The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

"Captain Zhou, what should we do?"

A soldier stepped forward and stood beside Zhou Jian, his gaze also fixed on the bottomless mine shaft.

The wind blowing out of the cave carried a foul stench of sulfur and rot, making people feel physically uncomfortable.

But the soldier didn't even blink.

Although he knew it was dangerous inside, he wasn't afraid at all; instead, he seemed eager to fight.

Gaining the power of the runes greatly boosted his confidence.

He was overjoyed when he received the assignment.

Nothing is more enjoyable than encountering an opponent right after gaining power.

Zhou Jian did not turn around.

He stood quietly, as if assessing something.

The three thousand Dragon Kingdom warriors behind him were completely silent and disciplined, a stark contrast to the group of casual players from before.

They are elite, warriors chosen from among the best, but here, being elite may not mean having an absolute advantage.

Black Armored Mining Beetle, Servant-class, with an overall combat strength of 300+.

This data flashed through Zhou Jian's mind.

His own combat power is 268, although he has gained a trace of the power of death.

However, this power did not improve combat effectiveness.

Overall combat effectiveness only increases when physical and mental attributes are improved.

The addition of equipment can also enhance overall combat effectiveness.

However, rune power and authority should be considered hidden attributes and will not increase overall combat strength.

The warriors behind him, although they had completed their first awakening and gained the power of runes, generally had a combat power of 200+.

Sending them down to face the dense, surging waves of black-armored soldiers would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

It was a completely meaningless sacrifice.

Elder Chi's purpose in bringing them here was probably not for fighting from the very beginning.

Zhou Jian's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

These people are just laborers working in the mines.

The real work of cleaning up the black armor still has to be done by him.

Having understood this, Zhou Jian no longer hesitated.

Zhou Jian turned his head to the soldier waiting for orders, and also to the three thousand soldiers behind him, and spoke calmly.

"You don't need to do anything."

"Just wait here."

There is absolutely no need to send cannon fodder to their deaths.

A very slight commotion broke out among the three thousand soldiers, but it was instantly suppressed by iron discipline.

They are warriors, taught the creed of obedience, not questioning.

A competent team doesn't need multiple voices at times like this.

"yes!"

The response was thunderous and resounding, perfectly synchronized.

Zhou Jian said no more, turned around, and stepped alone into the deep darkness.

The light was instantly swallowed up.

The whole world seemed to consist only of his own footsteps and the ever-growing stench of decay.

Contrary to his expectations that he would have to venture some distance before encountering monsters.

Perhaps it was the long-term harassment that made the original inhabitants of these mines more vigilant and irritable.

Less than ten meters into the mine, rustling sounds began to echo from all directions in the darkness.

That wasn't a sound that could be made by just one or a few monsters.

That was the sound of hundreds and thousands of arthropods crawling and rubbing against the rocks.

They were densely packed, like countless tiny steel needles, trying to pierce one's eardrum and drill into the brain.

The sound approached rapidly from afar.

In the darkness, a tiny, crimson light began to appear.

Two o'clock, four o'clock, eight o'clock...

In the blink of an eye, countless scarlet lights lit up in the dark passage ahead, resembling an inverted blood-red starry sky.

Those are the eyes of the Black Armored Mineral Beetle.

They are coming.

Zhou Jian stopped and stood still.

He slowly raised his right hand.

The gray hair wrapped around his thumb lay quietly, inconspicuous, as if it were just a real hair.

With a slight thought from Zhou Jian, the strand of hair floated up silently.

It did not exude any amazing aura, nor did it shine brightly.

It simply and slowly slipped from Zhou Jian's fingertips and drifted towards the surging red light spots.

"Hiss!"

A piercing shriek rang out, and the first few black-armored beasts had already charged close.

They are not large, only about the size of a fist.

Its entire body is covered with a shiny black carapace, which is covered with irregular, sharp, spiky protrusions.

Its six segments are as sharp as knives, and each step it takes leaves a shallow white mark on the hard rock.

It has extremely strong defensive capabilities.

It is extremely aggressive.

This is the Black Armor Miner.

However, that gray hair simply floated lightly through their bodies.

There was no collision.

There were no obstacles.

It didn't even make the slightest sound.

The dozens of black-armored mineral beetles at the forefront did not pause in their movements at all.

Maintaining its forward momentum, it passed Zhou Jian's position and continued rushing towards the cave entrance behind him.

It was as if that strand of hair was just an illusion.

But next second.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Those black-armored soldiers charging ahead were suddenly sliced ​​in half after advancing three or four meters.

The wound was neat and smooth.

It was as if it had been precisely cut in two from head to toe by an invisible divine weapon.

With a "whoosh," black blood and shattered internal organs splattered all over the ground.

The torn upper and lower body continued to charge forward due to inertia, but the breath of life had completely vanished.

In an instant, dozens of black-armored creatures were killed.

The gray hair still floated in the air, calmly facing the swarm of insects that followed.

It moved like an elegant ghost through the dense swarm of insects.

Wherever it went, there was only deathly silence.

One after another, the black armored creatures, after being pierced through its body, continued to charge without noticing, and then, a few seconds later, were neatly torn in two.

There were no screams, no struggles.

Only running, splitting, and death.

Zhou Jian stood quietly in place, watching the horrific scene of slaughter before him.

A strange thrill welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Is this the power of the authority to die?

Ignore defense and level.

If you are touched, you will die.

That's truly terrifying.

Once you possess absolute strength, quantity becomes a joke.

Zhou Jian stretched out his right hand, and the gray hair that had completed its mission of slaughter flew back lightly, wrapped around his thumb again, and became simple and unadorned once more.

The ground beneath his feet was covered with the dissected corpses of black-armored mineral beetles, their foul-smelling blood forming streams.

Ahead, there was not a single living mineral worm.

Zhou Jian lifted his foot, stepping on the sticky insect corpses, and continued walking deeper into the mine.

The insects here are just an appetizer.

The real trouble is yet to come.

He walked step by step into the deeper darkness, his footsteps echoing in the empty passageway.

Just then, the gray hair wrapped around his thumb suddenly trembled very slightly.