The cavern before them resembled a tunnel chiseled out by some colossal hand—it was soaringly high and immensely wide, periodically exhaling gusts of cold, bleak wind that sent a bone-chilling dread down one's spine.
Inside, it was an oppressive blackness where nothing could be discerned.
Now and then, they could hear indistinct, low rumbling sounds, a bizarre noise that defied identification.
Yet, recalling the myriad legends surrounding the Crimson Moon Demon, everyone couldn't help but tremble, instinctively drawing deep breaths.
Even the usually bold and aggressive Mammoth King instinctively let out a few low growls. Clearly, by sheer bestial instinct, the Mammoth King sensed the profound peculiarity of this cave.
"It seems this must be the entrance to the Crimson Moon Demon's Lair," Chen Feng murmured, his voice tight with tension.
"En!" I nodded slightly as well.
According to the records in the Origin, the Crimson Moon Demon ranked second among the Ten Great Demonic Beasts—a truly terrifying entity.
The Origin stated:
The Crimson Moon Demon is a mysterious creature that has long lain dormant in the deepest recesses of the valley. No one knows its true appearance, but in the ancient era, it represented the continent's most malevolent and potent force—the genesis of all iniquity.
Its most terrifying capabilities stem from its extraordinary dark intellect and its elusive, earth-spike attacks.
Those who have narrowly escaped the Crimson Moon Canyon describe it thus: Under the light of the crimson moon, death accompanies the demon's shadow, arriving suddenly amidst a silent assault.
By the time you perceive its presence, the hellish claws have already pierced your very being!
Such is the horrifying Crimson Moon Demon!
Mysterious, uncanny, cruel, and bloodthirsty!
In the world of the Rangers, the Crimson Moon Demon was undoubtedly an insurmountable terror.
Even for heavily armored War Generals clad in Tier Six gear, the Crimson Moon Demon remained an extraordinarily formidable foe.
Unless absolutely necessary, no one would be foolish enough to venture to the Crimson Moon Canyon to provoke it, which is precisely why it has survived so long undisturbed.
If it weren't for the need to cure my mother’s illness, I would never have sought out this dreadful monster.
"Everyone, be careful," I stated solemnly. "The Crimson Moon Demon's most terrifying attack is that elusive earth-spike assault. So, pay close attention to your footing, understood?"
"Yes," Yin Hu and the others subconsciously gripped their swords tighter.
"Brother Feng, you and the big fellow stay here," I looked at Chen Feng. "Wait for us to deal with the Crimson Moon Demon before coming in."
"You all be careful," Chen Feng said, though visibly reluctant. He knew that with his current abilities, entering would only make him a liability.
"Big fellow, protect Brother Feng well," I patted the Mammoth King's massive head.
Hng! Roar!
The big fellow let out a low rumble, clearly displeased, yet it gently nodded its huge head.
Although this was the Demon Altar, we had already slaughtered every nearby monster, so it should be relatively safe.
Moreover, with the Mammoth King guarding the area, I wasn't worried about Chen Feng's safety.
After a careful reorganization, we—myself, Yin Tao, and the others—took out the Phoenix Bright Pearl, hung it around our necks, and cautiously crept into the cave.
Guided by the luminous glow of the Phoenix Bright Pearl...
As we delved deeper, the sinister feeling intensified, and those faint, raspy sounds grew undeniably closer.
While cautiously probing forward, I simultaneously activated the Eye of Deathly Desire to sense the surrounding conditions.
Soon, I detected numerous powerful auras about a hundred meters ahead.
Based on experience, I knew those had to be large numbers of Steel-Fang Spiders, Moon Demon Spiders, and other Crimson Moon creatures. Judging by their distribution, the area a hundred meters ahead seemed roughly the same size as the Demon Altar outside.
...
What puzzled me was that, apart from them, I didn't sense any other truly formidable presence.
Could it be that this wasn't the Crimson Moon Demon's Lair after all? For a moment, I was dumbfounded.
Yin Hu and Yin Tao seemed to share the same feeling.
"Did we perhaps make a mistake?" Yin Hu questioned.
"Let's advance cautiously and see," I replied. "According to the Origin's description, the Crimson Moon Demon excels at concealment; perhaps even the Eye of Deathly Desire cannot detect its presence."
"En," Yin Hu and the others nodded tensely.
We soon reached the end of the passage.
Before us opened a broad valley, comparable in size to a football field.
The valley floor was choked with densely packed Moon Demon Spiders, Steel-Fang Spiders, Blood Zombies, and other monstrous beasts.
Though they bared their fangs, their killing intent palpable, we didn't take them too seriously. What truly concerned us was the Crimson Moon Demon, which had yet to reveal itself.
The seven of us formed a diamond-shaped battle formation and slowly advanced towards the clustered mass of monsters.
Roar! Roar!
From a distance, dozens of Blood Zombies noticed our approach and charged forward with roars!
Trailing behind them was a surging tide of Moon Demon Spiders and Steel-Fang Spiders, along with Flower-Kiss Spiders!
But against us, they were simply out of luck.
Before they could even draw close, Chi Xiang and Chi Yu blasted them into fragments with their Ice Roar and Exploding Flame!
And those few that managed to reach our front lines were intercepted by the vigilant Yin Hu and Yin Tao using their Half Moons.
Soon, the seven of us reached the deepest part of the valley, leaving behind a trail littered with dense corpses.
Strange, was this not the Crimson Moon Demon's Lair?
We had slain all the surrounding monsters, yet the legendary Crimson Moon Demon remained nowhere in sight.
"Odd, perhaps this isn't the Lair?" Yin Hong ventured.
"But at the Demon Altar, this was the only cave," Yin Tao pointed out.
"Could it be that the Crimson Moon Demon has already been killed?" Yin Tao speculated.
"..." I was also taken aback, instinctively looking around.
Like the area outside, this was a valley surrounded by sheer cliffs. Aside from the piles of monster corpses and the indistinct, hazy green mist floating in the air, there seemed nothing remarkable.
However, the heart-wrenching sense of unease and the thick, pervasive killing intent still left everyone feeling unnerved.
"This must be the place," I stated firmly. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be such concentrated killing energy."
Swish, swish! As if to validate my words!
The entire valley suddenly erupted in a muffled, heavy roar, like an earthquake!
Under the effect of the Eye of Deathly Desire, we clearly sensed an overwhelmingly powerful, almost suffocating aura drawing near.
And the source of this aura was beneath the ground!
"Watch the ground!"
Almost as I shouted, everyone simultaneously sprang upwards, rocketing toward the cliffs.
As we leaped into the air!
Boom! RUMBLE!!!!
A sudden, earth-shattering explosion rocked the area!
The entire valley seemed to blow apart! Countless shards of rock and debris shot skyward! And amidst the hazy fragments, numerous massive grey shadows materialized out of thin air, surging towards us suspended in mid-air.
Grey, blurry elongated shapes, moving with the speed of cannonballs fired from a barrel!
"Earth Spike Attack."
"Crimson Moon Demon."
Everyone realized instantly: these sudden protrusions from the ground were the Crimson Moon Demon's signature technique—the Earth Spike Attack!
But even with mental preparation, facing this onslaught of ground-to-air projectiles, resembling a swarm of missiles, we were caught completely off guard.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, several immensely thick spikes shot toward me!
Suspended in mid-air, I had no footing for a follow-up!
I could only slash out a single Half Moon to meet the incoming barrage of spikes.
Clang! Rumble!
The potent Half Moon collided with the rapidly incoming spikes at astonishing speed.
To my shock, the strong Dou Qi energy of the Half Moon failed to repel even one of the incoming spikes.
They didn't even slow down.
The massive spikes kept coming, unstoppable!
At this moment, I didn't have time to conjure a second Half Moon!
I could only drive my sword point into the large spike aimed at my chest!
Clang! Whoosh, whoosh!
Almost the instant I made contact, a tremendous impact force shot through my blade!
The hard edge of the Dragon Shadow Sword instantly bent into a U-shape!
Instinctively, I exerted a tensile force! Dou Qi surged into the sword, and the Dragon Shadow Sword snapped back straight!
Using the rebound force transmitted through the blade, my body sprung back like a spring! I twisted away!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Just as I recoiled, several more spikes sliced past where I had been!
By the time I landed, I had already propelled myself a considerable distance away!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
On the other side, Yin Hu and Yin Tao followed suit, evading the thrusts of the Earth Spikes!
They scattered apart.
"Crimson Moon Demon!" Despite being mentally prepared, the moment I clearly saw the creature before me, I couldn't help but stare in stunned silence!
Where the open ground had been, a behemoth had materialized!
It was truly gigantic!
It was like a mountain in size; honestly, aside from the Touch Dragon God, I had never seen anything larger!
But unlike the Touch Dragon God, the creature before us was not only huge but utterly grotesque; its head and face were completely indistinguishable! The whole thing resembled a pile of massive, discarded internal organs!
Its enormous body was a reddish-brown hue that defied description, and its surface oozed layers of viscous fluid resembling thick saliva.
And from the myriad pores covering its entire form, disgusting, bizarre gases spewed intermittently—like a monstrous pig’s lung boiling vigorously in a great pot, emitting jets of steam!
More horrifying still, this seemingly immense mass of viscera pulsed slowly, at a precise, rhythmic frequency. It was not like a heart, nor a spleen; just looking at it made the scalp crawl.
Good heavens, how could something look so revolting!
If the sheer size of the Touch Dragon God conveyed unmatched ferocity, brutality, and grimness, the Crimson Moon Demon instilled an overwhelming sense of disgust, strangeness, and sheer terror.
Although I had witnessed the appearance of the Crimson Moon Demon in Hot-Blooded Legend, the reality before me possessed far greater impact and shock value than the 2D graphics in the game.
"Th-this is the Crimson Moon Demon?" Yin Tao’s voice was nearly unrecognizable, laced with an indescribable oddity.
Even though everyone present had faced immense perils before, the sheer, shocking visual of the Crimson Moon Demon terrified them deeply.
Chi Xiang and Chi Yu, in particular, looked utterly pale: "Th-this... what kind of monster is this? Is it really the Crimson Moon Demon?"
"It is," I confirmed tensely. "This is the Crimson Moon Demon."
Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh!
The Crimson Moon Demon did not attack immediately. Instead, it slowly retracted the colossal spikes that had been jutting from the ground back into the earth.
Then, it emitted a series of exceedingly strange sounds.
It felt like the sound of intestinal churning magnified countless times—a noise that instantly threatened to make one gag and lose control.
All we could do was fight down the urge to vomit on the spot and stare fixedly at the colossal entity before us.