The "dead" desert beneath their feet suddenly emitted a microscopic vibration that made their very souls tremble.
A terrifying silhouette, several times larger than the previous "whale," pitch-black as ink with a tail stinger shimmering with the dark-purple luster of destruction, slowly emerged from the abyssal void. Its pair of blood-red compound eyes stared fixedly at the "demolition team"—who had thought victory was in their grasp—with a gaze full of mockery.
At that exact moment, a spatial rift bloomed without warning. It was Ester, having received Lawson's "I'm going back to sleep" signal, preparing to make her grand entrance.
A pair of fair, jade-like hands poked out from the spatial seam first, elegantly prying the portal open to both sides as if popping the tab of a soda can.
Ester had been stepping lightly, humming a little tune, already mentally drafting the menu for the victory feast.
However, the moment the portal swung wide, her movements locked into a frozen frame. The scene before her was not a welcoming ceremony with the warriors surrounding her in admiration; instead, it was a horizon-blotting black shadow slowly rising into the sky.
Those blood-red eyes happened to glance sideways, meeting Ester's gaze in a literal stare-down with death.
"Lawson... didn't you say it was over before you called for me?"
The sweet smile on Ester's face collapsed at a speed visible to the eye. As that massive, hideous "True Lord" let out a soul-shaking roar, her survival instinct as a defenseless guide instantly exploded to maximum capacity.
"Sorry to disturb you! Goodbye!"
Without a hint of hesitation, those jade hands yanked inward ten times faster than they had opened the door. With a sharp hum, that azure gateway of hope vanished into a single point of light like a popped bubble, disappearing without a trace.
"HOLY CRAP! Ester, you little brat, how can you be so cold-blooded!!"
Dodge was the first to react. The once-majestic {Tiger Soul} was now like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, letting out a sharp, high-pitched shriek that completely contradicted his hulking armor. He sprinted toward the rapidly shrinking rift, clutching his heavy loot in one hand with his boot thrusters spitting fire.
Seeing the "escape plan" utterly fail, {Tiger Soul} performed a textbook-perfect, stylish pivot in front of the warriors, desperately trying to save face.
"Whoa! That girl runs fast! Forget that cowardly guide, keep fighting! Kill this thing!"
Dodge's trembling, high-pitched shout echoed through the comms channel. Combined with his "do-or-die" posture, the scene was absurd to the extreme.
The battlefield fell back into a deathly silence, save for the wind whistling through the gaps in the giant scorpion's bone plates like mocking laughter.
Lawson watched Dodge's transition from fleeing in terror to acting tough, getting so angry that several white hairs practically sprouted on the spot. Veins popped on his forehead as he roared into the channel, unable to take it anymore:
"Dodge, what kind of act is this? The Tale of the Fleeing Tiger?! Where is your dignity as a warrior? Where is your awareness as a tough guy? It's just a slightly oversized scorpion, for God's sake! Is it that scary? Watch me dismantle that Desert Tyrant right now, bones and all!"
However, Dodge's subsequent reply caused every battle-ready warrior on the field to undergo a second "petrification."
"...I hate eight-legged animals the most!"
The once-mighty {Tiger Soul} armor was now curled up at the edge of the desert like a frightened kitten, shivering and letting out a tearful, high-pitched sob:
"Every time I see an eight-legged arthropod, my will has only one command—ESCAPE! It's a fear etched into my DNA!"
Watching {Tiger Soul} drawing circles in the corner, everyone's mouths twitched uncontrollably. The "Great Tiger" who was once so formidable on the battlefield had, in this moment, completely broken down into a victim of a "spider-phobic teenage heart."
In the next second, the air seemed to be sucked dry by Lawson's terrifying obsession. The Desert Tyrant, which had been frozen for some unknown reason, suddenly let out a piercing shriek.
Its giant pincers, carrying the massive weight of the earth element, slammed down like a falling mountain.
"SO NOISY... I TOLD YOU, I WANT TO SLEEP!"
A broken growl escaped Lawson's throat as the divine golden light of [Grace of the Armor God] instantly enveloped him.
Gripping the {Mercy Hammer} in one hand, he didn't retreat; instead, he charged straight at the mountain-toppling assault, leading {Moon Swift} and a desperately-clinging-to-logic {Saint Silver} into the fray.
In the distance, {Mage Heart} was already chanting the final beats of a spell, mana flowing around him as physical green runes. {Sniper Eye} held his breath on the high ground, a round chambered. In the midst of her high-speed movement, {Moon Swift}'s eyes flashed with blue light as her [Eye of Omnipotence] parsed the data.
She shouted anxiously over the comms:
"It's Earth-element! Phyllis, your Lightning-element is completely countered, don't stand in the front! Cover us! Front line, pay attention: attack the joints between the eight legs where there is no carapace..."
Before she could finish, she was shocked into a scream by the sight before her:
"Lawson! Are you crazy? Come back!"
The "disheveled uncle" who was supposed to be commanding from the rear was now glowing with a light that turned from brilliant gold to a blinding crimson-gold, responding to his insomniac rage. Like a maddened lion, he charged straight into the Desert Tyrant's attack radius!
"Pick them off one by one? I don't have that kind of free time!" Lawson's bloodshot eyes locked onto the BOSS. "I'm going to make this thing 'naked' in one shot!
— [ZERO ARMOR ZONE OF THE ARMOR GOD]!!!"
At that moment, the world seemed to hit the mute button. The surging golden light first collapsed inward at high speed, then exploded like a supernova! A golden shockwave radiated outward from Lawson, sweeping across the entire desert with an irresistible will to "strip."
CRACK—! The sound of shattering was continuous!
An astounding sight unfolded: The Desert Tyrant's bone-armor, which was supposedly indestructible and capable of resisting spatial rifts, peeled away like cheap plastic the moment the golden light passed over it. It crumbled and evaporated.
As the dust cleared, the once majestic and terrifying Lord was now nothing but a mass of pink, wrinkled, slightly shivering "soft meat." Its eight proud legs, now lacking armor support, looked exactly like eight giant pieces of deshelled imitation crab meat.
This was the Scorpion Version of the King's New Clothes—it was completely naked.
"...Holy crap," Dodge stared from the edge.
"Bro, this isn't a demolition, you just gave him a full-body wax!"
Even {Saint Silver}, who had been hesitant due to the elemental disadvantage, was stunned. Since the armor was gone, the so-called elemental resistance seemed far less lethal.
Lawson gripped his hammer, his messy hair dancing in the wind. He turned back to his petrified teammates with a broken smile:
"Alright, now that it has no defense—Emma, taunt it. George, what are you waiting for? Give our 'naked' friend here a lush green forest burial!"
The tide of battle reversed instantly. The warriors erupted with unprecedented chemistry, each taking the stance of an executioner.
{Bastion} dialed her taunt frequency to the limit; the full-power humming was practically a rave party in the Desert Tyrant's ear. Her boot thrusters ignited as she slid a few mocking laps around the giant pile of "scorpion meat," completing a textbook feint that said 'I didn't do damage, but I sure got the aggro,' before dashing back.
Then, a duet of water and fire exploded on the ice! {Furious Shark} treaded across the ice on a fine mist of water atoms, his blade slicing through the twilight like blue light, precisely severing the Desert Tyrant's forelimb nerves. {Blaze Punch} followed closely, the flames on her legs plowing deep crimson furrows into the ground.
"Victor, send it up!" The two became streaks of blue and red light, spinning and intertwining at high speed. The explosive force of the water vapor colliding with the fire created a violent hydro-thermal tornado, launching the naked Desert Tyrant a hundred meters into the air!
From a kilometer away, Luther captured the moment of suspension. A tooth-aching high-frequency hum emitted from {Sniper Eye}'s arm armor—the sign of the accelerator overclocking.
"—OVERCLOCK SNIPE."
Green fire flashed repeatedly. Each bullet was like a shooting star chasing the moon, shooting through the remaining segments of the Desert Tyrant's eight legs one by one in mid-air. The final shot pierced its lower jaw, utterly destroying any chance of a counterattack.
"— [WOOD STRIKE: FINALE NET]!!!"
{Mage Heart}'s chant reached its perfect conclusion. Tough emerald vines erupted from the frozen ground, weaving into a sun-blotting "vine net" that caught the falling Desert Tyrant.
But this was no rescue; it was a cradle of death. The net tightened, thorns piercing into the defenseless soft meat like steel needles, locking it into the cradle.
"Now it's my turn. A concluding dance for you!" {Moon Swift} dual-wielded her Crescent Frost Blades, her posture as elegant as a moonlit elf.
The moment she lowered her center of gravity, her [Moon Steps] unleashed terrifying propulsion. In everyone's sight, Katie became ten thousand intersecting streaks of cold light. Every slash carried the extreme cold that freezes the soul.
Vine net, scorpion meat, mucus—in an instant, everything was sliced into neat blocks, yet they didn't fall. Instead, they were frozen mid-air by the extreme frost. This wasn't a slaughterhouse; it was a spectacular "biological ice sculpture" exhibition.
As Katie elegantly disengaged her twin blades with her back to the battlefield, the massive frozen chunks shattered completely in the twilight. They were no longer flesh and blood, but countless dazzling loot materials, raining down upon the charred ice field like a golden shower.
DING—!
The notification for salvation finally rang out. The mission list updated:
[B PLUS-RANK AREA LIBERATION MISSION: NOVA STAR TOWN, SOUTH SECTOR 2 ACCOMPLISHED].
The desert landscape began to crack and recede, revealing the long-buried town. Blue skies returned, and the warm sunlight outlined a peaceful post-disaster scene.
"It's finally... over," {Bastion} sighed, plopping down on the asphalt.
However, just as the peace reached its peak, ripples appeared in the air again. Those fair jade hands reached out from the void once more, "elegantly" prying open space.
Ester's face, wearing a standard corporate smile, popped out. She acted as if she had forgotten her cold-blooded door-slamming from minutes ago, her voice sweet as honey:
"Good work! Everyone, congrats on your triumphant return! I was at the base praying for you every single second..."
The air froze.
The warriors, who had been happily picking up materials, stopped dead. Pairs of eyes once filled with victory were now fixed on Ester's face with a mix of pity and contempt.
Lawson, who had long since started questioning his life due to insomnia, saw the portal and his eyes exploded with light. He suddenly struck an incredibly agile, almost flamboyant pose and launched into a bizarre "maiden dash"!
"I'm off, everyone! Enjoy your leisurely post-war time, I'm going back to sleep for three days!"
As Lawson made his historic "escape" into the portal, the spatial rift snapped shut with a hum, utterly shattering the final peace of South Sector 2.
"LAWSON, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD—!"
Ester's desperate wail was cut off by the closing space.
She turned around trembling, only to find herself surrounded by warriors radiating physical black aura. The one with the lowest pressure and the largest frame was Dodge, who had just been scared out of his soul by the scorpion.
"Um... Brother Dodge, actually, eight-legged animals have a cute side..." Ester held up a tissue she had pulled from nowhere, making a final struggle.
"Cute? I was just scared into a high-pitched scream for three whole minutes! All the 'tough guy' face I've saved up in my life was dropped into that pile of stinking scorpion meat!" Dodge laughed in fury, his massive fists cracking.
"I recorded it," Victor added slowly, leaning against a broken pole.
"Dodge, the stinger hasn't broken yet. You could tie her to it and let her experience a 'high-altitude swing'," Emma suggested while eating sunflower seeds.
"According to my calculations, the probability of a successful plea for mercy is 0%," Phyllis said tonelessly.
"You... you monster!" Ester wailed.
"Monsters? Right now, I am a Tiger of Vengeance!"
Dodge let out another high-pitched roar and pounced.
The massive shadow of {Tiger Soul} completely enveloped the screaming guide.
"Don't hit the face! I have a blind date tomorrow...
"You're an NPC, where are you getting a blind date from?! Give me my repair and mental damage fees first! Triple! No, ten times!!"