CHAPTER 60: 060 GOING SOLO?

At the edge of the cliff, the fire waves lifted by the explosion expanded outward one layer after another.

All members of the Loki family watched the sudden sea of fire, nearly losing their minds one after another.

Especially Rephia, who, seeing Reiger and Ais being swallowed by the sea of fire, stumbled and almost fainted.

Luckily, Finn and others restrained everyone, or they would have definitely rushed forward.

"Those two are fine!"

No sooner had Revilia spoken than two gusts of wind blew the flames apart, bursting forth from the sea of fire.

Reiger and Ais almost simultaneously flew out of the sea of fire, riding the wind, their figures somewhat disheveled but without any obvious injuries.

"Mr. Reiger! Miss Ais!"

Rephia was overjoyed, and the others were also relieved.

But Reiger and Ais were staring straight ahead, their expressions turning grave.

Just as Rephia was about to run over, the two stopped her.

"Don’t come over, Rephia."

Ais, without turning her head, called out to Rephia.

"What, what’s wrong?"

Rephia had to stop in her tracks, stunned.

Only then did Reiger’s voice slowly rise.

"A big one is coming."

His voice was quite calm, indifferent, but the content sent a tightness through everyone present.

It was only later that everyone understood what Reiger meant by "a big one."

"Bang!"

A thick arm extended from beneath the cliff, smashing onto the cliff face with a loud noise.

That flat arm seemed to be supporting something as it gradually pushed a giant figure up the cliff, imprinting itself in the eyes of all present.

"————"

At that moment, all the adventurers present lost their voices.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be a huge monster about six meters tall.

This monster, like the worm monsters, had a yellow-green body and flat arms, resembling a worm monster that had grown a whole size larger, only with significant differences in its overall shape.

For instance, its upper body, which rose like a small hill from its worm-like lower body, was no longer beast-like but had smooth, human-like curves.

For instance, the flat arms were no longer merely contoured with fingers but had become like the wings of a devil fish, fan-like, with two on each side of the upper arms.

Several tube-like organs hung from the back of its head, the yellow-green body seemed drenched in colorful paint, its colors chaotic, as if struck by an unknown, deadly poison, the intense hues extending all the way to its facial features on the upper body, marked on a face that had no nose, eyes, or mouth but only contours, reminiscent of a female face.

That appearance was almost like a worm metamorphosing into a butterfly, seemingly possessing an odd beauty.

However, this unflattering beauty was directly ruined against the backdrop of its hugely swollen, dark purple, ugly abdomen, lacking smooth lines.

"■■■■■■■■■■——!"

The female-bodied worm monster climbed up from the bottom of the cliff like a newborn hatching from an egg, emitting a scream as shrill as a soprano.

The scream caused several of the men and women present to feel physically ill, vomiting on the spot.

"What, what is this!?"

"Does the underground city even have such monsters!?"

Theona and Theone both screamed in horror.

"Disgusting thing!"

Bert simply spat.

Finn, Revilia, and Grace’s expressions also grew grave.

"This doesn’t look good."

Grace’s whisper perfectly echoed the thoughts of most people present.

Not only because a monster as large as a floor master had appeared, but also because of its unmistakable malice.

The female-bodied worm monster, after screaming, moved.

It spread its four flat arms, as if intending to embrace someone gently.

But alongside its movement, a spray of rainbow-colored particles fell from its arms.

Undoubtedly, these were the same substances that had caused the massive explosion.

"Quick, retreat!"

With no time to spare, Finn commanded all present to involuntarily twitch their faces and turn to run without hesitation.

"Ais!"

"Yes!"

Reiger and Ais also chose not to resist but to rapidly retreat.

The rainbow-colored light particles, like pollen, rained down from the sky, covering the entire cliff.

Then—

"Bang bang bang bang bang—!"

A series of intense explosions, unsurprisingly, occurred.

All the pollen that touched the ground and various remnants in the camp instantly transformed into tiny bombs with incredible power, exploding one after another.

Flames were lifted, heat churned, and the blaze, like red waves, engulfed the surroundings in a devastating tide.

Under such an explosion, the cliff top finally collapsed, pouring down like a flood.

The adventurers of the Loki family could only dodge and leap among the flood-like debris, some stepping on cliff fragments, some sliding off the edge pursued by the flood, and some even jumping down recklessly—if it weren’t for the aid of Finn and other first-tier adventurers, many of the lower-ranked team members would have undoubtedly perished.

"Rephia!"

Enveloped by the wind like flying, Ais caught Rephia who was falling.

As for Reiger, although he too was wrapped in wind, buoyed by the power of "Wind Spirit Swift Walk" to briefly dance in mid-air, he handed all rescue operations over to Finn and others. Instead, he unleashed an explosion and swooped towards the female monster.

The monstrous female, which caused a massive explosion, wriggled its numerous warty legs, its several arms swinging, scrambling over the cliffside like a spider-witch.

It clearly did not want to let go of anyone present. Racing down the cliff with a torrential flood, it chased after the group and leaned back its upper body, splitting the featureless face to reveal a mouth.

A fierce jet of corrosive fluid was then spouted by the female monster.

The scale and speed of it were many times stronger than the previous worm-like monster.

If the corrosive solution sprayed by the worm-like monster was like a pressure washer, then what the female monster spewed out was like a high-pressure water cannon.

Many of the team members became targets of the water cannon. They watched helplessly as a significant amount of corrosive liquid rushed towards them, their faces filled with fear.

Seeing this, Reiger immediately began a short incantation.

"Liberated arrows of light, holy wood of the bow, I am the master archer."

"Block it, Fairy Archer."

"Pierce through, Guaranteed Hit Arrow."

"Arc-shaped Beam."

The guaranteed-hit light cannon was released, catching up with the jetting water cannon at a breathtaking speed.

"Bang!"

The light cannon and the water cannon collided instantly, exploding on impact.

Reiger had used magic to block the female monster’s corrosive cannon.

"Hiss—"

An unusual dissolving sound emanated from the exploded corrosive liquid as it contacted the cliff and ground surfaces, forming large holes wherever it touched.

Under such corrosion, the rock walls riddled with holes eventually collapsed, increasing the size of the torrential flood and emitting black steam.

"We’re saved...."

Those team members who had almost been hit by the corrosive solution voiced their throbbing relief.

"Hurry up!"

Reiger gave them a shout.

"Yes!"

Team members, who should have been his seniors, found themselves unconsciously following Reiger’s command.

This was the change brought about by strength.

At a time when even the high-ranking clan members had to flee, Reiger alone came forward to battle the monster, protecting them with just this act, which was enough to earn their respect.

But the crisis wasn’t over yet.

"Rumble—"

The female-shaped monster, seeing its attack blocked by Reiger, immediately changed its target, setting its sights on Reiger. Its massive body shifted as if a train charging forward.

"Bang!"

Just as Reiger was about to make a move, the female monster struck first with its flat-shaped arm, hitting Reiger and sending him flying.

"Mr. Reiger!"

Rephia, held by Ais, couldn’t help but cry out.

The rest turned pale.

"Despite such a large body, its movements are so agile?"

Finn furrowed his brow.

It is well known that large-sized monsters have a common weakness: they are not good at precise movements.

The female-shaped monster, however, did not have this weakness. Its massive body could charge and flexibly change direction simultaneously. Its flat-shaped arms had an extremely wide range of movement, not only swinging around in dizzying actions but also striking like a whip. There was none of the inherent disadvantages of being an oversized species.

Of course, the most terrifying was still that corrosive fluid.

To all present, except for Reiger and Ais who possessed "Wind Spirit Swift Walk", none could withstand that dissolving solution that could corrode even a cliff.

This was the trickiest part.

Because of it, someone like Finn, at Lv.6, found himself utterly useless.

The weapons would be corroded, the attack effectiveness eroded; this completely sealed off the possibility of close combat, causing Finn and Grace, both Lv.6 experts, to repeatedly retreat without being able to narrow the distance, cautious of making a move.

Ordinarily, a rear-guard Magic Guide like Revilia could still be of use.

But now, seeing the body shape and the bulging abdomen of the female-shaped monster, Finn believed that if Revilia were to attack the monster with magic, once the monster went down, it would certainly explode on the spot like those previous worm-like monsters had done.

And with such a huge creature exploding, how much corrosive fluid might be contained within it?

Finn seriously doubted that when this monster exploded, the surrounding area would be engulfed in corrosive fluid.

That ment virtually all present would likely die if they killed this monster.

This was really troublesome.

"We can only retreat."

Finn made such a decision.

Until—

"Arc-shaped Beam!"

A light arrow roared from afar, hitting the female monster clinging to the rock wall, knocking it to the ground with a thunderous crashing noise.

Reiger, cloaked in wind, soared in and collided directly with the female monster.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, Reiger turned into a tornado, topping the female monster and blustering away, leaving the battlefield far behind.

"Reiger!"

The group cried out in shock.

Finn also understood Reiger’s intention.

"Is he planning to take the monster away from here and fight it alone?"