America: The Cremator

Chapter 208 She was swallowed!

Rodney stared intently at the writhing mountain of flesh inside the safe room, his tone grave as he quickly explained the monster's details to the team.

"Everyone be careful, this thing is called a limb mass, and it's been classified as a Class B weirdo."

[Code Name: B-89]

【Name: Limb Cluster】

[Alternative names: Corpse Mountain, Flesh Aggregate]

[Rank: Upper B (Super-large form can reach Lower A)]

【describe】

The limb mass is an eerie aggregate made up of disordered pieces of multiple human corpses. There are no traces of artificial stitching or cutting on the surface of any of the body parts, and the joints show a strange state of natural fusion of muscle tissue.

Its assembly follows a fixed hierarchical logic: multiple human legs are interspersed at the bottom as support, with layers of torso stacked in the middle, dozens of arms extending outward from all directions of the torso, and multiple human heads are randomly stacked at the top.

The basic form consists of 10 to 30 corpses, while the super-large form is composed of more than 100 corpses pieced together.

Its core, located at the very center of all the stacked torsos, is a giant, dark red tumor formed by the fusion of multiple human hearts. It is the source of all life activities and abilities of the limbs, and destroying the core is the only way to completely eliminate the limbs.

[Environmental Characteristics]

Limb clusters form and move only in the presence of large numbers of human corpses, and are commonly found in abandoned morgues and funeral home morgues.

Mass accident sites, mass graves, war ruins, and areas surrounding hospitals.

In areas where clumps of vegetation persist, the soil becomes severely contaminated with acidic slime, rendering it barren, and the groundwater becomes undrinkable due to high concentrations of toxic substances. Buildings within the area gradually corrode, with walls peeling and cracking, and metal structures completely rusting and becoming unusable within weeks.

[Skills Overview]

Close-quarters crushing: All exposed arms of the limb cluster can move independently in a 360-degree arc, with the maximum force of a single arm enough to easily overturn a car, and the combined force of multiple arms can even easily overturn a 50-ton main battle tank. Its legs are driven by multiple sets of muscle fibers, allowing it to move at an abnormally high speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

Long-range explosive attack: The limb can launch any part of itself at an initial velocity of 80 meters per second, with an effective range of up to 200 meters. Upon contact with the target, the limb will cause a violent biological explosion, spraying a large amount of highly acidic slime in the surrounding area.

High-speed polymerization and regeneration: When subjected to non-destructive damage, the limb cluster can rapidly repair damaged areas by absorbing some of the idle limbs. If the core is not destroyed, even if less than 10 kilograms of fragments remain, it will re-aggregate into a complete basic limb cluster within 72 hours.

Super-large form enhancement: When the number of members exceeds 100, the group's abilities will be fully enhanced. At the same time, it will evolve a preliminary group consciousness, enabling it to coordinate all limbs to carry out complex tactical cooperation, such as encirclement, ambush, and focused attack on high-threat targets.

[Physical Hazards]

Extremely high.

Conventional light weapons (pistols, rifles) are almost ineffective against it, as the bullets will embed themselves in muscle tissue and cannot cause substantial damage.

A giant limbed mass of over 10,000 people can directly destroy small and medium-sized buildings, crush roads and bridges, and cause devastating damage to urban infrastructure. Conventional firearms are unlikely to inflict effective damage on it.

[Psychological Harm]

Low to medium.

About 30% of those exposed will experience persistent auditory hallucinations, constantly hearing groans emanating from limbs and heads, which may continue for months even after the exposure ends.

In a few extreme cases, those who come into contact with the group may experience the illusion of being "summoned" by the limbs, and may actively go to the area where the limbs are located and be absorbed by them.

Rodney briefly explained the information about the limbs to everyone.

"This thing is like a living garbage can, growing stronger by devouring and sewing together the remains of other creatures."

"The largest limb mass I've ever seen was at most the size of a few dozen people who needed to be stitched up, but this one—"

Rodney's gaze swept over the densely packed legs at the base of the mountain of flesh.

"Honestly, this is the most outrageous mass of limbs I've ever seen. It probably swallowed all the hundreds of people in the safe house."

Dania gripped her machete tightly, her sharp, beast-like fingernails scraping harshly against the metal handle. "A monster made up of hundreds of people? How are we supposed to kill it? Should we chop it into pieces?"

Rodney shook his head.

"If only it were that simple. The trouble with the limbs is their extremely vigorous vitality."

"As soon as its main structure is damaged, it will immediately repair and reorganize itself by digesting its other limbs."

Suron immediately grasped the key point in Rodney's words.

"In other words, as long as we continue to exert high intensity, its recovery speed cannot keep up with the rate of destruction, and its size will become smaller and smaller until it is completely exhausted."

Rodney nodded.

With the tactics clear, Su Long immediately began to arrange the formations.

"Hannah, your task is to provide us with protection and be ready to raise the shield at any time. This thing is too big, and its attack range is definitely not small. Be careful not to let us get our acid sprayed on by its attacks."

Hannah hugged the Bible, nodded emphatically, and then fixed her gaze on the limbs, keeping a close eye on the monster's every move.

"Danya, you're in charge of covering Hannah and me. Remember, no matter what happens, you're absolutely not allowed to rush in and fight it in close combat alone."

"This thing is covered in hands. Once it grabs you and drags you into the mountain of flesh, no one can save you."

Dania nodded in agreement: "Su, don't worry."

17

Finally, Suron looked at Rodney.

"Mr. Rodney, since this stuff requires continuous consumption, let's work together."

"I will be responsible for close-quarters control and minimizing its size, and I will try to slow its movements so that it is unable to resist."

"Then it's your turn to wear it down. Once it's worn down to a certain extent, we'll finish it off in one go."

"Alright!" Rodney responded, flicking his right hand, causing the twelve silver bells on the black umbrella to ring simultaneously, and a powerful spiritual energy surged from his body.

Just as the team finalized their tactics, the limbs inside the safe room moved.

The dozens of heads atop the mountain of flesh opened their mouths simultaneously and let out a shrill roar.

Immediately afterwards, the right side of the mountain of flesh began to twist violently.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a thick arm shot out from the mountain of flesh, crashing down on the team with terrifying initial velocity.

"Hannah!" Suron shouted.

Hannah reacted swiftly, opening the Bible and holding it in front of her, instantly creating a thick barrier of light in front of the passageway.

"Boom!"

The flying arm slammed into the holy light barrier with a dull thud, and burst open like a water balloon the instant it touched the barrier.

Dark red, corrosive blood splattered in a large fan shape, instantly covering the entire golden light screen.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle"

The ear-piercing sound of corrosion echoed through the underground passage, and large plumes of white toxic smoke rose into the air.

The once sturdy barrier quickly dimmed under the corrosive effects of the acid, and its surface was riddled with holes.

Hannah gritted her teeth, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, desperately channeling her spiritual energy to maintain the integrity of the light screen.

The acid concentration in this thing is even more terrifying than those tentacles outside.

Surong quickly realized that the barrier wouldn't hold for long, and they couldn't let the monster bombard them from a distance any longer; they had to disrupt its attack rhythm.

Sulong reached out and touched the "Raphael" at his waist.

"Mr. Rodney, I'll try to control it first. The rest of the damage output is up to you!"

After saying that, he had a thought and Raphael's wine poured directly into his mouth.

God of War effect triggered.

In an instant, a violent energy exploded throughout Su Long's limbs and bones.

His muscles bulged rapidly, his blood flow surged, and his abundant spirituality surged wildly within him like boiling magma. His strength, speed, and perception were elevated to an extremely terrifying level at this moment. Su Long's gaze locked onto the still frantically writhing mountain of flesh inside the safety pod.

Instant shadow!

Skill activated.

His figure blurred instantly, leaving behind a fleeting afterimage.

The next moment, Su Long traversed a distance of more than ten meters and appeared directly in front of the limbs like a ghost.

It was less than three meters away from the mountain of meat.

The overwhelming stench and strong smell of blood were almost enough to make one faint.

Hundreds of arms on the mountain of flesh sensed the presence of a living person and turned around in unison, reaching out to grab at Su Long.

Su Long showed no intention of backing down, and his spiritual energy poured out without reservation.

"rise!"

The fiery mist realm unfolds in full force.

A dark red light erupted from beneath Su Long's feet, and countless particles of flame carrying extremely high temperatures transformed into a dense cloud of fire, spreading wildly outwards from him.

This misty realm completely enveloped the massive limb mass.

High-temperature particles adhered to the surface of the mountain of flesh, and the stitched-up limbs on the mass of limbs emitted a hissing sound as they were burned the moment they came into contact with the mist.

Large patches of charred flesh spread across the mountain of flesh, and the limbs felt the pain as the dozens of heads on top simultaneously let out shrill screams.

Hundreds of arms frantically pounded their bodies, trying to extinguish the high-temperature particles clinging to their skin.

Large amounts of acid were secreted from its body in an attempt to fight against the world-destroying fire.

But this is not enough.

Su Long took a deep breath and once again squeezed out the spiritual energy within him.

The Realm of Stagnation, open!

An invisible, heavy pressure emanated from Su Long and slammed down on the limbs.

The air became viscous.

The limbs, which had been struggling frantically and trying to retaliate against Sulong, suddenly slowed down.

Those waving arms seemed to be stuck in mud, and each swing required a great deal of effort.

The two fields overlap.

The high temperature continued to burn its body, and the heavy pressure locked its movements.

With a flick of his wrists, Sulong slipped "Lucas" onto his ten fingers.

As the spiritual energy within him poured in without reservation, the purplish-gold flames of destruction climbed upwards along Lucas, instantly enveloping his entire hand and forming a pair of enormous fiery gauntlets.

Su Long lowered his waist, pulled his right arm back, and using the power of his waist and abdomen, slammed his heavy fist, fueled by purple-gold flames, into the center of the mountain of flesh.

boom!

The extreme heat exploded the moment it came into contact with the mountain of flesh, and a visible shockwave swept through the entire safe chamber, scraping away the rotten flesh on the surrounding walls.

In the area where the bodies were hit, the chest cavities of dozens of corpses pressed together caved in, and the sound of ribs breaking echoed like popping beans.

Immediately afterwards, several lines of semi-transparent text appeared on Su Long's retina.

The duration of the God of War effect stacks.

The enemy gains the "Wither" effect.

Ignoring the warnings, Su Long followed up with his left fist, his two fists transforming into two purple-gold afterimages, raining down on the massive body of the limbs.

Each punch was accompanied by a muffled sonic boom and a shower of sparks.

The flesh on the front of the limb was smashed to pieces by the relentless hammer blows. Before the corrosive blood could even splatter out, it was instantly vaporized by the purplish-gold heat attached to the fist.

The intense heat scorched the rotting bits of flesh, and a pungent, fishy stench permeated the safe cabin, smelling like a pot of moldy, stinking rags being boiled in hot water, hitting you right in the head.

Dania, hiding behind the shield, was choked by the smell and kept gagging, only able to cover the gas mask's filter canister with one hand.

"It stinks! Did this thing really not crawl out of the sewer?"

Under the combined effects of Surong's relentless, frenzied hammering and the "Wither" effect, the limbs' once-proud regenerative abilities were completely suppressed.

The structure on the surface of the mountain of flesh began to collapse.

The black fascia used to stitch up the limbs broke off one by one in the flames, and large chunks of rotting flesh lost their support, turning into pools of black liquid and peeling off.

Large plumes of blue smoke rose from the surface of the mountain of flesh, and dozens of heads on top of the limbs emitted uneven screams. Their vocal cords were charred by the high temperature, and their voices became hoarse and shrill.

It tried to fight back, with dozens of arms reaching out to grab Sulong at the same time, but before it could get close to Sulong's body, it was charred by the high temperature.

"Suron! Prepare to move aside, I'm ready!"

Rodney's voice came from behind.

The black umbrella had now slipped from Rodney's grasp and risen more than five meters above the safety cabin.

The pure black umbrella slowly rotated in mid-air, and twelve silver bells rang rapidly.

Upon hearing the shout, Su Long exerted force from his waist, causing the muscles in his right arm to bulge high. Gathering all his spiritual energy, he delivered a powerful uppercut that slammed heavily onto the top of the mountain of flesh.

The immense force sent the monster, weighing tens of tons, sprawling backward.

Using the reaction force, Su Long tapped the ground twice with his toes, his body sliding backward at lightning speed, and landed steadily back within the protective range of the barrier cast by the black umbrella.

As he retreated, the "Lucas" in his hand was instantly replaced by "Sirius".

The thumb pressed down on the hammer, and the world-destroying fire within the cylinder instantly fused together, emitting a frenzied hum from the barrel.

[One Hammer Decides the Result] Triggered.

boom!

A dark red line of fire tore through the air, and the fireball struck the part of the limb that had just been smashed.

A violent explosion erupted inside the mountain of flesh.

The force of the explosion tore a large hole in the massive body of the limb mass.

Numerous severed limbs were blasted into the air and then burned to ashes by the flames.

Rodney stood aside, watching Sulong's fluid and graceful combo, a look of surprise in his eyes.

First came the intense close-quarters combat in high temperatures, followed by devastating long-range bombardment.

This ability to seamlessly switch between different combat styles requires not only long-term practical experience but also sufficient development of one's own abilities.

But Rodney didn't have time to think. Suron had already torn the monster's defenses apart, and now it was his turn.

Rodney pressed his right hand down suddenly in mid-air and uttered a single word.

"Iron Rain!"

The black umbrella suspended in mid-air trembled violently, and a large area of ​​silver-gray metallic luster suddenly appeared above the safety cabin.

The next second, countless sharp metal weapons rained down like a storm.

Rusty steel nails, sharpened daggers, threaded steel, and even rows of brass bullets.

These metallic constructs, generated out of thin air from the black umbrella's domain, slammed into the wolf's body with the momentum of their descent.

The clanging and clattering of metal created a continuous sound.

The flesh and blood that had been blasted apart by Sulong were no match for this dense physical penetration.

The steel bars brutally pierced through the thigh of the mountain of flesh, pinning it firmly to the ground.

The sharp blades spun at high speed, slicing through the air and severing hundreds of flailing arms at the root.

The foul-smelling blood splattered everywhere like a fountain.

The limbs let out desperate roars, trying to use their remaining arms to pull out the steel bars stuck in their bodies, but the rain of iron was too dense.

Every second, hundreds of sharp metal objects rained down, turning it into a giant metal hedgehog.

Before it could recover, Rodney flicked his wrist and uttered a second word.

"Ice Rain!"

The metallic downpour abruptly stopped, and the temperature inside the safe cabin plummeted, causing even the moisture in the air to condense into ice crystals that drifted down.

Hailstones the size of fists pelted the limbs, smashing their mangled skulls and splattering their brains.

Immediately afterwards, a thick plume of white icy mist crashed down from the center of the black umbrella, directly washing over the surface of the mountain of flesh.

The limbs, which were still struggling, froze instantly.

The chill spread rapidly inwards along the metal piercing into the body.

The strong acidic mucus flowing from its body surface was frozen into murky icicles, and hundreds of severed arms remained in a waving posture, locked tightly by thick frost.

From the nailed-together legs at the bottom to the grotesque heads at the top, in just a few seconds, this deformed and enormous mountain of flesh was transformed into a giant ice sculpture.

Rodney didn't stop; he opened his mouth and uttered a third word.

"Fire Rain!"

Su Long, who was standing to the side, raised an eyebrow.

Is there a third level?

The next moment, the void above their heads turned completely red.

Large streams of bright yellow molten iron, carrying temperatures of several thousand degrees, were poured down.

The scalding hot metal torrent was poured directly onto the frozen limbs, creating a devastating stress difference on a physical level through extreme hot and cold alternation.

laugh!

Large plumes of blue smoke mixed with white water vapor shot into the sky.

With a crackling sound, the frozen, hard flesh on the surface of the limb mass violently shattered the moment it came into contact with the molten iron.

Large chunks of ice mixed with bits of cooked meat flew in all directions, crashing into Hannah's holy light shield and creating ripples.

As Suron watched Rodney's attack, he suddenly felt as if Rodney was peeling an onion with a dull knife.

The ice froze the layer of flesh on the surface of the limbs, and then, under the high temperature of the molten iron, it rapidly expanded and burst open, further tearing the limbs apart.

One floor, two floors, three floors —

The massive size of the limbs shrank rapidly under such extreme physical damage.

In just one minute.

The enormous mountain of flesh that originally filled most of the safety cabin had its volume reduced by more than half.

All of the hundreds of legs on the chassis were broken and carbonized, and only a few of the waving arms remained.

As the last few drops of molten iron fell, the black umbrella's domain gradually receded.

In the center of the field, only a charred, blackened ball of flesh, less than five meters in diameter, remained, twitching weakly on the ground.

Of the heads sewn onto its body, only the largest one in the very center remained, its mouth open, spewing black smoke.

Looking at the charred, blackened mass of flesh still emitting black smoke on the ground, Su Long couldn't help but assess Rodney's strength.

This A-level exorcist from the Campbell family is indeed ruthless. The consecutive bombardment of three elemental rains just now, whether it is the precise control of spirituality or the utilization of physical rules, has reached an extremely outrageous level.

If it weren't for this large limbed mass, but any ordinary B-rank monster, it would probably have been reduced to ashes on the spot by this combo.

Su Long closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his spiritual vision was fully activated.

On his retina, a clear, bright red mark appeared in the very center of that charred, black mass of flesh.

Rodney's attack had torn all the limbs of this limb mass apart, and its long-hidden weakness was finally exposed.

One more shot and this living garbage can will be done for.

Sulong raised the "Sirius" in his hand, about to pull the trigger.

"Drip—drip—drip—!"

A sudden electronic buzzing sound rang out in the dimly lit basement; the sharp sound came from a military walkie-talkie hanging on a tactical vest.

Su Long immediately released his hand from the trigger, his face darkening.

He reached out and pulled off the walkie-talkie, glancing at the screen, which was flashing a glaring red light.

"Su, what's that noise? What happened?" Dania covered her ears; the high-frequency sound was giving her a headache.

Su Long quickly realized what was happening and explained the situation to the rest of the team: "This is the specific frequency of an electromagnetic signal flare. Before we came in, the command post outside issued these to both assault teams."

"Because communications inside the building are completely paralyzed, conventional equipment is useless, so messages are transmitted through this signal belt."

Su Long pointed to the cylindrical metal tube hanging from his waist, his face becoming serious.

"However, the command post also strictly limits the use of this thing. The signal flare will only be detonated when a team encounters an insurmountable situation in the inner world and must retreat as a whole."

"At that time, the strong electromagnetic pulse will penetrate the barrier of the inner world and be detected by the instruments outside. At the same time, the walkie-talkies of another team will also receive this frequency band."

Su Long turned to look at the passage behind him: "The space stabilizers set up by the military on the periphery are under tremendous load in the short term, and can only forcibly tear open a rift once."

"We've received this signal, which means that something has happened to Group B on the roof, and the passage outside will open soon."

"We must respond to the signal immediately and evacuate in unison. If we miss this opportunity to open the door, we may be stuck here forever."

Su Long ripped the electromagnetic signal flare from his waist, hooked his thumb on the pull ring, and yanked hard, then threw the metal tube directly into the air above the basement.

"Buzz"

The signal flare exploded in mid-air, and an extremely powerful invisible electromagnetic shockwave swept out.

The response has been sent.

In the brief moment of the team's discussion, the suppressed mass of limbs inside the safe room moved again.

It sensed the decrease in pressure, and the charred ball of flesh began to churn violently.

The scattered flesh and blood on the ground were forcibly pulled over by the black fascia extending from its body and brutally sewn onto itself.

Although the limb group has shrunk by two-thirds compared to the original, the structure has become more compact, with dozens of legs directly rooted to the bottom of the fleshy ball, supporting it.

The remaining massive head let out a piercing scream, took off running, and stomped through the acidic water, charging towards the four like a runaway steamroller.

"You damned piece of trash!" Dania cursed under her breath, gripping the handle of her axe tightly and lowering her center of gravity to face the oncoming monster.

Su Long pulled her back two steps.

"Danya, it's too late! Forget about it. The passage only has a limited opening time; we don't have time to waste here!"

Having said that, Su Long faced the charging limbs head-on and activated [The Ruler] at full power.

"roll!"

With a roar from Su Long, a violent mental shockwave burst forth from between his eyebrows, crashing head-on into the massive body of the limbs.

"Thump!"

A muffled thud exploded, the momentum of the limbs' charge was interrupted by the enormous impact, the entire body swayed and deviated from its trajectory, crashing heavily into the pure silver blast wall on the side of the safe cabin, the heavy flesh denting a section of the wall.

Taking advantage of the moment when the limbs were stunned, Su Long reached into the inside pocket of his tactical vest with his left hand and pulled out the heavy lead canister.

He pried open the metal latch with one hand, grabbed the dust-type irradiated grenade from inside, then grabbed his arm and threw the grenade deep into the safe room, where it landed right at the feet of the limb group.

"Walk!"

Sulong roared and shoved Hannah next to him.

The four of them ran back towards the underground passageway they had come from without looking back.

Just as they had run a dozen meters, a loud bang came from inside the safety cabin.

Su Long didn't look back at the results. The four of them maintained a tight formation and sprinted at full speed in the dark basement.

The fleshy tentacles that had been hanging upside down from the ceiling along the way suddenly became extremely frenzied, lashing the ground haphazardly without any order.

The four avoided the splashing acid and sped along the outer lane.

The distance of several hundred meters passed in the blink of an eye.

When they rushed out of the area piled with wrecked cars, the entrance that had been blocked by black mud had changed.

Accompanied by the piercing sound of mechanical operation, the external space stabilizer forcibly cut into the inner world, tearing open a gap more than two meters wide in the thick layer of black mud.

A blinding searchlight shone in from outside the gap.

"Sir! This way!"

Two fully armed special forces soldiers stood on either side of the gap, holding assault rifles, waving anxiously at them.

Su Long led the way, stepping out of the rift and landing once again on the plaza of the real world.

The rift behind them closed immediately after the team emerged due to the overload of the stabilizer, and the black mud filled the large hole again.

Su Long ripped off his gas mask and took deep breaths of the outside air.

He turned his head and looked at the special forces squad leader who was there to greet him, his tone direct.

"What's the situation with Team B on the roof? Since they were the ones who gave the evacuation signal, have they come out yet?"

The special forces captain's face was extremely grim. His gaze shifted between Su Long and Rodney, and he stammered, "Sir—Team B has indeed withdrawn, but the situation is very bad. You—you should go directly to the temporary medical area to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Su Long's brows immediately furrowed.

He didn't press the team member any further, and led his squad through the heavily guarded barricades, heading straight for the newly erected medical tents behind the command post.

The closer you get to the medical area, the stronger the pungent smell of blood and disinfectant becomes.

Several military doctors in white coats carried trays stained with blood and moved between the tents, looking flustered.

Su Long flung open the curtain of the largest medical tent and strode inside.

The sight inside the tent made Hannah, who was following closely behind, gasp in shock.

The monitor on the hospital bed was beeping urgently. On the bed in the very center lay A, the one representing the Wick family.

Edith Wick, a top-tier female exorcist.

She was in a deep coma with her eyes closed.

His original clothes were torn to shreds, half of his body was covered with large areas of severe frostbite, and the other half was covered with charred scars from deep pits caused by strong acid corrosion.

Edith's sapphire necklace had been completely shattered, leaving only a few dull silver threads hanging from her collarbone.

In the corner of the tent, on a folding chair, Byron Wick leaned back as a medic pressed a large amount of hemostatic gauze firmly against his wound.

Surong's gaze fell on Byron's left side.

Byron's left hand was gone; there was an empty space from his shoulder joint down.

The entire arm was severed at the root, with the skin and flesh at the cut forcibly torn off, accompanied by severe dissolution.

Su Long walked to the folding chair and looked at his partner, who always maintained a composed demeanor.

"Byron, what happened? Your hand—"

Byron raised his pale face, his lips cracked and his forehead covered in cold sweat. He looked at Suron, who had walked up to him, and forced an extremely bitter smile.

"We had just stormed in from the rooftop, and before we even reached the safe house on the 18th floor, we were ambushed."

Byron's voice was weak and hoarse: "Moreover, what ambushed us was the Great Devourer, and the monster's true form was lurking in the middle of the building."

"Its body filled the entire elevator shaft."

Upon hearing this, Rodney Campbell, who was standing to the side, frowned.

The A-level bizarre entity personally taking action is a completely different concept from dealing with those extended external organs.

Sulong looked around the spacious medical tent.

Two hospital beds, two chairs.

Aside from the seriously injured Edith and Byron, who had lost an arm, he did not see the other two familiar figures.

"Where are Elena and Isaac?" Suron stared into Byron's eyes and asked the most crucial question directly.

Byron's throat moved, his one arm gripping the hem of his coat tightly, his expression one of grief and indignation.

"The Great Devourer's domain directly distorted the spatial structure within the floor. Isaac stepped into a rift during the battle and fell directly into the deepest part of the inner world. We didn't even have a chance to pull him up."

The tent was so quiet that only the rhythmic hum of the instruments could be heard.

Sulong continued to watch him, waiting for the next name to appear.

Byron lowered his head, avoiding Surong's gaze, his voice filled with undisguised guilt.

"As for Elena—Ms. Edith was seriously injured, and my arm was bitten off."

"Elena was swallowed whole by the Great Devourer while covering our retreat."

Byron closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Su Long, I'm sorry, it's my fault for not being able to protect her."

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