91: The "surprise" of the Ten Thousand Snake Pit

As the heavy stone door slowly closed behind them, isolating the relatively "safe" area of the first floor of the temple, a chill originating from the depths of their souls instantly seized the minds of all members of the Pioneering Raid Group.

What rushed toward them was a stench and damp, cold air so dense it felt almost tangible. The air was permeated with the unique fishy smell of snakes, the earthy smell of rock, and the foul odor of some unknown rotting creature, mixing into a nauseating poisonous miasma that made those who breathed it feel close to suffocation.

“Everyone, activate your anti-poison potions!” Lin Mo’s voice rang out immediately in the team channel, calm and unquestionable.

The group snapped out of their daze, quickly pulling out the high-grade anti-poison potions they had prepared and drinking them. A faint green light film enveloped everyone, and only then did the suffocating feeling slightly ease.

“Oh my god... in this wretched place, I feel like I’m losing Life just standing still,” said a Druid player named “Friend of Nature” with lingering fear. A debuff called [Deadly Poison Corrosion] was clearly visible in his status bar; although it only drained 10 points of Life per second, in this environment, it was enough to demonstrate the danger of the location.

The group’s gaze began to cautiously explore this unknown area named Ten Thousand Snakes Pit.

This was a subterranean cavern vast beyond imagination; the ceiling was so high the end could not be seen, and countless strangely shaped giant stalactites hung upside down, resembling sharp swords about to pierce the earth, hideous and terrifying.

The ground was not level but a muddy, slippery swamp. Every step sank deep or shallow, making sickening squelching sounds as they walked.

A wide underground dark river snaked from one side of the cavern, ran through the entire area, and finally disappeared into the distant darkness.

The river water was a strange dark green color, calm on the surface, but everyone could sense a great terror lurking beneath the tranquil water, capable of swallowing everything. The occasional flash of a huge black shadow only confirmed their suspicions.

However, what truly made their hair stand on end were the omnipresent eyes.

On the four walls of the cavern, on the hanging stalactites, and even in the crevices of protruding rocks, countless pairs of scarlet pinpricks of light flickered densely.

They were like will-o'-the-wisps in the dark, silently and greedily watching the intruders who had entered this territory, filled with unconcealed malice and hunger.

"Gulp." Even the most stable tank in the team, Immovable as a Mountain, couldn't help but swallow. He felt less like he was pioneering a raid dungeon and more like a fresh piece of flesh dropped into a snake pit that had been starving for a thousand years.

“Leader, what should we do now? Are all these eyes... monsters?” Blazing Red Lips' voice carried a trace of seriousness. As a Mage, she hated environments with complicated terrain and restricted visibility the most.

“Not all of them are,” Lin Mo’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s as he scanned the surroundings. “Most are just environmental effects, meant to confuse us. But there are certainly real hunters mixed among them.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a hurried warning suddenly sounded in the team channel from the Hunter, Every Calculation!

“Watch out for the ceiling! Eleven o’clock direction, that thickest stalactite is suspicious!”

Almost at the exact moment he spoke, Lin Mo moved!

“Everyone retreat! Immovable as a Mountain, prepare Shield Wall!”

Although the group didn't understand why, they instinctively retreated backwards due to their absolute obedience to Lin Mo’s orders.

And at that very moment, a sudden change occurred!

"Hiss—!" A sharp shriek sounded, seemingly able to pierce their eardrums. The gigantic stalactite, as thick as a water barrel, which Every Calculation had pointed out, actually "came alive"! Its rock-like outer shell rapidly peeled away, revealing a massive python underneath that was pitch black and covered in viscous fluid!

No, it wasn't a python! Its head wasn't serpentine; instead, it was a hideous insect head with six compound eyes. As its mouthparts opened and closed, layers of circular sharp teeth were revealed inside!

[Cave Lurker] Level: 42 Type: Elite / Beast Life: 80000 / 80000 Skills: [Camouflage], [Deadly Poison Ambush], [Paralyzing Bite], [High-Speed Evasion]

"Whoosh!" The Cave Lurker shot down like an arrow from the high ceiling dozens of meters above, aiming directly for the Healer group at the rear of the team! Its speed was extreme, leaving a black afterimage in the air!

“Not a chance!” Immovable as a Mountain roared, his massive body acting like a city wall, positioning himself precisely in the Lurker's path. The tower shield in his hand flared with golden light, and the Shield Wall skill was instantly activated!

"Clang—!" A deafening clash of metal rang out.

The Cave Lurker's sharp teeth, capable of piercing steel plates, smashed heavily against Immovable as a Mountain's tower shield, unleashing a visible ripple of air.

“-1895!” A not-too-high damage number appeared above Immovable as a Mountain’s head. But dealing nearly two thousand damage even while a top-tier damage reduction skill like Shield Wall was active proved just how terrifying this monster’s attack power was!

“What immense strength!” Immovable as a Mountain felt a huge force transmit through his shield, and he uncontrollably staggered back two steps before barely managing to steady himself.

The Cave Lurker, having failed its strike, twisted its body at an incredible angle mid-air, tapped the rock wall lightly with its four segmented claws, and immediately vanished again, merging with the surrounding stone!

“It vanished?” “Holy crap, this monster can use Stealth?” A chorus of gasps immediately rose from the team.

“Every Calculation, Flare, cover the left rock wall!” Lin Mo’s command showed no trace of panic.

“Got it!” Every Calculation raised his hand and fired a [Flare] which exploded mid-air, radiating a blinding, sun-like light that illuminated a large section of the left wall as bright as day.

Under the powerful light, a blurry silhouette shimmered faintly on the rock wall.

“Blazing Red Lips, Blizzard! Predict its movement path and force it out!”

“Leave it to me!” Blazing Red Lips waved her staff, and large sheets of icy snowflakes rained down, precisely covering the area.

“Hiss hiss!” Stuck by the slowing effect of the Blizzard, the Cave Lurker finally failed its perfect camouflage and revealed its form.

But the trouble had only just begun.

“Swish swish swish!” The moment the first Lurker was forced out, at least seven or eight more black shadows rushed toward the team from all directions of the cavern, attacking from different angles with equally tricky and vicious methods!

Some were disguised as stalactites, some lay hidden in the swamp mud, and others were concealed in rock crevices; all launched a simultaneous fatal ambush!

In an instant, the team’s formation seemed to be pierced by countless sharp arrows, becoming instantly precarious!

“Damn it! It’s linked aggro!” One Sword to Seal the Throat cursed under his breath, backhanding a sword to parry a Lurker attacking from the side, but a cut was still opened on his arm, and a [Paralyze] status icon immediately appeared in his status bar.

“Priests! Dispel!” Drinking Alone Under the Moon’s voice was calm and steady, and streaks of pure white light accurately landed on the attacked teammates.

However, the number of monsters was too great!

Not only did these Cave Lurkers have high attack power and extreme speed, but what was even more disgusting was their physical evasion rate, which was as high as 50%!

The Warriors’ [Cleave] and the Rogues’ Shadow Strike missed at least five out of ten times, leaving everyone feeling incredibly frustrated.

“Don’t panic! Rally around me!” Just as the formation was about to be broken, Lin Mo’s voice acted like a stabilizing anchor, calming everyone down.

He did not retreat but advanced, his figure like a phantom as he proactively confronted the three Lurkers attacking from the front.

Deadly Poison Mist! A dense, dark green poisonous mist instantly spread out from him, simultaneously enveloping him and the three monsters.

The Lurkers' vision was obstructed, and their attack frequency immediately stalled.

But Lin Mo, in this domain that belonged to him, was like a fish returning to the sea.

His figure flickered in and out of the poisonous mist, and the dagger medusas gaze in his hand traced strange arcs. Every attack landed precisely on the weakest joints of the Lurkers' defenses.

“-1854!” “-1998! (Critical Hit)” “-125 (Poison)” “-125 (Poison)”

His attacks seemed to ignore the monsters’ terrifying evasion rate, striking true every time! The Endless Poison Source debuff stacked up layer after layer.

More importantly, his poisonous mist successfully segmented the battlefield, winning precious time for the others to reorganize their formation.

“Immovable as a Mountain, Taunt the one at nine o’clock! Iron Wall, assist the paralyzed Mage! All DPS, don't be greedy for damage, prioritize focus firing the targets I mark!”

While Lin Mo engaged three monsters within the poisonous mist, he calmly directed the overall situation.

Under his coordination, the previously somewhat chaotic team quickly stabilized. The Lurkers marked with skull icons were rapidly eliminated one by one under the focused fire of over twenty top experts.

The battle lasted nearly five minutes. When the last Cave Lurker let out an unwilling hiss and collapsed in a pool of blood, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.

Fine beads of sweat were already visible on the foreheads of many people.

If the appetizer of the Ten Thousand Snakes Pit was this tricky, the path ahead would only become more difficult.

“Rest in place, recover status.” Lin Mo glanced at the team’s condition and issued the order.

However, before he finished speaking, a "gurgle gurgle" sound suddenly arose from the underground dark river not far away.

Everyone looked over, only to see a massive whirlpool appear without warning on the previously calm, dark green river surface!

The whirlpool spun faster and grew larger, and a pressure far more terrifying and heart-stopping than that of the previous Cave Lurkers slowly rose from its center!

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!” Lin Mo’s pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew that the true "surprise" of the Ten Thousand Snakes Pit was only just about to appear!