Chaos at the Foot of the Temple

Inside the underground base, Black Shadow paced back and forth in the command room, his expression growing increasingly uneasy. He had an inexplicable sense of foreboding, a feeling like a great storm was silently brewing and about to crash down on his head.

"Any movement outside?" he asked the subordinate monitoring the surveillance system.

"No, sir. Nothing at all," the subordinate replied. "The reconnaissance team reported that the target seems to have vanished completely, leaving no trace. The forest is as quiet as usual."

"Quiet?" Black Shadow gave a cold laugh. "This is the calm before the storm. A true venomous snake never makes a sound before it strikes."

He was certain that the "human swordsman" was plotting something. This silence was more terrifying than a direct assault. He wasn't afraid of a strong opponent; he was only afraid of an opponent he couldn't understand.

He ordered the entire base to raise its alert level to the maximum. Patrols were doubled. The energy traps were activated at full power. He turned his base into a bristling porcupine, ready to deal with any attack from any direction.

He didn't know that the attack he was about to face wouldn't come from a "swordsman," but from a direction he could never have imagined.

A few kilometers away, the battlefield of the two monster herds was gradually shifting. The battle was still raging fiercely, but they had drawn very close to the outskirts of the ancient temple.

Lam Minh had already arrived. He no longer chose a high vantage point to observe. He did something even bolder.

He stealthily returned to the outer defensive perimeter of the base. He found one of the energy traps he had discovered earlier.

"Let's see," he murmured, observing the trap's structure. "An infrared sensor trap, combined with an energy net. Quite clever."

He didn't destroy it. Destruction would trigger an alarm.

He "modified" it a little.

He used his spiritual energy, with extreme subtlety, to change the trap's sensor frequency. Instead of detecting the aura of an individual, he adjusted it to only detect the auras of... Poison-Tusked Boars and Demon-Faced Monkeys.

Then, he disabled the alarm function but kept the energy net activation function intact.

He did this with several other traps on the outer perimeter.

"Hehe," he chuckled to himself. "Let's see how you deal with a 'civil war' in your own defense system."

With his work done, he found another very tall, very distant tree, perched on a branch, and waited leisurely. He was like a spectator who had bought a front-row VIP ticket, waiting for the main event of the show.

Everything was set. The tinder had been lit. The actors were in position. The stage was ready.

All that was left was for the velvet curtain to rise.

The roars and shrieks of the two monster herds grew closer and closer.

In the "Night Shadow" command room, the subordinate on duty was suddenly startled. "Sir! The acoustic monitoring system has detected an unusually loud noise in the southwest sector! It seems... it seems to be a battle between beast herds!"

"Wild beasts fighting?" Black Shadow frowned. "A common occurrence in this forest. No need to pay it any mind."

"But sir... they are heading straight for us!"

Only then did Black Shadow feel that something was wrong. He quickly looked at the seismic monitoring screen. A series of red dots were moving at high speed, creating strong vibrations, and their direction was unwavering, aimed directly at the base's location.

"What the hell?" he was stunned. "Why are they attacking us?"

He couldn't understand it. Their base was extremely well-hidden and had a system to conceal its aura. These monsters should have been unable to detect it.

"Activate the outer defensive perimeter! Prepare for battle!" he shouted, still bewildered.

Reaching the surface, he and his subordinates looked into the distance. The sight before them made even a Golden Core like him draw in a sharp breath.

A tide of hundreds of giant boars, and a troop of ferocious monkeys clinging to the treetops, were charging madly towards them. Not only were they attacking, but they were also fighting each other brutally. An entire section of the forest was being flattened under their feet.

It was a scene of chaos and madness.

"What... what in the devil's name is happening?" a "Night Shadow" stammered.

Before they could collect themselves, the first of the boars charged into the range of the defense system.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

The energy traps, his pride and joy, did not sound an alarm.

Instead, they activated their energy nets, not to attack the boars, but to attack... the other traps, creating a chain reaction, causing small explosions and paralyzing a portion of the system.

At the same time, the monkeys in the trees began their "rock rain." Countless boulders and poisonous fruits rained down indiscriminately, hitting both the boars and the "Night Shadows" standing on the ground.

The entire outer defense system, in an instant, had been thrown into utter chaos.

"NO!!!" Black Shadow roared in anger and confusion. "HOW CAN THIS BE? IS THE SYSTEM FAULTY?"

He had no idea that a brilliant "director" was sitting from afar, smiling as he watched his "masterpiece."

The storm had finally arrived.

And it was far crazier than anything Black Shadow could have ever imagined.

...

The scene before Black Shadow's eyes was a living nightmare. The defense system he was so proud of had become a joke. The energy traps, instead of stopping the enemy, were attacking each other, creating a flickering, useless mess.

The Poison-Tusked Boars, no longer hindered, charged straight into the formation of "Night Shadows" standing guard outside. A bloody close-quarters battle erupted. The assassins, accustomed to hiding and attacking from the shadows, now had to face living tanks, ferocious and fearless.

From above, the troop of Demon-Faced Monkeys continued their indiscriminate bombardment. Rocks and poisonous fruits rained down, making no distinction between friend or foe. A few "Night Shadows" managed to dodge the charge of a boar, only to be hit on the head by a rock falling from the sky.

Their perfect coordination was shattered in an instant. They were pushed into a dilemma: they had to fend off the suicidal charges of the boars while simultaneously dodging the attacks from the monkeys above.

"YOU FOOLS! RETREAT INSIDE THE BASE!" Black Shadow roared, trying to stabilize his formation. He realized that fighting outside right now was no different from suicide.

The "Night Shadow" members hurriedly retreated into the ancient temple, activating the final, sturdy steel door.

SLAM!

The giant door slammed shut, temporarily separating them from the chaotic world outside.

Inside the base, Black Shadow panted, his face pale. In just a few short minutes, he had lost more than ten subordinates. An unacceptable loss.

"Why? Why did it come to this?" he asked himself, tearing at his hair. "Are these monsters insane? Why are they targeting us? And why did the defense system malfunction so absurdly?"

A series of unanswerable questions swirled in his head. He had a vague feeling that none of this was a coincidence. There was some invisible hand manipulating everything, turning them into puppets in a horror play.

And that mysterious "human swordsman," where was he? Why hadn't he appeared?

The enemy's silence was more terrifying than an attack. It made Black Shadow feel as if he were being stalked by a predator, waiting for him to reveal his final weakness.

The caution and suspicion of an assassin prevented him from acting rashly. He decided to hold his ground inside, wait for the madness of the beasts outside to pass, and wait for the real enemy to show himself.

Outside, the battle between the two monster herds continued right in front of the temple gate. The scent of the "third party" was strongest here, making them mistakenly believe that the enemy pulling the strings was hiding behind that steel door. Their anger, besides being vented on each other, also began to turn towards the door.

The boar sow and the monkey alpha, after a long fight, were both tired and injured. They temporarily separated, growling at each other. But then, they both turned towards the steel door. They could sense that there were many creatures hiding inside.

The boar sow roared, gathered its momentum, and using the full power of a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, rammed straight into the door.

BOOM!!!

The entire underground base shook. The steel door, though very sturdy, was dented in a large section.

The monkeys in the trees didn't sit still either. They began to use the largest rocks, throwing them directly at the hinges and joints of the door.

A reluctant "siege" had begun.

On the high treetop far away, Lam Minh leisurely watched the "action movie." He took a bite of dried bear meat and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. Your acting is very good," he murmured. "Keep it up. Just break that door down."

He had no intention of intervening just yet. He knew that door was very strong; even if these monsters tried, it would take them a very long time to break through.

He was waiting.

Waiting for Black Shadow to be unable to sit still any longer.

He knew that a suspicious person like Black Shadow would never defend passively. He would surely send a few of his best subordinates to sneak out through a secret passage to investigate the situation.

And that was his opportunity.

He didn't need to go to their den. He just needed to wait patiently, and the "experience points" would come to him on their own.

He looked towards the trembling temple, a mysterious smile on his lips. This game was getting more and more interesting. The enemy was walking right into a trap they knew nothing about, a trap sprung by patience and a bit of brilliant "directing."