Venom Mist Trap

Kyle suddenly raised his foot and kicked hard at the side wall of the trench.

A camouflage barrier covered in mud collapsed on the spot, revealing a pre-prepared slanted underground Hidden Passage.

"Retreat! Spear tips facing outwards!"

Todd, holding his iron spear, stared intently at the churning Blood Mist ahead, taking small, hesitant steps backward and slipping into the tunnel.

The entrance was so narrow that only one person could bend down and squeeze through. The entire Hidden Passage was built in a zigzag pattern, so narrow that even Knight's shoulder armor would scrape against the mud walls on both sides.

The enormous Falling-Bone Beast outside rushed to the entrance, but were blocked by the narrow opening, and could only stick their claws in and frantically dig through the rubble.

Several Throat-Ripper Juvenile squeezed through the gap beneath the Falling-Bone Beast, their dark forms skimming the mud wall as they sprang forward, heading straight for the depths of the passage.

But this Hidden Passage had anticipated this situation.

As soon as that sharp angle appeared, the juvenile's originally fierce launching speed was immediately reduced by more than half.

The shadowy figure had just crashed into the muddy wall at the corner when Todd instinctively took a half-step forward, thrusting his spear forward and plunging it deep into its gaping maw before twisting it sharply.

The spear shaft jerked, and sticky blood splattered down the wooden handle onto the back of my hand. The dark figure twitched twice and then collapsed.

The team retreated in an orderly fashion, quickly disappearing into the enclosed bunkers of the Third Ring.

The air here is damp and cold, with a musty smell.

Kyle ripped open the tactical pouch at his waist and pulled out an ugly piece of armor.

The rough Magic Creature leather was covered with a thick layer of burlap, and the front end bulged out, looking like a crooked pig's snout.

He expertly fastened the mask to his face, the belt digging sharply around the back of his head, and roared through the front filter, "Put the mask on!!"

Todd hurriedly put on his mask, and as soon as the rough, stiff leather edge touched his face, the acrid, pungent smell hit his nostrils.

The filter cartridge was completely full, filled with high-temperature Activated Charcoal left over from filtering toxic water a few days ago, mixed with fine pieces of Holy Silver Slag and wood ash.

The last greatswordsman, who was bringing up the rear, practically stumbled in, half a monster's intestines still hanging from his breastplate, and he trampled the ground into a mess of dark red mud.

Kyle strode forward, gripped the control lever embedded in the stone wall with both hands, and pressed down hard with his entire weight.

"Boom--!" The rock above them shook violently.

A heavy gate, covered in Holy Silver and plastered with wet clay, crashed down along the stone trough.

The Hidden Passage connecting the first two ring roads to this location was thus completely blocked.

A dull thud immediately came from behind the door.

Those creatures were still going berserk outside, their claws relentlessly pounding against the Holy Silver, causing the entire gate to tremble slightly.

But the sound was ultimately blocked out, and only a faint, indistinct thud could be heard.

"Run back! Retreat to the safe zone!"

The order was relayed along the narrow passageway.

The warriors, who had just been fighting and grappling in pools of blood, didn't even have time to catch their breath as they continued their frantic run through the icy water at the bottom of the tunnel.

Footsteps, panting, and heavy breathing from inside the filter canisters filled the entire passageway.

The heavy, airtight door slammed down with a "bang," abruptly cutting off the breath of the living person behind it.

A dozen or so Falling-Bone Beast and Throat-Ripper Juvenile lay on the muddy ground, their sharp claws scratching irritably at the layer of Holy Silver skin.

"Squeak... squeak..."

The stench of blood wafted over on the wind, causing low growls to escape the throats of the Mutant whose brains had been emptied by the Blood Moon.

They continued to surge forward, stepping over broken limbs and bones, like a blackened, turbid current, plunging headlong into the seemingly empty trench of the Third Ring.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The several hundred-pound bodies crashed down one after another, causing the Frozen Tundra at the bottom of the ditch to collapse layer by layer.

The sharp claws frantically dug into the mud, trying to unearth any living creature hidden beneath.

Immediately afterwards, a series of crisp sounds exploded at the bottom of the ditch.

"Click! Click--"

The fragile pottery jars buried in the shallow soil were crushed one after another by their feet.

The earthenware jar contained waste materials that Victor and the Workshop apprentices had poured in beforehand.

The discarded Lesser Holy Water residue, mixed with acid forced out from the glands of the Corrupt Rats, was poured into the bottom of the ditch along with the broken pottery shards.

The moment the two things came together, the entire trench erupted into chaos.

"Laugh--!"

A large amount of dark green smoke suddenly billowed up, instantly engulfing the entire Third Ring of the trench.

The smell was pungent and strange, a mixture of the acrid odor of Holy Water residue and the putrid smell of acidic liquid. Once it entered my nasal cavity, it felt like a red-hot needle stabbing into my brain.

The first to panic were the Falling-Bone Beast.

They hunt by smell, and when the poisonous smoke rolls up, a layer of deathly gray film immediately covers the surface of their eyeballs.

Dozens of monsters rolled wildly in the ditch, their sharp claws clawing wildly, bone spikes stabbing into their own bellies and thighs with a "plop" sound, leaving a trail of black blood and entrails on the ground in the blink of an eye.

The Throat-Ripper Juvenile fared even worse; these creatures were small in size but had a multitude of senses.

As soon as the poisonous smoke entered, they went berserk, thrashing and leaping wildly at the bottom of the ditch.

"Thud! Thud!" Clumps of dark shadows crashed into the mud wall, into corpses, and into their own kind, their mouths full of sharp, ring-shaped teeth biting whatever they could catch, tearing directly into the throats and cheeks of their fellow creatures.

Black blood, acid, and bits of flesh splattered everywhere.

The entire trench instantly turned into a boiling pot of poisonous mincemeat.

Several larger, higher-level mutants that had survived the first wave of poisonous smoke were trying to crawl out.

They dug their four claws into the ditch wall, covered in black blood and acid, and arched upwards along the muddy slope, about to roll over to the edge.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Just then, thick, dark brown vines suddenly burst out from the cracks in the mud, as fast as a series of whips.

That was Living Thorn that Shien had the Workshop and the planting shed research together. It usually stayed curled up in the soil and didn't move, but as soon as it smelled poisonous smoke and blood, it would grow wildly.

The barbs on the vine suddenly snapped open, wrapping around the limbs of the Magic Creature that were crawling out, constricting them inwards in circles.

Several high-level mutants had barely poked half their bodies out when they were immediately grabbed by these Living Vine and dragged back heavily.

"Click... click click..."

The bones, thorns, and flesh rubbed together, producing a series of muffled thuds that sent chills down one's spine.

The mutant struggled frantically, its muscles taut as if about to burst, carving deep trenches into the mud slope.

But the thorns tightened their grip, and the bulging veins beneath the vines rose and fell rapidly, their ends splitting open into a row of tiny holes, violently spurting streams of high-pressure acid at the Magic Creature's face and throat.

"Sizzle--!"

White smoke exploded along with the flesh, and a layer of decay was instantly ripped off the faces of several monsters, their screams shrill and chaotic in the Venom Mist.

The Venom Mist and Living Thorn took effect simultaneously, turning the Third Ring trench into a churning pot of poisonous mud.

The Falling-Bone Beast and the Throat-Ripper Juvenile were thrown into chaos by the ghastly green acidic smoke. Their eyes were scorched white, and they rolled and scratched frantically along the bottom of the ditch.

Its sharp claws swept across the flesh of its kind, tearing off large chunks of flesh on the spot.

Several Falling-Bone Beast, their hind legs entangled by Living Vine, were still struggling desperately, and ended up dragging several young beasts along with them into the deeper Venom Mist.

By this time, most of the hundreds of Falling-Bone Beasts and Throat-Ripper Juvenile that had rushed into the Third Ring had lost their way.