Slaughter and Escape

The sharp Sword Light easily sliced both of Goliath's arms in two. Blood rained from the air, and amid Goliath's screams, its enormous arms crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Roar!"

The pain of losing its arms and having its soul cut apart again drove Goliath into a frenzy. It sent every monster charging at Lu Qiming, then raised its foot and stomped down on him.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous crash, Lu Qiming vanished from where he stood. He leaped high into the air, appearing in front of Goliath's enormous head.

"Become one with me!"

Lu Qiming aimed the Divine Judgment at Goliath and brought it down in a single slash. The enormous Sword Light split Goliath in two, then raced toward the endless horde of monsters behind it. At the entrance, the Adventurers watching the battle scattered to either side as the blinding light cleaved through the corridor on the seventeenth floor and brought it crashing down, leaving a massive sword mark in the wall.

"Tap."

Lu Qiming landed lightly on the ground. A deep fissure stretched out before him, its edges littered with gore, Magic Stones, and drops left behind by the dead monsters.

At the far end of the fissure lay an enormous figure. Its body had been cut in two, blood and entrails spilling across the ground. The stench of blood and ruptured organs filled Lu Qiming's nostrils.

"Ahahahaha, hehehe, hahaha! We've become one!"

Feeling his attributes rise once more after leveling up, Lu Qiming grew even stronger under Musou. A crazed, bloodthirsty smile spread across his face, and Divine Judgment began to howl in response.

"Well, hello, little darlings. Where do you think you're going?"

Lu Qiming tilted his head slightly and looked toward the monsters fleeing in all directions after Goliath's death ended their rampage. Their roars filled the air. The monsters closest to him had already collapsed under his terrifying killing intent and pressure, seemingly giving up all resistance.

As Lu Qiming watched the horde, some monsters, overwhelmed by his dreadful pressure, raised their weapons and smashed the monsters in their way into pulp, forcing a path toward the corridor.

Meanwhile, the many Adventurers at the exit passage on the seventeenth floor saw the monsters go berserk and begin charging at them. The horde surged forward like a tide, savagely tearing at the front line of their defenses as they tried to escape.

"What in the world happened?!"

A shield-bearing Adventurer stared in despair at the monsters pouring toward him. His shield had already been shattered by their bites. At last, a Hell Demon Wolf clamped its jaws around his throat.

Even as he died, he couldn't understand why the monsters that had just been attacking Lu Qiming had suddenly gone wild and turned on them.

"Ah!"

"Help!"

"I don't want to die!"

Screams rang out among the Adventurers. One party after another had its defenses broken by the frenzied monsters, and every member was torn to pieces and killed by the endless horde.

In just a few minutes, one party after another was overwhelmed. Hundreds of Adventurers died in the chaos, while the tide of monsters kept closing in on the passage.

Any Adventurers blocking their way were torn apart and devoured without mercy.

At a passageway, the party that Aili and Ailin belonged to was being battered by dozens of Abyss Giant Bears and hundreds of Hell Demon Wolves. If the terrain hadn't been so favorable—allowing only dozens of monsters to charge them at a time—they would have been torn to pieces already.

But even with the advantage of the terrain, they were close to breaking. The monsters surged against them like a tide. Their captain, holding the front line, was drenched in blood from head to toe, his flesh ripped open by the monsters' claws and fangs.

The others were in little better shape. Each of them had suffered injuries.

Behind them, some Adventurers who saw the situation turning against them had already turned and fled into the passage. Seeing this, the rest began abandoning their defenses and leaving the comrades who had been holding the line behind.

"Mili!"

Just then, the captain at the front shouted.

"Captain?"

The elven Magician beside Aili heard him and hurriedly looked over.

"Get everyone out of here while I can still hold them back!"

The captain didn't look back. He left them only the sight of his tall, broad back, soaked in blood.

"Yes!"

The elven Magician Mili knew there was no time to hesitate. She pulled Aili and Ailin away from the Abyss Demon Bear they were fighting together, gave her captain one last long look, then called for the others to retreat.

"Mili, no! I don't want to!"

"Captain! The captain hasn't left yet. We're not leaving either!"

The two little girls, Aili and Ailin, sobbed as tears the size of beans streamed down their faces. They struggled to go back and fight alongside their captain.

Mili looked at the two crying little ones, her eyes reddening. Fighting back her tears, she began pulling them away. She wanted to fight alongside the captain too, but staying would betray his final request. She had already decided that once she got the girls somewhere safe, she would come back.

Even if she died, she would die alongside the captain!

"Come on!"

Mira called to the other party members, ready to leave.

"Mili, just take Aili and Ailin with you. We're staying."

A young werewolf smiled at them. The other party members beside him looked at them the same way. They had entrusted their hopes of survival to the three girls in their Kin.

"You..."

Mili looked at her companions in grief. She understood their decision. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she pulled Aili and Ailin and ran down the passage.

Watching the three girls disappear, the young werewolf smiled faintly. He raised his gauntlet, caked in flesh and blood, and went to stand beside his captain.

"Elio, why didn't you leave?"

The captain glanced with difficulty at those who had stayed, anger filling his eyes.

"If we left and you died, wouldn't you be all alone? Besides, these monsters will catch up to us soon after we leave. What difference does it make whether we go or stay?"

Elio, the young werewolf, smiled and smashed his fist into a Hell Demon Wolf charging at him. His other companions began fighting the monsters too.

"Good! Then let's fight together one last time!"

Looking at those around him, the captain laughed freely. He threw away his battered shield and gripped his greatsword with both hands.

Now in the passage after Mili had pulled them away, Aili and Ailin watched the captain and the older companions who had always cared for them disappear beneath the monsters. They cried out in despair.

"Berserker senior, please save us!"