Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

The next second, the not-yet-completely-destroyed crimson core gradually shrank, then shrank again, until it was only the size of a ring, and then landed on Ou Yun's little finger.

Ou Yun felt a burning sensation in his little finger, followed by a flash of red light—

The core transformed into a scarlet pinky ring, which was then elegantly placed on her little finger.

"Holy crap!"

This thing is great.

Ou Yun was very satisfied. "It has even recognized a master. That's pretty good."

Leng Ruolan agreed, "He died so quickly. I thought we'd have a fighting chance."

"It hasn't even hatched yet? We're basically bullying the newbie."

"Yeah, and this time it was even a normal kill."

"Huh? When have any of our kills been abnormal?"

"When have any of our kills been normal?"

"..." That's true.

Never mind, it's not important.

Ou Yun's gaze returned to the magnificent pinky ring. "I knew it! Monsters of this level would definitely yield better rewards!"

"Do you think it would scare Brother Chen if we teleported back right now?"

"No, there's still a seven-day cooldown period, isn't this a waste?"

When Leng Ruolan saw this guy's carefree expression, she immediately facepalmed.

"Besides, we still need Abyss Crystals, and we've used up all the ones we had on us."

There are plenty around—so it's more cost-effective to collect them and bring them back.

When Ou Yun heard Leng Ruolan's plan, he thought it made sense.

Anyway, it seems that the most dangerous thing has been resolved, and their only task now is to search for images.

However, the two were just preparing to begin collecting ore—

Leng Ruolan suddenly paused, her expression turning serious.

She looked up at the sky for no apparent reason—

"Captain Leng, what's wrong?"

"Don't you think...?"

Is it like something is watching us?

It wasn't that kind of sinister spying.

It's more like a cold, emotionless scrutiny—like a giant looking down at an ant at his feet.

Ou Yun exclaimed, "It's not over yet? Are there any other monsters in this area?"

"It seems something even bigger is on the way."

Leng Ruolan remained calm and immediately took two daggers to chip away at the abyss crystals on the rocks.

"We need to get out of here right away—"

This level of deterrence cannot be defeated by any enchanted weapon!

And the next second.

The red light in the sky gradually receded, then suddenly expanded again!

The sky shattered like a mirror into countless fragments, which then dissipated into red light.

At the same time, a violent storm began to erupt around them, and the two people on the ground were almost unable to open their eyes.

"Captain Leng! We're in deep trouble!"

"Don't rush! Let's wait and see!"

The two immediately crouched behind a rock. The gale seemed to carry something else with it, making them feel as if they were on fire, burning hot.

From the depths of the sky, a colossal figure slowly descended from the red light.

It was a gigantic beast that was entirely black.

It was several times larger than the Storm Black Hawk, and its appearance resembled a lion, with a pair of equally huge bony wings on its back.

Its eyes were completely black, devoid of any light. It appeared cold and calm, without the slightest ripple, as if everything in the world was merely fleeting smoke in its eyes.

However, a dark purple halo floated above his head, slowly rotating, with each rotation generating energy fluctuations that spread outwards like ripples on the surface of water.

The giant beast landed, its massive claws striking the rocks and kicking up several layers of dust.

"..."

Holy crap! Is this terrifying?

Is this the final boss?

They ran into each other right away?

Isn't this a bit too early?!

The two hid behind the rocks, dumbfounded.

"Brother, we're probably in real trouble this time."

"Wait, who is this guy? He seems to be on a completely different level from us..."

"Yeah, is he from another world? Did this boss wander onto the wrong set?"

"That's right, that's right. We're just trying to survive for our nation's sake, not some infinite universe."

Whether the giant beast heard them or not, it stared at the two with its dark eye sockets.

"Two-legged beasts".

Then it opened.

However, the sound did not come from their mouths at all, but echoed directly in their minds, like a system notification.

"You killed it."

The voice was completely flat, so the two of them couldn't tell whether the guy was angry or not.

Ou Yun and Leng Ruolan exchanged a glance.

Ou Yun tried to communicate, "Uh... could it be?"

"..."

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

A brief silence.

It felt like an eternity to Ou Yun—

Finally, the voice in my mind rang out again:

"It and I don't get along."

"It took over my territory and laid its eggs on my land."

"...And it even stole the abyssal crystals I was raising!"

As the conversation progressed, a hint of emotion finally crept into the final boss's tone—

The feeling of having your parking space taken and your car scratched.

"..."

The two fell silent, then exchanged a knowing glance.

How so?

Hard to say.

Let it finish speaking.

"I was planning to deal with it after it had fully hatched..."

"I didn't expect you two to beat me to it."

That doesn't sound like a bad thing.

Upon hearing this, their minds raced instantly.

It's obvious that this ultimate boss-like monster is several levels above the Black Mist.

They struggled so much against that black fog even using tricks and opportunism; if this guy were to turn against them, they might be wiped out in the blink of an eye!

Fortunately, this guy didn't sound like he was about to turn hostile.

"Since you've helped me solve this problem, according to the rules, I can grant you one wish."

Not only does it sound like you won't get angry, it's actually quite kind.

The giant beast lowered its head and looked at the two two-legged creatures with its two dark eye sockets.

"Tell me, what do you want?"

Leng Ruolan glanced at Ou Yun.

Ou Yun glanced at Leng Ruolan.

"..."

No, bro, really?!

I don't know!

Are we that lucky? We actually ran into someone who can grant wishes?

I don't know!

Brother! Why don't we make that wish?

They both took a deep breath at the same time—

"We want to leave the forbidden area!"

Upon hearing this, the enormous creature seemed to pause for a moment.

It slowly retracted its massive body, its eye sockets still dark, and the two-legged creatures couldn't tell what it was thinking at all.

After a long while, I heard the echo in my mind:

"Can."

"...!"

Their hearts jumped into their throats—

"But now is not the time."

"...?"

Then it instantly dropped back.

"Why?" Ou Yun couldn't help but ask.

"For no reason."

The behemoth's cold words slapped haphazardly across their faces: "These are the words of the Forbidden Land's Will."