A teenage-looking boy in the front had his ability pushed out, reinforcing the floor, the walls, and the ceiling in order to contain the monsters in this space. His translucent barrier ability made sure everyone stayed unaffected by the shockwave.

“Ogres. Everyone, spread out!” Xingchen ordered in a commanding tone. “Form up around the perimeter. Don’t let them surround us. Ogres can shoot fireballs from both their hands. Be careful.”

But the real threat was still to come.

From the Rift’s heart, a towering figure emerged, more massive than anything they had seen so far.

“A mutated Red Ogre King.” Zhao Wuhen whispered under his breath. The Red Ogre stood 15 meters tall, its two heads moving independently, scanning the entire place.

Four massive arms swung around; two of the front limbs were holding a weapon, an enormous spiked club in one hand, a jagged axe in the other.

Its eyes glowed with malice as it roared, shaking the floor beneath them.

*Graaaa*

“Oh, crap,” Ruyin muttered under his breath. “That thing’s huge.”

“I’ve never seen one that big,” Arin said, wide-eyed. “Even among Class-2 Ogres, I have never seen a multi-armed red ogre.”

The media personnel, who had been filming from the sidelines, quickly adjusted their cameras to catch the scene.

The company had already hired two mercenaries, the freelance hunters, to protect their two cameramen, but they still couldn’t help but shiver at the sight of the Red Ogre emerging.

Xingchen signaled to his team. “Team A, Team B, and Team C, get the Orcs away from here and focus on parrying! The rest of you, focus on the Ogres! I’ll take the boss. Make sure to separate the Ogres at all costs. Freelancers, I want you all to help out teams to take out the Orcs.”

The thirty guild members were divided into six teams, with 5 each, comprising an elite and four normal hunters.

Three teams worked together with eight freelance hunters to lead the Orcs to one section of the floor, while the other three teams tried to separate the Ogres from this large bunch.

The teams sprang into action.

Arin, head of Team A, dashed forward, cutting down two Orcs with a swift, clean strike with her broad sword.

Zhao Wuhen, the freelancer, conjured an arrow through his bow. As he released the arrow, it split into six arrows, taking out half a dozen Green Orcs at once.

“Wow… that’s cool,” Ruyin said, shooting down the Green Orc with a Mana Shotgun. Its head was blown up into bits by the mana sphere bullet shot by her gun. “How come you are a B-rank?” She asked.

Zhao Wuhen, in the meantime, conjured another arrow. He glanced at her and murmured under her breath, “This woman is quite perceptive.”

“Eh?”

Not far away, one of the purple-skinned monsters fired a massive fireball toward Fang Tianlei, a volunteer working with their Team A.

As the fireball was timely blocked by Arin, Zhao Wuhen took the shot. This time, the arrow didn’t split and just flew past like lightning, piercing the Purple Ogre’s chest. When it did, the arrow released a torrent of electric current, electrocuting it into death.

“The hell… You killed a Class-2 monster with one shot?” Ruyin couldn’t help but almost squeal in amazement. “Tell me, you are not a B rank, right?”

Zhao Wuhen replied; this time, his face looked almost pale. “No, I’m a B-rank. My ability is just unique. I convert my blood into mana. If I use those arrows a few more times, I die.”

Ruyin’s facial expression changed at that reply.

Elsewhere, on the other side of the floor;

“Keep your guard up!” Xingchen, the leader of the party, shouted as he charged toward the Red Ogre, the boss of the dungeon. His sword was already crackling with terrifying amounts of energy. “I’ll take its attention. Focus on the smaller ones.”

The others around him nodded, attacking the Orcs and separating them from the boss so that Xingchen could have a one-on-one battle with the boss monster. Then, once they finish those, they will rejoin him and finish off the boss.

That was the plan, but…

Just as Xingchen closed the distance to the Red Ogre, it swung one of its massive arms, knocking a group of hunters back.

*Graaaaaa* *Graaaaaa*

Its twin heads had the loudest roar, releasing sound waves and pushing the remaining hunters away.

Only Xingchen resisted its effect and managed to push forward. “Keep pushing!” He shouted, planting his feet and lunging forward with all his strength.

His sword met the Red Ogre’s massive arm with a crash, the force of the blow making him stagger, but he quickly regained his balance and went in for another strike.

“Die, you fuc*ing beast…”

*Oraa*

The Red Ogre howled in pain as Xingchen’s sword slashed through its thick skin. “Kraaaa!”

But it didn’t counterattack this time. Instead, its expression suddenly changed along with its attention. The two heads had their gaze locked onto the reinforced floor beneath them, their eyes burning with fury.

“Cap, something is wrong with it!” Team E’s leader, Lian Yuxui, who was nearby, shouted, but Xingchen was already aware.

The Red Ogre swung its club and Ax down onto the floor, its massive weapons tearing through the concrete like it was paper.

The reinforced floor beneath them cracked and splintered with every blow, each strike sending shockwaves through the room.

Xingchen’s eyes widened as the cracks spread. “It’s trying to destroy the floor!”

It didn’t seem like the Red Ogre cared about the hunters. It continued to pound the reinforced floor with its brutal strength, each strike causing more damage. The sound of a cracking stone echoed throughout the floor.

“Xiao Wei,” Xingchen shouted, his voice urgent. “Reinforce the barrier, now!”

Wei Huanxing, the young 16-year-old barrier specialist, rushed to the side. His mana was running low, but he quickly drank a mana potion, trying to recover as quickly as possible.

His hands began to glow as he focused on his ability, trying to reinforce the floor and walls to contain the damage.

But just as he was about to complete the barrier, a fireball from a nearby Purple Ogre landed directly on his back.

*BOOM!*

The explosion knocked Huanxing to the ground. “Argh…” He gasped in pain, his back charred from the blast.

“Huanxing,” Arin cried out, rushing to her boyfriend’s younger brother’s side, but the Red Ogre didn’t care. It kept attacking the floor, hitting it with more force than ever before.

In the meantime, Xingchen’s sword strikes became more intense, taking away one of the Red Ogre’s arms and leaving behind several wounds on its body.

However, the Red Ogre just ignored him completely and attacked the vulnerable concrete floor over and over again.

The cracks deepened, and with one final, powerful blow, the Red Ogre’s club shattered the floor beneath it.

*Graaaa* The massive creature’s roar echoed through the space as it dropped down, crashing through the cracks and descending to the floor below. Xingchen’s eyes widened in realization.

“No…”

The Red Ogre’s massive form fell through the hole it had made, disappearing from their sight. The vibrations shook the building, and a distant, horrifying rumble could be heard from the third floor.

The other Ogres didn’t seem to notice, too caught up in the battle with the hunters.

Meanwhile, in the Atrium;

The people were filled with panic and fear, many holding their companions and loved ones who were with them tightly as vibrations shook the walls around. The roars were particularly deafening.

Lin Fang was staying low like any other person here. He wasn’t worried about any monster. But it is because it is the work of a human; he wanted to see where any dark guild would make a movement.

Of course, even if they do, he had no plans on becoming a hero either. But at the same time, his eyes wandered continuously, searching for Zhi Yan and Nebula. He couldn’t connect to Nebula through their mental connection at all, making him only wonder whether they have exited this place…

Right then, Alpha’s words echoed in his head, “Kiddo, look in your north east…”

Lin Fang snapped his head, right in the direction. In his line of sight, even though it was faint, he spotted a thick purple smoke slowly swirling in the air, rising from a censer near the center of the floor.

It was then…

“Spiralwood Essence?” Noa blurted aloud, her eyes quivering at the sight of the purple smoke.

And then, in a couple of seconds, in realization, she spoke in seriousness. “This is not a natural occurrence, Mr. Lin. The Twilight is behind this.”

Beside them, Tianzhu thought as he too stared at the purple smoke with a deep frown. “What Spiralwood essence and what Twilight… This woman just runs her mouth… That is Darkwood Essence, the weapon of Heaven’s Gate? According to Alexander, it was already destroyed, though. Did they leave behind the recipe to someone else or…” His eyes widened at a thought in his head, “Don’t tell me they still exist?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep