The sky was a clear azure blue, with a few cotton-like white clouds drifting lazily by.
Warm sunlight poured down, heating the rocks until they felt toasty.
On the edge of the Forbidden Swamp of the Demon Domain, which was shrouded year-round in gray-black miasma and foul-smelling mist, such bright sunshine was a rare and almost luxurious blessing.
This was a vast highland thirty li east of Grayrock Outpost, cleverly enclosed on three sides by mountains.
The terrain here rose nearly a hundred meters above the surrounding marsh, effectively shielding it from most ground-dwelling monsters and the invasion of miasma.
Some unnamed wildflowers bloomed quietly, butterflies danced among the blossoms, adding an unbelievable touch of vitality to this otherwise grim land.
This was the planned site for the Gate of Dolos.
A gentle breeze brushed past Faluxil’s cheek, lifting the hair on her forehead.
In her left palm lay the luminous white Prophecy Stone.
The soul-draining coldness from when it activated had faded, replaced now by a warm, smooth touch.
——Safe.
At least, for the next few hours, no high-level magical beasts would suddenly attack.
Irene was kneeling on one knee on the flat grass, operating a finely structured Magical Power Detector with focused attention.
Several magic girls with some surveying experience assisted her.
“Soil layer stable. Rock base depth: thirty-two meters.”
Irene’s voice carried a hint of genuine delight as she spoke to the magic girl beside her, who was in charge of recording.
“Energy flow… steady, no abnormal magic enrichment or depletion points.”
“Yes!”
The young magic girl quickly recorded on the parchment with a quill.
Like the other members of the Divine Chosen Guard, her face carried a rare trace of ease.
The tension and vigilance that had weighed on them since leaving the royal city finally eased a bit upon reaching this sunlit, safe highland.
Not far away, Zhao Yingyue stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a massive granite boulder.
She did not relax her guard like the others.
Her eyes, usually alluring and fox-like, were now as sharp as a hawk’s, sweeping inch by inch over the three mountain ridges surrounding the highland.
Though the sunlight was bright, the silent, massive mountain bodies seemed to her like slumbering beasts, filled with countless hidden dangers.
Her ten Crimson Dragon Guards spread out around the highland’s perimeter, forming a vigilant defensive line.
“Relax a bit, beauty.”
[Shadowfang Po Jun] had somehow climbed onto the same rock, stretching his stiff neck.
“It’s safe here. Only low-level monsters below level fifteen spawn in this area—not even a single elite. Besides, the Divine Chosen boss used a Prophecy Stone to scan for threats.”
“Intelligence is dead, monsters are alive.”
Zhao Yingyue snorted, not moving her gaze from the ridge.
“I only trust what I see with my own eyes. Besides, I doubt the Demon Lords would just sit back and watch us build a direct gate to the royal city at their doorstep.”
[Shadowfang Po Jun] didn’t try to persuade her further.
Compared to the commanders’ tension and vigilance, the players were far more relaxed.
[Can You Eat Bunny Cutie?] was sitting cross-legged on the grass, happily playing with her summoned beast.
A magical pet named ‘Rongqiu’, resembling a white fox with three tails, was leaping about, chasing the path traced by a blade of foxtail grass she waved, occasionally letting out cute ‘gulu gulu’ sounds.
Her pink-and-silver twin tails swayed with her movements, and the Strawberry Lollipop in her mouth exuded a sweet, cloying aroma, making her look every bit like a carefree girl out on a picnic.
To her, this so-called expedition felt more like an official sightseeing trip.
Meanwhile, [Shadowfang Po Jun] squatted in a ‘cool’ pose atop the highest rock at the highland’s edge, like a lone wolf surveying its territory.
He was supposed to be the squad’s other pair of eyes, keeping watch from the vantage point.
But hours of uneventful peace had left his battle-hungry heart feeling restless.
He pulled a bottle of Dwarven Brewed Ice Beer from his Storage Space, tilted his head back, and took a deep gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Sunshine warmed his back, a gentle breeze carried the scent of grass and earth, and aside from occasionally glancing around with the corner of his eye, there really wasn’t much else to do.
Such comfort was a sweet torment to a battle maniac like him.
“Hey, Bunny, isn’t it boring? There’s not even a single aggressive Slime in this place. If I’d known it’d be this peaceful, I might as well have picked up a few Purification Quests to at least gain some experience.”
“How is this boring?”
[Can You Eat Bunny Cutie?] replied without looking up, continuing to tease her Rongqiu.
“There’s sunshine, grass, the Divine Chosen, and Sister Yingyue with me. It’s wonderful! This is immersive experience! You battle maniacs will never understand!”
“Che.”
[Shadowfang Po Jun] clicked his tongue disdainfully, taking another swig of beer.
Sunshine warmed his back, the breeze carried the scent of grass and earth, and the distant laughter of [Bunny] and her summoned beast loosened his tense fighting spirit.
[Bunny] was right.
Maybe this was the charm of the game—after tense battles, there were moments where one could simply breathe.
“What a nice place…”
He murmured to himself, tossing the now-empty glass bottle toward the western cliff.
The bottle traced a small arc in the air, tumbling down into the Valley.
He waited for the clear, satisfying shatter that would mark the end of boredom, but the expected echo never came.
The Valley was eerily silent.
It was as if the bottle had been caught by an invisible hand, or fallen into a thick, elastic cushion of cotton.
This abnormal silence instantly put [Shadowfang Po Jun] on high alert.
His usual nonchalant expression froze, brows furrowing as he shifted from a squat to a half-crouch, muscles tensing like a startled predator.
“Hey,”
He turned to Zhao Yingyue, who was also on guard, and lowered his voice.
“Is the bottom of this Valley covered in sound-absorbing moss or something? Or is there a low-level monster like a Slime down there?”
As a veteran player, his sharp gamer’s intuition caught the inconsistency.
In his experience, details that defied common sense often signaled hidden mechanics or undiscovered bosses.
Zhao Yingyue’s cold gaze swept over him but she didn’t answer.
As a Martial Arts Master of Night Dragon Nation, her vigilance never wavered; her attention was fixed not on the Valley but the ridgelines around them—so smooth and seamless, they seemed almost artificially sculpted.
At that moment, the ground…moved.
It was not an earthquake.
The trembling underfoot was a slow, heavy, rhythmic undulation, like a giant that had slept for millennia stretching its stiff limbs.
The rocks beneath the highland began to creak, massive fissures spreading at visible speed beneath everyone’s feet.
“All units, on guard!”
There was no time for shock—Faluxil shouted the order at once.
But the real terror was just beginning.
The highland they stood on, along with the three surrounding mountain ranges, began to rise.
Vast swathes of stone and earth peeled away from the surface, revealing beneath them scales as dark and lustrous as obsidian.
Each scale was the size of a house, their edges gleaming with a chilling, razor-sharp light.
This so-called highland wasn’t a mountain at all, but a tiny platform on the back of a colossal beast coiled in slumber!
The three encircling mountain ranges were nothing but its layered, titanic serpent body!
Centuries of wind and dust had concealed it as an ordinary mountain range.
“My god…”
A young magic girl stood frozen in shock at the scene before her, her face drained of color.
“What…is that…?”
“Lord of the Abyss…”
Faluxil’s voice was dry and strained as she stared at the massive head rising like a mountain, her ice-blue eyes filled with disbelief and horror.
The Sixth Apostle of the Demon King, the legendary green serpent as vast as a mountain—Lord of the Abyss!
Why was it here?
No, it hadn’t just appeared—it had been sleeping here for centuries.
Faluxil understood at once.
The Prophecy Stone wasn’t wrong.
In the next short span, there would indeed be no ‘approaching’ high-level monsters—because from the start, they’d been standing on one of the most powerful magical beasts of the Tingyue Continent!
This wasn’t an external invasion—it was an awakening from within!
Those enormous eyes, like two emerald lakes, slowly opened.
Its head turned toward the noisiest, most lively spot—where [Can You Eat Bunny Cutie?] was clutching her trembling Moonlight Little Beast, mouth agape in silent terror.
Everything happened in a flash.
A massive shadow swept over the girl’s position at unimaginable speed.
The Lord of the Abyss used no magic.
It simply opened its maw, wide enough to swallow a castle, like a serpent devouring a mouse.
The air was sucked away in an instant, forming an irresistible vortex of terror.
“No—!”
[Shadowfang Po Jun] roared, twin blades flashing from their sheaths as he dashed forward in a blur, desperate to rescue her.
But it was too late.
Against such absolute size and strength, the speed and skills players prided themselves on were meaningless.
The girl and her summoned beast didn’t even have time for a full scream before they were swallowed whole by the abyssal maw.
Her pink twin tails fluttered helplessly as they vanished into darkness—and then, all was silent.
“Boom—!”
The Lord of the Abyss closed its mouth, releasing a deep, satisfied growl.
Faluxil stared in horror at the place where [Bunny] had disappeared.
A living, laughing player from moments before had been devoured, just like that.