Exploding God

Once his vision was completely cut off from his teammates, Lü Geng felt a strange sense of relief.

Because at that moment he heard a sharp, piercing howl that stretched like an ocean behind him, which meant he had successfully drawn the hatred of those beasts.

Lu Geng turned his head to look back at the spider swarm behind him. The armor plates on the back of the construct mech tilted and stood up at the same time, and all the weapon bases on the shoulders moved to face forward. The muzzles of the guns and cannons spewed out furious tongues of fire at the same time in the next second.

Boom boom boom boom!

At this moment, he no longer conserved ammunition; the Ranger's powerful firepower produced amazing results.

The high-temperature airwaves, carrying countless shrapnel fragments, swept violently in all directions.

The two closest Devouring Spiders took the brunt of the Ranger Mech's firepower, their bodies riddled with bullets and blood.

The attack of the Terror-Eating Spider paused for a moment.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'm here, you scum!"

Lu Geng grinned and roared as he ran away, firing his gun as he went.

Dozens of giant spiders behind them simultaneously turned their scarlet gazes toward the Ranger mech, and a large portion of them broke away from the spider swarm that was originally chasing the Hibiscus Squad and attacked wildly.

However, after unleashing its ammunition, the Ranger Mech's weight decreased by 20%, which actually increased its speed. With Lü Geng continuously releasing incendiary bombs, the spider silk could hardly adhere to its body and was instead ignited one after another.

Lu Geng strode through vast seas of fire, heading towards the unknown northwest of the dense forest.

"Be quick, the ignition speed must be faster than the speed at which the mist engulfs the flames."

"It needs to be near a water source."

"Avoid the swamp."

"You need to have a broad perspective."

"Find a downhill slope and use the dive to extend flight time."

"You absolutely cannot slow me down."

The scenery before him flashed by rapidly to both sides, and Lü Geng kept repeating these words.

Every 8 seconds, the Ranger mech will perform an accelerated dive, with a powerful airflow sweeping across the surface of the stream, splashing countless water droplets onto the back of the mech.

Vast plumes of steam rose, perfectly cooling the overheated engine.

With textbook-perfect charging posture, Lü Geng staged a life-or-death escape in this complex and dense forest.

He couldn't stop; he didn't even have more time to decide which way to go at the fork in the road ahead.

Everything is based on instinct.

Swish... Glug...

The sound of water?

Why is that so strange?

A moment of hesitation flashed through Lü Geng's mind, but he didn't have time to think any further, because he had already used up all his incendiary bombs.

A five-meter-high broken rock lies across the road ahead, surrounded by dense vegetation and covered with slippery moss.

Using the engine's acceleration, Lü Geng leaped up, his feet landing on the edge of the broken rock. He flipped forward, spun around, and landed, bracing himself with one hand.

Looking at the vast expanse of dry, yellow branches and leaves ahead, Lü Geng was delighted; these were excellent tinder.

He pushed off the ground and sprinted forward, drawing his left wheel from his side and firing a high-incendiary grenade with a backhand motion.

With a deafening roar, the dry, yellowed branches burst into flames, and the battered Ranger mech crashed violently through the fire barrier.

Ashes, carrying sparks, drifted behind them like fireflies.

Green and black are surprisingly close together.

A barrier separates two completely different worlds...

Staggering, the Ranger mech, which had never given up hope, suddenly came to a stop.

Lu Geng stared blankly for a moment at the enormous cave in front of him, which was more than twenty meters in diameter and covered with spider webs.

He then gave a silent, bitter smile.

The river we just passed was an underground river. There was no river or mountain ahead, and even the sides were steep cliffs.

The bare stone walls, devoid of any vegetation, exude a desolate and hopeless atmosphere.

There was no way forward, and even less way back.

Running around, they somehow ended up in the nest of these giant spiders.

As the heat subsided, Lü Geng finally regained his composure and understood why the giant spiders had never caught up with him. It wasn't that he was too fast... but rather that they had intentionally slowed down.

Lu Geng sighed, slowly turned around, carrying 70% of his ammunition load, now with less than 15% remaining...

This is probably what they mean by "at the end of the road".

With a self-deprecating smile, he crossed his hands and drew two short sticks from his waist, holding them horizontally in front of him and gently twisting them together, sparks flying around them.

A giant spider emerged from the broken rock, and their gazes met.

"It's a pity I didn't make it to graduation."

"Brothers, take care."

The earth trembled, and the plasma rods created ripples in the air.

Lü Geng, armed alone, launched a fierce surprise attack!

……

……

"Captain, hang in there!"

"We'll be safe once we get past that next corner."

Han Zhen, carrying the elemental mech, kept making small tactical dodges. He could feel the captain's condition deteriorating. Whenever the person on his shoulder weakened, he would immediately speak up, constantly trying to awaken their consciousness and attract their attention.

At this critical moment of life and death, it is not only a battle between them and the giant spider, but also a battle of individual will!

At first, Ye Tianming was able to endure the pain and keep scolding Han Zhen. However, with the ups and downs of the journey, his injuries worsened and his breathing became weaker and weaker.

Beneath the thousand-eyed mask, Ye Tianming's face was as pale as paper, the only place with any color in it being his bitten lip. Every time he heard Han Zhen speak, he gritted his teeth three times harder.

He didn't know how much longer he had to hold on, but he knew he couldn't give up.

"There's a canyon 3 kilometers ahead. Beyond the canyon lies the territory of the Wasteland Swamp Serpent. Suoqiang and I will hold off the giant spider at the canyon exit. You run at full speed." Qi Yuan raised his hand and fired a grappling hook. The sharpshooting mech darted and dodged through the trees. "Return in a straight line, following the path we came from, at top speed!"

"Received," the burly Suo Qiang growled in a low voice.

"Leave it to me!" Han Zhen said, his eyes bloodshot.

But the greater the hope, the greater the despair.

When the Hibiscus Squad sped around the corner and saw the three giant spiders climbing the cliff and spinning webs, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them.

Scattered, glistening spider silk weaves the dense forest and rocks into a terrifying web, seemingly sparse yet completely blocking out any glimmer of hope.

The three house-sized Devouring Terror Spiders simultaneously raised their heads, casting their cruel gazes silently.

No one expected that these cunning creatures would silently cut off their way home.

Behind them, the eight monstrous spiders that had finally caught up slowly dispersed.

A standard hunting encirclement was formed.

"Fuck your mother!"

"I've already run this once in my life, I don't want to run it a second time!"

Han Zhen gently placed Qi Yuan beside the rock, crossed his arms, and stepped in front of Ye Tianming. The alloy dagger spun and landed in his palm. Without turning his head, he said, "3 against 11, do you think the academy will hold a memorial service if we die?"

"Maybe," Qi Yuan said with a smile, "It would be really cool to have our brothers' black and white photos hanging in the auditorium."

"Brother Qiang is definitely cooler than you guys, because my urn is the biggest one, hahaha." Suo Qiang pulled out a javelin from his back with a backhand, striking a standard Spartan warrior's shield-and-spear stance. "But the only thing that disgusts me is that I never knew what these spiders were called until I died."

"That was Qiang Ge's lifelong regret."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Even in dire straits, one should sing freely.

Who are they?

They are the aces of Shanglan Academy; even in death, they will carry on the spirit of the hibiscus!

"Hibiscus—" Suo Qiang roared, looking up.

"Here!" At this moment, even Ye Tianming, who was about to fall into a coma, forced his eyes open and shouted with all his might.

"Surprise attack—"

The dragon strode forward, its thunderous roar echoing. Suo Qiang, shield in hand, charged forward with unwavering resolve, leading the charge.

"Yes!" The crowd behind him roared with confidence.

The eleven Terror-Eating Spiders let out a piercing shriek, their legs straining as they leaped into the air simultaneously, like a landslide or a barrage of rocks.

Yu—

At that moment, a mournful cry, like the cry of an eagle, suddenly flashed across the sky.

All the creatures in the field raised their heads simultaneously.

The sky, shrouded in clouds, suddenly tore open, and a massive red figure, like a crimson meteor, pierced the earth in an instant.

--boom!

A massive wave of fog rose up.