The Olan People’s defensive fortifications were scattered along the edge of the rift.

An array of defensive towers rose from the ground. Five-man patrol teams kept a close watch, and even large, summoned flying beasts patrolled the skies, ready to spot any intruders.

“There are Magic Guide Crystal Pillars both inside and outside the entrance. It won’t be easy to get in,” Little Zeus said, pursing his lips. This was going to be tough.

Just as their intelligence had indicated, the Lorentz Conglomerate, which had previously been hoarding the find for itself, had now ceded some of the benefits to the other three ruling powers to jointly excavate the site.

However, it was clear the other party wasn’t acting in good faith.

“They’re saying the ruins are full of high-risk traps. A whole group of people died inside—disintegrated into particles, not even a trace left,” Ji Xiaoyue relayed, sharing the critical intel she had just received.

After approaching stealthily, Xiaodouding connected to a specific channel. Once she gave the password for identification, she made contact with the Ghost agent who had already infiltrated the area.

One agent had already disguised himself and silently infiltrated the mountain. According to him, the excavation teams inside had suffered heavy casualties, making deeper exploration incredibly dangerous.

No wonder the Lorentz Conglomerate was so willing to share the spoils. They were likely just trying to get out of a tough situation.

Su Chen mulled it over. He knew that with his current strength alone, he might not be able to reach the depths of the treasury, especially not while surrounded by enemies.

On the other hand, having his enemies test the dangers for him was undoubtedly a good thing.

Still, he couldn’t let them get too comfortable.

“What’s the word?” Wild Beast asked curiously.

“They said they found an inverted, dilapidated pyramid under the mountain. It’s suspected to be a Mage Tower, and it’s full of the wreckage of something called ‘Elemental Sentinels,'” Ji Xiaoyue relayed.

According to the intel from the comms, they were a type of autonomous construct—levitating, triangular guards. The “Sentinel’s Eye” embedded on their exterior could see through all illusions and stealth, and could also fire beams of a specific Element.

They had small, internal power cores, but the energy in all of them was completely depleted.

Every single one of these sentinel guards had been destroyed.

“They’re trying to reactivate them. I know they’ve already moved a damaged Magical Doll out of the pyramid, along with a broken alchemy Synthesis Platform and some unknown materials.” The person transmitting the message had changed.

This new agent had mental domination abilities and had captured someone on the perimeter, extracting a great deal of intel.

This was definitely not a good sign.

The Magic Guide Hub Crystal Pillar, with its damaged core and erratic energy output, was already a headache.

If the Olan People unearthed any more treasures, it would only cause more trouble for Su Chen’s team down the line.

The only silver lining was that the ruins had been thoroughly destroyed and plundered in the past. Other than the unknown treasury sealed in the hidden depths, there was likely nothing of value left.

As for the treasury… Su Chen had his own reservations. He was worried they might unseal and awaken some ancient entity that even he couldn’t handle.

That would be a mixed blessing indeed.

After some consultation, he had a rough understanding of the enemy’s perimeter deployment.

At the bottom of the rift was a Teleportation Gate, protected by a Barrier. It served as a relay station to transport all excavated items back from the ruins.

“Get ready to move. I’ll destroy the Teleportation Gate first,” Su Chen said.

No one instinctively questioned his statement.

Of course, the hidden Ghost agents went quiet. Having already shared their identities, they were aware that everyone was on equal footing. This newcomer had no authority to command them.

Before the mission, the Ghost Assault Team hadn’t been informed of this particular arrangement.

However, according to Ji Xiaoyue, this group had already sacked Lorentz Manor, and the key player responsible for that success was none other than this mysterious number one from the Twin Cities.

His undeniable accomplishments and power were the most convincing argument of all.

“I’m in position.”

“On my way.”

Soon, aside from the Ghost agent inside the mountain, the other two on the perimeter began searching for an advantageous sniping position.

The plan was brutally simple: Su Chen would shatter the Barrier, and the rest would just have to clear out any surrounding interference.

“???”

The idea was baffling.

‘Was breaking a Barrier really as simple as he made it sound?’

‘And wouldn’t that just make them glorified accessories?’

Regardless, seeing is believing.

During the prep time, Su Chen directly summoned his True Spirit Dominating Armor. A cascade of light flowed over him, perfectly encasing his body.

To maximize his Weave IV class trait, he didn’t wait to complete a Lv8 Damage Rune. Instead, he went ahead and absorbed a Lv7 Gold Element Damage Rune: Sharpness.

Now, any single attack could unleash five independent, stacking instances of Attached Damage.

“Here I go.”

Su Chen threw up a double-layered Telekinesis shield and a Water Mirror Screen, then his figure flickered and warped forward.

As the others watched with bated breath, he warped nearly a full kilometer. But as he materialized in the sky above the rift, he was forcefully stopped by a barrier emitting invisible spatial-calibration waves.

‘So that was the limit of his teleportation here.’

Almost simultaneously, a crystal orb atop a reconnaissance tower pierced through all of his stealth and camouflage, completely exposing him to everyone’s sight.

“What is that?” a patrolling Olan soldier exclaimed in shock.

A halo of light like a solar corona hung in the air. It was his already-drawn Holy Sword, its brilliance obscuring the figure beneath it.

In that instant, five-colored elemental fluctuations radiated from the blade’s edge. Enveloped in an iridescent, five-colored glow, the enemy plummeted from the sky.

VMMM!

The muzzles of three Level 5 Light Prism Towers lit up. Beams of incandescent energy locked onto the unauthorized intruder, but he simply outpaced the radiant blasts, leaving them in his wake.

Su Chen plummeted from the heavens into the deep valley, crashing down upon an incandescent white Crystal Barrier.

The Holy Sword in his hand vibrated as five layers of Damage Runes hummed in unison. Its tip was aimed precisely at a weak junction of elemental nodes in the Crystal Barrier.

This was thanks to the weakness-spotting effect inherent in his critical strike rune. It wasn’t very useful against regular enemies—after all, he usually just went for headshots or heart-shattering blows—but it was perfect for demolishing large structures and barriers.

BOOM!

The tip of the sword instantly pierced a corner of the barrier. With that point as the epicenter, spiderweb cracks spread madly across the surface as the entire Crystal Barrier trembled violently.

The luster of Demon Patterns erupted from beneath Su Chen’s skin, and even his eyes blazed with light. In a flash of a Thunderclap Burst, bio-electricity coursed through every fiber of his being as he overclocked his potential once again.

A moment later, having been pierced at a single point, the Crystal Barrier let out a final hum and shattered like a pile of tiles. The collapse exposed the Teleportation Gate mechanism below, as well as several figures rising into the air to intercept him.

At this moment, Su Chen was completely unrestrained.

He ignored the concentrated fire from the outside, which had already destroyed his double-layered shields in moments.

But it didn’t matter.

Another Water Mirror Screen, equivalent to Lv10, began to form around him with ripples of water. Before it had even fully solidified, and without waiting for the Barrier to repair itself, Su Chen shot through the opening like a phantom!

FWOOSH!

Once inside, Su Chen immediately cast a Fire Snake Skill downward. Eight Fire Snakes materialized from the void, crackling with the auras of thunder and Destruction as they lunged down in unison.

And at that moment, his teammates proved they weren’t just dead weight.

BOOM! BOOM!

Three consecutive sniper shots tore through the air.

Faster than the sound they made, beams of blinding white light shot through the gap in the barrier, each one striking the Teleportation Gate with pinpoint accuracy.

“FUCK!”

It was the same helpless scene all over again. Colonel Griffin and his men had no time to deal with Su Chen; they could only scramble to escape.

As the Teleportation Gate collapsed, a terrifying spatial fluctuation swallowed everything in the vicinity. Uncontrolled blades of chaotic energy tore into the surrounding rock walls, sending up clouds of dust and debris.

“The teleportation point is destroyed.” The Ghost agents were ecstatic.

Mission accomplished.

It had gone even more smoothly than they’d imagined.

“What the fuck is that damage? Shit, his DPS is insane!” Wild Beast, having just destroyed a defense tower himself, couldn’t help but curse as he looked down.

To be honest, during the assassination of Patriarch Lorentz, they hadn’t really known what was happening on the inside.

But now, seeing him shatter the Barrier with a single stab of his sword was utterly jaw-dropping.

For a while now, many Rune Casters had believed that individual damage was reaching a point of overkill, and that they should focus more on survivability to shore up their weaknesses.

That statement held true.

Or at least, it held true until they came up against a Barrier. That’s when most experts realized their damage output still wasn’t high enough.

“This guy’s a one-man army. He can dish it out and he can take it.” What was even more incredible was that the number one from the Twin Cities had tanked the towers’ fire while quickly breaking the barrier.

A Level 5 Light Prism Tower’s damage was estimated to be on par with a Lv8 Light Bullet Skill. Taking three of those shots point-blank was insane, not to mention all the other tracking projectiles he’d absorbed.

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