To everyone in the Illuminati, Fang Senyan was like an omnipresent phantom on the battlefield, always appearing exactly where he needed to be. For instance, for many charging at the forefront, on at least several occasions when their vital points were about to be struck, it was Fang Senyan who swooped in urgently—either using the knockback effect of his shotgun or charging in directly to block the Viper Wolf's guaranteed hit with his bare fists.

From a team perspective, it was certainly a worthwhile trade for Fang Senyan to intentionally take a blow from a beast rather than Sebul, as the latter had a high chance of triggering a critical hit. And clearly, it was a better exchange for the prepared Sailor to be bitten than for these Contractors to be bitten unexpectedly.

Another wave of Viper Wolves surged forward. This time, Yuan Zhan and Zi could finally see that the frontline melee combat had reached its absolute limit and could hardly be sustained. If the forward line collapsed, the entire defense would inevitably shatter. In that instant, they prepared to intervene, but just then, Fang Senyan inexplicably staggered two or three steps back.

"Have you finally reached your limit?" At this moment, both Akaphir and Sebul couldn't help but harbor this thought, one tinged with a sense of relief.

But the moment this idea crossed their minds, Fang Senyan flipped his wrist, and another vial suddenly appeared in his palm. This bottle had a bulbous shape, containing half a bottle of gurgling, pale black liquid, which he forcefully hurled forward.

The bottle soared in a high arc, striking the body of a Viper Wolf before shattering with a "clank." Centered on the point of impact, a pale black shockwave erupted, rapidly expanding until the misty black vapor enveloped an area of over twenty square meters.

The Viper Wolves hit by the shockwave instantly seemed frozen stiff, entering a stunned state! If one was mid-lunge, the outcome was even more tragic—it was akin to losing balance in mid-air, essentially becoming a helpless target delivered right to their doorstep.

At this moment, although many in the Illuminati didn't know what had happened, operating on the principle that only a fool passes up an opportunity, they seized this opening and struck ferociously! Thus, even though the stun duration from Fang Senyan's cursed potion throw was only one second, it successfully interrupted the enemy's attack while simultaneously creating an initiative advantage for his allies. Its combat significance was far from weak as the description implied.

After the potion landed, the faint black mist it formed remained dense like low-hanging clouds, continuously shrouding this wave of Viper Wolves. Soon, someone at the front began reporting data in the team channel: "Huh? Why has my attack power increased?"

"It's Overpowering damage, what's going on? How can I possibly deal Overpowering damage?" "This guy is insane; his potion just gave me an extra 3 points of Strength! With the Viper Wolves' Strength reduced by 4 points now—that's a full 7-point difference from one enhancement and one reduction! I can completely overpower these sons of bitches in terms of Strength now! Haha, you little bastards, taste my iron fist!"

"The Sailor's initial ability seems to be throwing a potion that causes a wide-area debuff, reducing the Viper Wolves' Strength by 4 points, and slowing their movement and attack speed by 20%. The impact wave upon landing stuns enemies for one second."

"Ugh, the timing of this potion drop was exquisite. That damned mongrel's fangs were only three centimeters from my throat at that exact moment."

"..."

As the excited roars of the few melee Contractors at the front rose one after another, the morale of the Illuminati surged. Sebul, in particular, bellowed, and his giant black blade swung horizontally, unleashing terrifying critical damage, Overpowering damage, and area-of-effect devastation. He swept through the four Viper Wolves before him like a whirlwind, slaying three and heavily wounding one, instantly reversing the tide of battle.

This turn of events was exactly what Fang Senyan had anticipated. He already knew that a regular Viper Wolf's Strength hovered around 18 points, and after observation and calculation during this time, the average Strength of the Illuminati's melee Contractors was around 25–30 points. His own +3 Strength potion wasn't enough for a qualitative change, but after throwing the cursed potion, lowering the ordinary Viper Wolves' Strength to 14 points meant the threshold for Overpowering damage dropped to 28 points. This ensured that the vast majority of the melee Contractors would definitely achieve an Overpowering status against them!

Yuan Zhan, who had been ready to jump in, turned to look at Yaomeng and murmured softly, "This Sailor's support capabilities... are truly formidable!" Yaomeng was a slender figure completely shrouded in mist, her narrow waist and full hips vaguely visible, though her face was obscured. Both hands rested on the weapons at her waist—the sheath on the left was long, and the one on the right was short, exuding an aura of sharp, biting lethality. She offered no reply, silently observing the melee, then suddenly turned, speaking with a slight tone of surprise.

"Why are you out here... Zi?" A tall woman emerged from the interior of the vessel. She wore a voluminous, ancient-style, round-neck robe reminiscent of the Ramesses Dynasty. Just looking at it suggested incredibly intricate and lavish craftsmanship, adorned with motifs of sphinxes, cuneiform, and scarabs. The azure background inexplicably brought to mind the surging, tempestuous sea.

Beside Zi floated three diamond-shaped orbs of light, revolving incessantly around her like defensive drones. Merely standing there projected an imposing majesty, making one feel as if the Queen of Egypt stood atop a pyramid reviewing her subjects during the peak of Egyptian civilization.

Zi's deep blue pupils focused on the battle below, where the Viper Wolves were clearly showing signs of waning resistance: "Such a sudden variable appeared; of course, I had to see what was happening. Yaomeng, what is your analysis?"

Yaomeng's tone held a trace of frustration: "I regret to say, My Lady, I have no answer." Zi looked mildly surprised: "You... have no answer?" Yaomeng let out a soft sigh: "Regrettably, this individual called the Sailor possesses exceptionally keen perception, I estimate it to be at least close to thirty points! More importantly, he likely possesses equipment with interference capabilities that render my probing ineffective." Yuan Zhan couldn't help but interject: "But isn't your ability supposed to have priority?"

Yaomeng replied coldly, "Is it impossible for his interference ability to also possess priority?" Zi gazed at the fray silently for a moment: "Even if I didn't step forward, I believe Sebul and Akaphir would have already tried to recruit him. We shall observe for now. The Spatial Battlefield is turbulent and fraught with danger, centered on killing and conspiracy, but it is still only the beginning. Before the Golden Branch Mission appears, it remains relatively safe. Of course, if this person wishes to join our team, we won't outright reject him, but we must prioritize caution; absolutely nothing core must be revealed to him."

Less than ten seconds after Zi finished speaking, Sebul's voice suddenly crackled over the private communication channel reserved for high-ranking team members: "Hello, is Zi there?"

A flicker of light crossed Zi's deep blue eyes, and she replied calmly, "Speak."

Sebul's voice, contrary to his rough exterior, became slow and measured: "I'll state two points only. First, this kid is extremely useful. Based solely on his current demonstrated ability, he is sufficient to enter the core circle of any team on this damned battlefield."

The diamond-shaped orbs orbiting Zi suddenly accelerated briefly before quickly settling down again: "I feel your assessment of him is slightly inflated."

Sebul chuckled: "I’m delighted our opinions surprisingly align, but unfortunately, this leads to my second point: the previous statement was Akaphir's assessment of him." Zi's gaze sharpened. No team leader would ignore the opinion of their team's MT; otherwise, such a potential factor could easily lead to the collapse of the team's analysis. Zi didn't rush to question Akaphir, instead continuing in a gentle yet uncompromising tone to ask Sebul: "I want to hear your opinion."

Sebul rubbed his hands and hesitated: "Damn it, yes, I also quite like the kid. He allows my Tom (referring to his blade) to Overpower more fools! And the kid showed up in time several times to take some heavy hits for me. But I still think Akaphir is slightly overstating things."

"You’re nothing but a pile of dog sh*t in that thick skull of yours!" Suddenly, a furious voice roared out. It was none other than Akaphir! Hearing this, Sebul's face turned pale. If anyone else on the team dared speak to him like that, he would have immediately erupted in curses. But only Akaphir dared speak to him this way; Akaphir’s roars could only be quelled by Zi's calm voice!

"Sebul, do I need to repeat myself? You’re nothing but a pile of dog sh*t in that thick skull of yours! Do you have any idea what it means for someone to step in time to take a brutal hit for you? Those damned Viper Wolves' damage isn't low; a critical hit to your vital point could drain nearly a hundred HP. When the Sailor took that blow for you, he lost at most thirty HP! For the entire team, that saved seventy HP! Do the math—how many of those critical weakness moments did he block for you? And have you even considered how many potentially fatal blows he blocked for me?"