Bit by bit, the Cerberus boss’ health was whittled away, until it finally reached the ten percent mark, and Elder Alix called out a warning.

"It’s getting ready to enrage. Everyone, group up and prepare for heavy area damage."

That was all the warning that Cara needed, and as soon as the boss finished it’s casting of [Flame Explosion], she immediately nullified it, leaving only the lightest flicker of fire to warm their shields before the effect ended and Karl was back into full melee combat mode.

"Or, we can just do whatever that was."

Cara laughed at the Elder’s confusion, then hopped on Cerberus’ back to attempt to dig a hole so she could attack from the inside.

It was unnecessary.

With the concerted efforts of the group, the boss was dead half a minute later, and another purple chest sat in the centre of the clearing, marking a successful boss kill.

"Well, we randomized one of them. Now, let’s see what the boss was actually going to give us." Alix decided, before Cara could start picking things again.

"Fine, we can have the boring loot this time."

The Elder chuckled as he reached down and opened the chest. Inside were a dozen Immortal Rank items, mostly armour pieces, and all at the Rare Grade, except for one Epic Grade dagger with poison damage and agility.

It was an excellent dagger for any Rogue type class, but Cara was right, it was the boring loot.

Compared to the Porcine Cleaver, a Peerless Grade item, powerful enough that even the bonuses on Epic Grade items looked sad, this really was the boring loot.

"Dammit, I hate when the badger is right. But this is actually what we need for the Clan. Most people can’t afford the really good loot, so getting mass amounts of Rare and a few Epic pieces is usually the best call.

Especially after a battle where they would have broken many of their armour pieces."

Karl shook his head in dismay. "Just turn the broken stuff over to me, I will have the members of the Darklight Host fix it. They might be mortals, but our Mythic Crafters should be able to fix Immortal Rank armour that isn’t demolished beyond System recognition."

"Oh, that is wonderful news. The few craftsmen that we have are so swamped they’re booked half a year out. That’s why everyone needs new gear.

If they can get better stuff, they shouldn’t break it as often, and they’ll have an easier battle next time.

So, this is a good opportunity for them, or a good excuse, depending on how you look at it.

But if your team can fix a load of Uncommon Grade gear in a short turnaround window, the Clan members will thank you for it."

"Our members will be overjoyed. It’s one of the best ways for a Mythic Rank blacksmith, Leatherworker or tailor to expand their skills. And there is a chance that they can learn new patterns by repairing items they’re not familiar with."

It would also give him an excuse to pressure some of the newly advanced Immortals into taking up a trade skill.

Azov would not approve of sending such things home, but they could flood the market here in the Immortal World if they could find enough crafting materials. That was something that Karl was going to have to work out soon.

They had hide, but not a lot of gems and metals for armour and weapons unless they smelted down trash drops.

And this dungeon didn’t give them any.

"Alright, you said bears and snakes, right?"

Alix nodded. "The snakes can be tricky, they don’t have a heat signature, and they hide in the trees. But the bears are relatively easy to find.

The pattern here is unclear, everything has a territory, but there is no clear path from here to the last boss. And since there isn’t a clear path, most groups just go in a straight line, but I suspect that is not what is going to happen today."

Karl smiled. "I’m glad that you understand. We will spread out with the Golems in teams while the core team heads for the boss.

That will let us cover four or five times as much ground, and we can get all the bonus loot at the end of the dungeon for clearing more than most.

There’s almost always bonus loot at the end."

The Elders laughed at Karl’s optimism. But the way that his group did dungeons, it was little wonder that they were always getting extra loot, either from fast boss kills, or from clearing things that didn’t need to be cleared.

"How are you going to split the golems?" Socrate asked, ever the practical one.

"One team with each Oathbreaker. They’re intelligent enough to lead troops as well as or better than I do, and they can communicate with each other. It makes coordination effortless.

So, that’s four Lich Lords, six Spectral Knights, one Greater Golem and one regular Golem with each of the Oathbreaker Demons.

We can keep the Epic Guards and the Bodyguards with us."

The Elders examined the Bodyguards, Karl’s pair of Lamia, and Remi’s trio of Naga Warriors. They were capable enough combatants. The Epic Guards were specialists, with Karl’s being a Shadow Drake Treant, dark wood with scales on the fleshy portions, while Dana’s was an Obsession demon in tight leather armour.

Both were high agility fighters, so they would do well enough in the forest, where ambushes were a very real danger.

"Alright. As long as you think that you’ll still be able to spot the snakes, we’re ready to split up."

The Oathbreaker Demons played a quick game of rock paper scissors to see who got which lane through the woods, with the furthest routes, which would be the longest way through the woods, being the favoured ones.

The demons gave them the thumbs up, and Karl sent them off into the woods. They had a large enough group that they shouldn’t have any issues with whatever they found.

Especially with Oathbreaker spreading his damage to everything that was in range.

The more surrounded they got, the more damage he would be doing, so it was actually to the battle maniac demon’s preference when things went wrong.