A line of five people advanced, and excluding Chu Xuan, the other four were the elite fighting power of the team. Zhao Yingkong, the only one in the Central Continent Team capable of killing Zheng Zha in close combat, even if that close combat meant assassination or ambush. Cheng Xiao, proficient in his family's ancient martial arts, and the team's sole medic. Richard, the strongest member of the Southern Flame Continent Team, possessing the self-created skill "Berserker." And finally, the Druid who had transformed into a giant wolf—judging by its appearance, certainly no weakling. The crucial point was that these four were all frontline melee combatants, an arrangement Zheng Zha had made as a final precaution.

As these four people and one wolf ran, the speed of the four carrying the Hobbits inevitably slowed. However, the wolf charged ahead without hesitation. Just as it was about to disappear into the jungle, Zhao Yingkong's hand flickered, a silver light briefly flashing, and the giant snow-white wolf suddenly tumbled over mid-stride. It then turned its massive head toward Zhao Yingkong, its huge wolf eyes filled with unstoppable killing intent.

“...If you leave my sight, I will kill you... If you try to attack any of us, I will kill you too... You may attempt to resist.”

Zhao Yingkong looked coldly at the giant wolf, her hands adopting the posture of gripping a sword—though this sword was a greatsword invisible to the naked eye, the Sword of Victory and Vow.

The giant wolf initially emitted ferocious growls.

But after a few seconds, it subconsciously averted its gaze from Zhao Yingkong. Her look was so chillingly severe it defied description, as if the slightest movement would bring Death upon its head. Then, it slowly walked back to the rear of the group, while Zhao Yingkong didn't spare it another glance and continued running forward on her own.

(This woman... I didn't see her during the Starship Troopers arc. Wasn't the Central Continent Team supposed to come directly to this Middle-earth world right after? Looking at her, she definitely can't be a rookie. So, does that mean she’s a former powerhouse from the Central Continent Team who was resurrected?) Richard silently followed behind Chu Xuan as they ran, for the chilling killing intent Zhao Yingkong had projected toward the wolf earlier was clearly perceptible even to him.

This was an aura no ordinary person or even a seasoned veteran could muster. Even some of the strongest veterans, like himself or Zheng Zha, couldn't project such a spirit—it was an air of utter disregard for death.

(So strong... The Central Continent Team is truly powerful... Neos, they have an intellect greater than yours. They have a powerhouse stronger than me. Our chances are slim...) Richard sighed deeply.

He continued to follow Chu Xuan at an unhurried pace until Chu Xuan abruptly stopped, at which point Richard halted alongside him.

Chu Xuan closed his eyes. “They’re here... A Nazgûl has breached their blockade and is coming toward us, and its strength is several times greater than before...” Chu Xuan’s consciousness was constantly linked to Zhan Lan’s mental scanning map, and he also maintained a psychic link with Zero Point, observing the entire battlefield from the perspective of this killer. He was perfectly aware of every slight change on the field, especially the information Zero Point had relayed about the Nazgûl becoming stronger with each death.

The moment the words fell.

A freezing aura swept up from behind the group, the neighing of a skeletal warhorse growing ever closer... Zheng Zha, seeing the two Nazgûl grow stronger again, had made his final decision; it was time to fight with everything he had. His "Explosion" state would surely not be enough to handle the newly empowered Nazgûl, and the "Instant Annihilation" state was also unsuitable—not only would it fail to kill the Nazgûl, but it would increase the physical burden, making further use of "Annihilation" impossible, which would be disastrous. Therefore, it was better to risk it all and use his maximum power to kill these two Nazgûl in one blow! No sooner had he thought it than he acted. Seizing the instant the two Nazgûl paused, Zheng Zha let out a mighty roar. The internal energy in his dantian surged upward madly, while the vampire energy rushed down from the depths of his mind. The two energies converged at his heart. In that instant, Zheng Zha felt as if the surrounding fallen leaves had frozen in mid-air. Then, he stomped hard underfoot, and his body transformed into a gust of wind, sweeping toward the nearest Nazgûl.

The force of Zheng Zha's foot strike was utterly exaggerated; the ground beneath him violently cracked, leaving a pit nearly half a meter deep where he had stood. Utilizing this momentum, Zheng Zha's speed could only be described as insane. In the blink of an eye, he had charged directly in front of that Nazgûl, swinging the Tiger Soul horizontally in a slash aimed at it.

Once attacked, the Nazgûl also snapped out of its momentary stasis. Its speed and power had indeed increased after its evolution. The slash was so swift that the creature could barely raise its sword vertically to block. But a violent clash of metal rang out—how could it withstand the immense power of Zheng Zha in his "Annihilation" state? As the glow of the Tiger Soul blade and the black blade-light cancelled each other out, the Nazgûl was brutally knocked off its skeletal warhorse and lost its gravity-defying property, crashing heavily onto the ground with a thud.

Zheng Zha did not pursue the attack on this one. On the contrary, seeing the Nazgûl dismounted and its combat effectiveness drop by at least half, he performed an aerial step with his feet—instantly activating Moon Walk—and shot swiftly toward the other Nazgûl.

This second Nazgûl had already recovered from its stunned state. It was positioned near the trunk of a tree. As Zheng Zha lunged with a frontal slash, its sword speed managed to barely parry the Tiger Soul's strike. The same immense force transmitted, and as the black blade-light vanished, the Nazgûl remained seated firmly atop its skeletal warhorse. However, the skeletal steed let out a mournful scream. As Zheng Zha retracted his blade to strike again, the tree trunk beneath the warhorse's feet—a trunk three meters in diameter—snapped clean in two. The skeletal warhorse had successfully transferred the force of that blow into the trunk. The Nazgûl yanked hard on the reins and leaped up; the skeletal steed actually trotted through the wood chips toward Zheng Zha, while the Nazgûl's black greatsword swung directly toward Zheng Zha's left side.

Zheng Zha’s speed was much greater than the Nazgûl's. With the Tiger Soul, he could certainly cleave the Nazgûl and its warhorse in half before the creature’s sword could connect, but due to inertia, the Nazgûl's black greatsword could still strike him. His left arm would be lost. Zheng Zha had initially intended to retreat slightly, but he noticed the other Nazgûl attempting to remount its steed out of the corner of his eye. If that happened, the few seconds of his "Annihilation" state would pass, and he would have killed neither Nazgûl.

Immediately, Zheng Zha grit his teeth. Instead of retreating, he flipped his right hand holding the Tiger Soul upward, unleashing a swift horizontal cut that sliced the Nazgûl and its skeletal warhorse in two from the center. Simultaneously, the black greatsword cleaved two-thirds of the way through his left arm.

“Killed Nazgûl Level Six, rewarded with 5000 Reward Points, two Branch Plot C…” Zheng Zha vaguely heard something, but he had no time to dwell on it, as the other Nazgûl was about to grow stronger. He had to eliminate it before it mounted its steed, or the "Annihilation" state would consume more time.

(More than three seconds have passed... Must finish this within five seconds!) Zheng Zha violently curled his body into an arc, then powerfully pushed off the shattered remains of the first Nazgûl and warhorse, which hadn't completely vanished. While sending them flying backward, he shot forward like a cannonball toward the remaining Nazgûl that was still running toward its skeletal steed. When it was still two or three meters from its mount, Zheng Zha brought the Tiger Soul down in a fierce vertical slash. This was a full-power strike from the "Annihilation" state, relying entirely on the physical body of the blade, not the blade's energy projection.

The Nazgûl’s defensive sword speed increased once more. This time, it truly held its greatsword directly in front of its face, its speed notably faster than before. But just as it brought its sword up to defend, the Tiger Soul struck the black greatsword with crushing force. With a dull thud, the Nazgûl was driven violently down into the earth—the immense power of the "Annihilation" state was something it simply could not withstand. Simultaneously, the black greatsword exploded. Then, the moment Zheng Zha landed, the Nazgûl’s upper body was brutally severed into two pieces.

“Killed Nazgûl Level Seven, rewarded with 5000 Reward Points, one Branch Plot B…” This time, Zheng Zha finally listened carefully to the entirety of the announcement; this was the scoring prompt from the "Main God." But he had no room to feel happy or relieved. The first thing he did upon stopping was to exit the "Annihilation" state. The combat had taken about five seconds. While that sounded easy—eliminating two upgraded Nazgûl in five seconds—in reality, Zheng Zha had been teetering on the brink of death. His "Annihilation" state had a maximum limit of ten seconds; if time ran out, forget the Nazgûl, even an ordinary Hobbit could kill him. Even though it only took five seconds, some of the capillaries in his body had begun to rupture. Alarmed, he quickly circulated his internal energy throughout his body, suppressing the internal injuries.

“Done... Damn it, that was terrifying. If it had reached Level Seven strength while mounted, it would have taken at least the seventh or eighth second to kill it.”

Zheng Zha was secretly tense, but thankfully, the two Nazgûl were defeated.

Thinking of the mount, Zheng Zha then noticed that the first Nazgûl's steed was still standing quietly. It hadn't vanished along with the creature, which piqued Zheng Zha's curiosity. He wondered if killing it might yield more reward points and branch plots. With this thought, he cautiously approached the skeletal warhorse, dragging the Tiger Soul along. Only after he had grasped the reins beside the warhorse did the "Main God's" voice sound again.

“Acquired plot creature, Skeleton Nightmare. Feeds on non-Yang energies, such as Vampire Energy, Spiritual Energy, Magic Power, True Essence... Can move ignoring gravity. A magically conjured creature.”

“Ga?” He jumped...