Chapter 63

Everyone took out their weapons and quickly advanced towards the beasts below.

Just as they were about to approach the group of beasts, the fourth-stage beast turned its gaze towards them. The perception of a fourth-stage beast was still very sharp. Although it did not see any moving creatures in its line of sight, it had already sensed numerous spiritual energy fluctuations within its range.

Feeling something was amiss, the fourth-stage beast immediately unleashed its ability in the direction of the approaching group. Its mouth spewed out a massive flame towards the location of the investigators.

"Mr. Jason," Old Chen immediately called out.

"Sand Shield." The American fourth-stage investigator shouted, and a burst of spiritual energy erupted from his body. Instantly, a huge wall made of sand appeared in front of everyone.

The scorching flame collided with the sand wall, producing a loud crash.

The flame continuously melted the sand, and irregular crystalline glass fell to the ground.

"Sandstorm." Jason used his ability again, sweeping up a large amount of sand from the ground and directing it towards the group of beasts.

"Attack." Old Chen gave the order.

The investigators with long-range attack capabilities revealed their abilities.

Lightning, flames, ice spears, boulders, laser beams—various long-range abilities rained down on the group of beasts.

Roars echoed, and various lights appeared among the beasts. Although their vision was blocked by the sandstorm, they now knew that enemies were attacking them, so they immediately used their abilities for defense or counterattack.

In the midst of the beasts, several were covered in ice. They stood around the group, activating their abilities. A huge ice dome quickly formed, covering all the beasts.

The investigators' attacks landed on this ice dome.

Bang, bang, bang! The ice dome wobbled under the attacks of the investigators. Eventually, one of the ice beasts, due to its lower strength, could no longer maintain the ice dome. The area it covered was breached, and the nearby beasts were turned into minced meat by the attack.

Because the fourth-stage beast had detected the investigators' movements in advance, this surprise attack was not very successful, only eliminating eight beasts.

"Everyone, form groups of six. Don't fight individually. These beasts are organized, unlike those we encountered before. Be careful." Old Chen reminded the investigators and then turned into a blur, heading towards the strongest fourth-stage beast.

Jason waved his hand to clear the sandstorm, and the beasts also retracted their ice. Both sides stared at each other, and a major battle was about to break out.

...

Old Chen quickly approached the fourth-stage beast. The stone beast also sensed Old Chen's powerful spiritual energy. It roared at its subordinates and then broke away from the group, charging towards Old Chen.

The five-meter-tall fourth-stage beast, with its massive body, exuded a strong sense of oppression. It raised its right fist, enveloped in flames, and struck at Old Chen. Old Chen accelerated to dodge the attack, and the spiritual weapon, a long sword, burst with spiritual light, slashing at the stone beast's hand.

Clang! The spiritual weapon long sword struck the stone beast's hand, producing a metallic collision sound. Continuous slashes caused sparks to fly, and the stone beast's hand shattered into many pieces.

Boom! The stone beast exploded on the spot, and a massive flame surged out, turning the surrounding grass into ashes.

Earth Escape: Move freely through the earth.

Old Chen used his Earth Escape ability to avoid the stone beast's attack. After the flames passed, he emerged from the ground behind the stone beast and stabbed it numerous times with his long sword.

"Roar!" The stone beast roared, and the flames on its body intensified.

On the battlefield, spiritual light continuously erupted. Although the number of beasts was greater than that of the investigators, the investigators' coordination was better. With the fourth-stage Jason constantly moving around the battlefield, the beasts were suppressed.

A four-armed ape continuously attacked Xie Yin. This third-stage peak beast had just defeated a six-person team from the Sand Kingdom. At a critical moment, Xie Yin intervened and saved them.

The four-armed ape had regenerative abilities, and the injuries inflicted by the investigators quickly healed.

Xie Yin continuously used his invisibility ability to纠缠 the opponent, preventing it from attacking other team members, and repeatedly inflicted damage with his long sword.

Seeing the situation, the team members who had dealt with their own beasts immediately came to support. With everyone's full cooperation, this resilient beast was finally beheaded by Xie Yin.

As time passed, one by one, the third-stage beasts were eliminated. When the last third-stage beast was brought down by the group, the investigators collectively sighed in relief. Even with a fourth-stage investigator constantly moving around the battlefield, they still lost six team members.

A massive explosion sounded in the distance, making the investigators tense up again. Only the fourth-stage leader beast remained, and Jason, with his fourth-stage strength, was fighting it alongside Old Chen.

The exhausted investigators forced themselves to stay alert. Some began to treat the severely injured team members and collect the bodies of the fallen. The rest, who were still capable of fighting, stood guard at the world gate, ready to prevent any more beasts from crossing over.

Boom! The ground shook violently. The investigators saw a huge fireball in the distance continuously expanding and then exploding, raining fire down, igniting the grasslands, and spreading a raging fire.

Bang! Old Chen and Jason emerged from the ground, their clothes tattered, with burn marks on their hair and clothes, and multiple wounds bleeding on their bodies.

The investigators with healing abilities immediately came forward to treat their wounds.

"Has any beast crossed the world gate again?" Old Chen asked.

"No! The gate has remained in this state." An investigator replied.

As he spoke, the massive world gate transformed into countless white particles that scattered in all directions.

"The time has come!"

Seeing the world gate close, everyone's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Old Chen looked around. The scene was in ruins, with the distant fire still spreading. The team members were all more or less injured. If only a fourth-stage leader had been present, the outcome would have been different.

"Xiao Liu, you take care of the severely injured. The rest who can still move and have abilities to counter fire, follow me and Mr. Jason to extinguish the fire. We cannot let the fire continue to spread." Old Chen said.

"Yes!"

This sudden encounter was intense, but everyone ultimately achieved victory.