Chapter 70: The First Life-and-Death Crisis (13)

Look at this ball — so big, so round.

Look at this fire — so red, so bright.

Look at this… this thing, isn't it flying toward my head?

The answer is yes.

Crisis.

Ever since his memories awakened, Herbert had felt the most urgent life-and-death crisis of his entire existence.

Miss Xie Shen, no matter how dangerous, never made him kill himself.

The fire dragon, no matter how violent, never actively attacked him.

The mermaid's song, no matter how enchanting, never affected him.

But now…

What none of those others could do, this massive lava ball could.

Scorching flames couldn't kill Herbert — they could even make him stronger.

But a lump of lava over three meters in diameter could smash him dead on the spot.

Smash him flat into a meat patty, and turn him two-dimensional once again.

This is the pure, brute violence of mass.

Sure enough — when magic is useless, in the end you still have to fall back on classical mechanics.

Herbert thought all this in an instant, then realized what he most needed to do right now.

Run.

There was no time left to manipulate the sealing array, and the portal to the Endless Labyrinth needed time to reopen.

So, the only choice before him was — run, fast!

No matter what, dodge this wave first, then talk!

Hum—

At this life-and-death moment, the holy sigil and demonic rune etched into the back of his hand lit up at the same time; two streams of power surged into his soul, forcibly calming Herbert's mind.

Absolute stillness. Utter cold.

Once he was in that state, Herbert opened his mouth and took a huge gulp, drawing a chestful of searing air thick with the stench of sulfur.

"Boiling Blood!"

Thump thump thump—

In an instant, his heart began to pound violently, the blood in his body forcibly roused, his pupils dilated a ring wider, and the flow of the world before his eyes seemed to slow.

Charge!

He tilted his body forward, lowered his center of gravity, and pushed off hard with his feet — his whole body shot out like an arrow!

The boots on his feet melted in the high heat, sinking slightly into the half-solidified lava, but he pulled them free before they were swallowed whole.

Herbert's feet flew fast as he sprinted across the tongues of death-fire.

One step.

Two steps!

Three steps!!!

Tatatatat!

Whoosh—

In less than two seconds, Herbert had leapt five steps, covering several dozen meters across the pitted, scalding lava.

Finally, his whole body launched forward in a diving plunge.

And the very instant Herbert leapt up, a tremendous boom and a terrifying shockwave came from behind him.

BOOM!!!

The moment the lava ball slammed into the ground, a huge fountain of magma burst from the impact point.

Orange-red magma sprayed out in every direction like fireworks, flying high, then falling back to the four quarters.

The ground was smashed into a great depression; the surrounding lava rippled in layer upon layer, wave after wave spreading outward.

No.

What Herbert was standing on right now wasn't dry ground at all — it was a lava pool with only its surface slightly crusted over!

After landing, Herbert rolled several rather ungainly circles across the ground, barely shedding his momentum before scrambling quickly to his feet.

"Ha, haha…"

Herbert looked at the lava ball slowly sinking behind him and let out a long breath, the fear still fresh in his heart.

Damn it — almost bought it.

Herbert admitted he had been a little careless.

Valentina was too obedient and easy to coax; Fu Leimei, after her initial probe, had been cooperative the whole way; and Elisa was just a small fry, not worth considering.

The only one he couldn't quite read, Svanhild, wasn't the combative type either — she had chosen cooperation over conflict on her own.

To be fair, Herbert's run through the first three zones had been a little too smooth.

That kind of plain sailing did make Herbert a bit complacent, and gave him some wrong ideas.

He had subconsciously assumed every monster-girl prisoner would be as easy for him to handle as they were.

And the situation before him now told him with brutal facts — that wasn't the truth.

They might not be evil, but they really were dangerous.

Extremely dangerous!!!

He'd narrowly escaped this time, but only just barely stepped out of the certain-death zone — any closer and the massive shockwave would've half-killed him.

If I hadn't gained the ability to unleash my boiling blood, I'd truly be dead now.

Even if I didn't die, I'd lose a thick layer of skin!

Those few dozen meters may not seem far, but if Cao Zijian had this power back then, why bother writing poetry?

Just kidding.

He ran seven steps and vanished completely!

After catching a few breaths, Herbert exited his hyper-rational state and his emotions gradually returned.

He got angry—and just got angry!

"Who's so lacking in public decency?!"

Herbert shouted toward the source of the lava ball: "Who threw that!!? Have the guts to show yourself!"

Friends, do you really want to kill me?

What kind of grudge do you hold against me?!

You hit me with such a big surprise right off the bat.

Zero-frame start—gave me not a single moment to prepare.

Do you really want me dead that badly?

Herbert couldn't help cursing, but quickly fell silent.

"What do you even want… eh?"

Because he suddenly realized, with awkward embarrassment, that no one had noticed him at all.

Never once!

He was completely an outsider who'd wandered onto this set.

Far away, a massive lava giant—its upper body alone over thirty meters tall—rose from the lava pool, wildly raising a chunk of molten rock and hurling it toward the distant bronze castle.

Swoosh—

Its arm was like a colossal trebuchet; the flung lava crossed hundreds of meters and slammed hard against the massive bronze fortress.

Boom!

The lava ball struck the wall with a deafening crash, shaking the entire castle.

But that was all the effect it could achieve.

The bronze fortress stood firm.

Under the immense impact, the lava ball—over ten meters in diameter—shattered instantly, breaking into uneven fragments that scattered elsewhere.

And the piece that had just landed before him seemed to be one of the larger shards.

So… that thing just now… was just stray debris?

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer?

He once again felt the depth of his own weakness.

As Herbert hesitated—whether to approach them first or find a place to soak himself—

He heard a soft, curious whisper at his ear: "Huh? Someone else arrived? Another new warden?"

"Hm?!"

Then, the person seemed to notice Herbert's face, froze, and exclaimed in shock: "Wait, it's still the last one?!"

Herbert:?

How often do you change wardens around here?!

The person quickly realized their tone was off, cleared their throat, and purred in a seductive tone:

"Oh my, it's the warden~ Come here, come here! Ignore that Bai Chi, come to my castle! Hurry!"

Herbert paused, then turned away decisively: "Do not disturb. Not interested."

?

"Huh???"

Thank you to Mingmeng Illusion and Xizhou Qu 249f for their donations!

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(End of Chapter)