"We must break through." Lin Jie's gaze swept across the surroundings.

Aside from the tunnel behind Vera that led to the surface, this temple was a complete dead end.

There was no retreat.

Nor was there any room for negotiation.

"William, frontal assault." Lin Jie's voice was extremely low.

"Julian, restrict her movement."

Before the words had fully left his mouth, Lin Jie was already moving.

This time, he didn't choose a straight-line charge.

Facing a hunter who could "force the continuation of a state of motion," a straight-line sprint would end up just like Marcus.

Lin Jie's figure shot out to the left.

But before this step could land, the muscles in his waist and abdomen suddenly contracted. Using the root-like friction of his soles, he forcibly twisted the direction of his inertia.

His body traced an extremely irregular "Z"-shaped trajectory in the air.

Shifting left and right.

Alternating fast and slow.

In Vera's field of vision, the figure of that Eastern man became elusive, like a black snake swimming against a torrent.

"Futile struggle." Vera sighed softly.

Her wrist gave a slight flick.

*Ting.*

A long needle left her hand, flying towards the spot ahead and to the left where Lin Jie was about to land.

Prediction.

If Lin Jie continued moving according to his current trajectory, that needle would accurately pierce his inevitable path.

But just a split-second before the needle tip was about to hit the ground, a gunshot shattered the temple's silence.

*Bang!*

Julian held [Discipline] with both hands, smoke curling from the barrel.

His target was the flying long needle.

The bullet traced a bizarre arc through the air—[Discipline] was correcting its trajectory.

*Clang!*

The crisp sound of metal impact.

The bullet precisely struck the needle tip.

According to the laws of physics, this hair-thin long needle should have been knocked away.

But something eerie happened.

The long needle didn't fly away.

It still maintained its "forward flight" state, its speed not changing in the slightest.

Instead, it was the bullet that, upon contact with the needle tip, was directly deflected, embedding itself deep into a nearby stone pillar.

"Don't mind the needle!"

Lin Jie roared.

Using this brief moment of clash, he forcibly changed direction again, his body almost skimming the ground as he slid, evading that probe of death.

At the same time, the flanking attack arrived.

*Roar!*

A translucent spiritual hound pounced from the shadows.

It was the last "sheep" Silas had summoned with all his strength.

It opened its maw wide, viciously biting towards Vera's ankle, but this was only a feint.

The real killing blow came from the front.

William charged forward. In his hand, he held a menacing-looking black short staff.

It was their new weapon forged by the blacksmith at Roscoff Harbor—the [Sinking Maul]. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The head of the staff was wrapped in a thick layer of [parasitic anchor cluster] core fragments, its surface rough and uneven, like an unpolished meteorite.

William raised the heavy maul high.

He had accumulated immense kinetic energy during his charge.

As his arm swung down, the hammerhead absorbed this force, its weight instantly surging to several tons.

The air was torn.

The power of this strike was enough to smash through tank armor.

"Not bad."

Vera watched the descending maul, a faint smile still gracing her face.

She didn't dodge.

Just as the hammerhead was about to smash into the top of her head, her trench coat collar suddenly writhed.

Something silvery-white, only fist-sized, crawled out.

It was a mechanical spider crafted from pure silver, its structure exquisitely precise.

Its eight legs were sharp as blades, its back inlaid with a blood-red gemstone that emitted a sinister glow.

This was not a living creature.

This was Vera's second Grotesque Armament—the [Weaver's Assistant].

A semi-autonomous alchemical construct possessing independent combat logic.

*Hiss—*

The spider let out a sharp cry.

It spat out a silver thread.

The thread adhered to William's wrist, and then the long needle in Vera's hand moved.

She gently pricked the silver thread.

"Continuation."

She whispered.

The state of the swing was locked. William felt his arm lose control.

The swinging motion, which should have stopped after hitting the target, had now become an endless inertia.

His body was dragged forward by this immense force.

The several-ton hammerhead grazed the hem of Vera's coat, smashing viciously into the ground.

*Boom!*

The bluestone floor instantly shattered, rubble flying.

But William did not stop.

That "swinging" state was still continuing.

His body, dragged by the hammerhead, spun like an out-of-control top within the crater, utterly unable to steady himself.

Meanwhile, the spiritual hound attempting the sneak attack was now pinned to the ground.

A long needle had pierced through its shadow.

Yes, its shadow.

The hound was still struggling wildly, trying to pounce on Vera, but its shadow seemed welded to the ground.

No matter how hard it tried, its body couldn't leave the shadow's confines.

In just one exchange.

The four-man encirclement was completely dismantled.

Lin Jie stopped.

He stood five meters away from Vera, his breathing somewhat ragged.

That brief round of exchange had allowed him to see the terror of this woman.

She wasn't fighting alone.

That silver spider perched on her shoulder was like her third hand, even a second brain.

It could automatically load long needles, spit threads to interfere, and even independently defend.

And...

Lin Jie glanced down at his feet.

Just at the moment he changed direction, he had felt an extremely faint resistance transmitted through his soles.

...Something had hooked his shadow.

"You noticed?"

Vera extended a finger, gently stroking the spider on her shoulder.

"Many think my needles can only pierce physical entities. But in this world, a shadow is also a projection of matter."

"If the projection is fixed, where can the original body run to?"

She looked at Lin Jie, a trace of seriousness entering her eyes.

"Your movements are fast."

"Those shoes... an interesting design."

"They give you insect-like grip on the ground, allowing you to evade my first three predictions."

"However."

Vera pulled six long needles from the box at once.

These six needles were longer than the previous ones, their surfaces densely carved with runes.

"What if you have nowhere to run?"

Lin Jie's pupils contracted. He sensed danger.

The [White Vulture's Mark] transmitted frantic warnings.

"Scatter!"

Lin Jie roared.

But Vera's movements were faster than sound.

Her wrist flicked, the six long needles flying out like a fan.

They shot towards the spatial nodes around Lin Jie—front, back, left, right, above, and below.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Six soft sounds.

Six long needles hung suspended in the air, eerily motionless.

They formed a regular hexahedron cage.

"Seal."

Vera said softly.

As her words fell, the six long needles simultaneously lit with a faint glow.

Lin Jie felt the surrounding air solidify.

No.

It was the "flowing state" of the air that was being continued.

The gentle breeze that had been flowing around him, the drifting dust—all had now become an invisible wall.

Those air molecules, their state of motion perpetuated, constituted the hardest barrier in the world.

Lin Jie tried to lift his leg.

But he found his leg felt as heavy as if filled with lead.

The surrounding air no longer gave way.

He was trapped in a static prison composed of "eternal motion."

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Julian immediately raised his staff.

[Withered Thorns] activated.

A gray forcefield representing decay and sluggishness enveloped Vera, attempting to disrupt her casting rhythm.

But the silver spider moved.

It acted like a shield, positioning itself before Vera.

The gray forcefield struck the spider, slowing its movements somewhat, but this didn't affect the needles' effect.

"Deal with the others."

Vera instructed blandly.

The long needle in her hand flew out again.

This time, the target was William, who was struggling to get up.

William had just shaken off the inertia control of the heavy maul, caught in the awkward moment where old strength was spent and new strength hadn't yet been born.

A long needle accurately pierced the muscle seam of his left leg.

"Fix."

William's retreating motion was forcibly continued.

His entire body slid backward uncontrollably, only stopping after crashing heavily against the rock wall.

The violent impact forced a mouthful of blood from his lips, the heavy maul flying from his grasp.

Silas fared worse.

With the spiritual hound pinned, he suffered severe backlash.

This already gravely wounded "Shepherd" now clutched his chest, collapsed on the ground, his face pale as paper, without even the strength to blow his flute.

Only three people remained standing on the field.

Lin Jie, trapped.

Julian, with only support abilities.

And Evelyn, who had been observing the battle from the rear.

"Is this the extent of your strength?"

Vera shook her head somewhat disappointedly.

"That fool Ackerman actually mobilized most of the European branch's elite forces for you."

"It seems I overestimated the value of that Easterner."

She turned, her gaze falling on Evelyn in the corner.

The girl was wearing those bizarre glasses, staring intently at the battle here.

"Those eyes..."

Vera frowned, feeling the discomfort of being observed.

"A displeasing line of sight."

Vera raised her hand, a thin needle held between her fingertips.

"As a lady, I don't like being stared at like this."

"Disappear."

The long needle left her hand.

It carried a will to kill, heading straight for the space between Evelyn's eyebrows.

Evelyn's eyes widened in terror, her body's reaction unable to keep up with her mind.

In her structural vision, that needle was like a high-speed missile, ruthlessly piercing through the air's resistance.

She wanted to dodge.

But her legs felt leaden and immovable—this was the pressure emanating from a high-ranking hunter.

"Evelyn!"

Julian shouted, wanting to rush over and push her aside, but the distance was too great.

Lin Jie frantically slammed against the air wall within the cage, [Gravity Dancer] cracking the ground beneath his feet, yet still unable to break through that seal.

It's over.

Just as everyone thought Evelyn was undoubtedly dead.

A massive black shadow slammed into the scene from the side without warning.

It was Marcus, who had been knocked unconscious earlier. The burly man had woken up at some point.

He interjected himself into the needle's flight path.

But he didn't use his body to block it. As an experienced warrior, he clearly understood the consequences of being pierced by such a needle.

At the critical moment, he performed an extremely peculiar action.

He abruptly raised his right foot.

That foot wore a pair of seemingly very heavy military boots, their soles embedded with fragments of some kind of rock.

[Unshakable Bedrock].

Marcus stomped his foot down viciously on the ground just below the flying needle.

*Boom!*

A dull, thunderous sound. The entire underground temple floor shook violently.

This was the effect of [Unshakable Bedrock] operating at full power.

In that instant, Marcus completely fused himself with the earth beneath his feet.

He created an absolute point of gravity.

As the long needle flew past Marcus's foot, it was as if it had collided with an invisible layer of glue.

The long needle trembled violently.

Finally.

*Snap.*

The long needle lost all momentum just two centimeters from the tip of Evelyn's nose.

It fell powerlessly.

Marcus maintained his stomping posture, two streams of blood flowing from his nostrils.

But he had blocked it.

"Huff... huff..."

Marcus panted heavily, raising his head, bloodshot eyes fixed fiercely on Vera.

"Want to touch her?"

Vera's expression finally changed.

It was the first time since her appearance that she showed a look of surprise.

She looked at that man as stubborn as rock, then at the long needle fallen on the ground.

"Interesting."

She said softly, her tone losing some of its contempt, gaining a trace of gravity.

"I originally thought you were just a bunch of rats. I didn't expect there to be a tough piece of rock among you."

She drew three more long needles from the box.

The silver mechanical spider crawled onto the back of her hand, its eight compound eyes flashing with dangerous red light.

"Since you all love resisting so much. Then let me sew you all together."

The battle, at this moment, truly entered its white-hot phase.