Riding on Pidgeot, Russell quickly reached the mountaintop.
This mountain had a strange structure. Instead of a flat plateau at the top, there was an entrance to a cave.
If this had been an unexplored cave, the pitch-black darkness would have made it incredibly dangerous.
But since the cave had already been cleared out by the Association, it was fitted with many illumination devices. It wasn't bright, but at least it wasn't pitch dark.
After some hesitation at the cave entrance, Russell decided to go in and explore.
The Association's cardmasters had said there wouldn't be any monsters above the Iron level. It shouldn't be too dangerous.
He summoned Yoriichi, and the two entered the cave side by side.
Inside the monitoring room, the supervising cardmaster munched on a biscuit while watching the surveillance feed.
"Kids these days are gutsy. Already going into the cave? If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there still a 'Centipede Lord' in there?"
He did admire Russell's courage. At that age, he himself wouldn't have dared to explore a cave like this.
Getting no response, the supervisor turned to his dazed colleague.
"Mr. Walker? Hey, Walker?"
Still no reply.
"Are you feeling alright? Maybe go take a break. You've been acting weird all day."
Walker didn't react.
Eventually, he snapped out of it as if waking from a trance.
"Huh? No, I'm fine. Just thinking about my mom…"
The supervisor frowned, but let it go. "Let's stay alert. If the student can't handle things, we'll need to jump in."
Walker returned to his blank stare.
Tap tap tap...
The echo of Russell and Yoriichi's footsteps filled the silent cave.
"This is weird. We haven't seen a single monster," Russell murmured.
Then he caught a whiff of something foul.
"Do you smell that?" he asked Yoriichi.
Yoriichi nodded.
Russell frowned. "Be careful. This might mean there's a really strong monster in here."
In a region with no lesser monsters, there was often something terrifying ruling the area.
The two slowed down, cautiously advancing deeper into the tunnel.
Eventually, they emerged into a wide chamber.
Russell froze at the sight.
"So this... this is the Thousand-Legs space…"
Before them lay a massive centipede corpse, nearly a hundred meters long, its black exoskeleton gleaming faintly.
It had been cleanly sliced in half.
Before they could say anything, a rustling sound beneath the corpse drew their attention.
Russell narrowed his eyes. "That's…"
A second centipede—about 8 or 9 meters long—slithered out from under the carcass.
"Think you can handle it, Yoriichi?" Russell asked. "If not, we bail."
But Yoriichi silently drew his blade.
Got it.
Russell summoned Pidgeot.
Stroking its feathered head, he said, "Lend Yoriichi a hand."
Pidgeot gave a chirp, then soared toward the giant centipede.
Attracted by the movement, the creature rose, clicking its mandibles before lunging at Pidgeot.
Pidgeot twisted mid-air, dodging with ease.
As the centipede dropped toward the ground, Yoriichi was already in place below.
Flames rose from his blade as he struck upward.
But the centipede was no ordinary foe—it was an elite.
It twisted in midair, turning its armored back to absorb the blow.
"Shhhhkkk!"
The blade sliced into the armor but failed to cut all the way through.
The centipede crashed to the ground, then unleashed a cloud of violet poison gas.
If Yoriichi had been alone, this would've been tricky.
But Pidgeot was still in play.
Grabbing Yoriichi by the ankle, the bird lifted him into the air, away from the toxin.
"Sun Breathing, Sixth Form — Solar Halo Dragon Dance!"
The burning crimson blade spun down from the heavens.
Fire engulfed the centipede in a blinding blaze.
It shrieked horribly, writhing on the ground.
Pidgeot descended with Yoriichi, landing beside Russell as they watched the creature thrash.
Eventually, it stopped moving.
"Pidgeot, check it again," Russell said cautiously. He wasn't about to get careless.
Sure enough, as Pidgeot neared, the centipede launched one last lunge.
But it missed and collapsed—spent.
Pidgeot dove in, pecking it multiple times with no response.
Now Russell was satisfied.
He stepped forward and began absorbing the monster's remains.
Material Acquired: Centipede Lord (Purple) — Iron Level.
Russell marveled. If not for Nancy's reminder to craft a mount card, he might never have made Pidgeot.
Without it, even if Yoriichi won, it wouldn't have been this smooth.
"Damn, this kid's got skills," the supervisor muttered in the monitoring room. "Walker, you should really see this—"
But something was wrong.
A wet, ragged breathing sound filled the room.
"Hhhghh… hhhghhh…"
He turned—too late.
A crimson claw tore through his chest.
As his vision faded, the last thing he saw was his own body falling below.
A bloodstained figure burst from the room, claws gleaming.
No one knew what happened inside the monitoring station.
Only the trail of blood bore witness to the massacre