Chapter 148: I Will Do My Best Not to Let This Happen

At this moment, Red finally understood the true meaning of a race against death.

Behind him surged the Beast Tide, like a torrent bursting forth from the gates of hell itself.

A sea of scarlet beast eyes rolled in the darkness, melding into a tide of blood.

The stench of death, carried on a foul wind, seemed about to lick at his back!

Countless sharp claws and fangs tore through the air with shrill whistles, the thunder of heavy bodies trampling the ground echoing relentlessly through the cold, damp Dungeon.

If there were only a few of them, or even ten monsters—no matter if they were creatures from the Second Floor Twenty-Seven—Red believed he could handle it.

But the problem was… there were simply too many!

In this situation, forget a Hero from the Second Floor Twenty-Seven—even a team from above the thirtieth floor would have to throw in the towel.

If this were a game, a Beast Tide like this would be a guaranteed death event, a mechanic meant to kill players, not something anyone could deal with through ordinary means.

Red pushed his speed to the limit!

The wind cut his face like knives, his lungs burned as if a bellows had been set alight! He didn’t dare look back, relying only on the last blurred images relayed from the Bloodtracking Hunter Spider and the terrifying sounds from behind to judge the distance.

The Beast Tide was drawing closer by the second!

“Damn it… I can’t shake them!”

A cold chill swept through his heart.

As expected of the Second Floor Twenty-Seven—these monsters’ speed and endurance far surpassed his expectations!

If this were on the Twenty-Third Floor, Red could still maintain some distance.

But now, the situation was dire.

And to make matters worse, a monster tide appeared ahead as well.

At the edge of the Bloodtracking Hunter Spider’s vision, another group—slightly smaller, but just as ferocious—erupted from a forked side passage, their crimson glows forming a pincer movement.

He looked up.

He was beneath a broken wall, and there seemed to be another passage above.

“Hand of Gaeboa!”

Behind Red, a giant mechanical arm appeared, anchoring itself to the rock above and forming a sloped ramp.

Seeing the Beast Tide getting closer, Red dared not hesitate.

He charged straight up.

Once he reached the top, his gaze swept over the monster tide below…

Was he safe now?

Before Red could catch his breath, he suddenly realized the smooth, vertical rock wall was crawling with Scythe Elytra Bugs—horrid arthropods resembling monstrous hybrids of mantises and beetles.

These nightmarish creatures, with their hooked, razor-sharp limbs and adhesive elytra, defied gravity, racing up the steep stone wall as if it were flat ground.

“Damn!”

Faced with this scene, Red felt his scalp tingle, the curse slipping out on its own!

He swung his arms furiously, channeling all his magic, unleashing dozens of simple but explosive Clockwork Suicide Robots, scattering them like flower petals and hurling them at the bug swarm on the rock wall.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Explosions ripped through the darkness, shattering parts of the stone, bug legs and fragments of shell raining down like black hail.

Yet, for this seemingly endless horde, the blasts were but a drop in the bucket.

“Hisssss! Clack-clack-clack!!”

Low, sharp, metallic insect cries overlapped and resonated madly within the narrow tunnel, creating a deathly soundwave that stabbed at the eardrums!

As the smoke cleared, more savage Scythe Elytra Bugs surged in to fill the gaps, crawling down the wall even faster in relentless pursuit.

The distance between Red and the swarm was shrinking rapidly before his very eyes, and his heart grew heavier with every passing second.

He was not afraid of death.

In fact, he was unusually calm at this critical moment, constantly gathering magic in his hands and tossing all sorts of mechanical creations behind him, trying to slow the pursuing Beast Tide as much as possible.

But as mentioned before, the Beast Tide was designed to kill.

The few mechanical devices Red could make were far from enough—a mere drop in the ocean.

The monsters’ blood-red eyes drew ever nearer, their unique beastly stench growing ever more pungent.

Was this the end?

Red kept running, but in his hands he’d already prepared an oversized self-destruct robot.

If he was caught, he’d trigger it—if he was going to die, he’d make sure it was a good one.

Ten meters…

Five meters…

Two meters… one meter…

At that critical moment, a chain shot out from somewhere, coiling tightly around Red’s waist.

An irresistible, monstrous force yanked him—not gently, but like a crazed whale dragging a tiny fish—pulling him up in an instant.

In the darkness, he saw the Priest completely hidden from view.

Letia?

Unexpected support left Red momentarily stunned.

The scene that had just played out was almost identical to what he’d experienced on the Twenty-Third Floor, only this time it was even more perilous and deadly.

Back then, no one came to help him.

When he fought his way back, all he faced was cold questioning, not concern.

But now… something had changed.

So why was Letia here?

While Red was still confused, Letia’s lips parted slightly.

Though her voice was quiet, Red clearly heard what she said.

“Come with me.”

With that, Letia entered another passage at the top.

It seemed to lead to some unknown region.

Behind them, the roars of the monsters echoed on.

Though they’d lost their target, they weren’t giving up, still prowling through the area.

After walking some distance, Letia lowered the hood on her head and let out a soft breath.

“We’re safe… for now.”

Hearing this, Red nodded deeply in agreement.

According to what the Bloodtracking Hunter Spider relayed, he and Letia had been forced into a rather sealed-off area.

Unless the Beast Tide left, escaping would be near impossible.

And with the monsters still prowling, it was only a matter of time before they found the two of them.

Red leaned against the cold stone wall, chest heaving as he greedily gulped down the thin air, trying to calm his wildly beating heart.

Once his breathing steadied, he turned to Letia, frowning tightly as he spoke.

“Why did you follow me?”

His gaze was sharp, carrying both confusion and a hint of reproach.

“You know how dangerous a Beast Tide is. Now, you’ve put yourself in danger as well—”

Before he could finish, Letia suddenly rose on her toes and pressed her cool, slender finger gently against his dry lips, cutting off his words.

The cave fell silent except for the two of them, their breaths still uneven and mingling.

Letia’s sapphire eyes were unusually deep in the darkness.

After a moment, she spoke, her voice low but clear.

“You asked me once what we would think if you died all alone in the Dungeon, remember?…”

Red truly had forgotten about that, had Letia not brought it up—but he didn’t understand why she was mentioning it now.

“I didn’t answer you back then, did I?”

Letia turned away, her tone casual, as if making small talk.

“Now I can answer you.”

“You said dying alone would be very lonely… Then, I will do my best not to let that happen.”