The five members of Silver-ranked Squad gripped their weapons, cautiously navigating through one dim passage after another.
Relying on the light emitted by the dazzling illumination crystal, they finally advanced deep into the sixth level of the Dungeon.
A vast abandoned plaza abruptly appeared in their line of sight. The ground was paved with bluish-gray stone slabs, and the air was thick with a pungent odor of decay, making it suffocating.
In the very center of the plaza stood dozens of stone statues of long-winged demons with ferocious faces.
These statues were uniformly gray-black in color, their surfaces covered in thick dust and cobwebs, giving them an exceptionally eerie appearance.
They stood silently in the darkness, exuding a strange, oppressive aura that sent chills down one's spine.
"This sixth level isn't much either. Aside from a few low-level monsters, there hasn't even been any decent resistance. How boring," sneered the elemental mage in his ornate robe, shattering the oppressive silence.
He held to his staff, inlaid with a massive ruby, his eyes brimming with blind confidence.
"I thought this supposedly terrifying sixth level would be something special. What a huge disappointment," the elemental mage arrogantly lifted his chin, as if he alone could sweep through all the monsters in the entire Dungeon.
"Exactly. This place is as quiet as a tomb. There's no powerful life force at all," the rogue, moving along the flank, casually twirled his poisoned dagger, its blade gleaming with a deadly, faint green light.
He glanced casually at the statues, unfazed by the sinister surroundings.
"These statues are probably just some shoddy artworks. They might scare newcomers, but they're useless against us," the rogue scoffed dismissively, even stretching lazily, appearing utterly nonchalant.
"All of you, shut up! Stay alert! Don't let your guard down!" roared the heavily armored knight captain at the front of the formation.
Beneath his thick steel armor, all his muscles were tensed in a state of high readiness. His weathered eyes were fixed intently on the demon statues in the center of the plaza, not daring to relax for a moment.
"The quieter a place is, the more likely it is to hide deadly danger. Have you forgotten even this basic common sense?"
The knight captain angrily tightened his grip on his massive tower shield. The intuition honed through years of life-and-death battles screamed warnings in his mind.
He knew that this place was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface; it surely concealed hidden threats.
the rogue shrugged indifferently, completely disregarding the knight captain's stern warning. He continued to act on his own, relying on his agile skills and driven by intense curiosity, he actually broke away from the team's defensive formation.
He swaggered up to the nearest demon statue and extended the cold hilt of his dagger.
"Captain, you're just too tense. Look at this piece of junk.
"Hard as iron. What danger could it possibly pose?"
the rogue casually tapped the statue's broad, long wing with the dagger hilt, wanting to prove his judgment was absolutely correct.
Clang!
A crisp metallic clang suddenly rang out in the vast plaza, echoes reverberating.
In the brief moment the sound faded, an abrupt change occurred. An inexplicable chill enveloped everyone present.
Crack!
A faint yet scalp-tingling sound of shattering suddenly rang out clearly from within the stone statue.
"Fall back! There's something wrong inside the stone!"
The ranger at the rear of the party keenly caught the sound.
He swiftly drew his elven longbow to full draw, urgently shouting a warning to the rogue as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
the rogue stood there blankly, momentarily dazed, failing to grasp what terrifying event was unfolding.
At that very moment, the lifeless surface of the stone statue suddenly erupted with countless dense, spiderweb-like cracks.
Large chunks of gray stone skin crashed down with a heavy thud onto the blue-gray stone slabs, raising clouds of dust.
The statue's grotesque face abruptly opened pairs of crimson, cruel eyes that gleamed with a bloodthirsty light.
"Roar!"
A piercing, terrifying roar exploded across the plaza, painfully vibrating everyone's eardrums.
As if triggering a horrifying chain reaction, the dozens of demon statues at the center of the plaza underwent a bizarre transformation.
In a brief, simultaneous moment, they all came to life, their massive bodies unleashing a suffocating, terrifying pressure.
They frantically spread their broad, gray-black, fleshy wings and gave them a powerful, forceful flap, stirring up a violent gust of wind.
The gale instantly swept across the entire plaza, making it nearly impossible for everyone to keep their eyes open and leaving them struggling to breathe.
Dozens of terrifying gargoyles had fully awakened. A deadly crisis erupted at that moment, leaving no room for escape!
"Enemy attack! Everyone, form up! Prepare for battle!" the knight captain roared furiously.
He gripped the massive tower shield, half a man's height, with both hands, planting it firmly into the ground. Thick, earthy-yellow battle aura surged from within him, transforming into a heavy shield of light that stood at the forefront.
"Damn ugly monsters, watch me burn you all to ashes!" The elemental mage was startled by the sudden turn of events, but his innate arrogance fueled his rage.
He frantically gathered all his magical power, the ruby atop his staff bursting with dazzling light.
"Destructive Fireball!" A dark-red fireball, as large as a water vat, carrying terrifying high temperatures, fiercely smashed into the horde of monsters.
Boom!
An explosion resounded throughout the entire Dungeon, the raging flames instantly engulfing over a dozen gargoyles.
The intense heat severely distorted the surrounding air, and thick black smoke billowed upward, obscuring vision.
"Haha, see that! This is the power of a mighty high-tier spell! You trash monsters deserve nothing but to be turned to charcoal!"
The elemental mage laughed triumphantly, certain that the monsters had been incinerated and the crisis resolved.
However, as the intense flames and smoke slowly dissipated, the arrogant smile on the elemental mage's face instantly froze.
His pupils contracted, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if witnessing an absurd scene.
"This... this can't be! Absolutely impossible!" he shrieked in terror, his voice brimming with shock.
There, hovering in mid-air, unscathed and unharmed, were the dozen or so gargoyles that had been directly hit.
That terrifying fireball of destruction left only a negligible scorch mark on their tough skin, nothing more.
The magical and physical resistance of these monstrous creatures was absurdly high, defying all logic!
The elemental mage's legs began to tremble, a deep sense of fear drowning his once-proud heart, suffocating him.
My powerful magic can't even break through these monsters' defenses! What kind of freakish creatures are these?!
He screamed despairingly in his heart, his hands gripping the staff, trembling uncontrollably, sweat soaking through his back.
"Snap out of it! Brace for impact now!" the knight captain roared urgently, trying to rouse his stunned teammates.
But his powerful voice was soon drowned out by the ear-piercing shrieks of the gargoyles as the monsters launched a ferocious, unstoppable counterattack.
Dozens of gargoyles madly exploited their aerial advantage, diving down like deadly meteors in a fierce assault on the squad.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dull, heavy impacts rang out in rapid succession. The knight captain struggled to hold up his massive tower shield.
He was battered backward, feeling as if he were being struck repeatedly by a frenzied battering ram, the pain unbearable.
The bones in his arms groaned dangerously, as if they might shatter at any moment, yet he gritted his teeth and held on stubbornly.
"Break through, damn it!"
The Ranger angrily drew his elven longbow to its fullest, firing sharp armor-piercing arrows that shot out like dazzling streaks of light.
But those arrows, capable of easily piercing steel plates, merely bounced off the gargoyles' tough skin upon impact.
The clanging sound of metal collisions became a death knell for the squad, striking fear into everyone's hearts.
"Die, you disgusting monsters!"
The Swordsman frantically swung his light steel longsword, slashing fiercely at a diving gargoyle.
A tremendous recoil instantly traveled up the hilt, numbing his hands and nearly sending the sword flying from his grasp.
"Taste my lethal poison!"
the rogue gritted his teeth in frustration, leaping up like a phantom and launching a surprise attack.
With precision, he viciously plunged his dagger, coated in deadly poison, into the joint crevice of a gargoyle, his movements fluid and seamless.
The lethal, dark green venom was injected into the monster's body. Yet, the gargoyle merely paused slightly.
It showed no signs of the agonizing poisoning that should have followed. These monsters' poison resistance was terrifyingly high too… utterly baffling!
Thud!
The gargoyle violently backhanded the rogue, striking him squarely in the chest. A crisp sound of bone cracking followed.
the rogue wretchedly spat out a mouthful of blood. He was sent flying like a tattered kite, crashing heavily onto the hard stone floor.
The squad's attacks had proven completely ineffective, plunging them into utter despair.
Everyone was locked in a desperate struggle, the stench of death tightening around each person's throat, making it hard to breathe.
Just at this critical moment, another terrifying mutation occurred.
An elite gargoyle, massive in size and radiating a dark red glow.
It suddenly dove down from the high dome above. Its speed was terrifying, like a deadly black lightning bolt tearing through space, instantly breaching the squad's fragile defensive line.
Boom!
A dull, thunderous roar erupted abruptly amidst the chaos of the battlefield.
The elite gargoyle brutally slammed into the ranger at the rear of the formation, who was desperately trying to nock an arrow. Its horrific force exploded forth in an instant.
The ranger didn't even have time for a brief scream. His entire fragile chest cavity was brutally caved in, a bloody, mangled mess.
The sickening sound of shattering bones made one's scalp crawl. He collapsed miserably into a pool of blood, unconscious, all signs of life extinguished.
"No! You damn beast!"
The swordsman roared in grief and fury, his eyes turning bloodshot, tears and sweat mingling on his face.
He abandoned all defense, frantically raising his longsword and launching a desperate, suicidal charge toward the elite gargoyle, ready to meet his end.
However, his impulsive action instantly exposed a fatal opening. Three cunning ordinary gargoyles immediately seized the opportunity, viciously pincer-attacking him from the flanks.
Sharp claws tore through the swordsman's sturdy light steel armor. Scalding blood gushed forth, staining the ground crimson.
The swordsman didn't even have time to swing his sword a second time. He was utterly swallowed by the surging tide of monsters, lost amidst bloody bites and tears.
His piercing, agonized scream lasted only a brief half-second before it was abruptly cut short, leaving behind a mangled, broken corpse.
The squad's tenuously held defensive line all collapsed at this moment.
CRACK!
The sturdy tower shield in the knight captain's hands finally could no longer withstand the frenzied impacts, shattering into countless tiny iron fragments that scattered across the ground.
The knight captain wretchedly spat out a mouthful of blood. The robust battle aura within him was severely depleted, his body teetering on the verge of collapse.
The desperate situation had irreversibly slid into a dark abyss.
Faced with this hopeless dead end, he made his choice.
The blood-soaked knight captain fiercely bit the tip of his tongue, desperately squeezing out the last faint vestiges of his battle aura; a final, fleeting surge of strength.
He resolutely discarded the cumbersome remnants of his shield, forcefully drawing the broad-bladed longsword from his waist, his gaze filled with unwavering determination.
"Split up and run! Don't look back! I'll hold them off!" the knight captain shouted, his voice echoing across the square.
He turned to face the dense horde of monsters, launching a heroic, final charge, buying time with his very life.
the rogue, collapsed in the distance, clutched his shattered chest in agony. He soberly recognized the cruel reality before him, understanding that staying meant certain death.
"Everyone, split up and run now! If even one of us survives, it's a victory!" the rogue rasped out a shout, forcing himself to stand despite the excruciating pain.
He instantly activated his Stealth Skill, his body swiftly blending into the thick darkness as he fled in disarray toward the left side of the square.
As for the elemental mage, he had long been scared out of his wits. His once-abundant mana was now fully drained, his legs trembling out of control. He watched in horror as his teammates fell one by one in misery, his eyes filled with profound despair.
He dared not even glance back at the valiant knight captain.
Clutching the magnificent robe in panic, he stumbled and scrambled, desperately fleeing into the unknown dark passage to the right of the square.
...
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