The massive skeletal apparition was Arthas's *Body of Faith*, a manifestation forged from countless strands of faith energy and transcendent power.
"You've come, so don't think about leaving!"
"Stars Rain!"
In an instant, the sky blazed with light as countless stars plummeted, trailing luminous tails as they crashed into the slime mold layer.
The meteors turned into fireballs.
The fireballs radiated intense heat before detonating.
Flames, shockwaves, and beams of death energy swept through the air, igniting the sprawling slime mold layer like cotton meeting fire. In moments, it burned to ashes.
When the haze of the explosions and the shockwaves finally cleared, a strange green flower bloomed at the blast's epicenter. Emerging from its center was the slime mold broodmother—naked from the waist up, her lower half entwined with countless roots.
The flower pulsed with vibrant green, having evidently survived Arthas's devastating death technique.
The brood mother looked up at the giant skeletal apparition as its massive sword descended. She turned, merging back into the slime mold layer, abandoning her plan to kill Orion.
Rumble!
The skeletal apparition's strike didn't falter despite her retreat.
The giant sword cleaved downward, carving a bottomless ravine into the earth.
The once-connected slime mold layer was split in two.
This meant the slime mold mutants fighting at the frontlines were temporarily cut off from their supply.
Meanwhile, within the vine-encased space, Orion keenly noticed that the spiked tendrils coiling toward him froze for a moment.
Some of the tendrils even retracted back into the slime mold layer.
As Orion puzzled over this, Lich Vexis's voice reached him from outside.
"Lord Orion, my master has made his move!"
"The slime mold layer has been severed in two, and the Vine Splitters have lost their supply for now. Hurry and escape this vine prison!"
It clicked for Orion instantly.
But escape?
No!
Orion wasn't about to let these fungal creatures who'd ambushed him off so easily. He didn't just want to leave—he wanted to leave with a victory.
Raising his trident, Orion unleashed the full force of his transcendent power without holding back.
With a swipe of his trident, a flame sparked to life on its tip.
As it flared, the transcendent power he'd released ignited entirely.
The flames spread, consuming the entire vine prison.
This wasn't a technique Orion had learned—it was one he'd devised himself, born from his own transcendent power.
But it was still rough around the edges. Orion couldn't control it precisely; the flames attacked indiscriminately, risking harm to himself and draining his energy immensely.
"There you are!"
Through the burning transcendent power, Orion tracked the movement of the vines within the flames and pinpointed the Vine Splitter's true form.
Crackle!
His body crackling with lightning, Orion launched [Instant Impact] again, diving straight into the slime mold layer.
Moments later, agonized howls and the rumble of thunder echoed from within.
When Orion emerged once more, he burst out of the slime mold layer, clutching two orbs of Legendary-level life essence in his hands.
In this clash, Orion hadn't just slain the Vine Splitter—on his way out, he'd encountered a parasitic creature and taken it down as well.
Without lingering, Orion returned to the skies above his allies' frontline.
From this position, the fungal creatures would have to leave the slime mold layer—and its support—to attack him.
If they dared come this far, Orion would cut them down with ease.
"Lord Orion, thank goodness you're out!"
Lich Vexis approached him, her tone lighter with relief but laced with newfound awe.
Orion was the first being Vexis had ever seen survive a Vine Splitter ambush in all her time on the battlefield.
"Lord Orion, Vine Splitters have a long attack range. We should fall back a bit more to avoid being dragged into the slime mold layer again."
Orion shook his head and raised his left hand, revealing two orbs of pure life essence.
"The Vine Splitter is dead. There's no need to worry."
Silence.
Vexis didn't respond. Orion glanced at her.
She stared at the life essence in his hand, her expression frozen in shock.
After a long pause, as if she hadn't heard him clearly, Vexis asked in disbelief, "Lord Orion, what did you just say? Could you repeat that?"
Orion took a deep breath, releasing his Titan Form and shrinking back to his normal size.
"That peak Legendary-level Vine Splitter—I killed it."
"If there's no second one nearby, we're safe for now."
Silence again.
Lich Vexis fell quiet once more.
Only now did she truly understand why Orion was Arthas's friend, not his subordinate. Orion was undeniably powerful.
On the other side, Arthas had summoned his skeletal apparition but hadn't managed to kill the slime mold brood mother, who'd already begun her descent. Instead, he drove her back and severed the supply lines for the frontline slime mold mutants.
This act indirectly aided Orion.
Of course, this extra strike also cost the skeletal apparition its chance to pursue the brood mother further.
But Arthas didn't sheath his blade. Instead, the skeletal apparition followed the brood mother's trail, chasing her down.
At the slime mold Nest, the brood mother finally let out a quiet sigh of relief as she neared her domain.
A being like her wasn't built for solo combat—she wasn't a fighter.
Hiding in the main nest, serving as a command center, gathering intel, and dispatching slime mold mutants and supplies where needed—that was her strength.
Just as she prepared to close her eyes and rest, a sudden sense of danger gripped her.
The broodmother tried to react, but it was too late.
A black dagger materialized before her.
It appeared out of nowhere, shadowless and traceless, slicing toward her head.
This wasn't a physical cut—it was a strike at her soul, her faith, her very existence in the void.
The dagger was Alexander's weapon, his assassination technique.
In a life-or-death moment, two broodmother guardians stationed near the main nest roared and charged at the dagger.
But no matter how they attacked, the black dagger remained unaffected, slicing straight toward the slime mold brood mother.
Crack!
The protective shield around her shattered. As death loomed, one of the guardians unleashed an unthinkable substitution skill.
Splatter!
The guardian's head burst apart, killed by the dagger's cut.
Thanks to the guardian's sacrifice and repositioning, the broodmother edged closer to the main nest.
Once inside, she'd be safe—the main nest was a gift from the slime molds' demigod, impervious to any Arch Lord's attack.
But then, the black dagger vanished after cutting down the guardian.
In the next instant, it reappeared at the back of the broodmother's head, slashing down with lethal precision.