Chapter 1620 - Assaulting the Lair (1/2)
The explosion in the crystal pillar layer sent out a shock wave that lasted for a good five minutes, and what followed was an eternity of aftershocks as well as secondary destruction.
Amantir’s hollow internal structure was a natural resonance chamber, and the force from the collapse of the pillars created the most terrifying quake within that planetary resonance chamber. The entire southern continent of the planetary starship shook like a bell. From space, it looked like Amantir’s landmass had sunk in before part of the sunken parts rebounded back to the surface, whereby the starship’s hull resetter was unable to withstand the internal tear and had malfunctioned. The entire landmass rippled, folded, and twisted as mountain ranges, which were thousands of meters tall, disappeared in just a few minutes. Bodies of water boiled and were thrown into the atmosphere, and in a short time, they formed a storm that engulfed one-fourth of the planet. If there had been a civilization on the planet, it would have been thrown back to the Iron Age or worse within those few minutes.
What happened underground was even more horrifying.
While Hao Ren was pumped up, he had to admit, standing by a pillar that was used to support the planet’s crust and blowing it up was an experience he did not want to go through twice. The sky-scraping pillar was cut in two in a series of calculated chain explosions, and the heavy crust came crashing down as its support disappeared. Countless of hill-sized rocks and crystal debris rained down like a storm from above and turned the crystal forest within the crystal pillar layer into ruins before violent gales and shock waves smashed everything to dust.
Then, he heard a horrifying cackle from the rock dome as a series of explosions and lightning arcs lit the entire dome. It was the hull resetter at the equator rift, overloading and melting down.
The energy barrier used to block the equator rift had also disappeared as millions of tons of magma and rock burst out from the broken area. With the force of gravity pulling them into the planet’s core, the entire crystal pillar layer became a veritable inferno.
The originally calm crystal pillar layer turned into purgatory in an instant with shock waves and air pressure strong enough to shatter rocks, a temperature that could melt metal, and all sorts of toxic substances spewing out at once. While all of that happened, the sprites who had been shouting “make a mess, wreak some havoc” immediately went silent before deafening Hao Ren’s ears a second later with their chatter. “Waaaahh, this place is done for, done for!”
“I never thought this would happen!”
“Not fun, not fun. Not fun at all…”
“We are going to die, die, die!”
Did these pipsqueaks actually not think about what would happen once the pillars were blown up before they went “make a mess!”?
Just as the shock wave was about to hit them, energy shields covered Hao Ren and the rest. They knew that blowing up the pillars was a move boarding on madness, hence all of them had worn their life hoops beforehand and also equipped themselves with a shield generator as well as a vector stabilizer. The advanced equipment allowed them to withstand the deadly environment and steady themselves amidst the powerful echoing shock waves. It looked like their preparations had paid off indeed.
Vivian was the calmest among the lot after Hao Ren. Looking up, she stared at the dome, which was shaking and coming apart with each passing moment. Finally, she saw a red light on the dome, and a terrifying aura of madness swirled within the light.
“The way is open! We’ll charge in now!” she yelled.
Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and stuffed it into his pocket as he activated his thrusters and bolted directly towards the gap. Turning his head back, he called, “Lily!”
“Ready and waiting!” the werehusky said as she pulled a few packets of snacks from her pocket. She tore them open and started to stuff herself. It did not take long for her to munch on half a packet of Spicy Sticks. The next moment, her eyes glowed gold, the prelude to her bestial form. Veins started to pop all over her arms and neck. “I can hold it for two minutes. Mr. Landlord, I’ll leave the flight control to you!”
Not everyone could fly like Vivian, and all those who could not fly had equipped themselves with the thruster pack Hao Ren provided. But Lily’s thrusters were controlled by Hao Ren because she would be too hard-pressed to control herself in the next moment.
Facing the storm of rocks and crystals falling upon them, Hao Ren and the team charged towards the collapsing dome as the red light on the top of the dome got larger by the second. Hao Ren felt very calm, without any doubt or hesitation. His eyes were focused on the ominous, hell gate-like breach, and in that state, he even felt time slowing down. Every speck of dust that passed by him was clearly visible.
The illusion lasted only a few seconds. In the next moment, he had already entered the breach and shot through a phantasmal dark red membrane.
Everyone could sense the change in the environment the moment they passed through the membrane. The exterior and interior of the membrane seemed to be connected, but they were distinct spaces. While they could not tell the difference between the two dimensions accurately, that “crossing the gate” feeling was real.
They had entered the heart of the lair, a place where fiction and reality collided. It was a place where time and space were severely distorted.
“Awwooooo… Oof!”