Desert Stratum, eighth floor.
"Captain!"
With a startled cry, Manfred leaped up from the desert sand, narrowly dodging a heavy strike from an undead lizard beneath his feet.
He swung his blade, unleashing consecutive strikes of Sword Qi that shredded the lizard below into fragments.
The splashing grains of sand dissipated into the darkness.
Amidst the murky gloom beneath the starlight, pairs of spectral blue eyes of death continuously ignited, swarming toward them without end.
"We're being ambushed!"
Manfred shouted.
Bone-tipped arrows shot out from all directions, whistling toward Manfred's team at the center.
In the darkness, they were nearly impossible to defend against.
"Don't even think about it!"
Weiss let out a thunderous roar, blocking an entire volley of arrows with his shield.
Rhine pointed her wand in the other direction, casting a somewhat unrefined earth magic spell.
A protection like a soil wall rose from the ground as the magic circle expanded, blocking the arrows from the other side.
"Weiss!"
Manfred swung his sword, parrying a heavy blow from an oncoming undead lizardman before shouting.
Years of team coordination allowed Weiss to immediately grasp Manfred's intent; he lifted his heavy shield from the sand and charged toward Manfred's position.
The rest of the team followed closely behind Weiss, carving a path through the surrounding circle of death.
The mana on Weiss's armor glowed with a faint light, blocking all attacks from the front.
He didn't stop until he reached Manfred.
By now, the ground beneath Manfred was covered in bones, but in this critical situation, no one had the luxury of collecting loot.
"Captain!"
"Keep charging that way! I'll cover the rear!"
Manfred violently repelled two heavy armor lizardmen and shouted with a tone that brooked no argument.
Sentimental words had no place here.
Weiss, the heavy warrior, simply nodded and continued his charge.
Manfred took his position at the back of the group, intercepting every sneak attack from behind.
Yellow sand flew amidst the Sword Qi in the dark of night.
Successive swings of his sword had already left Manfred feeling exhausted, and his arms gripping the sword were exceptionally sore.
However, he could not stop now.
At that moment, an arrow streaked through the darkness, bypassing Manfred's defensive Sword Qi.
In his fatigued state, he could no longer control his Sword Qi well enough to deflect the arrow.
The white arrow pierced through a gap in his armor, tore through his leather undergarment, and sank into his shoulder.
The intense pain caused Manfred's movements to falter.
"Captain!"
"Don't worry about me!"
Manfred gritted his teeth, snapped the arrow in his shoulder, and continued to swing his sword, protecting the charging team behind him.
The skeletons representing death drew closer to the team; behind every pair of spectral blue flames were incredibly dangerous skeletal lizards.
As they delved deeper into the floors, the aura of death grew heavier.
In the Desert Stratum, pervasive undead lizards could burrow out from beneath the sand at any moment.
They could hardly even find a chance to rest properly.
If it were only isolated undead skeletons, they wouldn't have to worry given the team's strength.
However, there had always been an intelligent monster directing things from behind the scenes in the Desert Stratum.
This creature could gather isolated skeletal monsters and coordinate organized attacks.
They had never seen its true face, only clashing with it a few times across the skeletal army.
Ram, ram!
At the front of the team, Weiss's eyes were bloodshot, and every inch of his muscle was being pushed to the limit.
His eyes beneath the head-armor were locked onto the darkness ahead.
His fierce shield strikes knocked over skeleton after skeleton.
Those knocked over were swiftly finished off by the team following in the charge.
Cold arrows occasionally pierced his defenses from all sides, sinking into his overextended body, but he ignored them all.
No matter what, don't even think about piercing my defense!
"First-rank magic, Wind Barrier Shot!"
Rhine, behind Weiss, raised her wand while running.
The rest of the team kept her in the center, using their bodies as her shield.
An invisible, rotating wind bullet kicked up the sand on the ground, whistling over Weiss's head to grind the skeletons in front into dust, plowing a path filled with bone fragments through the sand.
Weiss followed up quickly, slightly retracting his raised shield to charge at high speed along the plowed path.
"Keep up!"
Rhine shouted, her face somewhat pale.
The yellow sand kicked up by the Wind Barrier Shot now served as a perfect curtain to shield everyone in the night.
The team took the opportunity to move at high speed.
Perhaps this was a curtain for their exit?
Bleak thoughts surfaced in Manfred's mind at the rear of the team.
No.
This was definitely a curtain for an entrance.
The team within the curtain seized the chance, trying to break through the monster's encirclement quickly.
These endless monsters seemed immortal; no matter how many were killed, they would appear again the next time as if nothing had happened.
"Weiss, look out!"
A frantic cry erupted from the team; it was Rhine's voice.
As a mage, she could always sense abnormal mana fluctuations a step ahead.
The sand curtain in front lit up with a glow.
No.
It wasn't a glow!
It was an incoming Fireball!
Weiss, moving rapidly at the very front of the team, could barely react or set up a heavy warrior's defense, yet he still stood at the forefront.
The flames instantly engulfed him.
"Weiss!!!"
The attacks did not stop because of their shouts; they were merely cold and heartless executions of a purge.
Following the Fireball were even more burning arrows.
Rhine quickly waved her wand, taking over Weiss's defensive duties.
At this moment, her intense emotional fluctuations caused her mana to break through its limits.
Under the manipulation of earth magic, the yellow sand flowed like water, transforming into a massive sand wall that blocked the very front of the team.
However, countless undead lizards burrowed out of the sand, quickly breaching the massive sand wall.
Behind the collapsing wall were several sturdy undead lizards.
And behind those undead lizards was a special lizardman holding an iron staff.
As the creature waved the iron staff, countless undead lizards charged at the team again as if being controlled.
That was...
A skeletal shaman!!
"First-rank magic, Fireball!"
Rhine took a step forward, the ribbons on her clothes fluttering with the surge of mana.
However, in the next second, the ground burst open.
A giant lizard erupted from the sand, ridden by another skeletal swordsman who knocked aside Rhine's protection.
Yellow sand flowed between their bones as a broadsword slashed mercilessly toward Rhine.
'Anger will make you lose your sanity if one of us dies.'
'I hope you can fight and take revenge with more composure.'
The blade inches away reminded Rhine of the words Captain Manfred had spoken before.
But she hadn't managed to do it.
At this moment, she hoped the captain could.
The yellow sand exploded under the immense force, the wand shattered, and wood splinters flew.
Blood and red hair drifted together.
This scene happened to fall into the eyes of Manfred as he charged from the rear of the team.
The wooden hilt of his sword instantly cracked under his immense grip, sharp splinters piercing his palm.
The Sword Qi flying from the blade seemed to take physical form at this moment, swirling around Manfred and cutting into his skin.
A second-rank swordsman, Sword Qi control.
Rate on N.U.
