Chapter 153: Vanguard of the Path

An untrustworthy teammate is more terrifying than an enemy, especially when you're in an environment where a teammate could be controlled and turned at any moment.

Li En instinctively gripped his sword hilt; the woman hadn't noticed him yet—then let her have a righteous stab in the back.

"Don't strike yet, little Li En, she'll make a perfect lure."

A sudden cheerful voice echoed in his mind—it was the always-smiling whisper of Violet Rose.

". ou can't see me?" Li En had sensed something wrong—if it were merely a fleeting teleport, the woman might still not have noticed.

But it's been this long, and she's this close—how could a warrior possibly be this slow?

". hat's right, you're invisible now. But don't do anything bad to this woman—I know men always dream of this ability. If you can't hold back, when we get back, you can do bad things to me!"

What even is this? Faced with this magical girl still gleeful in the middle of battle, Li En had nothing to say.

The truth was plain: his current "invisible" state was caused by Violet Rose.

". hat kiss." He suddenly understood—Violet Rose's actions all along hadn't been meaningless.

"Unfair! That was my first kiss. At most, you just took advantage—using public resources for private gain. Aren't you happy?" This adorable girl was too blunt; Li En couldn't handle it.

But her power was now active—Li En had truly become invisible, and the Black Dragon and its rider naturally became the breakthrough vanguard.

They rampaged through everything, while Li En, seated atop the dragon, remained completely undetected.

Remember, even if Lucille Xia Luofen never turned around or sensed anything, Li En was still sitting on the dragon.

Dragons are highly perceptive, especially young ones—most illusions and mental abilities shatter upon physical contact or sensory detection; this state was clearly abnormal.

"Two mental suggestions: one is 'Li En's existence is enveloped by Lucille Xia Luofen's presence—he is part of her.' So as long as she's there, others will naturally perceive you as part of her. That's why I didn't let you kill her now. The second is the suggestion: 'Li En is not here.'"

The dual mental suggestions had rendered Li En invisible and erased his presence—this one made his invisibility's presence feel like an extension of Lucille's; the two suggestions intertwined and reinforced each other, either both active or both broken—no ordinary person could possibly uncover it.

In manipulating mental abilities, the hidden Snake Witch likely far surpassed the combined prowess of the Mind Flayer and the psion Salliman.

To use mental abilities on the very territory of the Brain, hailed as the strongest mentalist, speaks volumes about her mastery.

Li En sheathed his weapon and silently watched the dark elf noblewoman ahead—she was slaughtering, raging, glowing—perhaps she already felt this moment was her peak, her destiny.

Honestly, after this entire path of slaughter, this woman was genuinely strong.

She likely possessed the prowess of both a Grand Warrior and a Grand Priest—no wonder she harbored the highest ambitions.

But now, she's become a "pawn" past the river—destined for no good end.

"Wait, did you plant a mental suggestion on her?" Was this general's ferocity and stubbornness a bit off?

She never stopped, ignoring every obstacle, plunging down three levels.

"No, no need. She's genuinely stupid—far dumber than that silly little snake." Violet Rose's tone was odd; she'd originally planned to plant a mental suggestion, but found it utterly unnecessary—the woman had willingly stepped forward as cannon fodder.

The pathfinder was incredibly useful—several slave warriors and Mind Flayers who tried to block her didn't even last a single exchange.

The Black Dragon Rider's strength was immense; the Grand Warrior and the Black Dragon, empowered by high-huan priestly spells, cut through the enemy's hastily assembled defense with ease.

"Any plan?"

Li En sat atop the dragon, adjusting his own state, even finding time to pull out sword oil and polish his blades.

He even had time to observe the interior decorations of the Mind Flayer base—strangely enough, though the style was bizarre, the materials were excellent, blending sci-fi metal with organic texture, reminiscent of a Cthulhu-style starship.

Along the way, he saw tendrils protruding from the ground and floating brains—apparently internal equipment of the entire base-ship; Li En even felt as if he were inside a living organism.

"No plan needed." Violet Rose's reply was simple; in her own field of vision, the battle among the three "Deers" grew increasingly brutal.

Deer are naturally creatures prone to infighting—their antlers mostly face off against their own kind.

Until one side submits or retreats, this "infighting" will never end—and now neither side has room to yield.

"True. Just keep slashing. We're here already—plans can't keep up with change."

Since they'd already infiltrated the enemy's core, a single hard strike at the vital point would suffice.

To avoid breaking Violet Rose's mental suggestions, Li En continued adjusting his state, waiting for Lucille's limit—but unlike expected, this pathfinder was too effective.

One level after another, she and her dragon displayed overwhelming strength, and the mirror in her hand continued emitting eerie light.

It constantly reflected away mental abilities and spells, allowing her and her combat-heavy unit to fight with remarkable ease.

Notably, Mind Flayers are not naturally suited for melee combat, and slave warriors under mental control often suffer drastically reduced reaction speed—a fatal weakness in high-level melee engagements.

"A fine divine weapon—likely a sacred relic granted by the Mirror Maiden. Don't even think about stealing it; the stingy god will give you trouble."

Once again caught by Violet Rose, Li En could only shrug helplessly.

Honestly, as a growingly committed armor-stack, he was quite envious of this mirror that could defend against supernatural attacks.

"Normally it wouldn't be this strong—it seems some deity is using this conduit to pour divine power into it."

Their casual, half-hearted chatter eased some of the psychological pressure on "hidden" Li En.

The deeper they went, the heavier the invisible pressure became; powerful mental forces were now faintly visible to the naked eye.

Li En always felt countless eyes scanning him—but in the end, all stared fixedly at Lucille Xia Luofen ahead!

Violet Rose's ability still held—every observation was redirected toward the deranged vanguard.

Perhaps she'd drawn near her wild goal, forcing out greater potential—or perhaps the deity, impressed by her deeds, had granted her more power.

The mirror grew noticeably stronger, even absorbing surrounding mental abilities as weapons, while the shadowy energy around her coalesced into long-handled weapons—spears, halberds—each radiating terrifying might.

This, perhaps, was destiny shaping a "hero"—she had already achieved a breakthrough in real time.

Another elite slave warrior blocked her path; even with Grand Warrior-level techniques, the dark elf noblewoman cut him down with two strikes. At this moment, Li En wondered if she could, with divine aid, smash straight through the entire underground base.

But the next instant, as a dimensional gate opened, a figure stood before her and the dragon—Li En himself sucked in a breath, wondering if he was hallucinating.

". hat kind of monster is this?"

The blocking entity floated, its feet never touching the ground—its psychic energy overflowed visibly.

But more absurd was its appearance: six tendrils instead of the usual four—this was the hallmark of a powerful mutated Mind Flayer.

And those tendrils were grotesquely enlarged; once waist-length, now they dragged like swollen tentacles nearly to the floor, making the whole creature resemble a giant octopus with legs.

Its body stood over three meters tall, nearly brushing the tunnel ceiling. Most troubling was the lower half—Li En recognized it instantly.

"A human-deer hybrid? It gave birth?!" The massive lower body was unmistakably a standing, miniature beast—but this pure white flesh radiating faint divinity was no ordinary beast; it resembled the giant stag currently in battle.

Only, its size had at least doubled, while the upper body remained a pure Mind Flayer—this life was clearly a stitched-together abomination, yet vaguely resembled a standing elephant, radiating eerie holiness.

Its white pupils flickered faintly with blue lightning—such immense psychic power could not belong to a newborn.

Not a newborn. A powerful adult Mind Flayer severed its lower body and fused it with the bloodline of the Beast Prince, creating a half-formed hybrid. Quite clever, really.

Such levels of human modification were, among the continent's ambitious and madmen, merely third-rate creativity and second-rate practicality—why not use the resources to strengthen two high-tier warriors instead of merging two into one?

Mind Flayers rely primarily on psychic abilities—how much real combat power could they gain from a powerful body?

To Li En, this monster was terrifying; to her, it was merely a successful stage in an experiment—a byproduct of the Brain's attempt to absorb Beast power.

"Hum!"

The next instant, powerful psychic vibrations, visible to the naked eye, surged through the corridor—the unfortunate Dragon Rider was blasted off.

"Aooooo!" The Black Dragon roared upward—this psychic ability bound it and enraged it utterly.

A breath of orange-yellow psychic acid became a conical flame projector in the corridor; sensing mortal danger, the young Black Dragon unleashed its full strength.

"Snap!" But when the dragon's breath faded, the six-tendril Mind Flayer merely raised its clawed right arm to block it—the diamond-shaped shield at its fingertips had not yet been fully consumed.

"At least sixth-huan standard. This little one might not make it past this." Violet Rose's tone brimmed with cheerful malice; as the Snake Witch, she had every reason to enjoy such enemy-on-enemy tragedies.

But now was not the time to waste.

"Li En, the path ahead is yours alone. Don't overly trust the suggestions on you—no illusion is foolproof. Be ready to be exposed at any moment."

Li En drew his longsword and walked forward alone.

(End of Chapter)