With that final strike, the dagger in Riel’s left hand, faintly glowing with black light, quietly dissolved into dust on the wind. This vicious, head-on slash had evidently cost the sacrifice of an expensive black-grade dagger! But this also illustrated how deeply Machi had hidden his true nature; even Riel, who held the initiative, was so wary that he willingly sacrificed a precious black-grade weapon just to inflict heavy damage.

Screaming from the agony of a severed limb, Machi instantly tumbled away, and at that same moment, a brilliant crimson light burst from his chest—clearly, he had actively pushed himself to his absolute limit. But Riel, being a specialist in Agility, knew the meaning of relentless, shadow-like suppression. As he twisted his left wrist, another dagger, gleaming silver, was already in his grasp, his feet never slowing as he relentlessly pursued.

Machi, who had been rolling violently on the ground, suddenly looked up at Riel, his eyes, almost dripping blood, stabbing into Riel’s face like knives. Machi slammed his right palm hard against the ground, and immediately, three or four earth trails, winding like immense blood vessels, appeared. Amidst the flying soil, four colossal, brown vines—as thick as utility poles and marked with dark red lacerations—whipped out like scourges, sweeping horizontally. The tips of these vines sprouted jagged, rotating mouths that bit incessantly, inspiring terror.

However, Machi’s counterattack proved completely useless! As the four vines swept past, they snapped off surrounding trees and ferns as thick as bowls, sending leaves flying over ten meters away, mimicking a sudden tempest. Yet, when the vines struck Riel’s body, they only rippled away like a disturbance on water.

An illusion!

It was another illusion!

The pairing of Riel and Yu Ze was unbelievably monstrous! At this instant, everyone was completely confounded as to when Riel had shifted from real to phantom, and when he might shift back, instilling a sense of imminent personal danger in everyone present.

The setting sun beamed from the distance, piercing the canopy and shining upon everyone’s faces with a burning, stinging pain, stretching everyone’s shadows long. Five shadows of Riel were cast upon the ground—Yu Ze’s illusion was crafted with shocking realism!

Reef’s gaze tightened, and he hissed: “Everyone, stand back-to-back!”

Just as his words faded, a spectral shimmer moved within the shadow beneath Machi’s feet. Riel darted out from it, flipped past Machi’s back, and landed in front of him, running away with his back turned to Machi… and the drifting glint of the dagger flashed past, resembling a silver moon slowly rising in the sunlight! It vanished in a blink across Machi’s neck and chest!

Machi instantly let out a piercing, agonizing shriek! The afterglow of that silver-moon-like radiance was undiminished, slicing a long, wavy surge of energy across the ground, which roared as it lifted a giant wave of soil high into the sky before it showered down with a rustling sound. But the massive gap across his neck and shoulder was already showing bare bone, spurting a torrent of blood.

Machi did not die from the blow, clearly indicating he had used some sort of drug. A look of ferocious cruelty flashed across his face in that instant, and the four flesh-and-blood black vines simultaneously shot out, plunging deep into his own body. The veins on Machi’s face suddenly bulged grotesquely, as if the vines had replaced his own vasculature, madly injecting that terrifying power into his frame.

Simultaneously, Machi instinctively clawed back and grabbed the back of Riel, who was attempting to flee! This time, the attack struck Riel’s body. At the same moment, blood and flesh sprayed violently from Riel’s back with a horrific sound. The nails that had sprung from Machi’s palm, like sharp, hooked barbs of black iron, mercilessly ripped away large chunks of flesh! The copious, flowing blood instantly turned black!

“Go! My children!!” Machi shrieked triumphantly after landing the hit. Two flesh-and-blood vines detached from his body and plunged into the earth. Illusions could deceive the eyes, but they could not blind the instinct of these terrifying creatures to track living flesh.

Seeing the two flesh-and-blood vines rapidly advancing underground, Mosa and the sniper Jin Ximin immediately aimed ahead of the vines and fired wildly. But just then, amidst the rhythmic bursts of fire, an incongruous muffled explosion cut through.

It was unmistakably the roar of the heavy handgun in Yu Ze’s hand!

As soon as the gunshot sounded, a bright crimson flower bloomed on Mosa’s left shoulder! Mosa’s reaction was by no means slow; almost simultaneously with being shot, he hurled his Spartan Broken Spear toward the direction of the shot (he couldn't pinpoint the target, so he didn't use an ability). That sharp, silver spear only managed to embed itself deep into the fibers of a large tree, its rear end trembling in the wood… Then, the two flesh-and-blood vines actually veered in a wide arc and lunged directly towards Mosa and the sniper Jin Ximin. Reef instantly charged forward, roaring in anger: “Careful! He’s using the scent of your blood to confuse the odor of his own!”

Without a doubt, the sniper Jin Ximin immediately sprinted far away from Mosa. It was a wise decision, but just as he ran seven or eight meters, a figure materialized from his elongated shadow behind him. Riel silently appeared behind him, the silver, brilliant dagger slipping flawlessly under Jin Ximin’s jaw. Only when Jin Ximin had impaled his own vulnerable throat onto the blade did Riel drag it across with cruel satisfaction!!!

Blood erupted like a fountainhead. Jin Ximin, in a desperate, agonizing scream, spun his gun around and fired wildly. The scorching bullets pierced Riel’s body behind him, but he could only watch as the detestable enemy slowly faded away. Meanwhile, the two flesh-and-blood vines from behind were already closing in furiously, coiling around Mosa and Jin Ximin like massive pythons, greedily sucking their blood to slowly replenish the severely wounded Machi’s life force!

At the same time, everyone in the team received a notification: “Temporary team member: Colonizer Unit 899771 has detached from the team. Due to their ability to bypass related penalties, they will suffer no ill effects.” “Temporary team member: Colonizer Unit 899771 may now attack you freely, and you may attack them freely!” “Hahahaha!” Yu Ze’s manic laughter echoed through the woods again: “I didn’t lie to you, did I? Machi never had good intentions joining your team! He will ruthlessly discard you once you’ve lost your usefulness!”

Fang Senyan, however, focused on the introduction for Machi… Colonizer! Not Provisional Colonizer!! Sure enough, Yu Ze and Riel planned to strike him down first!

At this moment, Machi stood up with a low, cold voice: “You two damned idiots, forcing me into this situation. To be honest, I was quite comfortable in this Silver Team. Having a rare 'M,' an auxiliary specialist—what a wonderful prospect if I were the one in charge! But since it has come to this, I apologize. I will try my best to let you two idiots live long enough to witness the deaths of those two fools, Golden and you, man!”

As Machi uttered these words, Mosa and Jin Ximin were already completely entangled by the two flesh-and-blood vines. The vines branched out into five or six thick coils, gripping them like gigantic pythons. Reef charged in, but hacking and slashing proved futile. Fang Senyan watched, his mind churning with countless thoughts: “Is… is this the true power unleashed after breaking past the limit? Can a Colonizer, relying solely on summons, exert such terrifying suppression over Covenantors? No, it must be that Mosa and Jin Ximin’s power is too low to break free from the vines’ embrace.”

Just then, Machi, with two flesh-and-blood vines still fused inside him, rose up, appearing unnaturally hulking. Numerous black veins bulged across his body, and his broken arm had transformed into a truly horrifying and bizarre tentacle formed of flesh and vine. His feet had become roots, burrowing deep into the soil. It was visible that the life forces of Mosa and Jin Ximin were slowly dropping, replenishing Machi’s vitality. Machi let out a sharp, maniacal laugh: “When I pull my roots from the soil, it will be your death knell!”

“You won’t get that chance,” Riel said coldly, suddenly emerging from the shadow of a large tree. “Since we know you are that Harin—Harin who successfully shed the title of Provisional and advanced to a formal Colonizer—how could we engage you without certainty? Zeus had already told us the method to deal with you!”

The footnote to Riel’s statement was Yu Ze’s violent coughing fit, a sound so wrenching it seemed he was at war with his own lungs! Fang Senyan felt a sharp, agonizing pain shoot through his head, accompanied by intense dizziness. The scenery before him twisted like water ripples, hazy as if viewed through thin glass. Simultaneously, notifications from the Nightmare Mark flooded in: “You are under continuous psychic attack. You will enter a state where controlling your body is difficult…” “You are under continuous psychic attack. You will enter a state where controlling your body is difficult…” Then, Yu Ze suddenly manifested between the branches of a distant tree. He raised both hands high, palms facing each other. The air around him began to shimmer with intense, dazzling light. A chaotic, yellow sphere of light spun and revolved between his palms, surrounded by crackling, fine bolts of lightning!!!