Everyone walked through the darkness at the bottom of the massive crater.
The area was enormous, and they had no idea which direction they were actually heading.
They could only continue deeper inside, relying on the faint blue glow of the sealing stones to barely make out the path ahead.
Valsa walked at the very front, followed by the officers.
Each of them had brought out their own means of combat.
Quans held a long sword, Elik’s hands had transformed into scythes, Lucas assumed a fighting stance, and Kweiv drew four sharp long blades, displaying his Four-Sword Style.
Behind them came the Mountain Spirit warriors.
Ang Lance led the group.
He was considerably taller than the other Mountain Spirits, carrying a longbow in his hands.
The Chief and the other warriors followed behind him, all armed with bows and quivers of arrows.
At the bottom of the pitch-black crater, a nauseating stench permeated the air.
The harsh, cawing cries of crows echoed constantly around them, grating on their ears.
An oppressive atmosphere hung over the entire area.
The officers of the Overlord Pirates felt uneasy, but whenever they saw the Captain’s back ahead of them, the restless feelings in their hearts were soothed.
It was as though that figure possessed some kind of special magic.
They continued walking for nearly an hour.
Yet nothing happened.
Instead, the surroundings became quieter and quieter.
So quiet that it was suffocating.
Then Valsa’s eyelids suddenly twitched violently.
A powerful sense of unease surged through him.
His heart seemed to stop for an instant, leaving him dizzy.
Instinctively, every fiber of his being urged him to flee.
“Spread out!!”
A powerful wave of force erupted from Valsa, sweeping everyone around him away and sending them flying in different directions.
Valsa crossed both arms above his forehead.
CLANG!!!
The dark rock wall overhead shook violently.
The earth trembled, spiderweb-like cracks spreading across its surface.
Then an explosive sound like thunder rang out from within.
Dust soared more than ten meters into the air.
“Captain!”
“What happened?!”
Everyone was terrified by the scene before them.
After walking through such a silent environment for so long, it was easy for their attention to become lax.
Without the Captain’s warning, that blow would have crushed them into nothing.
The dust gradually settled, revealing the figure hidden within.
Valsa was gripping a massive black spiked club with both hands.
At the other end of the club stood a gigantic figure more than ten meters tall.
The moment everyone saw its appearance, they sucked in a cold breath.
Goosebumps erupted across their bodies.
The Mountain Demon was completely black.
Its muscles were sharply defined, yet its entire body was covered in spikes.
It had only one eye, its scarlet pupil fixed fiercely on Valsa.
Its enormous mouth was filled with rows of razor-sharp fangs that gleamed coldly.
A foul stench assaulted their nostrils.
Its appearance was utterly horrifying.
Valsa grinned, his gaze blazing.
“Ugly bastard.
You’ve got some strength.”
“Up!!!”
Valsa lowered his center of gravity before suddenly heaving upward with both arms.
The enormous spiked club was lifted high into the air.
The tremendous momentum caused the Mountain Demon to stagger.
Valsa seized the opportunity and launched his attack.
Golden light radiated from both fists as he leaped upward at an astonishing speed, appearing directly in front of the Mountain Demon’s face.
He unleashed more than a dozen alternating punches with his left and right fists.
Yet even under Valsa’s tremendous strength, his golden brass knuckles only left a few pale marks on the Mountain Demon’s face.
They couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage at all.
“What an insanely tough body!
The Captain’s attacks aren’t having any effect!”
“We have to help the Captain!
We can’t let him fight alone!”
The moment those words were spoken, everyone charged forward, surrounding the Mountain Demon from all sides.
“ROAR!!!”
The Mountain Demon shook its head.
It seemed Valsa’s previous attacks had enraged it.
A roar like rolling thunder erupted from its throat, making everyone’s eardrums ache.
Ang Lance was the first to attack.
He pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, took aim, and fired.
The entire sequence flowed seamlessly without the slightest pause.
His tall figure stood firmly behind the others, his eyes as sharp as blades.
Whoosh!
The arrow left the bowstring with a crisp sound, the noise produced by its incredible speed through the air.
THUD!
The arrow plunged straight into the Mountain Demon’s eye.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The Mountain Demon crashed heavily to the ground and let out a shrill scream.
“Excellent shot!” Valsa praised.
Hitting a target in the middle of a fierce battle was extremely difficult.
Its body was constantly moving, while interference from allies around the target further increased the difficulty.
Yet Lance’s gaze remained unwavering.
He drew his bow and fired without hesitation, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.
It was a display of tremendous confidence in his archery.
The Mountain Demon let out another agonized roar.
But what happened next caused everyone’s expressions to change drastically.
The Mountain Demon climbed back to its feet and reached up, casually pulling the arrow from its single eye.
The gaping hole in its ruined eye then began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“How is this possible?!” Elik screamed.
“It instantly healed an injury that an ordinary person could never recover from!
What the hell is this monster?!”
“Old Chief!
What’s going on?!
Where’s this Mountain Demon’s weakness?”
The old Chief’s expression was equally grim.
“Our historical records contain pitifully little information about the Mountain Demons.
To tell you the truth, this is also my first time seeing one.
We have no idea what abilities it possesses, nor do we know where its weakness is.”
“Damn it!” Kweiv cursed.
“Cut off all four of its limbs together!”
Valsa issued the command.
No one wasted time thinking about it.
They immediately carried out his orders.
“Mountain Crash!”
Lucas launched the first attack.
The muscles in his arms bulged as he leaped high into the air.
His three-meter-plus frame came crashing down like a meteor, both hands clenched together as he smashed them toward the Mountain Demon’s head.
Caught off guard, the Mountain Demon was struck heavily and slammed into the ground, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air.
At the same time, Elik and Quans appeared on either side of the Mountain Demon.
Elik’s hands transformed into scythes.
His body spun like a top, blades sweeping around him as he charged toward the Mountain Demon.
“Take this!
Whirlwind!”
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Elik’s attacks struck the Mountain Demon’s arm, producing a series of crisp metallic clangs.
“Is his body made of iron?!
How is it this hard?!”
Quans suffered the same result on the opposite side.
Then suddenly—
The Mountain Demon let out an enraged roar.
Blood-red currents of energy began swirling around its body.
Its enormous frame started expanding.
Within only a few breaths, it had grown to more than twenty meters tall.
The spikes covering its body grew wildly as well, making it look even more ferocious and terrifying.
It gripped the spiked club and swung it violently.
A raging gale swept outward, sending everyone flying dozens of meters away.
“ROAR!”
The Mountain Demon let out another thunderous roar and charged toward the nearest person.
And the person it chose was…
Elik!
Elik was horrified.
Fear had seized his body so completely that his legs refused to move.
He couldn’t muster even the slightest bit of strength, and he could only stand there dumbly as the Mountain Demon charged toward him.
“Get out of the way, Elik!” Lucas roared.
[Facebreaker]!
At that moment, a powerful gust appeared behind the Mountain Demon.
Its forward momentum instantly vanished, and its enormous body began involuntarily retreating.
The tremendous force of attraction pulled the Mountain Demon back toward Valsa.
“I never said you could leave.”
Valsa’s lips curled into an arrogant grin.
He leaped high into the air and appeared in front of the Mountain Demon’s face, trading blow for blow with it!
The Mountain Demon naturally refused to back down.
It raised its spiked club and smashed it into Valsa’s body.
Every strike drove Valsa deep into the ground.
Yet before the Mountain Demon could turn around and attack anyone else, Valsa would rise again as if resurrected from the dead and launch another assault.
This was the effect of his passive skill, [Pit Grit].
The lower his health fell, the more health he recovered by dealing damage to his enemies.
At the same time, his Grit continued accumulating.
The golden radiance surrounding his body grew increasingly dazzling.
◇ THE STORY DOESN’T END HERE…
◇
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