Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 844 The Pioneers (Part 1)
[Note: The Pioneer has been detected to have entered the Uncertified Area - Shallow Layer of the Abyss Erosion Zone - Island 1 (tentative name)]

[Note: The Pioneer Quest has been automatically issued]

[Pioneer Mission: Expedition]

Task Difficulty: LV.30~LV.???
Mission Information: Investigate Island 1.

Task Description: (None)

Task Reward: (None)
Task penalty: (None)
Task deadline: (None)
……

"Cough cough! Cough cough! Tsk, finally landed. By the way, did we just hit something?"

A violent coughing sound rang out from the swirling dust and haze. Under the sky filled with dense abyssal energy, the blond youth crawled out from a mountain of rotten, purplish-black flesh and blood. After coughing twice, he looked around and casually asked Xin Lailai and the Death Bearer beside him.

"do not know."

"Judging from the records before the teleportation pod crashed, it should be some kind of abyssal creature that is good at long-range sniping."

Xin Lailai, who could visualize the entire area within a two-kilometer radius using the Star Luo Domain, said this while activating the detection function of her expeditionary combat suit, reminding the two of them:
"Be careful, there seems to be a big, difficult-to-handle creature coming this way."

"Tsk, this is really troublesome... Are we going to be targeted by a bunch of overlord-level BOSSes as soon as we land?"

"Just kill him."

Yamu sighed, drawing his longsword amidst the crackling of golden lightning. The Death Bearer, meanwhile, indifferently drew his blade and slashed around, unleashing a ring of energy amidst the soaring black death aura that dispersed the dust obscuring their vision. The next second…

"Roar--!!"

A deep roar came from afar, colliding with the wind pressure unleashed by the Death Slayer, and bursting into a sonic boom in mid-air.

Looking around, they saw a dragon-like creature, over a hundred meters tall, roaring as it charged toward them from about a kilometer away. Its four vertical pupils, flashing red light, seemed to be reminding them just how excited it was. Xin Lailai and the other two fell silent as they looked at the scene before them.

For abyssal creatures that live in the abyss environment year-round, the sudden appearance of three life reactions with strong elemental auras in their senses is as stimulating as suddenly placing a piece of jerky in front of a wild beast that has been starving for three days. Even if it is just a faint 'fragrance', it can drive most abyssal creatures into a frenzy instantly.

However, that alone wouldn't be enough to silence them. What truly quieted the three of them was a scene unfolding in the distance:

[Detection complete. Currently, the number of sub-dominant level life forms detected within radar range is 129, and the number of dominant level life forms detected is 31.]

Humlong——! !

On the communication channel, a notification sound from the detection module rang out. On the ground, the three people stared at the abyssal creatures in the distance, each as huge as a mountain, looking down at them from different directions, and fell silent for half a second.

"Hey... our ice queen, are you still going to fight your way out?"

"..."

"Walk!!!"

[Notification: You have entered the "Nirvana Assimilation" state!]

A deep, sharp shout exploded in the minds of the three. Xin Lailai, having confirmed the situation, did not hesitate at all. She instantly entered a state of annihilation and decisively slashed at the ground beneath her.

Entangling Blade - Annihilation!

A burst of black and white light, powerful enough to destroy everything, instantly annihilated the rocks in its path, blasting a passage hundreds of meters deep right in front of the three. Upon seeing this, Yamu and the Death Bearer jumped into the pit without hesitation.

Rock Creation Magic: Gathering Mountains!
The next second, a yellowish-brown light flashed from Xin Lailai's hand, who had also leaped into the pit, guiding the rocks above to crash together, completely sealing off the passage that was barely wide enough for a few people to pass through in the suddenly silent world. But before the three people falling down could even catch their breath, a strikingly red area suddenly appeared in their field of vision:
[Warning: A secondary overlord-level life form has been detected. Reaction is imminent...!]

Warnings from the detection module rang in the minds of the three. Upon seeing this, Xin Lailai turned around abruptly, gathering the annihilation energy within her body, and decisively slashed in a certain direction beside her.

Entangling Blade - Annihilation.

“ZAaaa——!!”

As if stripped of all the world's excess colors, black and white energy burst forth once more, piercing through the rock strata with unparalleled ferocity. It collided with the life force rushing toward them at high speed, causing it to erupt with a piercing scream.

Before she could even mount a real resistance, the Death Keeper beside Xin Lailai had already transformed into a dark afterimage and instantly rushed out of the spot.

Dark Slash - Death Thrust!

Zheng!
The clanging of blades rang out, and a dense aura of death, along with gushing black blood, erupted from the underground space, instantly engulfing the centipede-shaped abyssal creature that hadn't even had time to approach, like a ravenous demon.

"Fabre." "Understood!!"

Om-! !

A sinister, dark green light burst forth, and the slender skeleton mage cautiously popped his head out of the shadow of the Deathbringer. After inserting his arm, which was gripping the bone staff, into the corpse of the centipede-shaped abyss creature, he swiftly retreated back into the shadow of the Deathbringer.

"Lord Death Keeper! It's all healed!"

“ZAaaa——!!”

The next second, a large amount of eerie green soul fire rose from the gaps in the centipede-shaped abyss creature's body. The huge abyss creature, which should have been dead, opened its eye sockets burning with eerie green flames, let out a shriek, and then bowed its head to the executioner with unusual respect.

"Let's go! We're too close to the ground here! Let's at least dive down to a depth of 10,000 meters before we talk again!"

"it is good."

As Xin Lailai's voice fell, the Death Bearer nodded slightly. With a thought, he commanded Fabu to manipulate the centipede-shaped abyssal creature in front of him to catch Xin Lailai and Yamu, and then controlled it to rush into the depths of the earth without regard for anything else.

……

On the other side, at the No. 129 outpost on the sunken reef.

"Ugh... why do I suddenly feel so bored? It's been two days and they still haven't given us any missions. Every day, only a few abyssal creatures slip through. I'm so bored I could die!"

A bored murmur of complaints rang out from the makeshift camp. A blonde girl, who was so bored that she started braiding little figures out of her own hair, was lying on the carpet, muttering to herself.

"I think this is quite good. After all, as Lord Black Sword said before, our own safety is the most important thing to consider."

"Tsk, I know that, but it's just a bit too boring to be doing this... By the way, Argo, what are you doing?"

"Ah, me? I'm organizing the information I got from communicating with Mr. Mingyu and the others. After all, Brother Black Sword said that we might encounter some unimaginable unknown dangers later, so it's better to be prepared." "Eh, is that so? I thought you were worried about that guy named Black Sword, that's why you couldn't calm down, Brother Argo."

"Brother Black Sword, to be honest, I was worried at first. After all, according to the information, the danger level of a world occupied by the Abyss Hole is not the same as that of a world that has simply been corrupted."

"But when I think about what Brother Black Sword said yesterday, I suddenly feel that trust is a better approach than worrying, and..."

The white-haired youth paused slightly, glanced at the notebook in his hand with his magnificent, jewel-like crimson eyes, a determined look flashing in them, and murmured with a smile:
"If Brother Black Sword were here, he would probably say that instead of wasting time on meaningless worries, taking the initiative to catch up is what a man should do, right?"

……

The Lonely Island 1 World.

"Expeditionary Operation Exploration Record, Recorder: Black Sword."

Recording the World: Island No. 1

"first day."

"Upon landing, we encountered a large number of overlord-level abyssal creatures and retreated deep into the ground to seek refuge."

"Three unrecorded Lesser Overlord-level Abyssal creatures were killed. Based on their biological characteristics, they are tentatively classified as worm-like Abyssal creatures, with their core characteristics being..."

……

"the next day."

"A large-scale underground base has been found, but no life exists inside."

"Based on the contents extracted from its internal documents and imprints, it is preliminarily determined that it was an emergency refuge of an old civilization in the world, and the cause of its demise was the depletion of its survival resources."

"Analysis of the abyssal creature samples obtained along the way has yielded preliminary results indicating that the core characteristics of abyssal creatures in this world are 'predation' and 'devouring.' They are born with extremely strong predatory and aggressive behaviors and can strengthen themselves by devouring other remaining creatures. After a long period without food, they will enter a dormant state to reduce consumption."

……

"The third day."

"The flow rate of time in this world has been measured, confirming that a rapid flow of time has occurred due to the decrease in spacetime density. According to preliminary calculations, the flow rate of time in its outer region is 8.39 times that of the outside world."

……

"The fourth day."

"Location of the Abyss Hole confirmed."

"Three large-scale underground shelters were found, but no signs of life were found in any of them."

……

"The fifth day."

"The preliminary analysis of the abyssal ecosystem of this world has been completed. Based on the existing data, it is preliminarily inferred that the food chain of this world is a predatory food chain with fungal carpet-type organisms as producers, and the biological stratification exhibits a very obvious hierarchical phenomenon..."

"Conclusion: Based on the ecological environment and the characteristics of the abyssal creatures in this world, the abyssal creatures in this world do not have the ability to fight against legions, but they are strong in individual combat and are suitable for multiple people to fight together."

……

Island No. 1, day 6 after entering.

Om-! !

A muffled hum, like a thunderstorm, spread across the land. In the severely distorted sky, abyssal energy, so thick it was almost tangible, flowed down from holes in the sky, forming winding abyssal rivers on the earth.

On both sides of the river, one can see dark red tentacles penetrating deep into these abyssal rivers rich in abyssal energy, using it as nourishment to spread across the entire land, clinging to and entwining everything in sight.

"Tsk, that's really disgusting. Why can't these things be any better looking?"

On the ground covered with dark red roots, Yamu, who had emerged from the cave, looked at the roots that would immediately 'burst out' a large number of larvae if anyone got too close, and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Be content, at least it's better than the environment of Reef 96." Xin Lailai said casually while observing the surrounding environment. In his opinion, as long as it's not an ecosystem like Reef 96 where they eat shit, the others are just a little disgusting at most.

"Captain Black, can't you just leave that thing out of your head... Speaking of which, what are you planning to do with it? With this thing sitting here, flying over to close the Abyss Hole won't be an easy task, will it?"

"Hmm... Considering the time it would take for the Abyss Suppression Device to destroy the Abyss Hole, we definitely need to get this thing sorted out first."

As Xin Lailai spoke, she looked at the hole in the sky that was constantly dripping abyssal energy, and at the egg-shaped object below the hole that was more than 300 meters tall and was frantically absorbing the surrounding abyssal energy like an embryo. A solemn look appeared in her eyes.

Because the Pioneers' mission was to prioritize exploring the details of the parasitic world in the Abyss Wormhole, they mostly avoided combat along the way, except when necessary. This is why they were able to reach this place in less than a week.

According to the data they collected and the analysis they drew along the way, the abyssal creatures born in this world, once known as the 'Langa Continent,' are characterized by their ability to evolve their life forms through constant predation and devouring.

Combined with its already abnormal internal time flow, it successfully created a food chain similar to big fish eating small fish over a long period of time, and continuously accumulated one apex predator after another over time.

This is one of the main reasons why they encountered a situation where overlords were everywhere and lords were treated worse than dogs when they first landed.

Given that abyssal creatures of dominant strength are extremely difficult to prey on, and with abyssal energy continuously flowing in, the accumulation of the number of top predators is almost inevitable.

Of course, if it were just a matter of sheer numbers, that would be fine. After all, with their current strength, it would be difficult to stop a typical overlord-level unit from rushing over and destroying the Abyss Hole without sending dozens or hundreds of them. The problem is...

"What do you think this thing would be like if it hatched, how much weaker would it be compared to that giant on White Edge Star?"

"do not know."

"Hmm... I guess it's similar to the first or second stage of the Filthy God's Remains. The key is its predatory nature. There are too many abyssal creatures around here. If we can't take advantage of its slumber to kill it in one blow, it can probably heal itself to full health by relying on the surrounding abyssal creatures and the abyssal energy accumulated here once it wakes up."

Xin Lailai narrowed her eyes, gazing at the enormous egg-shaped object beneath the abyss's opening. Analyzing the information detected by her True Eye, she said, "To be on the safe side, let's go back and prepare. If all else fails, we'll use the forced breach device to return and have the Legion come and set up..."

"No need to bother."

……

(End of this chapter)