"It must be because this cursed place isn't part of a parallel dimension, rendering all emergency return items useless... If they don't fight for their lives now, they'll lose them altogether." Aldaris remarked with a trace of sarcasm.

Fang Senyan gazed into the distance, murmuring, "Given the current situation, perhaps fighting desperately is the only choice left. What a pity for all this immense power... completely scattered like loose sand!"

Fang Senyan's lament was certainly not without reason; at present, the entire team consisted of a mere ten individuals, yet they were already fracturing, strictly speaking, into four distinct cliques. Two of the MTs—no, to be precise, three MTs—had managed to consolidate a force, and William had also gathered a neutral faction.

Hedi Kuri and Aziza, both MTs and Awakened Ones, must possess considerable individual capabilities. However, their initial misstep was underestimating the enemy, which severely damaged their prestige. Coupled with the unruly and defiant nature of Fang Senyan and Aldaris, the focus of these two MTs naturally shifted toward internal power struggles.

Human energy is finite. In such an environment, having to navigate internal scheming while simultaneously enduring such perilous conditions naturally invited various errors. The only difference lay in the consequences: sometimes a mistake cost only face or minor injuries, and other times, it cost one's very life.

"If Hedi Kuri and Aziza manage to escape, should we intervene to help them?" Aldaris suddenly asked in an apparently casual manner.

Fang Senyan glanced at Aldaris and smiled faintly, "You're asking the obvious, aren't you? Within a team, there can only be one voice."

Aldaris snorted, unable to hold back, "You ambitious rogue... I truly don't understand why Zi agreed to join your group."

Just as Fang Senyan was about to reply, he noticed a massive mound of earth bizarrely rising amidst the raging beast horde not far away. The mound then burst open, revealing a heavily scarred Stone Elemental. Even though this colossal elemental had arrived near the periphery of the island, it was immediately subjected to a frenzied assault by the Berserk Beasts.

In the span of moments, clear fissures began to snake across the Stone Elemental's surface under the relentless attack, layers peeling away as stone fragments sprayed outward. Though it possessed the ability to absorb surrounding soil to repair its form, the rate of destruction far outpaced its regeneration. Furthermore, it was afflicted with multiple negative statuses.

Under the effects of these debuffs, coupled with the fearless Berserk Beasts that arrived in response and blocked the path solid, the three-meter-tall elemental creature had its arms snapped off and its legs broken, forcing it to kneel within less than ten meters of travel. It then collapsed into ash, exposing the core within... revealing Pokan, whose face had turned the color of dead ash.

-----This was Pokan's trump card: summoning a powerful Stone Elemental to shield himself. The Stone Elemental would encase the caster within its body and obey their commands; the caster would remain unharmed unless the elemental was destroyed. This formidable elemental creature’s ultimate skill was Earthen Passage, allowing instantaneous subterranean teleportation up to two hundred meters away, though with a thirty-minute cooldown. Beyond that, the Stone Elemental possessed astonishingly high defense and health.

It appeared this trump card was precisely why Pokan had stayed behind to offer aid, yet he had never anticipated that even after using Earthen Passage to escape two hundred meters, he was still trapped within the relentless encirclement of the Savage Beasts!!

Gazing at the densely packed horde surging toward him, despair flooded Pokan's eyes. Several beams of energy struck his body, eliciting excruciating pain, and he immediately groaned in agony.

However, at the same time, a savage ferocity, indescribable in its intensity, surfaced in the eyes of the usually gentle Pokan. The staff he held suddenly shattered! He plunged both hands deep into the ground, screaming out a raw, soul-tearing roar: "Ahhhh!! Die!!"

Instantly, the earth within several hundred square meters, centered on Pokan's body, violently erupted as if it were an oil pot boiling over. Then, rows of stone spikes, sharp and grotesque like giant wolf fangs, fiercely pierced the ground!

Hundreds of Berserk Beasts close to Pokan were instantly impaled by the terrifying spikes. Following that, the spikes themselves detonated! The shattered stone fragments flew outward at incredible speeds, rivaling that of bullets. Even the Beasts clinging to life were instantly torn into bloody pulp; vast clouds of gray mist were immediately dyed with swirling scarlet fog!

Having unleashed this devastating strike, Pokan collapsed, utterly spent, his chest heaving like a broken bellows. This attack had clearly been his absolute final gambit.

The more immense the power of a skill, the greater the cost. Pokan’s attack possessed staggering range, immense destructive force, and the critical advantage of instantaneous activation without interruption—truly a divine skill. But the price was equally staggering: his staff was pulverized, his MP reserves were critically depleted, and he was incapable of unleashing any further major abilities. He was now effectively left on the ground awaiting death.

"Save him!" Fang Senyan commanded Aldaris, "I know you have a way to cover the retreat."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Aldaris immediately protested sullenly, "We are cooperating! Why should I listen to your destiny, damn it! I'm talking to you! Are you a rabbit? Running that fast?"

By now, Fang Senyan was already charging toward Pokan. The latter, completely defenseless, could only close his eyes and await death under the assault of the Savage Beasts. Stimulated by the deaths of their companions, the Beasts opened their maws wide, preparing to tear at the enemy's flesh with their fangs.

Having already been bitten—a chunk of flesh the size of a palm ripped away—Pokan cried out. A desperate will to live made him instantly crush a ring he wore. An invisible force field immediately erupted from the ring, shoving the surrounding Berserk Beasts back and forming an intangible, all-around shield around Pokan's body.

However, the fearless Savage Beasts showed no inclination to relent. Sensing that Pokan posed no further threat, they swarmed him, quickly piling up into a horrifying, writhing miniature mountain of flesh. It seemed imminent that the shield would shatter. Far away, Aldaris was now suspended in the air, eyes closed, floating eerily about a meter above the ground.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, a burst of blood-red light erupted as he drove both of his weapons deep into his own chest, one on the left and one on the right. Then, Aldaris’s hair and clothing thrashed wildly: "My pain, gestate! Ferment! Explode!! Let every nerve of the enemy deeply experience this feeling of being torn apart!!!!"

"Mind! Soul! Storm!"

Above the horde of Savage Beasts drawn to Pokan, a faint blue pinpoint suddenly appeared. Then, the space around it fractured as if porcelain had been violently pierced, sending five or six indescribable cracks spreading outward. These fissures soon glowed intensely, before violently bursting open, forming a sky full of swirling blue-and-white electric netting that enveloped an area nearly a hundred square meters!

This was a carnival of current, a catastrophe that swept through the soul! The electric web crisscrossed, constantly flickering in the air, showering down in all directions. It caused no physical damage to the environment, but upon contact with any living thing, thick smoke billowed up, eventually converging on the surface of every creature within the radius, where arcs of indescribable electricity flared and cracked! The creatures’ pain and wails were the most potent aspect of the Mind Storm. Therefore, the only effective way to counter the Mind Storm was to flee its boundary as quickly as possible; as long as the suffering existed, the Mind Storm would continue indefinitely.

Most Savage Beasts, after enduring for five or six seconds, shattered into pieces with shrill cries of agony, as if subjected to a brutal drawing and quartering, splattering blood everywhere. The Beasts in this immediate vicinity had first been scythed down by Pokan’s Earthen Spikes, then the surrounding beasts had rushed in as replacements, only to be gathered again by Pokan and slaughtered by the Mind Storm. Consequently, this area, which should have contained the densest concentration of Savage Beasts, now presented a bizarre vacuum zone.

As Fang Senyan charged in, he too was immediately assaulted by the Mind Storm... This was the ability’s most perverse trait: it was indiscriminate, affecting friend and foe alike! Moreover, it inflicted True Damage, the type Fang Senyan despised most! (Due to this ability's overwhelming power, the HP deduction against BOSSes is capped, or some BOSSes are completely immune to this skill.)

Taking advantage of the brief window when the Mind Storm raged and prevented other Beasts from entering, Fang Senyan gritted his teeth and hauled Pokan onto his back, fleeing! Under the cover of the Mind Storm, he managed to escape certain death.

Truthfully, Pokan had been filled with resentment toward Fang Senyan, believing the team's disastrous collapse was because Fang Senyan had fled first, leaving him unprotected.

But now, having been saved from certain death through Fang Senyan's intervention, and having witnessed and experienced the terrifying sight of countless Savage Beasts throwing themselves forward, threatening to drown a person entirely, he felt a surge of emotion that left him unable to speak. Pokan slumped onto the ground, looking at the numerous wounds Fang Senyan had sustained while rescuing him, his expression complex. He could only heave a long sigh and close his eyes to recover. (To be continued)

For more novels, visit storyread.net.