Thunder Blade Shadow: Modified

"Hehe. Huh?"

Tiona had been giggling when she suddenly noticed smoke rising from her weapon. The blade that had first struck the monster had melted, and the corrosion was rapidly spreading to the other parts.

She hurriedly threw her weapon to the ground. In just a few seconds, it had melted away without a trace.

"No way! My Great Dual Blades!"

Tiona stared in disbelief at the weapon, now completely dissolved on the ground. She'd spent ages saving up to have a top-class smith make it for her. When she realized her weapon was gone—and so was all the money she'd spent on it—she nearly burst into tears.

Suddenly, Tione grabbed Tiona and leaped aside.

A monster appeared where they had just been standing. While the two were distracted, one had taken the opportunity to slam down on them with its body.

"Bastards!"

Bete shouted and charged forward. He sprang up with a powerful push of his right foot, twisted in midair, and kicked the Green Caterpillar Monster hard in the jaw. His powerful kick swept away all the monsters crawling out of the entrance.

"Don't just stand there wasting time, you idiot Amazon sisters! They're coming again!"

"But how are we supposed to fight those things?!"

Tiona stared at the scraps of her Great Dual Blades on the ground, close to tears. Even her weapon had melted after striking one of the monsters. Now that she was unarmed, she had no way to deal with them.

"We can't even attack freely like this."

Tione was also troubled as she watched more monsters crawl out. Their weapons weren't indestructible.

"Tiona! Tione!"

Finn's voice rang out beside them. He had arrived with Riveria and the others.

"Captain!"

"We can only burn them away with magic. Draw their attention and buy us time to chant."

Finn had recognized the threat these monsters posed on the way over. They were a natural counter to close-combat fighters like them.

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

"Wait, Finn!"

Just then, Lu Qiming stopped the Amazon sisters and the others as they were about to charge out.

"What is it, Qiming?"

Finn looked at Lu Qiming in confusion. Did he intend to deal with all these monsters on his own? There were so many of them, and they were monsters from the 51st Floor—nothing like the creatures from the floors above.

"Leave these monsters to me."

"No! Even with your strength, Qiming, you can't possibly take on this many monsters!"

Finn shook his head and looked ahead. Monsters were crawling out of the 51st Floor Entrance in an endless, tightly packed stream. Their numbers and strength were on a completely different level from those on the previous floors.

"Don't worry."

Lu Qiming smiled faintly and patted Finn on the shoulder. He knew Finn was worried about him, but...

"Did I ever say I was using my full strength?"

With a smile on his face, Lu Qiming held Divine Judgment and slowly walked toward the horde. Thunder began to rumble. Golden lightning, visible to the naked eye, wrapped around him, and the ground he crossed gave off a scorched stench beneath the rampaging bolts.

"Musou!"

His physical abilities began to surge at an incredible pace. Boundless power filled his body, and the lightning wrapped around him gathered toward Divine Judgment's blade. The blade turned gold as the lightning formed a sword that continued to grow longer.

By the time Lu Qiming stopped, he held two golden greatswords, each forty meters long.

Thunder Blade Shadow: Modified.

He crouched slightly, then lifted his face, a crazed grin on his lips. A bloodthirsty red glint flashed in his dark eyes as he fixed his gaze on the monsters ahead.

"Hehahaha! Dance!"

An unusual mental pressure radiated from Lu Qiming and swept across the entire 50th Floor. The monsters that had been crawling toward the Expedition Team's camp all stopped in their tracks and looked back in fear.

The next moment, lightning shot into the sky. Lu Qiming's figure became a streak of lightning, darting past one monster after another. Everything in his path was reduced to evenly cut chunks, and the fluids inside the monsters were vaporized by the lightning before they could even spray out.

In the blink of an eye, every monster that had poured out of the passage had turned to ash. Lu Qiming's figure flashed through the air again, transforming into lightning as he rushed straight toward the 51st Floor. The monsters surging toward the 50th Floor were pierced by the lightning in an instant.

"What was that?!"

Tiona watched as Lu Qiming dealt with the enormous number of monsters in front of them in an instant. At the 51st Floor Entrance, a pitch-black passage had appeared through the middle of the original stone staircase. Faint sparks of lightning still danced along it, and piles of Magic Stones lay scattered on either side.

"Is that Qiming's true strength?!"

Finn looked at the scene before him and gave a bitter smile. It seemed that when he'd fought Lu Qiming a few days ago, he'd really just been playing around.

"Um... Captain, what should we do now?"

Lefiya forced herself to walk over to Finn, though her legs wouldn't stop trembling. The moment Lu Qiming's strange mental pressure swept over her, she'd felt closer to death than ever before. It was as if she'd already died the instant that pressure passed over her.

Finn glanced at his companions, then at the trail Lu Qiming had left as he charged toward the 51st Floor. After a moment's thought, he looked at everyone.

"Tione, Tiona, Ais, Bete, Gareth, Riveria, and I will form the main force. Lefiya and Raul will provide support. Prepare to enter the 51st Floor and catch up with Qiming."

"Understood!"

"Finally!"

Everyone Finn had called on, except Lefiya, shouted with confidence. They'd been itching to fight for ages. Ever since entering the Dungeon, they'd been stuck at the back collecting Magic Stones and drops.

"You're too nervous, Lefiya!"

Tione took Lefiya's hand and gave her a gentle hug.

"Tione..."

"But we're about to enter unknown territory. It's only natural that you'd be nervous."

"Yes."

Lefiya lowered her head, unable to look at Tione. She knew that as a Magician, she might be too afraid to chant her spells and cast her magic, and would only hold everyone back.

Honestly!

Seeing Lefiya lower her head, Tione pulled her tightly into her arms.

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, we'll protect you, Lefiya. And if something happens to us..."

"I'll save you with magic!"

Hearing Lefiya's words, Tione smiled and let her go, gently patting her on the head.

"Come on. The captain and the others are ready to set out."

51st Floor Entrance.

Finn stood before the group.

"Everyone, we're about to enter the 51st Floor. That place is Hell! An unexpected turn of events has forced us to go in a day early, but I will never abandon a companion!"

When he finished speaking, Finn looked at everyone. Lu Qiming's sudden charge into the 51st Floor had forced them to enter early, but Finn didn't blame him. Given the situation, if they hadn't gone down to the 51st Floor and blocked the monsters below, the endless stream would eventually have grown so large that the monsters went around them and destroyed the camp—or even killed the support personnel.