# Chapter 980: Deep into the Forbidden Zone
About ten thousand Dragon Abyss troops had been deployed as reinforcements! They were already standing in neat formations!
In front of the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone, a field command camp was stationed! It was responsible for suppressing the expansion of the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone, as well as receiving messages transmitted from Outpost 097 and relaying them back to the main base!
After all, inside the forbidden zone, radio and all communication devices were completely disabled! To receive any messages from inside, they had to remain here and wait for the soldiers of 097 to send signals with lights or flags from afar!
Hearing the airburst above, everyone in the command camp looked up at the sky! That flash of crimson was all too familiar! "Is that Southern God's spirit pet? He's here too?"
Murmurs arose, and Jiangnan spotted a familiar figure among the Dragon Abyss reinforcements! Mu Wan! After a long time, she had tanned even darker, her wheat-colored skin standing out in the crowd.
Back when Jiangnan went to destroy the Dracula Island, Mu Wan had served as the operations captain and cooperated with him. Unexpectedly, she had been deployed here for support this time! She was now waving at Jiangnan non-stop! "Southern God! Over here!"
With a strong gust of wind, Xiao Jiuwo landed. Jiangnan stepped forward and shook hands with Mu Wan. "Province Hai is so far from here, why were you transferred?"
Mu Wan wiped her nose. "We were mobilized from various bases. None of the people sent here for support are only children in their families. In case something happens..."
Jiangnan's heart sank. He turned to look at the Dragon Abyss soldiers in formation. Wherever his gaze passed, each soldier stood straight as a ramrod. But their slightly pale faces and trembling bodies betrayed them. Their eyes toward the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone were filled with fear.
The Dragon Abyss were human too; they also felt fear. Once you entered the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone, you couldn't come out, yet they still came. Now they stood before the forbidden zone, ready to advance and provide support. Though afraid, they were also fearless!
Jiangnan took a deep breath and said loudly, "Brothers! Stay sharp. I'll be going in with you this time too. Trust that the technology in the rear will help us find a way to reverse the mutation."
The Dragon Abyss soldiers all looked at Jiangnan. The Southern God was going in too? Somehow, they felt much more at ease.
Mu Wan looked at Jiangnan in shock, her face full of surprise. "You're going in too? Don't you know that if you go in, you'll become..." Jiangnan nodded. "I know. But I have to go." Looking at Jiangnan's eyes, Mu Wan couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Just then, a big-bearded man ran over from the command camp and shook hands with both Jiangnan and Mu Wan. "Wei Hai! Just call me Big Beard. I'm the camp commander. Once you're inside, if you need anything, contact me via signal lights or flag semaphore."
At the same time, many staff members ran over and distributed three vials of purple serum to each Dragon Abyss soldier. Wei Hai said loudly, "Brothers, this is an antidote."
"The Mist Swamp Blood Vine has three spiritual abilities. Among them, Thorn Lash carries a strong poison. Be careful not to get scratched by the thorns! Pay special attention to the spore powder—it's parasitic spores. Don't let the spores land on you! And the last one is Blood Drain. Any vine that touches you will suck blood and drain life force."
Jiangnan grimaced. No wonder it was one of the Four Calamities—all three spiritual abilities were troublesome.
Wei Beard continued, "The Mist Swamp Blood Vine has extremely strong vitality; its roots are interconnected, making it hard to completely eradicate. The blood vines in the periphery are not high-level—mostly Silver and Gold. The deeper you go, the higher the level. Don't get bogged down in fights; push straight into 097. Finally, may you all have a safe journey."
Everyone tensed up, gripping their weapons tightly. Jiangnan didn't look back and headed straight for the forbidden zone. "Have the main force follow me. I'll lead the way. We need to move quickly. Tanks on the outside, ranged damage in the middle of the formation. Try not to let the vines get close. Earth-type users guard against the ground, in case the blood vine roots ambush from below. Move out!"
Mu Wan and the other Dragon Abyss soldiers snapped to attention and replied loudly, "Yes, sir!" The battle formation was quickly formed, and Jiangnan led the charge into the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone with rapid strides.
The Mist Swamp Blood Vines, like demonic snakes, sensed humans entering their hunting range. The thorn-covered vines lashed toward Jiangnan like whips.
Jiangnan raised his hand and snapped his fingers. With a loud "BOOM," the Mist Swamp Blood Vines within 300 meters in front of him were uprooted and compressed into black orbs. They were just Silver-level blood vines, unable to pose a threat to Jiangnan. With two more snaps, he cleared spaces on the left and right, enough for the main force to pass through.
Mu Wan's main force followed closely behind Jiangnan, stepping into the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone. Wei Hai watched Jiangnan's group enter the forbidden zone with a complicated expression. He didn't know if they would be able to come back this time. This was already the third group he had sent in.
The Dragon Abyss and Dark Night soldiers remaining at the camp watched the backs of the main force as they delved deep into the forbidden zone. Silently, they saluted.
At first, with the Dragon Abyss's firepower and Jiangnan's black holes to clear the way, they were able to crush everything in their path. But not long after entering, Jiangnan felt a strong sense of suffocation. The pungent smell made his mouth bitter. Cold, yellow-green rain fell on them, and the ground was muddy. After a short while, Jiangnan couldn't help coughing, even coughing up traces of blood. The same happened to the Dragon Abyss main force. Even wearing gas masks did no good. After the violent cough subsided, breathing became easier, and even the foul smell of chlorine was no longer noticeable. Jiangnan's expression turned serious. They had only been in for a short time, and they had already mutated?
However, Mila was still covering her mouth and coughing softly, her face scrunched up, looking somewhat pained. Jiangnan quickly picked her up. "Can you still smell the chlorine?" Mila nodded.
Jiangnan was startled. Mila had time-based powers, and her body was different from ordinary people. She would always remain in her initial state. Could the Mist Swamp Forbidden Zone not mutate Mila? No, it wasn't that it couldn't mutate her—even if she was mutated, her body would automatically refresh back to its original state. Currently, there was no oxygen in the forbidden zone, so while Mila wouldn't die, she would have to endure the toxicity of the chlorine and the pain of suffocation.
"I'm sorry, Mila. I'll send you back..." Mila clutched Jiangnan's arm tightly, shaking her head vehemently. "No! Don't! I don't want to be separated from Brother Jiangnan. Mila doesn't feel uncomfortable. It's okay." She held back her cough, looking at Jiangnan with stubborn determination.
Jiangnan had no choice but to take a bottle of oxygen from his alternate dimension for Mila to breathe. Since Mila couldn't be mutated, he would just give her oxygen to inhale. Indeed, Mila felt a bit better.
Liu Mang's eyes lit up. "Mila is unaffected? Can we use her time reversal to restore everyone's bodies to their pre-mutation state?" Jiangnan shook his head. "Using reversal consumes Mila's telomerase. The longer the reversal time, the greater the consumption. Restoring this many people to their state before mutation? She would age to death."
Liu Mang was stunned, then smiled wryly. Indeed, any great power came at a cost. Their marching speed was not slow, and they were still about thirty kilometers away from Outpost 097.
Here, the blood vines were even denser, and they could even see many Platinum-level blood vines. Looking back, the path they had cleared was already overrun by blood vines again. Many vines burst out from the ground, growing tall and thick in less than a minute.
Xia Yao scratched her head. "We've killed so many, why can't we even get a single spirit bead?" Yang Cheng explained, "The Mist Swamp Blood Vine is a plant with interconnected roots. Most of what we killed are just derived root branches. The underground root system is complex; the main body could be anywhere. Just cutting root branches is a waste of effort."
Jiangnan scowled. This thing was truly disgusting. Just then, Liu Mang's gaze shifted to the east. "Four o'clock direction! Thirty thousand meters away, there are people! A four-person squad. One Diamond, three Platinums. Not our people."
As soon as he said that, Jiangnan slapped Wu Liang on the shoulder, pulled out the Blood-Drinking Halberd, and teleported away without a trace. His body flickered in the air, and he indeed saw a four-person squad. Three Platinums were on guard. A curly-haired man in a shirt was holding a cloth bag, taking out a handful of blood-red seeds and planting them in the ground. His level was also around Diamond II.
"Shlash!" A red flash streaked through the void, and a Platinum VII's head spun off into the air. Blood sprayed wildly, his eyes full of shock—he died without even seeing who struck him. [Resentment from Kunsha +1000.]
Jiangnan turned again and swung the Blood-Drinking Halberd fiercely. The nearby Platinum VIII's face twisted in terror; he immediately metallized his entire body, trying to block with his arm. But the halberd sliced through, severing his metal arm. Jiangnan pressed forward and landed a punch on his metallized head. "Clang!" The iron face actually had a fist print dented into it, and his head was smashed flat. (｡˃᷄Ϡ˂᷅｡) He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The curly-haired man flew into a rage, raising his hand to send a water blade slicing toward Jiangnan. Jiangnan threw out a space wormhole, reached in, and touched the curly-haired man's chest. "Spatial Displacement!" Instantly, Jiangnan exchanged positions with Wu Liang. And when Jiangnan had slapped Wu Liang's shoulder, Wu Liang had already activated Barbarian Charge and Thorns Armor.
"Clang!" The powerful water blade struck Wu Liang, sending him flying dozens of meters back. A golden light flared up. The curly-haired man hadn't reacted yet—how had the person changed? Meanwhile, Jiangnan, back with the main force, had already spoken out: "Get ready! Engaging the enemy!" "Spatial Displacement!" This time, Jiangnan directly displaced the curly-haired man.
The curly-haired man felt a blur before his eyes and found himself in front of the Dragon Abyss army. Seeing the ten thousand people before him, his face turned pale, and he dropped to his knees with a shiver. "Oh, crap!" Meanwhile, the fully charged Wu Liang used Barbarian Charge, directly ramming into the last Platinum IX, crushing his upper body.
Jiangnan threw out Void Chains, wrapping them around Wu Liang and the three corpses. With a single teleport, he returned to the curly-haired man's side. Mu Wan stared blankly at the scene. "Seven seconds..." Jiangnan had taken only seven seconds to neutralize a squad of one Diamond and three Platinums. One captive, three kills. What incredible coordination and speed of killing?
—— Author's Note: