Li Ang had seen the chained figure and the woman's illusion outside the manor; they were likely concocted by that Witch.

The only question was how much self-awareness she still retained, how much influence she could exert on the embryo... and what role she could play in this battle.

"You were stalling for time just now, hoping that Witch could interfere with me at a critical moment, right?"

Facing the player who had drawn his weapon and was looking aggressive, William said calmly, "Unfortunately, she has been immersed in God Status for too long and has lost her self-awareness. She can no longer respond to any external stimulation. Besides, even if she were truly alive, it wouldn't affect my ability to exterminate you."

"Really?"

Li Ang, whose thoughts had been seen through, was not irritated. Instead, he pointed at the ceiling and said with a smile, "If it's really as easy as you claim, then why did you bother with such little tricks behind our backs?"

When the Vine Crossbow had fired at the wall, causing tiles to fall, Li Ang had noticed unknown plants like Withered Ivy buried inside the walls of the basement. He had Miss Chai burrow into the soil beneath the floorboards and follow these Withered Ivy trails through the walls to investigate. The delay was not only to assess the remaining self-awareness of the Witch but also to wait for Miss Chai to return.

Now, Miss Chai had returned to her place beneath his feet. She reported to Li Ang everything she had seen within the walls: these wilted, ashen Withered Ivy strands were distributed throughout the manor, deeply embedded within them. Over time, these dead vines were recovering, turning lush and translucent, filled with vitality.

Without a doubt, these vines were William's doing. The Magic Circle used the manor as its foundation. The reason he hadn't actively destroyed the Array for so many years was probably because doing so would irreversibly damage the manor. A damaged manor would no longer be capable of nurturing the organs. To complete the resurrection ritual track, the Magic Circle had to be maintained. But now that William had a more suitable embryo for revival and no longer needed the abnormal organs, he could destroy the Array. This would allow the Forest People—who were already his followers—to enter the manor and help him besiege Li Ang and the other players.

"Interesting, you know I'm trying to destroy the Magic Circle," William said calmly, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid of what? Afraid the manor will collapse, the Magic Circle will crumble, and countless Forest People will rush in?"

Li Ang shook his head. "As long as you're killed before that happens, won't that solve everything?"

"Kill me?"

William seemed to hear an exceedingly amusing joke, speaking coldly from within the mud ball, "Let me show you the difference between a god and humans."

No sooner had he finished speaking than thunderous explosions erupted throughout the hall. Innumerable dark green vines burst through the walls. They intertwined and descended upon Li Ang and the others like myriad whips.

Dong Fengpo and Ur Wunnian looked up, their eyes narrowing at the spectacle. The vines were so numerous they blotted out the sky—an utterly terrifying sight.

"Hot Plough Stubborn Shield!"

Ur Wunnian roared, bent down, and transformed his hands into blades, striking the ground fiercely.

A dazzling crimson light burst from the Gryphon Emblem on the back of his hands, and instantly six fiery columns rose violently from the ground around them. These pillars of flame rapidly merged, bending into a sphere that plunged into the ground, forming a barrier that enclosed everyone within it.

Some of the wildly flailing, unconscious vines that contacted the fiery barrier were instantly burned into segments of Ash, drifting away.

"What kind of witchcraft is this?" Hiding within the mud sphere without showing his face, William asked with considerable curiosity, "I haven't sensed any energy fluctuations... Has Mystical Studies advanced to this level? Or perhaps you possess some kind of bloodline power?"

Once the battle began, William completely sealed himself inside the mud sphere. He communicated with Li Ang and the others only by vibrating the external air using delicate energy manipulation techniques.

"Hmm... let it be. In any case, I will leave your corpses intact to serve as research material for your bloodline power."

William sighed, then continued indifferently from within the mud ball, "After all, I no longer need other organs for the resurrection ritual track. Perhaps I can even preserve your souls, allowing you to continue existing in this world."

As he spoke, the countless green vines dancing in the sky suddenly paused as if commanded. They twisted into several bunches, weaving themselves into seven giant tendrils as thick as large trucks.

More terrifyingly, the bluestone-paved ground was rapidly softening. Innumerable specks of soil oozed from the gaps between the bluestone bricks. Driven by an invisible force, they clung to the vine tendrils, encasing them in a layer of earthen armor.

Clearly, such giant tendrils could not be stopped by a mere layer of fire barrier. Dong Fengpo, without hesitation, took out a broken iron box covered with seaweed and smelling faintly of the ocean from his backpack slot. He quickly opened the box to reveal the dense and complex metal mechanisms inside.

By now, the tendrils, poised for attack, had finished their preparation and thrashed viciously towards the fire barrier. This time, the fire barrier failed to offer substantial resistance. It only managed to scorch the tendrils' earthen casing, turning it black. However, this did not prevent the tendrils from effortlessly piercing the barrier and bearing down on them.

At the last moment, Dong Fengpo twisted an internal button on the iron box. Tens of millions of fish-like phantoms, emanating a soft glow, appeared in the air, transforming the hall into something resembling an aquarium.

This Excellent quality item could create phantoms of deep-sea fish that absorbed moisture from any enemies entering their range. The larger the enemy and the higher their water content, the more effective it was.

As soon as the vine tendrils touched the fish phantoms, they would instantly shrivel and wither, their adhering dust constantly flaking off.

Paired with Ur Wunnian's fire barrier, the two narrowly maintained their defense.

"We can't hold on." Ur Wunnian, keeping his arms dug into the ground, looked at the poised giant tendrils and said to his teammates, "If you have any trump cards left, use them now. If you keep holding back, we'll all be doomed together."

Forest Cat's face tensed. He exhaled a ragged breath and silently took a plain-looking hourglass from his backpack slot. The hourglass consisted of two connected glass globes. It contained no sand; instead, a small knife blade was mounted at an upward angle on the inner wall of the upper globe.

Forest Cat placed the hourglass on the ground, opened the top cover, and pressed his fist into it, allowing the blade to cut his palm. Dripping blood slid down the walls of the globe, dropping into the lower glass globe.

"In thirty seconds, his thought speed will become very slow, lasting for one minute," Forest Cat said through gritted teeth as he watched his blood continuously fall. "The ambush is up to you guys."