Fang Hong only saw the core mana value of his Energy Angel, plummeting straight down like a sheer cliff.
"What the hell is this thing!" Parker was so frightened his voice changed — because they were in the same team, the others could obviously see the current status of Fang Hong's Energy Angel.
Fang Hong didn't look back, pushing Hilveld behind him with force, shouting only: "Run—!"
A light blue shield flashed and then disappeared.
The sky was filled with black insects pouncing on the Energy Angel, its body immediately sprouting a patch of purple-black flames, and the solid alloy flowed down from the Energy Angel like melted wax.
In the blink of an eye, an expensive Variant Sword-Bearer turned into broken and incomplete parts.
Seeing this scene, Fang Hong didn't dare be slow, immediately summoning a second Energy Angel and opened the shield once more.
He didn't dare to look back, unclear whether the others followed his orders and escaped the hall. But after he opened the shield, he was ready to turn and retreat, even pulling out a Fire Giant to blow up the passage.
But just as he took a step back and entered a closed-loop command into the Fire Giant, suddenly, in the corner of his eye, a purple light flashed towards him.
A tremendous force came from behind, and the suspended corridor instantly issued a cracking sound, collapsing downward. Fang Hong only felt himself being hit by this great force, and his whole body flew up.
Amidst the dizzying swirl, he seemed to vaguely hear two exclamations from that direction, with Hilveld's voice mixed in.
Only then did Fang Hong realize — it was the purple flame monster. His attention was fully focused on those black insects, forgetting the monster, after failing to chase Rolin, had turned its target towards him.
Then he crashed heavily to the ground, unable to hold onto the Clockwork Fairy in his hand, which immediately went flying.
The closed-loop command within the thrown Fire Giant automatically came into effect, and the moment it touched the first object, a bright flame burst open. The purple light falling from midair was caught right in the flames.
The explosion's shockwave blew Fang Hong away once more — but Fang Hong, in that critical moment, activated the unstable mode of his newly acquired shield device, and a faint arc of light saved his life at the last second.
He only felt himself hit something, but with the cushioning effect of the shield, it was as if he had fallen into a pile of soft cotton. Then he rebounded again before heavily hitting the ground.
But this time, the impact only left him with a bruised and swollen face, not enough to take his life.
He lifted his head, just in time to see through the smoke and dust that the purple flame was once again turning towards Atira and Hilveld's direction. Without thinking, he pulled out a Fire Giant and threw it toward the opponent.
Another explosion.
In the confined underground environment, the explosion shook Fang Hong's internal organs, his ears buzzing, and his eyes dazed. But all this was worth it, for he saw that after the explosion's dust, the purple flame monster finally turned towards him.
Fang Hong thought no more, staggered to his feet, and stumbled in a direction to escape. By now, he had fallen into the lower hall, having lost his sense of direction in the previous explosion, unsure of his bearings, he could only flee in the direction he thought was the safest.
But he barely took two steps before he cried out in dismay.
For beyond the smoke and dust ahead, there was a dead end.
Fang Hong quickly turned around, but after turning, he was frozen in place, as the purple flame monster had caught up and blocked his path from behind. Its massive physique left him no room to escape from the sides.
Fang Hong could only retreat until his back hit the cold wall. He nervously looked up, finally seeing the true form of the flame giant monster not far from him —
It was actually a dragon.
Or rather, a downsized dragon. But unlike the Nikopolas, Toragotos, or Mierliu Ximi Si in his impression — the biggest difference being, it had seven horns and three eyes.
The middle one, in the ever-changing flames, would occasionally open and close, giving an unpredictable feeling.
But Fang Hong wasn't sure why he encountered the same monster here as in the Hall of Thousand Doors, or what exactly this purple flame was, for Anluose had been vague about it.
He only mentioned, they are nightmares.
But what a nightmare was, Fang Hong did not know.
The dragon-shaped monster was closing in step by step, its heavy footsteps striking like blows on his heart. But the monster didn't seem in a hurry to kill him, or else, given its previously displayed agility — he would have already ended up like Pudra on the suspended corridor.
Fang Hong swallowed, instinctively grabbing a crystal, softly saying, "I can't escape, don't look back, minimize losses... see you on the ship."
"Ade."
That was Hilveld's voice.
But Fang Hong dared not answer, in truth, he was so tense he was holding his breath, making a gagging sound from his throat. Because the flame-wrapped, dragon-like monster suddenly lowered its head, close to his chest — more accurately, near the position of the Ring of Golden Flame.
Fang Hong instinctively took a step back, though he was already pressed against the wall, with almost no room to retreat. Yet as he pushed against the wall, he heard a 'click' sound.
That sound was so clear in the dark underground.
In that split second, Fang Hong had an epiphany, realizing what was behind him — he had found the hidden door marked on the map, where they previously had no results.
It was right here.
...