Perhaps even more dreary than Aya, were Shuma and Bainrich on this side. One is a clandestine knight, the other a renowned fugitive. Under normal circumstances, they would never team up, even if they were cooperating at Tiran's request this time. Shuma still didn't want to travel with a fugitive. But for the time being, they couldn't separate. Maybe it was because of the bad luck they had with the snow wolf gang recently, as they had encountered numerous attacks along the way, some of which were from opponents no weaker than a grand knight. They were only able to fend off those opponents with the help of Bainrich and had even acquired valuable spoils. Now, even if Shuma didn't want to cooperate, she had to bear with it for the time being.

"Hey, Knight, let's go up and help. It seems like Hermes... His Highness Tiran is dealing with that guy. And it sounds like they're having a fierce battle," Bainrich said with a smirk, looking up at the shaking dome above.

"Find the nearest passage to go up," Shuma responded briefly. Unless this guy had genuine strength and they were consistently encountering opponents who were after their spoils, she wouldn't even bother speaking to this wanted criminal.

"Do you have to be so cold? I know you hate fugitives, but right now we are allies. I can't simply trust you with my back during battles with that attitude," Bainrich said.

"Is your mouth always this full of nonsense?" Shuma impatiently glared at him.

"I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere since you've been quiet the whole time," Bainrich shrugged. "Well, never mind if you don't like it... Besides, we have work to do."

Shuma didn't need him to say it; she could also hear the faint sounds of movement. The sounds were dense, not footsteps, more like the sound of something continuously rubbing against the ground... Monsters? Shuma quickly recalled the descriptions of the maze monsters she had read in the participant handbook before entering the ruins.

It sounded large, a desert scorpion? A stone golem? Or...

Compared to the female knight, Bainrich, being a mercenary, naturally adopted the style of dealing with everything first and talking later. His massive sword slammed down, creating a gust of wind, and a powerful shockwave erupted as it struck the ground, heading in the direction of the sound.

"Hiss!"

With a terrifying screech mixed with the sound of cracking bricks, a monstrous entity rose halfway up behind two buildings. It had fine black scales covering its body, eerie red lines scattered all over, and crimson eyes...

When they saw this creature, even top-notch experts like Shuma and Bainrich, who ranked well in this competition, couldn't help but feel troubled. Shuma couldn't help but suspect herself of truly being affected by the misfortune surrounding this fugitive beside her.

It was the labyrinth dominator, the colossal serpent Ana Laman.

...

Upon reaching the second floor, Aya was immediately captivated by the sight before her. Although it lasted only a moment, she had to admit that the scene in front of her was visually striking.

If the first floor was a calm river with only sporadic battles causing ripples, the second floor was like a turbulent sea... or rather, a massive vortex.

The entire second-floor area had become a battlefield, with the focal point of the fighting happening near the buildings in the north.

A towering black metal humanoid, reaching ten meters in height! Aya immediately recognized that thing, it was the humanoid weapon that attacked Gilliast Castle as described by Mimi!

It was as tall as three floors, with a hollowed-out high-strength alloy frame to reduce its weight, and an external armor plate... Originally, most metals had a high resistance to magic, and magitech performed poorly. But this thing actually used a lot of mithril to enhance its magitech performance. The silver circuits on its body emitted a faint blue light, converging at the magical core in its chest.

"What the hell is that? So ugly."

Just as Atrass stepped out of the passage, she took a glance at the thing and blurted it out.

Aya twitched her mouth. Well, the hollow metal frame did look like a skeleton, with many of its built-in circuits and devices exposed. It gave a horrifying feeling, as if all the skin and muscles were stripped off, leaving only bones and organs. It was indeed ugly beyond description.

The metal giant was already engulfed in a sea of fire, and several rows of buildings around it had already been affected by the battle and reduced to rubble. There were already more than ten formidable individuals surrounding it, bombarding it with mixed magic from various schools, causing explosive dust and haze to burst out from the body. But the seemingly fragile skeleton of the metal giant was covered with a translucent barrier and remained motionless under the attacks.

"Seems like it's quite intense."

Aya cast a glance from afar. The participants in the siege were generally of high caliber, all relying on the Great Knight, or perhaps even higher. After all, only one person would eventually get the kill. Although this group was now attacking together, internal conflicts were not impossible by the end. No one dared to go all out, of course.

Of course, it could also be related to the death of those with lower strength. With the keen eyes of the Golden Dragon, it was easy to find many bodies that had been smashed into a bloody mess in the ruins around the metal giant's feet.

"Hehe, then I'll go first!"

In the midst of speaking, Atrass's magitech metal exoskeleton emitted a slight operational sound. Three metal supports spread out to support the surroundings, while a grotesque-shaped giant spear... Or perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a cannon.

In just a few seconds, Atrass had already transformed into a magitech cannon. Occupying the high ground at the entrance of the passage, facing such a huge target as the metal giant, it was the perfect shooting condition.

"Gangneil, fire!"

This time, it was no longer the incredibly magnificent pillar-like shots before, but a one-meter-diameter magical bullet was fired to save magic power. The white light sphere, trailing a long tail flame, plummeted towards the metal giant, bursting into a brilliant fireworks display on its shoulder. The tremendous force even caused the metal giant, which had remained unbeaten against the siege of more than ten people, to stumble.

But that was it. The bombardment caused the magic shield on the giant's body to shake, but ultimately it remained stable.

"It's a bit tough." Atrass licked her lips. Gangneil was definitely her most powerful weapon. If she wanted to increase the damage further, she would have to close in and use the continuous barrage mode as before.

Meanwhile, the more than ten participants who were besieging the giant saw the opportunity to take advantage of its bombardment and immediately rushed forward. However, the metal giant was also waiting for this moment. Numerous magitech cannons and magic guns of various calibers all over its body opened fire at the oncoming challengers.

Countless magical bullets trailed glowing lights and danced in the dark underground space. The metal giant seemed to have turned into a dazzling fireworks display, with countless cannons firing in unison.

"Oh, how miserable." Atrass had originally wanted to launch a close-range attack, but after seeing this scene, she gave up. Even with mechanical assistance, she could only control two light rapid-fire magic guns at most, while the big guy had at least ten different-sized gun barrels all over its body. It was simply not in the same league.

As for Aya...

She's on the phone.

"What are you doing? Why haven't you come yet?"

"I could ask you the same, why haven't I seen you come up? We agreed to meet here, didn't we?"

"..." Silence ensued.

"So, you definitely wanted me to go up first, right? And then you'll join later to collect the rewards!" Aya questioned. Well, don't ask me how I know, the master and servant are in sync, and that's what I think that guy must be thinking too!

"That's impossible!" Tiran immediately objected, saying firmly, "I'm worried that if Chirp is inside that big guy, I might accidentally hurt her with my sword!"

"Huh? So, I misunderstood you?"

"Well, there might have been a misunderstanding... cough cough, yes, it was a misunderstanding."

This master... Aya's face was filled with black lines.

"Alright, I'm coming over now." Aya felt Tiran's position through their contract, jumped down from the high platform, and started moving, stepping on the roofs of the buildings. Aetras also switched out of cannon-mode and followed.

"By the way, have you ever thought about something?" Aya recalled something and suddenly asked.

"What?"

"That guy Hermes, isn't he in cahoots with the organizers here? Why would the organizers create such a situation? Is betraying your teammates the new trend nowadays?"

"Hmm, not sure. But in any case, the current situation is in our favor. Our goal hasn't changed, find little Chirp and take down the old pervert!"

The princess inherited War King's straightforward thinking and vigorously clenched her fist, full of energy.