...If That Monster Isn't Here, I'm Invincible!

Light flashed, and the four brothers materialized within it before stepping into the dungeon.

Beneath their feet was a floor blanketed in snow. Frost-coated rock walls surrounded them, and the air was filled with biting cold.

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

"Whew... The temperature's low. Stay alert, everyone."

The eldest brother's gaze swiftly swept 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, shadows surged beneath his feet, and a massive Shadow Wolf was summoned in an instant.

Yet when the Shadow Wolf appeared, it still carried an undispersed savage aura. It opened its jaws as if about to pounce, only abruptly stopping once it recognized its master.

The Shadow Wolf had 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 in the blink of an eye into a terrifying beast five meters tall.

"Get on!" The third brother leaped onto the wolf's back first, with the others following close behind.

The Shadow Wolf drove forward with all four paws, sprinting down the only passage.

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

The room was in complete disarray. The walls and floor were covered in blackened scorch marks, twisted charred corpses lay scattered everywhere, and the air reeked of burning flesh.

"That fire! It really was that child!" The eldest brother confirmed it immediately, streams of flame splashing from his body as his emotions surged.

The second brother rapidly scanned their surroundings and keenly noticed the destruction beyond the fire damage.

"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 the search even harder.

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

The Shadow Wolf sniffed hard, then shook its head. The thick stench of burning completely concealed every other scent.

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

"I know, of cour—" Before the eldest brother could finish, his lava eyes abruptly locked onto the darkness behind the fourth brother—

A point of scarlet light suddenly lit up there.

[Energy Shield!]

"Whoosh—!"

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

Everyone broke out in cold sweat. They immediately assumed fighting stances and looked around.

"Crack... Crack..."

"Roar..."

"Buzz—"

Hair-raising sounds came from every direction in the passageways. More and more scarlet lights flickered to life in the darkness.

A large number of monsters, drawn by the earlier commotion, were gathering toward the room.

"Didn't the monsters in this area 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.

"Monsters from other rooms will be drawn here by sound and light. Be careful—we're surrounded!"

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

A crimson wave of fire swept forward in a fan shape. The enemies charging at the front were instantly incinerated and melted by the extreme heat.

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

Immediately afterward, a blood-red bladed ring swept through them like the Grim Reaper's scythe, cutting the gathered monsters in half at the waist.

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

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

"No need!" Somewhat irritated, the second brother shoved the third brother aside. Purple light erupted from the tip of the strange curse staff in his hand.

Streams of purple energy blades shot out, striking distant monsters with precision.

Some of the monsters hit by the blades were blasted away, while others were covered in a strange purple glow the instant they were struck, their movements abruptly freezing.

(Curse Staff special effect: On a critical hit, freezes the target in 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])

Yet the monsters seemed endless.

Miners, snowmen, crystal bugs...

As the battle here grew louder, increasingly dense footsteps poured into the room from the depths of the dungeon.

Fourth brother: "They just keep coming!"

Eldest brother: Move aside and let me take the hits!

Second brother: "You're the one who should get out of the way! Let me use my second skill to summon a meteor and clear them out!"

Just as the scene descended into chaos, a roar cut everyone off—

"All—of—you—move—aside—!!!"

It was the third brother!

The shadows around the deer-headed monster surged out like a flood, instantly spreading across the entire floor and crazily extending toward every entrance!

From the shadow-covered areas came a bubbling sound, like thick liquid boiling.

The next moment, countless twisted and grotesque flesh vines burst from the shadowy ground.

The vines filling the room instantly crushed and shredded 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, becoming like towering ancient trees.

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

"Rumble—!"

Dust filled the air, as if a horde of dragons were turning over beneath the ground.

Under this devastating, all-encompassing assault, every monster was instantly wiped out.

The battlefield, deafening only moments ago, fell into complete silence. Only the sound of vines writhing back into the shadows remained.

The third brother's violent battlefield clear 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: "Good lord, Tree World Descent..."

The third brother withdrew the shadows beneath his feet and turned toward the others.

"The path is clear."

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

Feeling the flow of energy within him, the third brother answered quickly.

"No problem! The magic flower's mana-restoration talent on kills replenishes energy quickly. The consumption isn't high."

The eldest brother had no time to marvel at it. His gaze rapidly swept through the vast room, now wide open after the third brother's vines had destroyed the obstacles.

Three deep passageways leading in different directions were now clearly visible.

"Three paths..." Seeing this, the second brother's expression worsened. He gritted his teeth and decisively said,

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

The eldest brother instinctively objected. Too dangerous! I'll go alone, while the rest of you...

"No!" The fourth brother interrupted the eldest brother with rare firmness.

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

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

"My body may not be an energy form like eldest brother's, but with my lifesteal ability, I can protect myself and clear the field just as well!"

No expression could be seen on the eldest brother's face of lava, 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 swiftly assigned them.

Second brother, go with third brother! His summons can protect you 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 out!"

At a thought from the third brother, the shadows beside him surged once more, and another summon from his first skill emerged—the Shadow Crow.

At the third brother's command, the Shadow Crow enlarged as well. Its spread wings were enough to bear 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.

Not to be outdone, the fourth brother summoned a dense swarm of bats around himself, lifting his body into the middle passage.

The Shadow Wolf growled low and carried the remaining two into the final passage on the right.

Just before their figures disappeared into the darkness, the same anxious cry echoed in all four of their hearts:

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 pouncing from ahead.

After unleashing that blaze, the flames around the Flame Demon fragment visibly contracted. They were no longer as solid and violent as they had been at the beginning.

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

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

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

"Bang!!!"

A massive impact exploded behind it. The already unstable flames shook violently, their edges nearly collapsing.

"Hiss-roar—!!!"

The Flame Demon let out a scream of pain and fury as it abruptly turned around.

Its flame-formed eyes widened in horror.

What came into view was a miner monster three meters tall, flickering with ominous purple light. (Elite Enhanced Miner)

Without any warning, the elite miner raised its jackhammer at the Flame Demon. In the next second, a massive energy projectile blasted straight toward it!

The Flame Demon phantom roared. Instinctively sensing the threat, it retreated while unleashing flames to attack.

A crimson wave of fire surged forward again, but compared to before, it lacked momentum.

The flames and energy projectile collided violently in midair.

"Buzz—!"

The flames were forcibly torn apart. Though most of the projectile's power was cancelled out, the remaining force still slammed hard into the Flame Demon.

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

The Flame Demon fragment realized that this newcomer was completely different from the weaklings it had faced before.

Its power had been declining through the nonstop battle, and Ifrit's body was far from capable of bearing the enormous drain of Flame Demon form.

The Flame Demon roared as it pushed Ifrit's body to its limits.

A torrent of fire gushed forth again, trying to swallow the elite miner whole.

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

The Flame Demon hissed and gathered more fiery energy before itself.

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

"Rumble—!!!"

A violent explosion erupted between them. Shielded by the blast, the unceasing pillar of fire pierced through the smoke and slammed viciously into the elite miner.

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

The dungeon fell briefly silent, while the flames around the Flame Demon grew ever weaker.

"Crack... Crack..."

Low sounds began to rise once more from the surrounding darkness.

The Flame Demon scanned its surroundings. At the crossroads where it stood, dense movement came from both of the other passages, aside from the passage it had entered through.

Only the passage behind it was completely silent, with nothing but a faint chill seeping from within.

After hesitating for only an instant, the Flame Demon dragged its dim body of flame and plunged into it.

It did not notice that after it entered that passage, the monster hordes surging from the other two passages stopped in place as one.

Scarlet eyes silently watched the direction in which the Flame Demon had vanished, not taking another step forward.

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

A cold wind slowly flowed outward from the depths of that passage. A closer look would reveal that the frost covering this passage was far deeper than in the other areas.

That was...

The entrance to the lord's room.