CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124 - THE GIANT HORNED LIZARD

Chapter 124 - The Giant Horned Lizard

Patient after patient emerged into the open air, their eyes wide with shock.

Thick smoke was rising from all directions, oily black and choking.

And then, in the distance—they heard it.

A shrill, inhuman scream.

Something unnatural.

"We’re lucky—Sector 2 isn’t far. We’ll take the main road and cut straight across. No time to go around."

"...Understood."

No one argued.

They all just started moving.

Compared to the maze of the tunnels, the surface had one small advantage—it was straightforward.

At least they wouldn’t have to twist and turn anymore

As they sprinted across the wide boulevard, the edge of Sector 2 finally came into view in the distance.

That’s when the real problem started.

"L-Lizardmen!!"

"They’ve already pushed this far?!"

KIAAAAK!!

Lizardmen, wielding crude spears, emerged from behind and charged straight at them. Some hurled their spears with vicious strength, striking the vulnerable patients trailing at the back of the evacuation line.

"Aaaagh!"

"P-please... help—!"

In an instant, chaos exploded.

The soldiers scrambled to use crumbled stone walls and broken concrete for cover, rapidly setting up makeshift defenses.

Meanwhile, the patients ran—stumbling, screaming, desperate to survive.

And yet, casualties piled up fast.

"Lizardmen on the front-right flank!"

"They’re coming from the left too!"

Gunfire roared. Skills flashed across the battlefield in streaks of light and flame. Dozens of Lizardmen, flicking their long forked tongues, charged at the humans.

The entire battlefront collapsed into a brutal, spiraling melee.

A voice shouted over the clamor.

"Run! If you can just get into Sector 2—you’ll live!"

The only relief—if you could call it that—was that no higher-grade Lizardmen had appeared yet.

But even that didn’t last.

"AAARGHH!"

"Hold the line! If you break, I’ll kill you myself!!"

The soldiers held fast, gritting their teeth, bodies bloody and scorched.

Behind them, the civilians sprinted toward the final gate—until the monsters appeared there too.

THUUUUUUM!!

Caleb ,carrying the unconscious Evan on his back, skidded to a stop.

In front of them—blocking the path to Sector 2—stood a massive lizard.

It clamped its jaws around the crumpled frame of an SUV, the vehicle crushed like paper.

"...What the hell is that..."

KRRROOOOOAAAAHH!!

He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

The monster let out a thunderous roar—and everything froze.

Everyone’s muscles locked. Their breath hitched. Even the air itself felt like it had stopped moving.

Caleb stared, jaw clenched, as system messages popped up before his eyes.

[You have heard the roar of monster ’???? ? ???’.]

[Status Effect: Paralysis has been inflicted.]

[Status Effect: Fear has been inflicted.]

[Status Effect: Despair has been inflicted.]

The flood of negative status effects shackled their minds and bodies like chains.

The feeling was suffocating.

Caleb forced himself to look up at the monster.

It casually dropped the SUV from its mouth.

The mangled vehicle flew through the air—like a bullet—slammed into a building wall, and exploded.

"Eve—everyone, ru—"

A doctor in a white coat tried to shout from nearby.

But his words were cut off.

KRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAANG!!

Later, at sunset.

Pete arrived at BeyWorld.

"Tomas! Get in!!"

Jhin climbed aboard the mobile dungeon and frowned at the interior. It was a mess—packed with people, gear, and tension.

"What the hell happened in just a few days...?"

They were in D-10, the final zone before the boss room—and even that was jammed wall to wall with refugees.

Pete , flushed and breathing heavily, turned to him with a wide grin.

"I knew you’d come back! I knew it!"

"Right. But what the hell happened?"

"I’ll explain everything on the way!"

As soon as everyone was aboard, Pete activated the mobile dungeon and got them moving.

Jhin sat beside him, his voice low.

"So... what happened to Ark?"

"I’ll show you."

A hologram bloomed in the center of the boss chamber, where refugees were huddled together in silence.

The image displayed something horrifying—like an army of ants swarming over the earth.

Luke gasped.

"All of that... those are Lizardmen?"

"No. That’s the second wave. The first wave already broke through the front line."

The footage shifted—static flickering—before cutting to the next scene.

The players from Ark, including Adonis, stared in disbelief.

"...The front line’s been breached?"

"No... that’s not possible..."

The video showed a fierce battlefield.

Soldiers, players, and traps desperately holding back wave after wave of Lizardmen.

Fortress-grade barricades, enhanced weaponry, science and skill—all of it built to hold firm.

And none of it mattered.

The Lizardmen were like a tidal wave—crashing through everything.

Ark’s defenses fell like wet paper.

Jhin looked at the injured and haggard survivors around him.

"These people... they’re all that’s left?"

"Yes. These are the Ark refugees."

And if they’d filled the entire boss room of D-5... that meant thousands—tens of thousands—had boarded.

The numbers were staggering.

Pete wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hyung, that’s not even the real issue. Look at this."

The video changed again.

People gasped.

What appeared now was not like Arman .

A colossal lizard—no, half-dragon—was swinging its tail, toppling buildings like they were nothing.

Jhin immediately recognized it.

A half-dragon monster... Giant Horned Lizard.

Eight meters tall. Towering, thick-skinned. A monster known to appear only in C-rank dungeons, and even then, as a mid-boss.

He bit his lip.

"...Giant Horned Lizard."

It had inherited many of a dragon’s traits—monstrous strength, natural armor, high stats. It wasn’t invincible, but it might as well have been.

The footage showed the creature rampaging through Ark’s forces.

Picking up cars and flinging them like pebbles. Tearing through bunkers. Roaring flames.

"This is the one that broke our defenses," Pete said.

True—Ark still had Sector 2 and Sector 1 fortified and standing.

With the experience of Exodia’s second generation of players, they’d reinforced Ark faster and stronger than ever.

Maybe, maybe, even a Giant Horned Lizard couldn’t get past that.

Jhin swallowed hard.

But that’s not the issue.

He narrowed his eyes at the monster on screen.

If a beast like that was walking around on the surface—freely, unchecked—

Then there was only one possible explanation.

"...A C-rank dungeon went into Dungeon Break."