Tomb raiding live stream: Starting as the mute Zhang

"Thump!"

That muffled thud was heavier and clearer than any before. It didn't come from above, but from beneath his feet, from the deepest, unfathomable abyss where the bronze pillar was rooted.

With a muffled thud, the entire secret chamber—no, the entire colossal bronze pillar that stretched from the sky to the ground—trembled violently! It wasn't a slight sway, but a real, chilling tremor that sent shivers down one's spine! The metal walls groaned under the strain, and the remaining items in the crystal dome on the floor jerked.

"Holy crap!" Fatty Wang nearly fell over from the shock, quickly grabbing the wall for support. "This is going to collapse?!"

"It's not a collapse," Zhang Qiling steadied himself, his expression changing drastically as he stared intently at the endless darkness below the spiraling staircase outside the secret chamber entrance. "It's 'it'... that has fully awakened."

"The embodiment of the core of the pillar... or the final guardian?" Xie Yuchen's voice tightened as he quickly stuffed the jade tablet and compass into a specially made lead box and sealed it.

Zhang Qiling had already sealed the jade box into a compartmentalized backpack and quickly slung it over his shoulder. The black-gold ancient sword in his hand was already unsheathed, its blade dark and dull, with only a sliver of chilling light emanating from its edge. He stepped to the doorway of the secret chamber, standing shoulder to shoulder with "Zhang Qiling," looking down.

Zhang Qiling now wielded a simple, all-black straight sword, its blade slightly narrower than the Black Gold Ancient Sword, but exuding an even greater chill.

Without a word, both of them sensed the rapidly rising, suffocatingly vast malice and oppression emanating from the darkness below. It was not comparable to the corrupted monsters like the Bronze Corpse General; it was something far more ancient, more central, intimately connected to the bronze pillar and the "Gap."

"Back up! Guard the gate!" Zhang Qiling shouted sharply, addressing the others behind him. The secret chamber had only one entrance, and the space was relatively small, making it the only defensible location at the moment. Fighting on the spiraling stairs outside meant certain death if they fell.

Everyone reacted swiftly, retreating to the inner side of the secret chamber. Xie Yuchen, Huo Xiuxiu, Wu Xie, and Wang Pangzi armed themselves and guarded the rear (though they knew it might be futile), while Hei Xiazi, A Ning, and Jiang Xun Gu quickly searched for positions on either side of the doorway for leverage or to fire. A Ning raised her crossbow, its specially made spiral arrow gleaming coldly. Jiang Xun Gu held a short knife, his breathing rapid but his eyes resolute. Hei Xiazi narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, two strangely shaped short daggers appearing in his hands.

The levitating live-streaming sphere seemed to sense the deadly threat, automatically rising to the top corner of the sealed room, its camera firmly locked onto the entrance and the darkness below. After a moment of lag, the live-stream chat erupted with countless "!!!" and terrified screams.

The moment everyone had taken a defensive stance, an indescribable giant claw suddenly emerged from the darkness of the spiraling staircase below!

The claw was almost as wide as the entrance to the secret chamber, its entire body displaying a chaotic, dark reddish-copper color, as if molten bronze had been mixed with boiling blood and then solidified. Its surface wasn't scales, but countless twisted, writhing protrusions resembling blood vessels and nerve bundles, along with a dense array of tiny, constantly opening and closing eyes! At the tip of the claw were five terrifying, hook-shaped finger blades, their edges flowing with a dark red light. Wherever they passed, the hard bronze steps were plowed into deep furrows like tofu!

The giant claw simply extended, and a nauseating aura, a mixture of extreme bloodlust, metallic corrosion, and the decay of the soul, swept through the entire secret chamber like a tsunami! Except for Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling," whose figures only swayed slightly, everyone else turned pale, felt nauseous, and Wu Xie and Fatty Wang, who were slightly weaker, even experienced blurred vision.

The giant claws gripped the edge of the stairs and exerted force! An even larger and more ferocious figure "crawled" up from the darkness!

The creature's outline still vaguely resembled a "human" or a "giant ape," but it was completely twisted and mutated. Nearly four meters tall, its body was a haphazard patchwork of dark reddish-copper-colored, writhing, multiplying "flesh" and broken bronze bones. It had no skin, only exposed, pulsating, bizarre tissue and flowing dark red fluid. Its head resembled a flattened and roughly kneaded bronze ball, covered with eyes of varying sizes constantly shedding blood and tears, and a gaping maw filled with spiraling, sharp teeth that stretched down to its neck.

Most terrifying of all was its chest—there was no heart there, only a violently pulsating, ever-rotating dark red vortex, over a meter in diameter! The center of the vortex was bottomless, emanating a maddening whisper and an irresistible suction force, as if even light and souls would be swallowed up! This was the concrete manifestation of the "Core of the Pillar" contamination, or rather, the last and most instinctive defense and destruction mechanism of this bronze giant pillar system—the "Ruin Core Guardian"!

"roar--!!!"

The guardian of the Void Core let out a deafening roar, not a sonic wave, but a direct mental shock! The metal dents on the walls of the secret chamber shattered with a series of pops. Except for Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" who still had clear eyes, everyone else suffered from splitting headaches and bleeding from their ears and noses!

Before its roar subsided, its terrifying giant claws, carrying the momentum to crush everything, slammed down towards the entrance of the secret chamber, towards Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" who were blocking the way! Even before the claws arrived, the tangible malice and decaying power were already suffocating!

"Disperse!"

With a low shout, Zhang Qiling abruptly separated from the figure of "Zhang Qiling," one on the left and one on the right, like two black lightning bolts. Instead of retreating, they charged towards the two sides of the descending giant claw!

The giant claw slammed down, smashing against the edge of the entrance, sending rubble and metal fragments flying everywhere, and the entire chamber shook violently once again! Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" had already slipped through the claw's grasp, their target clear—directly attacking the relatively vulnerable wrist joints and supporting legs of the Void Core Guardian!

Zhang Qiling's movements were elusive. In the instant the Black Gold Ancient Blade struck his left wrist, the blade spun, not with a hard chop, but with a soft, sticky force, slicing upwards along the lines of the arm's muscles (if they could even be called muscles)! Wherever it passed, the writhing tissues tore apart, and dark red fluid gushed out! At the same time, he gathered power in his left palm and struck the side of the guard's knee.

Zhang Qiling was even more ferocious. His jet-black straight blade, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, slashed straight at the guard's right wrist without any fancy moves! The blade cut into the chaotic tissue, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound, and actually got stuck! He grunted, and with a burst of strength in his wrist, instead of pulling out the blade, he used it as a lever to propel himself into the air, slamming his feet hard into the guard's chest below!

"Bang!" "Sizzle!"

Two sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The guard's left wrist was mostly severed by Zhang Qiling, his right wrist was severely injured and pinned by "Zhang Qiling," and his knee was struck by a palm. His massive body staggered and tilted to the left. The dark red vortex in his chest throbbed suddenly intensified, emitting a dangerous red light.

"Attack the edge of the vortex! Disrupt it!" Xie Yuchen shouted, enduring his headache.

Ah Ning had already aimed and fired her crossbow in rapid succession! Three spiraling arrows, arranged in a triangular pattern, tore through the air and accurately struck the outer area of ​​the vortex on the guard's chest! The arrows pierced the writhing tissue without causing much damage, but the high-frequency vibrators built into the arrowheads activated instantly, emitting a piercing sound that was difficult for the human ear to detect!

The guard's body trembled violently, and the light in the vortex on his chest momentarily became disordered and slowed down! The oppressive force acting on his mind also eased.

"Now!" A glint flashed in Hei Xiazi's eyes, and his figure darted out from the side like a ghost. The two short daggers in his hands were like the spitting of a venomous snake, stabbing straight at several inconspicuous, slightly lighter-colored protrusions under the guard's ribs—the parts that were found on the remains of the copper corpse earlier, which might be connected to energy nodes!

Jiang Xun Gu roared and pounced from the other side, his short knife stabbing fiercely at the guard's ankle!

However, the power of the Void Core Guardian far exceeded expectations. The high-frequency vibration only interfered with it for less than a second. It let out an angry screech, and its trapped right wrist suddenly exerted force, actually throwing "Zhang Qiling" and his sword away! "Zhang Qiling" twisted in the air, stepped on the wall behind him to dissipate the force, and landed steadily, but the tiger's mouth of his hand holding the sword was already cracked and bleeding.

At the same time, it swept its left claw, forcing Hei Xiazi and Jiang Xun Gu back. The vortex of red light on its chest stabilized again, even becoming more intense. A powerful suction force suddenly erupted, drawing the rubble and metal fragments in the secret chamber towards the vortex, even distorting the light!

"We can't let it fully activate the vortex!" Huo Xiuxiu said urgently.

Zhang Qiling's eyes sharpened. At the instant the vortex's suction force erupted, instead of retreating, he used the force to accelerate to the extreme, transforming into a straight black line, shooting directly at the guard's chest! With the Black Gold Ancient Blade in front of him, man and blade became one, his target precisely the core of the vortex!

Seeing this, Zhang Qiling did not hesitate at all. He handed the black straight sword to his left hand, and with his right hand, he drew a long black sword that was almost identical in shape and material to the Black Gold Ancient Sword! He let out a low shout and shot out from the other side like a cannonball, raising both swords and slashing at the guard's neck—a diversionary tactic to force the guard to retreat!

This was the first time the two of them had unleashed their full power simultaneously and in perfect harmony in front of everyone! One used orthodox methods, the other unorthodox ones; one was straightforward, the other circuitous; but both were targeting the vital points!

The Void Core Guardian seemed to sense a deadly threat as well. It abandoned the vortex's suction force and unleashed both claws simultaneously. Its left claw struck at Zhang Qiling, who was charging from the front, while its right claw grabbed at "Zhang Qiling," who was attacking from the flank! Dark red light condensed on its claws, exuding a terrifying power!

Just as Zhang Qiling was about to collide head-on with the giant claw, he twisted his body at an incredible angle at the last second, dodging the claw's attack. The Black Gold Ancient Blade continued its momentum, still pointing towards the center of the vortex! Facing the grabbing right claw, "Zhang Qiling" neither dodged nor avoided. He blocked with his left-hand sword while his right-hand sword continued to slash fiercely!

"puff!"

"Clang!"

Two strange noises, almost simultaneously!

Zhang Qiling's black-gold ancient sword tip finally touched the core of the dark red vortex! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft sound like a bubble bursting. The instant the sword tip plunged into the vortex, a violent, chaotic flow of information filled with endless malice rushed from the blade straight into Zhang Qiling's mind! He groaned, his face instantly turning deathly pale, but his hand gripping the sword remained as steady as a rock. He even used the recoil to twist his wrist, causing the blade to violently swirl in the center of the vortex!

At the same time, Zhang Qiling's right-hand blade struck heavily into a huge crack in the guard's neck, a crack pieced together from broken bronze bones! Sparks flew as the crack widened, and dark red liquid gushed out like a waterfall! Meanwhile, his left-hand blade held the guard's right claw firmly, his arm bones creaking under the pressure, and the bronze ground beneath his feet cracking inch by inch, yet he did not retreat an inch!

The guardian of the Ruins suddenly froze. The light in the vortex on its chest flickered wildly, emitting a hissing sound like an electric short circuit. All the writhing tissues on its body and its eyes simultaneously began to convulse and shrink violently. The terrifying roar turned into intermittent, leaky hissing.

"Retreat!" Zhang Qiling and "Zhang Qiling" simultaneously drew their swords and flew back, landing at the entrance of the secret chamber, slightly out of breath. Both of them were covered in a lot of dark red liquid, which was highly corrosive, and their clothes were torn and burned in many places, but their eyes remained sharp, staring intently at the giant beast that was beginning to collapse.

The massive body of the Ruins Guardian swayed before crashing backward, tumbling down the spiraling stairs into the endless abyss of darkness. Only the chilling, hollow echo of a heavy object falling echoed, fading into the distance before finally disappearing completely.

In the sealed room, only heavy breathing and the strong smell of blood and burnt flesh filled the air.

The floating live-streaming sphere slowly descended, the camera panning across two black figures standing side by side at the doorway, slightly disheveled but still upright as pine trees, then across the still-shaken crowd with bloodstains on their faces, finally settling on the abyss outside the door, now dark again, but seemingly much calmer.

After more than ten seconds of absolute silence, the live stream room was completely ignited.