CH460 Dungeon Diving

***

The nest was far larger than Alex and his party had initially assumed.

Before long, they found themselves completely separated from the six-hundred-strong force, with no other parties in sight as far as the eye could see.

They had already travelled a significant distance, yet there was still no sign of the nest's boundary.

It put into perspective just how vast this pocket space truly was—far larger than Alex's Sanctuary Space. The difference, however, was fundamental

Thee Sanctuary Space was mobile, tethered to Alex himself, while a berserk beast nest space was static, anchored permanently to the location where it had formed.

Although they were isolated from other groups, they were far from alone.

Berserk beasts were everywhere.

So many, in fact, that the party rarely managed more than five minutes of rest between battles.

'Fortunately, the beasts here aren't particularly strong,' Alex thought.

Most of the creatures they encountered were Class 0 or Class 1. The strongest beast they had faced so far was only Class 2.

And because the enemies were relatively weak, the nest became the perfect environment for the party to hone their individual skills.

The decision quickly proved worthwhile.

-

A group of such grotesquely oversized ants surged toward the party, Sand Berserk Ants

These were ordinary desert sand ants that had undergone exponential growth due to prolonged exposure to Berserk Energy, considered a low-level threat.

Standing nearly a metre tall, these creatures had once been nothing more than ordinary desert insects. Unfortunate enough to be trapped within the nest when it formed, they had been warped and enlarged by the pervasive Berserk Energy.

They attacked the moment they spotted the group.

The Fury Knights—led by the fully recovered Sergeant Lopota—rushed forward to intercept.

Fortunately, despite their increased size, the ants retained the instincts of their smaller counterparts. They lacked the refined killing edge of true predators, making them manageable opponents.

Whenever the ants attempted to group together and overwhelm the party with crude swarm tactics, the Crossbowmen responded immediately—each bolt claiming a life and breaking the formation.

The ants, driven purely by instinct, could only react to immediate threats.

As the Crossbowmen kited and thinned the clustered groups, Sergeant Lopota and the Fury Knights swept in, cutting down the stragglers with disciplined sword strikes.

Though enlarged, the ants remained highly vulnerable to even the cheapest blade—let alone the enhanced and reinforced weapons wielded by the Fury soldiers.

Sergeant Lopota finished off a crippled ant by driving his sword cleanly through its head.

But before he could savour the victory, something caught the corner of his eye.

One of the ants raised its front limb and pointed it toward another Fury soldier.

It was an unfamiliar motion—nothing resembling any behaviour Lopota had seen from the ants before.

Yet instinct screamed danger.

Without hesitation, the Sergeant moved.

He surged forward, aiming to place himself between the ant and the soldier.

'I won't make it,' Lopota realised.

'No. I have to make it!'

The sense of danger and unease intensified.

Lopota knew—without question—that if he failed to intercept the attack, the Fury soldier would die.

'Move!' he roared inwardly, pushing his Internal Energy to its absolute limit.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow.

Crack—!

Boom—!

Something snapped inside his mind.

It felt as though an invisible weight shattered and fell away, and in that instant, his speed surged.

The increase wasn't dramatic—but in a battle balanced on the edge of life and death, it was enough.

The ant fired its limb—what had once been a leg—like a hardened spike.

"Get down!" Lopota bellowed.

But the Fury knight had just finished dispatching another ant and couldn't react in time.

Lopota charged forward, shield raised.

Clank!

He collided with the spike mid-flight, barely managing to intercept it. The impact wasn't enough to stop it completely—but it altered its trajectory.

Instead of piercing the soldier's skull, the spike veered toward his arm.

Just before impact, a translucent barrier of ice materialised in front of the soldier, blocking the attack entirely.

Lopota didn't hesitate.

He spun on his heel and hurled his shield.

Puchi!

Thrown with explosive force, the shield's rim embedded itself deep into the ant's skull, killing it instantly.

Immediately, two Fury soldiers rushed to Sergeant Lopota's side, shielding him from any potential follow-up attacks.

The remaining Fury knights—including the one Lopota had tried to protect—quickly regrouped, forming a tight line formation. Together with the Crossbowmen providing disciplined bolt fire from the flanks, they steadily ground down the remaining ants.

Before long, the battle ended.

Fortunately, the sheer number of ants they had slain drove away nearby beasts, granting the party a brief moment of reprieve.

Instead of resting, Sergeant Lopota walked over to Zora and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"There's no need for thanks." Zora smiled gently. "It was my duty."

Then her gaze sharpened slightly.

"You broke through, didn't you?"

"…I did."

Only then did Lopota truly realise what had happened—why he'd been able to close the distance when logic said he shouldn't have.

"Congratulations." Zora said warmly.

The rest of the expedition party looked at the Sergeant with varying degrees of envy. He had become the first among them to advance since the expedition began, stepping into the Peak of Intermediate Rank.

Still, none of them felt bitter for long.

Each was confident that their own breakthrough would come soon enough.

Alex, however, wore a more complicated expression.

His own advancement wasn't governed solely by mana volume—it depended on the recovery and refinement of his Path itself.

Shreee—!!

Before he could voice his thoughts, a sharp beast cry tore through the air.

Another battle had begun above them.

While the party looted the ants for valuable materials, Senu had engaged an enemy in the skies.

A hawk-like berserk beast had dared to ambush Queen Senu during her flight.

This was an unforgivable affront!

The tips of her wings shimmered with silvery light as she flapped them forward.

[Spatial Slash]!

Two criss-crossing blades of spatial energy erupted from her wings.

They cleaved cleanly through the avian beast, which fell to the ground in pieces.

Skreee—!!

Queen Senu let out a commanding cry, asserting her dominance over the skies.

Kik-kik-kik—!!

A response echoed back.

The sound multiplied.

From the horizon, a cast of hawks surged forward.

In moments, they blotted out the sky above the expedition party.

Any lingering elation over Lopota's breakthrough vanished instantly.

Silver and the Crossbowmen raised their weapons.

Alex, Zora, Fen, and Mordor stepped forward, rousing their mana and killing intent in unison.

The next battle began immediately.

***

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