Dungeon Instance: Floating City

"Brothers, let's take him down and smash him to pieces!" "Confess your sins!"

"Stop! Dare to fight me one-on-one!"

"Sure. Do you want to fight all of us alone, or do all of us fight you alone?" "..."

"Accept—punishment!" ×9. Without giving him any chance to explain, nine Hammers of Judgment came crashing down at once.

Thor was crushed over and over again, then left the battlefield in a defeated state...

Poor Thor was truly unlucky. Not only had he encountered an ultra-high-difficulty stage, he had encountered it three times in a row.

In comparison, B-Class Hero Spider-Man, Peter Parker, was much smarter.

After all, he was a high school student. He played video games more often and had quicker reflexes.

By gaming standards, he was a control-type character. He needed to find another **, damage dealer, and healer to form a perfect team.

"Mr. Stark, let's team up and clear a stage."

"Don't joke around. That hell-level stage just beat me so badly I started doubting myself."

Tony held a coffee cup, and his expression immediately darkened at Spider-Man's suggestion.

He was also one of the few unlucky ones. Like Thor, he had completely lost his confidence after being crushed once.

The Umbrella Corporation's bioweapon development incident seemed to have been resolved smoothly through their joint operation. They had encountered almost no serious resistance, and it had gone so smoothly that even Tony found it unreal.

He could not shake the feeling that the other side had never intended to protect Raccoon City's experimental data.

"Solo challenges are naturally difficult. We can form a four-person team. The rewards may be reduced, but our clear rate will rise dramatically."

"You're confident?"

"As long as we find two more teammates, it should be fine."

"Forget it. That No. 107 hell-level stage disgusted me enough already."

"Trust me, Mr. Stark. I may not have Mr. King's gaming talent, but I understand basic team composition."

Spider-Man was working hard to persuade Tony because, in his tactical plan, Tony was the team's core damage dealer.

With powerful area-of-effect ** skills, almost no one besides S-Class Heroes was more suited than Mr. Stark to serve as the team's firepower.

"..." Tony sat back on the sofa, set his coffee aside, and stared at Peter Parker. "Fine, I'll accompany you for one challenge. But if we fail again, don't come looking for me."

"Awesome! Trust me, Mr. Stark. We'll definitely clear it this time."

(

"Four people on this team. Have the other two teammates been decided?"

"Ta-da! The powerful **—Deadpool makes his dazzling entrance!"

The wardrobe in the corner suddenly swung open, and Deadpool leaped out, enthusiastically performing his signature entrance.

However, his current state was rather horrifying—half his body was nowhere to be seen, and blood gushed out like a fountain, quickly pooling into a glaring puddle on the floor.

Tony looked at the scene and immediately found the cheeseburger in his hand utterly unappetizing.

"Damn it! How did you get in here? What happened to you?"

"Haha, my Dimensional Teleportation Belt is super cool, right?"

"Cool my ass! Everything below your waist is gone!"

"Standard procedure. Don't panic."

Deadpool casually waved a hand. He was already used to this sort of thing.

Due to the randomness of spatial teleportation, only his upper body had successfully transferred this time. His lower half might still be dancing in a bar somewhere in a parallel universe.

But none of that mattered. With his astonishing regenerative ability, he could grow a complete body back in at most three seconds—though his newly grown legs might be two centimeters shorter than the originals.

"Remember to wipe the floor clean later."

"Wait! You're one of Forbes' top five super-rich people! Can't you even afford a cleaner?" Tony looked disdainfully at the blood all over the floor.

"I'm telling you to clean it because who made this mess? Anyone who didn't know better would think I slaughtered a pig in my house."

"It was an accident! Besides, I'm a man who's going to become the strongest tank!"

"You?" Tony could not help snorting. "Mumen Rider, ** Captain, or Garen would be more like it."

In Tony's eyes, a true tank should be like Garen—someone who made people feel safe just by standing there. As for this chatterbox mercenary in front of him, he probably could not even take a punch from an ordinary monster.

"This is *** professional discrimination!" Deadpool fumed, jumping in place, though he temporarily had no feet. "I'm an infinite-endurance, perpetual-motion tank who can block ** for my teammates twenty-four hours a day!"

"Fine, I'll reluctantly admit you're somewhat useful. But then what?"

Though his unkillable trait was unusual, this guy's defense was truly worrying. A regular Demon Level monster could turn him into ketchup with a casual blow. Though he would be lively again three seconds later, the rhythm of battle would already be a mess.

If it were Garen, awakened with God of War's Power, the same attack probably would not even mess up his hair gel.

"Mr. Stark, make do with it. Garen and the others were reserved by the Avengers long ago."

"Hey! So I'm a substitute?!"

"Strictly speaking, you're my fourth-choice ** candidate."

For example, if Garen was a top-tier ** with 5,000+ HP and 300 innate regeneration, then Deadpool was a special unit with 100 HP but ??? regeneration speed—after all, nobody knew how many times this guy could revive.

As a teammate, everyone naturally preferred a front-line ** who was unshakable, rather than one who had to spend ages recovering after every beating before returning to the battlefield. Though the latter did guarantee sustained combat capability.

"**! I solemnly declare **!"

"What kind of joke is this? I'm clearly the chief ** king! Why am I only fourth choice?!" Deadpool angrily waved his arms. "This is an insult to my professional dignity. You must compensate me for emotional damages!" He held up one finger and waggled it. "One hundred dollars, and we'll call it even."

This guy's mouth was as unstoppable as floodwaters after a dam burst. Iron Man and Spider-Man tacitly turned away at the same time and pretended not to hear him—experience told them that responding would drag them into an endless marathon of trash talk.

"Then who gets the final slot?" Peter steered the topic back on track.

"A healer, capable of restoring health and providing sustained endurance."

"Wait," Tony raised an eyebrow, "that guy doesn't need healing, and my armor doesn't need a healing buff either, does it?"

"Ahem... healing is only her side job," the captain awkwardly cleared his throat. "She's actually the strongest single-target burst damage dealer in the entire alliance."

"Huh?" Stark looked incredulous. "Who's so full of herself?"

"European B-Class Hero, [Holy Voice Herald] Grandis."

The name struck Tony's memory like lightning. He vividly remembered that girl who had blown apart a Tiger-level Threat with her iron fists—the monster back then had been fierce enough to instantly destroy his Mark V. Although his armor had now advanced to the Mark X, that girl's strength had probably been soaring in step with it...

Perhaps she would be a reassuring teammate?

Dungeon Instance: Floating City

The legendary only passage connecting the Lad Continent and the heavenly realm stood atop the clouds east of the West Coast. From the highest terrace of this white fortress piercing the heavens, one could take in the entire Sea of Sky. Countless magical creatures guarded this "Ascension Stairway."

"Whoa! Does this place really exist?" Peter pressed his entire face against the stained-glass window. The fairy-tale scenery outside made his eyes shine—an azure bay, a medieval-style harbor city-state, and an entire civilization radiating a magical, fantasy-like glow.

Deadpool somehow produced a Polaroid and frantically snapped pictures of the scenery. "Damn! This anti-gravity castle completely overturns classical mechanics! Newton must be struggling to keep his coffin lid down, huh?"

Though Tony, Earth's foremost scientist, was an authority on physics, he could only stare dumbfounded at the colossal structure that defied physical laws.

The Dubai Kingdom Tower, the tallest building on Earth-23, was only 1,600 meters tall. The floating island before them was estimated to exceed one hundred thousand meters.

"Cool! Can I take this dragonkin statue home as a souvenir?" Deadpool bounced around like a circus clown as he stroked the bronze statues lining both sides of the corridor. If he could bring one back to the real world, auction houses would probably fight over it with nine-figure bids.

"Stop! Those are warning devices that can breathe dragonfire." Grandis, dressed in silver paladin armor, gripped a glowing oak cross tightly. "We were lucky to draw this Demon Level dungeon instance. Fortunately, I'm a native of Lad." She stared at the legendary Tower Reaching the Heavens on the West Coast and warned them. An ordinary person would certainly die if burned by dragonfire. Only an immortal madman like this one would dare mess around.

"I know the information on every floor's gatekeeper."

"Great! It's like having a complete guidebook for a first clear."

"Don't celebrate too early." Grandis shook her head. "With our composition, we can at most advance to the middle floors." She glanced at the flashing energy gauge on the Iron Man armor. The Lord of the City of Light on the final floor was estimated to have reached world-destroying threat level, an existence even an interstellar fleet would struggle to oppose.

"Tell us about the first floor first?"

"Dragonkin Tower. The main enemies are wyverns and dragonkin warriors, and the gatekeeper is Lukas. Their abilities are... Wait!" Tony's question was abruptly interrupted—flocks of wyverns were emerging from the shadows, scarlet hostility markers gleaming in their pupils. These creatures, mutated by the magic of the Sea of Sky, would only obey the laws of their territory. Any intruder would face an endless **.

A metallic roar of something breaking suddenly came from the dome as some enormous creature fell from above.

His burly body, nearly two meters tall, was covered in blue-white scales. Solid muscle lines were faintly visible beneath his light armor. Most striking was his savage dragon head—his crimson eyes gleamed fiercely, his curved horns flashed with cold light, his limbs ended in sharp dragon claws, and a long tail covered in barbs extended from his back.

He held a ** trident, mysterious runes flowing across its surface. As this formidable enemy appeared, blood-red markers emerged above everyone's heads:

1. [Dragonman Lord] Lukas (Demon-level Disaster ×1)

2. Dragonman Guards (Tiger-level Threat ×20)

3. Wyvern Swarm (Wolf-level Threat ×30)

"Arrogant intruders! Who allowed you to trespass into the Dragonman Tower?" Lukas's voice boomed like thunder, draconic pressure sweeping over them with the sound waves. Tony could not help taking half a step back—his mental strength was the weakest in the team.

Grandis, well-versed in dungeon mechanics, lowered her voice as she deployed their tactics. "Watch out for his lightning attacks and cloning technique. Be careful of the Steel Cage. Deadpool will restrain the BOSS. The rest of us clear the mobs quickly." She swept her gaze over the team. With this composition, they should have cleared it easily.

"Since you seek death—" Lukas slammed his trident into the ground, sending sparks flying. Before he could finish, Grandis had already drawn her sword and commanded, "Attack!"

Deadpool shot out of formation like an arrow loosed from a bow, his twin swords ringing as they left their sheaths. The blade light danced like silver serpents, his taunts intertwining with the whistle of the wind. "Watch me turn your lizard head into sashimi! Three Consecutive Slashes of Justice!"

Yet at the critical moment, the trident spun out a ** arc of light. It not only knocked aside the twin blades, but lightning snakes burst from its tail and lunged at Deadpool's face. Blue-purple electricity crackled as the stench of scorched flesh instantly filled the battlefield. Mockery flashed through Lukas's dragon eyes, as if he had anticipated the ambush long ago.

Amid the smoke-shrouded ruins, Deadpool lay sprawled on the ground like charred bacon, the tempting aroma of barbecue drifting from his body. Such a minor injury was merely an appetizer to his immortal body, but the three seconds of stiffness before he fully regenerated were enough to be fatal on a battlefield—

"Bang—"

Dragonman Lord Lukas's steel boot kicked the charred humanoid flying. With a backhand thrust, his rune-patterned steel trident precisely intercepted the palm cannon blast that could pierce steel plating. Iron Man Tony curled his lip. If an ambush of this level could bring down the BOSS, he would not have been electrocuted into crying for his parents during his first Demon Level dungeon clear.

"Despicable human tricks!" Fury blazed in Lukas's vertical pupils. "Before absolute power, the schemes of ants like you..."

"This ** is about as reliable as a leaking life raft." Grandis rubbed her forehead with a sigh. Deadpool had gone down faster than Texas's power grid. She turned and snapped her fingers. "Plan B. The two of us clear the small fry."

"Mission guaranteed!" Spider-Man gave an OK gesture, the web ** at his wrist glinting coldly—this was top-tier control equipment that even the Deep Sea King could not break free from.