The Ultimate Trial of the Mixed Abyss
Heavy! Oppressive! Chaotic!
This time, the spatial jump brought a vertigo and tearing sensation far more intense than the previous three. It felt as though the entire group had been thrown into an abyss where elemental laws had completely collapsed! This was a chaotic domain where four elements—Metal, Earth, Mind, and Darkness—interwove violently, grinding and clashing against one another. Beneath their feet lay hard, ice-cold black rock strata that gleamed with a metallic sheen, yet it was riddled with bottomless fissures. From these cracks erupted multi-elemental energy torrents mixed with metal shrapnel, earth and stone floods, twisted psychic ripples, and viscous dark shadows! The air was thick with the heavy scent of metal dust and an invisible psychic pressure that made heads throb and souls tremble. Every breath felt like swallowing iron sand; every heartbeat carried the sensation of being stared at by the abyss's malice. Gravity here had become even more bizarre and unpredictable—sometimes pressing down like Mount Tai, other times so light that there was nowhere to plant one's feet.
"We… we seem to have fallen right into the core of the elemental junkyard…" Yuyuer's face was pale. She quickly raised a water-mirror barrier over her mouth and nose, her voice trembling.
Just as the overwhelming environment crushed the breath out of everyone, a heart-shaking roar erupted from the abyssal fissures! **BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!** A colossal mixed-elemental behemoth, the size of a small hill and more than ten meters tall, tore through the rock strata and slowly crawled out from the largest fissure! Its very existence was a symbol of chaos: its main body was a metallic skeleton gleaming with cold metallic luster, as though forged from pure gold; its exterior was covered in thick, rough, spike-studded dark-brown rocky armor; its head was a constantly twisting and shifting mass of deep-blue phantom energy radiating powerful psychic interference waves, lacking any fixed facial features; several pure-darkness tentacles writhed wildly behind it like giant pythons; most terrifying of all was its back—rows of razor-sharp, several-meter-long metallic blades grew from it, each blade embedded with hard, jagged energy crystal plates! As it emerged, ten smaller, differently shaped lesser elemental servants—crudely stitched together from various elements—swarmed out from the fissures, emitting shrill shrieks!
"Everyone! Maximum alert! This thing is no joke!" Fa's pupils contracted sharply. She barked the order, her star eyes operating at full power, frantically analyzing the monster's structural weaknesses.
"Hold it back!" TISK showed no fear whatsoever. His stocky dwarven body erupted with astonishing strength as he charged straight toward the behemoth's front, swinging his Earthshaker Warhammer with reckless fury!
"Take this! Earthshaker • Ice-Fire Detonation!"
The warhammer descended with mountain-splitting might, smashing directly into one of the behemoth's advancing stone-clad legs!
BOOM—CLANG!
Ice-blue freezing qi and crimson blazing flames exploded simultaneously. The collision with the rocky armor and metallic skeleton produced blinding sparks and a deafening metallic ring! Rock fragments flew everywhere; deep dents and scorch marks appeared on the metal bones. The behemoth's forward momentum was forcibly halted. It let out a furious roar that blended the screech of metal grinding and a psychic shriek!
"ROAR!"
Kayla transformed into the most ferocious siege hammer. Her Thunder-Frost Cataclysm Beast form exploded at full power! She circled to the side and struck with thunder-and-frost-wreathed giant claws that carried the momentum to tear through everything, smashing viciously into the behemoth's waist and abdomen covered in rocky armor!
BOOM! CRACK!
Thunder-frost power detonated violently at the point of impact! A massive crater was blasted into the hard rocky armor, exposing the gleaming golden metal bones beneath. Frost rapidly spread along the cracks. But the metallic skeleton's hardness was beyond imagination—Kayla's claws only left several deep gashes, failing to deliver fatal damage. The behemoth roared in pain; one dark shadow tentacle lashed out like a whip toward Kayla! She blocked with her giant claws and roared, but the overwhelming force combined with the chilling corrosive power sent her staggering back several steps.
"Shadow Erosion!"
Zhamisi's venom-fang scimitars carved out a dense emerald knife net, enveloping an incoming shadow tentacle. Deadly venomous magic seeped into it, producing sizzling corrosive sounds. The shadow matter twisted and thinned like boiling liquid. However, the essence of shadow was illusion and regeneration—the venom could wound, but it could not completely destroy. The corroded parts were quickly replenished and restored by surrounding shadow energy.
"Bind it!"
Lin Ya pressed both hands to the ground. Powerful natural life-force surged in. Several thick vines glowing with purifying green light burst through the hard metallic surface and coiled toward the relatively slender leg joints. But when the vines wrapped around the ice-cold metal bones and rough rocky armor, they produced teeth-grinding metallic scraping sounds! **Creak—!** Natural power was severely weakened against pure metal and thick earth-stone; the vines struggled to dig in and tighten. Their incredible toughness clashed violently against the hard metal surface, sending sparks flying.
"Attack its head! The psychic core is there!"
Salsa's figure flickered through the shadows. She summoned her adolescent dragon-form shadow magic dragon. The dragon opened its maw and unleashed a breath infused with extreme cold and shadow corrosion straight at the ever-shifting deep-blue phantom that formed the behemoth's head!
Hiss——!
The ice-dark dragon breath crashed into the psychic phantom. It writhed and twisted violently, emitting a soundless psychic scream. The behemoth's movements visibly slowed for a moment. At the same time, Salsa's own shadow power resonated and pulled against the behemoth's writhing shadow tentacles in a strange same-origin energy tug-of-war, disrupting their attack rhythm.
"Clear the minions! Ice-burst coverage!"
Rex's arms transformed. The nano-swarm launched once more! This time the micro-drones carried even stronger frost energy and precisely targeted the lesser elemental servants attempting to interfere with the main battlefield. Violent chained ice explosions froze, slowed, and shattered them, effectively neutralizing their harassment.
"Refraction!"
Yuyuer swung her staff. A massive water-mirror surface flowing with complex runes deployed directly in front of the behemoth. Suddenly, a row of metallic blades on its back flared with light and fired several incomparably sharp metal-element energy beams!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
The beams struck the water mirror but were not fully absorbed or reflected. Instead, they were cleverly redirected by the mirror's powerful refraction force, slamming into the rock wall beside the behemoth and blasting out huge craters! At the same time, Yuyuer manipulated water currents into invisible vapor that slowly infiltrated the metallic blades on the behemoth's back, attempting to erode their sharpness with water's gentle persistence.
"Weak points are at the joints!"
Celestia moved across the behemoth's massive body with wind-thunder speed. Her Spear of True Sight became streaks of purple lightning, stabbing and slicing relentlessly. She keenly noticed that the seams where rocky armor met metallic skeleton, and the base where metallic blades were embedded in crystal plates, were relatively vulnerable!
"Arya! Target the joints and the crystal plate roots on its back!"
"Understood! Light-Dark Arrow Rain • Armor Breaker!"
Arya took a deep breath and channeled both opposing light and dark forces into her Storm Bow at the same time! The bowstring hummed. Special armor-piercing arrows wrapped in spiraling light-dark energy shot out like meteors! Light arrows were devastating against shadow tentacles and the phantom head; dark arrows could pierce through the psychic phantom's defenses and strike the core directly! Most importantly, every arrow precisely targeted the weak points Celestia had marked—the seams between rock and metal, the roots of the crystal plates!
Puff! Puff! Puff! CRACK!
Light-dark energy detonated violently at the weak points! Rock shattered, metal joints corroded and twisted, crystal plate roots cracked! The behemoth's movements grew increasingly stiff and sluggish. Its roars were filled with pain and rage.
The battle entered a white-hot phase of attrition. The behemoth swung its shadow tentacles, unleashed psychic shockwaves, and continuously fired metallic blades from its back. Every movement of its colossal body shook the earth. Under Fa's command, the team pushed their coordination to the absolute limit: TISK and Kayla took turns holding the front, drawing aggro; Zhamisi and Lin Ya focused on restraining the shadow tentacles and legs; Salsa continuously weakened the head with shadow dragon breath and psychic interference; Rex cleared the sporadic lesser servants crawling from the fissures; Yuyuer concentrated on defense and weakening metallic attacks; Celestia and Arya became the deadliest assassins, using speed and precision to deliver fatal blows into the behemoth's structural weak points again and again!
Time stretched on. Every second was filled with the roar of energy and the threat of death. Sweat soaked their clothes; breathing grew ragged; mana and stamina drained at terrifying speed. Finally, after more than ten heart-stopping minutes, Arya unleashed an arrow infused with her full power—a light-dark spiral arrow that pierced straight through the core of the behemoth's deep-blue phantom head. At the same moment, Celestia's wind-thunder leap drove her Spear of True Sight deep into a critical crystal plate root on its back, triggering a cascading energy collapse!
"AOOOOOOOOOOH——!!!"
The mixed-elemental behemoth let out a soul-shaking roar filled with endless pain and unwillingness! Its massive body convulsed violently. Rocky armor fell away in huge chunks; metallic bones twisted and deformed; the deep-blue phantom head completely disintegrated; shadow tentacles fell limply. At last, this mountain of elements collapsed with a thunderous crash, smashing heavily onto the hard metallic ground and sending up clouds of dust and scattered elemental turbulence. The ten lesser servants also disintegrated and vanished completely.
The abyss temporarily returned to dead silence, broken only by the group's heavy panting and the hissing of lingering elemental currents. Though everyone was wounded and their mana severely depleted, miraculously no one had suffered fatal injuries. The exhaustion of survival crashed over them like a tidal wave.
Inquiry and Revelation: The Truth of Starfall Abyss
Arya leaned against a cold metallic rock wall, chest heaving violently. She wiped sweat and dust from her face and looked toward Rhea Medusa—who appeared as relaxed as if she'd just taken a casual stroll.
"Medusa… these terrifying beasts… if… if they ever left Starfall Abyss, wouldn't they cause apocalyptic destruction in the outside world? Their power… it's too terrifying!"
Rhea Medusa let out a mocking snort.
"Apocalypse? Hah, little elf, you're overthinking it. Them?" She jerked her thumb toward the behemoth's remains. "Not a single one can get out."
She paused. Her crimson ponytail swayed without wind. Her tone carried a strange, almost reverent edge toward this land:
"Starfall Abyss is the core site where the Heart of the Stars shattered. That world-destroying explosion back then didn't just release energy—it scattered the most primal, chaotic fragments of law itself. Those law fragments became the strongest cage, permanently sealing this shattered space away from the outside world."
She pointed at the slowly dissipating remains of the mixed-elemental behemoth.
"These beasts are freaks born from that violent chaotic energy. From the moment they came into existence, their very life essence has been bound to the twisted laws here. Like fish that cannot leave water. The instant they try to step outside this space…"
Rhea Medusa made a throat-cutting gesture, her gaze ice-cold.
"…the laws of the outside world will immediately classify them as 'foreign objects that must be eradicated.' Their bodies will disintegrate from the most fundamental particle level into basic dust. Their souls will be captured by the last lingering pull of the Star Heart and dragged back into the depths of this ruin, sinking into eternal, dreamless slumber. This is an ancient protective mechanism set in place long ago to prevent the 'chaos' of the Star's shattering from spreading like a plague to the outside world."
After hearing Rhea Medusa's explanation, the group's taut nerves finally relaxed somewhat. They let out long breaths of relief. Yet at the same time, a deeper sense of awe welled up inside them. This seemingly desolate and broken land was, in truth, an enormous, self-sealing ultimate prison constructed of violent primal laws. Right now, they were walking across the surface of a colossal, ancient wound that could erupt completely at any moment.
Three Kings Clash: Collision of Elemental Apexes
After a brief rest, the party continued forward under Rhea Medusa's lead. Not long after, she suddenly stopped. A flash of excitement lit up her eyes, and a belligerent grin spread across her face.
"Ha! Good luck! There's a great show ahead! Three Elemental Kings are fighting! This is rare entertainment!"
The group immediately went on high alert, suppressed their auras, and cautiously approached. Passing through a twisted barrier formed of energy turbulence, the scene before them stole their breath!
In a relatively open plain crisscrossed with huge fissures, three titanic elemental beasts radiating overwhelming presence were engaged in a heaven-shaking three-way battle! Every clash caused spatial tremors; energy currents surged outward like tsunamis.
- Thunder Elemental King – "Thunder Wing"
It was exactly the terrifying giant bird Kael and the others had glimpsed from afar! Over twenty meters long, its wingspan blotted out the sky. Every flap of its wings summoned apocalyptic gales filled with billions of violent purple-white lightning bolts that tore temporary pitch-black rifts in space! Its body was covered in crisscrossing wounds—charred burns from intense light, gashes from tremendous force. Many of its feathers (actually highly condensed lightning crystals) had fallen off. It had clearly taken heavy damage in the fight, yet its ferocity remained undiminished—every attack carried hysterical rage.
- Light Elemental King – "Radiant Tiger"
About fifteen meters long, shaped like a majestic tiger formed purely of light. Its entire body radiated blinding brilliance like the midday sun, impossible to look at directly. When it opened its maw, it did not fire ordinary beams but highly compressed, space-melting blazing white light lances! Its luminous fur was covered in wounds—blackened burns torn by thunder, dull patches corroded by thorny venom.
- Wood Elemental King – "Forest Bear"
Around eighteen meters long, shaped like an enormous bear formed from ancient giant trees and resilient vines. Its body bristled with razor-sharp metallic-glinting thorns. Countless thick vines writhed and whipped across its surface like living things. It could fire steel-hard, extremely fast wooden spikes from its mouth and release deadly ink-green toxic mist. Its thick bark was scarred with thunder-split char marks and massive holes burned by searing light beams.
The three Elemental Kings fought with utter disregard for their lives. The thunderbird's furious roars, the light tiger's bellows, and the forest bear's deep, rumbling growls blended together. Thunder Wing's storms tore apart Radiant Tiger's protective light; Radiant Tiger's light lances burned through Forest Bear's thorny vine armor; Forest Bear's venom spikes and massive claws left fresh wounds on both opponents. The energy chaos at the center of the battlefield had reached an extreme; space shook violently like torn cloth.
"See that?"
Rhea Medusa stood with arms crossed, enjoying the top-tier brawl with relish, her tone dripping with contempt.
"This is what the so-called 'Kings' of Starfall Abyss are like. Nothing in their heads except fighting, killing, and claiming territory. Pure energy aggregates—super-sized idiots ruled by chaotic instinct."
At that moment, the three furiously battling Elemental Kings seemed to simultaneously sense the presence of outsiders. Their movements froze! Three gazes filled with boundless pressure and savage killing intent locked onto Fa's group like spotlights! The focus of the battlefield instantly shifted!
Far from being nervous, Rhea Medusa grew even more excited. She licked her lips, battle lust blazing in her eyes. She abruptly drew the seemingly ordinary yet terrifyingly powerful greatsword 'Thousand Peaks' from her back. Its tip pointed at the circling Thunder Wing high above. Her voice cut through the battlefield's roar with unmistakable provocation:
"Hey! You stupid lightning bird up there! Look over here! I'm in a good mood today—let me teach you idiots what real fighting artistry looks like!"
She turned back to the battle-ready group and spoke in a near-commanding tone:
"The dumb cat and dumb bear on the ground are yours to practice on! That stupid bird in the sky is mine!"
Before her words even finished, she stomped the ground. Her figure shot skyward like a cannonball and vanished instantly into the chaotic energy currents.
The group stared at the two Elemental Kings—Radiant Tiger and Forest Bear—both heavily wounded yet still exuding mountain-crushing pressure. Though they had already cursed Rhea Medusa's reckless behavior a thousand times in their hearts, they had long grown accustomed to this Successor's way of doing things.
"Prepare for battle!"
Fa's voice rang out steady and powerful, instantly dispelling the shadow over everyone's hearts. The nine of them (Lin Ya quickly escorted Kael and the other survivors to safety) swiftly formed their battle array, facing the two terrifying Elemental Kings head-on!
The battle erupted instantly!
High above, however, Rhea Medusa's "battle" with Thunder Wing ended even faster!
**CLANG! THUD!**
Everyone only heard two extremely brief yet soul-shattering sounds of metal clashing and a dull impact. Immediately after, the massive Thunder Wing froze grotesquely in mid-air like a kite whose string had been severed. The lightning on its wings suddenly extinguished. Then it fell straight down, silent and lifeless, crashing heavily into the distant ground and raising a huge cloud of dust. It never moved again.
Rhea Medusa landed lightly back on the ground. She casually flicked her sword as though she had merely swatted an annoying fly. Glancing at the unconscious Thunder Wing, she curled her lip.
"Tch. Too fragile."
Fa's group had already grown somewhat numb to Rhea Medusa's absurdly overwhelming power. They simply focused on the powerful enemies before them. But for Kael and the other survivors, this was the first time they had witnessed a "King"-class beast being instantly obliterated up close. Their faces turned deathly pale; their bodies shook violently. The way they looked at Rhea Medusa was filled with incredulous fear and awe. This level of power had completely shattered their understanding of what "strong" even meant.