“Riveria, Welf, Aiz, Bete, Alicia, you are the key to this operation.”
Gareth: “During the initial wave of attacks, I will also do my best to assist you in defending.”
Finn scanned everyone present: “If no one has any objections, let's set off!”
Reaching the entrance to the fifty-second floor, at the end of the long, wide staircase, Finn stopped and looked back at all the members of the team.
“Let's go.”
Finn issued the brief command, and the team began to advance rapidly towards the fifty-second floor.
Along the way, the frequency of monsters appearing was not much different from before, still mainly [Black Rhinos] and [Deformed Spiders]. These monsters kept pouncing out from various corners of the darkness, trying to hinder their progress.
Finally, they reached a spacious and huge room, and Finn raised his hand to signal the team to stop.
Finn scanned everyone in the team: “From here, we need to arrange our formation. Riveria, Alicia, you need to be quick. Everyone else, spread out and prepare to deal with the upcoming onslaught.”
Alicia acted without hesitation. She waved her hands, and a cold incantation echoed in the air. As magic power gathered, a huge ice giant appeared on the battlefield.
“Dragon… That's a dragon's roar.”
Raul's expression changed slightly, and the roaring sound echoing in his ears made him feel frightened.
Alicia took a deep breath, her expression becoming even more solemn.
Alicia's eyes became as sharp as swords as she stared into the distance. The next moment—
“Boom!!!”
Under the reflection of the flames, the faces of the surrounding adventurers were dyed a bright red.
They subconsciously held their breath, watching the burst of flames, like a massive landmine explosion, soar into the sky, the fire wave rushing straight to the ceiling, seeming to break through the limit of the fifty-first floor.
However, the center of the giant was empty. Replacing it was a magic stone furnace burning with several high-level magic stones, enduring the baptism of flames.
【O Wood Spirit—Grant my wish, O Forest Garment—My name is Alf】
Aiz, Alicia, Gareth, and Bete, the four adventurers seized this opportunity to jump directly into the huge hole opened by the bombardment, their target being the fifty-third floor.
At the same time, Riveria, who remained on the fifty-first floor, began her incantation.
Feeling the sudden surge of magic power, Alicia sighed softly: “Her Highness's magic power is truly exaggerated… Next, this place will undoubtedly become the target of all the Cannon Dragons.”
Aiz shouted.
【Elven Kingdom from the Arthurian Legends, intertwining light and shadow, eternally like a dream, a land of fantasy hidden within epics】
Their task was to intercept the Cannon Dragons' attacks before Riveria completed her incantation.
After testing the bombardment strength of the Vargan Dragons, the dwarf warrior chuckled: “Heh, compared to Balor's Death Ray, this attack is far from enough.”
While chanting this magic, even with her parallel chanting proficiency, she couldn't run quickly.
Alicia piloted the ice giant to meet the bombardment, using the giant's huge body to block two fierce attacks. Half of the ice giant's body was shattered.
Bete precisely met the incoming bombardment with a magic sword spiral sword in his hand. The rotating sword body pierced into the flames, colliding with the bombardment with powerful destructive force, the light cannon almost pushing the flames back.
A long and poetic incantation echoed in the sky above the battlefield. The elven princess's melodious voice seemed to dispel all noise and fear.
He cursed in a low voice, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes.
Falling onto the head of a Vargan Dragon that was preparing to launch a bombardment, Bete unhesitatingly raised his right leg and kicked its hideous dragon head with force.
【In that dream woven with emerald and lapis lazuli, everything finds its place】
At this moment, Aiz activated [Wind Spirit's Swift Foot] to its maximum extent. A gale surrounded her, increasing her attack, speed, and defense to the limit.
However, the monsters from the [Dragon's Uterus] were naturally all Dragon species. Relying on this species that stood at the top of all monsters, the monsters in this area were even considered by the [Zeus Familia] and [Hera Familia] to be stronger than the monsters on the fifty-ninth floor.
On the fifty-second floor, under Finn's command, Raul and the others raised the magic swords in their hands, and the power accumulated in the magic swords surged out, the fierce beams instantly firing towards the incoming monsters.
【Without worry, without loneliness, standing alone under the moonlit tree, gazing at the realm of the ocean and the night sky, still able to feel the longing and calling of the distant homeland, distant bells, echoing in the night, ultimately becoming the deepest tranquility in the world】
The moment the barrier opened, the light cannon fired by the Cannon Dragon hit the position at Riveria and Welf's feet.
The scorching flames exploded, but when they collided with the barrier, it was as if nothing had happened, not even a ripple was created.
As the force of the bombardment continued to increase, the hole became wider and wider. With a thought, Riveria took all the adventurers protected inside the magic barrier and began to fall downwards.
They were not being resisted, but were being directly ignored.
Falling to the fifty-eighth floor, Riveria's face was already somewhat pale, but she still maintained the barrier.
Aiz and the others also descended with the barrier, arriving just in time to support Bete, who was almost besieged by the Cannon Dragons.
The light of the barrier gradually disappeared, and Riveria dispelled the magic.
The entire expeditionary force of the Loki Familia successfully crossed the hellish [Dragon's Uterus] and directly arrived at the fifty-eighth floor.
Finn's voice resounded across the battlefield. Along with this command, everyone unhesitatingly launched a fierce offensive against the weakened Cannon Dragons.
Welf drew out the magic sword imbued with dragon-slaying power and began to chant:
Phantasmal Greatsword, Maximum Output.
Release from the cradle, Evil Dragon—
The spreading light of destruction was like a huge wave, sweeping forward with irresistible power, engulfing all kinds of dragon-type monsters, including the two Cannon Dragons.
223
Chapter 223: Breaking the Record, Fifty-Ninth Floor.
However, after that one attack, the surviving dragon monsters had almost all lost their ability to resist, either suffering injuries all over their bodies or directly losing their will to fight.
The most terrifying aspect of the [Dragon's Uterus], this hellish area, was its bombardment that ignored floors.
Even the [Empress] of the Hera Familia, as strong as she was, couldn't help but complain in the information she left behind, saying that the Cannon Dragons' attacks had burned their food. Enraged, the [Empress] jumped directly into the hole and personally resolved all the Cannon Dragons.
The strong members of the Loki Familia successively charged and killed those stubbornly resisting monsters, taking down the powerful Dragon species one by one.
When the last Cannon Dragon crashed down, only the slightly tired but extremely excited figures of the adventurers remained on the battlefield.
Most importantly, their supplies were not destroyed in the [Dragon's Uterus], which was a miracle in deep-level adventures.
Finn issued orders to the members in the front row:
“This tactic is very special, and we can only do it because Riveria and Shirou are here. Moreover, this strategy will only work in the [Dragon's Womb].”
“From now on, everyone needs to pay extra attention. The upcoming battle is a race against time.”
Although the others didn't quite understand Finn's words, they quickly adjusted their states, tensing their nerves and preparing for any situation.
In the black lead-colored labyrinth, which was not much different from the fifty-first floor, they maintained an efficient formation, advancing cautiously and quickly.
They moved through the corridors, repelling every monster attack.
Every strike, every sword swing, was a race against time.
The top of this huge room was high and distant, and the surrounding walls were smooth and cold, as if scrutinizing this group of adventurers. A faint phosphorescence flickered on the walls, illuminating the entire space with a somewhat dim and mysterious light.
“Sniping is about to come.”
After saying this, Riveria immediately closed her eyes and began to concentrate her mind to gather magic power.
A giant holding two ice katanas, with eyes like frost, stood quietly in front of them.
Just then, a low and ominous roar came from the depths of the earth. The sound rumbled like thunder, piercing the ears and causing a chill to run down the spine.
“Indeed, our position has been captured by them.”
The monster's roar grew closer and closer, deafening and filled with an overwhelming threat. The pressure in the air made all the adventurers' nerves tense.
With a loud bang, the entire ground exploded, and rolling flames spewed out from the depths of the earth, like blooming red lotus flames. The shock wave quickly engulfed the ice giant summoned by Alicia.
In the aftermath of the burning, the ice giant's huge body was gradually being melted by the flames, revealing the incomplete ice bones beneath the solid ice layer.
The flames of the explosion gradually dissipated, but the sky was still filled with firelight. At this moment, chanting began.
The same two chanting voices echoed in the air. Riveria and Lefiya, who had copied her magic, simultaneously activated the magic [Breath of Veil], and double layers of gauze covered the team members, providing them with a powerful defensive barrier.
They didn't go too deep, but chose to stay on the fifty-third floor as the front line to resist the barrage.
[Awake from the deep slumber, I shall open this secret realm]
“It's not just the Cannon Dragons, it should be all the monsters.”
Bert said coldly.
“There are nine powerful magic sources that can be sensed, be careful, they are coming!”
As Riveria continued to chant, Aiz, Gareth, and the others tensed their nerves and welcomed a new wave of barrage on the fifty-third floor.
Gareth stood in the front, actually taking a barrage head-on with his physical body.
[That legendary place, without the clamor of the mortal world, nor the fortress of mankind, majesty unseen, palace nonexistent, only stillness like a distant song]
Riveria slowly paced, barely dodging a barrage.
Shirou took Riveria's hand beside her—in this state, chanting would be smoother.
[An isolated island surrounded by the boundless sea, silent as the whispers of the night, an endless prairie, undulating like emerald waves, stretching leisurely, streams flowing between the valleys, weaving the earth like silver threads, towering giant trees standing on the peaks of hills, ancient and majestic, branches and leaves like umbrellas supporting the sky]
[A realm constructed in the heart, a legendary place beyond the mundane]
However, faced with this poetic and lengthy chant, Bert's patience had obviously reached its limit.
“This incantation is too long!”
Without thinking any further, Bert gritted his teeth and jumped directly from a huge hole blasted out by a barrage, heading straight for the deeper fifty-eighth floor.
With a kick, the dragon's head was forced to tilt to one side, and the magic-gathering barrage instantly deviated from its original direction, firing towards a group of monsters on the side.
At the same time, countless monsters surged towards them from all directions, not only from the fifty-second floor, but even from the fifty-third floor, the number of monsters was increasing.
But in front of the [Avenger Princess], the dragon species became their greatest disadvantage. Aiz, with her special ability against dragon species, made every attack even sharper, breaking through these dragon monsters that once made adventurers tremble with fear one by one.
Thanks to Riveria attracting the attention of all the Cannon Dragons, they didn't need to worry about dodging and could freely launch magical attacks to clear the monsters.
After a long, century-like super-long incantation, Riveria's magic was finally completed.
Absolute defense magic—[Arcadia]
As she finished her low-pitched chant, a transparent barrier unfolded around her, instantly enveloping all the team members, as if completely isolating them from the outside world.
This is the terrifying aspect of [Arcadia], no matter how powerful the enemy's attack, its defense will not be weakened.
The continuous attacks of the Cannon Dragons were like a stone sinking into the sea, unable to break through this absolute barrier at all.
“Boom, boom, boom—!”
One barrage after another continued to attack the barrier, but without exception, all the attacks were like mud cows entering the sea, unable to cause any damage.
At the same time, the Cannon Dragons were still frantically launching continuous barrages at the defensive barrier, emptying their magic power, as if falling into irrational rage.
At this time, almost every Cannon Dragon had fired more than a dozen barrages, and they had entered their weakest state.
The adventurers, led by the Amazon sisters, now showed a murderous smile.
“Everyone, full attack!”
The dragon-slaying magic sword [Balmung], which had not been used when hunting strong dragons before, had finally come to be unsheathed again.
“True Ether All Open.
Awake from the Golden Dream—
Surely Destroy!”
“Fantasy Greatsword Balmung!!!”
This scene shocked everyone, and even Aiz, who was always calm, showed a surprised expression, her mouth completely unable to close.
Although it was [Balmung], which had a super-high special attack effect on dragon species, Shirou's level was only after all, and he could not clear all the dragon monsters with potential abilities above in one go.
These barrages would not only greatly reduce the adventurers' stamina, but also potentially destroy their important equipment and supplies.
However, when the adventurers truly broke into the fifty-eighth floor, the situation fundamentally changed.
Apart from magic power, the potential abilities of Cannon Dragons were not as terrible as those of strong dragons. [Heavy Warrior] Gareth, with his dwarf's top physique and abilities, could easily single-handedly challenge a Cannon Dragon.
They created history.
In this expedition, no one died, and no one was even seriously injured—even the injuries Gareth suffered from resisting the Cannon Dragon's attack could be quickly recovered.
Adventuring to this point, the biggest loss was only the wear and tear of equipment, but there was no need to worry about this, because their camp had the best blacksmith in the city.
