Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 861 Midfield
Anomaly Characteristics: 8 hours, 58 minutes, and 27 seconds after the outbreak.

Cassino Route, World Fortress.

Tick, tick, tick...

The mechanical clock, used to prevent electronic timing devices from malfunctioning, rang out from the unusually quiet command room. Under the huge star map, the blindfolded nun looked at the elemental interlayer bridging routes that seemed to have been frozen in time, and at the short, stout man with glasses who was resting his hands on his chin, looking deep in thought. She gently pursed her lips.

One hour.

More than an hour has passed since the elemental barrier between Reef 61 and 68 was transferred to the stronghold in the area where Reef 53 to Reef 60 are located.

Even during this period, several strongholds that had opted for elemental bridging had broken the bridging and returned to darkness.

As to whether it actively disconnected the bridging to protect itself when it could no longer hold on, or whether it persisted until it reached its limit and completely collapsed, no one dares to be sure.

the most important is……

"Commander, we..."

The blindfolded nun looked at the major sitting quietly in the main seat, her lips moving slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Wait a little longer."

The unusually calm voice fell, and in the main seat, the major squinted, gazing at the star map before him. The slits in his eyes were perfectly concealed by the reflection from his round-framed glasses, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

"Now... is not the time to determine the outcome."

……

……

Reef No. 127, the area where the No. 4 abyss suppression device is located.

"Fire Volt—!!"

Hysterical growls erupted from the battlefield, which reeked of acrid burning.

Beneath the shattered sky, rendered a dark red by the firelight, a crimson flame hundreds of meters long flashed by, like a long blade accompanying the white-haired youth's movements, severing abyssal creatures in its path in half.

Boom——! !

The white-haired youth, having completed all this, did not linger. Instead, he suddenly looked up in another direction, took a step forward amidst the brief chime of a bell, and with a whoosh, transformed into a white streak of light on the battlefield, slashing at the abyssal creatures in his field of vision with the short blade in his hand.

[Note: Shadowfang, a creature from the Abyss, has been defeated. The team's expedition contribution has increased by 0.01 points.]

[Note: The Abyssal Creature · Ghost Eye has been defeated. The team's expedition contribution has increased by 0.013 points.]

[Notification: Killed...]

【...】

[Notification: Killed...]

[Note: The Abyssal Spawn, Cursed, has been defeated. The team's expedition contribution has increased by 0.019 points.]

The kill notifications, as dense as rain, swept across the Branding interface. The white-haired youth was like a pure white flame in the darkness. Wherever he passed, the abyssal creatures exuding a strong abyssal aura would melt away like ice and snow, leaving only wisps of flame spreading outwards.

Boom—!

Only when the last abyssal creature in his field of vision was completely reduced to ashes by the pure white flames did the white-haired youth who had been charging on the battlefield stop. He poured the potion into his stomach while breathing heavily, trying to make the most of every second to recover his depleted strength.

"Huff...huff...huff...!!"

Almost two hours have passed...

Bell stared at the time on the branded interface, leaning against the Abyss Suppression Device, his chest heaving violently. His white hair, soaked in blood, mingled with sweat and clung tightly to his forehead and eyelids.

Two hours...

Under normal circumstances, theoretically, this time should be enough for the elemental bridging to connect to the world fortress for more than half an hour, but now, the Abyss Suppression Device is stuck on Reef 53 to Reef 60 and remains motionless.

“Mr. Underworld, and Mr. Satan…”

"Did something happen...?"

Realizing that the situation might be heading towards the worst-case scenario, Bell subconsciously tightened his grip on the short blade, his gaze involuntarily darkening.

But the next second, it turned its head back and stared intently at the new wave of abyssal creatures that were surging in from afar, a resolute look flashing in its eyes.

No, that's not right. Now is not the time to make judgments.

Even if all the reefs from No. 53 to No. 60 were to encounter problems, there would still be backup plans prepared at the fortress.

That Commander Jia 3756 wasn't the type to sit idly by and wait to die in this situation, therefore...

"We can't give up yet."

Bell murmured, took a deep breath, and stared at the billowing dust raised by the advancing abyssal creatures in the distance. He stood up again from under the abyssal suppression device, which was covered with uneven bombardment marks. Just as he was about to move forward, a strong sense of weakness suddenly struck him, causing him to stagger and almost fall to the ground.

Damn it, are we almost at our limit?
"Roar--!!"

Realizing that his body was already at its limit in this fierce battle, Bell listened to the roars that slowly came to his ears, gritted his teeth, and was about to take out the overdraft-type potion stored in his storage space to force himself to regain his mobility by squeezing his life out of him when a glimmer of starlight suddenly bloomed in his vision.

That is……!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!!

The next instant, dazzling starlight, like a galaxy pouring down, crashed down, creating massive mushroom clouds like nebulae on the battlefield. Bell's breath caught in his throat, and then—

"Mr. Argo!!"

A gentle, urgent voice rang out from the communication channel into his ear. A pure white streak of light streaked across the sky and landed steadily beside the white-haired boy. As soon as it landed, a petite blonde figure rushed out from it and threw herself into Bell's arms.

"Brother Argo! Thank goodness... thank goodness... you're alive!!"

"Miss Sia?! Wait, what are you doing...!"

A slightly choked voice rang out, and Bell, looking at the blonde little girl in his arms, suddenly jolted awake.

"Don't worry, thanks to Miss Soul Moon's Silver Moon Secret Technique, Sia's curse has been temporarily suppressed. Mr. Argo, you'll have to thank Miss Soul Moon properly later."

"You should know that this is a secret technique that can only be used to help someone who has sworn a lifelong oath. If you don't sign a blood oath with her afterward, she will suffer a severe backlash."

Before Bell could finish speaking, Saintess's voice rang in his ears again. The noble saintess, dressed in pure white knight's armor, emerged from the stream of light with a spear in hand. After glancing at Soul Moon, who had turned her head away, she smiled and explained to the white-haired boy on his behalf.

A vow for life...

Upon hearing this, Bell was taken aback, then his eyes widened suddenly, and he stammered as he looked at the silver-haired woman who had turned her head away.

“Miss Hun... Miss Hunyue! You really…”

"Tsk, Saintess, you talk too much nonsense. I already said that this was only a measure taken in an emergency." Soul Moon, who dared not meet the white-haired boy's gaze directly, clicked her tongue and glared fiercely at Saintess beside her. "Pfft, after all, given Mr. Argo's personality, if he didn't say it directly, he would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life after you suffer the backlash, Miss Soul Moon."

"Alright, stop arguing. Saintess, you treat Argo first. I and Soul Moon will take care of this for now. Sia, you handle the ones that have slipped through."

Saintess covered her mouth and chuckled, teasing her companion with a playful expression, while Star Maiden gently rubbed her forehead, sighed, and then gave instructions to the group.

"Yes, yes, I promise I won't let even a single abyssal creature touch Brother Argo!"

Upon hearing this, the blonde little girl nodded vigorously and snuggled closer to the white-haired boy, looking as if she couldn't bear to part with him. Just then:
[Note: Bridge successful. The current element's interlayer bridge target is: Reef Outpost 57 - Abyss Suppression Device 3 (This notification is shared from Reef Outpost 63 - Abyss Suppression Device 1)]

Boom——! !

Almost as soon as the group formed their formation, an unusually loud buzzing sound suddenly rang out from the Abyss Suppression Device behind them. After seeing the prompt that popped up on the Branding Interface, Bell's eyes lit up, revealing an extremely excited look.

Reef No. 57... belongs to Mr. Underworld and his group!!
"Great, I knew it...!!"

A relieved smile spread across the white-haired youth's lips as he looked at the pop-up message, feeling as if he had suddenly become much more relaxed.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and accept the healing and recovery buffs provided by the Holy Maiden, a chilling sensation suddenly came from his right side, causing his pupils to shrink sharply.

"Miss Saintess, get out of the way!"

As the sharp, urgent shout formed from his soul fell, the white-haired youth, almost instinctively, used the power of the world within him to blast Saintess and Sia away. Then, with a speed so fast that no one could see it clearly, he drew his sword to block to the side. The next instant—

boom! ! !
A terrifying collision sound, heavy enough to shatter the entire world, erupted. A streak of dark light instantly appeared from afar, colliding with the white-haired youth. Together, they plowed a wave of rock hundreds of meters high into the earth before crashing down onto a distant hillside with a deafening roar.

"Argo!!!"

[WARNING: Extremely high-risk life response detected, quantity being determined...!]

The chilling warning rang out, jolting the Saintess and the others, who were still frozen in the previous moment, into a sudden realization. Filled with a bone-chilling cold and intense worry, they abruptly looked into the distance, immediately preparing to rush to provide support…

"do not come!!!"

A sharp, low shout rang out, stopping Saintess and the others from their actions and dispersing the surrounding dust and haze. When they saw the scene before them, Saintess and the others' pupils contracted sharply, and the blonde little girl's fur stood on end like a cat's.

That's...!!

[Detection complete. Since the Arbiter's current Charisma attribute is 20 times the value of the detected unit, this detection will yield 25% of the target's information.]

[Note: Due to [unspecified factor], the current target information level has been significantly increased; currently, only a maximum of 25% of its information can be detected.]

……

Name: Curse of Riot
Category: Overlord-level unit / Abyssal creature / ? ? ? / ? ?

Health Points: ? ? ? (Under pressure)
Abyssal Power: ? ? ? (Suppressed)

Strength: 100 points (True Attribute - Suppressing)

Agility: ? ? ? (True attribute - under suppression)

...

...

Skill??,???:???

Skill: Abyss Sacrifice (Abyss - Inherent Active Skill, ???): ???
……

It's that guy...

Almost the instant they saw the abyssal creature locked in a stalemate with the white-haired youth, an immense sense of oppression descended upon the minds of Xingnu and the others.

The Curse of Riot.

This is the true name of the overlord-level creature that defeated them, instantly killed the blonde loli who was in the top tier, and forced them to hide underground.

Although they had anticipated encountering each other, now...

"Don't worry, Miss Saintess, and everyone else."

clang--! !

A heavy clang of metal clashing rang out, and the white-haired youth took a deep breath. After a brief moment of preparation, he unleashed a powerful slash amidst a fleeting white light, the sound of a bell, and the rising black aura, forcefully repelling the six-armed abyss creature that was only using two arms.

They were repelled?!

Has this guy's strength weakened?
No, that's not right. It's not that the opponent has become weaker, but rather—

Star Maiden and the others, watching from a distance, narrowed their eyes slightly as they realized what was happening. The next second…

"I will take responsibility for stopping it, therefore... everyone, please protect the Abyss Suppression Device!!"

A cold, low growl came from the communication channel. Bell stared intently at the six-armed abyssal creature before him, ignoring the 'Abyssal Potion' usage prompt that flashed across the branding interface, and took a sudden step forward.

clang!
A dull thud of blades clashing rang out. Almost the instant the white-haired youth charged out, the six-armed humanoid abyssal creature that had been pushed back seemed to sense something. It suddenly raised its head, and its remaining four arms, which had been bound behind its back, swung out simultaneously, transforming into six arm blades that collided at high speed with the double blades in the white-haired youth's hands.

Ding ding ding ding ding——!!

The next instant, a dense barrage of slashes erupted, and countless blades of light bloomed across the battlefield, slicing the ground beneath their feet into numerous irregular blocks like blooming lotus flowers.

The two who had lost their footing showed no signs of stopping. Instead, as if freed from some kind of restraint, they collided at an even more terrifying speed, sparks flying from mid-air.

Ding ding ding ding ding——!!

Beneath the sky, the sounds of blades clashing, so dense they made one's eardrums vibrate, rang out continuously. Star Maiden and the others below watched this scene with slightly choked breaths and disbelief in their eyes.

"So fast……"

The blonde little girl murmured to herself, her emerald pupils reflecting the two figures in the sky who had clashed dozens of times in just a few seconds, and she was momentarily lost in thought.

too fast.

Even with the use of the Abyss Potion, which gave them an advantage in attributes, given their top-tier background, their reaction speed should not be able to keep up with that of a true overlord-level Abyss player who prioritizes speed.

But now... it's the opponent who, with just two short blades, has overpowered the opponent who uses six arms as weapons in close combat!
"Before, I only had doubts, but now it seems I can be sure..."

As if confirming something, the voice fell, and Hun Yue gazed at the two figures clashing at high speed in mid-air, murmuring softly:

"This guy... has really crossed that threshold."

……

(End of this chapter)