As he watched the Rock-Piercing Beasts head towards the eight turbine generators, a murderous intent flickered in Irving's eyes.
If the power supply was cut off, the shelter would be breached immediately!
Irving's brain was working quickly. Coldly, he said to Sophia, "Immediately release your ice skills near the eight turbine generators and try to freeze all the soil!"
Although the Rock-Piercing Beasts had strong digging abilities, they would still need some time to dig through the frozen soil.
Following this, Irving quickly ran towards the eight turbine generators, arriving ahead of the group of Rock-Piercing Beasts. His staff emitted a dazzling light.
He gathered all his mental power, quietly waiting for the moment the frozen soil was penetrated to deliver a lethal blow. His eyes were filled with determination, as if he had already seen the dawn of victory. He knew that this would be an opportunity for him to decide the future, and he couldn't give up.
Every exotic beast has its weakness, even the Rock-Piercing Beasts with their incredibly tough scales. While they may be able to fend off attacks from fireballs and ice spikes when they curl up, their underbellies remain the softest part.
"They're about to burrow out!" Sophia reminded with a serious look.
The frozen soil around the turbine generators was cracking bit by bit, as if something was about to burst out from below. The next moment, a cracking sound was heard, and the group of Rock-Piercing Beasts surged out.
"Now!" Irving roared, and his staff also fell at this moment.
As the Rock-Piercing Beasts broke through the frozen soil, their bodies leapt high from the ground. At that moment, their underbellies, virtually unprotected, were exposed right in front of Irving.
Boom!
A dull sound was heard, and the fireball, which was almost a mass of concentrated mental power, was like a sun, fiercely smashing the Rock-Piercing Beasts back into the hole they had just dug.
Then, a violent explosion was heard from underground, and the frozen soil within a radius of about ten meters from the hole burst open in an instant.
Sophia, not far away, felt the violent tremors under her feet and swayed, actually falling to the ground.
"Irving!" Sophia looked at the center of the explosion and exclaimed.
Irving, who was also affected, had chosen the most dangerous method in order to hit the Rock-Piercing Beasts' bellies at close range.
Although the huge fireball exploded inside the hole, he was affected by the strong shock wave, and his body was thrown back like a kite with a broken line.
Thud...Another dull sound came, and Irving, who had fallen heavily on the ground, felt an indescribable discomfort in his stomach, and his vision gradually blurred.
Not far away, Sophia hurriedly got up from the ground and ran towards Irving. For some reason, she felt a twinge at the tip of her nose.
Although their interaction time was short, this man had saved her twice!
Once, in the mines, she had watched helplessly as her kinsmen yielded to The Brotherhood of Night Blades, one after the other. When she attempted to end her own life, it was Irving who saved her.
And then there was just now... If it hadn't been for Irving's warning, she would've been devoured by the Rock-Piercing Beasts while standing clueless.
And what did she do?
She had repeatedly doubted Irving these past days, even mocking him, yet every time, he demonstrated abilities far more powerful than she could've imagined.
A mage.
A formidable mage capable of enslaving exotic beasts!
From this man, Sophia saw not only hope for survival but also an opportunity for revenge for her clan!
At this moment, her face wasn't as cold as usual. It was as if she was watching a comrade-in-arms fall before her eyes, her face full of sorrow.
"Wake up... Wake up, please!" Sophia looked at Irving, whose armor had been shattered by the explosion, and felt even more remorse for her previous actions. In a low voice, she said, "I shouldn't have doubted you. I just didn't expect you to..."
"No wonder this shelter is so simple, yet it managed to survive the first round of disaster."
"You said you wouldn't give the exotic beasts a chance to approach here."
"I really didn't expect you to be a strong individual with the talent to enslave exotic beasts, and a mage at that!" Sophia shook her head with a bitter smile.
When she first clashed with Irving in the mines, she had noticed that his strength was slightly superior to hers. However, she still held her own despite his superior skills.
Now, it seemed to her that Irving had not really wanted to kill her at the time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had a chance to fight back...
"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Sophia sighed. For someone as competitive as her, this was the first time in her life that she had sincerely apologized to someone. But she knew that the man before her probably couldn't hear it.
However, just at that moment.
Cough! Cough cough! a series of urgent coughs sounded. Irving opened his eyes, saying, "Stop shaking me, you're about to shake me apart."
"You..." Sophia looked at Irving, who slowly sat up before her eyes, stunned for a moment, "You're not dead?"
"Do you see any dead people talking?" Irving said.
Thinking about her earlier apology, Sophia's face immediately turned cold again. She said resentfully, "If you're not dead, why are you lying here motionless, not responding to my calls? Were you testing me?"
"A test?" Irving responded with a noncommittal smile. "I just wanted to rest on the ground for a bit, who knew you would take it seriously? And your words just now... well, it's good that you realize your mistake."
Watching Irving dust off and walk away, Sophia's guilt vanished instantly. She stared angrily at the man, unable to find any words to rebut him.
In fact, Irving did want to rest for a bit, but he was also testing this woman. After all, their first encounter was during a conflict in the mines, and he didn't know her well.
Especially since she was an ice mage. Though her skills could complement others, she was fundamentally different from a pure support healer like Vicky. Naturally, Irving had to be cautious.
Had it not been for their recent conversation, Irving would have expelled Sophia from his shelter right after the second wave of calamities.
A principle in the survival law of the apocalypse is that any shelter can only have one decision-maker.
All the ambushing Rock-Piercing Beasts had died inside the cave, and Irving finally relaxed. By the time he returned to the front line, the battle was nearing its end.
Of the original five Stone Golem Giants, two had already fallen. The Snow Shadow Headed Wolf was covered in wounds from the other exotic beasts, especially the horrific gash on its abdomen where its intestines were faintly visible.
Fourteen Snow Shadow Wolves had now been reduced to seven, and they were all severely injured, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Irving's gaze fell on Little Black, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Enveloped entirely in purple flames, Little Black had somehow grown several times larger, and as it walked through the surrounding purple fire, its wounds seemed to be healing.
"Little Black must have a natural affinity for fire." Irving murmured to himself.
By now, the area around the shelter had become a wasteland, with collapsed walls, corpses strewn everywhere, and blood soaking the ground, the air thick with the stench of death.
Seeing the bodies of their comrades, the remaining exotic beasts in the horde began to flee.
As the rank of the exotic beasts increased, so did their intelligence. Unlike the lower-ranked Pigmen, they weren't about to continue a fight they knew would lead to their death.
Gradually, the battle finally came to a halt.
When Vicky, perched on the arrow tower, saw Irving, she opened her mouth slightly as if to say something, but before she could utter a word, she collapsed from exhaustion.
If it hadn't been for her support, the stone giants and Snow Shadow Wolves would have suffered even greater losses, possibly even complete annihilation.
In the game, although support healers rarely possess powerful offensive capabilities, their role within a team is crucial, often determining the outcome of a battle.
"Irving, I did it... I defended the shelter." Vicky whispered weakly as Irving reached the arrow tower and carried her down, her body exhausted from overusing her mental energy.
As he listened to her faint voice, Irving felt something stir within him. "Alright, don't speak. Just rest for now."
The second wave of calamity had finally ended.
When Sophia walked over from the generator and swept her gaze over the mountainous pile of exotic beast carcasses in front of her, her body inexplicably froze in place. For the longest time, she was unable to snap back to reality: "I must be hallucinating... How could... How could so many items have dropped? This isn't, this isn't logical!" seaʀᴄh thё ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.