The divine radiance flared, and this time without incident, Zī and Sān Zǎi materialized behind him, descending from the heavens in an instant.

Simultaneously, the light dispersing from Divine Grasp settled softly upon their heads, beginning to slowly mend their injuries and pull them back from the brink of death.

Having narrowly escaped death once more, Sān Zǎi finally snapped out of his stupor. Indeed, fate played cruel tricks; for the Chosen One like Sān Zǎi, it wasn't that he was unkillable, but rather that the mastermind behind the scenes had chosen the most utterly inappropriate means to try and end him.

Yet, strictly speaking, it was also fortunate that a good portion of the battlefield was now blanketed in fluttering, pale-blue ice dust, temporarily rendering the long-range attackers lurking on the perimeter unable to gain a clear line of sight or grasp the current dynamics of the situation. A generalized saturation attack would have risked friendly fire across the three cooperating teams; otherwise, even if Sān Zǎi had evaded the mastermind’s guaranteed kill attempt, Zī and he would likely still have faced dire peril!

As the Divine Grasp from Jīo Shí finished its deployment, another colossal entity dropped from the sky: the Dark Gold Leech! Its massive bulk served not only to slow enemies but also as an excellent shield and cannon fodder.

However, the Dark Gold Leech’s greatest utility wasn't to screen Jīo Shí and the others, but rather to screen the sudden, appearing painting.

That Dark Gold artifact forged from the skin of a powerful Sorcery contractor!

Ukiyo-e.

This Dark Gold item, its surface already riddled with cracks and possessing only one final charge left, radiated an indescribably intense brilliance!

It was as blindingly glorious as the final flare of a setting sun.

At this moment, the Ukiyo-e was burning its very soul, its essence, without regard for consequence! Like a firework, even if it were to detonate with a single boom, it sought that singular moment of blazing, eternal splendor.

Since it had been summoned once before, there was no need for Fāng Sēnyán to personally redraw it with mental energy; a single point of psychic energy appeared upon it, and it began to rapidly trace— -----in a manner incredibly fast, incredibly subtle, and incredibly intricate.

Soon, the image of the girl Wù Gē reappeared on the Ukiyo-e. This young woman quickly became vividly lifelike within the painting, her rich, natural aura practically leaping out. However, she likely knew the situation was critical, as the expression on the portrait’s face was profoundly serious.

Then, the Ukiyo-e began to burn. But instead of smoke, it decomposed into a multitude of complex, arcane, and ancient runes that rapidly spread outwards, ultimately forming an archway woven from dense, vibrant ivy, pulsating with vigorous life.

Immediately following this, Wù Gē, clad in fiery red battle leather armor and carrying the dazzling Phoenix Bow, sprang forth from the arch. Her armor surface bore scorch marks suggesting exposure to intense sunlight, giving off a strange, intense heat—these were the legendary Sunfire War-Marks. She appeared to understand the urgency of the moment, and upon arrival, casually scattered several maple seeds, instantly causing several large maple trees with leaves as red as fire to spring up, immediately forming excellent cover.

Next, where Fāng Sēnyán had previously lain prone, a giant mound of earth began to coalesce. Rāmtās roared impatiently, burrowing out from beneath the soil. Jīo Shí’s servant, Number Seven, leaped out of the void, slithering like a spider into the ruined debris for concealment... This was the drawback of being suddenly assaulted and losing the initiative.

Because they knew they were engaging top-tier combatants akin to Super Heroes, Fāng Sēnyán and his group had only intended to play supporting roles or deal periphery damage, so they had refrained from summoning Rāmtās and Number Seven—Rāmtās being too slow, and Number Seven having too little vitality, risking them becoming mere cannon fodder and wasting massive amounts of Universal Points... Who could have known they would be ambushed?

By this point, in the span of less than ten seconds, Fāng Sēnyán had turned the situation completely on its head, constructing a perfect protective circle for his three teammates. With no lingering concerns for their safety, he lowered his head silently and lunged toward the remaining three individuals with an aura of madness set to consume everything!

Among these three, Lánmǔ and another named Bōsī were assassins, both falling into the category of pure speed specialists, especially Bōsī. Before Zī had transformed, he had managed, single-handedly, to tie down Zī for a full five minutes!

Bōsī’s fighting style could be simply described by five words: "Pegasus Meteor Fist." Once engaged by him, it was an unrelenting barrage of continuous assault. The damage from any single strike might not be high, but it was impossible to withstand the sheer frequency of the attacks. Furthermore, Bōsī had equipped himself with gear optimized for critical hits to compensate for lower base attack power, managing to completely suppress Zī across the board! Under the ceaseless onslaught and ghost-like footwork, Zī couldn't even lock onto his form, only succeeding in transforming after being forced back against the wall.

The other man was a Berserker named Luógēnfǎdé. He presented a stark contrast to Lánmǔ and Bōsī, who favored high attack speed with lower damage. Luógēnfǎdé possessed terrifying striking power, but this naturally meant his attack frequency was lower. He wielded a Dark Gold two-handed war-mace, specifically chosen by the mastermind to counter Jīo Shí.

The characteristic of massive weapons like great-hammers is shockwave penetration; even if the enemy successfully blocks, it still inflicts a percentage of damage that ignores defense. This is why Jīo Shí’s defense, while incredibly high, couldn't sustain the fight indefinitely—high defense is precisely countered by attacks that bypass it!

Fāng Sēnyán’s first target was Luógēnfǎdé!

Head bowed, he strode forward bare-handed toward Luógēnfǎdé. Even though the pale-blue ice dust was beginning to thin, it still startled Luógēnfǎdé, who had intended to strike Jīo Shí: "You... how did you break free?"

But astonishment aside, Luógēnfǎdé was a battle-hardened Awakened one. He shifted his body, using his thick arms to leverage a powerful and savage downward slash with his Dark Gold war-mace! The front end of the mace glittered with a mournful golden light.

Simultaneously, Lánmǔ and Bōsī closed in from the left and right flanks. Though they had never coordinated before, their extensive combat experience allowed them to instantly form a triangular formation, placing Fāng Sēnyán in the center for a coordinated three-pronged attack.

Facing Luógēnfǎdé's fierce blow, Fāng Sēnyán’s eyes flashed crimson! He deliberately took the full impact on his left side using only his body!

My body is the best shield!

The sound of the sharp, icy Dark Gold heavy mace striking bone and sinew was jarringly piercing, but Fāng Sēnyán’s expression remained calm. This level of pain was a thousand times preferable to the agony of watching his teammates die, being slaughtered, while he himself could say nothing and do nothing.

A small vial slipped silently from between Fāng Sēnyán’s fingers, and an invisible shockwave instantly blasted out, causing all three Awakened ones to momentarily stiffen throughout their bodies.

Following this, Fāng Sēnyán’s hands erupted in a brilliant, almost blinding emerald-green light—the glow emanating from his gauntlets: the Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Gauntlets!

These naturally conspicuous emerald-green set gauntlets usually emitted a soft light, but now, their surface bore an indescribable sheen, a layer of brilliance that rightfully belonged to the blade of that +13 West’s Knife!

Yes, shortly after returning to the Nightmare Space, the satiated Metallic Lifeform had awakened from dormancy, for it felt hunger once more.

What did it hunger for? Naturally, the 100 pieces of equipment required by the mission! But Fāng Sēnyán always felt the team lacked the surplus resources to achieve this, as expenses were mounting everywhere, so he had set the matter aside.

Previously, Fāng Sēnyán’s body was restrained, and his surface was maliciously shielded, meaning only damage could awaken him. This seemed like an unsolvable deadlock, but the life-link he shared with Jīo Shí was the key to breaking it: as soon as Jīo Shí entered a near-death state, the damage immediately transferred to Fāng Sēnyán... and he was instantly awakened!

Upon waking, Fāng Sēnyán had never before craved the blood and life of his enemies so intensely! While the +13 West’s Knife was powerful, its most formidable attribute carried a 90% chance of not affecting contractors...

And Fāng Sēnyán had always assumed the Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Gauntlets were primarily supportive, until he encountered that individual on Eplos—Test Subject No. 7, the Skull Man E-Type. This opponent, through rare and savage grappling techniques, demonstrated to Fāng Sēnyán that gauntlets too could have their moment of glory.

Therefore, when the greatest need for attack power arose, Fāng Sēnyán chose the +3 Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Gauntlets over the +7 West’s Knife. After all, West’s Knife was merely a Deep Blue weapon, its Novel Rank far too low. In contrast, the Emerald-Green set was subtly a half-tier above Dark Gold weapons; there were three full tiers separating them: Black, Silver Plot, and Dark Gold!

Undoubtedly, favored by the normal monster spawn rates...

Thus, the actual culprit who killed Shā Lǐ earlier was strictly speaking not the West’s Knife, which had degraded to +7, but that pair of terrifying, emerald-green gauntlets: The +10 Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Gauntlets!

In reality, this was one of the trump cards Fāng Sēnyán had prepared specifically to deal with the mastermind! And after acquiring the means to attain an additional +7 enhancement, these powerful gauntlets, which seemed suited only for support, instantly transformed into a terrifying murder weapon!!!! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Novel Net... cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)RQ

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