Chapter 64: The Unbeatable Enemy
Around the cave, everyone was prepared. There was no one else in the outer area; watching the show at this point would mean opposing everyone.
"Let's get moving. Do you want to just stand here and stare? Waiting for that dried-up corpse inside to die of old age?"
Although Black Rose's words were harsh, they were the truth.
"The cave is covered in crystalline roots. Do you have a way to deal with them?"
Sweet Orange was clearly still unconvinced, but for some reason, she found she couldn't look directly at a certain person. Whenever she did, her body began to tremble, and she felt a very strange sensation.
"Little flat board, what if I *can* deal with those crystalline roots?"
Black Rose pulled her hands out of her pockets, her gaze fixed on Sweet Orange.
"If you can, I'll call you 'Mother' right here and now."
"Call me what?"
"Mother."
"Sigh, Mom loves you."
"?"
Sweet Orange paused for a moment, a feeling of being utterly ripped off surging in her heart. Not far away, the corner of Alec's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, struggling to maintain his tough-guy persona.
"You said you could deal with those crystalline roots."
"What stupid nonsense are you talking? If I could deal with them, why would I be wasting my breath here with you?"
"Ah! Don't hold me back, I'm going to kill her!"
"Think carefully. Someone like you, I can take on three at once."
Black Rose's aura began to change, a dangerous sensation that felt like a stabbing pain spreading out.
"You... I..."
Sweet Orange went silent. The most tragic thing in life wasn't losing an argument; it was losing an argument *and* being unable to win a fight.
"Move... aside."
A figure completely wrapped in black bandages stopped behind Black Rose. After she moved aside, she nodded to the newcomer.
"Friend, be careful. Those crystal roots have strong parasitic properties."
"I... know..."
The bandage brother, looking like a mummy, walked into the cave. Seeing this, Su Xiao stepped into the adjacent cave.
Seeing Su Xiao's group move, the Duke and the Empress also led their people into various caves. The contractors followed suit. A few minutes later, no contractors could be found around the cave perimeter. The basic rule for ganging up on the final boss: the spectators die first, beaten to death by the mob.
Su Xiao walked through the dim cave. A very fresh scent entered his nostrils, and his breathing seemed to ease. After walking a dozen meters, light appeared ahead.
Su Xiao stopped at the end of the passage, and the full view of the cave came into sight. The ceiling rock was riddled with holes of various sizes. Sunlight streamed through these holes, casting large patches of light on the ground, raising the temperature by a few degrees, making it feel like a natural greenhouse.
The entire cave was about 1800 to 1900 square meters. In the center was a pool, and in the middle of the pool was a stone cup. Below the cup was a crack. At the crack, milky white Primordial Water slowly gathered into a drop, then fell into the pool.
Beside the pool sat a dried corpse. Its head was drooping, its lips long since rotted away, revealing yellowed teeth. It held a pocket watch in its hand, the lid open. Inside the lid was embedded a circular photo, its contents blurred by age.
Semi-transparent crystalline roots clung to the cave walls, leaving only gaps of varying sizes. In the doorways on the surrounding rock walls, the Duke, the Empress, Alec, and others each occupied one.
The bandage brother was also in a doorway, his behavior very abnormal. Su Xiao sensed that this was a contractor on their side. His aura was like a monster covered in eyes, bizarre and unsettling. This person... no, this *thing* was somewhat similar in nature to Black Demon.
Seeing this thing arrive, Su Xiao frowned. The scene was already lively enough; adding this thing might cause an explosion.
"I'll take... the bugs... and leave."
The bandage brother raised his hand. Under the horrified gazes of many contractors, his hand grabbed the crystalline roots.
The moment the bandage brother touched the crystalline roots, hundreds of small white beetles appeared on his hand, gnawing at the black bandages and flesh on his hand.
The bandage brother was very calm. He stepped forward, using his body to break many crystalline roots. Countless white beetles enveloped him. The sound of crawling and gnawing was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"Still... not enough."
The bandage brother's body transformed into dark red strands of flesh and blood, touching all the crystalline roots. Instantly, tens of millions of white beetles filled the cave, nearly packing it completely.
Like a giant whale sucking in water, all the white beetles converged on the bandage brother, sinking into his riddled body. It felt very much like the bandage brother was eating these white beetles.
Black bandages automatically wrapped around the bandage brother's body. He staggered out of the cave, clearly having achieved his goal. He had waited until now to tell the others that he only wanted these little bugs; there was no need to gang up on him beforehand.
The bandage brother left, and many contractors breathed a sigh of relief. But thinking about the possibility of encountering this thing in future world conquest battles gave them another headache.
The cave became empty, leaving only the pool and the dried corpse. No one stepped forward.
"Captain, I'll go."
The Hangman stepped forward boldly. Holding a wooden stick, he stopped in front of the corpse and swung the stick down.
*Bang!* The corpse's head was knocked askew. Then... nothing happened. It just sat there motionless.
"Captain, no danger."
The Hangman took down the large wooden barrel from his back. Just as he was about to scoop water from the pool, the corpse suddenly turned its head. Attacking the corpse at this point was meaningless; it hadn't yet transformed into its true form.
The Hangman might have looked like a fool, but he was actually quite clever. He threw the wooden barrel at the corpse and turned to flee. The pool was the key. Once someone tried to take the water, it would awaken the corpse.
*Crack, crack.*
The corpse stood up. Almost simultaneously, the water level in the pool behind it rapidly dropped. The Primordial Water sank into the corpse's body. Contrary to all expectations, it wasn't water-attributed; instead, flames ignited on its body.
This corpse was once a person who had coveted and drunk the Primordial Water. He had merged with the entire Demon Sea. His consciousness had been destroyed, leaving only this unbeatable shell behind.
The one who destroyed his consciousness was the third captain of the Doom Number, the savior of the Chaos·Evil faction.
The corpse here was once located in the Great Vortex. The third captain of the Doom Number destroyed its consciousness and brought the shell here, letting the Primordial Water soak into its body to suppress the Greed Flame within. This greed was too vast and terrifying—it was the greed to devour the entire world, and thus it burned as fire.
This very corpse caused the disaster history of the Demon Sea. It was the embodiment of this world's greed and sin.
Now, in the cave, all the Primordial Water had sunk into the core within the corpse's body. The intrusion of outsiders meant the Primordial Water could no longer suppress the corpse.
The corpse's body began to swell. In an instant, it transformed into a monster over ten meters tall. Its entire body was covered in long, sparse, grayish-white fuzz. On its head grew chaotic horns, like severely split, fire-scorched antlers. The outline of its skeleton was clearly visible, wrapped in a layer of withered flesh. Flames burned from within its body outward.
The monster vaguely resembled a human form, slightly hunched. Under the flames, the long, sparse fuzz on its body moved without wind, sparks flying around it.
"ROAR!!!"
A roar shattered the sky. This monster, representing the origin of sin, was enraged.
High temperatures instantly dried the moisture in the air. No one among the surrounding group stepped forward. The aura of this final boss was too terrifying. Just looking at it made one feel a crushing pressure, as if their soul was being ignited, dying under the scorching flames.
Black Rose looked at the final boss ahead. She tried to detect it, just to see. Then she got a bunch of question marks, not even a name. Her Holy Spirit-grade detection equipment seemed fake.
"The boss is awake! Charge!"
A tank holding a large shield shouted. An awkward scene followed: no one moved; instead, they all retreated. The tank was telling others to go first. Though a bit embarrassing, he had to be understood. What he was facing was truly too strong.
Flames surged. The humanoid monster charged out. Despite its huge size, it was incredibly fast. Its hand, reduced to bone and withered flesh, swept out and grabbed an onlooker—no, the Eighth Rank contractor who had just shouted for everyone to charge.
*Whoosh!* Orange-yellow flames erupted in the monster's hand. The Eighth Rank tank caught in its palm didn't even grunt, turning into a pile of charred black bones that scattered from the monster's grip. The Holy Spirit-grade +14 shield, inlaid with three Holy Spirit-grade gems, clattered to the ground, covered in dense cracks from the burning.
"I... I'll be damned."
Baha stared blankly at this scene. He felt that even the previous powerful enemy, Gluttony, would only last a dozen seconds at most against this final boss. No more than that.