Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

Where is the entrance to the next floor?

The bodyguard pointed to an iron door on the other side of the safe house: "Third floor exit. Miss, shall we go in now? The environment on the third floor is completely different; we need to be prepared."

"Go in." He nodded.

The bodyguard took a deep breath and forcefully turned the wheel on the iron door. With a screeching sound of gears meshing, the airtight door slowly opened inward.

Outside the door was a dizzying expanse of sky.

A powerful gust of air rushed in, making Cheng Cheng's white hair dance wildly. He steadied himself and looked out the door—beneath his feet was a rusty metal track about two meters wide, suspended ten thousand meters in the air, with no guardrails on either side.

The tracks stretch endlessly forward and backward, disappearing into the churning sea of ​​clouds, where howling winds whip up the thin mist. Looking into the distance, one can see countless roller coaster tracks rising from the bottomless abyss, with massive metal pillars standing like a forest.

The tracks are linked together in countless forms and angles, bending, hanging upside down, twisting, and looping, cold and complex, far exceeding Cheng Cheng's understanding of roller coasters and underground cities.

He looked up but could not see the sun, moon, or stars. Above him, there were layers upon layers of winding railway tracks, seemingly endless.

"The third level, 'Roller Coaster Nightmare'!" the bodyguard shouted, simultaneously activating his Golden Sanctuary. A pale golden hemispherical barrier enveloped the two, blocking out most of the strong winds. "There are quite a few flying monsters here, and they'll disappear if they fall. Miss, you can't fly, so stay close to me and watch your step!"

Cheng Cheng squinted, adjusting to the blinding sunlight and the high-altitude view. He carefully stepped one foot out of the airtight door and onto the track.

"How do I get to the next floor?" he asked.

"Where there's a track, there's a roller coaster." The bodyguard pointed into the distance. "Every half hour or so, a roller coaster will travel along the track. We have to jump on it; only the roller coaster can take us to the fourth level!"

"Therefore, almost no wanderers come here, and adventurers don't linger long either; most jump off when the roller coaster appears!"

Cheng Cheng was speechless. He glanced at the system notification; sure enough, it had updated.

"Second level cleared"

Rating: B (Medium cleanup efficiency, no hidden areas explored)

Rewards: 700 EXP, 3 Originium

"Currently, you can draw the third-tier initial blessing 'Priestess'. Please choose from the following three options:"

"Mental Barrier: Each time you take damage, gain a shield equal to 3% of your maximum health, lasting for 5 seconds, stacking up to 5 times."

"Calm Insight: When critically hit, reduce the cooldown of all your skills that are currently on cooldown by 1 second."

Arcane Resistance: Reduces magic damage taken by 20% and restores 1% of missing health per second.

They casually chose the "calm and insightful" option, and the two boarded the tracks, waiting for the roller coaster to refresh under the protection of the bodyguard sanctuary.

The wind was strong at high altitude, but the visibility was excellent, allowing one to look down at the churning sea of ​​clouds below. Occasionally, lightning would flash deep within the clouds. Cheng Cheng noticed some black dots hovering in the clouds—they were flying monsters.

The first wave of attacks came very quickly.

Three harpies swooped down from the clouds below with shrieks!

"They're here!" The bodyguard drew his sword, and the holy aura shone slightly.

The harpies were incredibly fast, swooping down in the blink of an eye. Cheng Cheng struggled to dodge the first harpy's attack on the narrow track, then swung his sword at the second. The blade clashed with the harpies' claws, sparks flying, and Cheng Cheng was jolted back half a step, nearly losing his footing.

The bodyguard, on the other hand, was much more composed. He took a step forward, and his sword flashed like lightning, instantly severing the wing of a banshee.

The succubus screamed as she fell, and Cheng Cheng finished her off with a final sword strike.

"Experience +50"

Seeing that things were not going well, the other two female demons spiraled upwards, preparing to swoop down again.

Cheng Cheng wanted to use the burning execution, but the distance was too far and the fire line was difficult to aim in the strong wind. He changed his method and waited for the banshee to dive down again. Then he suddenly swung the sword of benevolence, and the blade was covered with a wisp of black fire!

"laugh!"

The banshee whose wings were grazed by the black fire had half of its wings instantly destroyed. It lost its balance and tumbled to the ground. The third banshee was struck by the sword energy unleashed by the bodyguard in mid-air and fled, severely injured.

It's safe for now.

Cheng Cheng took a breath and sat down on the track to recover his strength.

Fighting at high altitudes is much more tiring than fighting on the ground. You have to pay attention to your balance at all times, fight against strong winds, and be under constant mental stress.

Fortunately, the monsters here seem to possess intelligence. After realizing the strength of Cheng Cheng and his bodyguards, they chose to circle around in the distance instead of attempting to attack.

"Clang, clang—"

After waiting for a full ten minutes, the distant rumble of metal finally came.

An old-fashioned roller coaster is speeding along the track. Its body is rusty and the paint is peeling. It has six cars, each with four seats, and no seat belts.

"Time it right, jump onto the last section!" the bodyguard shouted, simultaneously retracting the Sanctuary to prevent the roller coaster from crashing into it.

Cheng Cheng kept a close eye on the speed and distance of the car. Just as the last car of the roller coaster was parallel to the track and about to pass in front of him, he exerted force with both legs and leaped out!

"Whoosh!"

As his body arced through the air, just as he was about to leap onto the train, Cheng Cheng caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that there seemed to be a basketball on the seat in the last section.

basketball?

Why would someone bring a basketball to such a high place? Is it to play with Kobe in heaven?

Just as the toes were about to land inside the train, the basketball suddenly exploded, and countless arms instantly grew out of the basketball, tearing the entire train to shreds!

The bodyguard swiftly grabbed Cheng Cheng in mid-air, unleashed his Sacred Domain, and soared high into the air. Looking down, the two saw that their original trajectory was plummeting, and a gigantic monster composed of countless arms was hovering in the air!

It is over four meters in diameter, and each of its arms is wriggling and grasping. In the palm of its hand is either a bloodshot eyeball or a huge mouth full of sharp teeth.

Limb cluster?

No! The limb mass isn't that big! Could it be...?

"It's a demon!" The bodyguard hurriedly grabbed Cheng Cheng in mid-air, activated his Sacred Domain, and soared high into the air, his expression changing drastically. "It's the aura of a demon... How is this possible! Why would a demon appear on the third level!"

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because the eyes on the demon's countless hands, as its limbs slowly rotated, finally fixed themselves on Cheng Cheng, their eyes revealing greed, desire, and a sudden realization:

“Found…we’ve found it…” The demon’s countless mouths opened, uttering overlapping, demonic whispers like hundreds of people talking at once, “What attracted…us…was the church’s…ritual…”

What does this mean? Did the church's rituals attract demons?

Cheng Cheng was still processing the information in his mind when he heard the demon continue to whisper:

"I am... the Demon of Elbow Strike... a low-ranking demon born from the fear of countless people of elbow strikes..."

Holy crap! It's that infamous demon!

When did you win the revival match, Lao Da?

"Young Miss, step back!" The bodyguard placed Cheng Cheng back on the tracks, then activated the Golden Sanctuary at full power, its golden light blazing brightly. "A low-level demon, I can handle that!"

He took a step forward, leaping into the air towards the demon, his sword pointing directly at the basketball in the center of his arm!

Gold-rank demons are more than capable of crushing lower-ranking demons!

As the Sanctuary unfolded, the massive body of the Elbow Strike Demon, composed entirely of arms, visibly faltered, its movements slowing. The bodyguard's swordsmanship was exquisite and ruthless; each strike severed dozens of writhing arms, and black demonic blood rained down.

The demon's arms were regenerating, but their speed was far from keeping up with the bodyguard's destructive speed. It kept trying to elbow the target, each strike having the power to shatter rocks. Countless arms attacked at the same time, and if they hit, even an armored vehicle would be instantly elbowed to pieces!

However, the bodyguards were extremely experienced in combat and could always anticipate the attack, avoiding it by the slightest margin, while simultaneously inflicting deeper wounds on the demons.

The battle raged from beside the tracks to the suspended platform, and then into the air.

Cheng Cheng could see clearly from the railway tracks that the bodyguards had the upper hand, and the demon's huge body was being cut and broken, while cracks began to appear on the basketball in the center.

After three minutes of fierce fighting, the bodyguard seized an opening in the demon's slowed regeneration, dashing forward with lightning speed, his sword tip gleaming with blinding golden flames—

"Evil-Slaying Slash!"

One sword strike, piercing through the basketball!

"Ughh ...

The elbow strike demon let out a shrill scream, its entire body trembled violently, countless arms fell limply to the ground, the light in the basketball quickly dimmed, cracks spread throughout the entire sphere, and finally it exploded with a "bang"!

The demon's body began to collapse, turning into ashes and black smoke that filled the sky.

The bodyguard stood in mid-air, slightly out of breath, his sword lowered.

He glanced at the gradually dissipating demon remains, then looked at Cheng Cheng, his eyes filled with even deeper doubt and worry.

“It’s solved…” he said in a low voice, “but why…”

Before he could finish speaking, a strange and chilling song suddenly rang out from all directions.

"The prison in heaven is silent, the children on earth yearn for Mamba~~"

"Mamba fly~~ Mamba fly~~"

"What can I say~~~~"

"What's that sound! Who's singing!"

The bodyguard roared, and then, the clouds in the sky churned violently, and the roar of propellers grew louder and louder as they approached!

"Buzz—Boom—!!!"

A helicopter painted entirely orange and with a rugged design suddenly swooped down from above the sea of ​​clouds!

At a distance of 100 meters from the orbit, the helicopter's outer shell began to twist and deform, and its mechanical structure reorganized and stretched like a living thing—in just three seconds, it transformed into a humanoid machine that was five meters tall!

"boom--!!!"

The machine landed with a roar, then raised its head, a smile on its face, and stared intently at Cheng Cheng!

"Wherever there's an elbow strike, there I am—"

"I am a high-ranking demon—the demon of the plane crash."

"Mortal, prepare to die!"

Chapter 19, Guess why there are no firearms?

The power of demons originates from human fear.

This also means that, apart from the original and the lords, the strength of demons is constantly changing.

Just as the Demon of Burning the Stakes fell from a high position to a low position due to the abolition of burning the stakes, the Demon of Plane Crashes was born out of the fear of countless passengers about plane crashes caused by the invention and popularization of airplanes. Due to the intensity of this fear, coupled with the plane crash that occurred at the Twin Towers of the Kingdom, it climbed all the way to the top position.

Every high-ranking demon has the power to destroy a city—don't be fooled by the seemingly swift death of a puppet demon, its abilities can continuously improve with the number and quality of the people it controls. Once it develops, it is enough to raise an army made of gold and silver!

Therefore, at the very moment the plane crash demon descended, the bodyguard's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his entire body stiffened with fear—

“A higher-ranking… demon…” He swallowed hard, his voice trembling, “Impossible… a higher-ranking being could never exist on the third level…”