Chapter 76: First Life-or-Death Crisis (13)

Look at this ball—big and round.

Look at this fire—red and bright.

Look at this… this thing—is it flying straight at my head?

The answer is yes.

Crisis.

Since his memories awoke, Herbert felt the most urgent life-or-death crisis of his entire existence.

Even the demon god was less dangerous than forcing him to kill himself.

Even the fire dragon never attacked him directly.

Even the mermaid’s song never affected him.

But now…

Others couldn’t do it—but this massive lava ball could.

The searing flames couldn’t kill Herbert—they could make him stronger.

But a lava chunk over three meters in diameter could crush him outright.

Smash him into pulp, turn him back into a 2D character.

This is pure mass-based violence.

Sure enough, when magic fails, classical mechanics always steps in.

Herbert grasped all this in an instant, then realized what he must do right now.

Run.

It was too late to control the sealing array; the portal to the Infinite Labyrinth needed time to reopen.

So, only one choice remained—run fast!

No matter what, survive this wave first!

Hum—

In the moment of life-or-death, the Sacred Mark and demonic runes etched on his palm flared simultaneously, two forces surging into his soul, forcing Herbert’s consciousness into icy calm.

Absolute stillness. Utter cold.

Entering the state, Herbert opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath, drawing in scorching air thick with the reek of sulfur.

“Boiling Blood!”

Thump-thump-thump—

In an instant, his heart hammered violently, his blood violently surged, his pupils dilated, and the world’s flow seemed to slow.

Charge!

He leaned forward, lowered his center of gravity, and exploded off the ground like an arrow.

His boots melted under the heat, sinking slightly into semi-solid lava—but pulled free before being fully consumed.

Herbert sprinted swiftly, running atop the tongues of death.

One step.

Two steps!

Three steps!!!

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

Whoosh—

In less than two seconds, Herbert leapt five steps, racing dozens of meters across the pitted, scorching lava.

Finally, he launched himself forward in a diving leap.

Just as Herbert jumped, a thunderous crash and devastating shockwave erupted behind him.

Boom!!!

The instant the lava ball struck the ground, a massive geyser of magma exploded upward.

Orange-red magma sprayed outward like fireworks, soaring high before raining down in all directions.

The impact carved a deep crater; surrounding lava rippled in concentric waves, spreading outward again and again.

No.

The ground beneath Herbert’s feet wasn’t dry land—it was a pool of lava with only a thin, barely solidified crust!

After landing, Herbert rolled helplessly across the ground several times, barely shedding his momentum before scrambling to his feet.

“Ha, hah…”

Herbert stared at the lava ball slowly sinking behind him, exhaling a long, shaky breath.

Damn it—I almost died.

Herbert admitted he’d been careless.

Valentina was too obedient and easy to pacify; Freyme, after initial testing, had always cooperated; Elisa was a weakling, not worth considering.

The only unpredictable one, Svanee, wasn’t aggressive—she chose cooperation over conflict.

To be fair, Herbert’s initial progress through the first three zones had been too smooth.

This ease had lulled him into complacency, breeding false assumptions.

He’d unconsciously assumed all the monster-girl prisoners would be as easily controlled as them.

But the current situation brutally told him—the truth was otherwise.

They might not be evil—but they were extremely dangerous.

Extremely dangerous!!!

He’d barely escaped this time, only just slipping out of certain death; had it been closer, the shockwave alone might have crippled him.

If he hadn’t gained the Boiling Blood ability, he’d have been dead for sure.

Even if he survived, he’d have lost a layer of skin!

That distance of dozens of meters seemed short—but if Cao Zijian had possessed this speed, why bother writing poetry?

Joke’s on you.

He’d have run seven steps and vanished!

After catching his breath, Herbert exited his hyper-rational state, and his emotions slowly returned.

He got angry—and stayed angry!

“Who’s so irresponsible?!”

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

Friends, do you want to kill me?

What did I ever do to you?!

You hit me with a surprise like this right off the bat?

Zero-frame startup—gave me zero time to prepare.

Do you really want me dead that badly?

Herbert couldn’t help cursing—but quickly fell silent.

“What the hell do you—uh?”

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

Never had!

He was nothing but an outsider who’d wandered onto this stage.

In the distance, a colossal lava giant—its upper body over thirty meters tall—rose from the lava pool, wildly hurling a chunk of lava toward the distant bronze castle.

Whoosh—

Its arm acted like a massive trebuchet; the thrown lava crossed hundreds of meters and slammed into the massive bronze fortress.

Boom!

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

But that was all it achieved.

The bronze fortress stood firm.

Under the impact, the lava ball—over ten meters wide—shattered instantly, breaking into fragments of varying sizes that scattered elsewhere.

The piece that had landed near Herbert seemed one of the larger shards.

So… that earlier one… was just stray debris?

A fire at the city gate burned down the fish pond?

He once again felt the crushing weight of his own weakness.

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

He heard a curious whisper beside his ear: “Huh? Someone else came? Another new warden?”

“Hm?!”

Then, the voice noticed Herbert’s face, paused, and gasped in shock: “Wait—that’s the same one again!”

Herbert: ?

How often do you change wardens around here?!

The voice quickly realized its mistake, cleared its throat, and purred seductively:

“Oh my, it’s the warden~ Come, come, ignore that idiot—come to my castle! Hurry!”

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

?

"Huh???"

Thank you to Mingmeng Huanjing and Xizhou Qu249f for their rewards!

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(End of chapter)