Death

Bang bang bang bang—!

Rumble—!

Cracked falling rocks continuously rained down, landing around the fleeing crowd!

No one dared to stop, fearing that a moment's delay would result in them being crushed by the massive rocks overhead!

But even so, the falling debris still hit quite a few people, and Sun Lei's left shoulder even sustained a not-so-light injury!

Fortunately, death had not yet claimed any of them!

"Haa... haa..."

The rapid and heavy gasps were the main melody of the group. Everyone was exhausted, yet they gritted their teeth and ran desperately forward!

"Faster, faster! A little faster!"

Luo Wei, with a grim expression, shouted continuously:

"Hold on a bit longer, we'll reach the exit soon!"

A glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the exhausted team members as they gritted their teeth and pumped their legs with all their might!

Rumble...

After running for who knows how long, until the collapse finally stopped, Luo Wei and the others slowly came to a halt.

"Haa... haa..."

Everyone collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Their skin was soaked with sweat, making them look extremely disheveled.

At this moment, no one cared about their disheveled appearance; they only wanted to inhale more oxygen to compensate for their overexerted bodies!

However, gradually, a light chuckle, laced with gasps, broke the silence, and more and more laughter followed.

"Heh heh..."

"Heh heh heh!"

"Hahaha..."

The joy of surviving a disaster caused the team members, sprawled on the ground, to burst into laughter involuntarily.

Sun Lei lay on the ground, listening to the laughter around him. His eyes were unfocused as he gazed at the rock wall in the darkness, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

He turned his head to look at the others still laughing around him and silently counted them several times.

Several more team members had quietly disappeared!

A crushing defeat, not even a hard-won victory!

Sun Lei struggled to get up. He glanced at Luo Wei, who was leaning against a fallen rock, and asked softly:

"Did we escape?"

Luo Wei nodded, his voice hoarse as he replied:

"Ah, we escaped..."

Sun Lei clenched his fist and said in a low voice:

"We really... escaped in an incredibly pathetic manner..."

"It's good enough that we're still alive. If that Ogre had caught up to us, we probably all would have died."

Huo Lian appeared beside Sun Lei and patted his head.

She smiled at Sun Lei and, disregarding the dirt and mess on the ground, sat down directly.

"Ah... so tired~!"

Huo Lian tilted her head back and let out a long sigh.

Sun Lei turned his head slightly to look at Huo Lian.

Under the dim light, her body was covered in gray-black dust, and she looked extremely disheveled!

He saw blood flowing down Huo Lian's body, and it didn't look like the blood from before.

"Are you alright, Sister Huo Lian?"

Sun Lei asked softly with a worried expression.

After all, Huo Lian had been the closest person to the detonation point before.

"Ah... I'm fine, I'm fine. I've already drunk a healing potion."

Huo Lian waved her hand, saying weakly:

"If I hadn't run out of preparations and had to rely on detonating the Magic Core as a bomb, I wouldn't have had to get so close."

"Alright, stop talking. Once you've rested, get up and keep moving. We need to get back to the surface as soon as possible!"

Luo Wei stood up, patted the dust off his pants, and said in a deep voice:

"The Realm Gate's appearance window has already passed by four hours. If we delay too long, it'll be troublesome if the Realm Gate solidifies!"

The City Guard's battle was not over yet. After returning to the surface, they had to quickly gather their forces to destroy this Realm Gate!

Once a Realm Gate is solidified, it cannot be destroyed; it can only be sealed using sealing techniques.

However, sealing techniques aren't foolproof. They will eventually open again, threatening the city's safety!

Hearing Luo Wei's command, everyone stood up without a word, began checking their equipment, and prepared to depart!

Luo Wei glanced at the team members who were gradually gathering, nodded, and said:

"Is everyone ready? Let's go..."

Crank, crank...

The sound of falling gravel suddenly rang out!

Luo Wei's expression tensed, and he stopped speaking. He raised his hand, signaling everyone around him to remain silent!

Crank, crank... Crackle!

The sound of rolling stones continued to come, and everyone turned their heads in unison to look at the pile of rubble blocking the passage behind them!

A bad premonition suddenly surged into everyone's hearts!

"Move quickly..."

Luo Wei roared, ordering his team members to retreat. However, before his words could even fall, the pile of rubble before them suddenly burst apart!

BOOM—!!!

Accompanied by the deafening roar of falling debris, a colossal figure appeared before them!

The Ogre stared intently at the frozen figures before it, its blood-red eyes filled with rage!

"An Ogre..."

Sun Lei's eyes widened, and he stared at the monster that had appeared before him in disbelief!

Why would it be here?!

The moment for thought lasted only an instant. Before everyone could react, the Ogre roared and charged at Luo Wei and the others!

ROAR—!!!

The roar echoed through the sewer, and everyone felt a dizzying sensation, their internal organs aching faintly!

In the next instant, everyone felt a terrifying hurricane sweep past!

BOOM—!!

The last image remaining in everyone's eyes was the Ogre's terrifying strike with its club!

In an instant, Sun Lei felt like a falling withered leaf, blown far away by the hurricane!

He didn't know how many times he rolled on the ground before he violently slammed into a large rock!

Pfft!

Sun Lei spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing onto the ground. His entire body trembled violently, his face contorted in extreme agony.

He felt as if all his bones had fallen apart!

"Cough, cough, cough... Is anyone else alive..."

Sun Lei struggled to get up, his body feeling like it was falling apart. He turned his head, hoping to see someone who had survived like him.

However, all he saw were mangled corpses!

On the rocks, on the ground, scattered flesh and blood seemed to have been deliberately smeared across Sun Lei's entire field of vision!

"Gag...!"

Sun Lei covered his mouth, the intense nausea making him vomit uncontrollably!

Blood mixed with food residue flowed through his fingers. His eyes were wide open, and tears flowed uncontrollably!

Sun Lei wasn't actually afraid of corpses. He vomited entirely due to the grief of his teammates' deaths and the terror induced by the Ogre's overwhelming and irresistible strength!

The immense mental pressure triggered a physical stress response!

ROAR—!!!

A terrifying roar echoed from afar. Sun Lei quickly raised his head and looked back in the direction he had come from!

"The Ogre..."

The Magic Core lamp, which hadn't lost its light yet, was still emitting a glow, but it seemed so faint!

Sun Lei could only force his eyes open wider, but his blurry vision only allowed him to see two figures standing before the Ogre!

"Run!"

The two figures seemed to be waving at him, shouting something.

"Is that Captain Luo and Sister Huo Lian..."

Sun Lei couldn't see clearly, but in his heart, he was certain it was Luo Wei and Huo Lian!

"Why... they're clearly dead... they're opponents that cannot be defeated..."

Sun Lei struggled to move towards the two, muttering anxiously to himself.

He didn't understand why they weren't running yet.

Sun Lei wanted to run over and yell at them to escape!

However, Sun Lei found that he couldn't make a sound, and his feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead!

He watched with wide eyes as the Ogre raised the large wooden club in its hand and roared as it swung it towards one of the people!

Bang!

Blood and limbs splattered, and life was extinguished!

"No..."

Sun Lei stared with wide eyes, muttering to himself.

He watched as another figure charged forward as if their life depended on it, grabbing the Ogre around its waist!

Boom—!!!

An explosion sent Sun Lei flying again, drowning out his last shred of consciousness!

'Dead... they're all dead...'