The Final Leg

This scene horrified the audience. Even more alarming, Du Jincai's portrait remained motionless after sliding down the mountain. Was he injured or unconscious?

As the tracker's icon drew ever closer, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

Get moving, get moving...

Finally, when the tracker's image was less than two kilometers away, Du Jincai made his move.

He started climbing the mountain again, but at a slower pace than before, and the pursuers behind him began to catch up slowly.

"What do we do?" Zheng Ji panicked. "I'm next in line! At this rate, even if Du Jincai doesn't get caught, I won't be able to escape!"

Six people run seven legs, and one person needs to run two legs.

The final leg is also quite special. This snow-capped mountain appears covered in ice and snow from the outside, but it is actually a Dormant Volcano inside. You can enter the interior of the mountain through the Volcanic Crater at the summit, and the final destination is located deep underground!

As they ventured deeper into the final leg, the temperature rose higher and higher. In the latter half, almost everything was filled with churning lava. Even experts at the Heart Refining Realm would find it difficult to move forward in such an environment. Therefore, after discussion, it was decided that Zheng Ji, who controlled the Water Elemental, would run this leg. His Water Elemental could not only cool down the lava but also temporarily cool a piece of lava to use as a stepping stone to continue advancing.

"I think it's possible," Lao Miao Miao chimed in. "We're going to lose anyway, and you saw Ye's speed in the first leg, so maybe we can manage."

Everyone fell silent.

But now, because Du Jincai suffered an avalanche, all the advantages he had accumulated have vanished, so Zheng Ji is naturally not confident in outrunning the pursuers.

"Huh?!" Du Jincai was shocked and tried to chase after the door, but it wouldn't open.

At that moment, Luo Jun snatched the keys and pushed open the door to leave.

"How could you..." He turned to look at the others and found that no one objected.

Zheng Ji paused for a moment, subconsciously took the keys, but hesitated and didn't go inside...

But who else could go besides him? Was this attempt destined to fail?

"Let me give it a try," Luo Jun suddenly declared.

"You?" Zheng Ji curled his lip. "Don't think I'll believe you just because you won the first leg!"

However, it's hard to guarantee speed with this approach; Zheng Ji estimates it will definitely be much slower than the pursuers. But considering the significant advantage accumulated by the previous runners, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Then you go yourself?" Luo Jun sneered. "In this situation, who among you is confident you can turn the tide?"

While everyone was still hesitating, Du Jincai had already run to the top of the mountain, pushed open the door and returned to the main room. "Quick, Zheng Ji! The pursuers are about to catch up!"

"What are you waiting for?" Du Jincai, covered in snow, urged, "There's no time..."

"Let him give it a try... it's come to this point anyway."

As soon as Luo Jun came out, he saw a huge Volcanic Crater in front of him. When he looked back, the huge tracker was rushing towards him at high speed, less than a hundred meters away.

Without any hesitation, Luo Jun jumped off the Volcanic Crater.

The Volcanic Crater's interior is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, resembling a funnel. Normally, one should descend along the edge. However, Luo Jun disregarded all that and, relying on his extraordinary jumping ability, leaped directly to the center of the Volcanic Crater, plummeting straight down.

For the first few hundred meters, the rock formations were still covered with ice and snow, but as he fell into the center of the "funnel" and entered the interior of the mountain, he immediately felt a wave of heat rushing towards him.

The volcano's interior was a vast space filled with churning, surging lava, where the temperature was estimated to be several hundred degrees Celsius. Even the ordinary fabric of Luo Jun's clothes began to turn black and carbonize.

Looking further down, there was nowhere to stand, and magma Jet Ports were everywhere, threatening to spray him with lava at any moment.

Luo Jun immediately activated the shield of his Body Protecting Belt, which first protected his clothes. Then he summoned his Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse and mounted it mid-air.

The Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse four hooves out, moving so fast that they could even briefly run on the water, let alone the thick lava!

To prevent his horse from plunging into the lava at high speed, Luo Jun maneuvered his warhorse to change its posture in mid-air. Just before it was about to fall into the lava, he activated a burst of energy to slow its speed and charged diagonally forward. Even in mid-air, the horse's hooves began to thrash wildly. Upon landing, it kicked up a large amount of lava and used the recoil to run forward.

However, without a solid foundation, the speed will ultimately not be as fast as in the first leg, and there is a risk of being overtaken.

Looking back, the pursuer had only just entered the mountainside. The monster's movement seemed to follow some kind of rule; although it ignored the terrain, its speed was a constant one kilometer per minute, even when free-falling from a height, it descended at a uniform speed...

That makes things easier.

Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief and spurred his horse forward.

The lava beneath his feet couldn't burn the mechanical horse's legs, Legendary Treasure Item. Luo Jun skillfully dodged the lava flows shooting from all around, and for those that were truly difficult to dodge, he could simply swing his Crescent Moon Blade to block them.

Following the route, they soon arrived at a downward lava waterfall. Luo Jun spurred his horse and leaped down, feeling the surrounding temperature rise even higher the moment he landed.

The lava below doesn't look as viscous as the upper layer, indicating that it has melted more thoroughly.

Although it was still fast enough to support the Crisscross hooves of the horse, the speed was slower than before, and Luo Jun could feel the pursuers behind him getting closer and closer.

Fortunately, there was no lava flow to interfere, and the finish line marker was already in sight, so it was almost over!

Just when Luo Jun thought victory was assured, suddenly, the lava in front of the finish line bulged up and instantly transformed into a huge Lava Monster that pounced on Luo Jun!

This thing isn't marked on the map!

Seeing this, Luo Jun immediately steed Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse in an attempt to bypass it, but the Lava Monster was too big and fast. As soon as Luo Jun changed direction, it immediately followed, its huge lava claws sweeping across and blocking any space to dodge!

Looking back, the pursuer was already very close. If this monster held them back, they would likely be doomed...

The Dice of Heavenly Secrets... Only two chances left. I'll definitely have to use one when I draw the Mimic Person. If I use it here, there's no guarantee that I'll get the reward at the end!

With this in mind, Luo Jun steeled his resolve, relying on his Body Protecting Belt, and with his Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse energy, he accelerated and charged head-on towards the monster's lava claws!

Boom!

The Azure Dragon Blade cleared the way, cleaving the giant claw in two. The scattered lava splashed onto Luo Jun, whose shield flickered. His Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse, undeterred, charged towards the finish line!

Just as Luo Jun crossed the finish line, a Teleportation Gate suddenly appeared in front of him. After rushing through it, he was back in the main room of the Third Checkpoint in the next instant.

The sudden appearance of night startled everyone in the room. Now, looking at the Longitudinal and Horizontal Warhorse, its body was covered in cooling lava, and Luo Jun's Crescent Moon Blade was glowing with a black and red light. Combined with his black mask, he looked like Death Knight returned from Hell...

At the same time, a notification indicating the completion of the level lit up inside the room.

(End of this chapter)