Xia De held Starfall overhead with one hand like an umbrella, strolling through the rain of blood as he slowly walked toward the Queen Ant.
The Queen Ant let out a terrified shriek, wanting to attack or flee, but the sheer terror gripping her body rooted her to the spot.
She could only lie on the ground in despair, hissing as she awaited Xia De's sentence of death.
As the rain of blood ceased, Xia De arrived in front of the Queen Ant. He looked at her calmly—or more accurately, at her abdomen, where a faint aura of life lingered.
This aura contained a power that far surpassed any other Erosion Ant.
It was the king of all Erosion Ants!
The last thing the Queen Ant saw was Xia De raising Starfall high, smiling down at her. And then...
The Queen Ant lost consciousness.
Only a pile of shattered fragments remained where she had been.
Having finished his work, Xia De let out a sigh of relief. Looking at the Queen Ant's remains, he wiped away a nonexistent bead of cold sweat and chuckled, “Wow! That was incredibly satisfying. I didn't expect to find such a fertile magical beast in this labyrinth. To think it could even devour other magical beasts to continuously evolve its own bloodline.”
“That aura in her abdomen just now was probably the masterpiece of her constant devouring of other magical beasts and humans. It likely would have been Tier Six right at birth, not to mention the chaotic mix of elements in its bloodline. That includes space. If this were an anime or a novel, there'd probably be an arc where the labyrinth's magical beasts escape to the outside world, leading thousands of ants to siege a city. And that king would definitely be the final boss!”
“But it doesn't matter now. Since you crossed paths with me, you might as well obediently become my Combat Power!”
Xia De casually stretched his limbs, loosening up his body.
He first looked around at the corpse-strewn battlefield, where a massive pile of severed ant limbs lay scattered across the ground, and then glanced down at Starfall.
A trace of red stained the dark black blade, emitting a thick, metallic scent of blood.
Xia De scratched the back of his head and looked left and right, saying to himself, “I've had my fill of slaughter today, even though there are still many skills I haven't tested. For instance, the other skill I learned from Starfall, Gravity Field, and the Spatial Slash I developed from my mastery over space—I didn't get to use either of them. Oh well, as long as I got to blow off some steam. Let's end today's physical combat practice here.”
Xia De cleared a clean spot for himself and sat cross-legged on the ground. “Next, it's time to clear the map. Black Prison!”
As the cold words left his lips, the shadow beneath him began to expand at a frantic pace, forming a massive domain of absolute darkness.
The flesh and corpses of the Erosion Ants were swallowed by the shadow. The once-crowded ant nest was instantly emptied, blanketed in pitch-black darkness.
Xia De sat alone in the very center, resting his chin in his hand as he quietly watched the scene unfold.
“Not enough, not enough! I did say I wanted to kill more today.”
Xia De spoke with dissatisfaction even after Black Prison had completely swallowed the ant nest.
Then, the halted Black Prison resumed its rapid, frenzied expansion, seeping out of the ant nest.
Wherever it passed, with the exception of the magical beasts currently being fought by adventurers, every remaining beast was dragged into the shadows by snake-like black lines emerging from the darkness.
And that wasn't all!
After clearing out all the magical beasts on this floor, Black Prison began to seep into the other floors.
As mentioned before, the entire dungeon labyrinth was shrouded in a faint layer of shadow.
Therefore, as long as there were shadows, they were all interconnected to him!
Soon, the adventurers on all floors of Tier Four, Rank One and above watched in sheer horror.
A blanket of darkness from an unknown source was spreading wildly through the labyrinth, surging forward like a runaway horse at a terrifying speed.
Wherever it went, thick black lines would rise from beneath the magical beasts that weren't actively engaged in combat with adventurers, slowly dragging them down into the darkness.
No matter how hard the magical beasts struggled, it was in vain. They could only let out despairing roars as the shadows pulled them into the abyss.
The terrified, despairing shrieks of the beasts before they vanished dealt a heavy blow to the hearts of all the adventurers still inside the labyrinth. Everyone's heart sank to rock bottom.
They had no idea where this darkness had come from, nor did they know what its ultimate goal was.
Although it seemed to be targeting magical beasts for now, what about afterward?
Would it turn its sights on them next?
At that thought, as they stared into the deathly silent darkness, many felt their hairs stand on end. They gasped heavily, their hearts pounding so violently it felt as though they would burst from their chests.
Some adventurers even instinctively squeezed their legs together, feeling that if they didn't, they would surely wet themselves!
A few of the more cowardly adventurers abandoned their active quests entirely, fleeing in terror with tears in their eyes.
After they fled, a snake-like black line emerged from the darkness. Its tip seemed to look at the escaping adventurers, then at the magical beasts they had abandoned.
It swayed slightly, as if saying:
“Well, you're the ones who didn't want them!”
Then, several thick black lines shot out from Black Prison, dragging the abandoned quest targets into the shadows.
Once all magical beasts of Tier Four and above were devoured, Black Prison vanished in an instant, leaving a crowd of terrified adventurers staring at each other in shock.
However, the magical beasts and adventurers on the floors below Tier Four remained completely oblivious to all of this.
Xia De deactivated Black Prison and muttered, “Let's leave it at that for now. The magical beasts below Tier Four are just too weak to be of any interest. I'll let them grow a bit first.”
“Besides, I can't completely deprive others of the chance to complete their quests, even if I did take the lion's share.”
Then, spreading his arms, he let his body sink into the shadows, reappearing in the darkness near the labyrinth's exit.
“After this sweep, I doubt the number of magical beasts will meet my requirements for at least a week. I'll let them replenish for a while. I'll come back to visit later.”
With Starfall slung across his back and a smile on his face, Xia De slowly walked out of the labyrinth.
On the floor of Tier Four, Rank Three of the labyrinth, inside a dark stone cavern, dozens of web-wrapped cocoons clung to a colossal spiderweb.
The cavern itself was deathly quiet, as the Gloom Spider and its offspring had already been swallowed by the shadows.
Suddenly, movement stirred within one of the cocoons. A dagger sliced through the webbing from the inside, cutting it open.
A tall, exceptionally built woman with a high ponytail crawled out, covered in foul-smelling, sticky fluid. It was Sheena.
The spider hadn't eaten her yet, choosing instead to store her as food.
Relying on her physical resilience as a Shield Guardian, she had resisted the web's corrosive effects to a great extent. The moment she regained some strength, she used a dagger she had prudently kept hidden on her person to cut herself free from the webbing.
After escaping, she carefully scanned her surroundings. Finding no sign of the Gloom Spider, her heart eased slightly.
Having no time to wonder why the cavern was completely empty, she tiptoed toward the exit.
In her heart, she whispered a silent apology to Charles.
Elsewhere, Milia's party had tied up a group of ferocious-looking bandits and thrown them in the center. Aside from Charles, the others stared at them with cold expressions.
Rate on N.U.
