Coordinates: Liver - Hepatic Lobule Area H-103.
Black sludge churned as thousands of [Blood-Sucking Liver Leeches] formed a writhing carpet covering the entire dried-up riverbed. At the center of that nauseating Sea of Insects, the massive [Corrupt Mother Nest] lazily exhaled and inhaled poison mist, as though it was still savoring the one-sided slaughter from moments ago.
Suddenly, synchronized footsteps rang out from atop the towering hexagonal pillar.
Several of the Brood Mother's compound eyes turned upward, and it saw rows upon rows of silver-white figures.
"Everyone!"
Thunder King stood at the front, the Thunder Magnetic Floating Cannon in his hand fully charged. His voice was cold as iron. "Target directly below. Free-fall assault!"
"Jump!"
There was no hesitation and no unnecessary sound.
Three hundred players in identical standard-issue gear leaped from a height of a hundred meters like three hundred meteors.
"Th-This is way too reckless, isn't it?"
Frost Sword, following behind them, stared dumbfounded. Their Second Regiment had just been wiped out after going down into the riverbed, yet this newly arrived "Third Regiment" was actually jumping down on their own?
"This is tactics."
Vanguard Across the Realm clicked his tongue twice as he stood beside Frost Sword. "Enjoy the sight of what a Steel Torrent looks like."
In midair, one hundred [Steel Bastions] raised their massive Tower Shields at the same time.
[Skill: Gravity Slam!]
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One hundred Tower Shields smashed heavily into the muddy ground, and the enormous shockwave instantly flipped over a ring of leeches around them. Before the insect swarm could react, the hundred burly men rapidly closed in, their shields locking together without a single gap.
It took less than three seconds.
An impregnable circular steel fortification rose up in the middle of the Sea of Insects.
"Secure the perimeter! Inner ring, fire!"
At Lei Zhen's command, eighty [Thunder Lords] stood inside the shield wall, their staffs and Floating Cannons firing at the same time.
Crackle—!
Eighty streams of lightning intertwined into a dense electric net that spread outward from the shield wall. The leeches attempting to climb over the shields were instantly charred black and dropped away.
"This is way too stable..."
Brute Force Yields Miracles scratched his head. "With coordination like this, it feels like they don't even need me to tank the monsters?"
"Not quite. No matter how skilled they are, this is still a game. Level suppression can't be ignored."
Vanguard Across the Realm observed the battlefield. Aside from being caught off guard at the start, the Insect Nest had already reacted and begun surrounding the Third Regiment.
Drawing [Origin Fang], he gave the order. "Main force, First Regiment and Second Regiment, follow up! Don't let the Third Regiment brothers fight alone!"
"Kill!!"
Frost Sword's eyes reddened as he led the resurrected Second Regiment members down along the zip lines built by the engineers.
The flames of vengeance sent their combat strength soaring.
The battle instantly reached its fiercest stage.
Faced with such an iron-barrel formation, the Brood Mother was clearly confused. It tried to repeat its old trick, its enormous body suddenly contracting as countless vents opened.
"Gurgle..."
The deadly poison mist erupted once again, intending to engulf the entire shield formation.
"Hazmat team!" Thunder King shouted calmly.
The sixty [Life Sages] did not, like ordinary players, become dazzled by the chaotic effects and frantically cast group heals.
Their squad had abandoned their heavy robes and wore light armor suited for movement. They raised their scepters in unison and simultaneously released [Purifying Wind].
Whoosh—!
Sixty streams of air converged into a tornado, forcibly blowing away the poison mist before it could even descend!
"Beautiful!"
Cloud Pomelo could not help praising them. This was not merely skill usage, but perfect control of timing. The healers in this Third Regiment moved and reacted as if they had undergone military training.
The poison mist failed, and the Sea of Insects was held back.
The Brood Mother finally felt fear. It let out a piercing screech, its massive body writhing as it tried to burrow back into the depths of the sludge and escape.
"Trying to run?"
Vanguard Across the Realm's gaze sharpened.
"Assassin team, come with me and take its head!"
"Mages, provide covering fire!"
Sixty [Ghost Blades] from the Third Regiment, along with Vanguard Across the Realm, Frost Sword, and the other Hunters, instantly activated [Shadow Step].
Dozens of black shadows crossed the battlefield like ghosts, appearing directly atop the Brood Mother's bloated body.
"Keep it here!"
Origin Fang in Vanguard Across the Realm's hand glowed with black light that seemed capable of devouring everything, then stabbed viciously into the Brood Mother's greasy back.
Squelch!
Weak Point Critical Hit!
[Effect triggered: Phagocytosis! Target movement speed reduced by 30%!]
At the same time, dozens of daggers fell together. In an instant, the Brood Mother was stabbed full of holes.
[Gouge]! [Hamstring]! [Bloodletting]!
The Brood Mother rolled about in agony, its enormous tentacles lashing wildly.
But before these perfectly coordinated Assassins, its attacks appeared clumsy and slow. Whenever a tentacle came down, the Assassins had already evaded with their high agility and retaliated with another slash.
"The equipment is in its stomach!"
Cloud Pomelo suddenly shouted from the rear.
Through the Brood Mother's translucent skin, several differently shaped weapons could vaguely be seen lodged in its digestive tract, not yet fully corroded.
"I see them."
Vanguard Across the Realm replied over the communication channel.
His figure flashed as he dodged a spray of acid and leaped directly onto the Brood Mother's head—or more accurately, above its mouthparts.
"Brute Force! Lei Zhen! Pry its mouth open for me!"
"Coming!"
Brute Force Yields Miracles activated [Inferno Avatar] and charged over like a giant of fire, his two magma hands clamping down on the Brood Mother's upper and lower jaws.
"Open your damn... mouth!!"
"Thunder Piercer!"
Lei Zhen set up his Floating Cannon in the distance. A precise beam of purple lightning blasted into the Brood Mother's mouth, making its internal muscles convulse and preventing it from closing its jaws.
"Thanks."
Without the slightest hesitation, Vanguard Across the Realm dove straight into the Brood Mother's foul, acid-filled mouth.
"Holy shit? Brother Feng got eaten?"
The surrounding ordinary players were startled.
The next second.
The Brood Mother's body began convulsing violently, as though Princess Iron Fan had swallowed Sun Wukong into her stomach.
Riiip—!
A streak of pitch-black blade light forcibly burst out through the Brood Mother's abdomen!
Vanguard Across the Realm, covered head to toe in green slime and holding a pile of weapons, burst out through its stomach!
[Weak point destroyed! Core damaged!]
The Brood Mother let out a miserable wail, its enormous body deflating like a punctured balloon.
"Focus fire! Send it on its way!"
Frost Sword roared, pouring all his fury onto the dying BOSS.
Rumble!
Several dozen seconds later, the LV.22 leader that had once wiped out the Second Regiment finally turned into white experience light that filled the sky.
[Corrupt Mother Nest killed!] [Obtained: Large amount of Bio-Energy.] [Obtained: Venom Gland (Rare Material).] [Area H-103 purified!]
The battlefield gradually fell quiet.
After losing their mother, the remaining leeches scattered in panic and were easily cleaned up by the players around the perimeter.
Vanguard Across the Realm wiped the slime from his face and tossed the equipment onto the ground. "Second Regiment brothers, come claim your stuff!"
Several dozen naked Second Regiment elites immediately gathered around with grins, searching for their equipment.
At that moment, Lei Zhen led the Third Regiment over.
Although they had gone through a fierce battle, the formation of three hundred remained perfectly orderly. Even the angles at which their shields were placed had not shifted in the slightest. To ordinary players, they were simply a flawlessly coordinated "guild elite squad." No one would have connected them to special forces.
"Casualties?" Vanguard Across the Realm asked quietly.
"One hundred twenty-five seriously injured, zero dead." Lei Zhen answered calmly, with a trace of pride in his voice. The Third Regiment had maintained its formation exceptionally well, nearly unbreakable. Whenever anyone was injured, a teammate immediately filled the gap, while the healers moved swiftly like battlefield medics to restore their status.
The Second Regiment players around them were dumbfounded.
Same map, same monsters—they had been wiped out, while the others suffered zero deaths. Was this the gap in skill?
"Good."
Vanguard Across the Realm looked at this army of steel, then at the Dawn Guild members around him whose morale had soared, and smiled.
He knew that with the addition of this Third Regiment, along with the elite First and Second Regiments that had already developed teamwork, the Dawn Guild finally had the capital to swagger through this Poisonous Labyrinth.
Well, probably, as long as they did not encounter any heavyweight creatures.
"Rest for ten minutes."
Vanguard Across the Realm looked deeper into the labyrinth, where a [Central Vein Tower] taller than every surrounding structure stood.
"Next target: Hepatic Lobule H-105."
"If they're all only at this level, we'll soon be able to swallow this labyrinth one square at a time!"
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