That Sandman looked rather miniature, even somewhat "kawaii," prompting a sarcastic chuckle from someone in the Illuminati. But the laughter died quickly, because with every step the Sandman took, a hole the size of a bathtub, half a meter deep, erupted in the ground! The soil within simply vanished.

Yet, with every step taken, the Sandman swelled further, eventually forming a square mud monster nearly four meters tall, covered entirely in decaying branches, withered leaves, and humus. It charged toward Mogensha with terrifying momentum.

The mud comprising its body seemed quite loose; thick branches would dislodge and fall with soft rustling sounds, but the Sandman could replenish them swiftly.

Mogensha fired a shot, only to find the N-9 Wasp Pistol utterly ineffective against the creature. It merely knocked off a few clumps of dirt, appearing practically invulnerable!

Its charge path had been meticulously chosen, perfectly blocking Mogensha’s line of fire toward Alos’s true body. Thus, even though Alos was locked in a state of continuous spellcasting, completely unable to move, Mogensha found it impossible to target him directly.

With disaster looming, Mogensha instantly switched his weapon to gold, unleashing a rapid five-shot burst: da-da-da! Dozens of small holes were instantly pierced through the mud monster’s body; through the resulting blur and chaos, one could vaguely make out the scenery and woods behind it. Yet, the monster’s face showed no pain, only a savage cruelty.

Suddenly, the mud creature raised both hands! An extremely sinister and bizarre humming chant echoed in the air. As its hands rose above its head, palms facing, they emitted an indescribably dense, deep earth-yellow radiance, spinning slowly before slamming down onto the ground. This immediately unleashed chaotic, earth-yellow waves of slurry that shot out in all directions! They spread across vast distances in an instant.

Mogensha could not evade in time; his feet were instantly stuck fast by the viscous mud, his movement speed plummeting. Every spot he stepped seemed to automatically transform into a watery mire, sinking his foot up to his calf with every attempt. His speed advantage was utterly nullified!

Witnessing this critical situation, Mogensha stopped running. After lunging forward, he calmly rolled once, taking cover behind a large tree. He rose to one knee, aimed his gun, and began firing concentrated shots at the mud monster's chest. Dirt, leaves, and stones exploded from its surface, and its forward progress immediately slowed.

However, the monster’s exterior now manifested a faint, pale earth-yellow protective shimmer, seemingly offering excellent defense against ranged attacks, causing bullets to either deflect or be absorbed.

Then, it roared, first leaning slightly sideways, and then executing a terrifyingly powerful full-force throwing motion. It deliberately snapped off its entire right arm and hurled it directly at Mogensha. Mogensha immediately raised his gun and fired, but the descending arm exploded just ahead of him, above his head.

A loud clatter echoed as dense, tiny droplets of earth-yellow slurry rained down, like a sudden downpour. Furthermore, these droplets possessed extremely intense corrosive power. The tree sheltering Mogensha bore the brunt of the impact; white smoke billowed out amidst sizzling sounds as it was etched and pitted until unrecognizable!

Suddenly, a soft hiss sounded! A single drop of yellow mud landed on Mogensha’s shoulder. A noxious, burnt smell immediately filled the air, and the wound began to corrode fiercely, oozing foul, putrid pus. But Mogensha remained expressionless, his gun-holding hands steady as rock, his eyes fixed intently on the mud monster's chest, coolly delivering intermittent shots, as if nothing else in the world merited attention!

Despite Mogensha’s relentless barrage, the gigantic mud monster absorbed soil to replenish its mass at an astonishing rate. It soon closed the distance to thirty meters away. But at that very instant, Mogensha’s wrist twitched; he aimed at the monster’s leg and fired three flame-wreathed bullets rapidly. They collided mid-air, creating an extremely violent explosion—it seemed he intended to blow off the creature’s left leg to cripple its mobility!

However, Alos revealed a sneer; he had anticipated Mogensha’s move! He swiftly drew a symbol in his Holy Scripture:

"By Gaia’s Power!"

"Flee!"

In that very instant, the solid earth beneath the mud monster’s feet seemed to transform into an ocean, and its entire body sank into the ground, cleverly evading the full force of Mogensha’s bullet impact explosion.

The next second, the massive mud monster burst forth from the ground before Mogensha, roaring madly, and brought a heavy punch down upon the cursed enemy before him!

But the fist froze a meter above Mogensha’s head...

Immediately following, cracks appeared on the mud monster’s surface, hardening rapidly, and then it collapsed with a crash like a thousand-year-old, decaying statue, breaking apart into dust carried away by the wind.

Mogensha flicked his wrist, tucking away the N-9 Wasp Pistol, and pulled out a cigar, sticking it crookedly in his mouth. He took a deep breath! Covered in blood and limping, he waved toward Fang Senyan and the others as he walked over.

Three hundred meters away, Alos was slumped on one knee, clearly in a near-death state. He had simply closed his eyes without expression...

After summoning the colossal Sandman, the powerful Hunter had consistently used it to shield himself from Mogensha’s line of fire. This was quite easy to achieve given the monster’s terrifying height of four meters. However, as Mogensha began fiercely attacking the Sandman, it inadvertently created a powerful threat against Alos. In reality, once the core of that Sandman was destroyed, Alos himself was equally vulnerable.

Under immense pressure, Mogensha was gambling, betting on Alos’s habitual fighting style!

If this individual usually operated with teammates, he would surely neglect protecting his body three hundred meters away at the most critical juncture—because teammates had been doing that previously.

If Alos was a lone wolf, he would constantly monitor the safety of his physical form!

In fact, Mogensha had a seventy percent certainty that Alos frequently coordinated with team members; for instance, that Prince Stalo clearly seemed to be his superior. Therefore, when Alos made the mud giant dive underground, Mogensha seized the split second before the smoke from the aerial bullet explosion dissipated, drew his N-9 Wasp Pistol, and fired four fatal shots based purely on memory and primal instinct.

Because the smoke obscured the view, Alos had absolutely no idea Mogensha had attacked! Thus, he didn't even possess the awareness to dodge!

"Rile Ill!!!!!!"

The dark-skinned man was clearly not a low-key type. With a wide smile, he waved his golden gun at the Contractors defending the transport ship! The Contractors returned his gestures with enthusiastic applause. Fang Senyan, at this moment, understood the deeper meaning behind Mogensha’s decisive action:

On a grander scale, the existence of 'Reef' as an M [Master/Major figure] was already widely known. This time, Mogensha's successive defeats of three opponents was meant to use his own brilliance to better overshadow Fang Senyan.

On a smaller scale, following the recent incident with Makji and Leer, Mogensha had suffered a sudden ambush, instantly marginalizing his role within the team. Although neither Fang Senyan nor Reef had said anything, he couldn't afford not to make preparations, choosing this moment to display his own value and, incidentally, vent some frustration on these Hunters.

"Good," Fang Senyan smiled faintly, thinking the word to himself.

The Hunters, meanwhile, looked ashen-faced. Having soared from boasting about defeating seven opponents to suffering three straight losses, their high self-regard was shattered. The dark man blew them an exaggerated kiss with his thick lips. This kind of provocation only stoked the fire, inciting whistles from his allies while the opposing Hunters clenched their fists tightly.

Just then, Prince Stalo suddenly turned serious:

"Moyan Lin! You deal with him!"

The Hunter whose name was called stepped forward half a pace, but was suddenly blocked by a lean, resolute, tall, thin figure. Behind this figure, two straight swords exuded chilling coldness! They crossed behind him, forming a 'ten' shape!

"No need for such trouble. Leave the rest to me, Wendy!"

Flames flared in Prince Stalo's eyes.

"Do as I say!"

Wendy clearly wasn't good-tempered, retorting sharply:

"Doing as you say just lost us one round! Stalo, get this straight—my cooperation with you is only temporary!"

Then Wendy strode toward Mogensha and issued his challenge!

The dark man Mogensha walked to fifty meters away, lazily smoking his cigar, not even looking at him! Wendy felt a twinge of nervousness; as the fight began, the blades behind him dug into his palms. He smeared a layer of his own blood onto the edge, then waved his long sword skyward, and it ignited into a fierce blaze.

Wendy shouted and instantly slashed horizontally. Amidst the roaring flames, he transformed into an incredibly ferocious fire-lion, pouncing toward Mogensha at an unbelievable speed. That speed... was in no way inferior to the speed Fang Senyan achieved when activating the Horned Fury from his ring!

But just at that moment, the dark man exhaled a smoke ring and lazily issued a command to the Nightmare Imprint:

"I concede..."

...

Thank you all for your concern and support! There is little to say except that I will repay you with more and better updates. RO