Sudden Change

Poor Tie Liu, a dignified high-level God of War and a renowned figure in the God of War circles, had weathered countless storms and bloody battles, only to fall in City 003 due to a moment of carelessness.

"No—" Long Yue's eyes turned bloodshot, her beautiful face twisting in agony, stripping away her usual cold and noble demeanor.

The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox lowered its head, looking slightly weary at the mangled human corpse on the ground. A flicker of satisfaction crossed its eyes as the eye in the center of its forehead slowly closed; it seemed that using that mysterious power took a heavy toll on it.

It glanced at the distraught Long Yue nearby. Although it wanted to finish off this human as well, the Crystal Vine in its lair was far more important. The reason its illusions were so potent—capable of instantly affecting a high-level God of War—was largely due to this Crystal Vine.

Of course, this power was not invincible. First, it was extremely draining; every use placed a massive burden on the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox's mind. Second, it had little effect on those with powerful Spirit Reading Power or iron-willed determination. For instance, Long Yue, being a Spirit Reader, had broken free from the illusion almost instantly. The reason Tie Liu had died was largely due to his insufficient willpower.

Ignoring Long Yue, the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox turned around and sprinted toward the stadium, followed by three Lord Level monsters.

Long Yue snapped out of her grief and hurriedly tapped the communication button on her tactical watch to send a retreat signal to Liu Feng. Afterward, she approached Tie Liu's body, tears streaming down her face.

Having relied on each other for life and death for over a decade, they had long since become like family. The bond between the three was incredibly deep, and Tie Liu's death left Long Yue in unbearable pain.

"Brother Tie Liu, you won't have died in vain. We will avenge you. We will, we definitely will..."

High up on a distant building, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan witnessed the scene, their expressions filled with regret.

However, venturing into the Wilderness Area to hunt monsters was inherently dangerous. As a martial artist, once you stepped onto this path, you had to be mentally prepared to die at any moment.

Seeing Long Yue's agony, Chen Daolin felt a pang of empathy. If a friend he had spent years with were to suddenly die before his eyes, he would surely be devastated and desperate for revenge as well.

"That third eye on the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox's forehead suddenly opened, which is what affected that high-level God of War's mind, allowing the fox to kill him. That Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox must be using a form of Spirit Reading Power. It looks like an illusion-based ability," Ji Xuan said, her expression slightly grave.

Currently, Spirit Readers primarily had a few types of abilities: first, controlling objects—weapons or hidden projectiles—to attack enemies directly. Second, creating illusions to influence enemies and then attacking them, just like that Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox. Third, using Spirit Reading Power to communicate with monsters and make them serve you, though this required immense patience; after all, monsters were wild and prone to losing control, so very few Spirit Readers bothered to tame them this way.

"Illusion attacks are indeed terrifying..." Ji Xuan continued, "but if your Spirit Reading Power is strong or your willpower is sufficiently firm, then illusion attacks won't affect you at all."

Chen Daolin nodded upon hearing this. Willpower, huh? He was quite confident in his own. He just wasn't sure if he could successfully withstand the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox's mental attack.

Picking up his long spear, Chen Daolin said to Ji Xuan, "A-Xuan, wait for me here. I'm going to go have a word with that Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox."

He was also curious about what was inside the stadium that would make three Gods of War risk their lives.

"Be careful." Although Ji Xuan was worried, she knew her own strength wouldn't be of any help to Chen Daolin. After all, there were too many Lord Level monsters to face this time. Her own abilities were too weak, and staying by Chen Daolin's side would only distract him—something she would never do.

Chen Daolin's figure flickered as he leaped from the twenty-meter-high building. With a loud boom, he slammed into the ground, then shot toward the stadium like a phantom.

Inside the stadium, Liu Feng was in a standoff with a massive, hideous black scorpion when his tactical watch suddenly vibrated and began to beep. It was the emergency retreat signal Long Yue had previously agreed upon. Liu Feng's expression changed. "What's going on? It's only been a short while; did something happen to Long Yue and the others?" Liu Feng took one last, reluctant look at the Crystal Vine behind the Earth King Scorpion, took a deep breath, and without further hesitation, turned and left, disappearing from the stadium shortly after.

Less than half a minute after Liu Feng left, a blurred shadow appeared at the stadium entrance, revealing a giant fox with gray fur and a fiery red tail. It sprinted to the small mound, saw the giant black scorpion emerging from the ground, and immediately realized someone had been there. It nervously checked on the Crystal Vine, and upon finding all four fruits intact, it let out a sigh of relief, a human-like smile appearing on its fox face.

Although it had lost one subordinate, it had killed an enemy, and most importantly, it had kept the Crystal Vine fruits from being stolen. The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox was reasonably satisfied.

"Yip~ Yip~" The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox chirped happily, its fiery red tail swishing back and forth.

The mid-level Lord Level monster, the Earth King Scorpion, stayed obediently to the side.

The reason the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox had so many Lord Level monsters under its command had everything to do with its abilities. A normal high-level Lord Level monster usually only had two or three followers, but it had five, three of which were mid-level Lords—a truly rare occurrence.

Just then, a series of violent explosions erupted outside, accompanied by the incessant, angry roars of monsters. The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox and the other four Lord Level monsters all stood up, turning their heads toward the entrance passage.

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the entrance. A shockwave carrying dirt and rubble blasted inward, along with the hulking bodies of several monsters that flew in and tumbled across the floor. One rolled right to the feet of the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox, revealing a blood-stained, lifeless monster carcass.

"..." The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox narrowed its eyes.

A gray figure suddenly appeared. As it solidified, it revealed a black-haired young man wearing a gray combat suit. He held a long spear in his hand and swung it casually behind him, instantly creating a sonic boom that sent a group of lunging monsters flying away like flies.

"Roar~~" The Blood-Eyed Lion Mastiff Beast closest to the passage saw the human, let out a furious roar, slowly stood up, paced, and then lunged at the black-haired young martial artist.

Chen Daolin didn't even look up. He swept his bronze spear toward the lunging Blood-Eyed Lion Mastiff Beast. A dense series of air-cracking sounds, like rolling thunder, erupted. The spear moved with such blurred, inconceivable speed that in the next instant, it slammed solidly into the Blood-Eyed Lion Mastiff Beast, sending its massive body flying over twenty meters before it crashed heavily to the ground. A loud thud echoed through the stadium, and the entire structure seemed to tremble slightly. The terrifying weight of the Blood-Eyed Lion Mastiff Beast had actually forced the ground to cave in, creating a shallow crater over ten meters in diameter.

The Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox, standing on the small mound, saw this and its pupils constricted.

This human was dangerous.

After knocking the Blood-Eyed Lion Mastiff Beast away, Chen Daolin took a step forward and lunged forward with explosive speed, his target being the Death Giant Python furthest from the Three-Eyed Fire-Tailed Fox.