"Down below?"
Finn heard Lu Qiming's words and looked down through the hole that led straight to the 58th Floor. At the far end, Wyverns circled in the sky, while red Cannon Dragons on the ground opened their enormous mouths and aimed at the people above.
"Move!"
Finn shouted and hurried everyone away from where they stood. The monsters had already locked onto their position.
Boom!
A red beam of light shot up. The ground around the edge of the hole melted into flowing liquid from the intense heat.
"The captain wants me to go down there and take them out?"
Bete clenched his fists and looked toward the spot where they had just been. Even they couldn't ignore an attack like that. And if they made their way down one floor at a time, they'd be sitting ducks.
"Right. Then we'll split into two groups. Qiming, you'll go straight to the 58th Floor with the Tiona sisters, Bete, Lefiya, and Gareth. The rest of us will take the usual route."
Finn nodded as he looked down, agreeing with Bete's suggestion. Staying exposed as sitting ducks like this was bound to lead to trouble.
"Okay, we'll head down first, then."
Lu Qiming finished speaking, grabbed Lefiya beside him, and jumped into the hole leading straight to the 58th Floor.
"Ahhhhh! I'm not ready!"
Lefiya suddenly felt herself falling and clung tightly to Lu Qiming, screaming in fright.
Bete and the others exchanged glances, then jumped down after them.
At that moment, the monsters on the 58th Floor spotted Lu Qiming and the others falling toward them. The Cannon Dragons on the ground opened their mouths, and red flames began to gather inside.
Roar!
Blazing red breath surged toward the group in the passage. There was nowhere to dodge.
"Damn it!"
A shout came from behind. Tiona sped up her fall and swung her greatsword at the breath.
"Tiona?"
Lefiya looked ahead anxiously. Tiona had charged forward and cut the breath apart with a single slash, but the flames engulfed her.
"It's scorching!"
The flames died down, revealing Tiona, protected by a pale green magical shield.
Tiona raised a hand and looked at the magical shield. Without it, she would have been badly injured.
"As expected of Riveria. This magic is amazing!"
"What are you all doing? Don't just stand there—here they come again!"
Bete shouted from nearby, his expression grim as he looked down. Perhaps because the monsters had realized their last attack hadn't worked, this time ten Cannon Dragons attacked all at once.
"Tch! Leave it to me. Lefiya, get ready to chant."
Lu Qiming tossed Lefiya into Tiona's arms, stepped on empty air with his left foot, and shot forward as a shadow, charging straight into the breath.
Spiral Pierce: Modified—Tornado Destroys Parking Lot!
Lu Qiming raised Divine Judgment high as his body began to spin at incredible speed. The air whipped around him, and a massive tornado formed at the front. It pierced through the oncoming breath and tore it apart.
Behind him, with the danger gone, Lefiya closed her eyes and began to chant.
"Proud warriors, forest archers, face—"
On the 58th Floor, countless Cannon Dragons and Caterpies had gathered beneath the passage on the dimly lit ground. Gray-green Wyverns circled beneath the passage in the dark red sky.
Below, red light gathered in the mouths of several Cannon Dragons as they fixed their eyes on the passage's exit.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out at the mouth of the passage. The rising dust obscured the monsters' view.
The Cannon Dragons that had just attacked paused, then began gathering energy again, preparing to launch another attack.
"Here I come!"
Boom!
A roar came from the dust in the sky. Bete, his body flashing with a magical shield, stomped on the head of a Cannon Dragon that was preparing to attack. The tremendous impact drove its head into its belly, and the gathered breath exploded inside it.
"I can do that too!"
Tiona followed, bringing her greatsword down on another Cannon Dragon. Propelled by the tremendous force, the sharp blade split the monster in two, and its blood splattered before it turned to black ash.
"Hah! I'm here, you trash!"
Bete landed beside Tiona and taunted the surrounding monsters.
"Take them out, Lefiya!"
Tiona shouted toward the passage overhead.
"Rain of Fire Arrows!"
Tione landed in front of them with Lefiya in her arms. Dozens of red Magic Circles appeared around Lefiya, and in the next instant, countless flaming arrows shot out of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Endless explosions rang out. The monsters near them, both in the sky and on the ground, were swept away.
"I-I thought I was going to die."
Lefiya patted her chest and looked around timidly.
"After using magic that powerful, how can you say that? You burned up all the Cannon Dragons, Wyverns, and new species."
Tione laughed and took Lefiya's hand. Their Magician was just a little timid, but given time to chant, the power she unleashed was immense.
Lefiya glanced bashfully at her teammates, then suddenly realized someone was missing.
"Sis Tione, where's Qiming?"
"Qiming? There he is."
Tione pointed helplessly at a large crater not far away. At the bottom, Lu Qiming kept getting up, walking a few steps, falling down, and then getting back up again.
"What happened to Qiming?"
Lefiya looked at Lu Qiming and asked, trying to hold back a laugh.
"He spun himself dizzy just now. Ignore him. He'll be fine in a bit."
At the bottom of the crater, Lu Qiming lay sprawled like a beached fish. He'd just gotten the idea to modify Spiral Pierce. The move was supposed to be performed with Divine Judgment, but he'd used his own body instead.
He'd spun and spun until he was dizzy, then lost control and crashed headfirst into the ground. Now that he'd managed to stand, he couldn't tell east from west. All he could feel was that the whole world was spinning.
"I have to seal Tornado Destroys Parking Lot. I absolutely can't use it again!"
Muttering to himself, Lu Qiming struggled back to his feet. Luckily, his physical abilities and senses had been enhanced a hundredfold. Otherwise, even crawling along the ground would have been a problem.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A gigantic Cannon Dragon appeared, over ten meters tall with a wingspan of nearly fifty meters. It had appeared right beside the crater where Lu Qiming was.
"Roar!"
The enormous Cannon Dragon roared at Bete and the others, glaring at them furiously.
"It's so huge."
"But it's probably not the Floor Boss, right?"
The Tiona sisters murmured as they stared at the monster, which was several times larger than the Cannon Dragons from before.
Suddenly, the giant Cannon Dragon parted its jaws slightly, drawing in a huge amount of air. It raised its head and aimed at Tiona and the others. A red glow lit up inside its mouth.
"Watch out! Get out of the way!"
Bete saw the giant Cannon Dragon's movements and was about to tell the others to dodge when Lu Qiming's unsteady figure appeared beside its mouth. He kicked the Cannon Dragon under the chin.
"Roar!"
The breath exploded inside the giant Cannon Dragon's mouth. Half its enormous head was blown away, and the remaining half roared wildly.
"What are you roaring for? Do you know how hard it was for me to stand up? And now you've knocked me down again!"
The angrier Lu Qiming got, the more he spoke. He raised Divine Judgment and finished it off with a single slash.
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