"Boom!"

A large splash of water erupted.

Despite being underwater, the flames continued to burn vigorously.

The surrounding icy water absorbed the heat and turned into steam, causing a mist to rise over the sea.

The captain watched the scene unfold and hesitated for a moment, a trace of doubt flickering in his vertical pupils: "The enemy's strength is so formidable, should I quietly sneak away?"

Ultimately, he abandoned this idea.

According to the rules of the city-state trial, openly abandoning teammates and retreating on the battlefield is a major offense, and the city-state will definitely impose severe punishment.

Moreover, if word got out, he would never be able to form an adventure team again, nor would any group be willing to accept him.

The cost was too high.

The captain flicked his triangular tail, quickly swimming toward the wrecked flying machine.

He intended to check on the condition of his teammates first.

Soon.

The captain approached the wreckage.

He suddenly flicked his triangular tail, shooting out a strand of cold qi that penetrated into the interior of the aircraft.

Using the cold qi sensing secret technique, the captain immediately perceived the status of his four kin.

They were all alive.

But their life aura had faded somewhat, clearly showing signs of injury, though they were only slightly wounded.

This outcome wasn't too bad!

Without hesitation, the captain flicked his triangular tail.

"Woo!"

A sharp whistle sounded.

It was a signal—assemble.

Ten seconds later.

Five members of the Mountain King Race gathered together.

The other four looked at the captain's disheveled appearance, particularly his tail, which was broken at one end, with a subtle expression.

The captain remained unfazed and pointed to his broken arm: "I sacrificed one arm to fend off the enemy's attack."

As a race settled on the Outer Abyss Coast, the Mountain King Race mastered many underwater techniques, including speaking underwater.

The implication of his words was—if it weren't for me, you would all have been worse off, so you should thank me.

This was a lie.

In truth, the enemy's strike was aimed precisely at the captain.

Caught off guard, he had no time to dodge and had to rely on his strength to take the hit.

Honestly.

The captain found it difficult to understand how the enemy could accurately attack him, even though he was inside the Mountain King Shuttle.

He couldn't figure it out, which is why he had thoughts of fleeing earlier.

"Captain, can you still fight?"

A kin named "Sart" suddenly asked.

The captain paused, feeling uneasy.

He suddenly realized his serious mistake, made under the pressure of fear after losing an arm.

He had considered only the rules of the city-state, deciding to reunite with his kin, but he neglected another issue.

That was—the other kin were eyeing his position, wanting to replace him.

The captain couldn't help but think: "I've lost an arm, my strength is severely weakened; could someone try to take advantage of the situation to kill me?"

He quickly reached a conclusion—yes!

The city-state encourages internal competition, it's bound to happen.

There are two high rank warriors in this team, who are potential competitors.

The captain quickly thought of a solution, and soon had an idea.

His gaze swiftly swept over the four kin, speaking in a deep voice: "I've lost an arm and my superpower is significantly depleted. Now I have only eighty percent of my combat strength left."

The expressions of the four kin varied.

The two middle rank warriors seemed a bit worried, while the expressions of the two high rank warriors remained unchanged.

The captain instantly realized his suspicion was correct.

His vertical pupils flickered: "Now I understand, our enemy is far more terrifying than I imagined."

The four kin listened with some confusion.

The captain flicked his triangular tail, openly displaying the broken end.

He pointed towards the broken tail: "The enemy's strike not only destroyed the Mountain King Shuttle but also left me in this state. But that's not the most terrifying aspect of the enemy."

The two high rank warriors couldn't help but exchange a glance, sensing certain hidden thoughts from each other.

Without verbal communication, they quietly reached a certain understanding.

The captain noted this detail and felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

The worst-case scenario had now become a reality.

He suddenly raised his voice: "I believe the enemy's tactic is to completely dismantle our team with this strike."

The captain maintained his "broken tail display" posture, speaking more clearly: "The enemy hopes to see conflict arise within our ranks."

Only now did he understand why the enemy only attacked him.

Dividing the team was the enemy's true intent.

This kind of manipulation was terrifying!

With utmost sincerity in his tone, the captain tried to convey: "Trust me, if internal conflict arises, none of us will survive."

Regrettably, this threat had no effect.

In fact, it backfired.

Sart flicked his cone tail in rebuttal: "Captain, I think you're being too pessimistic!"

The captain glanced at his kin's tail, gritting his teeth.

It was obvious to him that this guy was deliberately showcasing his intact tail.

The gesture meant: My strength is far superior to the current captain.

Sart quickly followed with an explanation: "It's estimated that in about half an hour, the Ancient Remains Space will fluctuate, and if we're careful, leaving the space won't be difficult."

This was undoubtedly targeting the captain's previous statement "none of us will survive."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other kin subtly changed.

The captain's heart sank further.

He suddenly felt that not decisively withdrawing earlier was a huge mistake.

Sart naturally seized the conversation: "Everyone, let's discuss a strategy."

The captain remained silent.

Though he had much to say, not a word came out.

He understood well that the enemy's cunning plan had succeeded, and no matter what he said, Sart would strive to undermine him.

The result of such actions would only intensify their internal conflicts.

So he could only watch helplessly as the team walked step by step towards doom.

Sart then said: "I believe the enemy is not as strong as the captain thinks. Otherwise, they would have appeared directly, acting to kill us!"

Again, it was a deliberate attack.

The captain couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He hadn't expected that even after choosing to retreat, his kin would continue to press on, repeatedly trampling him.

*

On the other side.

Yang Fan utilized his evolving Ice Residual Superpower, transforming completely into a faint mist of ice, merging thoroughly into the Ice Sea.

This was an almost seamless method of concealment.

The abilities of the few Mountain King Race members, along with the distance between them, made it nearly impossible to pinpoint his location.

The previous Flame Short Spear attack was, of course, his handiwork.

The Mountain King captain always thought the enemy was one of his kin, which is why they were so familiar with the team's situation.

But that wasn't true.

Yang Fan had foreseen all this in a dream realm, allowing him to strike precisely at the most vulnerable moment of the Mountain King Shuttle, destroying the flying machine with a single blow.

And that shot was none other than—the Fire Thunder Spear.

Thunder hidden in fire!

Fire imbued with thunder!

Thunder was his strongest exotic treasure.

That is, Thunder Branch's most potent ability—the Thunder Shock Spear.

Fire, on the other hand, was his strongest superpower!

Also known as—the Feather of Blazing Flame.

The fusion of these two ultimate abilities created the highly explosive Fire Thunder Spear, which was also Yang Fan's current most powerful attack.

A high rank warrior from the Mountain King Race was forced to self-destruct an arm by this shot, highlighting the sheer power.

He was just a low rank warrior, yet he could suppress and overpower high rank warriors, which was truly astonishing.

A few seconds passed.

Yang Fan's thoughts flickered.

A bubble surfaced.

A scene appeared on the bubble's surface—five figures floated in the icy sea, with one figure missing an arm.

Undoubtedly, it was the Mountain King's team.

This was a technique derived from Qing yang Book, allowing one to remotely observe nearby situations using Life Power.

Yang Fan immediately saw that this team was effectively divided.

The positioning of these creatures said it all: the captain was relatively far from the other four kin.

The two high rank warriors seemed to have formed a clique.

The two middle rank warriors were closer to each other.

Very satisfied, Yang Fan thought to himself: "Great! This betrayal strategy appears highly successful."

At that moment.

The one-armed captain suddenly made a different move.

He glanced around and loudly declared: "The enemy is observing us!"

Although Yang Fan did not understand the language of the Mountain King Race, it was no issue; the Deceitful Steel Pen could comprehend the language of mysterious races.

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