The energy blade sank into the earth, slicing through it as smoothly as a knife through butter. With a flick of his wrist, Mo Chen swept the blade across the ground.
The next second—a deafening roar erupted from below.
The ground trembled violently.
Suddenly, the terrain bulged upward like an overinflated drum, and in the next instant—a massive surge of molten lava burst forth, shooting into the sky like a blazing tongue of fire!
In the blink of an eye—
The heavens were shrouded in flame!
Meanwhile, Dorothy, watching from a distance, felt her pupils contract slightly.
The sheer destructive power Mo Chen had just unleashed had completely shattered her expectations. It was hard to believe that a mere human, armed only with a battle suit, could produce such an earth-shattering effect.
To alter the terrain on this scale…
This was already approaching the level of the Heretics.
At this moment, crimson lava surged skyward.
And the eruption site—
Was precisely where Mo Chen stood!
Without hesitation, Mo Chen activated space-jump.
His silver-white armor flickered, and he reappeared a hundred meters away. But—the lava's reach was immense, spreading across several hundred meters.
He jumped again—another hundred meters—but by then, the searing heat was already upon him.
There was no time to escape.
Mo Chen made a split-second decision: to take it head-on.
Volcanic eruptions produced lava hotter than molten steel, carrying immense kinetic force, akin to a massive thermal lance burning through anything in its path.
But Mo Chen wasn't reckless—he had already prepared for this.
The Blacklight Virus granted him insane durability and regeneration.
Even a nuclear explosion equivalent to hundreds of thousands of tons of TNT would barely scratch him.
Nano barrier deployed!
A semi-transparent honeycomb-like shield unfolded before him.
However—
Nano barriers weren't great at resisting extreme heat.
The only reason it provided any protection at all was because Mo Chen's cellular energy reserves were absurdly high.
If this had been the original nano armor from its source material, it would have melted through in seconds.
Scorching lava, mixed with volcanic ash, roared toward him, and just then…
A small figure suddenly rushed forward, positioning herself between Mo Chen and the fiery onslaught.
She activated her defensive shields: two floating energy barriers at her sides rapidly expanded, transforming into a massive iron wall.
Mo Chen's eyes flickered with surprise.
It was Noah.
"BOOOOM——!"
The raging lava collided against her shields, slamming into them with the force of a collapsing mountain.
The immense impact sent Noah flying backward—over a hundred meters!
Noah gritted her teeth, pushing her internal power core to the absolute limit, trying to resist the lava's force.
But her body was still being forcefully repelled.
The sheer momentum behind the eruption had to be at least several hundred tons, possibly even thousands.
"Idiot human! Has your brain malfunctioned?! Do you have zero common sense?! Why would you even think you could block lava head-on?!"
Even while struggling against the molten onslaught, Noah was furiously complaining—
Her cheeks were slightly flushed from her power core overheating.
Her fingers, tightly gripping her shield controls, had gone pale under the pressure.
And then… A hand gently pressed down on her shoulder.
With just a slight push her retreat instantly came to a stop.
It was Mo Chen!
"Thanks a lot."
Mo Chen smiled as he spoke. To be honest, he hadn't expected Noah to help him. After all, they'd only just met—a mere passing acquaintance.
"Hmph, don't get the wrong idea," Noah huffed, rolling her eyes. She tilted her chin up slightly and let out a little snort. "I only helped because you're Eden's guest and because you were helping Eden. It has nothing to do with you personally!"
Even as she spoke with a sharp tongue, the corners of her lips betrayed her true emotions, twitching uncontrollably upward.
If she had a tail, it would no doubt be wagging furiously by now.
Mo Chen sighed helplessly.
Why was this girl's mouth so sharp?
Because of the earlier direct hit from the lava, both he and Noah had been sent flying nearly a kilometer away.
Looking up, Mo Chen turned his gaze toward the distant mountains. In a low-lying valley, lava was still surging from cracks in the earth like a massive volcanic fountain, while thick clouds of ash blackened the sky.
But—farther in the direction of Eden, the smoke had begun to clear.
The volcanic pressure had been successfully redirected.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Just as Mo Chen was about to head back—
A piercing scream rang out right next to his ear, making his head buzz from the sheer volume.
Turning back, he saw Noah staring blankly at her shield, her eyes welling up with tears.
It looked like she was about to burst into sobs at any moment.
Mo Chen followed her gaze—and froze.
Her once-indestructible shield now had a gaping, melted hole burned straight through it. The edges had curled and blackened under the extreme heat, and what was once a highly advanced alloy had turned into a warped, misshapen mess.
It barely even looked like a shield anymore.
In other words—it was completely ruined.
A heartbroken expression flickered across Noah's face.
The shield she cherished the most, something she had always proudly carried, was now nothing more than a fragile, broken wreck.
And just like that—
"WAAAHHHH!!"
Noah threw her head back and sobbed uncontrollably.
"MY SHIELD! MY SHIELD!!"
Mo Chen quickly covered his ears—
Damn, this girl had one hell of a set of lungs.
Seeing how devastated she was, he hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to offer some comfort.
"Uh… my condolences?"
Mission success! His attempt at comfort instantly turned her sadness into rage.
From a certain perspective—Mo Chen had succeeded.
Noah shot to her feet, furiously wiping away her tears, and glared daggers at Mo Chen.
As if he were the true culprit behind this disaster.
Well… okay. He kind of was.
Mo Chen awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Uh… how about I make it up to you?"
"Oh? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Noah stomped her foot, gritting her teeth in frustration. "Mr. Human, did your brain get fried by the lava or something?! Do you even know what this shield is?!"
She pointed furiously at the ruined shield.
"This is the strongest shield in the world! It was forged from the most advanced alloy! And do you know what's worse?! The materials to make it don't even exist anymore! How the hell are you going to replace it?!"
Mo Chen scratched his head.
Though, given the situation, what he said next was probably not the best choice of words.
Still—he couldn't hold it in.
"If it was the 'strongest' shield," he said matter-of-factly, "then why couldn't it even block some lava?"
A critical hit!
Noah froze.
Then—her expression turned darker and darker, shifting between ashen white and furious red.
Just as Mo Chen braced himself for a verbal explosion—
Noah suddenly hugged her broken shield and turned away.
"Hmph! Shields aren't made to block lava! Have you ever seen a guy wearing high heels?! Idiot."
She grumbled bitterly before muttering.
"Whatever. I was the one who chose to protect you in the first place. It's got nothing to do with you. If anyone's to blame—I was just too kind."
She huffed in frustration, clearly annoyed with herself.
If only she hadn't stepped in… She should've just let this reckless human turn into a well-done steak. Now, her beloved shield was gone forever!