Chapter 120: Outbreak

Beneath the Saint Ross Port Funeral Home lies a vast, hollow cavern. The ground is covered in a dozen meters of pitch-black sludge, where insect pupae are tossed about by writhing maggots, and swarms of black beetles are hatching in droves. These beetles feast on the foul sludge, occasionally devouring the maggots as well. Had Zhao Tianhe been present, he would have recognized these black beetles immediately: they were the very same demonic insects that had hunted him down.

"Insects from the sea? Is this the true form of the King of the Endless Sea?" a dark figure muttered, peering down at the eerie spectacle.

The dire situation warned of by the Sky Palace experts was not something that would occur spontaneously; simply creating a dungeon here was insufficient. Although this location served as a central hub for suppression, in reality, all the dungeons throughout Saint Ross Port—including the Shipwreck Crypt where Zhao Tianhe once worked—were merely fragments of that King of the Endless Sea. Yet, for all these years, nothing had happened. The seals had been absolute, flawless.

That changed when the descendants of Abu Fang'er were beguiled. Using their own bloodline to bypass the seals, they spent years of research to create a small opening, releasing the conceptual essence of the King of the Endless Sea. This was the source of those sinister demonic insects. The man responsible, a person with severe anti-social personality disorder, had been seduced by this power. He had aspired to be a hero since childhood, but lacking the aptitude for the Hero System, he was destined to fail. Upon learning this, he ran away in bitterness, only to witness the darkest corners of society. Years later, after acquiring power, he saw the very criminal who had once harmed him being released from captivity. His repressed malice erupted. As for the attack on Brittany, it was simply retaliation for her repeated rejection of his advances.

Although that man was eventually eliminated, his research data had been synchronized and backed up elsewhere. The organization decided to have others take over the project. The results were remarkably swift; the successors followed his path, made quick progress, and reached the experimental stage. However, attempting such a project openly in Saint Ross Port would have invited an immediate assault from powerful heroes, which the organization could not withstand. Thus, Wei Luan was tasked with instigating a demonic calamity. By leaking specific information about the dungeons near Bal Island, they lured the entire Wind Demon clan into an all-out attack, forcing the heroes of Saint Ross Port to gather at the Great Battlefield barrier. For several hours, the city was left without anyone capable of stopping them.

"Heh, heh... did you really think we were unprepared?" a masked, muscular man, wearing nothing but a rag around his waist, chuckled as he looked at the piles of wounded soldiers on the ground.

This was the third team of research-oriented mages sent by Branch Chief Li Qi, but their locations were always discovered, and the masked man would arrive to crush them. This terrifying man could even shatter Tier 7 trap spells.

"What should we do, Branch Chief? Including this group, the number of hostages has exceeded one hundred..." an association member’s eyelid twitched incessantly. The losses were catastrophic. Over sixty B-grade heroes and forty research mages—no one could afford to bear the weight of such a death toll.

"Notify the research institute to stand by," Li Qi said calmly. "Wait for the S-grade team to return, then try again. I said it before: if there are problems, I will bear the responsibility. I will accept any prison sentence if it comes to that. We cannot retreat! We absolutely cannot retreat!"

"It seems those people have realized our purpose," the muscular man sighed, looking at the defeated remnants on the ground. "The hostages are useless now; they won't back down. After all, that thing is too important, and the entity sealed away is far too troublesome."

Among monsters, S+-grade bosses are typically called King-level, but there is a distinction between a True King and a False King. The Blood God that Zhao Tianhe destroyed with the Sword of Promised Victory was a False King. While powerful and possessing the King-level trait of "Law Power," it had never truly touched the "Source." Everything about it had been acquired within dungeons controlled by the Divine Council; its "laws" were artificial. Within the dungeon system’s reach, no matter how much a monster evolves, its limit is "False King." This is one of the system's primary functions: to cap the growth of monsters.

However, the King of the Endless Sea was no joke. It was a top-tier monster, ranked among the True Kings encountered thus far. Even when it was sealed by Abu Fang'er with only half its strength, it required the four greatest heroes of that era and their partners to finally kill it. Those eight people were the ones depicted in the eight heroic statues standing on the Great Battlefield.

As for the strength of this half-body, which had been sealed for five hundred years? Only the heavens knew. It might have weakened from being sealed for so long, or it might have grown stronger by absorbing Abu Fang'er’s power. No one could say for sure, which was why Li Qi was so adamant after learning the details from Carter. Even if that monster had only one percent of its peak strength, it would still be several times stronger than the Blood God; an S-grade team would likely be unable to contain it. Furthermore, it was appearing directly in the urban district! Even with emergency evacuations, the economic destruction would be immeasurable.

"You bastards, can't you live a good life instead of causing trouble every single day?!" Li Qi stared with bloodshot eyes, his heart filled with anxiety. Although he knew Carter had sent the Kind King, who could say if he would arrive in time?

At that moment, the life-energy pulse index beneath the funeral home was approaching that of an A-grade dungeon.

"That should be enough, right? I don't have any more..." the dark figure muttered to himself, watching the black sludge fill the cavern.

The spatial rift nearby stopped leaking sludge, and the dark figure began to chant. His voice echoed through the eerie cavern, and crystalline radiance began to emerge from the walls. The dungeon system had been triggered; the system’s unique crystal wall structure was forming. An independent dungeon was about to be born. The incantation the figure recited was a special ritual for expanding dungeons—usually known only to the official council military responsible for guarding and pioneering frontier regions.

"The dungeon system is truly fascinating... I never tire of watching it..." The dark figure smiled as the cavern became even more spacious. The system expanded the space, and the sludge on the ground began flowing into a massive hole—the second floor was forming.

"If the rating is A, there should be four floors, right?" The dark figure cast a protective spell on himself and descended into the hole.

The second floor was similar in size to the first. Sludge poured from the ceiling, forming a bizarre circular waterfall, with various sinister maggots tumbling down. On the ground, countless maggots and insects dissolved in the black mud, only to give birth to even larger, more grotesque creatures. Catalyzed by the dungeon system, true monsters were beginning to emerge.

At the ceiling of the second floor, the massive hole gradually developed a dark blue light curtain as the sludge waterfall ceased. On the floor, another large hole appeared—the third floor was forming. This time, however, the black sludge stopped flowing downward.

Boom!

A surge of black light erupted from the hole! Catalyzed by the dungeon system, the alien life energy from the depths of the earth connected with the black sludge poured out by the dark figure. Terrifying black light flooded the second floor. The dark figure gritted his teeth, holding on; he knew he had succeeded. This dungeon, constructed on the foundation of the King of the Endless Sea's true form, had finally caused the seal to shift!

"Haha! An S-grade dungeon is born! This reaction is definitely not normal!" The dark figure laughed in excitement, knowing that under normal conditions, he could never have created an S-grade dungeon.

Back at the Saint Ross Port Dungeon Association branch, Branch Chief Li Qi nearly vomited blood. On the monitoring instruments, the energy indices of over a hundred dungeons near Saint Ross Port were skyrocketing simultaneously!

"Report: the number of A-grade dungeons has exceeded fifty..." a staff member said with a stiff expression. "The cavern beneath the funeral home is showing S-grade dungeon energy indicators... The original S-grade dungeon, 'Evil Energy Deep Cavern,' has also undergone massive changes; monsters may already be spilling out."

"It is recommended to evacuate the entire city. All dungeons have the potential for immediate overflow. Multiple demonic calamities may occur within three hours."

"Coastal residents should immediately retreat to the city center. S-grade monsters may land at any moment."

"Prioritize the evacuation of coastal residents and those near all dungeons," Branch Chief Li Qi told the mayor and the city security forces. "The situation is critical; it can no longer be hidden. I am issuing a city-wide demonic calamity warning!"

A massive, cubic holographic projection appeared in the night sky, accompanied by a piercing, deafening alarm that jolted every citizen from their sleep.

"Dungeon Association Level 1 Warning activated. Multiple demonic calamities are imminent."

Massive text appeared on each face of the cube, accompanied by a booming voice: "Attention all citizens, please evacuate immediately. The government cannot guarantee the safety of anyone who fails to reach the three shelters on the outskirts of Saint Ross Port within two hours..."

The striking colorful text and the blaring alarm continued to repeat. The citizens fled toward the city outskirts in terror and confusion. But how could a metropolis of millions be evacuated so easily? Aside from residents near the city dungeons who had assistance from large flying ships, others were left to fend for themselves. Fortunately, Saint Ross Port had a significant number of private flying vessels, and the government urgently requisitioned them to organize several transport fleets.

Inside the funeral home, the masked, muscular man sensed the violent changes beneath his feet. He looked at the hostages and scratched his head. "Sorry, but you'll have to look out for yourselves from here on out. As long as you keep walking outward and don't look back, the defensive barrier won't trigger."

With that, the man walked into the basement, heading toward the newly formed dungeon. Yet, having traveled only a few hundred meters, he was forcibly pushed back by a violent surge of black light.

"What terrifying corrosive power..." He looked at the parts of his body that had touched the black light; they were already covered in pitch-black chitinous shells. "The ability of the King of the Endless Sea that the four heroes defeated was only to control the ocean, right? I see... the power of the flesh was sealed, and only the soul escaped?" The man had clearly done his research. He shattered the shells on his skin, took a deep breath, and as his skin took on a metallic sheen, he lunged into the black light!

However, the light did not stop spreading; it burst out of the tunnel and erupted from the basement. Inside the funeral home, the research mages used spells to lift the wounded heroes, intending to flee, but they were swallowed by a surging tide of black light.

The funeral home, sealed by the barrier, had once allowed bright light to shine through its windows, but now it plunged into darkness. A strange crackling sound echoed, as if countless insects were frantically slamming against the glass.

Crack!

The glass shattered. Black light poured out, but after traveling less than ten meters, it softened into a thick mist. The mist spread slowly across the lawn, and tiny beetles crawled from the soil, devouring all the vegetation in their path.

The front door of the funeral home was pushed open, and a two-meter-tall insectoid creature stepped out. It stared around with giant compound eyes, as if it were a newborn child. Its hideous mandibles slowly parted.

"ROAR~~~~~"

The roar of an ancient king’s bloodline echoed through the black mist.