Zhang Longqi's face darkened further. Long-range attacks meant one thing: they'd be outnumbered and outgunned. They were already the smaller force. If they fought here, they'd be harried by fire from a distance the whole time. They had no chance.
He looked at A Yao. "Sister-in-law A Yao, get back to the surface. It isn't safe down here.""If things go wrong, we pull back first. We can return once the Mad Ghost boss is back."
A Yao understood the gravity of the situation and nodded. "Fall back!"
The group withdrew to the surface, ready to strike if an opening appeared. Zhang Longqi kept his Trembling Earth primed. Zhao Yuanhang raised the tiger claw on his hand, preparing Lightning Speed Dig. A Yao drew a dagger that glittered with cold light. Jiang Ling's eyes sharpened. "They're here."
At the cave mouth, standing on ledges of molten rock, were seven fully awakened combatants. Only three or four meters away—a single step for people like them. From this vantage they could see everything on the surface clearly; even a bare, leafless trunk looked like paradise. The cool surface air was intoxicating. They were finally going to make it out.
Hum—then a deafening, heart-stopping hum split the air right at the cave mouth. Two figures appeared at once.
One lay crumpled, limbs limp, looking near death. The other sat astride him, raining down a barrage of punches so fast the wind whistled around his fists.
Lord Little Zeus — still ferocious as ever — was beating the Huaxia man. Wait—no. What the—? How was Little Zeus the one on the brink of death? The man being pummelled was Little Zeus himself.
Chen Xiao slowly stopped punching and stared down at the ruin that Little Zeus had become. Then he turned his gaze to the seven speed-type awakeners at the cave mouth.
The sight provoked a collective, relieved exhale from the Huaxia group.
Zhang Longqi felt the tension drain from him. "Mad Ghost Boss… you're even more terrifying than I imagined."
Zhao Yuanhang breathed out slowly. "That was way too close… I thought I'd died a dozen times."
Jiang Ling let out a small laugh. "If not for Chen Xiao, all of us—no, all of Huaxia—would have suffered a catastrophic defeat."
A Yao said nothing; her face shone with joy and adoration. "Brother Chen Xiao is so handsome!" To her, Chen Xiao was already a god. The white-haired divine general the military had hyped seemed a pale thing by comparison.
The seven awakeners, only meters from the cave mouth, were stuck in an awkward, exposed position.
Suddenly a man from the Euro Alliance stepped forward. He hurriedly stripped off his clothes and held out four fire seeds. "Honored members of Huaxia, I surrender my fire seeds!" he declared.
Seeing him act so quick-witted, the others cursed inwardly for not thinking of it first. They hurriedly stripped and produced their own fire seeds.
And then it happened.
Little Zeus, lying bloodied on the ground with his face shattered beyond recognition, suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, "Zar! Opportunity!"
In an instant, the aura of the Rules flared up simultaneously from the cave depths and the surface.
Chen Xiao sensed the danger and reached for the bright lantern, trying to stop the Rules from activating—but it was too late.
Little Zeus vanished in a blink. In his place stood a stranger from the Euro Alliance. Body swap?
Chen Xiao's fist slammed down. The Euro Alliance man's head exploded like a ripe watermelon with a sickening crunch.
This must have been Zar, the man Little Zeus had called for. He was nowhere near as invincible as Little Zeus, whose SSS-rank physique had taken Chen Xiao seven or eight crushing blows before they'd escaped the dark dimension. Even Ram Head had been left dazed by those hits. Yet this man had somehow survived—and found the strength to call for help. Little Zeus and Cao Linxuan were ridiculously tough.
At that moment, a bolt of golden lightning erupted from the ground to the side, accompanied by churning mud and flying earth. Two men had dug a separate tunnel and broken out from underground—was this the Euro Alliance's backup?
Little Zeus was now slung over the shoulder of a huge, muscular man, utterly unrecognizable. If not for his clothes, no one would have guessed it was him. His caved-in face was already knitting back together at an astonishing speed; his shattered limbs were being healed by warm, pulsing energy. It wouldn't be long before he made a full recovery.
Clutched in his trembling hand was a single fire seed—no doubt handed by the giant beside him.
Chen Xiao sighed. These people were among the golden children of their factions: always surrounded by Opportunities and bodyguards. Item-type Opportunities were rare; anyone carrying more than three was absurdly overpowered.
Even half-dead, Little Zeus was smiling. Bloodied and toothless, his mouth moved: "Mad Ghost Butcher… you're the strongest man I've ever met." He coughed. "But in the end… I won… hahahaha! Huaxia… cough… Mad Ghost… you lose…"
Crackle—Zzzzt—Boom—
Then something nobody expected happened: a bolt of blue lightning tore across the sky like a flood dragon rising from the depths. It was nothing like Little Zeus's golden lightning. This blue lightning carried an uncontrollable, seething fury—a long-buried wrath finally bursting through. It surged with devastating power and pierced straight through the huge man and Little Zeus alike.