The chariot's legs pounded across the cracked earth of Xerath Hollow, each step sending out clouds of dust and echoes across the desolate landscape. Lian gripped the control rods tightly, the system UI glowing red with urgent notifications.
[ World Collapse in: 47h:42m ]
[ Raid Members Detected Nearby: 14 ]
[ Hollow Tyrant Location: 3.2 km – North-Northeast ]
Steam hissed from the sides of the Black Widow Walker as it scaled a broken hillside. From the top, Lian saw them—other drivers, scattered across the battlefield, trying to regroup.
Some had gotten lucky: armored bikes, mobile gunships, even a floating tank. Others weren't so fortunate—someone was riding a literal flying bathtub powered by thrusters. It was already smoking.
A voice crackled through the system's temporary raid channel.
[Global Raid Chat Opened – All Participants Connected]
> Driver#021 – "Anyone alive? This is Renji from Guild 'Fangtrail.' We just lost two men to the Hollow Tyrant's minions. Avoid the bone forests!"
> Driver#045 – "Avoid? The damn thing just summoned a black hole and ate our healer."
> Lian – "This is Road Reapers. I've got a Tier 3 mechwalker and visual on the boss. Heading there now. Form up at grid D-5."
Demist's voice joined in, slightly breathless.
> Demist – "Already ahead of you. Just jacked a railgun jeep. Let's hit this freak hard."
Lian cracked his neck.
"Let's give them a reason to remember Earth."
---
The First Clash
When the Hollow Tyrant came into full view, the world felt… wrong.
Every step it took bent the sky. The earth screamed—not metaphorically, but literally, like the soil itself was in agony.
[ BOSS BUFF ACTIVE: Realm Authority ]
All enemy damage reduced by 30%. Ambient fear debuff applied.
[ Hollow Tyrant HP: 7,000,000 ]
Lian didn't flinch. Instead, he activated his Black Widow Walker's Leg Thrust Mode and launched forward, faster than any ground vehicle should have gone.
[ Skill Activated: Spear Barrage ]
Launching auto-mounted spears...
Six explosive-tipped javelins rocketed out of the Walker's side, slamming into the Tyrant's ribcage.
Critical hit! 24,412 Damage dealt.
The boss turned.
And screamed.
The sound cracked windshields. Drivers nearby were forced to cover their ears. Two vehicles flipped from the sonic shock.
[ Tyrant Ability: Voice of Hollow Time ]
Freezes all vehicles in a 50m cone for 10 seconds.
Lian's walker locked up.
Then—BOOM.
Demist's railgun blasted into the boss's shoulder from the flank, breaking the freeze effect for those near Lian.
"You owe me one!" Demist shouted across the comm.
Lian grinned. "Add it to my tab."
---
Emergency Objective Triggered
As they coordinated attacks and the Tyrant's HP dropped below 6.4 million, a new prompt appeared:
[ Emergency Sub-Quest: The Hollow's Prison ]
Several human survivors are trapped in the Shadow Cages nearby. Freeing them will weaken the boss and increase final rewards.
Current Survivors Detected: 9
"Change of plans!" Lian barked in raid chat. "Half of you split and free the prisoners! We drop this thing's buff before we get wiped!"
He marked locations on the shared raid map, then spun his Walker toward the nearest Shadow Cage.
It was guarded by a twisted warden—ten feet tall, wrapped in black scrolls, and dragging chains made of screams. Literally.
Lian didn't wait. He activated Overdrive Mode.
[ Overdrive: +30% Movement | +50% Damage | Duration: 2 minutes ]
The Black Widow leapt through the air, impaled the warden mid-roar, and shattered the cage.
A child stumbled out, eyes wide with terror.
[ Survivor Rescued: 1 | Bonus Multiplier +5% ]
One down. Eight to go.
---
The Turning Point
With six survivors freed, the Hollow Tyrant let out a howl of rage, and its golden mask cracked.
[ Boss Buff Removed: Realm Authority Deactivated ]
[ Tyrant HP: 5,700,000 ]
"Now!" Lian shouted. "Burn it down!"
Turrets whirred. Cannons fired. Even the guy with the flying bathtub managed to drop an anti-matter grenade from the air.
---
[ SYSTEM ALERT – Overseer Notification ]
Target "Lian" has triggered system-breaking coordination efficiency. Battle progression 2.3x above average.
[ Overseer Passive: Chaos Intervention ]
A new enemy has entered the field: "Watcher of the Masked Gate"
A second portal opened.
Lian's eyes narrowed.
"Well, Overseer," he muttered, eyes sharp as his Walker reloaded. "You wanted to watch?"
He pushed forward as a second boss dropped from the sky—twice as fast, wrapped in red chains.
"Then let's put on a damn show."
---
To Be Continued…