The ground exploded again, far more violently than anticipated!

And massive earth spikes materialized out of thin air, ghost-like in their sudden appearance! However, everyone present was already prepared; although the earth spike attack was insidious and sudden, it hadn't escaped the perception of the Death-Lust Eyes.

Literary Arts Almost the instant the spikes erupted, several of us dodged away again! Ideal Literary ArtsBut the Crimson Moon Demon was not so easily dealt with! It seemed to have calculated our predicted evasive routes exactly!

Hiss-s-s-s-s! Thud-thud!

Countless thrusts followed us like shadows, relentlessly pursuing us! And the ground itself was like a battlefield pounded relentlessly by cannon fire! Innumerable craters blasted open in an instant! Shards of debris flew out like a furious storm! Under such conditions, we had no choice but to desperately evade; we dared not pause for even a second! Yet, even while dodging, we were rapidly closing in on the Crimson Moon Demon!

"Explosive Flame!"

Chi Xiang and Chi Yu seized the opportunity mid-flight to launch a magical assault! Giant spheres of explosive fire, like meteors, slammed toward the Crimson Moon Demon's colossal, mountainous body.

Crash-boom!

With a dull, heavy roar! Ice Roar and Explosive Flame struck the Crimson Moon Demon with uncanny precision. However, the scene that followed left me utterly dumbfounded.

The expected explosion never materialized! The Explosive Flame—the massive magical sphere—seemed to sink into a quagmire upon impact with the Crimson Moon Demon, actually being absorbed into its body! Only after a series of bizarre ripples disturbed the surface, which resembled foamy magma, did it return to stillness!

"Ah!"

"What is happening?"

Chi Xiang and Chi Yu’s faces changed drastically!

"Take this sword strike." Silver Lake, already weaving through the onslaught, had closed the distance to the Crimson Moon Demon! He swung his greatsword in a wide arc! The greatsword in Ideal’s hand flashed with blinding light. A massive crescent sweep shot out like lightning toward the Crimson Moon Demon!

Whoosh-whoosh! Thwack-splash!

Almost mirroring the earlier event! The crescent striking the Crimson Moon Demon seemed to hit a swamp; it was absorbed by the Demon once more! The Demon’s enormous bulk acted like an infinitely vast sponge; aside from an intense distortion and rippling on its surface at the moment of impact, not a single scar remained.

"Ah! Damn it." Silver Lake was aghast.

"Insolent!"

Chi Tao and I couldn't accept this reality and simultaneously unleashed our strongest Battle Aura attacks! Instantly, light flared, and Battle Auras raged. Two more colossal crescents swept out of thin air. However, neither the crescent I launched nor the one Chi Tao launched managed to harm the Crimson Moon Demon. Instead, we were left struggling against the continuous barrage of earth spikes from the Demon!

Meanwhile, Yin Hong and Bai Yan simultaneously sprayed two clouds of poison! Yet, upon contact with the Crimson Moon Demon, the poison only managed to stain parts of its surface red or green. But even that was temporary. The discolored areas quickly returned to normal.

The situation was utterly bizarre. The Crimson Moon Demon's strange defensive capability rendered magical attacks, Battle Aura attacks, and even Yin Hong and Bai Yan’s poison assaults completely ineffective. But before we could process what was happening—!

The ground vibrated instantly!

Crash-rumble-rumble!

Countless earth spikes erupted almost simultaneously! It was like a minefield detonated all at once! These spikes, covering nearly the entire valley, offered absolutely nowhere to hide!

Thud-splash-splash-splash!

Without hesitation, I instantly sprang up, soaring high into the air! But the spikes bursting from the earth acted like homing missiles, chasing me upward! Suspended mid-air, I had no leverage point, nowhere to escape! I could only desperately slash my sword forward to meet the rapidly approaching spikes.

Crash-boom!

Almost the same as before! The moment my longsword struck an earth spike, a massive shockwave slammed into me! Using that impact as leverage, I managed a skillful maneuver, launching myself far away! Then, I fell toward the ground in the distance. Almost as soon as I landed, Yin Hong, Bai Yan, Chi Tao, and the others executed the same trick! They sprang outward! However, their landings were clearly far more chaotic than mine. Except for Silver Lake and Chi Tao, Chi Xiang, Chi Yu, Yin Hong, and Bai Yan were all injured!

Damn it, what is going on! The Crimson Moon Demon's bizarre defense left us completely helpless. If we weren't all first-rate heavy infantry warriors, we would have been skewered to death several times over by the Demon’s elusive earth spike attacks!

For the moment, we could only cautiously maneuver on the outer fringes, keeping our distance from the Crimson Moon Demon. Through the Death-Lust Eyes, I could sense the Demon’s aggressive intent; clearly, the previous furious assault had taken a toll on it too! Whether it was us or the Crimson Moon Demon, both sides seemed to be waiting for the next opportune moment to strike. Even so, we dared not let our guard down in the slightest.

Evidently, the current situation was a stalemate—neither side could overcome the other! However, overall, the Crimson Moon Demon held the upper hand! Faced with its strange defense and the shifting, impossible-to-guard-against spike attacks, we had no recourse. But against our incredible reaction speed, the Demon's earth spike attacks were also difficult to land effectively!

Wooooo!

As if provoked by our resistance, the Crimson Moon Demon let out a sharp, piercing screech, its vast, mountainous body swelling and contracting violently. This was followed by intense tremors emanating from deep underground. Through the Death-Lust Eyes, I clearly felt the Demon's immense aura rapidly closing in on us.

"Hah! Here it comes again!" Silver Lake exclaimed in surprise.

"Retreat!" Continuing this stalemate without a clear solution was clearly unwise!

"Yes!"

The few of us dashed into the mountain tunnel we had used to arrive, fleeing desperately! After a long while, the suffocating aura finally dissipated! And by then, we had made it back to the Demon Altar.

"It seems it didn't follow us," Yin Hong observed.

"Phew," Chi Yu let out a sigh of relief. "We were nearly wiped out."

"Why are you all back so soon?" Chen Feng rushed forward quickly to meet us. And the Mammoth King let out a roar, its large, crimson eyes curiously assessing us! Only then did everyone stop!

"Hngh! Hngh!" Exhausted like dead dogs, we could only pant heavily: "Don't even ask; we were nearly killed."

"What a terrifying creature." Blood still seeped from Yin Hong's chest; he looked utterly depleted, slumping against the wall to sit down.

"Damn it, what a powerful monster." Bai Yan was equally ragged!

"As expected of the Crimson Moon Demon," Chi Yu gasped. "It truly is hard to deal with."

"Yeah." I forgot all about appearances, leaning against the wall and collapsing onto the floor: "Good thing we ran fast."

"Did you actually see the Crimson Moon Demon?" Chen Feng was greatly astonished.

"More than see it," Silver Lake said. "We fought it."

"........" Chen Feng looked stunned. And the rest of the group grew tense. Chi Xiang, still catching his breath, recounted the details of the battle to Chen Feng. Although the fight had lasted only a few short minutes, it had been fraught with peril. While we had anticipated the Crimson Moon Demon would be tough, its sheer resilience far exceeded our expectations.

"It seems conventional methods won't work," Chi Tao stated.

"The Demon's defenses and attacks are impenetrable," Silver Lake agreed.

"Right." I nodded subconsciously. Recalling the earlier encounter, I quickly tried to formulate a strategy against it. It was certain that the real-world Crimson Moon Demon, while similar in appearance to the one in Legend of Mir, possessed vastly different offensive and defensive capabilities. Our attacks had simply failed to affect it! Now that I thought about it, I recalled the slowly flowing substance on its surface, like molten magma foam—it was highly suspicious. The situation reminded me instinctively of a marsh. It seemed this strange layer was what neutralized and absorbed our attacks! We had clearly witnessed those bizarre scenes just now. If our attacks couldn't penetrate this layer of magma-foam fluid, we stood no chance of defeating the Crimson Moon Demon!

"I think that disgusting, sticky layer is the Crimson Moon Demon's strongest defense," Yin Hong shared the same view.

"Exactly, no matter how we attacked that thing, it did nothing. It felt like hitting a mud pit," Chi Yu said, still unnerved.

"If we could break through that layer of strange slime, we could probably defeat the Crimson Moon Demon," Chi Tao suggested.

"But how do we break it?" Chi Xiang sounded discouraged. "Magic, Battle Aura, poison—it absorbed everything; none of it worked."

"It’s just like a giant mud pit," Chi Yu lamented.

"A mud pit?" Chen Feng seemed to recall something and grew excited. "Wait, if we could make that sticky substance harden, wouldn't we be able to punch through the Crimson Moon Demon's defense?"

"Harden?" Chi Yu asked. "How do we make it hard?"

"Harden?" A sudden spark of inspiration hit me: "Yes! If it hardens, it can't absorb the attacks, and then we should be able to penetrate its defense."

"But how do we actually do that?" Chi Yu pressed.

"If you wanted to harden a soggy mud pit, what would you do?" Chen Feng asked excitedly.

"Use fire," Chi Xiang and Chi Yu exclaimed in unison!

"That's right, fire!" I was delighted. "If we use fire to burn it, it should definitely harden that strange slime layer!"

"Use Wall of Fire spell," Chi Xiang and Chi Yu said simultaneously again.

"Excellent idea," Silver Lake approved. Everyone looked energized. But Chi Xiang and Chi Yu quickly grew dejected again: "But the Crimson Moon Demon's earth spike attacks are too fast! We can barely manage to escape, let alone cast Wall of Fire to burn it."

"That is a real problem," Silver Lake admitted, looking troubled.

"........" I was momentarily speechless. That was true. While we found a solution, the method of execution was the difficulty. Under those conditions, let alone attacking, even surviving was incredibly hard. Even I, known for my speed, was barely keeping up, let alone Chi Xiang and Chi Yu, who were mages. Thinking of this, I instinctively looked toward the Mammoth King. In terms of sheer speed, the Mammoth King was infinitely faster; it could certainly evade the Crimson Moon Demon's earth spike attacks!

"With the Mammoth King's speed, it should be able to easily avoid the Crimson Moon Demon's earth spikes," Chi Tao said, clearly thrilled. Everyone else's eyes lit up, and they all turned to stare at the Mammoth King. Unquestionably, if Chi Xiang and Chi Yu could ride the Mammoth King and have it maneuver while they cast their spells, our plan might succeed.

"Mammoth King, would you be willing to help?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Roar!" The Mammoth King let out a deep, muffled growl, shaking its enormous head like a rattle drum. Its large eyes showed clear annoyance. It was obvious the proud Mammoth King did not permit anyone other than me to ride on its back. However, given the current circumstances, this was the only way! Looking at the expectant faces of the others, and then at my pleading expression, the Mammoth King could only emit a reluctant roar.

"Thanks, big guy," I said, overjoyed. "I'll give you an extra portion later." The problem was solved!

"Let's rest properly first," since we had a plan, there was no need to rush. "Next time, we will definitely defeat the Crimson Moon Demon completely."

"Yeah!" Yin Hong and Bai Yan nodded repeatedly, simultaneously pulling healing potions from their spatial pouches, twisting off the caps, and gulping them down. I, too, unscrewed a bottle of Sun Water! And drank it down in one gulp. A warm, cool sensation flowed through my body, like a miraculous spring. The searing, tearing pain quickly vanished. My entire being felt refreshed, and my spirit soared.

After a period of rest, everyone's stamina and spirits were restored.

"The rest is up to you now," I looked toward Chi Xiang, Chi Yu, and the Mammoth King.

"Don't worry," Chi Xiang and Chi Yu were practically vibrating with excitement! Roar! The Mammoth King’s deep roar vibrated our eardrums painfully!