If they stopped now, they'd definitely lose the Tour de Inferno.
Caesar didn't have time to hesitate. Gritting her teeth, she shouted, "Clorinde, Billy—dare to charge with me?"
Billy yelled back, "Let's go, boss!"
Clorinde also answered, "Miss Caesar, I trust you."
Belle's voice rang out through Eous. "Caesar, you're about to hit the rocks...!"
With everyone's response, Caesar made up her mind.
"Full throttle! Follow me!"
Without another word, she twisted the throttle to the max, yanked the handlebars, and pushed off with one foot—blasting through the narrow gap between two massive boulders.
Only by squeezing through this crevice could they reach the Lake of Fire.
Following her lead, Clorinde and Billy used the same maneuver, tailing Caesar closely into the gap.
But the moment they entered...
Explosions echoed all around.
Definitely another one of The Vanquishers' traps.
The ground and mountains shook violently with each blast, rumbling as if everything was about to collapse.
Belle, still controlling Eous, cried out, "Caesar, go! Faster!"
"We're almost through—stay behind me!" Caesar shouted back.
The roar of engines echoed between the stone walls.
Then, up ahead, Caesar saw a faint light.
But before she could rejoice—
A massive explosion ripped through the mountain above. The entire ridge shattered.
It happened too fast for them to react. And trapped in the rocky passage, there was nowhere to run.
"Watch out for the blast!" Caesar shouted, warning Clorinde and Billy.
But the next instant, the rocks around Caesar seemed to come alive, curling in around her like a shield.
Then everything went black.
Just as the Tour de Inferno track exploded...
Not far away, on a nearby mountain peak...
Sam Li had already spotted Mors—one of The Vanquishers—hiding nearby, and had seen through their plan.
So the moment the explosion went off, Sam Li used Geo energy to shield Caesar, Clorinde, Billy, and Belle-controlled Eous.
He also used the spatial rift created by the blast to push them out of the danger zone.
He only intervened to protect their lives.
As for the race itself, that was a battle the Sons of Calydon had to face. Unless it came down to a critical moment, Sam Li had no intention of interfering.
After confirming their safe landing point, he turned away and vanished from the mountaintop.
Amidst the wreckage beyond the explosion—
Caesar slowly came to, dazed and disoriented. She was lying in a pile of rubble.
She remembered the stone shield that had protected her.
She sat up quickly, scanning her surroundings.
"Mr. Sam Li! Are you there?"
Instead, she spotted Eous nearby, half-buried in debris.
She rushed over. "Proxy! Are you alright? That blast came out of nowhere—you must've taken a hit...!"
But then Belle's voice came through Eous.
"I'm fine, Caesar... just give me a hand."
Eous's small limbs were stuck beneath the wreckage, unable to move.
Caesar quickly reached in. "Hang on—I've got you."
With effort, she pulled Eous free.
"I'm fine. But what about Clorinde and Billy? Do you see them?"
Caesar shook her head. "No. The explosion was so sudden... they were probably caught in the blast too."
She remembered being shielded by stone, but she had no idea what had happened to Clorinde and Billy—or where they were now.
Then something caught her eye.
"Ah—achoo! Belle, what's all this glittery dust on you?"
Belle looked at Eous's arms, then at Caesar.
She lifted a tiny hand and examined the dust.
After a pause, she said in surprise, "This... looks like Ether explosive powder."
Caesar's expression darkened, her anger rising.
"I knew it. Someone's behind this. The Vanquishers—this is their doing. Yesterday's ambush must've been them too."
Even with all their precautions, they still fell into The Vanquishers' trap.
Looking up at the sky, Caesar confirmed what she suspected—the drone that had been broadcasting the race was gone.
The audience had no idea any of this was happening.
Beside her, Belle spoke seriously through Eous.
"Caesar, The Vanquishers are probably close to the Lake of Fire by now. The Sons of Calydon have almost no chance left. What are you going to do?"
Giving up now would mean no more danger...
Continuing would mean facing more traps—and almost certain defeat...
Caesar's eyes stayed firm.
"Of course we keep racing. I'm going to the Lake of Fire—I'm going to confront Uncle Pompey myself."
She was worried about the Lake of Fire.
Now that The Vanquishers had betrayed the motorcycle gang alliance, Caesar couldn't trust them to safeguard such a crucial site.
Seeing Caesar's determination, Belle didn't try to stop her.
"In that case, let's hurry and find Clorinde and Billy. We still have a race to finish."
Caesar nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking."
But as they stepped out of the rubble...
They found their path blocked—by a pack of Ethereals.
Caesar raised her shield in one hand and her sword in the other.
"Stay behind me. I'll handle this."