Chapter 40: Elite Lava Worm

Around 5 PM on the third day, Leon completed all of his tasks for the day, even finishing the necromancy spell on the pig head.

At the agreed-upon time, Leon followed the route Victor left behind and arrived at a place some distance from Aurelia Pinehold.

The location Victor mentioned should be the ruins of a subway station before the destruction of this world. Following a downward passageway for about ten minutes, he saw the almost completely destroyed railroad tracks.

Walking near the tracks, Leon could clearly feel that they were filled with negative energy. It seemed that the work Victor had done over the past few days was concentrated in this area.

Not far ahead, Leon saw Victor and Emberhart. Judging by their expressions, they had been waiting for quite a while.

Seeing Leon approach, Victor came forward and said loudly, “You're right on time! We need to hurry. If the door to the passage closes, we'll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Before Leon could respond, Victor grabbed him and they ran downward. It was unclear how Victor had found this place, but even in areas where there seemed to be no path, he managed to find a couple of passages leading further down.

After about ten more minutes of walking, Leon began to feel waves of heat coming from below. After a few more steps through the passage, they turned a corner, and Leon was stunned by what he saw.

It was an underground cavern, not very large, with a height of no more than ten meters and an area roughly the size of a football field.

However, the entire cavern was divided by rivers of lava, and in the middle of the lava were four or five large magma pits, each the size of a truck. The lava in the cavern flowed out from these pits.

Pointing at the scene before them, Victor said, "This is where I've been working these past few days. The main control center of the Seven Knights IV is hidden in the lava below. It emerges from different magma pits each time, and we only have three hours before and after it appears when the passage to this cavern opens. Most of that time has already passed, so we only have one hour left."

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While explaining, Victor led the group toward a position at the back of the cavern, past a large boulder.

From where they had initially stood, it was impossible to see this area.

However, once they moved past the boulder, they discovered a vertical shaft leading upward. They were at the bottom of this shaft, and looking up, they could still see the heavy dust swirling in the sky.

After arriving here, Victor took a deep breath and said to Emberhart, "The rest is up to you."

Emberhart nodded and began to explain, “Victor initially sensed that something was wrong here, but all he could determine was that the issue was related to fire attributes. So, he called me in. Once I arrived, I realized what was really hidden here.”

Pointing to the ground, Emberhart said, “My task is simple. There’s an Elite Lava Worm hidden beneath this spot. I need its heart, and you can have the rest of it.”

Victor already knew about this, so he said nothing. Leon, who was only here by accident, also didn’t know what to say.

Since neither of the others had any objections, Emberhart further explained the Lava Worm's general strength and combat style. Then he said, “Let’s change into our combat gear. We don't have much time, so we’ll fight according to the plan.”

The three quickly changed into their battle gear. Each player had different equipment for various roles, whether serving as bait or as the main attacker.

Originally, Leon had spent four years gathering combat gear for himself, but after changing his career path, he sold off everything he had accumulated over the years. Now, he still had a few sets of armor, but only one weapon remained.

After putting on his battle leather armor, Leon pulled out a spear.

Unlike the one he used for practice, this spear emitted a faint purple glow, and when swung lightly, it produced eerie wailing sounds.

This spear was the best weapon Leon had available at the moment. In addition to its physical damage, it had a sound-based attack effect that boosted its power.

Because of this, Leon's role in the battle was to lure the enemy to a designated spot.

As Leon and Victor finished preparing, Emberhart had already placed three red crystals at the bottom of the shaft.

With Emberhart's incantation, the three red crystals emitted a crimson glow and increased the temperature of the surrounding area.

When the temperature at the bottom of the shaft reached its peak, the ground began to melt, and a massive Lava Worm emerged from the molten earth.

The Lava Worm looked like a giant centipede that had been soaking in magma, but compared to a centipede, it had far fewer legs, and its head was much stronger. Its enormous mouth could not only devour large creatures but also spew out torrents of lava.

After bursting out of the molten ground, the Lava Worm sprayed lava wildly in all directions, turning the nearby ground red-hot.

[Enraged Lava Worm]

[Species: Semi-elemental Beast Creature]

[Level: Lv0 (12-star) Elite]

[Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 8, Constitution 6, Spirit 2]

[Description: A Lava Worm that has been hiding beneath the shaft, the only creature in the cavern that can enjoy sunlight. When its hiding place is destroyed, it becomes enraged and will destroy all enemies it sees...]

As soon as the Lava Worm emerged, Emberhart charged forward. Compared to Leon and Victor, his path was much clearer. The moment he rushed out, his entire body ignited in flames. He looked like a giant man on fire, wielding two battle axes that he brought down heavily on the Lava Worm.

Of course, such an attack did little to the Lava Worm. Aside from the unavoidable physical damage, the fire-elemental attacks were completely ignored by the creature. Likewise, Emberhart was completely unaffected by the lava the creature sprayed.

Leon was the second to attack. His spear pierced out, the eerie wails it produced driving the attack deep into the Lava Worm's body.

This strike actually caused the Lava Worm pain, and it immediately opened its mouth to bite at Leon.

Having trained as bait, Leon's first instinct was to jump back and roll on the ground.

Unfortunately, in doing so, he rolled right into the lava. If he hadn’t gotten out quickly, he would have been burned alive.