1740 The Hundredth Floor. III
'How sure are you about this?' Felix doubled down with a hint of surprise in his voice.
In his mind, if what she said was true, then he had nothing to fear from the beam. While he was somewhat certain that the beam might be created of that bizarre anti-quantum energy due to his gut feelings being insensitive to it, he still had to make sure.
'All we know is that the beam never failed in obliterating anything it touched.' Commander Bia added, 'Thus, we can only theorize that it's anti-quantum energy.'
Commander Bia also wanted to confirm the theory since it would ensure her safety on the hundredth floor and give her more freedom to do as she pleased.
But, she didn't dare attempt to confirm it on her own skin while the others weren't considered helpful in this matter.
However, it soon dawned on her that she was traveling with two potentially surface dwellers, who had no relation to the quantum realm like her.
'Should I experiment with one of them?' Commander Bia thought about it briefly before shaking her head, 'The beam doesn't discriminate and if I went for it, they have to be away from the squad.'
Additionally, she understood that if it didn't work against them, this would expose their identities, and she had no desire to make enemies with two Unigins, who were being chased by her most loathed being in the universe.
'It's best I remain chummy with them until that plague catches up.' Commander Bia coldly narrowed her eyes, 'I will need any help I can get.'
The current state between Felix and Commander Bia was quite weird. Both of them sought each other's assistance against a mutual enemy.
However, none of them dared to bring this matter up front as it meant exposing their identities to each other. Without a mutual link to establish a sense of trust, the status quo would remain as such.
Meanwhile, Felix and Apollo were discussing telepathically how to move forward with this new piece of information.
'What do you think? Should we test out the theory?' Felix asked.
'With what?'
'In the next daylight cycle, I will use my blood-bending abilities to create a clone and send it away. When the night cycle comes, I will get it beamed out by the eye.' Felix replied.
'Sounds good enough, but it will be difficult to pull it off with so many eyes on us.' Apollo added.
'We are bound to get attacked or attack another team, we will make our move during the chaos.''What's next if we succeed?' Apollo questioned the real question.
'We won't have any use for the team.' Felix smiled coldly, 'Besides Commander Bia, the rest will be too scared to make a move during the night cycle. This will give us complete ownership over the floor.'
In other words, they wouldn't need to remain lowkey anymore and could use the All-Seeing-Eye as a weapon to obtain the map and eliminate as many squads as possible before entering the next floors.
He wouldn't be the paragon of sins if he gave a sh*t about the lives of some strangers in a foreign realm.
'It's a pl...'
Rumble!! Rumble!!
Before Apollo could finish his sentence,the solid ground beneath the stronghold suddenly commenced to shudder and liquefy, the earth morphing into a dark, viscous substance!
In moments, what was once firm ground transformed into a vast swamp with a facade deceptively calm but with a deadly intent!
The transformation was so sudden, so unexpected, that the Vibronxians barely had time to react!
'It's the doing of a Chaosian!!'
'Motherf*ckers! They must have hidden around the place before we arrived!!'
'We are making too much of a disturbance! The All-Seeing-Eye is on to us!!'
Panic ensued as the entire squad commenced to sink into the newly formed swamp, their movements becoming sluggish as the swamp fought to claim them.
It was extremely easy for them to escape from the swamp, but this would force them to make an active movement.
The All-Seeing-Eye was more responsive to such movements than to the environmental ones!
That's why the Gleamkin refused to budge even when the flood was approaching them, knowing that a single movement from them would cause the menacing eye to fire at them.
No one knew why exactly, but that's how it was in the hundredth floor and they would be foolish not to respect it.
Amid the chaos, Samalon watched from a safe distance with a wide grin, the sight of the struggling Vibronxians, ensnared by his trap, brought a sinister satisfaction.
When he gazed above and noticed that the All-Seeing Eye had its horrifying slit concentrated on the sinking stronghold, his satisfaction only grew.
With the All-Seeing-Eye's ominous gaze fixed upon them, Commander Bia and her royal guard knew they needed a diversion to shift that merciless focus away from them and buy themselves precious time.
'Quickly! Offset the focus as practiced!' Commander Bia barked loudly as she connected her mind to the massive vibrational grid around them!
Without a word, the royal guards sprang into action and channeled their focus on a small desolate hill, unremarkable in the landscape of the Echoing Tower's hundredth floor, but strategically located tens of kilometers away from their current position!
'Get ready to ditch the place.'
Apollo warned Felix, having no interest in placing his faith in his squad even when he knew what they planned against ambushes.
'No need, it seems like their strategy is going to work.' Felix replied as he merged his senses with the vibrational network.
He saw how the royal guards had unleashed a concentrated wave of energy, directing it like a spear through the ground toward the unsuspecting hill.
The effect was immediate and dramatic.
Rumble!! Rumble!!!
The earth commenced to tremble, at first a mere vibration but quickly escalating into a powerful quake that radiated outward from the hill's base!
The ground beneath the hill shuddered as if in agony, the vibrations finding faults and weaknesses in the rock!
BOOOM!!!
And then, with a roar that echoed across the desolate landscape, the hill cracked open!
The ground split, tearing apart in a display of raw power, creating a chasm where once there had been solid earth!
Dust and debris filled the air, a cloud of destruction visible even from kilometers away!
The massive disturbance, exactly as Commander Bia had hoped, attracted the All-Seeing-Eye's attention.
Its dreadful gaze that was preparing its beam against the stronghold suddenly shifted to the hill, drawn by the earthquake's scale and the landscape's rupture!
As the beam struck, the area around the hill was bathed in an otherworldly green light, illuminating the chasm and the shattered remnants of what had been!
'Reinforce the ground! I will seek out the culprit!' Commander Bia ordered with great intensity.
Dankin and the rest of the royal guards moved as one gear and started using their quantum energy manipulation to change the structure from a swamp into a solid again, giving them well-needed stability.
Meanwhile, Commander Bia extended her senses through the vibrational network and swiftly found out the source of the ambush.
It appeared as a disharmony in the frequencies within a forest of consistently, standing out akin to a sore thumb for those skilled enough.
'Found you, you rat.' She uttered coldly as she prepared her retaliation, having no intentions of letting him go!