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

Upon hearing this, Ou Yun had nothing more to say.

With a shout, he drew the Abyss Sword, its red light standing out starkly against the edge of the dark fissure in the ground. "Let it know we're here," he said.

*

They stepped onto the stone bridge.

The bridge surface is covered with fine cracks, and with every step you can hear the stones creaking under your feet.

When everyone stepped onto it, the entire bridge swayed slightly.

Marcus, whether nervous or not, said, "The bridge's load-bearing structure is arched, theoretically capable of supporting at least five tons. Our total weight plus equipment is less than one ton, so the safety factor is—"

"Stop reading," Douglas interrupted him. "The more you read, the more nervous I get."

"Reading it aloud helps me stay calm."

"Don't you think people are even more frightened after hearing your calculations?"

"...report a trace."

Halfway across the bridge, the heartbeat deep within the fissure suddenly quickened.

The frequency of the throbbing increased from 20 to 30 beats per minute to 40 to 50 beats per minute, and became faster and louder until the entire stone bridge began to resonate slightly with the rhythm of the throbbing.

The coffee worms all turned purple, and their straws all pointed directly downwards from the crack in the ground.

Nanbei and Hongdou simultaneously lowered their bodies and let out low growls, their ears pressed tightly together like airplane ears.

"It's awake."

Ah Yin's voice remained calm, but her pace quickened noticeably.

"It sensed the energy of the Abyss Sword. Just now, when it was charged to 95%, the energy fluctuations were strong enough to penetrate hundreds of meters of earth. It knew that a powerful enemy had arrived, and one that could kill the Forest Lord."

Leng Ruolan raised an eyebrow. "What if it just charges straight at us?"

"No. Although it is also an absorptive type, it is very cautious. It will first send out wave after wave of sandworms to deplete your strength and energy, and then take action itself when you are exhausted."

Ou Yun said "Oh," and added, "Isn't that the approach of the forest lords?"

"All lords are offspring of the Abyss Mother, and their thought processes are influenced by the Mother. You can hardly expect them to have any innovative tactics."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless pairs of eerie purple lights simultaneously lit up in the darkness on both sides of the stone bridge.

The points of light were arranged in pairs, moving and converging slowly in the darkness, like a net that was constantly tightening.

"The sandworm swarm is here."

Douglas raised his precision rifle, and through the scope, he could see the densely packed mouthparts of sandworms in the darkness.

"The quantity is at least—oh my god, there are too many, I can't even count them all."

"What's the point of counting them? Just kill them all."

Leng Ruolan stood in the center of the stone bridge, holding two swords, facing the swarm of insects that surged from both sides.

"Big brother, how many times can it unleash its energy release after being charged?"

Ou Yun glanced at the panel: "95%, enough for one full charge, or two half-charges."

"Let's start with a half-charged attack to clear out these small monsters. Save the fully charged attack for the main body."

"Alright."

Ou Yun gripped his sword with both hands, the tip pointing towards the dark void on one side of the stone bridge.

The red light on the sword began to accumulate rapidly, and the light in the patterns became brighter and brighter, more and more dazzling.

With complete concentration, Ou Yun unleashed a powerful shout:

"Energy Unleashed - Half-Charged Release!"

Leng Ruolan: ...

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..."

The next second, a thick beam of red light shot out from the tip of the sword, piercing through the entire darkness.

Wherever the beam of light touched, the sandworm's body melted instantly, like ice and snow meeting boiling water.

The eerie purple eyes went out one by one, clearing a temporary passage through the area swept by the beam of light.

[Energy absorption in progress...]

[Energy Release consumes 45% of the charge, while simultaneously absorbing the abyssal energy released by the death of the sandworm swarm...]

[Current charge: 68%...73%...79%...]

"Can it be sucked back in?"

Looking at the fluctuating numbers on the panel, Ou Yun's expression was somewhat surprised. "Didn't I consume all my energy when I used Energy Release before?"

"That's because when you released it in the basin last time, your sword absorbed a portion of the abyssal energy in the misty sea at the same time."

The commentator A Yin's voice came from the front.

"Your Energy Release inherently possesses an absorption property—the beam of light destroys the target while simultaneously absorbing the energy released by the target. The more you kill, the less energy you consume. This is the true value of Energy Release."

"So if there are enough targets—"

"Theoretically, it can be fired indefinitely, as long as the energy absorbed after each release is enough to cover the energy consumed."

Ou Yun smiled as he looked at the swarm of sandworms that continued to surge into the darkness ahead.

"Then let's give it a try!"

He chuckled and raised the Sword of the Abyss once more.

"Energy Release—One more shot!"

Leng Ruolan: ...

"What's wrong now?"

"It's nothing..."

For the next five minutes, the stone bridge turned into a one-sided massacre.

Ou Yun unleashed his energy, bombarding the dark void on both sides of the stone bridge in turn. Each beam of light swept across and took away hundreds of sandworms.

The abyssal energy released when the sandworm dies is absorbed by the sword in real time, and the charge bar fluctuates between 60% and 80%, almost never actually decreasing.

Douglas watched in stunned silence, forgetting to fire his rifle: "For the first time, I felt like I was superfluous in this battle."

"You are not superfluous."

Alexander squatted down beside him to comfort him, "Your task is to record the data. My current observation is that if you keep this up, you can probably solo the entire sandworm nest."

"Then why should we follow him?"

"Just be part of the atmosphere-building team; you'll get used to it after a while."

"..."

Leng Ruolan stood in the middle of the stone bridge, holding two swords but having no chance to make a move.

All the sandworms that came near were swept away in advance by the energy-released beam of light. Occasionally, a few that managed to escape rushed forward, only to be swatted off the stone bridge by Nanbei's claws.

Leng Ruolan was even a little dazed.

"Is this what it feels like to slack off...?"

"He's gotten stronger," Ah Yin's voice echoed in her mind.

"really."

"But you didn't feel relieved," Ah Yin explained in Leng Ruolan's mind like a ghost.

Leng Ruolan snorted, "After the Desert Lord, there's the Snow Mountain Lord, and after the Snow Mountain Lord, there are four even stronger ones. The stronger he gets, the more worried I'll become like—"

Just like the previous Forbidden Zone Expedition team.

She didn't finish her sentence.

Ah Yin didn't press the matter further.

"He won't." After a while, Ah Yin said this again.

Leng Ruolan could only glance at him. "How did you know?"

"I just know."

"You know that now?"

Leng Ruolan thought to herself, "Who do you think you are? Who knows my brother better than me?"

"Don't be too definitive; let's look at the facts."