"Your strongest move?" Desley's eyes lit up, transmitting through soul communication. "How confident are you?"
"About seventy percent right now," Lin Lei said. "The prerequisite is that I can get close to him."
Lin Lei gazed at the Flame Monarch in the distance. The Flame Monarch had now entered its combat form—its body had shrunk, and even its rocky exterior seemed to have undergone a transformation. One could imagine... the Flame Monarch's defenses had likely been enhanced as well. On top of its improved speed.
The Flame Monarch at this moment was truly terrifying!
But for Lin Lei, this kind of rocky defense was completely useless.
"If this Flame Monarch hadn't shrunk—standing hundreds of meters tall—its original rocky body alone would have been nearly a hundred meters thick. My 'Mysteries of the Earth' would have weakened considerably after traveling over a hundred meters. Destroying that core crystal would have been very difficult. But now..."
Lin Lei was filled with confidence.
"A mere few dozen meters tall, and the distance between that transparent stone and the surface of its rocky skin is probably less than ten meters."
The closer the distance, the less the vibration waves of the Mysteries of the Earth would attenuate. At such close range, Lin Lei felt very confident: "If I still can't break through and kill it at this distance, then this Flame Monarch would have to be a divine-level creature."
Desley glanced at Lin Lei, and a glimmer of surprise appeared in his eyes.
But just then—
The Flame Monarch, who had been boasting moments ago, resumed his slaughter. He roared crazily: "Haha... insignificant humans, not a single one of you will escape today. Everyone must die!" With that, he swung his axe once more.
A powerful warrior who failed to dodge in time was cleaved directly in half.
"Kray!" Lin Lei's expression changed.
Kray was a straightforward and honest man. His defense was strong, but his speed was a bit lacking... Yet no matter how robust his defense was, he couldn't withstand a single blow from the Flame Monarch.
"Run!"
Desley, Fayne, Rasford... and Lin Lei and the other powerful fighters fled swiftly, putting distance between themselves and the raging Flame Monarch. While flying, Desley urgently transmitted through soul communication:
"Rosalie, Rasford, Fayne—Bei Bei, Cleo and your two brothers, listen well. Lin Lei has a seventy percent chance of killing the Flame Monarch. Of course, the prerequisite is that he can get close to the Flame Monarch." Desley immediately soul-transmitted to the several powerful warriors nearby.
While flying at extreme speed, Rosalie, Rasford, Fayne, and the others all turned to look at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei nodded.
"Very well. I can still barely cast 'Absolute Zero' one more time," Rosalie also transmitted through soul communication. Rosalie was also a Holy Domain Grand Mage. Generally, a Holy Domain Grand Mage could cast a forbidden magic of this scale once, and at most twice with the help of some top-grade treasure.
But Rosalie, in the environment of the sixth level, had already cast it three times in succession.
Moreover, her casts had clearly been modified. 'Absolute Zero' had its range significantly reduced—not the dozens of miles described in the books, but only a few miles. However, the attack power per unit area was significantly greater.
"We three brothers will protect Lin Lei and get him close to the Flame Monarch," one of the Six-eyed Golden Lions said.
Lin Lei, Fayne, and the others all looked at the Six-eyed Golden Lions in surprise.
"Can you withstand his blow?" The warriors present were all concerned.
The eldest of the Six-eyed Golden Lions, Cleo, snorted and said: "Don't worry. When our three brothers and our father were in the Gobada Plane Prison, we encountered situations far more dangerous than this. We three may not have comprehended much else, but we have certainly mastered methods of defense and survival."
In the Gobada Plane Prison, the Six-eyed Golden Lions had constantly fought to survive.
Being able to endure in that environment was partly thanks to their father Di Lin's protection, but their own strength was also a factor.
"I can also cast a forbidden magic once. I hope it can affect the Flame Monarch," Desley added.
"Boss, I..." Bei Bei also spoke anxiously.
"Bei Bei, you don't need to." Lin Lei understood Bei Bei's situation clearly. Bei Bei's defense was strong, but whether he could withstand a blow from the Flame Monarch, Lin Lei had no confidence. Bei Bei had simply existed for too short a time. As a God-Devouring Mouse, he possessed divine abilities, but most of them he had yet to comprehend.
During their rapid flight, Desley periodically glanced back to check the Flame Monarch's movements.
But suddenly Desley's expression changed, and he cried out in grief: "Hayward!!!"
A bewitchingly blood-red axe phantom swept through the air. The fire-system Holy Domain Grand Mage Hayward's body was sliced directly in half, the severed sections melting and vanishing away. Hayward's two halves fell from the sky and crashed beside the lava river.
"Boring." The Flame Monarch turned to look at Lin Lei's group. "Dealing with them is more fun. They sure can run."
The Flame Monarch's body, now several dozen meters tall, instantly transformed into a red phantom and charged directly toward Lin Lei's group. While hurtling forward at tremendous speed, he roared with wild arrogance: "Haha, you can't escape no matter what. Haha..."
The group that had originally included Olivia and Hayward—over twenty powerful warriors—now had only eleven or twelve remaining.
In a brief span, more than ten powerful warriors had fallen.
"Whew." Olivia, hiding behind a boulder, quietly exhaled in relief. "This Flame Monarch..." He gazed at the terrifying red phantom in the distance and shook his head silently. He was renowned for his powerful attacks, but the Flame Monarch happened to be his perfect counter.
And at this moment, the Flame Monarch had already caught up to Lin Lei's group.
"Haha, running won't—" The Flame Monarch laughed, but he hadn't even finished his sentence.
Abruptly, Rosalie spun around, her teal hair billowing, her cold eyes locked on the Flame Monarch in the distance. Her hands reached out into the void, pointing toward the distant Flame Monarch.
Countless shards of ice descended from thin air.