The partners’ brief moment of laughter may have broken the solemn mood before their departure, but the brutality of battle remained undiminished.

The moment they left the protection of the main army’s formation, a tide of steel and rotten flesh instantly engulfed them.

The cold joints of the Magical Guide Structures screeched harshly as Energy Beams tore through the air, sweeping toward them with an aura of Destruction.

Undead shrieked, lunging from the shadows of the ruins and from beneath the wreckage of fallen Mechanical Bodies, their rotting claws grasping for the flesh of the living.

"Left flank!"

Reggie’s roar was like a war drum as his body became a mobile fortress.

The academy tutor had switched weapons at some point. He swept his giant shield, smashing a row of lunging undead into pulp, and brought his heavy Warhammer down with the force of a thunderclap, crushing a large Mechanical Body.

"Watch out above!"

Jia Xiu’s voice was as cold as a blade.

His ghostly figure weaved through the clash of blades, his Short Blade a lethal silver thread.

Every precise stab or throw completely destroyed the joint of a leaping undead or an ambushing Mechanical Body, leaving it to collapse in a twitching heap.

His injured arm, it seemed, had not affected his lethal efficiency.

Roland’s Secret Silver Longsword became a curtain of light, precisely parrying incoming Energy Beams. Wherever its edge passed, the armor of the Mechanical Bodies was sliced open like paper, and the heads of the undead flew high into the air.

Sweat soaked the hair on his forehead. His breathing grew heavy amidst the fierce struggle, but his eyes were sharp as a hawk’s, and every swing of his sword carried resolute power. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Galvis’s music grew rapid and filled with killing intent. Strange soundwaves interfered with the operational circuits of the Mechanical Bodies, causing a fatal delay in their attacks.

Avril’s Arrows were vicious and cunning, each one striking precisely into the gaps of a Mechanical Body’s joints or an undead’s eye socket.

Teresa’s figure became a silver gale. Her Foil moved so fast that only specks of cold light were visible. Each precise thrust pierced through the weak joints of Mechanical Bodies or the skulls of the undead, leaving fatal holes.

Freddy roared, each swing of his giant War Axe carrying the power to shatter mountains, brutally cleaving or smashing aside any enemy in his path.

The Purple-haired Witch, Vanessa, however, followed quietly at the rear of the group, taking no action.

She merely observed the bloody, chaotic battlefield with her deep, curious, and playful eyes, as if watching an interesting experiment.

Every step forward was taken on a path of shattered metal and viscous flesh.

Rotting claws tore through Freddy’s shoulder plate. A cold metal fist nearly smashed into Galvis’s back before Roland parried it in the nick of time.

Brutal.

The wails of agony were unceasing.

The elite soldiers following them fell one after another, either vaporized by Energy Beams, torn apart by the undead, or crushed into paste by the heavy fists of the Mechanical Bodies.

Severed limbs flew everywhere, and blood stained the ruins a dark red.

The air was filled with the acrid stench of burning metal, the foul odor of rotting corpses, and the thick, nauseating smell of blood.

But Roland and the others, the core of this team, were like a sturdy vessel cutting through a tempestuous sea.

Their teamwork was flawless and their strength formidable. They forcibly carved a bloody path through this tide of death.

Their objective was clear, their steps firm. Braving the torrent of Destruction, they pushed forward, inch by inch, toward the spire that pulsed with an ominous Magic Power.

Treading upon countless corpses, the group finally broke through the last wave of death.

The spire stood tall before them.

Roland looked up, observing it carefully.

It was even more imposing and oppressive than it had appeared from a distance.

The High Tower pierced the overcast sky like a Giant Sword that skewered heaven and earth.

The tower’s body was made of some dark material, neither metal nor stone. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, yet covered in incomprehensible, twisted Runes.

Bathed in the immense Magic Power flowing around it, it shimmered with a dark, ominous pulsation.

But the pulse wasn’t radiating evenly. Instead, like a surging torrent, it drew Power from a complex Array at the tower’s base and rushed up its length.

His gaze shot up the body of the tower.

Roland’s eyes finally locked onto the top of the High Tower.

There, the torrent of Magic Power, as if it had found an outlet, converged and spun madly, forming a visible, violently pulsing core of dark light.

The space around the core was slightly distorted, emitting a destructive aura, like a heart incubating calamity.

"The core... is at the top!"

Behind them, the tide of death surged forward, the shrieks and the grinding of metal deafening.

"Go!"

Reggie’s roar drowned out everything else.

He slammed his giant shield to the ground, his Warhammer held out horizontally like a floodgate.

The few remaining soldiers quickly formed a solid defensive line behind him.

"Leave this to me! Go, now!"

Roland took one last look at the wall of flesh and blood about to be submerged, then gritted his teeth, turned, and slammed his shoulder plate into the bronze tower door, which was carved with stellar orbits.​

VMMMM!

The Rune Chains snapped open in response. A low hum emanated from the door’s hinges, the sound of a Magic Guide Crystal operating.

The space within wasn’t completely dark. Countless diamond-shaped Crystals were embedded in the stone walls.

The massive spiral staircase was not made of stone, but forged from an unknown alloy with a pearlescent sheen. The edge of every step was etched with breathing lines of Magic Power.

The stairs climbed, hugging the tower wall, which was covered in Energy conduits.

Liquid halos of light flowed within the silvery-gray pipes, branching and converging as they extended upward, finally disappearing into the deep Shadow above, which was distorted by turbulent Energy.

Looking up, he could see the wreckage of long-stalled floating platforms hanging below the steps. The rusted metal frames still bore the emblem of the ancient city.

A crossed Magic Staff and gear.

The tower was not empty.

From alcoves in the walls and the turns of the staircase, more Magical Guide Structures and reanimated Tower Guard skeletons swarmed out, their cold killing intent instantly surrounding them!

"Up!"

Roland roared, clearing the way with his Secret Silver Longsword.

The others followed close behind, engaging in an even more perilous battle with the ambushing enemies in the narrow, spiraling passage.

The sounds of footsteps and clashing metal echoed violently off the tower walls.

They had barely made it up half a level when heavy footsteps sounded from the landing above.

Several Iron Golems blocked their path.

"I’ll take it from here!"

Jia Xiu’s voice was cold and abrupt.

Before his words had even faded, his ghostly figure had already shot up against the tide. His Short Blade drew a lethal silver arc as he instantly engaged the foremost Golem, luring it into a side passage.

"Don’t stop!"

The team continued their upward charge.

After charging up two more floors, they found the narrow staircase completely blocked by a mass of Mechanical Bodies and skeletal Warriors.

"Mr. Galvis!"

Freddy roared, his War Axe thundering as it cleaved through the skeletons blocking the way.

His massive body blocked the middle of the staircase like a boulder, his War Axe a whirlwind of death.

Galvis’s music became frantic, the soundwaves like a physical wall pushing back the enemies swarming up from behind. The sound of snapping strings was clearly audible.

"Go, Roland!"

Further up.

The stairs grew steeper. The remaining Tower Guard skeletons were like maggots clinging to bone, constantly lunging from unexpected angles.

Teresa and Avril exchanged a look. No words were needed.

With a flash of silver hair, Teresa’s Foil became a precise, silver Storm, instantly pinning several approaching skeletons and clearing a small space.

Avril drew her bow, and a rain of arrows precisely covered the enemies emerging from the turn in the staircase further up.

"Go!"

Teresa’s voice was cold as ice. Her Foil flashed out again like lightning, completely cutting off the path for the pursuers below.

Avril fired one last Whistling Arrow. Its sharp whistle cut through the air, like a silent farewell.

Now, only Roland was left.

As for Vanessa...

He had no time to look for the Purple-haired Witch.

Overusing his various Traits and abilities had left him covered in blood. His lungs burned, his temples throbbed violently, and even his normally abundant Soul Energy was now showing faint signs of depletion.

Behind him was the path his partners had torn open with their lives. Before him was the last remaining section of the spiraling staircase.

Without a shred of hesitation.

He squeezed out every last bit of his remaining strength and sprinted up the ancient spiral stone stairs, leaving the earth-shaking sounds of battle far behind him.

Finally...

BANG! He slammed open the heavy metal door at the top.

A searing blast of air, saturated with Magic Power, rushed out to meet him.

The platform at the tower’s summit was right before his eyes.

In the center of the platform, the dark core that twisted space itself pulsed violently, radiating a destructive light.

And standing before that wildly pulsing core was a figure.