Deep in the mine tunnels, the four puppets had originally just been standing silently before the light curtain, like four abandoned stone statues.

But the moment everyone stepped into the clearing, the crystals on their chests suddenly lit up.

The dark red light was like opening eyes, slowly burning in the darkness.

The clicking sound of gears turning grew from weak to strong, and the rusted axles let out a piercing grinding sound.

It was as if something that had slept for thousands of years was waking up.

The puppets were activated, and their axle arms slowly rose.

Their movements weren't fast, but every step was heavy and powerful, making a dull thud as they stepped on the stone slabs.

Feng Qingyan was the first to strike, a Flame Burst hitting the chest of the foremost puppet, exploding in a burst of fire, -195.

Cracks spread across the puppet's stone body under the impact of the Flame Burst, and rubble fell away.

But they continued to advance mechanically, every swing of their axle arms accompanied by a dull sound of breaking wind.

Feng Qingyan raised an eyebrow, and a second Flame Burst followed immediately, -192; the puppet's steps began to falter.

Jiang Yelan cut in from the side, her figure flickering in and out of the darkness, her shadow moon blade precisely slicing through the joints on the puppet's arms.

One strike, -230; two strikes, -231; three strikes, an arm fell off the puppet, hitting the ground with a heavy metallic clang.

Zhao Hu and Tie Dun held the front. Tie Dun raised his troll bone shield and took a heavy punch from a puppet head-on. A dent appeared on the shield, 【Mighty Block】 triggered, damage reduction took effect, -25.

Zhao Hu hacked at the puppet's knee joints from the side with his bone-crushing greatsword, each hit taking away over 50 health. 【Fang Counter-Stab】 reflected twenty damage with every block.

Su Yurou's Healing Spell never stopped. The light of the Healing Spell flickered alternately on the four people.

Her positioning was stable, always remaining outside the puppets' attack range.

The battle ended quickly; in less than a minute, all four puppets had fallen.

Stone bodies shattered across the ground, minecart parts were scattered everywhere, and gears rolled far away, hitting the rock walls with a "clink-clank" sound.

Those red crystals on their chests dimmed after the puppets fell, turning into grayish-white stones.

The light of leveling up shone one after another.

A white light flashed over Feng Qingyan; she looked down at her hands, a grin spreading across her face: "Level twenty-five!"

White light also lit up on Jiang Yelan, level twenty-two.

Zhao Hu level twenty-two, Su Yurou level twenty-two, Tie Dun level twenty-one.

"Sweet!" Tie Dun put away his shield, a silly grin on his face.

"Fighting these non-running iron lumps is much more satisfying than fighting those slippery snakes!"

Arrow Eye leaned against the rock wall, arms crossed, and said expressionlessly: "That's because puppets don't crawl onto your neck."

Tie Dun glared at him: "Why do you have to bring that up?"

Arrow Eye ignored him.

Wang Wu walked over, squatted down, and picked up several Blue Crystals from the puppet fragments.

Blue Crystal, the size of a goose egg, with nebula-like light slowly flowing inside.

He weighed them in his hand and turned to Lin Feng: "Lord, a few Blue Crystals dropped."

Lin Feng nodded: "Keep them."

He stepped toward the translucent light curtain.

The light curtain read "Dungeon Fourth Floor Entrance," and the runes on the edges were slowly flowing, emitting a faint blue light.

He stood before the light curtain and reached out to touch it. A warm sensation came from his fingertips; like the previous floors, there was no resistance.

Lin Feng withdrew his hand and turned to look at everyone.

Behind him, the others had already caught up.

"The fourth floor," he said, "let's go down and see."

He took the first step, entering the light curtain.

...

The entrance light curtain of the fourth floor rippled like water the moment everyone stepped in.

Their vision suddenly opened up to a vast, boundless plain.

The vault was unfathomably high, with countless faint blue soul fires floating in the air.

Like an inverted galaxy, it illuminated the entire Dungeon floor as if it were day.

The light was cold white, without warmth, yet bright enough to see every inch of the ground.

Tattered flags, broken spears, and rusted armor were [N O V E L I G H T] scattered across the plain.

Some were half-buried in the soil, while others were blown askew by the wind.

It was as if this had once been an ancient battlefield where countless people fought and died, leaving only these relics to rot in the silence.

A system prompt appeared before everyone's eyes.

【System Prompt: Dungeon Third Floor conquered.】

【Restriction Lifted: Entry restriction for the third floor for Adventurers has been cancelled.】

Lin Feng smiled slightly—three floors now—but his smile soon froze as his gaze was locked onto three figures ahead.

On the plain, three Undead Knights stood side by side a hundred meters away.

They rode Skeleton Warhorses, their bodies covered in damaged metal barding, their eyes burning with blue flames—no pupils, just two balls of cold fire.

Sharp bone spurs grew from the horses' leg joints, and their hooves left deep prints on the ground.

The knights wore half-plate armor, with blurred family crests engraved on their breastplates, eroded by time until the patterns were unrecognizable.

They wore fully enclosed helmets, revealing only two hollow eye sockets where ghostly blue light flickered.

They held long lances or scimitars, with cracked shields hanging by their saddles.

【Undead Knight (elite) · LV25】

The three Undead Knights turned their heads simultaneously, their hollow eye sockets locking onto the people who had just emerged from the light curtain.

Without hesitation or warning, they spurred their warhorses and launched a charge.

The ground trembled as twelve hooves thundered across the plain, like distant thunder drawing near.

They were extremely fast; the hundred-meter distance would be covered in just three or four breaths.

Lances leveled, scimitars drawn, shields held across the horses' bodies, the blue fire in their eyes burning even more intensely.

Jiang Zhaoyue's expression remained unchanged as she pulled out that silver-white spear from her back—the silver moon sky spear, purple quality.

Complex lunar phase patterns were engraved on the spear's shaft, glinting coldly under the pale white light of the soul fires.

She gripped the spear with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally, her gaze locked on the foremost Undead Knight.

【Silver Moon Spear Radiance】 activated!

A spear condensed from moonlight flew from her hand, striking the chest of the leading Undead Knight in a straight line.

-420! (Deals 150% Attack Power damage to the first enemy hit)

The Undead Knight was pinned in place, the lance slipping from its hand and the scimitar falling to the ground.

The warhorse whinnied and reared up, but the knight's body was confined by the silver-white light.

Unable to move, attack, or cast spells (If the target's total attributes are lower than one's own, they are pinned in place).

Three seconds of confinement was enough to do many things.

"Go." Jiang Zhaoyue's voice was cold and decisive.

Shi Pojun, Zhao Hu, Tie Dun, Su Yurou, Feng Qingyan, and Jiang Yelan charged out simultaneously.