The stone bridge, narrow enough for only two or three people to pass side by side, was now swarming with monsters. Uni-rabbits, Hellhounds, Hard-Armored Rats, Imp Bats, and MinOttarurs advanced relentlessly.
On the other side, Shirou, wielding two greatswords, was continuously slaughtering them.
Swinging, endlessly swinging, the two greatswords moved in a seamless blur in Shirou's hands, cutting down the monsters blocking his path. Blood splattered and howls groaned. The narrow stone bridge had transformed into a brutal meat grinder, ceaselessly devouring the lives of monsters.
Stone axes thrown by Uni-rabbits were parried one by one. Flames spat by Hellhounds were dodged one by one. Beside Shirou, weapons were continuously projected and hurled.
At this moment, Shirou had no thought of conserving magical energy. After all, given the current situation, he couldn't afford to slowly wear them down; it was time to give it his all.
Magical energy surged. Fighting with full power, Shirou was as fierce as a war god, battling in a blood-soaked melee within the monster horde.
"Amazing!" Inspired by the scene before them, the Loki Familia — steadily advancing — couldn't help but stop, gazing at the scene opposite them, which seemed like something out of a legend.
The Loki Familia were surprised not by Shirou's overwhelming strength, but by his surprisingly low ability values.
Those standing here were all executives of the Loki Familia, highly experienced, able to instantly discern Shirou's actual power. He seemed to have basic stats around LV.2.
However, under normal circumstances, someone with such stats would find it extremely difficult to survive on the Thirteenth Floor. Yet, this person had somehow arrived alone at the Sixteenth Floor. Moreover, judging by the direction he was heading, he seemed intent on delving even deeper.
What kind of courage and perseverance supported him?
"Is this guy trying to die? He's so weak, why is he delving into the middle floors instead of staying safe on the upper floors!" Bete, always sharp-tongued, roared in disdain, though his eyes, which tightly followed the figure, betrayed his true feelings.
"So strong, this person is really strong!" Ais tightly gripped the sword in her hand, suppressing her urge to rush forward and slaughter everything. Reaching such a floor alone with such physical abilities was something she had never done.
"Hey, kid, do you need our help?" Finn, eager for a challenge, shouted loudly. He was somewhat unclear whether this child had encountered these monsters passively or actively.
Logically, someone of his level shouldn't be actively encountering these monsters, but the fighting spirit and clear objective of the person suggested otherwise. Therefore, Finn decided to ask.
Hearing the question from the other side, Shirou responded with some difficulty, "No need. This is my adventure!"
This wasn't the first group of kind-hearted people Shirou had encountered. Several other adventurers exploring the middle floors, surprised by the brutal scene, had asked him similar questions. But he had refused them all.
Just as Shirou said, this was his adventure.
Though difficult, compared to the mythological wars of the past, it was nothing.
Crossing his arms, Shirou manipulated the two greatswords in his hands to sweep across the area in front of him, then leaped backward. However, mid-jump, the greatswords in his hands transformed into a pitch-black longbow.
The peculiar longsword, Fake — Caladbolg, appeared in Shirou's hand once more. Skillfully transforming it into an arrow and nocking it onto the longbow, he drew the bowstring fully. With a slight release of his finger, the magical energy-infused arrow instantly flew out.
A violent explosion erupted from the opposite side, and boundless flames and heat emanated across the stone bridge.
The sweeping storm continuously buffeted Shirou's hair and cloak, etching his heroic figure firmly into the eyes of the Loki Familia members.
But Shirou still didn't stop. With a surge of magical energy, another Fake — Caladbolg appeared in his hand.
Shirou clearly remembered that the passage beyond the stone bridge was also crammed with monsters.
Even though the firelight had not yet dispersed, Shirou still accurately located the passage's entrance and fired another Broken Phantasm arrow.
An explosion rose once more.
Seeing the path ahead cleared, Shirou re-projected his twin swords, bit down on a potion, and continued his advance.
As for the Loki Familia standing on the other side of the stone bridge, he didn't spare them a single glance.
"He's incredible, he is so strong!!" Tiona, clinging to her sister Tione, kept shaking her body, expressing her excitement.
As for Tione, she was still immersed in her anger at the other party refusing the Captain. She would never forgive anyone who questioned her Captain.
And Ais was staring intently at the passage where Shirou had disappeared. Beside her, Riveria firmly held her shoulder, preventing her from running off impulsively.
"What an impressive young man! It seems another future star of Orario is about to be born." Hearing Finn's sigh of admiration, even Riveria couldn't help but nod. Indeed, with such combat power, as long as he didn't die, this person was destined to become a famous figure in Orario's future.
"All right! We've seen enough. Let's head back!" With that, Finn led the way forward once again.
Combat, combat, combat!
Shirou continuously pushed forward, overcoming all obstacles, constantly advancing.
Since the intense battle upon first entering the Sixteenth Floor, Shirou hadn't encountered too many enemies on the subsequent paths.
Although monster attacks never ceased, large-scale monster groups like that never reappeared.
While the intensity of monsters continuously increased, and their refresh rate and numbers also steadily rose, these factors simply could not impede Shirou's pace.
At the current monster strength, Shirou, wielding Kanshou and Bakuya, could handle them properly as long as he didn't panic.
At lower levels, a good weapon was indeed that important.
However, once he entered the lower levels, the deterrent power of weapons would not be as strong.
At that point, both the weapon and the adventurer would need to be strong to cope.
Though good weapons would still hold an advantage.
As his destination approached, Shirou's spirit grew more vigorous, and his combat power continuously rose.
Facing the relentless onslaught of monsters, Kanshou and Bakuya, once again transformed into greatswords, swung unceasingly.
Simultaneously, projected armaments were continuously launched.
For a time, no enemy could withstand Shirou's attacks for long.
"Here it is! The destination is just ahead!"
As the passage in front became wider and wider, Shirou knew that his destination was near.
As he ran, he quickly arrived at a massive hall.
Unlike the haphazard shapes of other chambers in the Dungeon, this hall was remarkably flat.
After Shirou entered this hall, no more monsters pursued him.
Walking alone in this hall, Shirou's mind was exceptionally calm.
To the left side of the hall, a wall that seemed polished attracted Shirou's attention. This was the famous 'Wall of Lamentation'!
It was the wall where Floor Bosses were born.
Not lingering here, he walked through the long hall and entered the passage leading to the lower levels.
When Shirou passed through the dark passage, a bright forest appeared before him.
This was the Eighteenth Floor, the safe floor.
Not moving further, Shirou immediately sat down against the wall, took off his backpack, and began to recover his stamina and mental energy.
Looking at the bright crystals overhead, Shirou murmured, "Half an hour."
"After half an hour, I'll begin the journey back!"
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter