial wave of TNT, the already modest number of monsters instantly plummeted by a third.

"Keep throwing!"

The monsters began to scatter into five small groups, charging toward the positions of the respective squads.

Iron Nose remained unconcerned and continued to issue the command to hurl TNT.

Before the monsters reached the designated danger zone, the field army soldiers could wantonly squander the immensely destructive TNT to eradicate them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

TNT explosives were tossed continuously into the dense monster horde, blooming gorgeous red and yellow flowers of fire within.

This was the symbol of beauty.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Facing scaled monster groups, TNT was currently the Block Men's most potent weapon for clearing them out, whereas bows and crossbows were the finest tools for eliminating scattered, individual monsters.

"Free fire!"

Reload, draw, loose!

Crossbows were simple to operate and easy to master, capable of taking down a Creeper with a single shot when paired with the newly acquired magma arrows.

The synthesis of magma arrows required feathers, sticks, and magma ingots.

Crafting them consumed many materials, but correspondingly, their impact damage was massive, accompanied by a natural burning effect. Disregarding environmental damage, they completely trampled ordinary arrows into the dust.

"Ugh!"

A low-health zombie was struck down by a soaring arrow, its body beginning to burn under the special scorching effect of the magma arrow. The flames first consumed its entire body and then spread to the trees beside it.

Zhang Lingyun would exclaim in pure professional admiration at the sight.

Immediately afterward, more arrows streaked through the air, targeting the remaining surviving monsters.

The monsters fell to the ground one after another.

Under methodical and planned coordination, the small monster group failed to last even half an hour before being wiped out in bitter defeat.

Collecting the drops and experience orbs left behind after their deaths, the field army immediately set off toward another small monster group, paying no heed to the continuously spreading wildfires.

The raging blizzards would take care of all this.

"The second stage of [Operation Chain-Breaker] is proceeding much smoother than we anticipated. At the current rate, we can completely clear out all large and small monster hordes within the planned scope in three months at most!"

"This minister believes we can allocate more manpower to accelerate the completion of the second stage of [Operation Chain-Breaker] and enter the third stage ahead of schedule..."

"I second that!"

"Me too!"

"..."

During the weekly high-level kingdom meeting, a group of senior officials supported accelerating the progress of the second stage of [Operation Chain-Breaker].

"No, there are unknown dangers lurking within the Black Forest. [Operation Chain-Breaker] can only proceed slowly; we must not be overly hasty!"

Mo Fangyuan exercised his veto power, rejecting everyone's proposal.

The image of that "Door" BOSS, which had left him deeply traumatized, still frequently surfaced in his mind. His attitude toward the Black Forest was no longer as reckless as before.

"The operation will proceed according to the original plan without changes. At the current stage, our primary energy should be focused on the [Currency Project] and the [Redstone Automation Project]."

Tugging once more at his newly grown, fine facial hair, Mo Fangyuan declared thus.

The appearance of the "Door" BOSS had utterly dazed a once extremely confident Mo Fangyuan, and he had to consider whether there might be more "Door" BOSSes hidden within the Black Forest.