Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Yan Ziqian spoke slowly, his eyes analytical behind his glasses. "It truly seems they fell into this state due to some kind of curse."

It brought to mind the dark-red spearhead they had found in the cave earlier. Perhaps it had been one of their weapons.

Of course, they weren't about to let such speculation hold them back.

After scouting the area, the group piled the corpses in a hidden, shady spot before immediately heading for the narrow passage.

Earlier, they had exploited this bottleneck, forcing the cave dwellers to practically hand them a wave of kills.

Now, illuminated by a flashlight beam, a clone of the Netherworld War Dog shot through the chokepoint. But a moment later, the roar of a sudden Wind Cannon erupted from the unseen darkness beyond, blowing the clone to smithereens.

"They've gotten smart. It's a trap to lure us in," someone murmured.

The cave dwellers' residual combat instincts alone were far sharper than those of any magical beast.

It was clear that an unknown number of cave dwellers were lying in wait for them in the area beyond the passage.

"Wait for the right moment, then follow me."

Su Chen raised his Scepter of Thunder, and high-density electrical arcs wrapped around him, forming a lightning shield.

Once the spell was cast, he returned the scepter to his backpack.

Soon, on his signal, the bright flashlights were no longer pointed inside.

Su Chen drew a Small Straight Knife from his belt. A Rune flashed in his palm, infusing the blade with the power of a Flame Burst. The next second, his figure shot forward like a phantom into the depths of the cavern.

The moment he landed, the lightning surrounding him illuminated a seven-meter radius. At the same time, his formless Telekinesis radiated outward like a tidal wave, covering an area of fifteen meters.

Six lurking figures were instantly exposed. Two were crouched behind hanging stalactites, one was half-buried in a pile of rocks, and the other three were hanging upside down from the cavern roof.

'What a big surprise.'

Su Chen didn't hesitate for a second. With a flick of his wrist, he used Telekinesis to accelerate the Flying Knife, sending it flying like a streak of crimson light. It instantly slammed into one of the hanging figures, knocking it to the ground.

At almost the same time...

SWISH!

A blast of high-pressure air shot from a cave dweller's mouth, tearing through the air straight for Su Chen. At the same time, several other figures lunged at him from all directions.

In the nick of time...

Awakening!

The flow of time suddenly slowed to a crawl.

The blast of compressed air seemed to be caught in an invisible mire, its swirling vortexes advancing with painstaking slowness. The figures lunging at him were also in slow motion, every one of their movements perfectly clear.

Su Chen felt as if divinely inspired. With his extraordinary focus, his physical attributes soared to a new peak.

To put it in concrete terms...

Power: 15 (41) / Physique: 17 (46) / Agility: 16 / Intelligence: 12 / Perception: 11 (30).

'A god for two seconds!'

Instead of retreating, Su Chen advanced. His body moved like a bolt of lightning, effortlessly dodging the blast of air. As he moved, he drew the battle-ax from his back and swung it with immense Divine Power at the neck of an oncoming enemy. The blow was so ferocious that the ax blade sank into the creature's neck without any resistance.

At the same time, he focused his cold gaze, and a massive wave of Telekinesis, tinged with a fiery light, crushed down on another foe. The creature's head immediately caved in, its brow ridge collapsing as one of its eyeballs bulged, on the verge of bursting.

When the flow of time returned to normal...

BOOM!!

The built-up pressure was released in an instant. Half of the cave dweller's head exploded, splattering brains and bone fragments everywhere.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of bone and sinew parting, the force of the battle-ax sent a head flying into the air, blood fountaining from the severed neck.

In a matter of moments, three enemies lay dead.

But what was truly horrifying was the sound of more movement echoing from the vast space ahead. At least a dozen more cave dwellers were rushing toward them at high speed.

But Su Chen was not fighting alone.

Having successfully drawn their attention, a blinding glare erupted from behind him as the rest of the group made it through the narrow bottleneck.

Two tanks took the lead, their tactical flashlights turning the area ahead as bright as day.

This created the perfect opportunity for the Archers.

SWISH!

A volley of Enchanted Arrows instantly flew toward the charging enemies.

Yan Ruoruo stood on a rocky outcrop, the depths of her irises glowing with a faint red luster, like lava churning beneath a sheet of ice. As her blood began to race, she drew her bow and fired, her movements so fast they became a sharp blur.

The twang of her bowstring was a continuous hum.

Despite her targets moving at high speed, she hit all three distant, charging figures. One was struck in the head, the arrowhead emerging from the top of its skull, the sheer force of the impact flipping it onto its back.

Another's left kneecap was shattered, halting its advance, while a third, who had been about to unleash a Wind Cannon, was pierced through the chest and tumbled from its high perch on the cavern wall.

Though the other archers' Arrows weren't nearly as lethal, they still managed to slow the cave dwellers' assault.

But that wasn't all.

Xiaoye shot out from the darkness and leaped high into the air. Its Soul-Splitting Claw flashed as it intercepted a pouncing figure for its master. As it did, its form flickered, and two Netherworld War Dog clones split off from it.

After successfully tackling their opponent to the ground, the three dogs began to tear into it, mercilessly shaking their heads and ripping away chunks of flesh and sinew.

Just then, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over them.

A terrifying pressure filled the cavern, making the very air feel thick and stagnant.

Su Chen's pupils constricted. He followed the direction of his Perception and saw an abnormally burly cave dweller bursting out from behind a pile of rocks to the side. Its entire body was covered in a dense layer of bone, like a suit of heavy plate armor.