One’s six legs pushed the bone powder aside at the same time, its massive body accelerating on the flat path.
Seris bent down on its back to maintain her balance. Lian looked back.
The Warden pulled the blade out of the ground.
Its head turned toward the empty location of the false presence. It remained motionless for a moment, and then a deep vibration came from its ribcage.
It was not a roar, nor was it a sound, but all the surrounding bones trembled.
The chains around its body shook violently.
The creature turned back. It no longer waited for the sound to stop. It dragged the blade on the ground and ran after them with unnatural speed.
Lian immediately understood that the previous rule no longer provided complete safety.
In Pursuit mode, the Warden had identified them as targets.
"Damn it, the bastard is after us!" He cursed.
"Faster! Run faster!"
A thick chain was thrown from the mist. Its links twisted in the air like a massive snake.
The chain wrapped around One’s back leg. The ant lost its balance, and its body was pulled to one side.
Lian activated Glacial Reaper Claw.
[Glacial Reaper Claw — Divine]
The ice claw formed on his hand. He leaned over One’s back and placed the claw on the chain.
The cold spread along the links. The black metal was covered with a layer of blue ice.
Its movement slowed. Its structure became more brittle under the intense cold.
"Help!" He looked at the silver-haired girl and said urgently.
Seris jumped off One.
She spun in the air, and King’s Breaker was activated on her sword.
Mana gathered on one point of the chain. The strike landed, and the chain’s defensive power decreased at the moment of contact.
The blade passed through the frozen section, and the chain broke with a loud crash!
One freed its leg and accelerated again. Seris landed on its back. The Warden released the broken part of the chain.
It raised its massive blade, and this time, it threw the weapon.
The blade spun in the air. Its wide edge was coming directly toward One’s body.
Lian kept his eyes open and saw the impact path. He did not have enough time to completely stop the weapon.
But he could change its angle. He looked around, and upon seeing that the place was full of bones, his eyes sparkled.
[Ossuary Armor]
The bone fragments trembled in the air, moving toward Lian’s forearm and shoulder. Multi-layered plates locked together and formed a thick shield.
He placed himself in the blade’s path. The impact was like an explosion.
Ossuary Armor cracked at that same moment. The first plate shattered, the second broke, and the third only resisted for a fraction of a second.
But that short time was enough.
Lian deflected the strike upward with all his power. The massive blade passed over One’s body.
It hit one of the ribs beside the path and split it in half.
The bone armor on Lian’s hand completely collapsed. Its pieces fell on the ground, and his forearm had gone numb from the impact pressure.
But the bones in his body remained intact.
Ossuary Armor could not directly stop an attack from a creature at that level, at least not for now.
However, as a disposable defense, it had been able to deflect a deadly attack’s path.
That was enough.
The entrance to the Hollow Spine appeared before them. A massive spinal column was located in the valley’s wall. The vertebrae extended like stone and bone rings one after another.
Its interior space resembled a massive tunnel.
The entrance was wide enough for One, but the Warden could also fit part of its body inside.
However, if they entered, maybe they would be safe!
"At full speed! Go inside the tunnel!"
One entered the tunnel.
Lian looked back. The guardian was only a few dozen meters away. The thrown blade had returned to its hand through another chain being pulled.
The Warden raised it.
Seris stood on One’s back and pointed her sword at the entrance’s ceiling.
King’s Edge was activated.
The first strike cut the connections between the upper vertebrae.
Then Silver Requiem. Dozens of silver lines appeared in an instant, splitting the damaged sections of the ceiling.
A few massive vertebrae separated from their places and fell behind One.
The entrance to the tunnel was blocked under a pile of bone. A few seconds later, the Warden’s blade hit the barrier from outside.
The entire Hollow Spine trembled, and cracks formed on the walls...
But the barrier did not collapse, not with the first strike.
One moved through the tunnel without slowing down. The inside of the Hollow Spine was dark and cold.
Thin veins of blue crystals had grown in the bones, creating a faint light.
Holes were on both sides of the vertebrae. Indistinct murmurs could be heard from inside them.
Sometimes small shadows moved behind the cracks. A few eyes opened in the darkness. Thin and crawling creatures watched them from inside the bones.
But none attacked. The pressure of Lian and Seris’s power, One’s massive body, and the Warden’s angry strikes from behind kept them in their shelters.
The second strike hit the entrance.
The tunnel trembled again. A part of the bone powder fell from the ceiling.
Lian opened the map. The Hollow Spine did not have a direct path, but its side branches were few, and most of them seemed to be dead ends.
The Crystal Wound was at the eastern end.
The distance was not far. They just had to keep moving without stopping.
A few minutes later, gray mist entered the tunnel from behind. At first, a thin strand, then a thicker mass.
Lian looked back.
The Warden had not completely destroyed the entrance. Perhaps it had entered through another path, or its chains had found a way between the vertebrae.
"How long is this bastard going to follow us? Just leave us alone, damn it!"
He sent the command to increase speed through Hive Link.
One ran faster.
The sound of its feet echoed in the hollow spinal column.
Blue light appeared at the end of the path. At first a small point, then wider, and purple color was also added to it, and colder air was blowing from the front.
But unlike the dead cold of the graveyard, this air smelled of life.
Moist soil, plants, and natural Mana. They had reached the end of the Hollow Spine.
The Crystal Wound was in front of them.
A massive crack in the Giants’ Graveyard’s wall. Tall and transparent crystals had grown on both sides of the crack. Some blue, some purple, and some almost colorless.
The gray mist changed as they approached that area.
Its color became lighter, gray turned to silver, and then veins of blue formed in it.
Beyond the crack, transparent trees could be seen.
Glassthorn Forest.
But between them and the exit, there was a bridge made of broken bones. Beneath the bridge was a deep gap, its bottom disappearing in the mist.
One stepped onto the bridge and took the first step.
At that same moment, a chain from behind hit one of the bridge’s supporting ribs.
The links wrapped around the bone. A strong pull was applied, and the bridge trembled.
A few pieces of bone fell from under One’s feet. The Warden had reached the end of the Hollow Spine through another path.
Part of its tall body could be seen among the vertebrae. Its faceless head was pointed at them.
It pulled the chain with all its strength. The supporting rib cracked, and the bridge began to collapse!
"At this rate, our path will be blocked!" Seris frowned and struck the ant’s rump firmly to force it to run even faster!
Poor One ran with all its might.
Every step crushed pieces of the path.
But stopping meant falling.
Seris stood on One’s back at the rear. Another chain came through the air, and her sword moved.
King’s Edge deflected the chain’s edge.
The links hit the bridge’s side and broke part of it.
Lian moved forward with Thunder Step. Blue lightning ran on the bones. He appeared a few meters ahead of One. A pile of collapsed bones had blocked the path.
He activated Iron Fortress Charge.
His shoulder hit the barrier with force. The bones exploded in front of him.
And the path opened!