The sudden turn left the Euro Alliance stunned—none of them could make sense of it.
At the cave mouth, Jiang Ling stared at the massive halberd as if it were a fragment of a half-remembered dream. She had seen that same weapon materialize before—on the night she'd been cornered by two Free Nation men. A halberd had appeared out of nowhere and saved her life. Her eyes flicked to Chen Xiao; A Yao nudged her, smiling.
"Sister Jiang Ling, what are you staring at?" A Yao teased.
"Nothing," Jiang Ling lied, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Just... worried."
A Yao grinned. "I was worried too—until Brother Chen Xiao punched Hokusai apart with his bare hands. I made the right choice."
Who wouldn't be drawn to that kind of ruthless heroism in the apocalypse? Strength was everything.
"Which faction dares to be this bold?" Little Zeus heard someone shout from below. "We're the Euro Alliance—ten of us, undefeated! They think a single halberd can scare us? Let's go teach them a lesson!"
Urged on, Little Zeus led the charge for the cave exit. But a massive boulder suddenly plummeted from the sky.
"You think this will stop us?" a middle-aged Euro Alliance man laughed as he stepped forward to shield his comrades. A colossal turtle shell materialized behind him—SSS-rank strength talent, Mountain-Carrying Turtle Shell.
The rock slammed down. The shell took it as if it were weightless and continued the climb.
"Keep up with Gacia! We're almost out!" someone cried. "Gacia's ability is unbeatable!"
Confidence surged through the Euro Alliance—let the storm rage; they had an impenetrable shell.
Chen Xiao had not expected anyone with such raw, absurd strength in the Euro Alliance. Fine. If they wanted to play the strength game, he would answer in kind.
He opened the Mountain and River Map and waved his hand. "Mountains."
Boom—boom—boom.
Boulders rained from the sky in an endless torrent, smashing onto the Mountain-Carrying Turtle Shell again and again.
Pfft—pfft—pfft.
Drop by drop fills the bucket; stream by stream forms a river. The shell did not falter—until it did. The relentless barrage overwhelmed it; the shell shattered.
"Gacia can't hold! What do we do?!" Little Zeus's voice cracked. "Even Gacia's shell broke! How is that possible?"
They could not believe how many boulders were falling. Even if someone with a spatial talent had stockpiled them, hoarding that many rocks was insane.
"Alva! You have flight—go see who's out there!" Little Zeus barked.
Alva shot up with SSS-rank Dove Dance, expecting fresh air and rescue. Instead she ran into a living mountain: the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex—ten meters of muscle and teeth. Its tail lashed like an iron whip.
"No!!!"
The tail struck with the force of an avalanche. Alva was flung back into the cave, slamming onto the broken shell pile. Her organs were pulverized; blood poured from her mouth. She would not rise again. Through her last tattered awareness, she glimpsed the T-Rex and, beside it, an unremarkable human face watching coolly.
"They're… Huaxia's awakeners…" Alva managed between coughs. Then she died.
All Euro Alliance hopes pivoted to Little Zeus. He had only fought twice in the game and finished both fights in a single, terrifying blow—but this was different.
Just then a voice came from the surface, different in language and tone.
"We will hand over our fire seeds. Let us leave."
It was Joseph of the Samba Homeland, wrapped in a bright patterned robe—leader of a four-person team, SSS-rank perception. He'd seen enough to know the cost of resistance, and he spoke plainly.
"How can you stand for this?" the Euro members cried. "You think giving seeds will spare you? Join with us—push through together!"
Joseph shook his head. "Brothers of the Euro Alliance, it's not that we won't help. We simply can't hold on; the heat will cook us alive."
In the scorching hush, doubt crept through the Euro Alliance. Were they any different? Could they truly hold the line and win?
Down below in the furnace, the molten steps trembled. Above, Chen Xiao regarded the chaos with a faint smile. The rules were blunt, the stakes raw; those who could endure took everything. And in this contest, brutal resolve—and the willingness to break a fragile peace—would decide who left the Underground Furnace alive.