...If It's Not Here, I'm Invincible!

Flashing lights gathered the figures of the four brothers within their glow as they stepped into the Dungeon.

The floor beneath their feet was blanketed in white snow, the surrounding rock walls were coated in frost, and the air was filled with a biting chill.

"It's a snowfield map." The second brother exhaled, and his breath instantly turned into white mist.

"Whew... The temperature's low. Everyone, be careful."

The eldest brother swiftly swept his gaze across the entire room. There was nothing in sight.

"She's not here!"

The fourth brother immediately pointed toward the room's only exit at the far end.

"There's only one path!"

"Move!" the eldest brother growled, taking the lead.

The third brother did not dare delay. With a wave of his hand, the shadows beneath his feet stirred, and a massive Shadow Wolf was instantly summoned.

Yet when the Shadow Wolf appeared, it still carried a lingering savage aura. It opened its jaws as if about to pounce, only stopping abruptly after recognizing its master.

Had the Shadow Wolf just been fighting? The third brother was puzzled.

But thinking of Ifrit, whose fate was still unknown, he could only force down his thoughts and activate his skill again.

[Frost Ash Wolf Assault]

"Roar—!"

The Shadow Wolf's body rapidly expanded, transforming into a terrifying beast five meters tall in the blink of an eye.

"Get on!" The third brother leaped onto the wolf's back first. The others quickly followed.

The Shadow Wolf pushed off with all four paws and sprinted wildly down the only passage.

As they rushed into the first room, the sight before them made their hearts tighten.

The room was a complete mess. The walls and floor were covered in scorched burn marks, twisted charred corpses lay scattered everywhere, and the air reeked of burning flesh.

"That fire! It's definitely that child!" The eldest brother confirmed at once, lava streaming from his body as his emotions surged.

The second brother rapidly scanned the surroundings and keenly noticed the damage beyond the traces left by the flames.

"The monsters' abilities and attacks are enhanced after materializing. Be careful!" the second brother warned.

Debris was piled throughout the room, broken walls created blind spots, and the dim lighting made searching even more difficult.

The third brother patted the Shadow Wolf. "Can you smell her?"

The Shadow Wolf sniffed hard, then shook its head. The thick burnt stench in the area completely covered every other scent.

Sweat beaded on the fourth brother's forehead. "Ifrit's inner Flame Demon must have gone berserk! We have to hurry! The Flame Demon's power will keep eroding her body and mind!"

"I know—" Before the eldest brother could finish, his lava pupils suddenly locked onto the darkness behind the fourth brother—

A scarlet light abruptly lit up there.

[Energy Shield!]

"Whoosh—!"

A scarlet energy beam shot straight at the fourth brother, but before it could touch him, it was swallowed by the automatically unfolding lava domain.

The group broke out in cold sweat and immediately assumed combat stances as they looked around.

"Crack... crack..."

"Roar..."

"Buzz—"

Hair-raising sounds came from every direction in the passages, while more and more scarlet lights flickered on in the darkness.

Large numbers of monsters had been drawn by the earlier commotion and were gathering toward the room.

"Didn't the monsters in this room just get cleared out? Why did they respawn?!" the fourth brother asked in alarm.

"Because this isn't a game!" The second brother's voice was grim.

"The monsters from other rooms can be drawn over by sound and light. Be careful—we're surrounded!"

"We don't have time to waste on them!" The eldest brother's fury surged as the lava across his body suddenly blazed.

Crimson waves of fire swept forward in a fan-shaped arc, instantly burning and melting the enemies at the front in the extreme heat.

The fourth brother attacked at the same time. A dark red energy black hole formed in the center of the monster horde, its powerful suction forcefully dragging the surrounding monsters together.

Immediately after, blood-colored blade rings swept through like Death's scythes, cutting the gathered monsters in half at the waist.

The second brother wanted to step forward and help, but the third brother used his tall body to block him.

"I'll do it. You're too fragile!"

"No need!" The second brother irritably shoved the third brother aside, and purple light burst from the tip of the strange Hex Staff in his hand.

Streams of purple energy blades shot out, accurately striking the distant monsters.

Some of the monsters struck by the light blades were blasted away, while others were covered by an eerie layer of purple light the instant they were hit, their movements abruptly freezing.

(Special effect of the Hex Staff: On a critical hit, freezes the target's time for one second. When accumulated critical-hit stacks reach 10, unlocks a special attack that releases a large-scale time-stop field for five seconds.)

(I know what you want to say. It'll come later [smirk])

However, the number of monsters seemed endless.

Miners, snowmen, crystal bugs...

As the battle here grew louder, increasingly dense footsteps continued flooding toward this room from the depths of the Dungeon.

Fourth brother: "They never end!"

Eldest brother: Move aside. Let me take the attacks!

Second brother: "You're the one who should move! Let me use my second skill to summon meteors and clear them out!"

Just as the situation descended into chaos, a roar interrupted everyone—

"GET—OUT—OF—THE—WAY!!!"

It was the third brother!

The shadows around the deer-headed monster surged out like a flood, instantly covering the entire floor of the room and spreading wildly toward every entrance!

From the areas covered in shadow came gurgling sounds like thick liquid boiling.

The next moment, countless twisted, grotesque vines of flesh burst from the shadow-covered ground.

The vines packed the room, instantly crushing and strangling the monsters—but that alone was not enough.

So—

Third brother: [Frost Ash Wolf Assault!]

Skill activated.

[Gigantification]

[Strength Enhancement]

[Attack Speed Enhancement]

[Icefire Enchantment]

The already terrifying vines expanded wildly again, like towering ancient trees.

The space was instantly compressed as the giant trees, carrying frost and blazing fire, twisted and rolled madly!

"Rumble—!"

Dust flew everywhere, as though a pack of dragons were turning over beneath the ground.

Under this terrifying, all-encompassing attack, every monster was instantly wiped out.

The battlefield, which had been unbearably noisy just moments ago, instantly fell into dead silence. Only the sound of vines wriggling back into the shadows remained.

The third brother's berserk field-clearing attack left the others stunned for several seconds.

They had never imagined that the usually calm and quiet third brother had such a side to him.

Fourth brother: "Holy Tree World Descent..."

The third brother withdrew the shadows beneath his feet and turned to look at the others.

"The path is clear."

The second brother immediately came to his senses and urgently asked, "Third brother, can your stamina hold up?!"

The third brother felt the flow of energy within his body and answered quickly.

"No problem! With Magic Flower's mana-restoring-on-kill talent, my energy recovers quickly. The consumption isn't much."

The eldest brother had no time to marvel. His gaze swiftly swept over the enormous room, now wide open after being cleared.

With the obstacles destroyed by the third brother's vines, three deep passages leading in different directions could be clearly seen.

"Three paths..." Seeing this, the second brother's expression became even uglier. He gritted his teeth and made a decisive call.

"We have to split up! That's the fastest way to find that child!"

The eldest brother instinctively objected. Too dangerous! I'll go alone, and you three—

"No!" The fourth brother unusually interrupted the eldest brother with a firm tone.

"My negligence is what put that child in danger! How can I hide behind you?"

"Don't forget, my third skill can absorb damage too!"

"My body may not be an energy body like Eldest Brother's, but with my lifesteal ability, I can protect myself and clear enemies just as well!"

No expression could be seen on the eldest brother's lava-made face, but the sigh transmitted through their mental link was his decision.

Fine! Then we'll split into three groups!

The eldest brother stopped hesitating and quickly assigned them.

Second brother, go with the third brother! His summons can ensure your safety to the greatest extent!

The second brother opened his mouth, wanting to say that he did not need special protection, but then he saw the third brother already standing in front of him...

"Understood..."

"Move!"

With a thought from the third brother, the shadows beside him stirred again, summoning the other creature from his first skill—the Shadow Crow.

Under the third brother's command, the Shadow Crow also used Gigantification. Its spread wings were large enough to carry the eldest brother's massive lava body.

"Caw!"

The Shadow Crow let out a piercing cry and carried the eldest brother into the leftmost passage.

The fourth brother was unwilling to be outdone. Dense swarms of bats appeared around him, lifting his body as he entered the middle passage.

The Shadow Wolf gave a low growl and carried the remaining two into the last passage on the right.

Just before their figures vanished into the darkness, the same anxious cry rang out in all four of their hearts at once.

Please be okay. We're coming right away! x4

The scene shifted to another part of the Dungeon—

"Boom—!"

A surging pillar of fire erupted once more, swallowing the monsters charging ahead.

After releasing that blast of fire, the flames around the Flame Demon fragment visibly contracted. They were no longer as solid or violent as before.

Its power was constantly being depleted, and the consciousness controlling this body was becoming unstable from the continuous battle.

The Flame Demon phantom let out a roar meant to bolster its own courage.

"Roar—! (As long as that monster isn't here, I'm invincible!)"

"Bang!!!"

A massive impact exploded behind it. The already unstable flames shook violently, and the edges nearly collapsed.

"Shriek—!!!"

The Flame Demon let out a shriek filled with pain and fury, then abruptly turned around.

Its flame-formed pupils widened in horror.

Before it stood a miner monster three meters tall, flickering with ominous purple light. (Elite Enhanced Miner)

Without any warning, the elite miner raised its impact drill at the Flame Demon. The next second, a huge energy projectile blasted straight toward it!

The Flame Demon phantom roared. Instinctively sensing danger, it retreated while urging its flames into an attack.

Crimson fire waves rolled forward again, but compared to before, they lacked momentum.

The flames and energy projectile collided violently in midair.

"Buzz—!"

The flames were forcibly torn apart. Though they neutralized most of its power, the remaining force still slammed hard into the Flame Demon.

The flames around its body dimmed again and shrank by another circle.

The Flame Demon fragment realized that this new opponent was completely different from the previous fodder.

Its strength had already been weakening through the repeated battles, and Ifrit's body could not bear the massive consumption of maintaining the Flame Demon form.

The Flame Demon roared and squeezed more power from Ifrit's body.

A torrent of flames erupted again, trying to completely devour the elite miner.

A two-meter-wide energy projectile instantly formed atop the elite miner's impact drill and actually forced its way through the surging flames toward the Flame Demon.

The Flame Demon shrieked, gathering even more fiery energy before itself.

The erupting fire pillar held back the energy projectile and detonated it in midair.

"Boom—!!!"

A violent explosion erupted between them. Shielded by the explosion, the unstoppable fire pillar pierced through the smoke and slammed hard into the elite miner.

The elite miner's sturdy shell finally melted and shattered under the extreme heat. Its massive body swayed before crashing to the ground.

The Dungeon fell quiet for a moment, while the flames on the Flame Demon grew weaker and weaker.

"Crack... crack..."

Low sounds surged out from the surrounding darkness again.

The Flame Demon scanned its surroundings. At this intersection, apart from the passage it had come from, dense activity could be heard from the other two passages.

Only the passage behind it was utterly silent, with just a faint chill seeping out from within.

After hesitating for only a moment, the Flame Demon dragged its dim flaming body and plunged into it.

It did not notice that after it entered that passage, the monster tides rushing through the other two passages all stopped in their tracks.

Scarlet eyes silently watched the direction in which the Flame Demon disappeared, not daring to take another step forward.

Beyond that invisible boundary lay a forbidden domain that even they did not dare enter.

Cold wind drifted outward from the depths of the passage. A careful look revealed that the frost covering this passage was far thicker than in the other areas.

That place was...

The entrance to the Lord's room.