In the midst of the chaos, the Rudra Familia suffered heavy losses in less than half an hour. Only the two Captains and two remaining LV.2 adventurers were barely clinging to life.
The entrance had been demolished!
Their only chance of survival was to escape to the safe floor, the eighteenth floor.
Roy knew this as well. He commanded over twenty Pure Titans to guard the stairs leading down, completely blocking the path, and unwittingly providing cover for the Xenos.
The Elven girl was covered in blood—not hers, but the blood of the dead.
She vented all her anger on these people. Although most of the Rudra Familia members were killed by the poison and the Pure Titans, she had personally killed over twenty people, including several LV.2 executives.
The vengeful fire in her sharp eyes burned fiercely as she stared at the remaining few.
On closer inspection, the four surviving members of the Rudra Familia were in terrible shape. Their Stamina and Mind Power were near exhaustion, compounded by the terror of impending death.
They stood back-to-back, fighting off the Pure Titans, zombies, and Dungeon monsters. The irony was palpable: the members of the Dark Faction, who never trusted their comrades, were now forced to entrust their backs to one another in this life-or-death situation.
Roy walked out from the mist. Five Pure Titans always guarded him, helping him clear any nearby zombies or Dungeon monsters.
Seeing his figure, the four Rudra Familia members' faces turned cold and filled with killing intent.
New monsters, poison gas, collapsing entrances...
As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best. They knew that such a meticulous and insidious plan could never have been devised by the single-minded Elf, Gale. Only this young man remained.
"The youth of today are truly formidable. I never imagined we would fall into the hands of a brat. If I escape, I will hunt you down until you die," the Rudra Familia Captain sneered.
The threat of an LV.3 adventurer would cause most people to sweat nervously. Roy scorned it. Who are you trying to scare? He smiled, "In that case, I should ensure you stay right here!"
The brown-skinned man's mouth twitched. You're LV.1, show some respect for an LV.3!
Failing to provoke Roy, the Captain turned his gaze back to the Elven girl. "Ryuu, do you think you've already won? Did you think we were unprepared?"
Ryuu was expressionless, her killing intent only intensifying.
The brown-skinned man stretched his lips into a wide grin. "Blowing up the passage with Fire-Stone—we thought of the same thing!"
Ryuu frowned.
The brown-skinned man continued, "Jura, let her recall the terror of that monster!"
Jura, the orange-haired cat-person and one of the surviving LV.2 adventurers, stepped forward. An unprecedented excitement flashed in his narrow eyes. "Ryuu, aren't you curious? About the origin of that monster!"
Ryuu's face darkened. "What are you trying to say?"
Jura grinned viciously, "We used a large amount of Fire-Stone that day. Based on my guess, if you cause massive destruction to a floor, that monster will appear!"
Ryuu already knew this from Roy, but the exchange still made her feel uneasy.
Jura spread his arms wide and shouted, "That's right! We're going to summon that monster again!"
Currently, this was just a guess for them, and they hadn't had time for an experiment. But trapped in this situation, they had no choice but to try anything. If they could summon it, all the better.
Roy watched their performance with indifference.
The Elven girl, however, was struck by a deep-seated fear. She wrapped her delicate arms around herself, breathing rapidly. "Stop it! If that thing appears..."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jura recklessly lit the fuses. The fifty-plus Fire-Stones they had secretly carried were distributed in different locations. A fierce explosion erupted, flames blazed, the walls shattered, and the entire floor trembled.
It was a shame they didn't get assistance from the Thanatos Familia, or they could have brought in hundreds of Fire-Stones.
Fire-Stone, originally used by blacksmiths as fuel for forging weapons due to the high-temperature flame it produced, could be modified into a powerful explosive.
Countless rock fragments rained down.
Roy manipulated the Pure Titans to act as shields, protecting him and the Elven girl from all the debris.
Most of the Dungeon monsters, zombies, and Pure Titans were deeply buried beneath the rubble.
But after the roar, nothing else happened, apart from a large area turning into ruins.
The four remaining members of the Rudra Familia exchanged looks. The atmosphere was quiet, tinged with embarrassment.
The howling roar did not sound. Ryuu gradually recovered and looked to Roy for confirmation.
"The Juggernaut will not be born in the upper floors."
Roy did not disappoint her. He explained, "The Juggernaut is essentially the howling of the Dungeon when it is destroyed and cannot be repaired. Under the divine suppression of the Great God Ouranos, the upper floors cannot 'howl'."
Roy watched Jura and the others play their farce, sneering, "It seems your guess was only half right."
Listening to Roy's explanation, the four Rudra Familia members also understood the mechanism by which the Juggernaut was born.
"You deliberately chose the tenth floor for the decisive battle."
Jura's face was ferocious. The Juggernaut only appears in the middle, lower, and deep floors. It does not appear in the upper floors near the surface (Floors 1-12).
"Do you think I would make such a basic mistake as to let you summon that monster?" Roy slightly lowered his head. If he had been wearing glasses like in his past life, the reflecting light would have made him look entirely like a villain.
"Curse you! Die!"
Having been so thoroughly outmaneuvered by Roy, the Rudra Familia Vice-Captain was frustrated and enraged. He charged forward like a madman.
His greatsword slashed out. Roy's face, reflected in the bright blade, was calm as still water. The full-power attack of an LV.3 adventurer was too fast for him to completely dodge even with his Wind-Chasing Boots, but he was confident this sword wouldn't touch him.
Bang!
A golden figure flashed in front of Roy. The wooden sword in Ryuu's hand blocked the stout man's powerful strike.
The difference in size was significant, but Ryuu's slender arm seemed to contain infinite power. Despite the Vice-Captain's full strength, he couldn't budge her.
One level advantage crushes everything!
Even the weakest LV.4 adventurer could easily deal with two or three LV.3s, let alone Ryuu.
Without the Juggernaut, Ryuu was still the swift and decisive Elven warrior, her sky-blue eyes coldly fixed on the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Rudra Familia.
Roy glanced around. The spacious tenth-floor cavern was a wreck. The Fire-Stone explosion and the falling debris had largely cleared out the Dungeon monsters, zombies, and Pure Titans, reducing their numbers by more than half.
Roy gave a mental command, having the remaining Pure Titans block the Dungeon monsters and zombies.
Finally, his fervent gaze settled on the orange-haired cat-person, Jura. With his current ability scores, it seemed he could finally challenge an LV.2 adventurer.
This was his adventure!