CHAPTER 168: CLEARING THE DUNGEON: LAST

A majority of the Swamp Fin monsters had been slaughtered, and it should have been a joyful occasion for everyone, but it was not.

Reason? The Fin Swamp monsters were endless.

One would have thought their numbers would greatly reduce after the second wave, but they only kept climbing higher and higher.

It reached a point that, even though Gabriel craved battle and bloodshed, he realized he had no choice but to start making a path toward the shore.

If it had been just him and Scarlet alone, he was confident they could have fought for hours without tiring thanks to their superior strength.

Scarlet and Gabriel exchanged a glance, and the two instinctively knew what to do!

"I’ll lead the front," Gabriel suggested. "Scarlet, Alice, you both stay at the side and clear any monsters."

Scarlet nodded and moved immediately. As she did, she realized she was following the orders of someone who was supposed to be her subordinate.

A sharp gleam shone in her eyes. No one would have dared give her orders, but Gabriel did it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

As for Alice, it felt normal, and she immediately followed without hesitation.

And so, the party advanced forward, while Gabriel, Scarlet, and Alice held the swamp monsters back.

Suddenly, just as they reached the shore, Gabriel felt something wrap around his legs beneath the water. His eyes widened.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed, and before he could react, he felt a forceful pull. His entire body was sucked into the swamp.

"Master!" Anna, just behind him, gasped in shock, reaching out only to grab at empty air.

Everyone froze, staring at the spot where Gabriel had been—including Scarlet.

And on Bunny’s stream, the viewers grew anxious.

Bunny’s brows knitted as she shifted her gaze to the comments.

[WTF WHERE DID HE GO???!]

[NO NO NO NOT SIR BROKEN!!!]

[CLIP THAT! HE JUST GOT SUCKED UNDER!!]

[BRO HE WAS HOLDING THE LINE AND NOW—???]

[SWAMP BOSS CONFIRMED??]

[THIS ISN’T A DUNGEON, THIS IS A MASSACRE!!]

[Gabriel pulled under = instant horror movie vibes]

[BUNNY STAY WITH THE CAMERA DON’T PANIC!!]

In the studio, Doodle and Noel were just as speechless. For a moment, they seemed to forget they were live on television.

"Viewers, something unexpected has just happened right in front of our eyes," Noel spoke shakily. "Sir Broken has just been pulled under the swamp!"

Doodle slapped the desk, half laughing, half horrified. "What the hell was that?! Is this a scripted event?! Did the devs plan a swamp grab boss?! This is insane!"

Noel leaned forward, face pale. "If he doesn’t resurface soon, this entire team could collapse... Scarlet might be strong, but without Gabriel at the front—"

"Without Gabriel," Doodle cut in, "they’re dead meat."

The hearts of millions pounded fiercely when they heard this.

Back in the game world, the party members were still reeling, unable to believe their eyes.

They weren’t shocked about the swamp monster—rather, it was about who had been dragged under.

If there was anyone they expected to be pulled down, it wasn’t Gabriel!

To them, he was like an invincible existence—an unbreachable wall, a human fortress.

"What the heck!" Ragnarok99 finally exclaimed, shattering the silence.

"Gab-riel..." Sophie’s heart tightened.

Scarlet was shocked for only a split second before quickly snapping out of her trance. "Continue moving!" she ordered.

"Wait, what about Gabriel?" Alice called out.

"Yes, what about him!" Sophie echoed.

"Dammit, let’s just save ourselves and think about him later!" Brunt complained loudly.

"Gabriel will be fine!" Scarlet replied. "Even though these monsters are troublesome, they’re still weak and possess no real skills. He wouldn’t be kill—"

The vice leader never finished her words as a loud explosion echoed through the dungeon.

BOOOOOM!!

The entire swamp erupted upward in a geyser of water and mud, startling everyone.

They raised their heads just in time to see a monstrous shadow rise from beneath, towering higher and higher, dripping with slime and swamp moss. Its fins fanned out like blades, its eyes glowing green.

And atop the monster stood the very person who had been pulled under moments ago.

Gabriel’s body was shielded by a transparent barrier, and his crimson hair danced wildly in the wind.

’LIKE HELL... I’M DYING TO A FISH!!’ he roared, hacking into the monster.

The eyes of Scarlet, Anna, Sophie, Alice, Cassie, Lilly, and the rest flickered with relief at the sight.

However, a gleam of disappointment crossed Brunt’s face.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed. ’Should have known.’

"That’s the boss of this dimension," Lilly pointed out, seeing the bold red text floating above the monster’s head.

[Swamp Fin Lord – Lv.99]

Everyone saw it. Even though they couldn’t gauge the exact health points of the monster like Gabriel could, they could roughly tell how difficult it would be to kill.

Quickly, now that the swamp monsters were distracted by the boss, the rest of the party hurried toward solid ground.

"Oof, that was close!" Bunny sighed in relief, smiling as her chat exploded with comments.

...

[HE’S STILL FIGHTING!!!!]

[BOSS MONSTER CONFIRMED!!!]

[SIR BROKEN VS FIN LORD LET’S GOOOOOOO!]

[BLOODIED BUT NOT DEAD—KING SH*T ENERGY!!]

...

Atop the Swamp Fin Lord’s head, Gabriel had planted Crimson Judgement deep into its scales. But instead of pulling it free, he suddenly let go.

Everyone gasped.

"What is he doing?!" Bunny cried.

"Why isn’t he using his weapon?" Sophie frowned.

"He’s not using it because his physical strength is just as powerful," Scarlet calmly replied, before her thoughts flickered.

’In just a span of days, he has grown so strong that even I’m not confident in beating him one-on-one,’ she admitted inwardly.

She thought she would never call another person this name except the legendary Ares Durnhold, but at this moment, she had to admit—

’What a monster.’

Meanwhile, atop the monster, Gabriel clenched his fists. His knuckles glowed faintly as veins bulged across his forearms. With a powerful roar, he slammed his bare fist straight into the Swamp Fin Lord’s skull.

BANG!!

The shockwave rang out like a cannon blast, rippling across the swamp waters. The giant monster roared madly, its body thrashing like a broken beast, but Gabriel did not stop.

His fists fell like a storm, smashing down again and again without pause. Each blow tore flesh and crushed bone. Blood splattered everywhere, painting his body red, but his eyes only burned brighter.

At last—

CRAAACKKK!!

The Swamp Fin Lord’s massive skull split apart. Dark blood erupted high into the sky, raining down and dyeing the swamp crimson.

The boss let out one final scream before its massive body convulsed violently and collapsed with an earth-shaking crash into the swamp. Waves rolled outward, pounding the shore.

[Ding! You have defeated the Boss Monster of Swamp Village Dungeon]

[Please proceed to retrieve your rewards. The dungeon will close in three minutes.]

That wasn’t the only message the party received. There was also an update in the rankings!