Inside the dilapidated Sky-Piercing Tower, the environment was exceptionally cold, filled with deadly traps everywhere.
Chris and Lawson led the way, clearing the path, followed by a group of Knights of the Round Table, on high alert.
Yet, even so, the Knights of the Round Table suffered heavy casualties, and even Chris and Lawson sustained serious injuries.
As they entered the Sky-Piercing Tower, before they had advanced a hundred meters, their morale had been completely eroded, with nearly half dead or wounded.
"No, if this continues, everyone will die," Chris glanced at the Knights of the Round Table behind her, her brows furrowed, her eyes filled with deep worry.
Lawson also realized that such reckless advancement was not feasible and suggested to Chris, "Chris, let the two of us trigger all the traps first, and then let the team proceed."
"With our strength, if we can survive the traps here, we can ensure sufficient personnel upon reaching the center."
"That's a good suggestion."
Chris nodded in agreement, then ordered the knights to wait in place, and said to Lawson, "You stay here to guard them. For the next stretch, I'll go alone."
Lawson's brow furrowed slightly, "Can you do it alone?"
"You're not as agile as I am, and going together would only slow me down. Besides..."
Chris scanned the surroundings. The vast, dark space gave her a sense of unease. "I have a feeling that things in this Sky-Piercing Tower are not as simple as we imagined. If you stay here, you can also protect your comrades. We can't afford any more casualties."
Lawson understood the unspoken meaning in Chris's words and did not insist on scouting ahead with her. He agreed to stay, then handed Chris a walkie-talkie, saying, "Let's stay in contact. If there's danger, contact me immediately, and I can come to your aid."
"Mm."
Chris took the walkie-talkie, nodded at Lawson, and then sprinted into the interior of the Sky-Piercing Tower.
Soon, Chris's figure disappeared into the darkness.
Lawson no longer paid attention to Chris, sat down on the spot, took out a bag of dry rations from his pocket, and began to eat, replenishing his energy.
However, what Lawson and the knights did not notice was that around them, in the depths of the darkness, many points of light began to flicker.
Those points of light looked...
Like eyes!
Behind the Knights of the Round Table, Feng Ke saw Lawson and the others separate from Chris and couldn't help but ask Ye Ling, "Should we... follow that woman, or stay here?"
Ye Ling glanced into the depths of the darkness on both sides, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes, and said with a smile to Feng Ke, "Let's go, follow Chris. These people are already dead."
"Dead?"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Feng Ke was slightly stunned, not immediately understanding what Ye Ling meant.
However, Ye Ling did not give Feng Ke further explanation. He directly grabbed Feng Ke and quietly bypassed the Knights of the Round Table, chasing in Chris's direction.
After Ye Ling and Feng Ke left, the lights hidden in the dark grew brighter, and the monsters in the Sky-Piercing Tower began to close in on the Knights of the Round Table.
Deep within the dilapidated Sky-Piercing Tower, Chris ran at full speed, deliberately stepping on the traps inside the tower, and then using her agile footwork to dodge them.
With no reservations, Chris could fully display her strength. Neither the blade formations nor the poisonous mist could harm her any further.
"If it continues like this, the Knights of the Round Table can successfully enter the core of this Sky-Piercing Tower, and I can sacrifice them to obtain the spiritual energy core."
Chris slightly shifted her body, dodging a poisoned arrow shot from the darkness ahead, and paused to catch her breath.
"However, if the difficulty of this Sky-Piercing Tower is only this much, it's a bit too simple, not living up to the warnings from those guys at Hongchen Pavilion."
Chris had always had some doubts, feeling that this operation was going too smoothly.
For this mission, the Holy See had given it the highest danger level, meaning a near-certain annihilation for anyone below the eighth rank!
Even for those at the eighth rank, they would encounter mortal danger.
Yet, after they arrived in this ancient ruin, apart from encountering that humanoid monster, Ye Ling, the inherent dangers of the ancient ruin were not fatal to those of the eighth rank.
Even the members of the Knights of the Round Table could have left alive with a little more caution.
But... in the previous times the ancient ruins had opened, Hongchen Pavilion had suffered extremely heavy casualties each time, basically a complete annihilation!
Chris did not believe that if the ancient ruins were extremely dangerous in the past, the danger had disappeared this time when their Holy See came.
"I hope I'm just being paranoid... There's more than one Sky-Piercing Tower in these ruins, so it's unlikely every single one is that dangerous."
Chris shook her head, knowing that worrying here was meaningless. She then collected her thoughts and focused her attention on the traps within the Sky-Piercing Tower.
"Help... help me..."
Just as Chris was about to prepare to move forward, Lawson's cry for help suddenly sounded from her walkie-talkie, followed by a series of screams from the walkie-talkie!
Hearing the sounds from the walkie-talkie, Chris's expression changed drastically. She quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and asked, "Lawson! What exactly happened over there?"
"There, there are so many monsters... Ahhhhhh!"
Lawson let out a shrill scream, and then the walkie-talkie completely lost signal.
The surroundings fell into complete silence.
Chris stood frozen in the darkness, breaking out in a cold sweat, her breathing gradually becoming rapid, and endless fear welling up in her eyes.
"How, how could this happen?"
Chris looked back, her flashlight beam illuminating the darkness, but she could see nothing.
She dared not go back.
Lawson, like her, was also an eighth-rank Knight of the Round Table!
Moreover, Lawson possessed the divinely bestowed armor, the Heavenly God Armor, which had the highest defense among the Twelve Knights of the Round Table!
Yet, even so, Lawson couldn't even last a minute...
Listening to Lawson's screams just now, Chris knew without a doubt that Lawson and the Knights of the Round Table were in grave danger.
There were monsters behind them!
"No, I absolutely cannot go back. I can only continue deeper to find another exit!"
Chris made up her mind, no longer thinking about Lawson and the Knights of the Round Table, and no longer deliberately stepping on traps. She quickly rushed towards the interior of the Sky-Piercing Tower.
However, this time, Chris's mood had completely changed.
In the darkness, a slender figure in pink moved like a ghost!
Ye Ling and Feng Ke followed closely behind Chris, advancing at Chris's pace without encountering any obstacles.
Feng Ke kept looking back, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, and asked Ye Ling, "Is something chasing us from behind?"
"Are all those knights from the Holy See dead?"
Ye Ling nodded and said, "Yes, this Sky-Piercing Tower contains a large number of rat-like demonic beasts. Individually, they are very weak, only possessing cultivation of the first or second rank, but their teeth and blood are highly poisonous. Even Lawson, that eighth-rank异士, would die if bitten by those beasts."
"In this Holy See..." Ye Ling looked ahead, a strange glint in his eyes, "Only Chris is left alive now."