Chapter 1 The Raging Tides

Ten thousand tons of seawater surged and roared through the pipes, waves over ten meters high crashing down like the palms of giants. The jagged reefs formed from piles of metal wreckage were flattened and submerged like insignificant grains of sand.

Ambury, with her fiery red hair, strode upon the waves, her left hand holding down her fluttering pirate tricorn, her right hand wielding a slender scimitar. She narrowed her eyes, gazing at the tiny figure far in the distance.

She took a deep breath, the salty sea breeze as familiar as ever.

Taking half a step forward, shifting her center, she gripped her long blade tightly, raised it, and brought it crashing down as the wave reached its apex.

The scimitar named [Tidebringer] silently unleashed its power.

All obstacles within the conical area in front of her were first marked by a shimmering ripple of seawater, then cleaved in two, breaking apart without warning, and sinking into the sea.

Except for the figure standing on the hanging ladder.

A plain man named Zhan Lu raised the dark, broad, and sharp bronze blade in his hand, [Zhan Lu], holding it in front of him.

A gleam of water light appeared on the blade, but it was extinguished by the sword qi before it could bloom.

"..."

They met on a narrow path, with no room to retreat, especially since the other party had severely injured and abused his subordinates during the Realm Corridor stage.

Old and new grudges surged into Zhan Lu's mind, but his heart remained calm.

He said nothing.

He merely took half a step back, holding the sword in his right hand, the blade parallel to the ground, his left hand supporting the spine of the blade with two fingers, adopting a sword stance.

Ahead, the waves, like white horses arrayed for battle, carried Ambury on their crest, rushing forward with the sea wind as their horn.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters…

The blade hummed, the accumulated power suddenly erupting, and a vast sword qi rose from below, splitting the oncoming waves in two.

Parting the sea, cleaving the waves.

Zhan Lu stepped off the hanging ladder, leaping into the air, his figure spinning like a top.

A torrent of fine, continuous sword qi fell upon Ambury, whose expression was one of astonishment, like a storm washing away impurities.

The female pirate flicked her long blade, drawing forth azure seawater to block the sky-filling sword qi.

Her boots stomped on the wave crest, leaping into the air to meet Zhan Lu, blade to sword.

Clang!

The sharp, ear-piercing sound of metal clashing echoed through the floor.

The shockwave from the collision of weapons caused the seawater beneath their feet to sink, forming a semicircular crater.

In a few short breaths, Tidebringer and the longsword Zhan Lu had collided hundreds of times.

Fierce and decisive sword qi crisscrossed, cutting through the waves wantonly.

Splashes of seawater rose to a distance of dozens of meters, weaving a sparse curtain of water around the battlefield.

Suddenly, Zhan Lu seemed to sense something, his expression changing slightly. His sword moves shifted, he drew back his sword, disengaged, and instantly widened the distance between them, turning his head to look at the pipes on the left.

Ambury frowned as well, listening intently—the seawater accumulating beneath her feet was now significantly less than before.

Breathing, running, laughter.

From the right side of the crossroads, three figures emerged from the dark tunnel.

Ding Zhensi's Kui Niu mech was covered in wounds, Chi Xiao's left shoulder was bleeding profusely, and the glasses on Zhi Ming's nose had been shattered, with only the earpieces still hanging on his ears. The ordinary coat he was wearing was scorched black.

Seeing Zhan Lu on the high hanging ladder ahead, Chi Xiao's face revealed a complex bitter smile containing regret, shame, and relief. He was just about to say something when he was interrupted by a giant fireball, ten meters in diameter, shooting out of the darkness.

Ding Zhensi, piloting the Kui Niu mech, abruptly turned around, raising the energy shield he had dismantled from the [Shan Hai · Qu Ru] mech piloted by his companion, blocking it behind Chi Xiao.

Boom!

The fireball suddenly exploded, the dazzling light illuminating the dim space as bright as day.

The intense heat continued to scorch the energy shield, and the system alarm sounded continuously in the Kui Niu mech's cockpit.

But in the end, it still held.

Ding Zhensi gasped for breath, retrieving the energy shield, which was covered in spiderweb cracks and about to collapse, staring intently at a certain direction in the darkness.

Two figures emerged from the pipes high in the tunnel.

Xin Di Jia [King Tiger], whose pale fur was retracting as he gradually exited the Thunder Wolf state,

And [Burning Mad] with his hands behind his head and a cruel smile on his face.

"Yo, you're here."

Ambury laughed heartily, "What about Supercritical? I saw the signals of you three together before."

"We were ambushed."

Burning Mad gestured with his mouth towards Ding Zhensi and the others below, saying indifferently, "But he's not dead, he went back to the real world alive.

We exchanged them for those three."

Burning Mad paused, glancing at Zhan Lu in the distance, "Not finished yet?"

"Yeah, he's pretty strong."

Ambury nodded honestly, admitting, "If I don't use that move, I might be defeated by him."

"Then don't waste time."

Burning Mad rolled up his sleeves, muttering softly, "The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can wrap things up."

The situation became tense again. Zhan Lu silently gripped his longsword, the dark coating on the blade gradually peeling off, revealing a dim golden light.

With his strength, he could still suppress or even defeat Ambury alone.

But adding Burning Mad, whose strength was similar to Ambury's, and [King Tiger], who also belonged to the Xin Di Jia, would probably be beyond his capabilities.

After all, the state of Chi Xiao and the others didn't look like they could fight...

Crack, crack.

Burning Mad twisted his neck, two balls of flame ignited under his feet, carrying him upward. The flames in his palms burned fiercely, expanding rapidly. In just five seconds, they had grown to almost one-fifth the size of the tunnel.

Zhan Lu's expression was solemn, grasping the longsword with both hands, the dark coating on the blade gradually peeling off, revealing a dim golden light.

Just as both sides were about to unleash their killing moves, two figures rushed from the left side of the crossroads,

"Wait!"

The familiar shout made Burning Mad frown, and the flames in his hand immediately stopped expanding.

Tai Hao, covered in dust, flew out of the tunnel, holding Ge Chan Luo Xing by the back of his collar.

"Wait."

Tai Hao landed lightly on the hanging ladder, forcing a smile as he set down the pale-faced Ge Chan Luo Xing. He said in a deep voice to everyone (including Zhan Lu, who was almost holding his breath, as if facing a great enemy), "Don't fight,

We now have more important things to do."

"How did you get here?"

Ambury asked in surprise, "The aura I sensed in the ventilation ducts before wasn't you and Shi Kong and Michael,

How come it's just you?"

"..."

Tai Hao and Ge Chan Luo Xing exchanged a look, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "They have been sealed by extra-domain creatures..."

————

Lunatics, they're all lunatics!

In the 39th floor of the Lost World, Ant King ran frantically, his heart roaring and shouting.

[Arashikawa] from the Thistle Flower and [Hypochondria], who had defected from the Other Shore organization, suddenly appeared in front of them and launched an attack without saying a word.

Arashikawa recited scriptures, casting spells to make the Ant King and others stagger and become mentally sluggish.

Hypochondria's figure was erratic, and the dagger in her hand was unremarkable, but it could easily cut through any object, including metal shields, energy shields, and biological limbs.

Plumed Serpent was the first to run out of energy, and a mistake allowed Hypochondria to get close. The dagger was swung more than a dozen times in an instant, turning Plumed Serpent into a human stick.

Fortunately, Plumed Serpent had equipped props. Before his brain was cut open, he urgently took over his consciousness and issued an order to surrender and withdraw from the competition, leaving in the form of a human stick—it was unknown if he could survive.

With one less person, the Ant King and Daheitian, who had been consumed by the insect swarm, were in an absolute disadvantage. If Arashikawa hadn't been restraining Hypochondria as well,

The players from the two European heavy industry groups would have become victims.

Tap tap tap tap!

The sound of footsteps behind them was dense and rapid.

Daheitian, running with Ant King, clenched his teeth.

He took out a pale skull filled with blood from his backpack and threw it backward.

The blood in the skull splashed out, forming a huge scarlet curtain, blocking the tunnel behind them.

"If you have any trump cards, use them now!"

Daheitian drank a series of potions, running with his eyes red, staring at the Ant King, and roaring in a low voice, "If this goes on, we'll either withdraw or die!"

Do you think I'm Doraemon? Having everything I need?

Ant King roared in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.

He did have one last trump card, but once he used it, he would lose his ability to fight,

Which would be equivalent to automatically withdrawing from the Doorway Contention, and all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Perhaps he could wait a little longer…

The battle was so fierce, and there were unknown insect swarms wantonly hunting down players.

Maybe in a few hours or even minutes, the number of survivors would fall below fifty, directly starting the Doorway Contention phase.

Ant King's heart was conflicted. Just as his expression changed and he was hesitant,

The blood curtain in the tunnel behind them was easily torn open with a "tearing" sound.

Hypochondria, covered in blood, smiled, raised her leg to cross the shrinking, contracting blood curtain,

Her right hand held a dagger, and her left hand held the collar of the unconscious Arashikawa.

"Don't run away."

Hypochondria smiled and shook off the blood on the dagger, saying gently, "You haven't told me what happened to my brother, Black Saint, in the script…"

!!!

Daheitian and Ant King's hairs stood on end. They had just seen Arashikawa's methods and knew that he deserved his ranking of thirty-eighth in personal combat power.

But now, he was being carried in Hypochondria's hand, who was seven places behind him.

And Daheitian and Ant King didn't even see how Hypochondria had dealt with Arashikawa…

Damn it!

There was definitely something wrong with this woman!

A look of determination flashed across Daheitian's face. He took out a bone that had been polished into a smooth ball from his backpack and put it in his mouth. The muscles below his shoulder blades squirmed, as if something was about to grow out…

"Roar!"

An extremely shrill scream broke the suppressed, murderous atmosphere.

Hypochondria subconsciously looked towards the tunnel on the left, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw an uncontrollable look of ecstasy on Daheitian's face.

In the tunnel on the left, something seemed to be running over…

Hypochondria's pupils suddenly dilated. It was a sea of insects, a vast ocean of insect nests that almost filled the entire tunnel.

What is this?

Hypochondria, seeing the insect swarm for the first time, subconsciously raised her dagger and swept it forward.

The shells of the soldier insects at the front cracked with a crack parallel to the ground, and they rolled to the ground uncontrollably.

But hundreds and thousands of their kind instantly took their place, charging at Hypochondria.

"Hahaha."

Daheitian laughed wildly, turning around and fleeing.

The next second, he saw that the road ahead was also flooded with a rolling tide of insects…

Fear, despair, shock, and astonishment surged into his heart one after another.

The former was because the number of insects was far beyond imagination. Even if Daheitian revealed his trump card and transformed into the four-armed Daheitian, he would probably not be able to defeat this scale of insect sea.

The latter was because of the appearance of these insect nest units.

They were too similar.

They were really too similar.

Fire ants, leafcutter ants, Australian bulldog ants, black ants, trap-jaw ants, Argentine ants…

These insect nest units were all ants magnified countless times.

From the shape, body structure, and even the reflective patterns on the surface of the carapace, they were all completely identical to the various ants that Ant King had summoned before.

It was just that they had more weapons equipped by beast-level soldier insects.

"It's you!"

Daheitian retreated ten meters, howling, "Why? Aren't we comrades? Plumed Serpent was exhausted of spiritual power by your insects before being cut into a human stick!"

"It's not my fault!"

Ant King, equally shocked and astonished, roared, "These are not my summons…"

Whoosh—

Hypochondria's figure disappeared from where she was. The next second, she had already appeared behind Ant King, her dagger gently placed on the back of the latter's neck.

"Make your ants leave!"

Hypochondria said softly, her tone no longer frivolous and gentle as before, "Otherwise, before you have the idea of withdrawing from the competition and the muscles in your facial expression change, I will cut off your head."

So, I'm telling you they aren't my ants!

Ant King roared frantically in his heart, the dagger blade against his neck making him unable to move at all.

A strange thing happened. After he was held hostage by Hypochondria, the ant swarms that had blocked the tunnel suddenly stopped charging.

Countless ants touched each other's antennae, and the red fire ants at the front all knelt down, prostrating reverently as if worshiping a king.

Hypochondria and Daheitian exchanged a look, clearly seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

The rustling crawling sound was as dense as rain, and the insect tide retreated along the same path they came from.

Leaving only three stunned players standing silently in place.

"..."

Daheitian took a deep breath and said slowly, "Ant King, let's cooperate.

I now know that you are worried that the official government will discover that you control the insect swarm, be wary of your strength, and take action against you in the real world,

That's why you hid your abilities.

Fortunately, the detector wasn't here just now and didn't capture the scene just now.

Only the three of us know your secret.

I can sign a system-produced contract with you. As long as you can guarantee our safety, we will definitely not reveal this news."

Hypochondria narrowed her eyes, maintaining the posture of holding Ant King hostage, "As long as you tell me how my brother died, I am willing to cooperate.

Even protecting you to advance to the Doorway Contention and obtaining the Doorway is not a problem."

"..."

Ant King's expression was stiff.