"Damn it, Xuan! Are you done over there?!" Zheng Zha roared into the silver metal shard, "I really can't hold out much longer!" In that bottomless abyss, ever since those five super monsters hatched, countless creeping things had emerged from the ground again. Half of these crawlers were not devouring each other; instead, they were gathering and overlapping, forming a pillar of flesh and blood forty meters thick and growing ever taller. That wasn't all; the remaining four super monsters also refrained from slaughtering these smaller crawlers. They all headed toward the flesh pillar, and amidst the teeming mass of smaller creatures, the pillar began to ascend toward the opening at the top of the chasm.

Zheng Zha was initially stunned and didn't pay it much mind. Although the flesh pillar looked substantial, it was still composed of flesh, and the three monsters couldn't fly. Once they reached a high altitude, he could simply shatter the pillar midway and let them crash from a thousand meters up—he doubted they could withstand such an impact.

However, what happened next defied his expectations. While these crawlers possessed little offensive power, their flesh was incredibly resilient, even surpassing that of the giant flying demons encountered earlier. How to describe it? The pillar formed by these crawlers resembled extremely viscous glue; every strike carved out a large hollow, yet the pillar refused to fall and stubbornly continued its ascent.

Since the flesh pillar couldn't be severed, Zheng Zha shifted his focus to the three giant demons.

These three behemoths all looked formidable, and now the black Bone Dragon from the ground had also taken flight. Its twenty-plus-meter length didn't seem excessively exaggerated, but as the Bone Dragon approached, the internal energy within Zheng Zha began to circulate instinctively. Clearly, the black aura enveloping the Bone Dragon was far from benign.

Zheng Zha tried several times to attack, but observing the countless crawlers below still consuming and evolving, he couldn't help but hesitate. He had no idea when Chu Xuan above would finish the side quest, and how long he needed to hold the line here. If he exhausted his energy prematurely, the subsequent battle might become a complete rout.

Thus, until the Bone Dragon flew up to guard the flesh pillar, Zheng Zha’s attacks seemed lackluster. But the Bone Dragon's dark exhalation seemed to provoke him.

At this point, the flesh pillar was already over a thousand meters off the ground. Half the crawlers on the ground had been consumed, and the remaining half had merged into a single massive cocoon of flesh through mutual devouring.

It was now about sixty meters in diameter—an unmistakable sign of a monster far more formidable than the Flame Demon. Just as the ground began to surge, signaling the imminent reappearance of another billion crawlers, Zheng Zha finally decided to counterattack.

He had to, at the very least, suppress the current flesh pillar.

With a sharp clang, Zheng Zha parried a sweeping tail strike from the black Bone Dragon, the sound echoing like steel meeting iron.

It was impossible to know what material the Bone Dragon was made of, as its hardness was no less than that of the Tiger Soul Blade. Furthermore, the Bone Dragon possessed immense strength. With a single impact, Zheng Zha's "Explosion" level strength couldn't withstand it, sending him flying back dozens of meters before he finally halted.

"When the tiger doesn't roar, you take me for a sick cat, do you?" Zheng Zha was thoroughly enraged. He roared, instantly escalating to the "Destruction" level, his entire form becoming invisible to the naked eye.

The Bone Dragon that had just sent him flying with its tail was preparing to unleash an exhalation toward the retreating Zheng Zha. But before it could even open its maw, the distant Zheng Zha flickered and vanished. The next instant, Zheng Zha reappeared directly above its head and delivered a fierce downward kick, slamming the Bone Dragon straight into the flesh pillar. With a searing hiss, cutting through the pillar like a knife through tofu, this surge of dark energy pressed down, shattering the incredibly tough flesh pillar into several streams before the streams disintegrated in mid-air.

"Destruction" lived up to its name; the sheer power was overwhelming. Even with a simple kick, the Bone Dragon's skull couldn't endure the force. After being driven down a hundred meters, the creature's cranium fractured, followed by the gradual disintegration of its body. However, before the skeleton could fully scatter, eight hands suddenly burst forth from the surrounding flesh. Each hand seized a rib of the Bone Dragon and yanked it out violently. As the skeleton dissolved, an eight-armed, three-headed female demon, nearly ten meters tall, erupted from the tissue. The eight ribs became like eight bone swords, slashing toward Zheng Zha from all directions, their speed only slightly inferior to that of Zheng Zha in his "Destruction" state.

Another sharp collision of metal and iron rang out. Zheng Zha was forced to halt his kick. He swung his blade downward in a sweeping motion—relying on brute force to overcome finesse. He didn't need to bother dodging the eight bone swords striking him; with a seemingly ordinary chop, he smashed one bone sword, the immense power instantly crushing it and driving the eight-armed, three-headed female demon straight into the flesh pillar. The fierce blade wind even planed down several meters of the pillar's height, until three gigantic canine heads abruptly erupted from the flesh below.

One head clamped onto the Tiger Soul Blade, another lunged for Zheng Zha's feet, and the third opened its maw, unleashing lightning and fire. With a crackle, Zheng Zha was engulfed in electricity, hurled back over ten meters. The clothes on his body were already charred black, but he stamped forcefully in the void beneath him, driving his body downward again, while the Tiger Soul Blade in his hand began to emit a massive cloud of misty blade energy...

"Damn it, Xuan! Are you done over there?"

This query had echoed from Chu Xuan's silver metal shard more than a minute ago, but Chu Xuan paid it no heed. He was completely focused on calibrating the magic array before him. Zhao Yingkong stood calmly beside him, ensuring his safety.

"...Is it really alright? Shouldn't you at least answer Zheng Zha?" Zhao Yingkong hesitated for a long time before finally breaking the silence.

"Huh? Yes, no need to answer..." Chu Xuan continued speaking, his expressionless face still cast downward. "He is a capable warrior. More accurately, the Central Team can no longer keep pace with him. He is too powerful. While such strength can sometimes be detrimental, at this specific juncture, he is the only one capable of saving our team."

"Really?" Zhao Yingkong asked curiously. "What kind of monsters are down there? Are there many, or are they incredibly strong?" Chu Xuan glanced up at her slightly, adjusted his glasses, then looked back down. "There are many, and they are strong. Moreover, the intensity of the monsters below will only increase as time passes. The only thing we can do is complete this side quest as quickly as possible and end this horror movie world, otherwise... all of us will die here."

Zhao Yingkong immediately fell silent. The personality displayed by this young girl now was likely her secondary persona—the outwardly cold but inwardly passionate Zhao Yingkong. She remained quiet for a long while before suddenly speaking, "Can you really not tell me that secret? What secret have you uncovered down there?"

"No."

Chu Xuan showed no impatience, maintaining his level tone. "I am not qualified to know this secret. In fact, almost no one is qualified to know it right now. Unless one has unlocked the Fifth Stage of the Gene Lock, or possesses a complete and mature cultivation technique, we are simply not qualified to uncover such a secret at this time. Fortunately, we possess items equivalent to Fifth Stage strength, or a complete, mature cultivation technique, otherwise, I don't know how we would prevent a team wipe."

(Equivalent to Fifth Stage strength, or a complete, mature cultivation technique? Isn't that the Demon Cannon?) Zhao Yingkong mused internally, but she quickly calmed herself, though one lingering question remained unanswered in her mind... They were already approaching the final battle, and they were still unqualified to know the answer? When would they become qualified to know?

Just as the young girl was lost in silent doubt, the magic array below suddenly flared brightly. Then, the runic symbols began to fade gradually. Once all the runes had completely vanished, the door behind the array quietly clicked open. Following this, the distinct tone and cadence of the "Main God" echoed in her mind.

"Initiate Dragon Rider Side Quest: Rescue E'ya, and escort her and those who choose to follow her out of the capital. All team members will receive 5000 Reward Points and one B-rank Side Quest. If E'ya dies, all team members will be deducted 10000 Reward Points and two B-rank Side Quests..."

"Dragon Rider Mission: Destroy the Royal City of O'rgecia!" Chu Xuan silently rose from the ground. He paused for about two or three seconds before telling Zhao Yingkong, "Let's go. Rescue E'ya, then have her rally the villagers to leave. Zheng Zha can probably hold out for about ten more minutes... We must finish this horror movie world within ten minutes, or there may be monsters far beyond our current capabilities appearing down there."

Down in the abyss, beneath the battleground where Zheng Zha was fighting, the gigantic flesh cocoon had swelled to a diameter of a hundred meters, its crimson surface seeming to glow with blood-red light, while countless crawlers continued to merge into its mass...