As the central hub connecting the
After all, if the Astral Laboratory were destroyed, Leylin would not only lose his passage to the Dream World, but he himself would also be trapped here forever.
"Impossible! Before I set out, for safety's sake, I specifically established hidden techniques and magical formations, and even left behind..."
Leylin's mind raced. He had confidence in his arrangements, but the Chip's warning certainly wasn't false.
"Could it be some unusual creature that happens to see through my illusion formations? Or perhaps, it's simply... an Evil God?"
This possibility made Leylin's expression turn grim instantly. He suddenly accelerated, rushing toward the region where the laboratory was located.
"That is..."
The sight that greeted him caused Leylin's pupils to dilate slightly.
In his field of vision, a colossal spider the size of a mountain hovered in mid-air. Layer upon layer of silk descended from it, wrapping the entire laboratory within its cocoon.
The runes around the laboratory flickered continuously, emanating dazzling brilliance as a defensive light membrane and the spider's silk consumed each other.
On the spider's abdomen, numerous patterns formed the distorted image of a man's face. Its mouth gaped open, emitting a moaning, wailing sound.
[Warning! Warning! Runic spirit energy reserves below 10%, reaching critical level. Immediate countermeasures advised!]
The Chip's red warning box popped up again.
"Can you scan its data?" Leylin asked quickly.
[Task established! Commencing scan! Initiating breakthrough of opponent's Force field!]
"Squeak!" Accompanying the Chip's mechanical voice, the enormous spider in mid-air seemed to be provoked by something. Its massive compound eyes swiveled, locking directly onto Leylin.
This kind of forced scanning, filled with immense malice and an aggressive aura, would often provoke the target's hostility. Leylin had anticipated this.
"Woooo..."
Along with the wail of the man on the spider's abdomen, a terrifying soundwave swept directly across the area where Leylin stood. The crust was torn open, revealing a thick layer of rock beneath.
Long before commanding the Chip to perform the scan, Leylin had been on his guard. Now, not only was his body coated in a layer of Chemorscales, but several blood-red shields had also materialized before him.
Crack! Crack! The blood-red shields made straining sounds as they came into contact with the soundwave, fractures spreading rapidly across their surfaces. Then they shattered apart.
The soundwave swept past, bringing searing pain to Leylin's Chemorscales.
"Hss... Such power!" A gleam of delight actually surfaced in Leylin's eyes.
At the very least, this attack had confirmed that his opponent was not a Law-level existence — and that was more important than anything.
Otherwise, his only option would have been to turn tail, abandon the laboratory, and wander alone through the Dreamscape.
[Ding! Due to the target's resistance and interruption, this scan did not obtain complete data. Display results?]the Chip asked mechanically.
"Display!" Leylin ordered without the slightest hesitation.
[Ding! Unknown creature — Strength: 200+ / Agility: 100+ / Constitution: Insufficient data / Spirit: Estimated 2000+ / Abilities: 1. Detection — possesses acute perception of fluctuations within its own domain. 2. Unknown. 3. Unknown.]
The Chip fed back its results instantly, projecting a largely incomplete data panel before Leylin.
"This Detection ability is probably how it found my carefully hidden laboratory!" Leylin sighed, feeling rather like a man outsmarted by fate.
He had spent a long time observing from here, only venturing out to explore once he had confirmed that no terrifying creatures lurked nearby. Yet in the very window when he was away, he had somehow attracted the attention of a monstrous beast.
"Judging by this, it's a rank six creature at most. There's still a chance!"
Leylin's figure flickered continuously as he dodged the snow-white spider silk drifting through the air, his mind racing at full speed.
The Dreamscape naturally did not follow the classification system of the Wizard World, and the unpredictable fluctuations of Dreamforce made the definitions of rank extremely vague.
Still, through the Chip's readings and his own observations, Leylin had already confirmed that this was a formidable beast of at least rank six.
"Logically speaking, creatures of this terror should have their own territories. Why would one wander out for no reason?"
Leylin shook his head immediately. "How foolish of me! This is the Dreamscape — why would it follow any rules?"
"Ooooh!"
At that very moment, the spider's rear sac hanging in midair swelled violently, expanding outward — and then burst open!
Countless tiny spiders rained down from the sky like a downpour, each connected to the main body by a translucent thread at its rear.
Along the dense web of threads, fine flashes of light constantly shimmered.
Boom! The terrifying power of dreams coalesced, faintly taking on the twisted face of the man from before, and let out a horrifying roar in midair.
Crack! The terrifying dream power caused Leylin's protective suit to crack apart inch by inch.
"Frightening! So this is the power of Rank Six?"
Leylin murmured, a blood-red radiance exploding across his body. The singularity force, compressed to its absolute limit, surged forward and drove his wizardry into a new transformation.
"Morning Star Killing Move — Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!"
"Hsss!" Accompanied by a terrifying hiss, a colossal serpent exceeding one hundred thousand meters in length suddenly materialized. Massive bone growths atop its head formed a shape resembling a crown, and the lines along its scales flowed with elegant smoothness, subtly radiating an air of regal majesty.
The sovereign among the ancient Great Kemoyin Serpents — the Rank 5 creature known as the Kemoyin Serpent Emperor — had descended in an instant!
"Whoosh!" A vast shadow flashed past. The Serpent Emperor whipped its tail, blasting apart the horrifying face hovering in midair. From its two amber vertical pupils, resembling twin stars, beams of mysterious petrifying light shot forth.
The swarms of tiny spiders were petrified in midair, transforming into pebbles that rained down.
"Innate Ability — Devour!!!" Guided by Leylin's soul will, the Kemoyin Serpent Emperor opened its gaping maw, and a massive black hole faintly formed before it.
The spider silk in the void was torn clean through, and together with the surrounding rocks, trees, and even rays of light, was swallowed into the terrifying black hole.
"Get out of my way!!!"
Accompanied by Leylin's explosive shout, the colossal Serpent Emperor hurtled toward the enormous spider in the void.
Rumble! As if mountains were crumbling and the void itself shattering, a terrifying shockwave swept outward in all directions, and the giant spider coiling in the void was sent flying a considerable distance.
"Squeak!" This attack clearly enraged the spider. Accompanied by ear-piercing shrieks, several dark-red blades of light materialized, carving deep gashes into the Serpent Emperor's body.
Massive scales fell away as blood sprayed in every direction, yet under the replenishment of Life Energy from the Devour ability, the Kemoyin Serpent Emperor quickly recovered.
Whoosh! Countless streams of black energy condensed, reforming into Leylin's true body. His face now bore an unnatural flush, and masses of black flames coalesced around him, making him look like an ominous, corrupted phoenix.
"Phoenix of Dark Flight!" Accompanied by a resounding phoenix cry, the black-flamed phoenix tore through the layers of spider webs engulfing the laboratory, and Leylin charged straight through.
"Go!" A massive barrage of potions and reagents erupted from Leylin's body, combining into terrifying wizardry. Mixed with the attacks from the Scarlet Pendant, they engulfed the charging giant spider in a flood of destruction.
Without even glancing at the result, he slammed the laboratory doors shut.
Boom! When they were pulled open again, the scene beyond the laboratory had already transformed into the interior of an ancient castle.
"We're back!" Leylin murmured, but his expression abruptly changed. A vast amount of dark red dreamforce swirled around his body, coalescing into the enormous phantom image of a spider.
"The attacks of a Rank 6 creature — as expected, I can't withstand them in my current state..."
A bitter smile crossed Leylin's face, when suddenly, his expression shifted once more.
Rumble! Dazzling blue lightning crackled and bounced around the laboratory, the space subtly warping. Scenes from the Dream World began to materialize, and on the other side, a colossal red spider was spitting out enormous quantities of silk that seemed to pierce into the void itself. With his Astral Vision, Leylin could clearly see countless threads wrapping around the laboratory, threatening to drag it back into the Dream World.
"No! If this continues, whether the laboratory gets pulled over or the other side punches through a path here, neither outcome is something I want to see!"
A rare look of hesitation flickered across Leylin's face, before transforming entirely into resolve. "I have to sever the connection between the two sides!"
Leylin had studied the spatial displacement phenomenon occurring in the laboratory more than anyone else. Although he hadn't produced any major breakthroughs, if his specific goal was to destroy such a phenomenon, he could still manage it.
"Chip! Order the Formation Spirit to initiate the self-destruct sequence!"
Leylin's right hand slid down weakly.
[Ding! Authority obtained. Initiating forced command!] The Chip possessed no human consciousness; it simply executed Leylin's orders with mechanical precision.
Accompanying the Chip's announcement, wisps of dark red gas began to surface from the laboratory's exterior.
The dark red dreamforce grew denser and denser, eventually condensing into a layer of dark red flames.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Massive quantities of silk melted and snapped apart, and even the laboratory itself was slowly dissolving away.
"Squeal..." From the distant Dream World, Leylin could seemingly hear the enraged roar of the giant spider.
The tremendous sound was initially very shrill, but it grew fainter and fainter until it gradually faded into nothing.
After the dark red flames finally died out, all that remained was a massive black crater. The laboratory had completely vanished without a trace.