"Be careful not to get touched~"

At the moment the Green and Red Kings attacked, the mermaid woman in the shell earrings reminded:

"Your own Contamination Value hasn't reached eighty yet, so the Roots you possess are merely the color of the Roots, whereas this body I'm in has a Contamination Value over eighty, which has condensed the color of the Roots into the essence of the Roots. The difference between the two is akin to the difference between mist and water droplets.

Don't try to directly withstand my essence of the Roots. You might—alright, you've managed to withstand it, but even if you can withstand it, don't take it head-on. Withstanding it consumes a great deal of the color of the Roots, and once the rate of consumption outpaces the replenishment, then... huh? Why is your replenishment rate so fast?"

Watching Leon take on "his own" hand covered in the essence of the Roots barehanded, and then forcibly balance the qualitative gap with quantitative advantage, pushing "himself" back, the mermaid woman couldn't help but click her tongue, suddenly feeling a bit redundant, and curiously asked:

"Leon, how did you do it? Why is the color of the Roots on you so much more intense than before? You can even exchange blows with me now?"

"…"

Damn it... weren't you supposed to guide me? Why are you helping them dig into my secrets?

After rolling his eyes at the shell inhabited by the mermaid woman, Leon didn't respond to her vague query but silently took a deep breath and, from a certain unnamed third-generation elder, fiercely siphoned a portion of the color of the Roots, replenishing himself.

'Hey, use it sparingly!'

Feeling weak from Leon's intense extraction, using the Snake-man Secret Skill's effect to assimilate into Leon's body, the third-generation elder couldn't help but sarcastically say:

'Didn't the mermaid warn you? You should dodge a bit!'

'Oh, come on! Are you really going head-to-head with her? You're wasting my Roots as if they're not yours!'

'Slow down... Extract slower! I can't supply enough!'

'Darn it! I'm treating you like a disciple while you're treating me like an outsider to exploit?'

'Shut up! Am I fighting, or are you fighting?'

Through his consciousness, Leon shouted at the noisy third-generation elder to make him shut up, while continuously extracting the color of the Roots, exchanging quantity for quality in the clash with "Evangelin," while watching the constantly trembling [Roots] badge on the panel, calculating how many more times he can hold on.

[Through direct contact with highly condensed essence of the Roots, you have gained some insights into the method of condensing Roots. Your Contamination Value increased by 0.02 points, current Contamination Value is 75.5]

[Your hidden alien color badge "Facing the Roots (No. 3)" is advancing, current progress is 75.5/80]

[Through direct contact... your Contamination Value increased by 0.1 points, current Contamination Value is 76.5]

[Your hidden alien color badge... current progress is 76.5/80]

[Through... increase...]

[Your... progress...]

Something's wrong!

Without daring to use the mermaid woman's own powers and truths, only using the "purity" of essence of the Roots to clash with Leon ten times, noticing Leon's replenishment rate of the color of the Roots was astonishingly fast, and each clash strengthened his aura a bit, the Green and Red Kings couldn't help but feel a sudden chill in their hearts.

Just like the Sea Abyss Dominator said before, given the cautious nature of the Food God, he must have already prepared a corresponding artifact. If they rashly invoked the abilities of the Sea Abyss Dominator, they would likely face targeted critical suppression.

So they gave up other methods from the start, choosing the most straightforward head-to-head clash, hoping to establish a difference through the advantage of "quality," and quickly exhaust the Food God's power with the more "pure" essence of the Roots.

Their plan was to wait until the Food God, forced into a direct clash, found his replenishment rate of the Roots couldn't keep up with consumption, exposed a flaw, and then used other means for a fatal strike.

Yet the current situation turned out completely different from their expectations. Although the Food God's color of the Roots was significantly inferior in quality, it was strangely robust in quantity, as if someone was desperately replenishing him from behind, no matter how much they exhausted it.

And what was even more unsettling was that the Food God, who clearly should have avoided such consumption, was not attempting to dodge at all. Moreover, with each clash, his aura strengthened a bit, enhancing the feedback in the next Roots collision.

Within just a few short minutes of mutual probing, the Food God's aura had already risen from the level of a normal Pillar God, approaching their own standard, even racing towards the line defining eighty Leon Value points.

Although the gap between seventy-nine Leon Value points and eighty Leon Value points was a gigantic chasm that wasn't easily crossed, but…

What if he really can?

Seeing Leon dissatisfied with the current clash intensity, recklessly assembling a large amount of the color of the Roots to confront them, the Green and Red Kings felt their pressure mount inexorably, gradually surpassing a certain threshold.

Whether the Food God was crazy, insisting on clashing despite knowing it couldn't endure, or whether he had some unknown card prepared for breakthrough borrowed from their clash, the Green and Red Kings, unwilling to gamble, ultimately chose to believe the latter, proactively retreating to create distance.

Whew... finally managed to bluff them...

Watching the "mermaid woman" withdraw from the head-to-head clash, nervously studying him, Leon, who had nearly drained all the Roots from the third-generation elder, also felt deeply anxious but couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief.

Evangelin is really harmful!

The unforeseen twist she created directly rendered all my preparations futile. If I hadn't been cautious enough to bring the third-generation elder along, I might not have even held up in that head-to-head clash!

If I had shown any real resistance during that fundamental clash, the opponent would almost certainly have pursued aggressively, continuously seeking to exhaust the Roots in counteracting, putting me at a definite disadvantage in terms of speed.

Luckily the opponent chickened out first, fooled by my bluff, not daring to truly clash to the end, voluntarily breaking off the pure Roots collision. Otherwise, whether my badge would advance first, or the opponent would exhaust both the third-generation elder's and my powers first, was really hard to say.

"Tsk."

Expressing clear disappointment over the end of the Roots clash battle through the effects of the [Master Performer], Leon simultaneously struggled to replenish the Roots just consumed, and took out a deep blue flowing crown, placing it solemnly on his head.

Next, under "Evangelin's" watchful eyes, Leon again took out a staff formed by piecing together bone rings and a belt that faintly emanated numerous painful screams, respectively completing the equipment, linking the aura of the "Bottom Line" set together.

These are the artifacts the Food God created specifically to target the Sea Abyss Dominator these days, aren't they?!

Seeing the three obviously set new pieces of equipment on Leon's head, hand, and waist, sensing the aura above them that came from the same source as the mermaid woman, the Green and Red Kings' eyes instantly filled with a strong sense of awe.

Without even activating these three artifacts, merely showing them slightly, the body they controlled was affected, manifesting overwhelming sadness seemingly ready to shed tears directly.

Even more terrifyingly, these three highly prestigious artifacts seemed to be intermingled with "materials" from the Sea Abyss Dominator itself, constantly maintaining frequent resonance with her.

Especially that belt emanating wailing cries, those overlapping millions of painful sounds, each one fiercely pulling at the lingering will inside the Sea Abyss Dominator's body.

No! Absolutely not!

Noticing that the shell earrings beside their ears had suddenly fallen silent and feeling that instinctual sense of crisis, the Green and Red Kings, without any communication, instantly made the most correct decision.

No matter the cost, they must prevent him from using these three things!