The teardrop-shaped lead bullet, trailing wisps of smoke, flew with crisp precision toward the head of the Hydralisk. Yet, due to Fang Senyan's inherent deficiencies in marksmanship, the shot was visibly skewed; a classic case of "close but no cigar" in aiming. Strangely, however, as if guided by some unseen, miraculous force, the bullet's trajectory was violently wrenched and corrected by a noticeable degree!

The 'Guaranteed Hit' special effect immediately activated!

This fatal lead slug not only heavily wounded the crimson-gold-striped Hydralisk but also slammed it into a stunned state. By the time the three-second stun faded, Mogansa had already recovered from his paralysis and scrambled back behind cover with maximum speed, leaving the enemy no further chance to retaliate.

Next, Reef charged headlong into the pack of Zerglings. Shielding himself with his monstrous, terrifying silver alien carapace, he let out a soul-shaking roar! Under that invisible impact, the nearby blood-red, gold-striped Zerglings were instantly whipped about as if by a gale, crimson threads of blood seeping from their maws and eye sockets. Their normally frenzied attack and movement speeds plummeted dramatically!

Heart-wrenching!

These Zerglings, possessing high tactical awareness, had originally intended to bypass the two in front—Fang Senyan and Reef—and swarm the ranged attackers behind: the Black-Spine Tribe Hydralisks and the elite human soldiers. However, with their speed forcibly reduced by at least 50%, continuing their charge would only result in them being annihilated by bullets and acid during their sluggish advance, leaving not even dregs behind. Thus, they redirected their targets back toward Fang Senyan and Reef. Unfortunately for them, these two targets were immovable, damned boulders, and their hardness was akin to granite.

In a mere few minutes, the sudden battle was over. In this engagement, Fang Senyan’s accompanying Zerglings were reduced to only three survivors. Fortunately, his ranged fire support remained largely intact. Seeing this, Fang Senyan’s expression grew somber. The Zerglings could not afford further losses; otherwise, he would have to use the Hydralisks as scouts. And how much danger lay ahead was entirely unpredictable!

Take, for instance, the massive Spore Colony defense tower directly ahead. It appeared as defenseless before them as a certain actress’s photo shoot subject, yet Fang Senyan absolutely did not believe they could just rush up and do as they pleased. On the contrary, as the Zerg guards were decimated, a profound sense of menace descended upon Fang Senyan’s consciousness—a voice tirelessly urging him: “Do not approach, do not approach! By all means, do not approach!” The group rested here for ten minutes, both to allow their bodies to recover and to discuss an attack plan. But just as they hesitated, all three of their Nightmare Imprints simultaneously flashed a warning: “Warning! You have delayed too long. The Queen's direct forces on Spore Highlands have detected the anomaly and dispatched additional patrol units... they will meet you in ten minutes.”

“Warning! You have delayed too long. The Queen's direct forces on Spore Highlands have detected the anomaly. From now on, an additional patrol unit will be dispatched every thirty minutes to conduct sweeps. The strength of these patrols will increase sequentially.”

“OH! Damn it!” Fang Senyan didn’t even have time to curse. He immediately surveyed the surrounding terrain, and Mogansa and Reef, both experts in this area, quickly selected the most strategically sound location for a defensive hold! Soon, the first patrol unit arrived from the rear—roughly thirty blood-red, gold-striped Zerglings and five blood-red, gold-striped Hydralisks.

Among them was a monster none of them had seen before. This creature resembled a long-legged spider with eight elongated limbs, each ending in a metallic blade that glinted coldly. Its head looked somewhat like a Hydralisk’s, but it was at least two to three times larger, and its movement was remarkably swift due to the constant scuttling of its eight legs. Golden stripes ran from its torso down its limbs, lending it an eerie majesty!

Reef’s eyes widened upon seeing the creature. He immediately contacted Fang Senyan: “This is an evolved form of the Hydralisk! We encountered it when we were rescuing Rigel Johnny, appearing alongside the Fire-Breathing Beetles! This creature is called a Lurker. On the surface, it poses no threat, but it can burrow underground at incredible speeds and then erupt with wave-like, razor-sharp spikes, dealing damage to everyone in its line of attack. We didn't pay attention then, and thirteen men from the Hardcore Squad were killed by it! We must take it down immediately, or once it submerges, inflicting damage will become incredibly difficult.”

“A ground-spiking turret’s area-of-effect version?” Fang Senyan stared intently at the Lurker’s carapace, which shimmered with metallic hues, clearly indicating its defenses were formidable! “What about its range?”

“It absolutely won't be inferior to a Machine Gunner’s range. Although it cannot move underground, its attack radius should be comparable to our firearms. More importantly, since the attack originates directly from beneath the earth, most cover becomes useless. And the crucial question remains: have the Queen’s direct forces’ Lurkers received any additional enhancements!”

Clearly, Mogansa's 'Spartan Spear' ability was still on cooldown.

Seeing the situation, Fang Senyan could only sigh. This battle was destined to be agonizingly difficult! The only silver lining was that ‘Song of Rum’ had a ten-minute cooldown, meaning it could still be deployed in the fight.

Fifteen minutes later, the battle concluded. Fang Senyan, hidden nearby, executed a successful ambush. Combining the three-second stun from ‘Song of Rum’ with one prototype Electromagnetic Cloud Bomb, he managed to control the blood-red, gold-striped Lurker for a total of about ten seconds (as the Lurker also exhibited resistance to stun effects). Meanwhile, all ranged units seized the opportunity to eliminate it.

However, this Zerg patrol unit, which had deliberately spread its formation, immediately launched a ferocious counterattack. Even under the dual control of Fang Senyan and Reef, seven or eight blood-red Zerglings and Hydralisks managed to assault the ranged troops! When the fight ended, Mogansa had one eye blinded by acid spray. Fang Senyan and Reef sustained minimal damage, but all the accompanying Zerglings were wiped out. Only one gravely wounded Hydralisk remained alive. Of the elite human Machine Gunners, only three survived!

It was clear they had to complete the objective within the remaining twenty minutes—at the very least, destroy the massive Spore Colony defense tower before them. They could forget about any extra rewards; survival and avoiding penalties were paramount! Despite the intensely clear threat warnings flooding his senses, Fang Senyan still ordered the sole remaining, heavily injured Hydralisk to attack, sending it staggering toward the giant Spore Colony tower to scout ahead.

One hundred meters, no incident.

Eighty-five meters, no incident.

Fifty meters… “...Suddenly, this critically wounded Hydralisk violently detonated! It exploded into chunks of flesh and splattering green viscous fluid! The fragments and bodily fluids coated the ground, dissolving rapidly like butter dropped into a hot pan, vanishing completely within mere seconds. At the instant of that horrific explosion, a flash of golden light was seen—a light so piercing it seemed to stab directly into the soul!

Fang Senyan turned to Mogansa, whose eyesight was best, his expression grave: “Did you see it?”

Mogansa swallowed hard, his voice dry and strained: “I saw it. It was the piercing attack from a ground-spiking turret. The attack was hard, sharp, swift, and precise! It reeked of gore! Its attack speed appeared to be only half that of a standard Spore Colony’s ground spike, but each strike thrust out two pale, blood-slicked tendrils! The tips of those tendrils shone with a golden luster! Moreover, this blood-red, gold-striped Spore Colony was positioned in an extremely treacherous spot, ensuring that ranged fire would have to detour significantly to strike it! And if we detour, we inevitably enter its firing range, meaning someone must step forward to draw the fire!”

Evidently, this was the final defensive line guarding the massive Spore Colony tower: a blood-red, gold-striped Spore Colony ground spike turret! The next critical step rested squarely on the shoulders of Fang Senyan and Reef: if they could withstand the attack from this turret, they still had a chance to destroy it and complete the mission! But the question remained: “...Can they withstand it?”

If they employed a strategy of alternating who took the hits, a major hurdle arose: how to reliably divert the turret’s attention. For instance, if Fang Senyan took the lead, when he could no longer endure the assault, how could they guarantee Reef would instantly draw the turret’s fire away, and ensure the creature focused solely on him?

This conundrum was solved by Baylanz, one of the remaining ranged personnel. He confidently informed Fang Senyan that human forces’ statistics showed: all Spore Colony ground spikes instinctively targeted the nearest enemy, unless personally controlled by a Brain Bug, in which case they would target the highest-threat unit. Since the Queen's direct forces lacked Brain Bugs, they only followed the Queen’s explicit commands! Fortunately, the Queen was not present now, so this vulnerability could be exploited.

The next step, and the most crucial one, was naturally for Fang Senyan and Reef to personally experience the turret’s offensive power. But the test results immediately poured ice water on everyone’s hopes! Although the blood-red, gold-striped turret’s attack interval was long—almost one strike every six or seven seconds—its theoretical damage output reached a terrifying two hundred, perhaps even two hundred and fifty points or more! Furthermore, its health regeneration was astonishingly fast, estimated to be close to seven thousand points!

…………… Heh heh, what methods do you think Fang Senyan and his team will devise to deal with this terrifying blood-red, gold-striped Spore Colony ground spike turret? This is essentially the final Boss of this scenario. Well, after eliminating it, this stage will be nearing its close.