Chapter 677: Another Battle, Another Level

The sound of the guitar slowly faded among the broken pillars.

Lian looked at the Bone Minstrel’s disappearing figure one last time.

The Unholy creature was still walking slowly toward the center, and apparently, he was very happy that he had finally found a few people to listen to his music.

Noah let out a long breath.

"Well, at least we found out where that damn song was coming from."

Rindo smiled.

"Actually, I thought it was coming from an ancient structure."

"Me too! But no, apparently a skeleton decided to hold a concert in the middle of hell."

Alicia looked at the narrow path where the musician had disappeared.

"At least he didn’t try to attack us."

"Yeah. I hope the rest of the prisoners are just as friendly." Noah laughed loudly.

Of course, he did not have much hope that this would happen.

However, meeting the Bone Minstrel had once again reminded them that not all the prisoners in this prison were mindless creatures.

Some still kept parts of their former personalities, and some, like Four, could even talk about the history of this land.

Maybe they would find a few more before reaching the center.

Lian looked toward the horizon.

The huge rings of the Hollow Sun were still turning in the sky, and farther away, columns of red steam rose from cracks in the ground, while some stone platforms had disappeared into the flowing lava.

But his attention was mostly on something else.

His current level was 34, he needed just one more level.

The Main Quest reward was five full levels, if he reached level thirty-five before completing it, he could directly reach level forty.

Of course, there was still no guarantee that he would succeed in the quest, but there was also no reason to miss the chance to increase his level, it would be even better if he could reach level 40 without the help of that Quest.

That way, after completing it, he would directly reach level 45.

"Well, let’s move."

At his signal, One and Two started moving again.

About an hour later, the group reached a passage between a tall wall and a deep cliff.

In some places, the path was less than twenty meters wide.

On the left, black and cracked rocks rose to a great height, and on the right, a flow of lava moved deep below the cliff.

But the main problem was not the condition of the ground.

It was the creatures moving along the path.

Dozens of Withered.

Some had long, thin limbs, while others had bent bodies and hands that almost reached the ground.

Among them, there was even a creature that had lost half of its face, and despite the exposed bones of its jaw, it was still walking on two legs.

Lian examined them for a moment, most of them were between level twenty and forty, and several stronger creatures were also among the crowd.

But the interesting part was their behavior.

Most of the Withered were simply moving toward the center and did not even care about the group’s presence.

"We can go over the wall." Rindo pointed toward the rocks on the left.

Lian looked at the path for a moment.

It was a good route.

Fighting this many creatures beside a cliff filled with lava had its own unnecessary risks.

But before he could decide, one of the Withered turned its head toward them.

The creature was almost three meters tall, with four bony arms coming out of its shoulders, and its mouth was split on both sides almost to its ears.

It stared at them for several seconds and then a rough sound came from its throat.

"Alive..."

Young Vorhelm narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm?"

"The living..."

The creature turned its body and ran toward them with uneven movements.....several other Withered also raised their heads.

Noah looked at them.

"Apparently, we can’t pass through quietly anymore."

Lian gave a short smile.

"That’s fine, I actually needed some EXP."

He raised his right hand.

"One, hold the path ahead, Two, watch our backs."

The huge ant moved forward slightly with its six powerful arms and placed its body between the group and the nearest Withered.

Two also moved past One and jumped onto a higher stone platform on the left.

Noah, who was still sitting on the wolf’s back, looked down.

"Wait, wait! At least give us a warning before jumping!"

Two showed no reaction at all.

Alicia placed her hand on the handle of her sword.

"We’d better get down."

"Agreed." Noah carefully climbed down from the wolf’s back. "Although I don’t think he was waiting for our opinion anyway."

At that moment, the four-armed Withered reached One, raised its two upper arms, and struck toward the ant’s head with all its strength.

But before the attack could land, One raised two of his own hands.

Clack!

The bony claws were caught between the ant’s powerful hands.

The creature tried to free itself, but the huge ant wrapped two more hands around its body and with a sudden movement, lifted the Withered off the ground.

Then he slammed its body against the stone wall, and the sound of breaking bones filled the passage, a large part of the creature’s face was crushed, but it was still alive.

One delivered a second blow without hesitation, this time the Withered’s skull was completely crushed, and its lifeless body fell to the ground.

[ Special Member One Has Defeated a Withered ]

Lian saw the scene from the corner of his eye.

Good.

But before he had the chance to praise his colony member, three more creatures attacked them from the right.

Young Vorhelm took a step forward.

[ Glacial Reaper Claw ]

A pale blue light formed around his fingers.

The first Withered had not even reached a distance of two meters when Lian passed beside it, several thin lines appeared on the creature’s neck and chest, and a moment later, the upper part of its body separated.

[ You Have Killed a Level 37 Withered ]

The second creature tried to attack from the left, but Lian moved out of the path of its claws with a short turn and struck its side with his palm.

The sound of breaking ribs could be heard.

The Withered’s body was thrown several meters backward and collided with two creatures approaching from behind.

Before they could regain their balance, Lian moved toward them.

The distance disappeared in an instant.

The first blow broke the neck of one, and the second blow crushed the chest of another creature.

But the third Withered threw itself onto the ground before the punch could hit and reached toward Lian’s legs with its four long hands.

Young Vorhelm glanced at it.

This one was a little smarter.

Instead of moving backward, he jumped over the creature’s body and, as he landed, slammed his heel onto its spine.

The stone beneath the Withered cracked, and the creature stopped moving.

[ You Have Killed a Level 33 Withered ]

[ You Have Killed a Level 37 Withered ]

[ You Have Killed a Level 30 Withered ]

Lian shook his hand and turned toward the next group.

On the other side of the passage, Alicia was facing a level thirty-four Withered.

The creature had a long body, and two bone blades extended from its forearms, unlike many of the other prisoners, its movements were not uneven.

It began its first attack with a diagonal strike toward the girl’s shoulder.

She raised her sword.

[ Second Form: Guardian of the Ivory Throne ]

Her blade moved into the path of the attack at a precise angle.

Instead of hitting directly, the Withered’s strike slid along the edge of her sword and passed beside her shoulder.

At the same time, the girl took a step forward, but the creature reacted faster than she expected.

The second blade moved upward toward her side.

[ Third Form: Royal Lily Step ]

Alicia moved her body to the right with a short and controlled movement, the bone blade passed only a few centimeters from her armor.

Before the enemy could change the direction of its attack, the girl shifted her weight onto her front foot.

[ First Form: Crown’s Salute ]

Her sword moved directly toward the Withered’s neck.

Unlike Lian’s heavy and brutal attacks, her strike had no unnecessary movement, the edge of the blade passed through the gap between the creature’s neck bone and its natural armor.

The Withered’s head separated from its body.

She immediately stepped back and lowered her sword.

Rindo, who was fighting two Withered a few meters away, watched her movement for a moment.

That was a clean technique.

Unlike his aggressive style, the girl’s swordsmanship focused more on controlling the angle of attacks and using the enemy’s movements.

But there was no time to watch, one of the Withered attacked him from the right with unusually long hands.

Rindo turned his Ten Star Spear.

[ First Form: Stillpoint ]

The tip of the spear remained still in front of him for a moment and then moved toward the creature’s chest with a precise movement, the Withered tried to move aside, but it was too late.

The spear passed through its ribs, and then he pulled the weapon out.

[ You Have Killed a Level 28 Withered ]