Within a cavernous space, Mike slowly advanced.
The massive heartbeat echoed around him, creating an immense pressure that felt as if he were under thousands of feet of ocean water, suffocating and intense.
"Thump—"
As Mike moved forward, he checked his status.
"Charge Up, Max."
"Inhibition Orb, Forbidden Spell Scroll."
Mike slung the Thunderclap Hammer across his waist, concealed by his cloak, and switched the Force of Nature to his left hand. Whether casting spells with his left or right hand made no difference to him. However, when it came to swinging a hammer, he preferred using his right hand.
Everything was ready, and Mike glanced at the distance indicator provided by the Eye of Truth.
[Distance to the final boss—1142 yards]
He was very close now! To be safe, Mike directly used the Forbidden Spell stored within the Forbidden Spell Scroll.
Flame of Life!
After making the necessary preparations, Mike was ready to speed up. The delay had been long enough, and the boss must have sensed his approach by now.
However, the entity was still in the midst of gathering strength and couldn't spare the effort to deal with Mike.
"Fireball!"
A fireball shot out from the tip of the Force of Nature, moving with incredible speed. Mike's Flame Rhythm Boots flashed red.
"Dance with Fire!"
Leaping into the flames, Mike's movements didn't falter for a second, "Windstride Slash!"
He covered the last stretch of distance in a flash, breaking through a dirt wall and bursting into the boss's lair!
"Roar—"
As soon as he entered, the boss let out a furious roar that caused Mike's eardrums to ache painfully. And for the first time, the true form of the boss appeared before Mike.
A gigantic ice dragon skeleton, from head to toe encased in ice, with huge blocks of ice embedded in the cave walls. The entire Frigid Cliff was built upon these ice blocks!
The ice dragon was supposed to be the original boss of this level. Now, however, it was dead!
Outside the ice, a massive, evil, and chaotic presence was frantically drawing power, attempting to become stronger.
[Ice Dragon Spirit, Lv60, immune to physical damage]
[Current Health: 50,000,000]
Mike raised an eyebrow, "Isn't this a nice surprise?"
The enemy wouldn't be foolish. That meant, after the Ice Dragon Spirit was slain, there would definitely be another form!
"Let's begin."
Mike tapped forward with his staff, and the familiar Thunderclap Strike descended.
Boom—
Beneath the red lightning, the Ice Dragon Spirit was split open, its soul dispersing.
Mike remained fully alert, watching for any changes in his surroundings. This boss was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface, and he couldn't afford to be careless!
Sure enough, just as Mike completely destroyed the Ice Dragon Spirit, the ice-encased corpse of the dragon suddenly opened its eyes wide!
What the hell, a corpse transformation?!
Within the transparent ice, the ice dragon's eyes stared fixedly at Mike, motionless.
A man and a dead dragon, facing each other through the ice...
...
The scene in the boss's cave was projected and transmitted to a few individuals. These were the members of the demon cult who had conspired to create the boss, closely monitoring the current battle developments.
When Mike appeared, all four tightened their breath, realizing a possibility.
"Thor has arrived!"
One voice spoke with a hint of admiration, "Unexpectedly, it's Thor who found the boss first."
"Don't underestimate our race's potential Supreme Being."
"Our race? With all the atrocities we've committed, do we even deserve to be called human?"
The atmosphere among them was not entirely harmonious. Of course, one individual's attitude had always been clear.
"Are you really not hiring? If not a leader, even deputy leaders could be considered!"
This person was like a sticky candy, not only ignoring the battle but also aggressively marketing himself.
"Remember to contact me if any of your leaders die!"
"Shut up!" The host was genuinely angry. "If you keep this up, I'll shut down the projection!"
In his memory, Terenas was a composed, cunning individual, not at all like the immature, unreliable figure before him. It seemed that in his efforts to escape assassination, Terenas had paid a heavy price, at least in terms of his intelligence.
After being scolded by the host, the person finally fell silent.
"Look, Thor is making his move!"
On the projection, Thor used Thunderclap Strike to instantly kill the Ice Dragon Spirit, leaving nothing but scattered remnants.
The three Battle Lords and one Battle Chief fell into a deathly silence.
"What the fuck."
"Thor is too strong; we absolutely cannot let him continue to grow!"
"If you're brave enough, I'll sponsor you with 100 Battle Lord merits. Go kill Thor, and I'll pay respects at your grave every year."
"Regardless of whether we know Thor's real identity, with that big shot from [Guardian Shadow] always by Thor's side, who can kill him if the demon gods don't intervene?"
The conversation ended there.
Michael, the weakest in strength but most talkative, remarked, "If I knew Thor's real identity, the first thing I'd do is stay far away! Why provoke such a being, do you think life is too long?"
The atmosphere grew tense. The host stepped forward and spoke, "Don't panic, just watch what happens next!"
"We've already considered Thor's burst damage; how could we not have a countermeasure?"
"Pay attention to the ice wall."
Everyone's gaze fell on the ice wall.
"What's special about it?"
"This ice wall was generated using the rules of truth, linked to the ice dragon's corpse," the host said with a hint of pride.
"To prevent spies among us, there's one thing I didn't tell you."
"The ice wall has only 100 health, immune to magical damage, and as for physical defense..."
"It absorbs 20% of the damage inflicted on the Ice Dragon Spirit!"
"In other words, the higher the damage Thor inflicted to kill the Ice Dragon Spirit, the higher the defense of the ice wall! Thor's own damage has become the obstacle to his progress!"
The host was extremely pleased; if he were a dog, his tail would be wagging in the air.
"Want to kill the second form of the boss? Dream on! Surrounded by an ultra-high defense ice wall, Thor will be trapped on the seventh level for a long time!"
As long as Supreme Being [Apollo] doesn't intervene, no one can break this ice wall. Given the damage Thor had previously inflicted, the ice wall's physical defense would definitely exceed ten million, perhaps even more!
"Brilliant!"
The group laughed and applauded the ingenious design.
"Well hidden, even we were deceived, let alone Thor!"
"Even if it were me dealing with this ice wall, it would be tricky. Well done!"
As they were celebrating, Michael, disliking their joy, threw a wet blanket.
"Heh, I just remembered something, the legendary Thunderclap Hammer, known for its ability to ignore defenses..."
This statement stirred up a storm.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
The host laughed, "Even if the Thunderclap Hammer is indeed in the Forest of Truth, when Maxen Stoneheart entered, he couldn't bring the Thunderclap Hammer back. What makes Thor capable? Because he's a mage?"
"A mage? Taking the Thunderclap Hammer, what a joke!"
Before the words finished, on the projection, Thor pulled out a hammer from his cloak and casually struck the ice wall.
The ice wall, with its ultra-high physical defense,
Crack—
Shattered!
Just like any ordinary ice wall, it broke into pieces, shattering their worldview along with it.
Everyone: ...
Thunderclap Hammer!
How did Thor get the Thunderclap Hammer?!
For a moment, everyone felt as if the world was spinning.
It wasn't them going mad; it was the world that had gone mad.
The other two Battle Lords turned on the host, almost roaring in unison,
"You said earlier, to prevent spies, you specially designed the ice wall and didn't tell anyone else..."
"You're the spy, aren't you?!"