"Heh. So cowardly you don't even dare look at me?"
Medusa's blood-red lips curled in the darkness above them, her voice soft, seductive, and poisonous—like it was slipping straight into their ears.
"So it's a female monster." Raven Shaw let out a cold laugh. "And Miracle Nation's people got chased off by something like this? Pathetic."
"Oh?" Medusa's tone turned teasing. "Then do you have the courage to look at me?"
This time, she had no intention of repeating the mistake she had made with Miracle Nation's contestants.
Her massive serpentine body had already coiled around the entire cave, sealing off every path of retreat. The darkness inside was absolute, thick enough to drown sight itself.
As long as even one of them opened their eyes and let in the slightest light, their gaze would instinctively be pulled toward hers.
And the moment that happened—
they would turn to stone.
In Medusa's eyes, that was the simplest and cleanest way to wipe them all out.
Raven snorted.
"A mere monster like you? You think I'd be afraid?"
Her hand tightened around her blade, clearly on the verge of acting.
Outside, however, Dragon Nation's livestream had already turned chaotic. The viewers had watched Miracle Nation's group stumble through this exact trap.
"It's a trap, Boss Raven!"
"Don't fall for it!"
"Damn it, the cave's pitch-black! Boss Raven can't even see the warnings in the chat!"
"Those Miracle Nation trash pissed Medusa off and then ran!"
"What do we do now?!"
"Boss Raven can't see it, but the night-vision feed can!"
"That thing's face is disgusting!"
"It's so disgusting I want to throw up just looking at it!"
Inside the cave, Wang Ye had already pieced things together from Medusa's words alone.
"It's Medusa," he said immediately. "If there's even the slightest light in this cave, anyone who sees her face will turn to stone."
"So from now on, fight by instinct alone."
"Whatever happens, do not look into her eyes."
"Even if she creates the light herself, keep your eyes closed and attack by instinct."
The moment he finished speaking, Wang Ye circulated the inner force of Wudang and struck outward in every direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions thundered through the cave. Shattered rock and gravel rained down on all sides.
At once, a shrill scream tore through the darkness.
The blow had landed.
"You dare?!"
Medusa's furious shriek had barely faded when an even louder crash shook the cavern.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As expected, Adrian Vale finally moved.
His kagune erupted through the dark like a blood-red tidal wave, ripping through the enormous coils around the group and tearing into Medusa's body so violently that flesh and scales splattered across the cavern walls.
"You—!" Medusa's voice shook. "How can you see me?!"
For the first time, real panic entered her tone.
If her petrifying gaze was useless, then her greatest weapon had just become meaningless.
Adrian stood calmly in the darkness, one crimson ghoul eye burning like a drop of blood.
For ordinary humans, this cave was a death trap.
For him, it was barely an inconvenience.
From the moment they stepped inside, Adrian had been the only one who could move here as freely as he pleased.
And Medusa's greatest mistake was the same as that of so many Divine Domain creatures before her—
she had looked at his age and assumed he was the easiest prey.
Outside, Dragon Nation's viewers instantly exploded.
"As expected of Adrian!"
"Hahaha! Did you think our Eat-Stream Adrian Vale was just for show?!"
"That eye of his is insane! He can see through this place like it's broad daylight!"
"Western serpent witch? In front of Dragon Nation's monster? She's nothing!"
"At this point, she's just another item on Adrian's menu!"
"Brother, that thing is way too disgusting. Don't tell me he's really going to eat it!"
Inside the cave, Medusa had already gone completely berserk.
"So what if my gaze doesn't work on you?!"
"My venomous serpents can still tear every last one of you apart!"
Her forked tongue flicked violently as countless giant snakes from her crown lunged toward the group from every direction.
This time, she held nothing back.
Her attacks came so quickly that even with their eyes shut, Zhang Zhiwei and Fahai could only rely on instinct to defend themselves.
The assault poured down like a storm.
And in total darkness, that storm became all the more deadly.
The livestream nearly exploded.
"She's attacking from above!"
"Too fast!"
"Even with Wang Ye's warning, this is still insane!"
"If Adrian weren't here, this would already be a massacre!"
Adrian's expression only grew colder.
To him, Medusa had already lost the moment her gaze failed.
What remained was nothing more than a moving pile of meat.
A troublesome-looking pile of meat, perhaps—
but meat all the same.
The next second, his kagune burst outward again.
Scarlet tendrils lashed through the darkness with terrifying precision, intercepting every incoming snake head before it could reach the others.
Slash! Rip! Tear!
One giant serpent after another was shredded apart.
Green blood splashed wildly through the cave, and the stench of blood and venom quickly became unbearable.
Medusa's screams grew shriller and shriller.
Outside, Miracle Nation's livestream had already turned into a mess.
Since their contestants had retreated, their viewers could now only watch Dragon Nation's group fighting through the shared public feed. Even so, many still refused to admit the truth.
"Hah! Our people only retreated because they saw through the situation!"
"Yeah, right! Let Dragon Nation die in there if they want!"
"That resource isn't even worth it anyway. Miracle Nation already has plenty!"
"Exactly! Who cares about some stupid Medusa cave?"
Dragon Nation's viewers immediately fired back.
"Listen to these clowns coping!"
"They ran first and now they're pretending it was strategy!"
"If you were so brave, why didn't you stay?"
"Hahaha! In the end, the monster you couldn't handle still has to be cleaned up by Dragon Nation!"
Back in the cave, Medusa was already being forced into a corner.
She had believed this would be another easy harvest.
Instead, Dragon Nation's arrival had turned her carefully prepared trap into a slaughterhouse.
And the one turning it into a slaughterhouse—
was Adrian Vale.
He moved through the darkness like a true predator.
Every snake that lunged at him was severed.
Every coil that tried to bind him was torn open.
Every shriek Medusa let out only made the look in his eye grow colder.
Now that she understood the situation, Raven Shaw no longer tried to create light. Instead, she fought by sound and instinct alone, striking down anything that slipped past Adrian's defense.
Fahai and Zhang Zhiwei did the same, holding their positions and crushing whatever broke through.
Wuxian remained calm throughout, his presence suppressing the chaos around him like an invisible domain.
As for Wang Ye—
his eyes remained closed, his movements steady and precise, as though the darkness itself had already been folded into his calculations.
For the first time in a very long while, Medusa felt fear.
Because what had entered her cave tonight—
was not prey.
It was Dragon Nation's hunting party.
Meanwhile, outside the cave, Miracle Nation's escaped contestants had already begun arguing among themselves.
"Why did you drag us out?!" Eddie Brock shouted. "Look at what they're saying about us now! Don't you have any pride as a Miracle Nation contestant?!"
Venom snarled in agreement.
"Exactly. If we had stayed, at least we could've fought our way out!"
Magneto's face darkened instantly.
"A way out?" he said coldly. "You mean a way to die."
"If I hadn't pulled you out, you'd already be statues by now."
Before Eddie or Venom could answer, Joker suddenly laughed.
"Why should he care about being a Miracle Nation contestant?" Joker said lazily. "Tell me—does being one even require having any pride left?"
That single sentence detonated through Miracle Nation's entire livestream.
The atmosphere turned ice-cold.
Because everyone knew—
Joker wasn't joking.
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