After Arderis was thrown back, a look of indescribable radiance flared in Zi's eyes, like the cold glint off the edge of a razor-sharp weapon—the herald of her casting that potent control-damage skill, the Force〖Needle〗Stab Explosion... Had Arderis been struck by Zi's maximum-power attack at that moment, he would certainly have been rendered near death, even if he hadn't been stunned.

But at that moment, Arderis, having fallen backward, lifted his head, a sinister smile playing on his lips. His right hand, clutching the bizarre bone dagger, suddenly executed a motion—a powerful forward hurl!

As Arderis was hit by the Force〖Needle〗Stab Explosion and sent flying backward, spitting blood, his strange bone dagger had already traced a diagonal arc through the air, burying itself deep into Zi’s lower abdomen. Then, amidst a splash of gore, it flew back into Arderis’s hand!

The ivory handle of the bone dagger immediately turned blood-red, with faint rings of dark energy seeming to ripple outward. Zi, meanwhile, staggered precariously, on the verge of collapse. In stark contrast, Arderis suddenly appeared invigorated, a cryptic smile curving his lips.

“Zi is likely to lose,” Reef abruptly stated. “That pale green growth-weapon dagger he wields is called the Mage-Foe. It originates from the world of The Lord of the Rings. On November 3rd, Third Age 3019, Gríma Wormtongue used this very dagger to slit Saruman’s throat, killing him. While its raw attack power isn't high, this weapon has a unique trait: every time it strikes an enemy, it deals bonus damage and burns away an equivalent amount of mental power. The bonus damage has extremely high priority, calculating to the enemy's Intelligence x 4!”

“Coupled with Arderis’s Vampire’s Touch ability,” he continued, “one successful hit allows him to recover a terrifying amount of health, because Vampire’s Touch calculates the recovered health based on the mental power burned away!”

PS: For those who didn't grasp that, let me illustrate: Suppose Zi’s Intelligence is *50, and the dagger’s attack power is 10 points. With zero defense, if Arderis stabs her, the damage dealt is 10 + 200 (Health) + 200 (Mana). If the Vampire’s Touch absorption ratio is one-third, Arderis recovers 3.3 + 66 + 66 = 135 Health from that single strike! But if Zi runs out of MP, she naturally can't burn mana, so Arderis's recovery ability is nearly halved. This is the fundamental reason Arderis displayed such gentlemanly restraint, preferring to let Zi recover before continuing the fight. Unfortunately, this trick is useless against Reef… Firstly, Reef has low Intelligence, and secondly, even if Reef has no MP, Heartrending Wail is zero-cost, and the remaining passive skills and gear-granted abilities require no mental power…………

Arderis then completely altered his combat style, giving the illusion of slow, floating advance. Later on, the blood he had feigned wiping from his nose and shed onto the ground proved useful. The fellow actually unleashed an Ion Storm with an enormous area of effect. Blinding, frenzied ionic currents swept through the air, shimmering with light. This wide-area attack was notoriously indiscriminate—friend or foe—but Arderis instantly used "Blood Warp," teleporting to a location he had previously marked with his blood, leaving Zi alone within the Ion Storm!

At this point, Fang Senyan suddenly noticed a strange glow in Zi’s eyes, which certainly didn't look like the expression of someone about to admit defeat. His heart gave a jolt: “Could it be… this woman still has a trump card?” However, Fang Senyan’s hypothesis remained unverified. Zi, caught in the Ion Storm, calmly and decisively chose to concede…… Then, she lightly dabbed the corner of her bloody lip, stood up, coughed softly, and said, “Prince, long time no see. Your abilities must have grown even stronger. For the next match, let’s choose a team battle.”

Saying this, Zi paused, a lingering earnestness in her voice, “A 5-versus-5 team battle!” The opposing Reapers still had six members remaining, with Prince Stallo clearly the leader among them. Zi proposing a 5v5 team fight was a very transparent strategy.

Zi likely knew that while Prince Stallo possessed formidable individual strength, he offered little help to team coordination. Thus, the opposing Reapers had two options: either field four Reapers in peak condition alongside Arderis, whose trump cards were all expended, putting them at an inherent disadvantage; or, they could keep Prince Stallo, their ace, in reserve as a last sliver of hope.

If Prince Stallo joined the 5v5 team, his individual prowess, clashing with the team’s rhythm, would likely fail to achieve a beneficial 4+1=5 effect; it might even lead to the detrimental outcome of 4 vs 5! If they lost that fight, only Arderis would be left—Reef could easily take him in a one-on-one duel!

Therefore, Zi’s choice immediately placed her in an unlosable position. The cunning and depth of this woman’s mind were evident!

When the group of Reapers heard the proposal for a “5v5 team battle,” Arderis’s expression shifted drastically, as if he wanted to speak but couldn't. Prince Stallo, however, suddenly raised his head. His white hair billowed in the wind as he looked at Zi with a peculiar gaze. His lips twitched slightly. “Zi, your MT has been defeated; he forfeits the right to fight further. And yet, you dare propose a team battle with me now? Do you so desperately wish to see me in action?” Zi replied calmly, “Akaphir’s participation was my order. The reason for doing so is that, under these circumstances, there is someone more suitable to serve as MT than he!”

Prince Stallo’s face immediately darkened. He knew Zi was shrewd and rarely spoke without absolute certainty—the type who either didn't act, or acted with total confidence.

The eyes of this wild, white-haired man swept over the remaining Contractors like blades. Since this was a non-combat state, Reef wasn't openly carrying a shield, and Fang Senyan deliberately averted his gaze, feigning weakness. Stallo saw nothing revealing.

After a long moment, Prince Stallo burst into loud laughter, but the moment he stopped, it was abrupt, like slamming a forceful final period on a piece of writing, threatening to pierce through the paper!

He looked up, opened his eyes, and faced Zi, saying word by word, “Fine. We will fight a team battle! A 5-versus-5 team battle!”

“It really is like that,” Fang Senyan mused to himself. “Then, if I’m not mistaken, the key to this team battle lies with that person… The Illuminati Summoner, Yuan Zhan! As long as Yuan Zhan is protected, he can likely summon a continuous stream of reinforcements to aid the battle! If that’s the case, it seems Reef was also accounted for in Zi’s calculation!”

As expected, Reef soon turned to Fang Senyan. “Zi wants to team up with the Illuminati group and needs a few vials of mixed potions from you.”

Fang Senyan smiled. “No problem.”

But Fang Senyan’s mind was racing. He distinctly remembered that when they encountered the Illuminati in the Caribbean world, although Zi seemed to be the nominal leader, leadership authority appeared to be shared with another Contractor. To settle internal conflicts at the time, that Contractor had offered to concede three-tenths of that instance's profit as compensation. It was under his initiative that the Illuminati’s internal strife had subsided.

But this person was absent from the Illuminati group now!

And in Fang Senyan’s memory, only Sebel remained; neither Yao Meng nor Yuan Zhan, nor even Akaphir, was present! While Contractors could alter their appearances at will, the temperament and equipment of these individuals were distinctive—for example, Yao Meng’s ethereal, misty aura, and Akaphir’s strikingly designed massive shield. Anyone who had seen them would remember.

“Could it be that the Illuminati members aren't all here, or perhaps they are hiding their strength, or maybe they are also experiencing internal division?” Fang Senyan couldn't help but cycle through these possibilities.

Just then, the team battle commenced! The composition of Zi’s team was: Reef, Yuan Zhan, Sebel, 70MAHAX the archer from the Gothic team, a man named Lin Musen, and a youth named KONAN.

Fang Senyan had encountered the youth KONAN before on the Southern Sector battlefield. He specialized in creating a powerful force field, within which he was virtually invulnerable in both offense and defense. Enemies trapped inside would be affected by illusions, debuffs, and other effects. He was somewhat similar to Yu Ze, whom Fang Senyan and his allies had previously faced. However, it was clear that this youth was likely a reserve Reaper, and if he displayed his post-awakening strength, his power would probably undergo a qualitative change.

The outcome of this battle was not entirely unexpected! The temporary team cobbled together by Zi managed a narrow victory. What was astonishing, however, was the sheer brutality of the fight: among the ten participants on both sides who were unwilling to lose, a total of nine entered a state of near-death debility. The sole survivor, against all odds, was Reef!

“…One-handed and one-legged, lying on the ground, but still stubbornly surviving on the battlefield, was Reef!”

“……. At the very last moment, when he was utterly spent, he roared out a Heartrending Wail and annihilated his opponent! Such a complete reversal was something nobody could have foreseen.”