As they went deeper, the fog grew thicker.

Fortunately, there was more solid ground. The two of them struggled onward along a rugged path of black rock and gnarled tree roots.

Allen started to feel agitated, a baseless anxiety slowly welling up inside him.

On DSeek’s interface, a red warning message was flashing continuously:

[WARNING: Low-intensity, broad-spectrum mental interference detected. Cognitive efficiency reduced by 2.3%. Recommend activating ’Logical Barrier’ protocol.]

"I can handle it. Don’t activate it yet."

Allen responded in his mind, vetoing DSeek’s proposal. ’Activating the Logical Barrier... it’s too draining. It’s not a critical moment yet.’

The Magical Beasts in the Sinking Dream Swamp had evolved what could be called a perfect survival strategy.

They suppressed their Magic Power fluctuations, blending in with the dense, negative emotional energy of the environment. Aided by physical camouflage, this rendered Allen’s Detect Magic Power Magic completely useless.

In his vision, the Magic Radiance was a jumble of chaotic static, like an old television with no signal. Trying to pick out a single Magical Beast was harder than distinguishing one person’s breathing in a large choir.

But for Lina, none of this was a problem.

Her eyes were shining with a strange light, possessing a captivating charm in the dimness. She curiously surveyed their surroundings; to her, the hidden Magical Beasts were as obvious as torches in the night.

The mental interference that agitated Allen was like a gentle breeze rustling through her hair. She didn’t even need any protection.

Lina led him around a hanging vine that could paralyze people and a strange tree that exuded an aura of "temptation."

Allen could barely take a step here. He had no choice but to completely trust Lina’s intuition.

He was extremely uncomfortable with entrusting his safety to someone else, but there was no other way. Obtaining the materials was more important.

"Ahead, next to that fallen, hollow tree trunk," Lina said suddenly, stopping and lowering her voice.

"There’s a very viscous ’patience,’ a dark green kind. It’s waiting."

Allen looked in the direction she described.

It was a massive, moss-covered log lying across the path, looking completely ordinary.

He activated the scope on his "Adjudicator" sniper rifle. Runes on the lens flashed faintly, and the distant scene snapped into close, clear focus.

He carefully observed every inch of the log—the patterns on the moss, the cracks in the bark, even a small gray insect resting on it was perfectly clear.

He didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

But he didn’t question Lina.

He pressed the sniper rifle’s stock to his shoulder and leaned against a black rock, assuming a stable firing stance.

"Exact location," his voice came through his mask.

"Right in the middle of the trunk, under that darkest patch of moss. Its ’patience’ is seeping out from there," Lina replied.

Allen adjusted his scope and locked onto the patch of moss. He still couldn’t see anything.

He didn’t fire immediately. Instead, he first released two "Spider Slayers" from his Space Ring.

The Mechanical Bodies landed silently on a patch of relatively solid ground behind him.

They unfolded their six articulated legs, their front two pairs of reinforced, gleaming blades held close to the ground as they entered stealth mode.

This was one of his preset combat plans.

Allen’s focus returned to the scope.

He held his breath, his Spiritual Power highly focused, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. The patch of moss was completely still, like a static oil painting.

PFFT!

A stream of light flashed, striking the dark patch of moss with precision.

The next moment, the moss exploded, splattering green juices and debris everywhere.

A flat, fist-sized creature with a shell the exact same color as the bark sprang up from the log.

Its body was completely pierced through the center by a scorched, walnut-sized hole. It struggled for a few moments before losing all signs of life and tumbling off the log.

[IDENTIFICATION: Mimic Sprite, Low-Level Magical Beast. Traits: Perfect Camouflage, Neurotoxin.]

"Problem solved."

Allen said, checking the energy reserves of his sniper rifle.

Lina walked over to the corpse and poked it with a small twig, a look of surprise on her face. "So this is what it looks like."

As they continued, their teamwork became increasingly in sync.

"In the bushes to the left, there are three ’sneaky’ ones huddled together. They’re a kind of dusty gray color, very faint."

Allen immediately climbed a dead tree sturdy enough to support his weight, set up the Adjudicator, and activated Invisibility Magic and "Scent Concealment," blending into the environment.

After a soft sound, a swamp cat known for its ambushes fell into a pool of blood. The other two fled for their lives.

"Under that pool of water, something is ’spying.’ Its emotion is a cold blue, like a winter lake."

Allen took out a "Burst Type-I" Alchemy Grenade, activated the fuse, and threw it toward the center of the pool Lina had indicated.

The grenade detonated a moment before hitting the water.

The powerful shockwave threw up a water column several meters high. A fish-like Magical Beast full of sharp teeth was stunned, floating to the surface belly-up.

This efficient hunting sent the predators in this part of the swamp into a panic.

To Lina’s senses, the emotion of fear was incredibly distinct.

Suddenly, all the surrounding "malice" and "killing intent" vanished, replaced by chaotic terror and fear.

Most of the time, they only heard the death cries of their own kind but could never find the source of the attack. This was supposed to be their way of hunting, not the other way around.

However, amidst this sea of fear, a completely different emotion suddenly erupted.

"Wait!" Lina’s voice suddenly sharpened.

"All the ’fear’ has run away... There’s something, its color changed. It’s a... burning, glaring blood-red. It’s all ’rage’!"

Before her words had even faded, a savage roar exploded from the dense fog a hundred meters ahead.

A massive shadow burst through the fog, charging straight for them!

It was a lizard nearly a meter tall at the shoulder. Its hide was a filthy, swamp-like black-green, and its limbs were thick and powerful. Each step shattered the rocks beneath its feet, splashing black mud.

Its blood-red eyes were locked on Allen and Lina, and a foul-smelling drool dripped from its massive jaws.

[IDENTIFICATION: Rotting Swamp Lizard, Low-Level Magical Beast. Traits: Berserk, Corrosive Venom,]

"Lina, disrupt it!" Allen shouted urgently.

Mental Echo: Chaos!

The charging Rotting Swamp Lizard froze for a brief moment. A sudden mental assault blanked its mind, making it even forget what it was charging at.

But the Magical Beasts here had resistance to mental interference; the Witchcraft’s effect wouldn’t last long.

Just then, Allen’s command was simultaneously relayed to the two Spider Slayers via the [Swarm Link Art].

Activate melee attack mode!

Like arrows loosed from a bow, the two jet-black Mechanical Bodies shot out from the shadows on Allen’s left and right.

Their six articulated legs moved in a high-speed blur over the rugged terrain, emitting a faint metallic scraping. Without a hint of hesitation, they moved with an eerie, fluttering grace to cut into the Rotting Swamp Lizard’s charging flank.

The Rotting Swamp Lizard had just broken free from its "confusion" and hadn’t even had time to reacquire its target before death descended.

The Spider Slayer on the left didn’t attack the hard skull or thick back. Instead, it leaped up and latched onto the Rotting Swamp Lizard’s foreleg. Its bladed forelimbs flashed with cold light as they plunged deep into the tendons.

The massive inertia sent the lizard off balance, its huge body toppling to the side.

The Spider Slayer on the right seized the opportunity. It leaped up, its leg spikes and blades extending simultaneously, and thrust with all its might into the lizard’s soft eye sockets and ear canals.

A wet SQUELCH, followed by a short, agonized wail. The battle was over.

The swamp’s characteristic dead silence returned, broken only by the sound of viscous fluid dripping as the Mechanical Body withdrew its blades.