"Cover me!" These were Xiao Tan's last words before leaping into the air.

When he shouted this, no one knew what he was trying to do. Of course... more than that, the question on everyone's mind was—how do you cover someone who is about to be instantly killed?

But about ten seconds later, everyone, including Dou Mo... would understand the meaning of his words, and would shout "Fuck!" in their hearts.

"Annoying insect..." Dou Mo spat dismissively, looking at the figure leaping towards him, and casually made a gesture as if shooing away a mosquito.

In his experience, this kind of action was more than enough to kill an "Otherworld Traveler."

Instantly, a stream of black, pure demonic energy bloomed from the back of his hand, like a monstrous wave of flame, blasting out an irregularly shaped energy shock in mid-air.

In the next second, Xiao Tan's figure was completely engulfed by this demonic energy, probably obliterated into nothing.

But...

"Hmm?" In less than a second, Dou Mo noticed, "An afterimage?"

Yes, the one in mid-air was just an afterimage left by Xiao Tan using [Feng Zhu Chen Xiang Hua Yi Jin] (Wind Dwells, Dust Fragrant, Flowers Fade), one that could only last for three seconds.

Don't underestimate this D-level Fighting Specialization skill, it really works.

Relying on the time gained by the afterimage, Xiao Tan's real body successfully approached Dou Mo and activated a skill.

To explain what this skill was, we must first mention another item—[Basho-san's Mafie Doll].

[Name: Basho-san's Mafie Doll]

[Type: Other]

[Quality: Dilapidated]

[Effect: The holder can use the special skill—Snow Dance Nine Heavens (this skill is not affected by the skill slot limit)]

[Holding Condition: Male, bound upon pickup]

[Can it be brought out of this scenario: Yes]

[Remarks: A doll that Basho-san considers a good friend. Every time he is scolded by Sora-kun, Basho-san hugs Mafie tightly to seek spiritual comfort.]

After so long, I imagine you viewers have long forgotten the origin and effect of this item, so let me explain it again here.

This "[Basho-san's Mafie Doll]" appeared in the story of "Thirty-Three Chapters: Detective Forced to Return." It was the reward Xiao Tan obtained after completing a side quest alone, meaning... it was an item brought back from the "Hiyori" world.

Xiao Tan hadn't used (or had only tried a few times) the skill that came with this thing, because it was truly a ball-aching move...

[Special Skill: Snow Dance Nine Heavens]

[Effect: Suppresses the target to their knees, preventing them from taking any action (cooldown time 5 hours, requires continuous channeling, can only be used on humanoid or human-like NPCs or monsters with normal vision)]

[Remarks: A peerless divine skill surpassing "Flirtatious Two Dragons Playing with Pearls, Plucking Chrysanthemums Hand (an eye-gouging move)," taught by the God of Haiku to Matsuo Basho, who was temporarily affected by "Wo Cao Lei Nao Bu Zhu Gu" (Holy Crap, I Can't Hold It Back Mushroom). The only drawback of this skill is that if the user is disturbed by external force during the casting process, the skill will stop.]

Just looking at the description might make you think this skill is ordinary, but in fact, like [The Brat's Lower Whip Kick] from the "Hiyori" world, [Snow Dance Nine Heavens] is also a "law of causality" skill.

Its strength mainly lies in four points: First, it doesn't take up a skill slot; second, it has no consumption; third, as long as it hits, suppression is 100% successful; fourth, the duration is unlimited.

Among these four points, the most crucial is the "unlimited duration." The skill description doesn't give any time limit for the "continuous channeling" action, meaning... as long as the caster doesn't want to stop and no one interrupts him, then he can maintain the casting state... even if it continues until five hours later, when the skill has already cooled down (the skill cooldown time is calculated from the moment of casting), it doesn't matter.

This... was the method Xiao Tan came up with.

Dou Mo also didn't expect that the casual attack he had just unleashed was actually extremely important. Dou Mo's fearless attitude, that carelessness, that underestimation of the enemy... made him miss the only opportunity to stop his opponent from casting before he got close.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Tan had already activated the special skill that came with the item... He pressed and propped one hand against Dou Mo's face, and inverted himself on Dou Mo's head. After stabilizing this position, Xiao Tan began to stroke his hair with his other hand, scattering dandruff...

Of course, these weren't real "dandruff," just the effect created by the skill. Even if the caster was bald, endless, white, dandruff-like substances would still fall slowly like snowflakes when using this skill...

"Wh...at..." Upon being hit, Dou Mo showed an unbelievable expression, and this expression quickly solidified on his face.

Under the effect of the skill, Dou Mo involuntarily spread his legs and knelt on the ground. His arms were spread out, drooping weakly to his sides. His eyes involuntarily stared upwards, looking through the fingers of the hand pressing against his face at the artificial "snow scene"... unable to look away, nor able to close his eyes.

The most terrifying thing was that no matter how hard he exerted himself, his body couldn't move, and he couldn't even open his mouth to speak... Although all his senses were normal, and he could feel that his own strength was not affected, he just couldn't move, nor could he use any other means like "telekinesis" or "astral projection" to change the situation.

"Quick... quick, cover him!" After a moment, the first person to react... was Billy.

This guy was worthy of being a "brainiac." After watching for a while, he understood what was going on, so he quickly used his ability to transmit his voice to the ears of every warrior on the battlefield.

Hearing these words, Xu Huai Shang, Dian He Wang, and many soldiers of the Royal Army, almost instantly made the same reaction... and surrounded Dou Mo's location.

They didn't know exactly what Xiao Tan had done, but no matter what he did, there was no doubt... it worked.

On the other side... the Redundant Soldier Legion didn't show any reaction to this series of sudden changes.

Because these guys had low intelligence, they couldn't analyze overly complex problems. With the Sweepers present, they naturally had to act according to the tactical control system loaded by the Sweepers.

And at this time, the feedback from the tactical control system showed that Dou Mo's combat power data hadn't decreased. Even though he was being surrounded, his probability of death hadn't changed—remaining infinitely close to zero.

Therefore, the result calculated by the Sweepers was... there was no need to help Dou Mo with anything. Since those Royal Army soldiers weren't chasing after them, they should follow the original plan... wait for reinforcements, and then launch the next round of attack.

And so, Dou Mo was controlled by Xiao Tan alone in an almost comical state, and the battle... entered a delicate state of waiting and stalemate.