Having learned of Bai Xiaofei's whereabouts, Ren sat comfortably on the ground, leisurely pulling out the Poem Immortal Sword manual to study its contents.
On the other side of the second floor.
Xiaofei and the others had already encountered one of the floor's Lords: the Cerberus Hound!
It was a creature resembling a centaur, but instead of a human torso, it sported three ferocious canine heads, and its lower half was a massive hound's body rather than a horse's.
After a brief exchange of blows, Xiaofei spat out a complaint: "Seriously, what is this thing barking about? Even the translation system in Hell can't parse it!"
"Based on my years of diplomatic experience, the guy is speaking a local dialect, so the system doesn't have the library for it!" the diplomat Ran Aiguo analyzed.
Both men looked grim. This Cerberus Hound's strength was at the absolute peak of the God-level—surpassing both of them individually! Fortunately, Gabriel was in front of them, acting as the primary vanguard and absorbing most of the pressure.
Xiaofei gripped his massive blade, staying close to Gabriel while looking for a chance to strike from the flank. Ran Aiguo, less subtle, clenched his fists and charged, relying on his God-level physique to trade blows with the beast.
However, he was a newly ascended God-level—and only physically so. How could he be a match for a veteran Lord like Cerberus? In a single clash, Ran Aiguo was sent tumbling back. Despite crossing his arms in defense, he felt his internal organs shift from the sheer kinetic impact!
With a disdainful growl from its middle head, the Hound ignored Ran Aiguo. It couldn't fathom how this "little thing" who just hit the God-level dared to initiate an attack.
The next instant, a chill swept through the air. Xiaofei blurred forward, his blade descending in a deceptively simple silver arc!
Slash!
Flesh and blood sprayed! Xiaofei had poured 100% of his newfound strength into this strike—and it was a sneak attack! Caught off guard, the Cerberus Hound failed to dodge. The blade bit deep, nearly cleaving the beast in two.
"BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"
The Lord was enraged! All three heads locked onto Xiaofei, maws agape as searing energy began to condense within them.
"Holy—! What is this? A Tailed Beast Ball?!" Xiaofei gasped, not expecting the creature to have a ranged nuke.
At the critical moment, a golden ring of light streaked through the air. In one clean motion, the Angel Halo decapitated all three of the Hound's heads! In the next heartbeat, under the dying, indignant gaze of the Lord, the halo sucked the heads into its spatial storage.
Gabriel caught the returning halo and turned to Xiaofei and Ran Aiguo. "Next, we find the Pig-King. Once he's dealt with, we can focus entirely on the battle with the Mechanical Devil."
There were three Lords on this floor: Pigsy (who was currently busy with his 7th-grade textbook), the now-deceased Cerberus, and the strongest—the Mechanical Devil. Gabriel's plan was to isolate the strongest for last to prevent them from teaming up.
Just as they prepared to move, a red laser beam sizzled through the air, grazing Gabriel's ear!
"What?!"
The group spun around. A massive, Optimus Prime-like entity stood in the distance, the smoking barrel of its arm-cannon still leveled at them.
"Crap! It's the Mechanical Devil!" Gabriel's expression darkened. She hadn't expected him to show up so soon!
"This is the Mechanical Devil? Are we sure he's not from Cybertron?" Ran Aiguo remarked.
"Another Lord. Pity he's mechanical," the Corpse King noted indifferently. No matter how good his teeth were, he couldn't devour metal for nutrients. Long You decided to slip away; he'd go find the Pig-King first, devour him, and then return to help the Angel finish this machine. With a flicker, Long You vanished.
The group didn't have time to worry about the Corpse King. The Mechanical Devil blurred forward, closing the distance instantly with a massive fist! Xiaofei and Ran Aiguo performed a desperate "donkey roll" to evade. Gabriel crossed her shimmering white wings in front of her, tanking the blow head-on!
In the next breath, Gabriel fired a light sword from her palm, piercing through the machine's chassis!
Bzzzt!
A faint electrical crackle followed, but the Mechanical Devil ignored the damage. Electricity surged through its optical sensors, and it fired a red electromagnetic pulse!
BOOM!!
The blast tore through Gabriel's shoulder and slammed into the cliffside behind her, instantly melting the rock into glowing lava.
"Wait! This guy is on a totally different level than the dog! Why are they both just 'Lords'?" Xiaofei yelled.
"Dammit! Are all these aliens this broken?" Ran Aiguo looked at Gabriel. A hole had been punched through her chest, but it was already closing under a shroud of golden light. Aliens are ridiculous, he thought.
Xiaofei lunged, swinging his blade. The sharp coldness of the edge made the Mechanical Devil's sensors flare in warning. It performed an emergency retreat to dodge the strike. It finally looked at Xiaofei with actual focus, realizing this human was a Late God-level powerhouse wielding a high-grade weapon from a Level 1 Civilization!
Ran Aiguo stood beside Xiaofei, face grim. "Brother Fei, we fight together!"
Xiaofei nodded, his cyan eyes scanning the Mechanical Devil for a weak point to hack!
Meanwhile, the Mechanical Devil was calculating. It was a three-on-one. Aside from Gabriel, who was its equal, there was a Late God-level and an Early God-level. The weak one could be ignored—it could kill that "ant" at any moment. The real trouble was the one with the blade. If it wasn't careful, that human would drain too much of its energy reserves.
In this prison, every spark of energy was precious. The Devil had hoarded its power for millennia; if it spent too much here, it might never escape.
I need to divide the battlefield, the Mechanical Devil thought. I'll isolate the Angel and kill her first. Then, these two humans will just be my battery refills!