“Cover me!” These were the last words Xiao Tan shouted before leaping up.

When he shouted these words, no one knew what he wanted to do. Of course… more than that, the question on everyone’s mind was—how to cover someone who was about to be instantly killed.

But about ten seconds later, everyone, including Dou Mo… would understand what he meant by this sentence, and would shout "Damn it!" in their hearts.

"Annoying insects..." Looking at the figure leaping towards him, Dou Mo spat disdainfully, making a gesture as if to swat a mosquito.

In his experience, an action like this was enough to kill an "Otherworld Traveler."

In an instant, a surge of black, pure demonic energy bloomed from the back of his hand, like a wave of fire, blasting out an irregularly shaped energy shock in mid-air.

The next second, Xiao Tan's figure was completely engulfed by this demonic energy, probably obliterated without even leaving any residue.

But...

"Huh?" 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 Wilt), one that could only last for three seconds.

Don't underestimate this D-level Fighting specialization skill; it was effective.

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

To talk about what this skill was, we must first talk about another item—[Basyo-san's Mafly Doll].

[Name: Basyo-san's Mafly Doll]

[Type: Other]

[Quality: Ruined]

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

[Holding Conditions: Male, bound after picking up]

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

[Remarks: The doll that Basyo-san regards as a good friend. Every time after being scolded by Zensaku-kun, Basyo-san hugs Mafly tightly to seek spiritual comfort.]

After so long, everyone has probably forgotten the origin and effect of this thing, so let me explain it again here.

This "[Basyo-san's Mafly Doll]" appeared in the story of *The Thirty-Third Chapter: The Detective is Forced to Return*. It was a reward Xiao Tan obtained after completing a side quest alone, which means… it was an item brought back from the "Hiyori" world.

All along, Xiao Tan hadn't used this thing's built-in skill much (though he did try it a few times), because it was such a ball-busting move…

[Special Skill: Snow Dance Nine Heavens]

[Effect: Suppresses the target to kneel on the ground, 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 superior to "Flirty Two Dragons Play with Pearl Pluck Chrysanthemum Hand (an eye-gouging move)", taught by the god of haiku to Matsuo Basyo who was temporarily affected by "I Wipe Le Nao Bu Zhu Gu". The only drawback of this skill is that the skill will stop if the user is disturbed by external force during the spellcasting process.]

Looking at the description alone, you might think this skill is very average, but in reality, like [Bear Child's Lower Whip Leg] which also originated from the "Hiyori" world, [Snow Dance Nine Heavens] is also a "law of causality" skill.

Its strength mainly lies in four points: first, it does not occupy a skill slot; second, it has no consumption; third, as long as it hits, it is guaranteed to suppress successfully; fourth, the duration is unlimited.

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

This… was the method Xiao Tan came up with.

Dou Mo also didn't expect that the attack he casually made just now was actually extremely important. Dou Mo's confident attitude, his carelessness, his underestimation of the enemy… caused him to miss the only opportunity to prevent his opponent from casting the skill 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 on Dou Mo's face, and the whole person stood upside down on Dou Mo's head. After this posture stabilized, Xiao Tan's other hand began to stroke his hair, sprinkling dandruff…

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

“Wh…at…” When he was hit, Dou Mo showed an expression of disbelief, and this expression quickly froze 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 powerlessly to both sides. His eyes involuntarily stared upwards, looking through the fingers of the hand pressing on his face, at the artificial "snow scene"... unable to look away, and unable to close his eyes.

The most terrifying thing was that no matter how hard he exerted himself, his body couldn't move. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak… Clearly, all his senses were normal, and he could feel that his own power wasn't affected, but he just couldn't move, and he couldn't use any other means such as "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 indeed a "brain type." 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 soldier on the battlefield.

Hearing these words, Xu Huai Shang, Dian He Wang, and many of the King's Army soldiers made a unified reaction almost instantly… surrounding the place where Dou Mo was.

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 Troop Legion didn't make any move in response to this series of sudden changes.

Because these guys have relatively low intelligence and cannot analyze overly complex problems. With the Sweepers present, they must act according to the tactical control system installed by the Sweepers.

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

Therefore, the Sweepers' calculated result was… there was no need to help Dou Mo do anything. Since those King's Army were not chasing after them now, they should follow the original plan… wait for the reinforcements to arrive, and then launch the next round of attacks.

In this way, Dou Mo was controlled by Xiao Tan alone in an almost comical state, and the battle situation… entered a subtle state of waiting and stalemate.