King-tier

Seeing Loth and Maizer's names on the list.

Lu Cang paused.

He walked into the Adventurer's Guild.

"Xili."

"Little Lu Cang..."

"I want information on Loth and their disappearance," Lu Cang said calmly.

Xili met Lu Cang's gaze.

But she found no trace of sadness or confusion in his eyes.

Xili put away her comforting words.

She immediately fetched the commission request.

"Lu Cang... here are the commission details and disappearance information for their party."

Lu Cang took the disappearance information and glanced at it.

The information stated they were indeed missing.

Disappearance information.

In a Tier 3 Dungeon, they encountered a Monarch-level Demonic Beast and made the decision to flee.

They ran, and Loth and Maizer became separated from the others during the escape, their whereabouts unknown.

This was all the intelligence available.

The time was half an hour ago.

Not long yet.

Lu Cang simply nodded lightly.

He quickly turned and headed for the door.

And this time.

Lu Cang didn't go to find a mount.

Instead, ice surged beneath his feet.

Ding--

A massive Ice Shuttle materialized beneath Lu Cang's feet.

Bang!

Lu Cang vanished from his spot almost instantly, creating a cold current.

The Ice Shuttle flew at extreme speed.

Even with Lu Cang standing on it, it had already broken Earth's sound barrier.

However, in this world, the speed of sound didn't seem to be that slow.

In less than five minutes.

Lu Cang had already arrived at the Dungeon they were exploring today.

"Hoo..."

This was his first time venturing into a Dungeon alone.

However, Lu Cang didn't delay.

"Mind's Eye Constant Lamp (LV: 201) - Selfish Radiance"

After Constant Lamp evolved again, it no longer emitted a real light. Instead, Lu Cang could distribute the effects of Constant Lamp to his teammates.

Where enemies saw darkness, Lu Cang and his teammates saw illumination.

The light illuminated every corner of the cave.

This was the [Blood Sacrifice Cave].

A Tier 3 Dungeon.

The cave walls were covered in bloody marks everywhere.

Lu Cang circled the Ice Shuttle around his body, and the "Life Wind Swarm" had already completely enveloped him.

At the same time, the "Protective Barrier (LV: 201)" also completely encased Lu Cang like a sphere.

"Loth!"

"Maizer!"

"If you can hear me, answer me!"

Ahead was a turn.

"Repelling Wind Blast (LV:201)"

As Lu Cang called out, the Repelling Wind Blast struck!

After confirming there were no traps or ambushes, he moved past the corner.

Turning the corner.

A wide-open space could be seen in the distance.

A blood pool lay in the center of the spacious cavern, and around it, four faceless humanoid Demonic Beasts formed from blood were lurking.

Bang!

The Ice Shuttle struck almost instantly!

It pierced through the four Blood Puppets in a flash, turning them into ice sculptures of blood.

The path ahead was wide open.

Lu Cang released "Shifting Shadow Swamp," which, like a shadowy marsh, roamed the cavern walls like a vast expanse of Shadow Demons.

Passing by the blood pool, the area was littered with signs of battle.

Lu Cang glanced into the depths of the massive blood pool a few times.

It was a boiling blood pool.

Inside was only blood, bubbling and gurgling.

He didn't know if Loth and the others were inside, but if they were, there was likely no point in searching anymore.

Lu Cang had no intention of wasting effort investigating.

Instead, he continued to move forward quickly.

Thump--

Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed from the ground.

The surrounding Elementals also began to stir.

This Dungeon... contained a King-tier Demonic Beast...

"Wasn't that something we already knew before coming here?"

Lu Cang sighed lightly and continued to explore deeper.

Cave-type Dungeons were nothing more than caverns, passages, and open caves.

There was no distinct topographical differentiation.

Around them were only rock walls and blood.

It was just that the deeper he went into this Dungeon, the more concentrated the blood became.

Fortunately, Lu Cang wasn't exploring Dungeons for the first time and had developed some resistance to these somewhat terrifying scenes.

He encountered quite a few Demonic Beasts along the way, similar to those his previous party might have missed when exploring side paths.

Generally, when exploring a Dungeon, one didn't need to clear out all the Demonic Beasts.

After killing the Dungeon's guardian, these minor monsters would disappear on their own after a while.

However, Lu Cang still dealt with these minor monsters when he encountered them.

Along the way, he also encountered three traps, all of which Lu Cang disarmed.

"Loth!"

"Maizer!"

"If you can hear me, answer me!"

Lu Cang was beginning to understand the frustration of those in movies who were rescuing people.

Why come to rescue them?

Because they were his friends?

Because... he felt they still had a chance?

Doing something that put himself in danger was annoying.

He almost wanted to give up and stop searching.

Adventuring, in itself, required one to be responsible for their own actions.

Lu Cang clutched the pendant on his chest.

It was an amulet he had bought from the magic item shop owner for 1500 gold.

It contained a sealed Tier 4 Life Shelter Technique.

When subjected to irresistible damage, it would activate immediately, its effect equivalent to a full-power resistance from a Tier 4 Defender.

The other ring had the effect of a Tier 4 Moment of Healing.

It could restore injuries sustained within a certain period.

It cost about 3,000 Gold Coins in total to buy life-saving equipment, including various antidotes and potions to purify abnormal status effects.

There was even a Tier 4 Random Teleport Scroll.

It could be used for random teleportation magic.

As for where in the world it would teleport to, that was... unknown.

Lu Cang wouldn't use this thing unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Forget it, at least I won't die just by looking at a King-tier Demonic Beast."

If looking at it meant death.

Then the team's outcome should have been a total wipe, not with some people managing to escape.

Dong--

The cave shook again.

Around another corner, Lu Cang skillfully used magic to scout.

Boom!

However, this time, after unleashing Wind Blast, he felt a hit feedback.

But the feedback came from a distance, not up close!

Rumble--

Lu Cang immediately summoned a Heavy Wall, blocking the path at the corner.

There was a hole in the middle of the Heavy Wall.

A barrier formed, blocking the hole, and Lu Cang observed the situation in the distance through it.

Before him was a blood-red altar formed from countless streams of blood.

Loth and Maizer were suspended high in the air by blood-red chains, hanging directly above the altar.

Beneath the altar were hundreds of faceless humanoid figures made entirely of blood.

They were worshipping the altar.

At the furthest point stood a blood-red throne, and upon it sat a humanoid creature made entirely of blood.

The difference between it and the countless kneeling Blood Puppets below was its much larger size. It wore crimson armor and had a massive crimson greatsword placed by its side.

The moment Lu Cang saw it, it also opened its black, void-like eyes.

Its gaze met Lu Cang's.

"It seems... we have new guests."