Population Crisis in Dungeon 8C
The drops from the Ender Guardian were only somewhat useful for the Guardian Gauntlet.
To say it was strong, this weapon was indeed very powerful—it gathered monsters, dealt high damage, and came with its own armor.
But this item was also a traitorous weapon; if Creepers were among the gathered monsters, it would increase the Creeper's explosion damage—
Not entirely useless, but not particularly easy to use either.
Su Lin thought for a long time, and the only major use he could think of for this item was as a material for crafting the Barrier Gauntlet.
After playing with it for a bit, he casually tossed the Guardian Gauntlet into a chest to gather dust.
In comparison, the Void Core was more practical.
Used alone, it releases Void Runes, dealing area damage three times.
Paired with the purgatory forge hammer, it crafts the Void Forge Hammer; paired with the Wither Assault Shoulder Cannon, it crafts the Void Assault Shoulder Cannon—thinking about it this way, how could the mighty BOSS Ender Guardian be inferior to the elite monster Ender Golem?
How embarrassing.
And it was even solo-killed by Tashiniya—
Even more embarrassing!
With this, Su Lin even felt that the BOSSes in the calamity mod lacked weight.
Just kidding.
The Ender Guardian was not weak; it was just completely countered when it encountered Tashiniya, who had regained her aerial combat ability after equipping the Elytra.
Especially since Tashiniya was in a burst state; otherwise, even if everyone attacked together, it would probably be very troublesome.
Su Lin even started to ponder if Tashiniya's burst state, that War God state, could be solidified into an active skill.
This way, for subsequent BOSS strategies, perhaps everyone could directly become cheerleaders, only responsible for waving flags and cheering while Tashiniya carried them. "Snap!"
Su Lin suddenly slapped his thigh hard.
How could such a sinful thought appear in his mind?
Was he really impressed by Tashiniya's show-off just now?
"Hiss—what are you going crazy about again?!"
Aelita grimaced, rubbing her thigh, which was originally fair as jade but now had a bright red handprint.
It completely ruined the aesthetic.
"Should I rub it for you?"
"Get lost!"
Watching Aelita move three meters away from him, Su Lin sighed regretfully.
He then looked at Beixi next to him.
"Open the Nether portal, craft a batch of Eyes of the Beast, and also, send out a batch of troops to explore outwards, searching for ice and fire legend resources while also locating Cataclysm structures in the Overworld."
Going to the Nether to find the Soul Forging Factory still required the convenience of the Eyes of the Beast, but the Overworld—
There weren't so many rules!
Things like Eyes of the Desert, Eyes of the Machine, etc., were not needed.
Anyway, the army would be running all over the map, so they could just look for them along the way, which would also save a batch of resources.
Beixi nodded with a smile.
"Understood, just locate, don't delve deep, right?"
"Yes, and also, bring some magical beasts from the fourth floor and set up various magical beast farms on the fifth floor as well."
Su Lin pointed towards the direction near the village.
"Improve the villager technology over there, and then dispatch a batch of troops to figure out the crafting process for the Battou Sword. I want to see a batch of great katanas appear within seven days."
The kill of the Ender Guardian was an unexpected gain.
But in the short term, that was all it was.
The next target, the Soul Forging Factory where the Netherite Alloy Behemoth is located, was full of lava, and the environment was extremely harsh.
Unless Tashiniya went into a burst state again, everyone would still need to train and adapt.
Su Lin actually wanted everyone to settle down a bit.
The process of fighting a BOSS was also the process of enjoying the fun.
He handed the craftable Battou Sword and the Battou Sword ability manual to Beixi—this wasn't something Su Lin made; he didn't have that kind of memory.
After each mod was loaded, he would receive an introduction manual for the mod.
The Battou Sword had no development difficulty; it could be directly handed over to the army to handle.
Large-scale production of Battou Swords still depended on the army's efficiency.
However, Su Lin again saw Beixi's dilemma.
"Are there any difficulties?"
Beixi was silent for a moment, then sighed and said:
"Mr. Su Lin, we don't have enough manpower."
"Here on the fifth floor, fifty people need to build the town and also handle patrol duties, and another hundred people need to be dispatched to explore the world."
"The construction of technology in the village, the cyclic harvesting in The End, the harvesting of dragons, the assembly line production of Battou Swords—"
"With all these tasks distributed, we only brought three hundred Dragon Rider Army members; even if one person is split into two, it's not enough."
Su Lin was stunned.
Honestly, this was the first time he had felt troubled by a lack of people since entering the MC Dungeon. The current MC Dungeon had over five thousand troops.
"You mean, draw manpower from the first four floors, right?"
Beixi pondered for a moment but still shook her head.
"It might still not be enough—"
"Because of the criticality of the Cataclysm on the fifth floor, the people who come here must be elites. Even if the most dangerous monsters don't roam freely in the Overworld, the magical beasts of ice and fire legend are already very strong."
"So, currently, only armies capable of stable development on the fourth floor can enter the fifth floor, but—these people, even combined, are less than two thousand."
Not just less than two thousand.
Among these two thousand, there were also several hundred Elf Researchers.
The actual combat ranks, plus the three hundred Dragon Rider Army, amounted to only about fifteen hundred people.
According to Su Lin's work arrangements, at least seven or eight hundred people would be needed to meet the requirements.
But if so many people were drawn out, many tasks on the fourth floor would have to be suspended.
Surely, they couldn't just abandon the completely developed fourth floor, could they?
Even with Su Lin's plan, the fully developed fourth floor needed to be prioritized for construction.
His grand construction plan had only been approved a little over ten days ago.
Changing plans overnight couldn't be done like this.
Su Lin had a headache.
Lack of people—
The faster the MC Dungeon developed, the more he lacked people.
It wasn't even because he needed to rapidly accumulate development points that he lacked people; it was purely because he needed to complete normal work that he lacked people!
Su Lin looked at Veronika.
"How many people are in your North Wind Cavalry Regiment?"
"This—"
Veronika's expression was a bit awkward, and she said in a low voice:
"Less than a thousand—"
That's not enough either!
What's more, the North Wind Cavalry Regiment still needed to be assessed, armed, and adapted—
Veronika also needed the North Wind Cavalry Regiment to quell the Kingdom Restoration Society.
After a long silence, Su Lin looked at Beixi.
"How many people do you think we still need to maintain our normal work?"
"If we don't consider the first three floors—"
Beixi thought for a moment and gave a vague number.
"At least three thousand people, and a legion with an average strength of Lv50 or above."
These people were to be sent to the fourth and fifth floors; if their strength was too low, let alone the Cataclysm monsters.
Even the magical beasts of ice and fire legend could kill them.
Beixi's estimate was still conservative.
When the next floor opened, who knew how many more people would be needed to meet the requirements?
The MC Dungeon was a bottomless pit; the Elven Kingdom simply couldn't fill the MC Dungeon's appetite. Fundamentally, the MC Dungeon was completely different from other Dungeons.
In other Dungeons, once the previous floors were explored, there were basically no useful resources left.
They would concentrate their efforts on continuing to explore the lower floors.
But in the MC Dungeon, even if you opened up to the thousandth Dungeon floor, the first floor's Overworld was still priceless.
It was still a peaceful pasture for Redstone Technology research.
Moreover, from any perspective, they had no reason to abandon a territory as vast as a world, right?
Although called floors, each floor of the MC Dungeon was a world.
Aelita saw Su Lin's furrowed brow and, after a long hesitation, said softly:
"Sister, Grandma Beixi, how about—we bring in the Arrows of Nature?"
Hilulele's expression changed slightly.
The Arrows of Nature, that was the core force of the Elven Kingdom that would not be dispatched unless it was a critical moment.
A Unicorn Cavalry Regiment with an average strength of Lv65 or above, numbering around ten thousand.
Within it were ten great legion commanders, each an Lv80 expert.
Bringing those people in could indeed meet the demand.
But—
"I don't have that authority, Ailili."
Hilulele scratched her head awkwardly.
"The Arrows of Nature require the consent of more than half of the Queens of the temple to be mobilized. The Council of Sages and the current Queen only have the right to know and apply, but no command authority—"
"But the Elven Kingdom doesn't have any national extinction crisis right now. The Arrows of Nature are just sitting there; why not bring them in to shine and contribute?"
Aelita put her hands on her hips helplessly.
"What's more, we now have the Dragon Rider Army; shouldn't the Arrows of Nature be strengthened too?"
Hilulele was silent for a long time, then looked up at Su Lin.
She had no say in the mobilization of the Arrows of Nature, but Su Lin could.
The Queens had almost entrusted the entire Elven Kingdom to Su Lin.
"Su Lin, you consider it. If you want to mobilize the Arrows of Nature, I can report to the Queens, and they will definitely approve it."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Su Lin said helplessly:
"The Elven Kingdom is fine right now; the Hippogryph and Winged Serpent cavalry are not just for show."
"The MC Dungeon is severely short of people. If there's such a legion, just send them in directly!"
Hilulele pouted.
"You're even better at ordering the Elven Kingdom around than I am now—I know, I'll go write an application to the Queens later, but the work on the fifth floor will still have to slow down for a while."
Su Lin was a bit helpless, but there was nothing he could do.
Even if the soldiers of the Arrows of Nature were all powerful, the MC Dungeon didn't care about that.
Not understanding the MC survival rules still meant death.
Didn't the Lv95 Deconis just get punched to death by the Ender Guardian?
After a moment of thought, Su Lin proposed a new plan.
Using the first floor as a center, all Elf Soldiers who passed the assessment would be brought in for individual training, serving as a reserve force.
However, this could only solve the immediate demand. The Elven Kingdom could only mobilize a total of about 100,000 to 200,000 soldiers.
It sounded like a lot, but once truly allocated, it would be negligible.
The first floor only had one Adventure Town. Whether it was Su Lin's requirements or the Elven Kingdom's plans, more five-story structures needed to be built.
Just the people for construction would be tens of thousands.
Civilians also couldn't enter the MC Dungeon in the short term.
Su Lin never expected that the population crisis would hit him so quickly.
But this was not something the MC Dungeon could solve.
Taking one step at a time was the best approach.
Composing himself, Su Lin looked at Hilulele and Veronika.
"Spread the news of the World's First Auction. Seven days, no waiting after the deadline."
"Veronika, you can also mobilize the North Wind Cavalry Regiment to come over now."
Both readily agreed.
Su Lin, having nothing else to do, took them to demonstrate the crafting and combat of the Battou Sword again.
Although he wasn't skilled in martial arts, with the Battou Sword—
Just draw it, and it's done!
A tumultuous day concluded with the completion of more monster spawners.
And from the Elven Court as the center, the magical transmissions sent to various parts of the continent stirred up a storm that swept across the entire Aetheram Continent. After the great war with Doragon, this was the first time the Elven Kingdom had actively sent out a transmission to the outside world.
This already significant transmission, after being spread by major official intelligence organizations across the continent, only added fuel to the fire.
The Elven Kingdom was going to hold the World's First Auction.
All the resources within it came from the mysterious MC Dungeon of the Elven Kingdom.
Ender Pearls with spatial power; even more powerful, legendary magical equipment; various never-before-seen top-tier resources; drops from legendary magical beasts—
Even, according to unofficial rumors, this World's First Auction would feature divine-level resources that surpassed the continent's limits.
The name MC Dungeon also officially spread across the continent along with the names of these outrageous materials.
Although official governments of various countries still did not acknowledge it, among the continent's populace, especially adventurer groups, it was basically already recognized that the MC Dungeon was a legendary place that surpassed all other Dungeons.
It only awaited confirmation of the authenticity of the auction items to be definitively concluded.
In any case, as the magical transmissions scattered across the world, the entire continent gradually went mad.
The official governments of various countries were also incredibly eager, but the Elven Kingdom clearly stated that only righteous adventurer teams meeting the Elven Kingdom's requirements were allowed to participate in this auction.
No one dared to force their way in—
On the day the magical transmissions were sent out, the Elven Kingdom's army, navy, and air force all moved, conducting a large-scale military exercise.
The aerial Hippogryph and Winged Serpent cavalry regiments numbered over ten thousand.
The naval Seahorse cavalry regiment numbered three thousand.
For land warfare—
They didn't deploy any people; they just drove Redstone Tanks for a spin, incidentally blowing up a mountain.
These soldiers participating in the exercise were all wearing high-level magical equipment.
The sheer number, even the Magic Dynasty and the Dwarf Empire combined, probably couldn't gather so many.
And this was what they revealed; who knew how much more the Elven Kingdom was hiding.
The tendency to hide a hand was a natural trait of these long-lived nations.
But for the official governments of various countries to miss this auction containing "divine-level resources," they simply could not tolerate it.
Ultimately, various countries tacitly drew manpower, temporarily relieved them of their duties, and sought out adventure teams with invitation letters, acting as temporary members at a high price.
Hilulele and the others were aware of this, but it was also what they wanted to see.
If various countries were completely unaware and only reacted afterward, how could the legend of the MC Dungeon be highlighted?
Moreover, the prices of many items at this auction were bound to skyrocket; adventure teams alone couldn't afford them.
It was estimated that the Magic Dynasty and similar powers would have to offer many technologies in exchange.
This was an opportunity to fleece various countries.
And at the same time.
In various cities and even villages of the Lucania Kingdom, ordinary people, one after another, emerged.
Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.
Their destination was the Elven Court.