Just as Chen Bugu was still puzzled, each of the four Black-robed men had a black crystal in their hands.
The next second, they spread out, forming a four-cornered shape to surround the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle in the middle, and pressed the crystals in their hands into the ground.
As the crystals entered the ground, they transformed into four pillars of light that shot up into the sky. The light pillars connected to each other, forming four black light screens that trapped the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle in the middle.
"Barrier?"
Chen Bugu looked at the four Black-robed men. Their hands were pressed against the embedded crystals, seemingly continuously injecting spiritual power.
The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle forcefully slammed against the surface of the barrier, but the black light screen merely rippled before returning to calm, and the black snake's ice mist quickly dissipated upon encountering the barrier.
The appearance of this barrier made Chen Bugu even more wary of the Black-robed men.
Whether it was these rare barrier crystals or their uniform Black Iron Eight-Star strength, it all indicated that the organization behind these people was extraordinarily powerful.
According to what Wei Lai had said earlier, judging by their voices, the Black-robed men who had imprisoned them in the dungeon were not the three he had seen before.
This meant that the Black-robed men must have had companions in the forest.
Although he didn't know what they were plotting, since it involved the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle, it was probably not simple.
At least, as far as Chen Bugu knew, the human forces in Obsidian Town couldn't casually dispatch four Black Iron Eight-Stars.
With the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle captured, the spectacle was over. Seeing that there was no opportunity to fish in troubled waters, Chen Bugu was ready to leave.
Just then, the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle roared towards the sky. Black mist emanated from its body, and both its turtle head and snake head had blood-red eyes.
"Amon" suddenly jumped out of his pocket. His emotions became somewhat agitated, and after landing on the ground, his body grew, quickly returning to its original size.
Chen Bugu felt the emotions transmitted by "Amon"—a strange mix of agitation and longing.
Before he could understand what was happening, a small layer of faint black mist also rose from Amon's body, and then he ran towards the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle and the Black-robed men.
This familiar black mist reminded Chen Bugu of the battle with the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle.
At that time, "Amon's" broken eggshell surface had also continuously seeped black mist like this.
Chen Bugu was about to chase after "Amon" to pick him up, but he suddenly felt an inexplicable agitation as well.
This familiar feeling made his internal "alarm" blare, and Chen Bugu quickly activated "Clear Mind."
Faint light elements gathered from all directions, continuously surging into Chen Bugu's body.
His entire body was enveloped in a faint white light, and he instantly felt a coolness in his mind. Then, the agitated emotions seemed to be washed away by flowing water.
Those black mists were clearly the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's doing. Now, looking at "Amon's" appearance again, Chen Bugu immediately realized that "Amon" and the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle must have some connection.
The Black-robed men also noticed this.
"Fourth Brother! The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's lost origin is on that monster. The three of us will maintain the barrier; quickly go kill that monster and bring the origin back."
Fourth Brother also glanced at Chen Bugu and "Amon" in surprise, not expecting that the "mouse" he casually caught had actually brought back the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's origin.
His figure strangely vanished, leaving only a hoarse voice for John.
"Don't tell me what to do."
After Fourth Brother disappeared from his original spot, the barrier, originally maintained by four people, suddenly lost a corner, and even its color became much dimmer, greatly increasing the pressure on the other three.
The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle also seemed to have found an opportunity, continuously attacking the barrier.
"Damn it, this cursed beast actually understands the situation."
"Axiu, a King-level monster's intelligence is no less than a human's. If it weren't for the rules and restrictions of the forest, plus the missing origin, you and I wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth."
"Shut up, George, isn't it because your Northern Group couldn't complete the mission? The other three groups wouldn't have all this trouble."
"Heh, who would have thought that the phenomenon of origin demonic energy loss would occur during the awakening? The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's original consciousness is awakening, so it will naturally fight back fiercely."
George looked at Chen Bugu and "Amon" not far away, sneering repeatedly.
"Speaking of which, Axiu, the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's lost origin appeared among the 'mice' your group was responsible for. Do you think your group can escape accountability if this is investigated?"
"Damn it, Fourth Brother and I came late at night to 'clean up your mess,' and now you're saying it's our fault? The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle is rampaging, where's the demonic flute the boss gave? Can't you use it?"
"If it were useful, would we still be standing here? Axiu, instead of saying such boring and brainless things, you might as well shut your mouth."
"George, you're looking for death!"
Seeing that the tension between George and Axiu was escalating, John had no choice but to speak.
"Both of you, clear your heads. The Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's demonic energy is already affecting you."
George and Axiu trembled upon hearing this, then quickly each took a pill.
"Damn it, why is this beast's demonic energy so strong."
"With the origin approaching, the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle's consciousness is gradually awakening, which will naturally cause a violent backlash of demonic energy."
"Everyone, be serious. Once Fourth Brother replenishes the missing origin, the Ice Armor Crocodile Turtle will recover to Nine Star peak. Stabilize the barrier before the demonic energy re-contaminates the origin."
After John finished speaking, Axiu and George both looked solemn. The three of them fully channeled spiritual power into the crystals in their hands, re-fortifying the previously shaky barrier.
On the other side, Chen Bugu had already taken out Bi Yu Wei Lan from his storage ring the moment Fourth Brother disappeared.
Fourth Brother's ability seemed very strange.
He seemed to be able to teleport to various positions on the battlefield at will.
Even the first time Chen Bugu saw him, he had no idea when he had appeared above his head.
This led Chen Bugu to mistakenly believe that Fourth Brother had mastered space-related abilities.
But he quickly realized something was wrong. The speed Fourth Brother displayed in his subsequent attacks did not seem to match the characteristics of space-related abilities.
Thus, Chen Bugu discovered Fourth Brother's true ability—Mimicry!
Fourth Brother's ability should be similar to a chameleon's, allowing him to blend into his surroundings at any time, even perfectly concealing his own aura.
This type of ability is very troublesome, almost indistinguishable from invisibility.
To counter Fourth Brother's elusive ability, most people can only rely on area-of-effect skills for widespread attacks, but that consumes too much spiritual power.
Another method is to quietly wait for Fourth Brother to make a move, then counterattack the moment he strikes, but the drawback of this is equally obvious: a momentary delay in reaction could cost one's life.
But Chen Bugu didn't need to worry so much.
He decisively entered "Bullet Time," his right hand blurring into an afterimage as he swiftly drew the bowstring.
Countless blue water arrows appeared overwhelmingly in front of Chen Bugu, then shot out like a torrential downpour.