Along the trip toward the northeast, Ethan and his team were constantly blocked by red-skinned frog monsters.

Their numbers varied, the most being five and the least being two. Again, Ethan and Ashley didn't help in the fights.

The two of them let Jill and Sherly kill all of them. Jill and Sherly definitely didn't want to miss that chance.

In total, they were blocked eight times by the red-skinned frog monsters, with the number of monsters killed reaching twenty-six.

Sherly and Jill received EXP, Gold, and contribution points from killing those monsters.

From time to time, the four of them crossed paths with other parties coming from the north. The northern area was the location of the floor boss palace, and those who returned from the north were usually injured from fighting the boss monster.

Ethan saw them, but he had no intention of helping. His goal was the volcano in the northeast to defeat the legendary monster, not to come as their savior.

After heading north from the four-way intersection, Ethan stopped when he turned and saw a small path leading toward the volcanic area.

"That's the path to the volcano," Ashley said.

Ethan looked at it and nodded. He led his party into the forest area and told everyone to stay alert. The time showed the sun was almost setting, a sign that monster activity in the forest would increase as time passed.

The four of them walked on the narrow forest path, pushing through the woods while staying ready in case monsters attacked.

Their steps stopped when Ethan saw the ruins of a village located in a mountain valley.

Its condition was almost the same as the eternal banyan location. Was that monster here?

Jill and Sherly clearly showed their anxiety. The ruined village looked terrifying and gave them a chilling feeling. Their hair stood on end as the cold mountain wind brushed their faces, instantly drying their sweat.

Ethan took a deep breath. He forced himself to step into the village ruins through the remains of the western gate. Ashley and the others followed closely behind.

While walking, his head kept turning left and right, checking the area around him, observing the village that had been reduced to broken buildings and crumbling stones.

There were no human or animal corpses, as if the village had been abandoned for a long time. When they went deeper into the village, they began to smell burning flesh.

"Do you smell the same thing I do, Ethan?" Ashley asked.

Ethan nodded. He described the scent as burning meat. But it clearly didn't smell like beef, goat, or chicken.

There was a chance it came from human flesh.

Ethan's attention shifted upward, to the peak of the volcano. The only area constantly releasing smoke and fire was the crater. However, the distance between the village and the crater was quite far.

How could the smell of burning human flesh travel this far? That kind of logic made Ethan suspicious.

As Ethan continued watching the area around him, he felt the ground under his feet warming up. He looked down and saw a hot red glow shining from beneath the soil.

"Fall back!" Ethan ordered.

Ashley and the others obeyed. They jumped back quickly, away from the spot where the ground was heating up. Ethan did the same, avoiding the area.

A monster figure rose from underground, standing twelve meters tall, its body covered in blazing lava, its shape similar to a stone golem. Ethan narrowed his eyes as he stared forward.

From its size, the open space for the fight, and the aura of power coming from the monster, Ethan could tell it was a legendary monster.

"I-Is that the legendary monster?" Jill asked.

Ethan coughed lightly. It was clearly the legendary monster, their target for this raid tower run. Jill and Sherly trembled, unable to believe they were about to fight something so huge, so strong, and so terrifying.

Ashley smiled. She stood next to Ethan while gripping her magic staff, her eyes locked on the same point: the fire golem monster.

"So, we'll be fighting it together?" Ashley asked.

"Of course. It's been a while since I fought a legendary monster."

Ethan extended his hand and summoned his Bloodblade Ashura. His hand tightened around the sword, causing a surge of power to rush through his body, his eyes turning red and red tattoo-like marks appearing on his arms and face.

[Mode Ashura Activated]

The powerful surge made Ashley excited. She activated her own strength-boosting skill, releasing a strong blue aura from her body.

Ethan's aura was red, while Ashley's was blue. Jill and Sherly watched the moment, one that felt emotional, seeing the leader and vice leader of LionArk fighting together.

"Get ready. Jill, stay here with Ashley. Sherly, you come with me," Ethan said.

"Okay."

Sherly and Ethan dashed forward. Jill was assigned by Ashley to land attacks on the legendary monster. Ashley would be the one to take the monster's hits.

Elsewhere, Ethan swung his sword upward, unleashing an Ashura Rift attack at the golem monster. The monster was injured, but not enough to defeat it.

On the other side, Sherly was assigned by Ethan to keep attacking the golem whenever she found an opening. Ethan would focus on pulling the golem's attention.

[Gornash the Flame Golem (Lv. 225) || HP: 285,000/350,000]

[Buff: Increase Enemy ATK +25%]

Ethan watched the Flame Golem's HP drop significantly. He checked the damage status panel, showing himself in the number one spot, Jill at number two, and Sherly at number three.

Ashley didn't deal any damage, as she focused on giving stat-boosting buffs to Jill and Sherly.

He kept moving and slashing crimson strikes forward, hitting the fire golem. Sherly moved around and attacked the golem from behind.

But because her movement wasn't agile enough, Sherly ended up in the monster's line of sight.

Ethan panicked. He quickly switched weapons from Bloodblade Ashura to Tempest Reaver. Another power surge happened, and a gray-white aura appeared on his body. Tempest Mode activated.

With a lightning-fast movement, Ethan flashed from one spot to another in streaks of wind. Sherly's eyes widened in fear as the Flame Golem was about to slam its fiery fist on her.

Luckily, Sherly was saved by Ethan. Ethan brought her back to the starting point safely, though her face still showed clear shock.

Ethan let Sherly rest for a moment and asked Jill to protect her. He turned around and faced forward, standing next to Ashley.

"Is the damage enough?" Ashley asked.

"It's enough."

"Alright. I'll start attacking now," Ashley replied.

"The two of us will finish off that monster."

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