Boom—!

A muffled thunder rumbled through the heavy dark clouds.

That was not the might of Heaven.

That was the aftermath of energy unleashed by the clash of powerhouses.

The sky had already turned into a tragic slaughterhouse.

Chen Guanyi’s figure was as swift as a ghost; each swing of his ancient longsword left a bone-deep wound on the massive body of the Abyssal Demon Catfish.

But such wounds were mere scratches for a behemoth as vast as a mountain.

“Old Chen! I’ll help you!”

A burly Guild Master, wielding a giant axe, roared as he charged forward.

His entire body blazed with crimson-gold Battle Qi, and he was like a meteor soaring against the sky, fiercely crashing into one of the beast’s tentacles.

However, that seemingly soft tentacle merely flicked casually.

Splat!

With a crisp sound.

That Guild Master, along with the Battle Qi around him, was instantly blown apart, turning into a mist of blood.

“Old Wang!”

Another Guild Master, a mage, had bloodshot eyes; he chanted his final spell, transforming himself into a thunder spear that pierced through heaven and earth.

“Beast! Die!”

The thunder spear whistled away, only to be effortlessly caught by another tentacle, then violently squeezed.

The lightning, extinguished.

One powerhouse after another, before absolute power, were like moths drawn to a flame.

They burned their lives, yet could only leave insignificant scorch marks on the beast’s body.

“Hahaha! What a thrill!”

“This old man’s life, it was worth it!”

Another Guild Master laughed wildly in despair; he abandoned all defenses, gathered all his magic power into a single point, and chose the most tragic °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° self-detonation.

Boom!

A small-scale energy explosion finally succeeded in severing one of the beast’s tentacles.

Dark green blood rained down from the sky like a waterfall.

The Abyssal Demon Catfish cried out in pain, letting out an angry roar.

Its hundreds of tentacles, like dancing demonic snakes, thrashed wildly in the sky.

With each swing, a figure was exploded mid-air.

Chen Guanyi watched his comrades fall one after another, and a hint of sorrow finally appeared on his usually calm face.

He knew that Simon City could not be defended.

“Old comrades.”

He took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching the ears of every survivor.

“It seems today is the day we are buried here.”

“To fight alongside you all is the greatest honor of my life, Chen Guanyi!”

“Nothing more to say!”

A one-armed swordsman Guild Master grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloody white teeth.

“Come on! Let this beast see that none of us men from Simon City are cowards!”

The next second, they burned their last vitality, transforming into the most brilliant streams of light, and together charged into that storm of deathly tentacles.

...

Above the bell tower.

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, expressionlessly chugged the last bottle of magic recovery potion from his spatial ring.

Below, the army of Strange Beast continued to pour in from outside the city, endlessly.

The entire bell tower, under the siege of countless Strange Beast, was already shaking violently, threatening to collapse at any moment.

【System Notification: Underground Shelter No. 08 has been destroyed.】

【System Notification: Underground Shelter No. 21 has been destroyed.】

The cold System notifications continued to ring in his mind.

Of the forty-seven shelters, only the last twelve remained.

Zhou Huai knew very well that the designer of this dungeon wanted all challengers to personally experience this kind of despair and helplessness, like the end of the world.

But, sorry.

He truly couldn't empathize.

Not only could he not empathize.

His mood at this moment was even quite good.

Thanks to these endless armies of Strange Beast.

His Rank had successfully reached Rank 30, smoothly completing the System’s challenge mission.

The difficulty of this dungeon had far exceeded its proper scope.

Even the current Gandalf had no chance of clearing it.

Staying any longer was meaningless.

But...

Zhou Huai thought of the Fat General who had used his life to block a fatal blow for him.

He remembered the eyes full of hope and trust before his death.

“Fine.”

“Consider it repaying a favor.”

Zhou Huai decided to make one last desperate effort with his final mana.

At Rank 30, although he hadn't learned new skills.

The skill levels of Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal and Geocentric Gravity Field had both increased.

Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal reached LV3.

Its range was larger, damage higher, and freezing effect stronger.

Geocentric Gravity Field reached LV2.

The gravity effect directly doubled from the original 10 times, reaching a terrifying 20 times!

This was also a significant improvement for Gandalf.

Looking at the new batch of Strange Beast surging towards the base of the bell tower, Zhou Huai grinned.

He controlled Gandalf, leaping down from the precarious top of the bell tower!

Seeing this, the Strange Beast below immediately let out excited roars, baring their fangs and claws, ready to devour this reckless mage alive.

However, the next second.

The staff in Gandalf’s hand suddenly glowed with dazzling ice-blue light.

“Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal!”

Buzz—!!!

An extreme chill, like a silent avalanche, swept wildly in all directions, centered on Gandalf!

LV3’s Thousand-Mile Ice Seal had at least three times the original range!

Wherever it passed, everything froze!

Whether it was ordinary demonic wolves or tough, elite-level BOSSes, they were instantly encased in a thick layer of solid ice by this cold current, turning into lifelike ice sculptures.

Gandalf’s figure lightly landed on the head of an ice sculpture.

He didn’t pause for a moment, stepping on the grotesque ice sculptures of the Strange Beast, and rushed towards the battlefield in the sky.

At this moment, the situation in the sky had been completely suppressed by the Abyssal Demon Catfish.

The original team of dozens of top powerhouses now only had a few remaining, including Chen Guanyi, struggling to hold on.

Calamity-Level and Hell-Level BOSSes, though only one difficulty level apart.

The difference in strength even surpassed the chasm between S-Class Profession and SS-Class Profession.

But this time, I’m here too!

Zhou Huai’s gaze was as sharp as a blade.

I haven’t settled the score for that cannon shot you fired at me earlier!

Seeing that the distance was about right, Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, stopped, and began to chant.

“Forbidden Spell: Geocentric Gravity Field!”

“Arcane Dual Manifestation!”

“Forbidden Spell: Geocentric Gravity Field!”

Think you’re so great up in the sky?

Get down here, you bastard!

Buzz—! Buzz—!

Two invisible, incredibly heavy force fields, superimposed on each other, suddenly enveloped the Abyssal Demon Catfish in the sky!

Forty times the terrifying gravity instantly descended!

“Roar—!!!”

The Abyssal Demon Catfish let out a painful and angry roar.

Its mountain-sized body could no longer maintain its suspension, uncontrollably plummeting from high altitude!

Boom—!!!!

Its massive body slammed heavily into Simon City, the earth trembled violently, and countless buildings collapsed with a crash.

Only then did Zhou Huai see the Abyssal Demon Catfish’s health bar completely for the first time.

He couldn't help but be stunned.

【Abyssal Demon Catfish · Kraken LV40 (Hell-level BOSS)】

【Health: 7589312 / 8481701】

Good heavens!

8 million health!

This was the first time Zhou Huai had seen a BOSS with so much health.

So, Chen Guanyi and his group of top powerhouses had fought desperately in the sky for so long.

And they only managed to give this BOSS a mere scratch?

The corner of Zhou Huai’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

It seemed that the rumor of Chen Guanyi perishing with a Hell-level BOSS was likely embellished by later generations.

The truth was probably that old man Chen Guanyi self-destructed.

And the Abyssal Demon Catfish merely got a little dirt on its clothes.

Zhou Huai no longer delayed, taking advantage of the BOSS not yet recovering from the stun of its fall.

He unleashed all his currently cooled-down Forbidden Spells in one go.

“Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower!”

“Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal!”

“Forbidden Spell: Blazing Blade Storm!”

For a moment, flames, frost, and wind blades—three destructive forces—completely submerged the massive body of the Abyssal Demon Catfish.

However, after a barrage of world-shattering skills, Zhou Huai looked at the BOSS’s health bar again.

【Health: 699312 / 8481701】

Zhou Huai’s eyes lit up!

There’s a chance!

I can still deal damage.

If I continue to chip away at its health, I might actually be able to kill it!

At this moment, the massive body of the Abyssal Demon Catfish struggled violently on the ground.

Its hundreds of tentacles, like frenzied giant pythons, thrashed wildly at everything around it.

The entire Simon City shook violently along with it.

It was completely enraged.

A mere ant dared to pull it down from the sky!

What an utter humiliation!

“Roar—!!!!”

It let out a roar that seemed to come from the deepest Hell.

All its tentacles suddenly straightened, pointing collectively towards the sky!

Zhou Huai couldn't help but be stunned.

Because he saw that with the Abyssal Demon Catfish’s roar, its health.

Suddenly surged from over 8 million to over 20 million.

“What... what’s going on?”

The next second, an indescribable dark purple halo, centered on it, suddenly spread across the entire city!

Wherever the halo passed, space twisted, and everything was annihilated.

Zhou Huai’s pupils contracted, and an alarm blared in his heart.

He tried to dodge, but found his body seemed to be confined by an invisible force, unable to move at all.

By the time he reacted.

The world before his eyes had been completely swallowed by that deep dark purple.

...

Imperial Capital Academy, Myriad Manifestations Trial Tower, Eleventh Floor.

The light in front of the teleportation gate flashed.

Gandalf’s figure appeared in the noisy and bustling hall.

Around him were students coming and going, all with different expressions.

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, stood rooted to the spot, still somewhat disoriented.

Only then did he realize.

Holy cow.

Did I... get instantly killed?