255: Chapter 255 Explosion and Collapse, Demon Nest to be Destroyed

The residual heat of the rock wall was still seeping into the soles of their feet, and the air held a charred stench mixed with a fishy smell, like burnt meat stuck to a stone.

Chen Tiezhu leaned against a broken rock, panting; a wisp of blue smoke rose from the interface of his left prosthetic limb, sizzling.

He ignored it, his finger still hovering over the Detonation Terminal, his knuckles white.

"The signal is jammed," he growled. "The Ovary's low-health magnetic field is interfering; I can't ignite it remotely!"

Chen Wuwang stood half a step behind him, a red light flashing in his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye as he scanned the terminal interface.

The status of the three bombs was all green, the fuse connection rate was one hundred percent, but the remote pulse was blocked at the final link, like an arrow on a string that the bow could not pull.

"Manual energy replenishment," Chen Wuwang said. "Use your Spiritual Power to push it through."

"I know." Chen Tiezhu had already pulled out a Spiritual Power Conduit, stabbing one end into a vein in his wrist and plugging the other into the detonator.

Spiritual Power crawled along the lines, and the fluctuation curve on the screen jumped violently.

"Just a little more..." He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his temples. "This damn shell eats too much spirit!"

A muffled sound suddenly came from overhead, as if a giant creature was turning over deep underground.

Rubble fell in a shower, crackling as it hit the mecha's outer shell.

"I can't hold it!" Bai Ling looked up, her hands spread wide as a milky-white halo surged from her palms, wrapping around the cracks in the dome.

Vine-like light filaments bored into the rock layer, tightly restraining several stalactites that were about to fall.

Chen Xiaodao knelt half-way behind her, a crack appearing in the shell of his mecha's right arm as the thrusters buzzed incessantly.

"The passage is starting to collapse; if we don't leave now, we'll all be buried here!"

"Three seconds." Chen Wuwang stepped forward, his voice rising above the vibrations. "Tiezhu, nod if you can do it."

Chen Tiezhu didn't look back, only raising his left hand in a thumbs-up gesture.

"Three."

Chen Wuwang stared at the terminal's countdown.

"Two."

Bai Ling's light vines stretched into straight lines, making subtle snapping sounds.

"One."

Chen Tiezhu yanked the conduit hard, leaning back as he spat out a mist of blood.

"Explode—!"

"BOOM!!!"

It wasn't one sound, but three layered together, like the sky being torn open.

The ground beneath them sank abruptly, followed by a violent shockwave surging from underground, lifting everyone half a foot off the ground.

Hot wind carrying rubble and black ash buffeted them; Chen Wuwang raised his hand to shield his eyes, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye automatically dimming his vision.

The mountain behind them had collapsed.

The entire rock layer was like a clay pot struck by a giant hammer, exploding from within as cracks spread like spiderwebs, and massive boulders snapped and crashed into the depths of the still-burning nest.

Purple-gray Demonic Qi was pushed out of the cave entrance by the airwave, most of it evaporating instantly, while the rest swirled into a tornado, howling as it charged toward the sky.

"Retreat, fast!" Chen Wuwang roared, turning to run.

No one wasted words, and no one looked back.

Chen Xiaodao was the first to charge out, his mecha thrusters starting at full power, crashing through a pile of rolling rubble and forcibly plowing a path through the collapsing tunnel.

Bai Ling followed with a stumble, the light vines retracting into her body; her face was as pale as paper, and fine Crystallization Patterns appeared on half of her shoulder.

Chen Tiezhu dragged his prosthetic limb, chasing after them with a limp.

His earth dragon mecha was still parked on the back of the mountain, but he couldn't care about that now.

He glanced back and saw that the tunnel entrance had already been a third sealed by the falling rock; the cracks were still expanding, like a mouth opening wider and wider.

"Damn it..." he cursed, quickening his pace.

Chen Wuwang brought up the rear, scanning the overhead structure with his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye as he ran.

The direction of every crack and the center of gravity of every hanging rock were marked in real-time, projected onto the edge of his vision.

He raised his hand and pointed to the left: "That way! The slope is more stable!"

The team turned immediately.

There was another violent shake, a roar overhead, and a stalactite as thick as three men's embrace crashed down, landing right in the middle of their original path and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"If we were a step slower just now, we'd be trading our lives." Chen Xiaodao panted heavily, black smoke rising from his thrusters, but he didn't dare turn them off and could only endure.

Bai Ling suddenly let out a muffled groan, leaning against the rock wall as her knees went weak.

She had exhausted too much of her Natural Power, and her body was beginning to suffer a backlash.

The Crystallization Patterns had already spread to her collarbone, feeling icy to the touch.

"Hold on!" Chen Wuwang turned back and grabbed her arm. "You can't fall yet!"

"I'm... fine." She bit her lip, her nails digging into her palm as she forced herself to stand straight.

Light finally appeared ahead—not firelight, but the light of the sky outside.

At the end of the passage, the cave entrance was half-blocked by a giant rock, leaving only a gap as high as a person, with wind and sand blowing in.

Chen Xiaodao charged at the front, his shoulder armor getting stuck in the rock crevice, but he ignored it and squeezed out.

Then came Bai Ling, Chen Tiezhu, and finally Chen Wuwang.

Five figures rushed out of the cave entrance one after another, falling onto the Scree Slope outside.

The rumbling behind them continued as the entire mountain seemed to have its bones removed, collapsing layer by layer.

Dust and smoke soared into the air, obscuring half the sky.

The original cave entrance was completely buried, with no trace of it left.

Chen Wuwang lay on the ground coughing a few times, then flipped onto a high rock and opened the communication frequency.

"Sound off," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Chen Xiaodao, alive."

"Chen Tiezhu, still alive."

"Bai Ling... here."

He called their names one by one, and only after confirming everyone was safe did he slowly exhale.

The wind blew from behind, carrying the scent of the wilderness outside.

Grass, earth, and the smell of cooking smoke lit by Clansmen in the distance.

He stood on the rock platform, gazing at the mountain that was still collapsing, his expression not relaxing.

"It's blown up," he said. "The nest is destroyed."

Chen Tiezhu leaned against a broken stone, his right hand still shaking.

He looked down at the detonator; the screen was already black, and the conduit hung by his side, stained with blood and ash.

"But it's not dead yet," Chen Wuwang added the second half of the sentence, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Bai Ling sat on a flat stone in the back, supported by two Clansmen.

She looked up at Chen Wuwang's back, hesitating to speak.

Chen Xiaodao stood in the middle of the slope, the shell of his mecha's right arm cracked open to reveal the Rune Circuits inside.

He stared toward the cave entrance, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

The wind dispersed some of the dust, revealing the sealed cave entrance. On the surface, everything had returned to a deathly silence.

But Chen Wuwang knew that some things would not disappear so easily.

He touched the Titanium Alloy Dagger at his waist, his fingertip tracing the rune grooves.

The System interface ran silently in the depths of his consciousness; the three heavenly secret instructions had not yet been generated.

But he could already feel it—

This battle was over.

The next one had only just begun.

On the Scree Slope, the group stood in silence.

In the distance, the wind swirled with ash, sweeping across the scorched earth.