While Lilia was exploring and trying her luck...
In another room not too far from her and Lin Yuan, Rock Bear's team was locked in a fierce battle.
Their opponent was the puppet wielding a massive iron hammer that Lilia had encountered earlier.
"Everyone, stand back! Let me handle it!"
Rock Bear roared, transforming into a half-human, half-bear creature as he charged past his teammates and clashed with the hammer-wielding puppet.
Rock Bear's strength was similar to Lilia's, but he lacked her infinite regeneration. He had no choice but to activate his second form, relying on its higher maximum health and the giant bear form's innate recovery to hold the front line.
His teammates took the opportunity to unleash their attacks.
After a fierce battle, the massive hammer-wielding puppet finally collapsed.
"You're amazing, Captain! We were counting on you to hold that thing off!"
"This hidden area is brutal. Every puppet is so powerful!"
"Yeah, this puppet might even be stronger than that area boss in the Library!"
"With strength like that, our captain must be the strongest person in this Instance!"
After the battle, Rock Bear's subordinates began praising their captain.
Although this was partly because Rock Bear enjoyed flattery, their words were not untrue.
Without Rock Bear taking the lead and holding the front line, the hammer-wielding puppet would not have been so easy to deal with.
At the very least, they would have had to expend quite a few of their trump cards, and one careless mistake might even have cost them team members.
Earlier, they had encountered some mediocre teams that had suffered heavy casualties in their very first room. Those teams could only huddle in rooms they had already cleared, not daring to explore anywhere new.
Rock Bear's team, on the other hand, had explored