"Intruder..."
A hoarse, malicious voice, like rusted metal scraping, echoed through the vast lava cavern. The endless malice contained within that voice seemed capable of freezing one's soul.
Wailing Queen Medusa slowly turned around. In place of her eyes, two pulsating, unsettling dark-red flames, like will-o'-the-wisps, burned!
Her gaze seemed to ignore the spatial distortion of Stealth, precisely and firmly locking onto the shadow where Lin Mo was hiding!
"For your greed... offer your soul!"
The moment her words fell, battle erupted!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss—!!!"
Medusa's terrifying long hair, made of fiery venomous snakes, suddenly let out a collective, hair-raising hiss! The next second, hundreds and thousands of those small fiery snakes simultaneously opened their mouths!
Molten Fire Venom Arrow!
Overwhelming arrows, imbued with magma and Deadly Poison, erupted like a volcano, forming a death net with no blind spots, shooting towards the shadow where Lin Mo was hiding!
Before the arrow rain even arrived, the terrifying aura, a mix of scorching heat and foul stench, already made Lin Mo's skin tingle with pain!
A Level 28 Rare Lord!
A full 10-level suppression!
This was no longer a chasm that could be easily bridged by skill!
Lin Mo's heart sank to rock bottom at this moment, but at the same time, his brain entered an almost burning, overclocked state!
[Task Remaining Time: 05 minutes 12 seconds]
No time for hesitation, no time for fear!
Fight!
Just a split second before the first Molten Fire Venom Arrow was about to hit him, Lin Mo's figure moved!
"Shadow Strike!"
He did not retreat; instead, he pushed his speed and killing intent to the extreme, aiming directly for a crystal shadow about thirty meters behind Medusa's side!
His figure, in the nick of time, transformed into a phantom almost merging with the darkness, instantly vanishing from his original spot.
Boom—!!!
Almost at the same moment he disappeared, the area where he had been hiding was completely submerged by hundreds of Molten Fire Venom Arrows! Terrifying explosions were continuous, the hard rock walls were blasted with flying debris, and the ground was corroded into sizzling pits, leaving behind a scene of destruction like hell itself.
If he had left even 0.1 seconds later, Lin Mo had no doubt he would have been instantly vaporized!
"A bit interesting... little bug..."
After missing, a hint of surprise flashed in Medusa's flame-burning eyes, but more so, a playful amusement like a cat toying with a mouse.
She slowly turned her body, her terrifying gaze once again precisely locking onto Lin Mo, who had just landed.
"But where can you hide?"
Before her words finished, she fiercely swung her huge snake tail, striking the ground!
"Queen's Scream!"
"Woo—!!!"
A visible dark-red sound wave, at least ten times more powerful than the previous Venomous Banshee's, swept indiscriminately across the entire cavern like a tsunami!
Not good! It's an area-of-effect crowd control skill!
Lin Mo's pupils suddenly constricted!
He had just finished his displacement with Shadow Strike and couldn't possibly escape the range before the sound wave covered him! Once stunned, what awaited him would inevitably be another round of world-destroying Molten Fire Venom Arrows!
What to do?!
Take it head-on? With his current Life, he would definitely be instantly killed!
Use Poison Shadow Shift? No! This was his only trump card for survival. Once used, he would have no power to resist the BOSS's ultimate move, Petrifying Gaze!
[Task Remaining Time: 04 minutes 22 seconds]
Time was ticking away, second by second!
Lin Mo's brain was operating at its limit at this moment!
His gaze, like an eagle, frantically scanned everything around him!
Lava pool... crystals... rock wall... that's it!
Just a moment before the sound wave was about to touch him, a trace of frantic determination flashed in Lin Mo's eyes!
He abruptly turned, facing the hard cave wall behind him, and the bronze dagger in his hand glowed with a deadly dark-green aura!
"Poison Blade!"
"Poisoned Weapon!"
He chose not to attack the BOSS, nor did he choose to defend, but instead made a move that everyone would find incomprehensible!
He plunged the dagger, steeped in Deadly Poison, fiercely into the rock wall in front of him!
"Pfft!"
The dagger entered the rock with a dull thud.
Immediately after, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Lin Mo's eyes, and he let out a low growl!
"Poison Burst!"
Boom—!!!
A shockwave containing terrifying poison energy exploded outwards, centered on the dagger!
What Lin Mo detonated was not the poison on an enemy, but the Poisoned Weapon effect he had applied to his own weapon!
The force of this explosion was entirely concentrated in the less than half a meter of space between him and the rock wall!
-3588! (Reflected Damage)
A huge damage number appeared above Lin Mo's head!
The terrifying impact, mixed with exploding rock fragments, struck his back like the most violent thruster!
"Pfft!"
Lin Mo spat out a mouthful of blood, his Life bar instantly bottoming out, leaving only a sliver of Life!
But his body, propelled by this self-mutilating reverse impact, shot forward like a cannonball, at a speed far exceeding his own limits!
Narrowly, just a moment before the dark-red Queen's Scream sound wave arrived, he rushed out of the skill's area of effect!
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Lin Mo fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times before barely steadying himself. He half-knelt, coughing violently, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted.
That last move, if his luck had been slightly worse, he would have already died!
"Oh? To have evaded in such a way... what a surprising little bug..."
For the first time, Medusa's voice carried a hint of genuine surprise. She looked at the figure, disheveled before her, yet repeatedly creating miracles, and the killing intent in her burning fiery eyes became more intense than ever before.
"Then, let me see how long this 'surprise' of yours can last!"
"Open your eyes and appreciate... the despair... from the abyss!"
Medusa's body slowly floated into the air. Her head full of fiery venomous snakes, at this moment, strangely quieted down, all raising their heads in unison.
And the light in her flame-burning eyes, at this moment, became dazzling to the extreme!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure, originating from the depths of the soul, suddenly descended!
It's here!
Petrifying Gaze!
Lin Mo's heart instantly jumped to his throat!
He knew this was the ultimate test of this battle!
Once their gazes met, it would be an instant Petrification state! At that time, he would turn into a stone statue, powerless to resist, at the mercy of his opponent!
Cannot look!
Absolutely cannot look!
Lin Mo didn't hesitate, abruptly lowering his head, fixing his gaze firmly on the ground. At the same time, his body rapidly retreated, trying to create distance!
However, Medusa's devil-like voice softly echoed in his ears.
"Did you think... not looking... would work?"
Buzz—!!!
An invisible, eerie energy fluctuation, like ripples, suddenly spread out with Medusa at its center!
[System Notification: You are affected by the [Petrifying Aura], your movement speed is reduced by 80%, your body is slowly Petrification!]
Lin Mo felt as if his legs were filled with lead, becoming incredibly heavy! He looked down and was horrified to find a layer of grayish-white, rock-like texture rapidly spreading upwards from his ankles!
Damn it!
This Petrifying Gaze actually came with a wide-range slow and a continuous Petrification aura!
At this rate, in less than ten seconds, even without looking into her eyes, he would be turned into a stone statue by this aura!
No retreat! No escape!
This was a true dead end!
[Task Remaining Time: 02 minutes 58 seconds]
Time was less than three minutes!
What to do?!
Does he really have to hand over Poison Shadow Shift?
No!
Lin Mo's jaw was clenched tightly, veins bulging on his forehead!
At this moment, his mind had completely turned blank, all distracting thoughts were purged, leaving only the purest, ultimate contemplation of Life and death!
He can't look into her eyes... yet he must stop her from continuously releasing her aura... Attack!
He must attack!
Only by attacking and interrupting her spellcasting can he break this deadlock!
But... without looking at her, how can he accurately attack her?!
Wait!
Without looking... A thought, like a lightning bolt piercing the night, suddenly illuminated his blank mind!
Who said that battle must be fought with eyes?!
Lin Mo's lips slowly curved into an almost insane arc.
He gave up retreating; instead, he half-knelt on the spot, slowly closing his eyes!
He abandoned sight!
In its place were his hearing, his perception, his assassin's heart, which had merged with darkness and Deadly Poison!
The sound of the wind... the flowing lava... Medusa's faint energy hum from continuous spellcasting... the entire world, at this moment, presented itself in his "vision" in a completely new, more three-dimensional way!
It's there!
Lin Mo suddenly raised his head; although his eyes were tightly shut, his face was precisely aimed in Medusa's direction!
"Venom Spray!"
Without the slightest hesitation, streams of dark green venom, already poised to strike, shot through the darkness like cannonballs, exploding towards the position he "perceived"!
"Hmph, useless struggle."
Medusa let out a disdainful snort, casually waving her hand, easily blocking the venom with a shield.
However, what she didn't notice was that Lin Mo had fired not three streams of venom, but four!
Three of them were "decoys" to attract her attention!
And the last one, the most hidden and cunningly angled one, its target was not Medusa's body at all!
But... the gigantic, eerie green crystal hanging directly above her head!
"Pfft!"
The venom accurately hit the base of the crystal!
The Corrosion effect of Endless Poison Source instantly activated!
The already somewhat fragile crystal base, under the erosion of the poison, let out a strained "crack"!
The next second, the massive crystal, weighing several tons, snapped with a thunderous crash, plummeting down with immense force towards Medusa, who was focused on casting Petrifying Gaze!
"What?!"
Medusa's playful expression froze for the first time.
She never imagined that this "insect" with closed eyes could use the environment to deliver such an exquisitely brilliant strike!
She had no choice but to interrupt Petrifying Gaze, swinging her snake tail to smash the huge crystal to pieces!
He succeeded!
Lin Mo's heart surged with joy!
The Petrifying Aura disappeared, and the Petrification status on his legs was instantly removed!
Now!
"Stealth!"
Lin Mo's figure instantly vanished from its spot!
"Shadow Strike!"
The next second, he appeared as if teleporting behind Medusa, who had just shattered the crystal and exposed a huge vulnerability!
"Backstab!"
"Poison Blade!"
-188! (Critical Hit!)
-205! (Skill Damage!)
[Poison -41!]
[Poison -41!]
A series of damages, though largely reduced due to level suppression, finally, steadily affixed the gray poison icon to the BOSS's head!
"You! Are! Asking! For! Death!"
Medusa was completely enraged!
She let out a deafening roar, her head full of fiery venomous snakes wildly coiling, transforming into a sea of flames that swept towards Lin Mo!
Blazing Snake Hair!
But Lin Mo, having struck successfully, had already fled far away!
Like the most cunning phantom in the darkness, he began a thrilling dance around the giant BOSS!
He no longer sought a head-on confrontation, but instead exploited his assassin's advantages to the extreme!
Each time Medusa intended to cast Petrifying Gaze, he would forcefully interrupt her using various incredible methods, either by utilizing the environment or attacking her weak points!
Each time Medusa cast other skills, he would use Stealth and Shadow Strike, dancing on the edge of a blade, to evade with extreme precision!
And the dagger in his hand, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, each time it appeared, would leave a new wound on the BOSS's body, stacking a new layer of Deadly Poison!
Five layers!
Ten layers!
Fifteen layers!
[Mission Remaining Time: 00 minutes 59 seconds]
Only one minute remained!
And Medusa's health had finally been whittled down to below 30%!
The poison on her body had already stacked to the terrifying maximum of twenty layers!
"Enough!"
A cold killing intent flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.
He knew he couldn't drag it out any longer!
He looked at Medusa, who was once again preparing to cast Petrifying Gaze, but this time, he didn't choose to interrupt her.
Instead, he stepped out of the shadows, one step at a time.
He slowly raised his head, opening his long-closed eyes, bright as stars, and stared directly into her demonic eyes burning with destructive flames!
"Come on."
"Let us... end this."
"Madman!"
Medusa was completely enraged by his suicidal act, and the light of Petrifying Gaze enveloped him completely, without reservation!
Lin Mo's body, from feet to head, was rapidly covered by grayish-white rock at a visible speed!
Just a split second before he was completely turned into a stone statue, a victorious smile curved on his lips.
He slowly raised his hand, using his last bit of strength, and gently snapped his fingers.
"Poison Burst."
Buzz—!!!
An indescribable, destructive wave, more than ten times more powerful than before outside the cave, exploded within Medusa's body with a thunderous roar!
-8800!
-17600! (Critical Hit!)
Two devastating five-digit damages, like two nuclear bombs exploding simultaneously, bloomed brilliantly above her arrogant head!
Medusa's ferocious expression instantly froze. She lowered her head in disbelief, looking at her health bar instantly emptied and her body beginning to collapse and disintegrate from within.
To her dying breath, she couldn't understand.
Why... did this man dare to use his own Life as the final gamble to ignite that feast of death?
Boom!!!
Wailing Queen Medusa's massive body crashed to the ground, turning into countless specks of light, scattering a dazzling array of loot.
And the moment she fell, the Petrification effect on Lin Mo's body also abruptly ceased.
"Thump."
Lin Mo's legs gave out, and he fell heavily to his knees, gasping for breath, the cold sweat of survival soaking his entire body.
He won the gamble!
He glanced at the upper right corner.
[Mission Remaining Time: 00 minutes 15 seconds]
Without time to pick up the loot, he used his last ounce of strength to dash to the center of the lava pool, grabbing the earth fire stamen burning with dark red flames and yanking it down fiercely!
[System Notification: Obtained Quest Item [earth fire stamen] x1!]
He did it!
Lin Mo's eyes burst with ecstatic light!
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately pulled out the scroll from his backpack, given by his mentor Karsas, which seemed to be made of shadows!
Shadow Teleportation Scroll!
[Mission Remaining Time: 00 minutes 08 seconds]
He used all his strength to fiercely crush the scroll!
"Mentor... wait for me!"
Buzz—!
Endless darkness instantly swallowed his vision.
[Mission Remaining Time: 00 minutes 05 seconds]