Meanwhile, Erick remained at the front line.

Realizing the monsters were becoming too numerous, he finally activated his ability.

Crack!!!

Brilliant bolts of lightning surged through the air.

The lightning condensed into sharp, ice-like spears before shooting forward at incredible speed.

THRASH!!!

One spear pierced straight through a monster’s skull.

THRASH!!!

Another tore through the head of a second creature.

THRASH!!!

A third monster dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Unlike ordinary attacks, Erick’s ability possessed a unique advantage.

It could branch and split.

Rather than eliminating monsters one at a time, a single lightning spear could divide into multiple projectiles, allowing him to strike several targets simultaneously.

Combined with its overwhelming speed, the ability was devastating.

The monsters barely had time to react before their heads were pierced.

In only a few seconds, multiple creatures collapsed to the floor.

"Damn..." one of the survivors muttered. "Captain’s ability is seriously broken."

"The monsters from the core room are still there, and we also need to watch out for monsters appearing from any side of the room," Josh complained while firing another burst from his rifle. "At this rate, I’m about to collapse."

"Watch out!" Ivy suddenly shouted.

Now that they had put some distance between themselves and the core room, she was beginning to feel slightly better.

Without hesitation, she raised her weapon and fired.

BANG! BANG!

A monster that had leaped from the right side instantly lost half its head before crashing to the floor.

Josh’s eyes widened.

"That thing almost got me."

"Focus," Ivy warned. "You’re getting sloppy."

"Have you forgotten that bastard Nathan already activated the destruction program?" Albert said while continuing to fire. "That means monsters can literally appear from anywhere."

Another shot rang out.

BANG!

A monster’s head burst apart.

"They could come through the walls."

BANG!

"They could come through the floor."

BANG!

"They could even come through the ceiling and pierce straight into your skull before you realize what’s happening."

"Oh, that’s just fucking wonderful," one of the survivors groaned.

"I think we’re safe now," Josh murmured after glancing toward the battlefield behind them.

He squinted his eyes while counting.

"The Captain only has..."

A lightning spear shot across the room.

THRASH!!!

"...one..."

Another monster collapsed.

THRASH!!!

"...two..."

Yet another creature died.

THRASH!!!

"Oh yeah. Around ten more monsters from the core room left to kill."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"We’re safe, I guess."

BOOOOM!!!

Without warning, the ground on both the right and left sides suddenly split apart.

The floor cracked violently.

Chunks of concrete and metal exploded upward, sending debris flying everywhere.

Dust instantly filled the air.

"Cough!"

Several survivors were forced to shield their eyes.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Josh shouted.

"They didn’t come from the ceiling, but the damn floor isn’t any better!"

He waved his arm desperately in front of his face, trying to clear the dust cloud.

"I feel like I might wet myself at this rate!"

Despite his complaint, he forced himself to keep his eyes open.

The last thing he wanted was to be caught off guard by a surprise attack.

Deep growls suddenly emerged from the massive cracks.

GROOOOWL!!!

The survivors watched in horror as multiple monsters began climbing out from beneath the shattered floor.

Their claws scraped against the broken concrete as they crawled upward.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me..."

One survivor tightened his grip on his weapon.

Another took several nervous steps backward.

The monsters hadn’t even fully emerged yet, but everyone already knew they were about to be attacked.

However, before the creatures could completely crawl out of the ground....before they could leap toward the survivors....

WHOOSH!!!

A powerful surge of water erupted from beneath the floor.

Massive walls of water rose into the air.

The rushing currents formed an enormous barrier between the survivors and the monsters and turned ice immediately.

The sudden force slammed into the creatures, blocking their path completely.

The survivors stared in shock as they tired to make sense of what was going on now.