The Underground Lava Lake

The stone staircase was longer than expected.

Akes followed in the middle of the group. Beneath his feet lay ancient stone steps, and with each one he could feel a faint tremor. The magic lamps on the walls lit up automatically, casting a dark red glow that made the passage seem to lead straight into the depths of the earth.

After about fifteen minutes, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

Before them lay a vast underground cavern, with a ceiling too high to see and a smooth stone floor beneath their feet. The air reeked of sulfur, and the temperature was far higher than on the first level. An ordinary person wouldn't last long here before suffering heatstroke.

Straight ahead was a lava lake.

Dark red magma flowed slowly across its surface, occasionally bubbling up and bursting with tiny sparks. The lake stretched so far that they couldn't see the other side. Only a few black reefs could be made out in the distance, jutting above the surface.

"This is the second level." Kallen stood by the lake, surveying the area. "Be careful. There should be a guardian here."

Before he had even finished speaking, a huge wave suddenly surged up from the center of the lake.

Magma shot into the air, and a massive creature rose from the lake. It was as large as a small building, its entire body formed from magma and rock. Its limbs were thick and powerful, and its head looked somewhat like a lizard's, but flames roared from its mouth.

Saint-level.

Everyone present felt the pressure. It was the crushing force of a higher level of life, the instinctive fear that low-level cultivators felt toward stronger beings.

"A Magma Behemoth." The Blue-Robed Array Breaker's voice trembled. "Saint-level..."

Kallen's expression didn't change as he slowly drew the greatsword at his waist.

"Barton, Bally, take the others back." His voice remained calm. "I'll deal with this thing. Keep an eye on your surroundings and don't let anything else get close."

The group quickly retreated and formed a defensive formation in a relatively safe area by the lake. Akes stood beside Old Chen, his gaze fixed on the battlefield.

Kallen had already charged toward the Magma Behemoth.

A Saint-level fighter was incredibly fast. Akes could only make out a blur skimming across the lake. A deafening boom followed as Kallen's greatsword struck the beast, sending countless sparks flying.

The behemoth roared in pain and swung a foreclaw at Kallen. The gust from its swipe was strong enough to make Akes feel the pressure from afar.

Kallen flashed aside, dodging the blow, then countered with a slash at the behemoth's joint. The rock there had a seam and was relatively weak. His strike carved a deep crack into it.

"Nice!" Barton couldn't help praising him.

But the fight was far from over.

The Magma Behemoth was slower than Kallen, but its defenses were astonishing, and its strength was terrifying. Every swipe of its claws could shatter stone, and every burst of flame covered a wide area. Kallen had the upper hand, but he couldn't bring it down quickly.

The battle went on for fifteen minutes.

The lake was thrown into chaos. Magma splashed everywhere, and some of it landed on the shore, instantly burning holes into the rock. The group could only keep retreating, taking cover farther away.

Just then, Old Chen's expression changed.

"Something's wrong." He stared at the lake. "Look over there."

Akes followed the direction he was pointing. Something was moving in the darkness at the edge of the lake. A pack of small magical beasts was emerging. They weren't large, but there were many of them. They crawled out from between the rocks, stealthily approaching the group.

"Magma Hounds." Bally recognized them. "Around level eight. They live in packs."

At least twenty Magma Hounds were closing in from both sides. They moved in an orderly fashion, clearly hunting their prey.

"Split up and deal with them." Barton tightened his grip on his greatsword. "Bally, hold the left with me. Mages, take the right."

Without hesitation, everyone sprang into action.

Akes summoned the Fallen Heart Flame and formed a wall of fire in front of him. The Magma Hounds had much greater resistance to fire than the Blazing Lizards they'd fought earlier. Though the flames burned them as they crossed the wall, they could still keep going.

He immediately changed tactics.

The Fallen Heart Flame split into dozens of tiny fire arrows, aimed at the Magma Hounds' eyes and muzzles—their weakest points. One hound was struck in the eye and fell to the ground, howling and thrashing. Several others were hit as well, slowing their assault.

Old Chen's Water Element magic proved remarkably effective. His ice arrows couldn't hurt the Magma Hounds, but they lowered the temperature around them, making the fire-type beasts uncomfortable and slowing their movements.

The Zhou the Wind Mage's wind blades worked in tandem with the ice arrows, cutting at the Magma Hounds' flanks. The three mages' spells formed a coordinated attack. Though they had little time to prepare, it worked well.

On the left, Barton and Bally had already slain several Magma Hounds. The siblings worked together seamlessly, their greatswords moving like the wind. Each stroke took the life of a beast.

But there were too many Magma Hounds.

As soon as they killed one wave, a second poured out of the darkness. They seemed endless, impossible to wipe out.

"Damn it!" Bally cursed, cleaving through a Magma Hound that had leaped at her. "How many of these things are there?"

Akes fought while watching the area around him. He noticed that the Magma Hounds weren't coming from a single direction. They were emerging from cracks between the rocks all around the lake. That meant there might be a nest here—or several passages.

"Lord Kallen!" he shouted. "We need more time over here!"

Kallen was locked in battle with the Magma Behemoth. Hearing the call, he furrowed his brow. He forced the beast back with a sword strike, then suddenly leaped high into the air.

"Get back!"

With a low shout, the full pressure of a Saint-level fighter erupted from him.

Akes felt a terrifying force descend from above, nearly pressing him to his knees. He gritted his teeth and held on. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Magma Hounds frozen by the same pressure, their movements halted all at once.

In that brief moment, Kallen struck.

His sword came down, and its light formed a crescent-shaped arc that swept across the entire shore. The Magma Hounds fell wherever it passed. Some were cut cleanly in half; others had their insides crushed and died on the spot.

More than twenty Magma Hounds—wiped out in a single strike.

Akes sucked in a sharp breath.

So this was what it meant to be Saint-level.

But he had no time to dwell on it, because the Magma Behemoth was enraged. It let out a thunderous roar, and the entire lava lake began to boil. The magma churned into towering waves, while countless fireballs formed from molten rock shot out of the lake and rained down all around them.

"Defend yourselves!" Old Chen roared, instantly forming a curtain of water above them.

The fireballs struck the water curtain with a hissing sound. Steam billowed up, filling the cavern in the blink of an eye. Akes felt the temperature around him soar, making it hard even to breathe.

He quickly summoned his true essence to protect himself. A golden barrier appeared around his body, blocking some of the heat.

The others used their own methods as well. Barton and Bally stood back-to-back, their Dou Qi forming a protective barrier. Zhou the Wind Mage summoned a wall of wind to blow the fireballs off course. The two Array Breakers took shelter behind a massive boulder. Its material was unusual, and it withstood the fireballs' bombardment.

But one person was too slow.

The archer had already been injured, and his movements weren't as nimble as before. A fireball flew toward him. He narrowly dodged it, but molten rock splashed onto his leg.

"Ah—"

A scream rang out. The fire burned through his lower leg instantly, exposing charred bone. The thief beside him rushed over to pull him away, but another fireball crashed down, hitting them both.

Akes tried to rush over, but they were too far away. He couldn't get there in time.

Another wave of fire rained down. The two men were swallowed by magma, and their cries fell silent.

"Damn it!" Bally gritted her teeth, her eyes reddening.

The battle continued.

Kallen finally began fighting in earnest.

His swordsmanship changed abruptly. He stopped making probing attacks and unleashed deadly strikes instead. Every blow carried the force to destroy the heavens and earth, sending sparks ten times larger than before flying from the Magma Behemoth's body.

The beast's defenses began to crumble.

Rock shattered and magma surged out as the behemoth gave a cry of pain. Kallen severed its left foreleg with a single strike. The severed limb fell into the lava lake, sending a towering wave surging upward. Its right hind leg followed, and the beast began to tilt.

With his final strike, Kallen slashed through the behemoth's neck.

Its massive head fell into the lake and sank into the depths of the magma.

The behemoth's body crashed onto the shore, shaking the entire underground cavern.

The battle was over.

Kallen sheathed his sword and swayed as he returned to the shore. He had several burns, but none were serious. The defenses of a Saint-level fighter were indeed far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

"Count everyone." His voice sounded tired.

The group silently took count.

Twelve people had entered. Now only ten remained. The archer and the thief hadn't survived.

The mood was heavy.

Akes looked at the two bodies, their features burned beyond recognition by the magma, but said nothing. This was the first time he had seen a companion die right before his eyes. He had known the ruins were dangerous, but knowing that and witnessing it were two different things.

"Bury them," Kallen said. "Here."

The group got to work, finding a relatively flat spot on the shore and piling rocks into two simple graves. There were no headstones or inscriptions, only two rocks placed on each grave as markers.

"Let's keep moving." Kallen stood. "The third level is across the lake."

The group continued along the shore. The magma still flowed slowly through the lake. The fireballs had stopped, and only the occasional bubble broke the calm.

After half an hour, they finally saw the opposite shore.

There was a stretch of black reefs, and behind them stood a stone gate, much like the one on the first level. It was also carved with complex runes.

"The entrance to the third level," the Blue-Robed Array Breaker said.

The group quickened their pace and stepped onto the reefs.

Just then, something changed.

The reef beneath their feet suddenly trembled. A huge claw reached out from a crack in the rocks and swiped at Bally, who was at the front of the group.

Bally reacted swiftly and retreated, narrowly dodging the attack. But the gust from the claw swept across her abdomen, tearing her clothes and revealing a bloody scratch beneath.

"More of them?" Barton rushed forward and slashed at the claw.

It withdrew into the crack in the rocks and disappeared.

The group warily formed a circle, watching every rock beneath their feet.

Rumble—

The entire reef began to shake. Countless cracks appeared, and claws reached out from them one after another. A group of smaller Magma Behemoths emerged. There were at least a dozen, and each one was level nine.

"A trap." Kallen's expression darkened. "This is their nest."

There was no time to hesitate. The battle erupted again.

Kallen held off the three strongest on his own. Barton and Bally worked together against two, while the rest fought their own battles. Akes faced a medium-sized Magma Behemoth, around mid-level nine.

He didn't retreat.

He poured all his strength into the Fallen Heart Flame, forming a flaming spear before him. The spear flew from his hand, aiming straight for the behemoth's eye. The beast instinctively shut its eye. The flaming spear struck its eyelid, scorching a blackened crater into it.

The behemoth roared in pain and lunged at Akes.

Akes advanced instead of retreating. His figure flashed as Teleportation activated, and he appeared behind the behemoth in an instant. It was the first time he had used Teleportation in actual combat. The distance was short, but the result was surprisingly effective.

The behemoth lunged at empty air. Before it could react, Akes's second spear was already coming.

This time, he aimed for the back of its neck, where its scales were thin and its weakness lay. The flaming spear pierced through, and the behemoth let out a shrill cry as its body began to sway.

Akes gave it no chance to recover. Third spear, fourth spear, fifth spear—he fired five in a row, all striking the same spot.

The behemoth's neck was completely pierced, and its massive body crashed to the ground.

Akes panted heavily, his mana nearly depleted. He quickly took out a Qi Gathering Pill and swallowed it, feeling his mana slowly recover.

Looking around, he saw that the battle was still raging.

Kallen had already slain the three strongest behemoths and was helping the Barton siblings fight the rest. Old Chen had also used up much of his Water Element magic. His face was pale, but he kept fighting.

At last, the final behemoth fell.

The battle was over. Those who remained were so exhausted they could barely stand.

Akes leaned against a reef and gasped for breath. He had several burns, from magma splashing him while he dodged during the fight. They weren't life-threatening, but they stung fiercely.

Old Chen came over and handed him a jar of salve. "Put this on. It'll ease the pain."

Akes took it and thanked him.

Bally was bandaging the wound on her abdomen, while Barton kept watch beside her. The two Array Breakers were huddled in a corner, their faces deathly pale. They had clearly been badly shaken. Though they understood arrays, they had almost no combat ability, and had relied entirely on the others to protect them during the fight.

Kallen stood at the edge of the reef, gazing at the stone gate.

"Rest here. We'll enter the third level in two hours." His voice remained steady, but Akes noticed that he was breathing faster than usual.

Even a Saint-level fighter was tired.

Akes leaned against the reef, closed his eyes, and circulated his cultivation method to recover his mana. The Fallen Heart Flame slowly flowed through his body, absorbing the sparse fire element in the air. Its concentration was much higher here than outside, so he recovered twice as fast as usual.

Two hours passed quickly.

The group got to their feet and walked toward the stone gate.

The runes on the gate were similar to those on the first level, but more complex. The two Array Breakers studied them for fifteen minutes and found a way to open it. This time, they didn't need a key; they only needed to pour in enough mana at the same time.

Kallen nodded and looked at the group. "Everyone, help."

All twelve of them—no, only ten remained now—placed their hands on the stone gate at the same time and poured in their mana.

The stone gate slowly opened.