Breaking the Deadlock

The intense back-and-forth fighting had completely disrupted Lu Heng's battle rhythm.

Deep in the fog and secluded in the forest, the dense fog in the Inner Region was continuously activated and solidified by the Goblin Mage's magic, turning it into a natural killing field. The assassin's relentless stealthy attacks from within the fog, the heavy-armored warrior's brutal and uninterrupted axe presses, and the mage's progressively increasing sensory blockade from behind—these three forces formed a closed loop of attacks, locking him firmly in a vicious cycle of passive defense.

Every time he parried, he had to endure the brute force transmitted by the trembling of the giant axe; every time he turned to the side, he had to dodge the assassin's cunning short blades that moved erratically from left to right; every time he focused on making a prediction, his mental energy would be interfered with, torn apart, and disrupted by the chaotic fog field.

Even with the Blood Taisui protecting him, the previous precise punctures into his vital chest still left him with a dull, stabbing pain. The layers of Mycelium on his skin had broken and repeatedly repaired themselves, and his protective defenses were no longer intact. If he continued to maintain this close-quarters stalemate, once his strength was exhausted and his reflexes declined, he would inevitably be exploited and suffer a fatal blow.

Lu Heng was perfectly clear-headed; he could no longer afford to be passively attacked.

He stared intently at the giant bone axe that was coming down head-on. In the instant that the axe blade smashed through the decaying leaves, trembled upon impact, and briefly ceased its attack, he seized a precious opening in the entire entanglement, stomped his feet hard on the ground, and his body rapidly retreated.

A gust of wind brushed past him, and he managed to break free from the narrow corner where the three were surrounding him, creating a safe distance of several meters and completely escaping the range of close-quarters combat.

The instant he created distance, Lu Heng didn't hesitate for a moment, instantly activating the energy within his body and fully engaging the Blood Taisui.

The thick layer of decaying leaves and damp soil beneath my feet undulated and rippled instantly. Tens of thousands of fine Mycelium, like an endless spider web, spread, expanded, and took root wildly in all directions, covering a large area of fog in a short moment, constructing an invisible yet omnipresent Global Region Perception Network.

At this moment, the view through the forest had completely vanished.

The thick white fog remained still, obscuring all naked-eye vision. The Goblin Mage's fog magic continuously eroded his mental probing, suppressing and cutting off his originally keen mental perception layer by layer, greatly shrinking his detection range. The fog was a blur of reality and illusion, making it impossible to pinpoint the enemy's location using conventional senses.

Any ordinary survivor would be completely blinded at this point, and could only passively wait to be hunted.

However, the Mycelium of the Blood Taisui perfectly filled the fatal flaw in this dead land.

It does not rely on visual observation or mental prediction.

It relies solely on the most realistic ground vibrations, airflow disturbances, body friction, and the weight of footsteps.

The next second, three completely different movements simultaneously entered the monitoring area beneath the Mycelium.

The heavy, steady, continuous tremors are the advance of heavily armored Goblin Warrior; the subtle, intermittent friction sounds are the assassins moving through the mist, waiting for an opportunity to strike; the weak, constant energy rhythms are the rear mage remaining stationary, continuously manipulating the mist field.

Three Silver Tier elites pressed in simultaneously, attempting to close the encirclement again and trap him in close-quarters combat once more.

Lu Heng knew perfectly well that the resilience and binding power of the Blood Taisui Mycelium were insufficient to completely trap the three high-level elite demons.

Faced with the combined forces of the three, the Mycelium is unable to lock down the enemy and directly end the battle.

But simply capturing movement patterns, early signs of attacks, and weaknesses in positioning is more than enough.

Every time the three monsters moved, accelerated, or raised their hands to gather power, they stirred the veins beneath the soil, creating clear and undeniable ripples.

The chaotic fog instantly became clear and transparent in Lu Heng.

In order to quickly disrupt the opponent's formation and seize the initiative, Lu Heng immediately chose to probe from a distance.

In an instant, intense heat condensed at his fingertips, and a blazing fireball quickly took shape. He released it, heading straight for the approximate location of the mage deep within the dense fog.

He originally intended to use the explosive force of the fireball to force back the mage, interrupt the spell, and create a gap in the formation.

But as soon as the fireball entered the dense fog, its drawbacks became immediately apparent.

The forest is perpetually damp and waterlogged, and the dense fog is extremely moist, naturally suppressing fire. In addition, the mage deliberately manipulates the fog field to compress elemental energy, and the layers of white fog act like a cold barrier, tightly enveloping and suppressing the fireball.

The dazzling flames quickly dimmed, the high temperature was instantly absorbed, and the fire's potential energy continued to diminish. The fireball, which had originally been extremely powerful, was constantly devoured, weakened, and suppressed by the mist during its flight, and finally exploded faintly in mid-air, releasing only a wisp of heat, failing even to achieve the effect of forcing the enemy to retreat.

Completely ineffective.

Ranged elemental attacks are completely rendered useless in this exclusive fog field.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Heng immediately abandoned all ranged attacks, gripped the hilt of the Star Blade tightly with his five fingers, and held the cold blade steadily at his side, concentrating all his combat power on breaking the deadlock in close combat.

At this moment, his only chance of winning is to seize a fleeting opening and tear apart the opponent's perfect coordinated system.

The Mycelium continuously reflected the movement trajectories of the three, who continued to cooperate seamlessly, steadily closing the distance, attempting to replicate their previous fast-paced, overwhelming tactics. The warrior advanced from the front to draw attention, the assassin roamed the flanks to find ambush points, and the mage maintained control and suppressed perception from the back.

Just as the three players' positions overlapped, their rhythm synchronized, and they were preparing to encircle each other, there was an extremely brief moment of stiffness in the transition between offense and defense.

A flaw, fleeting and easily missed.

Lu Heng's eyes suddenly narrowed, and his mental energy instantly abandoned all distractions, highly condensed and focused, ignoring the chaotic fog field around him, penetrating layers of white fog, and accurately bombarding the core of the rhythm of the three working together.

An invisible and intangible Mind Spike erupted instantly.

There was no roar, no light or shadow, only a pure spiritual impact.

The next second, the three approaching figures all froze simultaneously.

The assassin's stealth rhythm was disrupted, the warrior's advance was halted, and the mage's spellcasting became chaotic.

The meticulously crafted, perfectly coordinated hunt was ruthlessly severed, torn apart, and shattered from within by a single, decisive strike.

Now!

Lu Heng unleashed extreme speed, following the precise trajectory locked by the Mycelium, his figure bursting through the mist and charging forward. The cold light of his Star Blade suddenly shone, prioritizing the most deadly threat on the field— the Goblin Assassin.

Without coordinated cover and with their stealth capabilities disrupted, the assassins' whereabouts were completely exposed.

Lu Heng closed in, drew his sword, and struck—his movements were fluid, clean, and efficient.

The first threat must be completely eliminated.

The moment the assassin fell to the ground, the oppressive pressure of death surrounding him instantly dropped by nearly half.

There were no more omnipresent blind spot ambushes, no more unpredictable chest strikes. The once impenetrable trap was now wide open.

Lu Heng gave the remaining two no chance to regroup and resume their coordinated attack, pressing forward relentlessly.

Without the assassins to distract and harass them, the heavy-armored Goblin Warrior ' brute-force charges became monotonous and rigid, their moves riddled with flaws, and their offensive and defensive coordination could no longer create any real pressure.

Using the Mycelium to predict the opponent's movements, Lu Heng calmly dismantled the axe strike, avoided the brute force crushing, and found an opening to close in and counterattack.

Within moments, the second figure collapsed to the ground.

At this point, only one Goblin Mage remained, isolated and helpless, within the entire foggy area.

Without the close protection and restraint of two elite melee fighters, this elite mage, skilled in controlling the fog field and disrupting the mind, completely lost all his intimidation power, leaving only a frail body and the lingering fog magic.

Lu Heng no longer gave it any chance to escape, cast spells, or reorganize the situation.

With a thought, all the Mycelium beneath the soil layer were fully activated, contracted, and tightened.

The silk threads that covered the Global Region instantly converged and coiled from all directions, like a net that tightly bound the mage's body, sealing off limb movements, restricting spellcasting gestures, and blocking all escape routes.

The Blood Taisui fully controlled the situation, completely extinguishing the last glimmer of hope.

Lu Heng steadily broke through the thick fog, raised his Star Blade, and delivered a clean and decisive final strike.

The energy fluctuations of the mist in the forest gradually dissipated, and the churning white fog finally calmed down.

Lu Heng stood with his knife in hand, his chest rising and falling slightly, a deep sense of solemnity settling in his heart.

This elite squad, seemingly consisting of only three monsters, was the most troublesome, terrain-adapted, and tactically unsolvable hunting combination he had encountered since entering the Mist Forest.

If it weren't for the Blood Taisui Mycelium offsetting the blinding effect of the fog field, if it weren't for the Mind Spike forcibly breaking the linkage, if it weren't for his decisive creation of distance and step-by-step dismantling and killing one by one...

If it were any team of survivors, even with superior equipment and a numerical advantage, the final outcome would still be total annihilation.

The dangers hidden deep within this foggy Inner Region are a hundred times more terrifying than what is visible from the outside.