Just as she approached halfway to the stone monument, the swamp suddenly began to churn violently.
A massive creature slowly rose from the mud, its body composed of countless small corpses assembled together, emitting a nauseating stench of decay.
Its "skin" was made up of countless tendrils and vines, constantly writhing, extending and contracting as if alive.
The head was a gigantic flower-like structure, with a large mouth full of sharp teeth at its center.
"Swamp Assembler..." Trish’s face turned pale as she recognized the terrifying abyssal creature:
"Why would a creature from the Abyss’s second layer appear here?"
The Swamp Assembler had clearly noticed her, the "flower" turned in her direction, emitting a peculiar buzzing sound.
Then its entire body began moving towards her, with every step, small parts of corpses fell off its body, only to be replaced by new tissue immediately.
Trish knew she couldn’t possibly face such a terrifying creature head-on.
The only option was to reach the stone monument as quickly as possible, complete the task, and leave the area.
Unlike Ron, she couldn’t bring a combat partner into the altar.
The strict rules of the Bloodline Altar limited each participant to enter alone, only Ron, with his champion privileges, was allowed to bring an assistant.
Faced with the crisis, Trish could only rely on her own abilities.
She swiftly awakened the dormant Forest Elf bloodline in her, a surge of green energy rushed out from within her, quickly spreading around.
The energy seeped into the depths of the swamp, establishing connections with those mutated plant lives.
Moments later, dozens of massive vines suddenly shot up from the swamp, each as thick as a child’s arm, with sharp thorns covering their surface.
Under Trish’s spiritual guidance, these vines whipped towards the Swamp Assembler like flexible whips, temporarily ensnaring it.
"This should buy some time."
Trish didn’t stop but rather quickened her pace towards the stone monument.
The Swamp Assembler let out an enraged roar, its immense strength causing the vines to start snapping one by one.
But each vine that snapped was quickly replaced by two new ones sprouting from the swamp, continuing to entwine around its body.
Seizing the opportunity, she traced a complex symbol with her hands over her chest, chanting a spell.
"Vines of the swamp, heed my call, become my shield and spear!"
Countless vines erupted from the swamp, twining around her like long green serpents.
Meanwhile, Holt’s situation wasn’t any less grim.
He had been transported to a canyon-like setting, with towering cliffs on either side, yet those "rocks" appeared more like some kind of fossilized gigantic bones.
The sky was an unnatural orange-red, as if under the perpetual glow of sunset, although no sun was visible.
The air was laden with a metallic taste, each breath seeming to inhale fine iron filings.
"The power of the curse... is stronger than expected."
Holt felt the abyss influencing him, the nausea and dizziness nearly causing him to collapse.
But he quickly regained control over his state.
As a member of the Law Enforcement Team, he had undergone specialized anti-interference training, enabling him to remain calm in extreme environments.
"Earth Elemental Golem, appear!"
Holt quickly retrieved a crystal stone from his storage bag, and upon infusing it with spiritual power, a five-meter-tall Earth Elemental Golem rose from the ground.
Its entire body was deep brown, covered with a tough stone-like armor.
Holt’s strength almost entirely depended on this Earth Elemental Golem.
As an Earth Element Specialization expert, he dedicated all his research and resources to this field.
Making his golem far superior to other constructs of the same class in terms of strength, defense, and durability.
"Start the exploration."
He commanded the golem to lead the way while he followed cautiously, vigilantly observing the surroundings.
The canyon was deathly silent, the only sound being their footsteps echoing between the stone walls.
Holt noticed some strange white crystals scattered across the ground.
Upon closer inspection, he was surprised to find they seemed to be some kind of crystallized bone tissue.
"These should be crystalized bones, mentioned in the Abyssal Creatures Atlas; they typically appear in certain areas of the Abyss’s 3rd Floor, known as the ’Field of Dead Bones’..."
After repeatedly verifying that it was harmless through various tests, he cautiously collected the crystal into his storage bag, as it could be a valuable research material.
Proceeding for about half an hour, the canyon gradually widened, eventually opening into a circular basin.
In the center of the basin stood a stone structure resembling an altar.
Surrounding it were seven tall stone pillars, each topped with a floating red crystal, emitting a faint glow.
"That’s the control point."
Holt was about to approach the altar when he suddenly felt a mild tremor under his feet.
The trembling grew increasingly intense, soon the entire basin was shaking violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
The Earth Elemental Golem immediately assumed a defensive stance, arms crossed in front of its chest, bracing for impact.
The ground in the center of the basin suddenly split open, and a massive figure burst from underground.
It was a gigantic worm-like creature, at least twenty meters long and over three meters in diameter.
Its body surface was covered with thick bone-like armor, forming ring-shaped protective layers, appearing impregnable.
The head had no eyes, only a circular mouth.
Inside were rows of circular saw-like teeth, constantly rotating with a chilling grinding noise.
"Bone Worm..." Holt’s voice trembled:
"One of the predators of the Abyss’s 3rd Floor..."
The worm seemed to sense the presence of intruders.
It swayed slightly before lunging towards Holt with astonishing speed.