A violent explosion echoed through the underground space.
The dazzling blue light forced Chen Xing to close her eyes. The figure of Ning Xuan before her had already transformed into a towering blaze of fire, blinding light, and shockwaves.
The terrifying force slammed into the circular barrier in front of Chen Xing, thinning it out more and more.
Under such overwhelming power, Chen Xing had no choice but to retreat repeatedly. The barrier's protective strength had significantly weakened after the destruction of numerous altars.
But finally, just as the barrier was about to vanish, the explosive force generated by Ning Xuan's 100% cybernetic transformation came to an end.
Chen Xing coldly gazed at the scattered remnants of the cybernetic body on the ground, letting out a soft sigh.
Then, she rose into the air once more and seated herself back on the blood-red throne.
The black-and-white cross-shaped longsword was also sheathed within it.
"Those who stand in the way of the continuation of our race have only one fate: death," she muttered to herself.
Not long after, Leviathan flew in from behind Chen Xing.
He hurried to her front, kneeling on one knee in a gesture of respect.
"Lady Pride, are you unharmed?"
Chen Xing cast a cold glance at Leviathan.
"Are you doubting my strength?"
Leviathan shuddered and quickly expressed that he dared not. He glanced at the cybernetic debris not far away and asked softly,
"So, the one who obstructed Lady Pride has been..."
"Hiss..."
Chen Xing suddenly clutched her forehead again, as if feeling some kind of pain.
"Damn it, her accomplices are still destroying the altars."
"According to the readings from the detection instruments, the target is getting closer. I suspect it's them..."
Leviathan began reporting to Chen Xing about the situation involving Ning Yu.
"Though I don't know how she found out about all this."
Chen Xing finally recovered from the aftereffects of the altar's destruction and spoke.
"But since they're here, it's better to end this sooner rather than later."
"Yes, Lady Pride."
Leviathan knelt before the throne as the tide of corpses behind him slowly approached the area.
Soon, the vast horde of undead led by Chen Xing departed from the region, leaving only the scattered remnants of the cybernetic body behind.
The empty underground world fell into complete silence.
Suddenly, the cybernetic debris on the ground began to tremble, and a strange circular pattern appeared on the surface, glowing and rotating.
All the remnants were gathered together, drawn into the circular pattern.
Soon, the debris sank along the pattern, disappearing entirely.
It was as if nothing had happened here.
......
Another soul gem was taken into Ning Yu's hand, transforming into a gray light that merged into her forehead.
She didn't rush to move forward but instead pulled out the communication device Lacy had given her from her pocket.
Ning Xuan hadn't contacted her, making her almost wonder if the device had broken.
So, Ning Yu decided to try reaching out herself.
The device showed a flickering signal, indicating a successful connection, but there was no response from Ning Xuan.
This made Ning Yu's heart sink. Lacy had said Ning Xuan was tracking Chen Xing's undead horde, and now she couldn't help but suspect that Ning Xuan had met with some misfortune.
Unfortunately, Ning Yu had no way to track Chen Xing from her side. All she could do now was continue to destroy more corrupted altars.
Since these altars were the source of Chen Xing's power, she would eventually come for her.
"Xiao Yu, how is it?" Shen Yiyue asked from the side.
Ning Yu shook her head lightly.
"She didn't answer..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly paused, listening intently.
"Do you hear that?" Ning Yu whispered softly into Shen Yiyue's ear.
Shen Yiyue nodded in agreement.
The underground space echoed with a faint, rumbling noise, and the powdered remains of shattered soul gem shells trembled on the ground.
"They're coming."
The two exchanged glances, sensing the gravity in each other's eyes.
The decisive battle, which had repeated countless times, was about to begin once more.
The two immediately separated, beginning to set up traps in the surrounding area. Since they had the advantage of preparation this time, they naturally intended to give their enemies a surprise.
Unlike last time, when they woke up to find themselves already surrounded.
If it hadn't been for Ning Xuan's spatial jump back then, Ning Yu might have died before Shen Yiyue even arrived.
In the labyrinthine underground tunnels, countless zombies filled the space, marching in dense, orderly ranks.
If one could view the underground from above, they would see that as the zombies approached the area where Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue were located, they immediately fanned out.
They formed a pincer movement around the two, aiming to trap them in a deadly encirclement.
Further out from the encirclement, scattered zombies acted as scouts, spreading out in an increasingly sparse formation.
This was clearly a tactical adjustment made after encountering Ning Xuan's teleportation ability.
If a similar ability were used to suddenly move to the outskirts, the scout zombies could locate them.
The zombie encirclement had already formed multiple layers, tightly surrounding the altar where Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue were positioned.
Under Chen Xing's command, the encirclement began to slowly tighten. Leviathan led the charge at the front, while Chen Xing remained hidden within the horde, not revealing herself.
But the further they advanced, the more Leviathan felt something was amiss. The surroundings were far too quiet, as if Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue had surrendered without a fight.
Now, only the innermost altar remained. Leviathan could no longer hold back and drew "Polarity of Love and Hate" from his back, sending a clone forward to investigate.
The interior was indeed empty. The soul gem on the altar had vanished, and the altar's circuits had been destroyed.
Leviathan scanned the area, inspecting every corner, but found no trace of Ning Yu or Shen Yiyue.
Yet, the energy signature of the Moon Princess he was tracking was right here. In fact, he was standing directly on the glowing marker.
What's going on? Could it be...
He suddenly looked up at the ceiling of the altar chamber, where a small hole had appeared, just large enough for a person to pass through.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Black liquid suddenly began raining down from above, falling like a downpour.
This wasn't just happening at this altar—several others in the vicinity were experiencing the same phenomenon.
All the zombies looked up at the falling black liquid, unsure of what it was.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
A drone suddenly descended from the hole Leviathan had been staring at, hovering in mid-air.
Its camera had already locked onto Leviathan.