"Another hundred meters... and I'll be out of this Savage Beast territory, at least free from those damned tunnels riddled beneath the swamp!" Fang Senyan muttered to himself. He cast a pained glance at Ramtas, who was rapidly closing in.

"A pity... fortunately, I’ve already harvested your **tissue; perhaps I'll have a chance to cultivate you again later."

"Fifty meters."

"Forty meters!"

"Twenty meters!"

"These beasts really have the patience of bastards."

Just as Fang Senyan was about to break free of the Savage Beasts' domain, mere fifteen meters from the outermost passage, the swamp on his left and right suddenly erupted in violent explosions!!

Amidst the flying mud and water, two massive silhouettes caked in filth lunged out again. In that instant, they struck from the upper left and lower right simultaneously, seemingly intending to devour every sliver of survival space Fang Senyan possessed!

Fang Senyan took a deep breath, his eyes blazing with feral rage. He completely ignored the monster rushing him from behind, while a terrifying aura began to brew fiercely around his fist.

At that moment, an illusion of a monstrous, towering demon tree manifested behind Fang Senyan. This tree bore no leaves, only tentacle-like branches flailing wildly, whipping and lashing with manic energy.

More terrifying still, the illusionary root system of the demon tree burrowed deep beneath the ground—dozens, hundreds of meters down—with astonishing feeder roots splitting one into ten, ten into a hundred, a hundred into a thousand!! Spreading out, they occupied an area spanning several kilometers, then simultaneously began to siphon energy with savage force!!

Within that multi-kilometer radius, the purple reed, water bamboo, and duckweed instantly withered and drooped. Their once vibrant green leaves turned dry and yellow in a flash, as if scorched under a merciless sun; all moisture and vitality completely stripped away. A mere touch would crumble them into dust—their life force utterly vacuumed dry!!!

Fang Senyan’s fist struck out!

At the forefront of his punch, the illusion of a major tendril belonging to the Solar (Solar Ladder) manifested with razor sharpness. This primary tendril then "swished" into the form of a colossal root net, splitting with indescribable speed, spreading like a deluge forward, and violently ensnaring the larger-looking monster directly in front of him!

The illusion immediately materialized, turning a gruesome deep black, the exact shade of the Ouroboros Serpent's venom. Thousands of minute rootlets clamped down tightly, strangling the massive, grotesque creature’s entire body surface!

The monster's previously impenetrable black carapace turned as fragile as soft tofu. Its whole body was scored with shockingly intricate wounds, spewing copious amounts of yellowish-green **.

The Beast of Erosion!!!!

Fang Senyan had long activated his Viral Aura, but he realized that due to the limited and singular nature of the diseases he currently mastered, while he could infect the Savage Beasts, or this current monster, the ailments caused damage but failed to take significant effect.

For instance, his usually most effective debuff, "Violent Cough," was useless; Savage Beasts lacked lungs and trachea, breathing entirely through skin pores, rendering it a wasted effort. Although the Solar, having evolved by devouring its kin during Fang Senyan's advancement to a Colonizer, could convert this cough into another form of damage, the resulting pain only made the Savage Beasts more frantic, diminishing its overall utility.

Only the powerful and dominant Beast of Erosion! It remained as brutal and terrifying as ever, radiating monstrous might!

Once enveloped by the Beast of Erosion, the monster shrieked an indescribably piercing scream. Those hearing it felt their very souls tremble in agony.

From a distance, Pokan’s eyes widened, and he couldn't help but murmur, "Sailor, just how many secrets does that guy have hidden? Is this bastard truly still just a Colonizer?"

Ronnie, who had been fleeing ahead, instinctively stopped and looked back, his jaw slack. He stared, momentarily frozen like a child watching an incredibly magnificent fireworks display, before slowly, silently continuing his escape, his head bowed lower than before.

Ronnie, running silently now, was speechless—or rather, he had nothing left to say to Fang Senyan. This Main Tank's burst damage was actually higher than his own, despite Ronnie being specialized as a damage dealer!! Therefore, the way Ronnie viewed Fang Senyan could only be described in four words: utterly convinced, perhaps even prostrating in admiration.

Aldaris’s expression, however, had turned distinctly grim. His fingers gripping the dagger hilt were so white they were almost translucent. Three words squeezed out between his gritted teeth: "This… how can this lunatic be so monstrously strong?!"

He looked again at the monster intercepting Fang Senyan. Purplish-black spots were rapidly spreading across its skin. The tough outer layer quickly swelled, and the spots on the skin began to rapidly ulcerate and expand, looking like tofu skin ready to burst from the slightest touch. Even after violent exertion, streams of putrid, bloody ichor sprayed out.

It howled in agony, struck away by Fang Senyan's punch. It stumbled ten meters, slipped in the mud, falling with a splash, then painfully struggled up, staggering another twenty meters before disappearing back into the tunnels beneath the swamp.

However, the moment Fang Senyan threw his punch, he had essentially sold his blind spot to the enemy. The larger black monster attacking from behind was free to do as it pleased. It first thrust out its two forelimbs, attempting to grapple Fang Senyan.

But Fang Senyan was still mid-lunge, channeling the Beast of Erosion. The overwhelming ferocity emanating from the Solar on his body truly intimidated the beast, slowing its reaction by a crucial fraction of a second. Thus, Fang Senyan successfully dodged the grab, though the sharp talons on the forelimb still tore away a large strip of flesh from his back.

But after unleashing the Beast of Erosion, Fang Senyan entered a crucial stiffening phase while his power recharged, completely losing his ability to evade, leaving him virtually defenseless.

Now that its first attack had failed, the monster immediately charged forward again. Its grotesque, black, bony tail shot out like lightning. Blood sprayed as it pierced Fang Senyan from behind, erupting from his chest, skewering him completely through!

The damage from this strike was astonishingly severe. However, Fang Senyan had anticipated such a fatal blow the moment he initiated the Beast of Erosion. Thus, immediately after delivering his attack, he consumed a Potion of Honor, instantly replenishing his Health to maximum.

No matter how powerful this monster’s attack was, it was impossible for it to instantly kill Fang Senyan!

Intense pain instantly flooded his entire body. This wasn't just the agony of being impaled; the bony tail piercing him was riddled with small pores that were frantically spewing venom, corroding Fang Senyan’s body. The Solar's power could quickly absorb and neutralize the sustained damage from the poison, but the initial corrosive impact of the venom sometimes could not be entirely negated.

Using the momentum of the long tail skewering him, Fang Senyan gritted his teeth and forced himself forward again. But this action was tantamount to forcibly pulling the embedded bone tail out of his body—like the secondary trauma suffered when an arrow is yanked from a wound in ancient times. Blood sprayed wildly. Fang Senyan clutched the mangled wound on his chest and staggered forward, though his movement speed was inevitably hampered.

The massive, terrifying shadow behind him continued its brutal, relentless pursuit. Judging by his compromised speed, it seemed the beast would catch up soon. Just as the three figures in the distance prepared to rush to his aid, Ramtas arrived just in time, roaring as he charged headlong at the large, hideous silhouette.

The brute strength of the fierce Boar-Man was instantly unleashed. His tusks slammed savagely into the side of the huge, dreadful shadow, driving it down into the muddy water.

Under Ramtas’s self-sacrificial, frantic interception, Fang Senyan finally managed to escape the Savage Beasts' territory—at least, he was safe from the sudden, unpredictable sneak attacks emerging from the ground around him. Clutching his chest, he watched with complex emotions as Ramtas was overwhelmed by the tide of Legendary Savage Beasts and common Savage Beasts that flooded in afterward. He sighed faintly and said, "Let's go."

The Savage Beasts continued to pursue their group relentlessly, but after the four survivors regrouped, even as battered soldiers, the effectiveness they displayed while maintaining distance and fighting retreating battles was vastly superior to their chaotic struggle when cornered from all sides.

The group fought and retreated, and soon, Fang Senyan, Pokan, and Aldaris executed a flawless coordinated maneuver. Pokan's terrain alteration, combined with Fang Senyan's Curse Potions for crowd control, and Aldaris's Mind Storm—whose cooldown was now complete—formed a massive trap that eliminated over eighty common Savage Beasts in one go, momentarily stalling the enemy offensive.

Next, Pokan regained a portion of his MP. With his three companions protecting him and the enemies approaching from only one direction, he had no fear of his spellcasting being interrupted. He seized another opportunity, loudly continuing his chant, summoning a giant, rolling boulder onto a patch of dry ground, which crushed another twenty or so Savage Beasts into pulp.

These successive losses finally caused the pursuing Savage Beasts to completely abandon the chase and retreat to their lair. (To be continued)