By now, the Maybach sedan was deformed beyond recognition, as if it had been shoved into a stamping press. The Otherworld materials, claimed to be able to withstand Tier 3 Deep Sea Monsters, were kneaded into a bizarre shape like plasticine.

There were signs of a struggle outside the car, as well as a large puddle of dark red blood.

Everyone understood what their fate had been. For a moment, they didn't even know whether to curse or to sigh.

"A Tier 6 warrior, driving a luxury car worth millions, couldn't even escape—"

Someone lamented, looking toward Hua Zhirou ahead with a grateful gaze.

Everyone took a deep breath, truly realizing that if not for Hua Zhirou's protection, they would likely have died long ago; there would have been no possibility of escaping to the main city.

The crowd reached the national highway. The wide road was eerily quiet. Ahead was a small town named Meiling Town.

Usually, the villagers of Xinjiang Village would go to Meiling Town for their trade and errands.

Behind the town was the small military base mentioned by the villagers, belonging to the Hehai City Military Region. Villagers often saw Soldiers on guard duty at the base.

The group moved along the highway. Hua Zhirou was fully focused and whispered, "Be careful, there might be monsters nearby."

"Be careful, there might be monsters nearby."

The words of a Tier 5 Mage were very effective; no one was willing to joke with their life.

The crowd held their breath, and even the children had their mouths covered.

A lean man walked along the roadside to a sunken, foul-smelling puddle. He was suddenly drawn to the reflection of the moon in the water.

Huh?

The moon on the water's surface seemed different from the one in the sky. The lean man unconsciously moved closer.

As he was examining it, a dripping strand of water grass suddenly emerged from the puddle. It twisted and instantly coiled around his right leg.

Immediately after, a second strand of water grass pierced through the surface and wrapped around his neck.

"Hua Zhirou, save me!"

The lean man let out a scream of terror, his voice echoing through the silent night sky.

In an instant, the roars of monsters rose one after another in the distance, following the man's cry.

Oh no!

Everyone's heart skipped a beat. The other Adventurers also hurried toward the man.

Two consecutive Frost Arrows were shot from a distance, severing the water grass just a second before it could drag the man into the foul puddle.

The staff in Hua Zhirou's hand flickered with cold air, her heart filled with tension.

She had seized the only chance to save him.

This was also the first time she had shot so accurately. In a moment of crisis, a person's potential can indeed be stimulated.

With a snapping sound, the two severed strands of water grass snapped back into the puddle like springs that had lost their tension.

"My leg! It's broken!" The man clutched his severed right ankle and wailed. His ankle had merely been grazed by the edge of the water grass, yet it had been sliced clean off.

The old village chief was both pained and furious. He rushed to the man in three steps, slapped him to the ground, and growled, "What are you screaming for? Do you want to die?"

"Shut up, do you want to die!"

"Someone, quick, drag him away!"

The unconscious lean man was dragged back into the crowd by two Civilians.

Bubbles rose from the water's surface, and a monster crawled out of the puddle.

It was a semi-humanoid monster covered in dark brown seaweed. Its entire body was wrapped in thick seaweed, and the sturdy strands intertwined to form two thick legs.

By now, it had noticed the fleeing villagers. The seaweed around its body danced angrily as if it had a life of its own, furious at Hua Zhirou for interrupting its hunt, and it even leaped out of its hiding spot in the puddle.

A Deep Sea Monster! A Green Vine Sea Demon.

Hua Zhirou cried out in surprise. She had seen this type of monster in the monster illustrated guide. Even without using an Appraisal spell, she could quickly recall its power.

At this moment, Qi Ye, who was leisurely hiding near the refugees, glanced at the Green Vine Sea Demon.

A Tier 6 monster, the Green Vine Sea Demon is a special creature from Otherworld ocean dungeons. It can control tough seaweed to launch attacks with a range of twenty meters.

It excels at lurking in water to ambush approaching prey.

The monster illustrated guide in the otherworld confrontation manual contained techniques for dealing with the Green Vine Sea Demon.

It is skilled at ambushing and has a cunning nature, but its own strength is relatively weak, and it fears elemental attacks. Its true body, a green-haired demonic fetus, is hidden within the seaweed-wrapped form.

Therefore, a Mage of the same tier can kill it from a distance by casting elemental spells such as fire or frost.

The crowd hurried to hide behind Hua Zhirou and the other Adventurers.

The monster had originally been lying in wait here to hunt lone targets. It hadn't expected to encounter so many humans.

The Green Vine Sea Demon felt it had struck luck. It greedily scanned the refugees and shot three strands of seaweed from its back.

The edges of the long seaweed were lined with sharp thorns, capable of easily slicing rebar as thick as a forearm in half.

Two Adventurers struggled to dodge the Green Vine Sea Demon's attacks, activating all their abilities.

"Sister Hua, I'll distract it, you take it down!"

Another Adventurer holding a mithril shield activated a Taunt skill, lowering his stance and bending over in a purely defensive posture.

The sharp seaweed slammed into the mithril shield, carving deep grooves. The latter groaned and gritted his teeth, pushing his physical strength to the limit.

His muscular legs took root in the ground, leaving long furrows under the violent impact.

Hua Zhirou's strongest elemental spell was Ice Spike Strike.

She concentrated fully, using all her Mental Energy to create ice spikes and fire them at the Green Vine Sea Demon. However, the latter simply used a single strand of seaweed to successfully swat down her ice spikes.

It neutralized an ice spike at the mere cost of having one strand of seaweed frozen.

With Hua Zhirou's current Mental Energy, she could at most condense five more ice spikes. It was impossible for her to kill it this way.

Once caught in a war of attrition between Mental Energy and vitality, if her piercing frost spell failed to hit the demonic fetus inside, she would soon exhaust her Mental Energy.

A clever warrior turned and shouted:

"Sister Hua, use your Freezing Breath to turn it into a block of ice!"

These words struck a chord with Hua Zhirou. Gritting her teeth in her hesitation, she raised her staff and could only switch to using the most basic Freezing Breath.

This Freezing Breath was a frost spell she had awakened at Tier 1. As her tier increased, its power also grew, and its energy efficiency was the highest. However, in terms of single-target burst, it was far inferior to other frost spells.

This was the reason for her hesitation; the time it took for Freezing Breath to take effect was far too slow. During this period, she had to maintain the casting and could only move slowly at best.

In the eyes of the enemy, she would be a sitting duck.