KENG!

In that split second, Noan managed to swing his sword down, blocking Lepi's claws as they lunged at him.

A violent clash of metal rang out, accompanied by a terrifying force that made Noan frown.

He gritted his teeth and instantly leapt backward.

Krit!

Lepi, however, was relentless. Even though Noan had widened the gap, it pursued him like a bloodthirsty leech.

"Damn it!" Noan cursed through clenched teeth.

He slashed his sword, unleashing a dazzling red arc of light.

Whoong!

The bell-like sound rang out again, and a pillar of light struck down on Lepi with terrifying speed.

Wherever that pillar of light passed, the space trembled violently, as if a curtain were being torn apart.

Krit!

Lepi howled, its six arms crossing in front of its chest, forming a bizarre symbol.

Immediately afterward, golden panes of radiant light appeared, merging together to create a honeycomb-shaped barrier that surrounded Lepi.

BAM!

The pillar of light crashed down, a deafening explosion echoing out. In that instant, the entire space lost its color—everything turned black and white.

At the point of impact, a dome of immense energy rapidly expanded, enveloping both Lepi and Noan inside.

The silence was unreal, as if this place had become a land of the dead, devoid even of the sound of wind or explosion.

But only a second later—

BAM!!!

A terrifying explosion thundered out, and with it, a dome of destructive energy swept over everything, reducing it all to dust.

Space warped as if on the verge of collapse; the two walls and the floor shattered, revealing a bizarre black void behind them.

Suddenly, the entire explosion was sucked back into a single point, as if that point were a cosmic black hole, devouring everything.

Time seemed to freeze.

Both Lepi and Noan hovered in midair, suspended above a pitch-black void, where not a single ray of light could be found.

Immediately after—

There was no sound, no smoke or fire—only an air current compressed to the extreme, and then…

BOOM!!!

"Pff!!" The pressure exploded, and waves of space, carrying immense force, crushed down on Noan, making him cough up a mouthful of blood.

Despite the fact that his body had evolved far beyond ordinary humans, even he couldn't withstand that kind of pressure squeezing him from all directions.

BAM!

The air pressure, like a massive hammer, slammed Lepi and Noan down into the pitch-black void below, where they vanished completely, leaving not a single trace behind.

The moment Lepi and Noan fell into that darkness, the corridor suddenly restored itself, returning to its original state.

…

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The howling wind echoed non-stop, sweeping countless snowflakes through the air.

The world had turned completely white because of the overwhelming snowfall.

"It's snowing again." At that moment, a masculine voice rang out.

Austin sat on a tree branch, shivering a little from the cold, sighing, "I wonder when this damn weather will finally stop."

Caleb sat beside Austin, glancing at him with a look of disdain. "Do you want some cold-resistant clothes?"

"Hahaha... you think I need them? I—Achoo!" Before Austin could finish, he sneezed, his face pale as if he were about to freeze.

"All right, enough showing off." Caleb tossed a set of cold-resistant clothing to Austin.

Caleb also found these clothes rather miraculous. Despite being extremely thin, they somehow kept him warm, protecting him from unimaginably low temperatures.

Austin pursed his lips, looked at the clothes in his hand, then put them on.

"Wow! This thing… it's really warm." Austin was genuinely surprised at how well the clothes retained heat.

The outfit was very thin, almost like a flimsy piece of fabric, but as soon as he put it on, he felt a cozy warmth, as if sitting next to a fire.

"Maybe the master cast some magic on them," Caleb said with a laugh.

Austin shot Caleb a glance, frowning, "How long do we have to wait? The event has already started."

Caleb shook his head. "We still don't know where the other Landlords are. If we act recklessly, even with our strength, we could still lose."

"In this kind of weather, whoever makes the first move will lose their advantage."

"Look over there."

Caleb pointed ahead, where the entire area was obscured by gusts of wind and swirling snowflakes.

"Do you see anything?" Caleb asked.

Austin shrugged.

"Exactly." Caleb smiled. "If you can't see, then how can you know anything about the enemy? Besides, in such harsh conditions, the longer we wait, the more the advantage shifts to us."

Austin still looked confused, frowning, "So you mean…"

Caleb glanced at Austin, knowing he didn't understand a thing, and just sighed, "You don't need to ask. Just stay quiet and wait."

"Has Alex come back yet?" Caleb asked.

Austin shrugged, "No, he hasn't. Maybe…"

Caleb rubbed his forehead. "That idiot… hasn't he considered the possibility that he was tricked?"

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Suddenly, a voice sounded behind them.

"Ah! Alex, you're not dead?" Austin blurted out.

Alex, Caleb: "…"

"Damn it! You looking for a beating?" Alex growled, looking like he wanted to punch Austin a few times.

"All right," Caleb spoke up. He looked at Alex and asked, "How did you know we were here? And… how did you move through the blizzard without being affected?"

Alex sneered, "You guys just don't know me well enough, that's why you think it's so strange. The truth is, this is my home turf."

"I used to live on the summit of a snowy mountain—weather not much different from this."

"That's why surviving here isn't hard for me. It's just… there's no food here."

"If there were food or small animals like in the real world, I could live in a place like this for months without any trouble."

Caleb and Austin were genuinely surprised by this. They hadn't known Alex had lived such a harsh life.

But thinking about it, maybe it was that harshness that allowed Alex to surpass them by so much. Otherwise, Alex might have been just as ordinary as they were—nothing but dust in the river of time.

"That damn Evil God ran away so fast," Alex grumbled. "He's like a rat, hiding in the snow and then fleeing—I couldn't catch up to him."

"Don't get worked up," Caleb frowned. "We have more important things to do right now."

"Alex, since you can handle weather this harsh, can you scout out the situation with those other Rank D Landlords?"

"Of course!" Alex replied confidently. "I'm not as useless as that kid Austin here."

"You—" Austin ground his teeth.

At that moment, Caleb spoke up, cutting Austin off, "Austin, you and Alex will work together."

Alex frowned, "Why do I have to go with him?"

"I don't want to go with him either!" Austin shouted in anger.

"If you go together, you can support each other. Besides, this is the first mission the master has given us—you wouldn't want to fail, right?"

Hearing that, Austin snorted disdainfully, "Fine! I'll go with him."

"Just don't get in my way." Alex replied scornfully, as if he had to carry a heavy burden.

"You… damn it!" Austin fumed, but couldn't find a comeback.

Caleb could only rub his forehead, hoping these two idiots wouldn't cause any trouble.

He glanced at the structure behind him, feeling that victory was within reach. Still, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

Their opponents were all Rank D Landlords—among them, one even possessed a Rank C Hero.

If he got careless, he might lose everything in an instant. And naturally, defeat here meant death.

He certainly didn't believe those Rank D Landlords would let him live.

"Let's hope this time, we will succeed," Caleb muttered, his gaze shifting to Austin, eyes full of longing.