On the 25th floor stairwell, the Grey Hawk squad had reached the end of their rope.
The obstacles blocking the passage on the 24th floor were almost completely destroyed, and low-rank Abyss Beasts surged out from behind the door like a tide.
A-Jie's battle blade was badly nicked, and his Source Energy was nearly depleted. Every swing felt as though his arm weighed a thousand pounds.
Cracks covered the Fat Man's heavy shield. Old K was almost out of bullets, and Xiao Ling's Source Energy blades had grown dim.
"Left! Three more coming up!"
"We can't hold them off!"
The Fat Man panted hard, feeling as if he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment.
A Claw Demon broke through their line of fire and shrieked as it lunged at Xiao Ling, whose movements had already slowed.
A-Jie roared and, heedless of his injuries, gritted his teeth and rushed to intercept it.
Just then.
"Vmmm!"
A brilliant blue arc of blade light flashed into existence like a new moon, sweeping across in front of Xiao Ling faster than the eye could follow.
The few low-rank Abyss Beasts lunging toward them, including the Claw Demon, froze in place. Then, like stalks of grain cut by an invisible force, they split cleanly in two. Foul blood and entrails splattered across the ground, then turned to ash, leaving behind only a few faintly glimmering Source Energy Crystals.
The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
The next instant, their vision blurred, and two figures in Source Martial Army combat uniforms appeared in the open space of the stairwell like phantoms.
One of them held a battle blade still wreathed in a faint blue glow. Clearly, he had unleashed the lifesaving slash just moments ago.
The other swept a sharp gaze across the scene