Our Family Has Fallen

"Look, we’ve come to this point, which means we’ve almost made a full circle. Judging by this, the size of the third level is even larger than the previous two combined."

Lance and his team advanced by following a mapping strategy, meaning they moved forward wherever there was a path, took the right fork at intersections, and turned back when there was no way forward.

By using the scale of walking, they could roughly infer distances and range, with only moderate accuracy, but it served as a reference point.

Now, following Lance’s words, everyone looked at the maps. The third level only had a circle drawn, but compared to the other two maps, it was evidently much larger.

"We should be able to circle back to the entrance from here, and here... these places we haven’t entered yet.

If this were a Flesh Behemoth, then its heart would be here."

Saying this, Lance raised his hand to point out the central area that had not been drawn, essentially confirming that the core was there.

With a map, they could gauge roughly how much of the task remained, inform everyone of the task’s progress, and plan their strategy in advance.

Now there are two routes: either return to where they entered from and then gradually shrink the circle,

or go left from here, directly into the core, deal with it first, and then turn back to clear other areas.

There isn’t much distinction between the two methods, both revealing Lance’s determination to clear every room and passage completely.

If there is any difference, the first is more detailed, methodical, and ensures they won’t lose their bearings.

The second is more straightforward, controlling the core here first and then gradually clearing, although it might mean taking occasional detours.

"Let’s go with the second one. This place is too vast; it is impossible to clear it quickly. We cannot have a repeat of the Extreme Darkness situation."

Taking advantage of a rest break, the group reworked their plans. Honestly, aside from being larger with more monsters, the pressure this map gave Lance was not even comparable to the second level.

The monsters were too weak, while the team was overly strong — well-coordinated with superior equipment and numbers.

Moreover, everywhere was filled with flesh that could replenish Spiritual Essence, making the team grow stronger as they fought.

After a brief rest and with a new plan in hand, they would continue forward under the Lord’s orders.

Instead of merely clearing monsters, it was more about harvesting; that became the main action for the group.

Lance was deliberately Blessing the group, consuming Spiritual Essence in exchange for relentless progress.

Due to the change in strategy, the team directly pushed into the central area of the third level from that room, hardly affected by the indistinguishable fleshy environment, and scattered monsters could hardly obstruct their advance.

All this continued until they passed through a valve-like entrance and broke into a unique room.

Twisted flesh interweaved to form a landscape full of rifts and gastric tumors resembling a stomach wall, with dense black eyeballs embedded everywhere, their exaggerated quantity and size exerting immense pressure on everyone.

It was almost certain that the ancestor’s power was associated with these black eyeballs, even a characteristic expression of his strength. From so many encounters, it could be concluded that the more and larger the eyes, the stronger the [Great Blessing] they contained.

And here, eyeballs the size of human heads were densely packed, highlighting its significance.

However, what caught everyone’s attention was...

Before they could examine it closely, what blocked their path were macrophages and white cell stalks growing within.

By now, encountering such monsters was not a first for them. Perhaps this one was slightly stronger, but under the advantage of firepower, they had no chance to resist.

Raising their guns to aim at the white cell stalks, shooting them down as soon as they showed, even summoning more couldn’t release a single move, let alone teleport.

The macrophages didn’t even require artillery; Beggby wielded the power of the Anti-Magic Chains to whip and control them.

Alhazred cast various spells to weaken the monster’s strength; the legion moved in to sever its link with the surrounding flesh. Once it lost its constant supply, the macrophages quickly perished under their siege.

After the monster died, only then did they have the time to examine this special place leisurely.

Unlike other body-organ-like rooms, this one surprisingly had large areas not covered by flesh. However, the space left exposed wasn’t statues or colossal stone pillars, but things that were detached from reality.

Within the embrace of twisted flesh, there was a circular space missing, with countless vein-like strands of flesh unwillingly stretching and weaving, yet seemingly unreachable.

Because in that circle lay an unending darkness, or perhaps, everyone was more familiar with another term — the void.

This scene had a profound impact on everyone, even the trusted aides dared not casually destroy the flesh here, waiting for the Lord’s command.

"If we are indeed within a Behemoth, then this place might just be the Stomach of the Behemoth."

Lance lowered his head and marked this place on the map, a now-clear map confirming their current location.

However, Alhazred paid no attention to these matters; almost as soon as he entered he was drawn to an intriguing pattern cleared on the floor.

It was a ring divided equally by eight short lines, currently exuding a powerful aura.

Seeing this, even Lance paused for a moment, whispering with a strange expression.

"World?"

"The Lord recognizes this too?"