Chapter 425

Chapter 425: Jack of All Trades

After the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest unlocked, Shi Feng immediately tried to open it.

The instant Shi Feng touched the treasure chest, however, a sudden sense of danger flooded his mind. He felt as if some poisonous snake stared at him, his body trembling involuntarily.

“Guild Leader, what’s wrong?” Fire Dance, who stood to one side, asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng freeze.

Shi Feng did not answer Fire Dance’s question immediately. Instead, he frowned at the golden treasure chest in front of him, before examining his surroundings.

Suddenly, he discovered that the terrain here was somewhat unique.

The ground 30 yards around the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was slightly indented. Although the ground around the treasure chest was 15 centimeters lower, the difference was indistinguishable due to the large area and the dim lighting in the cave.

To Shi Feng, whose five senses were extremely acute, he could even discover traces of spiderwebs.

While adventuring in the fields of God’s Domain, one would frequently stumble across traps. These traps were very powerful, and in the past, many players had given their lives to these traps. High-tiered players were no exception. In the past, while Shi Feng was a Tier 3 Sword King, he had fallen into a trap, losing his life. Hence, no one could afford to be careless while adventuring in the wild.

With the strange terrain before him, how could Shi Feng not grow suspicious?

“Fire Dance, stay 40 yards away from this place.” Although Shi Feng did not know what was special about the area, he would not give up this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

Even the most inferior quality item in a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was Dark-Gold rank. There was even a small chance to obtain an Epic item.

“Mhm.” Although Fire Dance had no idea what was happening, she listened to Shi Feng’s command and distanced herself over 40 yards from the treasure chest.

As a safety precaution, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade from his waist.

Phantom Kill!

A doppelganger suddenly appeared beside Shi Feng. For 40 seconds, Shi Feng could swap positions with his doppelganger instantly.

Shi Feng had his doppelganger move 40 yards away from the treasure chest as well.

“Alright, everything seems in place.”

After Shi Feng prepared for the potential trap, he slowly opened the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

The instant he opened it, a blinding light escaped from the treasure chest, illuminating the cave. After the light dispersed, Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the contents of the treasure chest.

A lone dark-blue crystal pendant sat inside the chest.

Previously, Shi Feng had gained multiple items from the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest he had opened in the God’s Grave. Among those items, the most valuable was the Forging Manual for the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Now, however, there was a single pendant inside this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

“I wonder what’s so special about this pendant.” Although Shi Feng was slightly disappointed, pendants were extremely rare in God’s Domain. Dark-Gold ranked pendants were more scarce. Although it could not compete with the value of the Dragonscale Set Equipment Forging Manual, it was still a considerable harvest.

The moment Shi Feng picked up the pendant, a light-blue magic barrier appeared 30 yards around the treasure chest, trapping Shi Feng within.

“A trap that imprisons people?” Shi Feng carefully observed his surroundings, noticing that the light-blue barrier had sealed him in completely.

“Guild Leader!”

Fire Dance immediately grew anxious. Dashing up to the barrier, she used Instant Kill, a Tier 1 Assassination Skill. The skill allowed her to attack her enemy with astonishing speed while inflicting massive amounts of damage. It was one of the fastest and most powerful skills among the Tier 1 skills of Assassins.

However, when Fire Dance’s swift and violent attack struck the light-blue barrier, her attack was ineffective. The collision did not even generate a small spark.

After Fire Dance attacked the barrier, the earth began to tremble.

An Earthen Guard suddenly clawed its way out of the ground within the barrier. Similar to the Flame Guards, the Earthen Guard was a Lord ranked monster.

[Earthen Guard] (Lord Rank)

Level 28

HP 1,000,000/1,000,000

Compared to the Flame Guards, however, the Earthen Guard’s Attack Power and Defense were far stronger. Although the Earthen Guard was inferior to the Flame Guards against a group of players, against a solo or a handful of players, it was significantly more devastating than the Flame Guards.

“So it’s a twofold killing-type trap.” Shi Feng suddenly understood his situation.

If any other player were trapped in this place, the Earthen Guard might annihilate them. Fortunately, Shi Feng was no ordinary player.

When the Earthen Guard swung its iron fist down on Shi Feng, the air felt as if it had been blasted apart. Not daring to tarry a second longer, Shi Feng immediately swapped places with his doppelganger.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng’s doppelganger arrived inside the barrier and sent a Chop at the Earthen Guard’s fist. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived outside the barrier, standing safely where his doppelganger had been.

However, the difference of strength between the doppelganger and the Earthen Guard was massive. Not only did the Earthen Guard toss the doppelganger, smashing it into the barrier, but it also dealt a damage of over -1,200 points; the doppelganger lost close to one-third of its HP after a single hit. If it had not attacked with its sword, its HP would have fallen to critical levels. The Earthen Guard’s second punch would have then finished it.

Against the Earthen Guard, even Shi Feng would last a few hits at best.

“Let’s go,” Shi Feng said to Fire Dance, who stood by his side. He could not be bothered to manipulate his doppelganger.

“What about the Earthen Guard?” Fire Dance asked worriedly as she watched the Lord inside the Barrier.

Fire Dance knew about Shi Feng’s Phantom Kill skill. Although Shi Feng’s doppelganger only had 70% of his Attributes, it could still overshadow anyone else in the Guild. Yet, Shi Feng’s doppelganger had barely survived a punch from the Earthen Guard. Its frightening Strength definitely surpassed the Flame Guards by severalfold.

If such a powerful Lord ranked monster attacked the team, Cola and the others stood no chance against it.

“Relax. It can’t get out of there.” Shi Feng understood Fire Dance’s concern. Smiling faintly, he said, “The Earthen Guard should be the barrier’s core. If one wishes to break the barrier, they would first need to kill the Earthen Guard. If the Earthen Guard doesn’t die, the barrier will remain in place. Hence, even if the Earthen Guard were more powerful, it would never escape.”

With Shi Feng’s assurance, Fire Dance relaxed. Unable to help her curiosity, she then asked, “Guild Leader, what did you get from the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest? Not only was it locked, but it was also trapped. The item should be quite valuable, right?”

“Right, I had almost forgotten about it. There was only a single pendant inside the chest. I’m not sure what its quality is, either. However, at the very least, it should be Dark-Gold rank. We will have truly lucked out if it is an Epic item.” Shi Feng then took the deep-blue crystal pendant from his bag. As it was Unknown, it could neither be identified nor equipped.

“What a high-end item,” Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head.

He then activated Omniscient Eyes and began his appraisal. Compared to other advanced identification skills, Omniscient Eyes was a jack of all trades. It could ascertain, perceive, and appraise. It was very convenient.

During the later stages of God’s Domain, most items players found would be Unknown, and such items needed to be appraised before use. As a result, players had another thing they had to spend money on—appraisal fees.

The more valuable an item was, the higher its appraisal fee would be.

As a result, many players had chosen to take on Appraiser as a subclass. That way, they could earn an impressive income. Only, it was not easy to raise an Appraiser’s Proficiency. Hence, if one wished to have an advanced item appraised, they needed to look for NPC Appraisers.

If a player managed to learn Omniscient Eyes, they could simply set up their own shop and work full-time as an Appraiser. Their fees alone could grant them a life of luxury.

Chapter 426: A Godly Tool

When Shi Feng appraised the pendant with Omniscient Eyes, the process actually required ten full seconds to complete.

Shi Feng had used Omniscient Eyes to appraise many Unknown items before. However, those normally took one or two seconds, with high-end items requiring two or three seconds. Even Dark-Gold items only needed four or five seconds.

However, the pendant required ten!

“Jackpot!” Shi Feng could not help but smile.

Ornaments were much more difficult to obtain than weapons and equipment. Even after reaching Level 40, a majority of the players in God’s Domain would still have around Level 20 ornaments. Moreover, these ornaments would be low quality, with Mysterious-Iron rank as the average, and Secret-Silver rank as the more powerful ones.

“Guild Leader, look at how happy you are. What sort of treasure is this?” Fire Dance asked curiously upon seeing Shi Feng’s grin.

“I don’t know.” Shi Feng shook his head. “It’s still being appraised.”

After ten seconds, a notification from the system sounded out, signifying appraisal’s completion.

Shi Feng then clicked on the dark-blue crystal pendant, checking its Attributes.

“What?!”

Shi Feng’s eyes shone upon seeing the Attributes of the pendant.

[Icarus’s Heart] (Necklace, Bronze Rank [Can be evolved])

Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 90

Level 20 – Level 50 (Currently Level 20)

All Attributes +8

Luck +5

Additional Skill –

Divine Providence: Temporarily increases player’s Luck by 20 points for 30 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 hour

Evolution Condition: Absorb the souls of 100 Lord ranked monsters to evolve to Mysterious-Iron rank. (0/100)

Although the Icarus’s Heart was only Bronze rank right now with low Attributes, the 5 points of Luck were extremely valuable. More importantly, it had Divine Providence, instantly increasing a player’s Luck by 20 points. This offered a player 25 points of Luck.

The Luck Attribute was the most precious Attribute in God’s Domain. Not only could it increase the equipment drop-rate when killing monsters, but it could also increase the success rate when producing items. It was an extremely valuable Attribute for Lifestyle players, and it was an Attribute that would never become outdated.

With just 1 point of Luck and players’ current levels, their drop-rate would almost double. Although increased values of Luck offered diminished returns, 25 points of Luck could still increase the drop-rate by six or seven folds.

If Shi Feng activated Divine Providence when killing a Boss, skyrocketing his Luck, his chances of obtaining a high-quality item would improve significantly.

Previously, Shi Feng had reaped massive harvests with only the 3 points of Luck that Shadow’s Blessing provided.

Normally, Lord ranked Bosses would only drop Secret-Silver items; Fine-Gold items if one were lucky. With 25 Luck, however, Shi Feng could almost certainly obtain a Fine-Gold item when he killed a Lord. If he killed a High Lord, it might drop a Dark-Gold item.

Icarus’s Heart was most likely even more valuable than an Epic item.

Unfortunately, the Equipment Requirements for Icarus’s Heart were quite high, requiring 90 points in All Attributes. Throughout Zero Wing, only Shi Feng could equip it.

I need to kill 100 Lords to evolve it? Its demand is quite high. After reading the Attributes of Icarus’s Heart, many ideas flooded Shi Feng’s mind. The Warfire Set Equipment unique to White Fog Canyon, in particular, was the Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment that countless Guilds dreamed of obtaining.

Currently, Icarus’s Heart was only Bronze rank. If he evolved it to Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold rank, it would offer far more Luck points. At that time, it would be a godly tool when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons.

Zero Wing was already the center of attention right now. If other Guilds knew that Zero Wing possessed an item like Icarus’s Heart, they would lose their patience with Shi Feng’s Guild. It was highly possible that they would unite to attack Zero Wing. Hence, Shi Feng had no intentions of letting others discover Icarus’s Heart.

Moreover, he would only make a fortune if he kept quiet about it. He would be a fool to reveal his hidden cards.

“Fire Dance, we’re returning.” Shi Feng smiled faintly as he switched out the Shadow’s Blessing around his neck for the Icarus’s Heart. He then said, “Let’s go make a fortune.”

“Guild Leader, there might be more treasures deeper in the cave. Are we not going to search for them?”

The Final Cave intrigued Fire Dance. She had discovered a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest just by exploring this far. If they searched the cave, they might stumble upon something greater.

Shi Feng shook his head, laughing bitterly, he said, “Our strength is still lacking. We will only find our deaths if we delve further. If you don’t believe me, go down this passageway, and you’ll reach a large, empty hall. Take a peek outside the hole, and you’ll know.”

Previously, while Shi Feng still had Omniscient Eyes activated, he had perceived everything within 100 yards of him. Roughly 70 yards away, there was a hole that led to a large hall. Inside the hall, there were two Level 30 Great Lords guarding a tightly sealed stone door. However, as the path was dimly lit, players could only see around forty to fifty yards ahead of them, so neither of them had noticed the hall before.

Two Level 30 Great Lords!

One of such monsters could easily annihilate a team of several thousand Level 30 elite players. With their team of 500, they would only die if they forged ahead. They wouldn’t even be enough to fill in the gaps of the teeth of those two Great Lords.

Initially, Fire Dance had not believed Shi Feng and had chosen to advance. After walking for some distance, she suddenly froze.

She had not stopped because she did not wish to continue forward. Rather, it was because she could faintly see the hole. However, Fire Dance could feel power and killing intent that gave her goosebumps radiating from the hole. She felt as if she would plunge into an abyss if she took another step.

Fire Dance’s intuition was undoubtedly correct. If she dared to enter the hall, the Great Lords inside would slaughter her mercilessly; thus, Shi Feng had told her only to take a peek from outside the hole.

“Alright, let’s head back. We shouldn’t make Aqua and the others wait for us too long,” Shi Feng laughed as he saw the hesitant look on Fire Dance’s face.

Fire Dance obediently nodded. She then pouted at Shi Feng, complaining, “Guild Leader, you’re too evil!”

If Shi Feng had told her there were such powerful monsters ahead, she would not have approached them. Fortunately, she had sensed them and stopped. Had she not, the consequences would have been dire.

“Relax. Those monsters are only guarding the door. As long as we don’t go through the hole, they won’t attack us,” Shi Feng said, laughing. “However, after not seeing you for some time, it seems that your senses have grown sharper. You sensed the danger when you were halfway there.”

Upon hearing Shi Feng’s praise, a tinge of red appeared on Fire Dance’s cheeks. Even so, she was still somewhat frustrated.

Shi Feng could sense danger from so far away, yet, she had to be so close…

After rejoining the team, Shi Feng led everyone to the path they had come from.

Along the way, they continuously killed the patrolling Level 28 Earthen Puppets.

After Shi Feng joined the team, the journey that would have originally taken the team the majority of the day was shortened to only a few hours. Everyone’s experience bars had soared as they traveled. Shi Feng had also risen to Level 23 as a result. However, everyone was more shocked by the loot that dropped than they were by their EXP gain.

Before Shi Feng’s return, the majority of the loot they had obtained after killing the Earthen Puppets consisted of Level 25 Bronze Equipment; very rarely did they obtain Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Now, however, more than half of the drops were Mysterious-Iron Equipment.

“Guild Leader, we’ve tried fighting the Flame Guards outside. Unfortunately, we don’t have any defense against their Flame Domain,” Aqua Rose said, feeling a slight headache coming over her as she watched the Flame Guards outside the cave entrance.

“The Flame Domain is indeed a problem. However, we are not without solutions,” Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at the surrounding environment.

Originally, he had planned to lure the Flame Guards away from the cave. However, upon recalling that the Icarus’s Heart required him to kill 100 Lords to evolve it, he was sorely tempted to take on the Flame Guards.

Chapter 427: Raiding the Flame Guards

“There’s a way to deal with them?”

Although she did not voice it, Aqua Rose doubted her Guild Leader’s declaration when she saw his confident smile.

With Shi Feng’s frightening damage and support, it would be a breeze to deal with an ordinary Lord ranked monster. Aqua Rose had also witnessed this before personally.

However, the Level 28 Flame Guards were somewhat different. Due to White Fog Canyon’s unique environment, they were constantly in a berserk state. Their Attack Power and Attack Speed were far superior to Lord ranked monsters of the same level elsewhere. Their combat power could rival High Lords of the same level outside the canyon.

If they only had to kill one Flame Guard, they had a chance. However, there was a total of sixteen Flame Guards waiting outside the entrance. In other words, they had to face sixteen High Lords simultaneously. On average, they could only send 31 players to deal with each Level 28 High Lord.

In God’s Domain, an ordinary High Lord in the fields required a team of over a hundred players to defeat. If it were a powerful High Lord, then a team of over 500 players might be necessary. Furthermore, the Flame Guards outside the cave possessed a Flame Domain that covered a radius of 50 yards; players who entered the Flame Domain would lose 400 HP every three seconds. Even with the healers going all-out, it was impossible to keep everyone’s HP from plummeting.

If a team did not have high Fire Resistance, they would not survive in the Flame Domain.

Aqua Rose really could not think of any solutions to their predicament.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng ventured roughly 30 yards from the cave entrance. He then wandered around, adjusting his position. However, the Flame Guards standing outside the entrance had long since discovered Shi Feng. They all had squeezed against the cave opening, attempting to charge in and tear Shi Feng apart. Fortunately, the hole was just too narrow, and none of the Flame Guards could fit through.

Although these Flame Guards were unable to enter, the Lords were no fools. Immediately, they materialized Flame Spears and threw them at Shi Feng.

The scorching spears released a blazing white glow, causing even the air to tremble.

Xiu… Xiu… Xiu…

A series of six Flame Spears flew in from the cave entrance, heading straight for Shi Feng. The spears were so fast that their flight sounded like explosions. The ground that the spears passed over also erupted in flames.

However, although the Flame Spears were fast, Shi Feng wasn’t slow, either.

As the Flame Spears entered the cave, Shi Feng moved. By the time the spears arrived at Shi Feng’s position, the man had long since moved two yards away. As a result, all six Flame Spears struck empty air.

“This spot should be good.”

Shi Feng ignored the Flame Guards’ attacks. He focused on calculating the Lords’ attack range and angle, leisurely appearing as if the Flame Guards had never attacked him…

“Guild Leader’s dodge is so fast. He even avoided those supersonic attacks. If it were me, I would have no choice but to endure the attacks,” Cola sighed with admiration as he watched Shi Feng effortlessly dodge the Flame Guards’ spears. “It would be awesome if I had just half of Guild Leader’s dodging speed.”

If he had such a dodging speed, he might even become the number one tank in Star-Moon Kingdom or at least in the top ten.

“Cola, you have many things you need to learn, then,” Fire Dance chuckled. “Guild Leader didn’t just rely on his speed when he dodged the Flame Spears, but many other techniques such as his insight and judgment. Even if Guild Leader was just as fast as you are, he could still dodge those attacks easily.

“Linear attacks are monotonous. As long as one possesses sufficient insight, they can counter them easily. However, the Flame Guards’ attacks are too fast, and we are definitely not fast enough. Hence, we will also need to rely on accurate judgment to defend ourselves. The moment the Flame Guards launch their attacks, we need to make the most appropriate decision immediately and use the smallest of movements to achieve the best results.

“But that is still not enough. Look at Guild Leader’s position. As a precaution, he is standing precisely 40 yards away from the Flame Guards, a player’s maximum range. With this distance, even if the Flame Spears were 20 times faster than our Guild Leader, the spears would still have to cover a distance of 40 yards to reach him. As they do, Guild Leader has enough time to move two yards away. However, one must also have an accurate grasp of the Flame Guards’ attack timing. If one dodges too early, the Flame Spears will hit them.”

Although it looked like a simple dodging maneuver, it turned out that there were so many other techniques involved.

“The top seven ranged damage dealers come to my position and give it a try; see if you can dodge the Flame Spears. Healers, focus on healing them. Guardian Knights, activate your Fire Resistance Auras and give the seven of them Protection Blessings. Don’t let them die,” Shi Feng said in the team chat after confirming the positions.

The Flame Domain of the Flame Guards was indeed a powerful team-wipe skill. However, they were not without a fighting chance.

Shi Feng had already experimented with the cave’s size and distance. With a distance of 40 yards, they could fit eight players with each having three to four yards to dodge, allowing them to attack Flame Guards outside the entrance.

The Flame Guard was a Lord ranked monster that focused mainly on melee attacks, so its ranged attacks were limited and simple; it was certainly possible to avoid them. However, such a feat had a high requirement of a player’s insight and judgment. As for speed, even if the Fire Spears were faster, they were not 20 times faster than Zero Wing’s core members. This was even the case for the magical classes.

Shi Feng had even purposefully slowed down when dodging the Flame Spears. Yet, he still dodged the attacks effortlessly.

Also, as the effects of the Flame Domain did not stack, with the protection of the Fire Resistance Aura, each of the seven ranged players would only lose 300 HP every three seconds. There were over 60 healers in the team, more than enough to keep the seven of them alive. The healers could also take turns healing. They could afford to fight a battle of attrition.

Following which, the top seven ranged damage dealers took turns attempting to dodge the spears. The seven included Aqua Rose, Blackie, one of the Five Demon Generals, the Ice Queen Su Qianliu, another Five Demon General, the Ranger Minor Wind, Violet Cloud, and two others. Although they struggled in the beginning, none of these seven were ordinary players; they were all experts of Zero Wing. They quickly adapted to the Flame Guards’ attacks, and soon, they could dodge the attacks effortlessly.

After finishing with his experiments, Shi Feng reformed the team once again. After repeating the process, they started raiding the Level 28 Flame Guards.

The moment the battle began, ice spells and arrows flew across the cave and bombarded one of the Flame Guards outside the entrance. However, the Flame Guard’s magma armor possessed a frightening Defense, and a majority of the teams attacks only dealt around -300 damage. Among them, Aqua Rose managed to deal over -500 damage, whereas Blackie dealt over -600 damage with his Dark Arrow.

As for Violet Cloud, although she had already become an Astromancer, her instantaneous explosive power was still less than Aqua Rose’s, a Tier 1 Elementalist, and Blackie’s, who possessed an Epic staff and was a Tier 1 Cursemancer. However, even though she only dealt slightly more than -400 damage, it was still impressive.

The Flame Guard they struck bellowed with rage, growing more violent as it threw Flame Spears madly. Fortunately, they evaded each attack.

The Flame Guard was different from the Bosses in Dungeons. It only possessed 700,000 HP, and its battle recovery only replenished 7,000 HP every five seconds. The total damage dealt by the seven players far surpassed that, and they could gradually exhaust it to death.

At this moment, standing in the furthest corner, Shi Feng tossed the Blazing Meteor, striking the Flame Guard. Suddenly, a damage of over -1,000 points appeared above the Flame Guard’s head. Immediately, the Blazing Meteor’s Quadruple Phantom effect triggered, causing four consecutive damages of over -200 points. In an instant, Shi Feng became the highest damage dealer among the eight attackers.

Everyone was stupefied.

Shi Feng was a Swordsman, not a ranged class. Yet, his damage thoroughly overshadowed that of an Elementalist, a class known as a glass cannon. Moreover, this Elementalist was Aqua Rose.

If Shi Feng were not their Guild Leader, every team member would have cursed at him. How were ranged players like them even supposed to make a living now?!

“Guild Leader, you’re shameless! Speak! What did you eat? Why is your damage so much higher than ours?”

Aqua Rose was speechless upon seeing the damages above the Flame Guard’s head. Originally, she had intended to surpass Shi Feng in terms of damage output, satisfying her own little vanity. Now, however, even that dream had shattered…

Chapter 428: Divine Providence

Shi Feng simply smiled at everyone’s surprise, not bothering to explain.

His high damage was not only due to the Blazing Meteor being a Pseudo-extraordinary item. He also had the Seven Luminaries Ring’s Aura of Fire effect, which increased his damage by 40% and reduced his target’s Defense by 40%.

However, the Seven Luminaries Ring needed to remain a secret.

Moreover, Shi Feng was also a Tier 1 Blade Saint. His Attack Power had originally been high, so there was nothing odd about him dealing over -1,000 damage with one attack.

Because of Shi Feng’s attack, the group’s total damage overwhelmed the Flame Guard’s battle recovery. It was utterly helpless. It could only roar furiously as it used its flame war hammer to defend itself against the eight’s attacks while attacking with its Flame Spears.

For a time, both sides were at a stalemate.

However, none of the Flame Guard’s attacks could land on any of its eight targets.

Only its Flame Domain could inflict any damage. However, with each player losing only 300 HP every three seconds, they only needed one healer per player to keep them at full health. As for Shi Feng, he did not even need a healer. With more than 60 points in Fire Resistance, he could ignore the Flame Domain.

On the other hand, Shi Feng’s team launched a rapid assault against the Flame Guard. Although the Lord had fended off many of the attacks with its flame war hammer, it had still received a significant amount of damage, its HP constantly decreasing.

95%… 94%… 93%…

Time passed slowly. As the Flame Guard’s HP fell, its attacks became frantic. The team began to feel the strain of dodging so many Flame Spears. Everyone’s attack rate also started decreasing, slowing their enemy’s HP descent.

In the end, the fight that should have concluded after a dozen minutes or so had lasted over half an hour.

Although everyone was bored from repeatedly dodging the Flame Spears, when they thought about how they could kill a Flame Guard just by repeating these actions, they began to feel reinvigorated. Moreover, they could also train their evasive techniques, killing two birds with one stone. The members watching from 50 yards away were envious.

After more than half an hour, the Flame Guard’s HP finally fell to 15%.

Suddenly, the Flame Guard’s eyes glowed a brilliant red. The flames covering its body writhed and expanded as the monster grew several times its original size. The scorching flames vaporized the moisture in the air, causing a shimmering heat haze.

Inside the Final Cave, aside from Shi Feng, everyone was stunned by the Flame Guard’s intimidating aura.

In the next moment, the Flame Guard opened its mouth, gathering berserk fire-type mana inside it. Shi Feng exploded into motion, dashing between his teammates and his enemy.

“All of you, stand behind me. Healers, increase your healing!”

Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. He then switched the Seven Luminaries Ring’s Aura of Fire to Aura of Illusion. Suddenly, all of his Attributes increased by 30%. Simultaneously, Shi Feng also activated Fantasy World, gaining immunity to all magic damage for 20 seconds.

As a Lord ranked monster, the Flame Guard was far more powerful than other monsters, and this was its sure-kill skill, Ragefire Roar. When activated, the skill would deal a devastating blow to all enemies in a cone in front of it, burning everything to cinders.

Even if Cola, a Tier 1 Guardian Knight, activated Protection Blessing, he still would not survive the attack.

After Aqua Rose and the others received Shi Feng’s command, they all promptly moved behind him.

Shortly after the seven rushed behind their Guild Leader’s guard, the Flame Guard roared and fired a blazing white cone. In the blink of an eye, the attack devoured everything 50 yards in front of Flame Guard. White light filled the once dimly lit cave, and the temperature inside the cave skyrocketed.

Everyone’s hearts pounded as they watched the attack.

This was practically Armageddon. Even the healers who stood 70 yards from the Flame Guard watched their HPs rapidly decrease. They lost over 400 HP every second, needing the assistance of their fellow healers, who stood further back, to keep them alive. One could just imagine what kind of damage those within 50 yards had received. They might have been instantly obliterated.

The Ragefire Roar lasted a full six seconds, transforming the cone before the Lord into a blistering hell.

After the Flame Guard’s attack ended, the blast area in front of it had scorched black. Only the area behind Shi Feng remained intact.

Among those present, Aqua Rose and the others’ HP had fallen to critical levels; only Shi Feng was unharmed.

If Shi Feng had not blocked the magic damage of the Ragefire Roar for them, they would have lost their lives instantly. Fortunately, Aqua Rose and the others had only received some DoT damage from the high temperatures.

Even after the attack, they still received over -500 damage every second. If not for the healers working frantically to restore their HP, they would have fallen, their roasted husks decorating the ground.

“The Flame Guard has entered a weakened state! Hit it with everything you’ve got!” Shi Feng shouted as he glared at the shrunken Flame Guard.

Immediately, everyone scattered and returned to their respective positions, resuming their bombardment on their target once again.

When the Flame Guard only had 30,000 HP remaining and was about to use Ragefire Roar again, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence, increasing his Luck by 20 points for 30 seconds. Shi Feng also gave off a faint golden glow, becoming a dazzling sight to behold. Shi Feng then used Flame Burst, gathering power into the Blazing Meteor. He aimed at the Flame Guard and launched a series of rapid attacks.

One hit after another struck the Flame Guard, each attack dealing over -4,000 damage. After 12 consecutive attacks, the Flame Guard’s 30,000 HP had vanished. The Flame Guard did not even have the chance to use its Ragefire Roar again.

The moment the Flame Guard died, a large number of items scattered around its body.

Ordinarily, a Lord ranked monster would only drop around half a dozen items or so when it died. However, due to the White Fog Canyon’s unique environment, the drop-rates of the monsters inside the canyon had increased significantly. Coupled with Shi Feng’s 25 points of Luck, the Flame Guard dropped a mother lode.

With a simple glance, one could count over a dozen items scattered across the ground outside the cave entrance.

At the same time, everyone’s experience bars soared.

The Flame Guard was a Level 28 Lord. The amount of EXP gained from killing monsters inside White Fog Canyon was already high, three to four times that in the outside world. As the Flame Guard was Level 28, there was also the bonus EXP from the level difference. Hence, everyone received an abundance of EXP.

As a Blade Saint, Shi Feng required double the EXP needed by other classes to level up. Yet, even so, his experience bar still rose by 7%.

As long as they killed the remaining 15 Flame Guards outside the cave, Shi Feng would definitely reach Level 24.

“Let’s take a break. We’ll start another round after we rest.”

Shi Feng examined everyone’s statuses. Whether it was the magic damage dealers or healers, their Mana was nearly exhausted. Hence, Shi Feng decided it was best if they rested before challenging the other Flame Guards. Moreover, they had spent the past hour dodging and attacking frantically. This had definitely strained everyone mentally. Hence, it would be beneficial to rest and prepare themselves for the next assault.

There was also another important reason why Shi Feng chose to take a break.

Divine Providence had a Cooldown of one hour.

Now that they had such an amazing opportunity that allowed them to slaughter the Flame Guards, how could they waste it? Shi Feng had to wait until Divine Providence was ready before taking down the next Flame Guard.

“Guild Leader, what should we do about the drops at the entrance?” Aqua Rose asked as she gazed at the pile of loot outside the cave covetously.

There were still 15 Flame Guards guarding their exit, so it was impossible to collect the loot right now.

“Relax. No one else can enter this place. Also, loot dropped by monsters won’t disappear for 48 hours. We have plenty of time to take care of the rest of the Flame Guards.” Although Shi Feng also wanted to dash over and pick up the loot, the 15 Flame Guards were not there just for show.

After taking a short break, everyone resumed another round of attrition.

Now that everyone had experienced fighting a Flame Guard, it was much easier to deal with the rest.

Time passed quickly, and one Flame Guard after another fell.

Unknowingly, nearly 18 hours had passed in game. At this moment, the final Flame Guard died under Shi Feng’s hands. It, too, fell to the ground and scattered a ton of loot.

Outside the cave, the loot of the 16 Flame Guards had grown into a small mountain, and the team struggled to contain their drool over the sight.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had finally reached Level 24. After allotting all of his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence, he was only 9 points away from reaching the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath’s requirement of 120 Intelligence.

Chapter 429: Overflowing Luck

I’m only 9 points away now. Shi Feng smiled at his Attribute Panel. Knowing that he was only one level away from equipping the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath, his anticipation grew.

When he could equip the Fragmented Legendary item, his combat power would soar once again.

In God’s Domain, Fragmented Legendary items were as rare as a phoenix’s feather. It was an item that countless players dreamed of obtaining. Even during his previous ten years of professional gaming experience, Shi Feng had never owned one.

Legendary items allowed players to overcome the gap between tiers. Although Fragmented Legendary items were not as powerful as Legendary items, they were still far more powerful than Epic items.

If Shi Feng could equip the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath, his combat power could reach the same playing field as a Tier 2 class.

A Tier 2 class was in a whole different league compared to Tier 1.

It was like the difference between a Chieftain and a Lord.

Against a Chieftain of the same level, a direct confrontation required at least a party of elite players. Against a Lord, however, a direct confrontation required a team.

Shi Feng, as a Tier 1 Blade Saint, could solo a Chieftain of the same level. However, he stood no chance against a Lord of the same level unless he used some particular technique or advantage.

After equipping the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath, however, Shi Feng could contend with the five Guilds controlled by Underworld by himself. He would not need to involve Zero Wing, allowing his core team to develop safely.

After killing the 16 Flame Guards, everyone’s levels had similarly risen. At this moment, the lowest leveled player among the 500 team members was Level 24. They had far surpassed the average level of elite players in White River City and were on par with most of the expert players.

Among the members of Zero Wing, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, Cola and the others had reached Level 26. Their levels were already on par with the top-tier experts of White River City.

Hence, instead of wasting time and fighting a war of attrition with Overwhelming Smile, they should take the opportunity to widen the gap between Zero Wing and the other Guilds further. After all, if a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing wished to become the overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom, they first needed sufficient combat power to strike fear into the other Guilds’ hearts.

However, the loot the Flame Guards had dropped was the most valuable gain from the slaughter.

While the crowd was taking a break, Shi Feng tidied up all of the loot. He also appraised every single drop.

Although Shi Feng had expected the drops to be impressive, after he finished appraising the items, he could not contain his shock.

Icarus’s Heart was truly a godly tool. With Divine Providence, they had obtained a total of 286 items from the 16 Flame Guards. Among the items, 105 were rare materials, 9 were individual pieces of the Warfire Set Equipment, 41 were Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, 53 were Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment, 29 were Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, 18 consisted of various recipes and forging designs, 15 were Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, 4 were Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, and 12 were Treasure Hunting Scrolls.

Currently, in God’s Domain, the average players were around Level 20, whereas Guild elites were around Level 22. The Dungeons they could raid were all Level 20 Dungeons. Hence, the equipment they could obtain was limited to Level 20. It was extremely rare to come across Level 25 weapons and equipment.

In God’s Domain, weapons and equipment would significantly impact a player’s performance every five levels.

The Attributes of a Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment were slightly inferior to a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. In other words, a player wearing Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment was stronger than a player wearing Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment.

How rare was Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment? There were only very few items throughout Star-Moon Kingdom.

Yet, now, they had actually obtained 29 pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, which was the equivalent of obtaining 29 Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment.

Furthermore, they had obtained the Warfire Set Equipment and Treasure Hunting Scrolls, two of the rarest items available in White Fog Canyon.

Currently, although players were familiar with the Warfire Set Equipment, almost nobody knew about the Treasure Hunting Scroll.

Although the scroll was not as valuable as a Tier 2 Magic Scroll, it was extremely useful inside the White Fog Canyon. The scroll’s greatest function was searching for Starfire Ore.

It was extremely difficult to locate Starfire Ore in White Fog Canyon. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to rely on his memories. With the Treasure Hunting Scroll, however, he could locate the ore with the system map. The scroll had a search radius of 1,000 yards and lasted for 30 minutes. When searching for valuable ores, it was the best tool one could have.

“Luckily, even this dropped.” Shi Feng chuckled lightly upon seeing the Treasure Hunting Scrolls in his bag. However, when he swept a gaze over the individual pieces of the Warfire Set Equipment, he lamented as he muttered, “It would be awesome if I could complete the Warfire Set Equipment.”

[Warfire Set Equipment] (Bronze Rank [Can be evolved])

Level 20 – Level 30

Can be equipped by any classes.

Set consists of seven parts: head, chest, belt, hands, wrists, legs, and feet.

Set Effect (Bronze Rank)

Two-piece effect: All Attributes +10

Four-piece effect: Ignore Levels +10. Obtain Free Will skill. Able to remove all control effects for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Seven-piece effect: Main Attribute increased by 10%. Skill Cooldown decreased by 30%. Obtain Warfire Berserk skill. Damage increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 50%, and Movement Speed increased by 30% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

The Basic Attributes of the Warfire Set Equipment were average at best. It was referred to as a Level 30 Peak Fine-Gold Set Equipment was because of its Set Effects. In particular, the Free Will skill and Warfire Berserk skill were the main reason it ranked as Peak Fine-Gold Set Equipment.

Although Shi Feng now had nine individual pieces, there were duplicates for the head, hands, and legs slots. He was only missing the wrist pieces.

The Warfire Set Equipment only reached its true value when it was complete.

Following which, Shi Feng distributed the Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment to Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Cola, and the other core members who had reached Level 25. As for everyone else, they had yet to meet the level requirements and could not use any of the Level 25 equipment. However, they had obtained the corresponding Guild Points. When they returned, they could exchange these Guild Points items in the Guild’s Warehouse.

Nobody argued Shi Feng’s arrangements. After all, those who had contributed the most to the Flame Guards’ deaths were Aqua Rose, the core members, and the healers. Everyone else had simply watched from the side, doing nothing at all. They were satisfied with receiving Guild Points.

Moreover, even if Shi Feng had given some of the equipment to them, they could not equip it. Guild Points were far more practical.

“Guild Leader, where are we heading next?” Aqua Rose had just replaced a few pieces of her equipment with the Level 25 Fine-Gold ranked cloth armor they had obtained, increasing her Attributes significantly. Right now, she was itching to test her newfound strength. “Are we going to look for more Lords?”

“No, we’re going to the inner region to mine ores.” Shi Feng smiled faintly as he took out a Treasure Hunting Scroll. He then unfurled the gray scroll and chanted an incantation.

Suddenly, several red dots appeared on Shi Feng’s system map.

“Mine ores?” Aqua Rose could not help but ask.

Their team consisted of 500 elite players. Yet, they had not come here to grind and level up, but to mine ores? She was utterly speechless.

“You’ll understand when the time comes,” Shi Feng laughed. He then sent parties to the highlighted locations on the map.

If he had a large stock of Starfire Ore, he could mass-produce the Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment for the Guild. At that time, how could Overwhelming Smile compete with them?

Chapter 430: Frantic Beginning

The inner region of White Fog Canyon was complex and densely covered by stone forests. After the meteorite shower, the fog inside the canyon had also grown thicker, lowering visibility to less than 30 yards. In addition, Elite and Special Elite monsters would show up every now and then. If players entered the canyon without sufficient strength, they would easily lose their lives.

However, danger and opportunity coexisted with each other, such as the precious Starfire Ore could be found within the white fog.

Shi Feng separated the team of 500 into multiple smaller teams, with each team consisting of two parties. That way, even if a team encountered a Special Elite, they could safely deal with it themselves. As the Assassins possessed high survivability, Shi Feng allowed them to take independent action. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself ran around the map, quickly recording the red dots that appeared in his system map and sending the coordinates to the various teams, having those closest mine the ore there.

Within the inner region of White Fog Canyon, not all red dots represented the Starfire Ore. There were actually many different types of ore. Hence, if Shi Feng wanted to harvest a large amount of Starfire Ore, he needed a large amount of manpower.

“As expected of the undeveloped White Fog Canyon, there really are a lot of ore deposits.” Shi Feng looked at the many red dots on his system map, joy blossoming in his heart.

In the past, he had to spend over half an hour just to locate a single ore deposit. Even if he had discovered one, he would still have had to contest over it with other players. As for discovering a hidden ore deposit, one needed to be significantly lucky.

He would have been fortunate if he had located eight or nine Starfire Ore deposits in a day.

Now, he was able to locate over a hundred Starfire Ore deposits in just half an hour.

Players could excavate Starfire Ore from Starfire Ore deposits. As for how many pieces of ore one could acquire, it relied on the player’s own Luck and Mining level: one or two pieces if the number was low, and three or four pieces if it was high.

After several hours of hard work, Shi Feng’s team of 500 managed to secure over a thousand Starfire Ore deposits and had amassed over 3,000 pieces of Starfire Ore, which was equivalent to over 30 Gold.

To Shi Feng, however, the value of these 3,000-plus pieces of Starfire Ore far exceeded 30 Gold.

After using up the 12 Treasure Hunting Scrolls, the team’s speed at locating the Starfire Ore deposits gradually slowed. Even with 500 players continuously searching for the deposits, after an hour’s worth of effort, they had only managed to harvest around 200 pieces of Starfire Ore. However, Shi Feng was still satisfied.

The Philosopher’s Stone he possessed allowed him to refine the Starfire Ore into Starfire Essence, free of charge. At that time, with so many Starfire Essences, his certainty of producing the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment would greatly increase.

Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was precisely what the current players of God’s Domain needed and lacked the most. Currently, the majority of the player population were around Level 20. If it were a Level 25 Set Equipment, very few people would be able to equip it. Hence, the demand for it would also be low.

If Shi Feng produced a Dragonscale Set Equipment, he could sell it for over 100 Gold right now at the very least.

People were only offering 80 Gold to purchase the complete Warfire Set because, currently, no one knew its true value. Moreover, even if someone managed to gather the full Warfire Set Equipment, it would initially start at Bronze rank. They would have to sacrifice a lot of their EXP in order to raise it up to Fine-Gold rank, hence why it was so cheap.

In the past, the price of the Warfire Set Equipment had once soared up to 500 Gold. Yet, even with such an astronomical price, supply failed to meet demand.

Time passed quickly. Unknowingly, the members of Zero Wing had mined ore deposits in White Fog Canyon for two whole days, obtaining an abundant cache of ores. They had practically dug up every deposit in White Fog Canyon at least once, and the amount of Starfire Ore they gathered had exceeded 15,000 pieces. In addition, they had also obtained over 7,000 pieces of various other kinds of ore.

During these two days, aside from mining ore deposits, everyone from Zero Wing had also killed plenty of Lord ranked monsters. As long as one of the search parties encountered a solitary Lord, they would immediately notify Shi Feng of it and then kill it together.

After two days, Zero Wing’s team had managed to kill 22 Lords. With Shi Feng’s Divine Providence, they managed to obtain a large number of Level 25 equipment. Among them, most were Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. They had also obtained many Warfire set pieces. By now, they had enough to complete close to three sets. Unfortunately, none of the set pieces they obtained were meant for the wrists slot, which greatly depressed Shi Feng.

Shi Feng had placed all the weapons and equipment they were unable to use in the Guild’s Warehouse, instantly enriching its stores.

When the other members of Zero Wing saw the large stock of Level 25 equipment, they all grew excited. Enthusiasm filled every one of them as they actively completed Guild Quests and made contributions to the Guild.

Level 25 equipment was currently the pinnacle of equipment to God’s Domain players.

Even before everyone had reached Level 25, the Guild had already prepared a large number of high-end Level 25 equipment for themselves. This had extinguished the Guild members’ worries about obtaining Level 25 equipment. Now, the only thing they needed to do was frantically accumulate Guild Points. By the time they reached Level 25, they could simply exchange for the Level 25 equipment. This point alone made Zero Wing superior to every other Guild.

The appearance of Level 25 equipment in Zero Wing’s Warehouse had undoubtedly punched a big hole into Overwhelming Smile’s poaching plan. Now, those who originally planned to defect from Zero Wing started hesitating.

Although the benefits offered by Overwhelming Smile were very high, the equipment it possessed was unable to keep up with the times. Meanwhile, if their equipment fell behind, how would they hunt for even better equipment? How were they supposed to grind and level up quickly?

Once behind, always behind.

At this moment, many players who had previously defected from Zero Wing to Overwhelming Smile began regretting their decision.

—

“Just how did Zero Wing manage to get so many Level 25 high-end equipment? I hear that a guy who was a lot weaker than me has already obtained a Level 25 Mysterious-Iron chest piece. As soon as he reaches Level 25, he can replace the Level 20 Mysterious-Iron chest piece he is wearing. If I had known something like this would happen earlier, I would never have left Zero Wing. I might already have enough points to exchange for a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment by now…”

“I couldn’t agree more! A guy I know who was previously about equal in strength with me is now very well off. When I chatted with him six hours ago, he told me that he had managed to accumulate enough points to exchange for a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. He is only Level 22 right now. By the time he reaches Level 25, he might accumulate enough points to exchange for five or six pieces of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment.”

In White River City, many of Overwhelming Smile’s members started having heated discussions in the bars, sighing enviously.

“Why are all of you lauding the spirit of the enemy and belittling that of our own? The higher-ups of Overwhelming Smile have already sent people to investigate the source of Zero Wing’s equipment. Soon, with our Guild’s strength, we can definitely obtain a large number of Level 25 high-end equipment much more easily than Zero Wing.”

“Zero Wing can only remain arrogant for now because all of our Guild’s core members are focused on raiding the Great Lord inside the Ruined Shrine. After they finish with it, not to mention Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, we might even get Dark-Gold or Epic Equipment.”

Many Overwhelming Smile members had expressed their disdain regarding Zero Wing’s recent performances. They firmly believed that Overwhelming Smile was a lot stronger than Zero Wing.

—

Meanwhile, inside White Fog Canyon…

During their two days of grinding and mining, everyone from Zero Wing had leveled up quickly, with many having already reached Level 25. Blackie had even broken through to Level 27, whereas Aqua Rose and the other core members had risen to Level 26. Violet Cloud had also reached Level 25, replacing her Level 20 equipment with Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment.

Only Shi Feng remained at Level 24. He was still a short distance away from reaching Level 25.

However, this could not be helped. Shi Feng and Violet Cloud were both owners of hidden classes, so the EXP they required to level up was much higher than the others. Shi Feng required twice as much EXP as ordinary classes, whereas Violet Cloud required 1.6 times.

“Guild Leader, we discovered a Starfire Ore vein. However, we were suddenly ambushed by some Assassins from Overwhelming Smile. Although our party managed to get rid of the eight of them, two of our brothers were killed. Seeing that we are interested in the Starfire Ore, those bastards from Overwhelming Smile have sent three teams to guard the Starfire Ore vein. They are currently clearing out the surrounding monsters and are planning to mine the deposit,” Flying Shadow reported, wrathful flames burning in his eyes. If not for the bastards from Overwhelming Smile outnumbering them, he really wished he could go over and massacre them right this instant.

Chapter 431: Denounce

Beside one of the streams inside the White Fog Canyon, a team of over a hundred players currently guarded the entrance of a mine. Each of these players wore a Guild Emblem in the shape of a purple moon on their chests. This was none other than Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Emblem.

At this moment, these players faced off against the eight Level 27 Special Elite ranked Flame Furbolgs that had emerged from within the mine.

[Flame Furbolg] (Special Elite)

Level 27

HP 70,000/70,000

Although the massive Flame Furbolgs were very powerful, the members of Overwhelming Smile fought with organization, continuously draining their enemies’ HP.

“Boss Oriental, Zero Wing’s party killed Monkey and the others,” a Level 23 gray-clothed Ranger reported as he walked up to the Level 24 Swordsman who currently commanded the team.

This Level 24 Swordsman was fully geared with Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. The Snakebone Sword that hung on his back was even a Level 20 Fine-Gold Weapon. Currently, in God’s Domain, his items were definitely top-tier.

“That was two parties of elite Assassins. A single party from Zero Wing actually wiped them out? Did Zero Wing receive help from someone else?” the Level 24 Swordsman, Oriental Sword, asked.

Although the Assassin named Monkey was not an expert, he was a PvP veteran. He sported a promising battle record, and even experts would find him difficult to take down in a short amount of time. If he focused solely on his escape, it would be even more difficult to kill him. Oriental Sword had not expected that not even one Assassin would return.

The only possibility he could think of was that Monkey and the others had been outnumbered and surrounded.

“No. There was only a single party from Zero Wing. However, the Assassin leading the team was a Level 26 expert,” the Ranger said, shaking his head.

“Was it that Fire Dance from Zero Wing?” Oriental Sword grinned. “Before I reached White River City, I had heard rumors of Fire Dance’s prowess. Some are even calling her the Flaming Rose. Originally, I thought she was merely one of Black Flame’s decorations. I expected as much from the team leader of Zero Wing’s core team. Not bad.”

“She isn’t the one who killed Monkey. That Assassin was a man called Flying Shadow. Monkey had only lasted five moves against him. Of the twelve players in the two parties, eight had died at that man’s hands. There was no mention of a person named Flying Shadow in any of the reports we had received.” The Ranger was very familiar with Oriental Sword’s personality.

Oriental Sword was absolutely confident of his own strength, and he would never consider anyone a worthy opponent. He loved PvPing more than anything, especially against experts. He was a complete battle maniac. However, he was also one of Overwhelming Smile’s top experts, which was why he had been sent to White River City. If not for the higher-ups prohibiting anyone from challenging Zero Wing, Oriental Sword might have been the first to launch an assault against the Guild.

“Flying Shadow? This seems intriguing,” Oriental Sword’s interest grew. “Ignore Zero Wing’s party. Since Monkey and the others had failed to kill them, they would definitely report back to their superiors. There is only one thing we need to focus on, and that is mining the ores inside this cave.”

“Boss Oriental, will our skirmish with Zero Wing cause an all-out war between our Guilds? Haven’t the higher-ups warned us not to create any friction with them?” the Ranger asked strangely.

“Recently, Zero Wing has been mining ores in White Fog Canyon. Their movements are unusual. In addition, they have somehow managed to obtain a lot of Level 25 equipment. There might be a relation between these incidents. Our superiors agree; it doesn’t matter if a small conflict occurs. So what if we ambush those cowards from Zero Wing? What will they do to us?

“Do you think they will start a war?

“Don’t be a fool. Since Zero Wing had not declared war on us when Overwhelming Smile started investing in White River City, they missed their best chance. If they start a war now, they will only gamble their lives. However, I, on the other hand, hope that Zero Wing takes action. Unfortunately, they don’t have the guts.”

Oriental Sword laughed as he resumed commanding his team, wiping out the Flame Furbolgs inside the mine.

Before anyone noticed, however, a party of six had appeared in the misty forest a short distance from the mine. This party disregarded the team of over a hundred elite players under Oriental Sword’s leadership, walking leisurely towards the mine.

“Guild Leader, I’ve discovered the mine after using a Treasure Hunting Scroll. I’ve even used Stealth and scouted its interior. It is full of Starfire Ore deposits. If we excavate them all, we can get at least 300 to 400 Starfire Ore,” Flying Shadow said as he pointed towards the cave that Oriental Sword and his men guarded. “However, after I left, we were ambushed by Assassins from Overwhelming Smile. Although I tried to rescue them, I was too late, resulting in two of my party members dying. Overwhelming Smile has since occupied the cave.”

Shi Feng nodded before commanding, “Violet, go and revive the two who died. Everyone else, let’s take a look.”

Following which, Violet Cloud ran over to where the two players had died as Shi Feng led Aqua Rose, Blackie, Fire Dance, and Flying Shadow towards Oriental Sword.

Shi Feng’s movements had undoubtedly attracted the attention of Overwhelming Smile’s team.

“The fellows from Zero Wing are kind of interesting.” Oriental Sword grinned upon seeing Shi Feng and the others.

“Boss Oriental, that Level 24 Swordsman is Black Flame. The two beauties by his side are the Elementalist Aqua Rose and the Assassin Fire Dance. The Cursemancer is Zero Wing’s famous expert, Blackie, and that male Assassin is the person who killed Monkey and the others, Flying Shadow,” the Ranger beside Oriental Sword briefly introduced the members of Shi Feng’s group.

Black Flame’s arrival surprised every member of Overwhelming Smile.

Black Flame’s fame was truly too immense.

He was the publicly acknowledged number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. There was nobody in White River City who had not witnessed Black Flame’s battle videos. Killing every player with a single hit, he had massacred over a hundred Dark Star members. He suppressed more than ten thousand players with his aura alone, causing all of them to freeze. In the end, he even escaped unharmed.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, what brings you here today, I wonder?” Oriental Sword asked playfully as he smirked at Shi Feng.

“A straightforward person does not resort to insinuations. Today, you sent your men to ambush members of our Guild. Now, you’ve occupied the mine that we found after much difficulty. Don’t you think that you’ve gone a little overboard?” Shi Feng asked calmly.

Although Shi Feng’s voice had been soft, his overbearing tone intimidated the crowd from Overwhelming Smile.

“Overboard?” Oriental Sword laughed madly. “Twelve of my men died. I have not even asked for compensation, yet you come here to denounce me?

“Since you’re here, we can use this opportunity to discuss compensation. I don’t want much. Just pay me 100 Gold per person for a total of 1,200 Gold. How about it?”

Mockery filled Oriental Sword’s expression.

He believed that Shi Feng was a complete fool. With just five players, Shi Feng had dared come into his territory looking for trouble.

At this stage of the game, players’ levels were no longer insignificantly low. Their equipment was decent quality, and they had learned many skills. It was not possible to kill a player with a single hit anymore.

Currently, he had close to 150 players on his side, and they were all elite members of the Guild. They were also Level 22 or higher, and they possessed impressive combat power. They could easily take out fifty players, much less five.

Chapter 432: hit Extermination??

Upon listening to Oriental Sword’s words, a cold glint flashed across Shi Feng’s eyes.

Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere froze.

“What? Want to fight?” Although Oriental Sword could feel a heavy pressure enveloping him, his confidence did not waver. He then unsheathed the longsword hung on his back, provocatively saying, “Come if you can, then. Seeing as everyone out there is calling you a god, I really wish to see just what kind of ability you possess.”

When Oriental Sword spoke in such a way, everyone from Overwhelming Smile sneered, secretly making preparations for battle.

With 150 players on their side, it would be a piece of cake for them to take care of just five players.

They were different from those noobs Black Flame had massacred before. They would not easily be defeated just because their skills were Silenced.

After learning and training in God’s Domain for such a long time, they had long since familiarized themselves with the combat styles of the game. Right now, they had no problems fighting solo with an Elite monster. Although a handful of them might not be a match for Black Flame, if all one hundred and fifty of them stood sparsely apart from each other and attacked together, they did not believe that Black Flame could walk out of this place alive!

However, before the crowd from Overwhelming Smile could react, Shi Feng, who stood ten yards away, suddenly disappeared.

“Where is he?”

Oriental Sword’s eyes were filled with disbelief when he suddenly lost sight of Shi Feng.

A Swordsman could actually suddenly vanish from thin air? Even Assassins required some time to enter Stealth.

Not to mention Oriental Sword, even Aqua Rose and the others were stunned. Shi Feng had just suddenly disappeared.

Did he log off? The only reasoning Aqua Rose could come up with was that Shi Feng had logged out of the game. However, when she checked the list of party members, Shi Feng’s status showed that he was still online; his name did not turn gray.

However, before one second had passed, Shi Feng suddenly reappeared beside Oriental Sword. Following which, blades of light slashed apart the air, silently cutting up Oriental Sword’s body. Before Oriental Sword knew what was going on, he suddenly felt pain bloom in his body. In the next moment, he saw blood gushing out like a waterfall in front of him.

“What’s going on?”

Oriental Sword touched the wounds covering his body, confused. Suddenly, his body lost all strength as it slumped down onto the ground. Laying on the ground, Oriental Sword saw Shi Feng through his grayed vision. He also saw the Abyssal Blade grasped in Shi Feng’s hand, fresh blood slowly dripping off the weapon.

The blood dripped to the ground as if it were a countdown to death.

“How?” Even at his moment of death, Oriental Sword still could not believe what had just happened.

He, a top-tier expert of Overwhelming Smile, had actually died without a chance to respond…

After Oriental Sword died, everyone from Overwhelming Smile who was originally feeling confident halted.

They simply could not comprehend what had just happened.

Shi Feng had just suddenly disappeared, before reappearing once again beside Oriental Sword. Immediately after, blood gushed out from Oriental Sword’s body. Simultaneously, a damage of -4,368 points appeared above the man’s head, the damage completely exceeding the Swordsman’s total HP.

Oriental Sword’s sudden death had struck fear into the crowd from Overwhelming Smile. The gaze they used to look at Shi Feng was as if looking at a ferocious beast.

When Shi Feng’s eyes landed on them, they felt as if they had lost control of their own bodies.

“Bug! This must be a bug!” a player from Overwhelming Smile suddenly shouted in fright. “He must have grasped a loophole in the system! Let’s send feedback to the Main God System right now! We’ll see what he can do then!”

Everyone present felt that those words sounded logical. Otherwise, how were they supposed to explain this unbelievable incident?

Hence, everyone started sending reports to the Main God System. Only by doing so would they possess a chance for survival.

“Guild Leader couldn’t have abused a bug, right?” Aqua Rose could not make sense of the situation, either. She was similarly shocked by the scene she had just witnessed.

The Main God System controlled God’s Domain. It was simply impossible for such a glaring loophole to exist in the game. Yet, if it was not a loophole, how could they explain the situation before them?

“Of course it is not a loophole in the system. Guild Leader is the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. Previously, he had simply used an advanced combat technique. These people are simply too ignorant,” Fire Dance said proudly, a faint smile on her face. She spoke as if she were the one who had personally finished off Oriental Sword.

—

Within the Ruined Shrine in the inner region of White Fog Canyon, a large number of Guild players had gathered. Among them, members of Overwhelming Smile numbered the most, with over 5,000 members present.

There were a large number of monsters inside the Ruined Shrine. Moreover, a majority of these monsters were Special Elites. Among them were plenty of Chieftains. The monsters here ranged from Level 24 to Level 27. To the current elite members of Guilds, it was a level that they could barely handle. If not for the fact that they had the advantage in numbers, they would have long since been wiped out by the monsters inside the Ruined Shrine.

“Damn! The monsters here are endless! They’re even more troublesome than the Battle Monkeys before!” Lone Tyrant said, somewhat exhausted. Currently, he was going up against a Level 27 Chieftain, a Goblin Warrior.

Despite the Goblin Warrior being twice as large as an ordinary player, it was quite agile. In addition, the hammer it wielded contained frightening, destructive power. Even a Tier 1 MT of the same level would find it difficult to endure its series of violent assaults, much less Lone Tyrant, who was only a Level 25 Tier 0 Guardian Knight.

Although Lone Tyrant possessed impressive techniques, his dodging capabilities being first-rate, the Goblin Warrior also possessed powerful combat techniques. Whenever the Goblin Warrior attacked Lone Tyrant, it would always predict where Lone Tyrant would dodge and take that into account in its attack, forcing Lone Tyrant to accept the damage.

Moreover, every time he received an attack from the Goblin Warrior’s hammer, his defensive posture would always fail. This resulted in him being unable to use his shield to block the next attack, and instead, he received the attack with his body.

From just a single strike of its hammer, Lone Tyrant received close to -1,300 damage. Lone Tyrant only possessed 4,520 HP; he could endure four hits, at most.

If he were only dealing with a single Goblin Warrior, Lone Tyrant would not end up in such a miserable state.

However, aside from the Goblin Warrior, there were also many Goblin Mages at the sides. These Goblin Mages were all Level 26 Special Elites. They bombarded players with ice and fire, and any players struck by their spells would instantly lose around 1,700 HP. Other than MTs, nobody else could survive two hits.

Within the Ruined Shrine, aside from the members of Overwhelming Smile having a hard time, the other Guilds were similarly facing great difficulties.

The monsters inside the Ruined Shrine were simply endless. No matter how many they killed, the monsters just kept coming. Without sufficient strength, they simply had no way of reaching the Level 25 Great Lord in a short amount of time, let alone raiding it.

Before Overwhelming Smile had finished off the monsters at hand, another wave of Goblins charged over.

Suddenly, everyone from Overwhelming Smile felt a headache overcome them.

“Cursemancers, Cripple them. Elementalists, use Ice Walls and separate the incoming monsters. Rangers, lure some away and kite them; do not let the pressure on the MTs increase!” Youlan immediately shouted in the team chat.

Immediately, the elites of Overwhelming Smile started taking action, luring the Goblins away and letting the MTs take a breather.

Lone Tyrant could not help but send a glance at the charming and graceful Youlan. Inwardly, he felt displeasure towards the woman. He was actually required to listen to her commands. However, he also had no choice but to admit that Youlan was indeed amazing. They were only able to reach their current location thanks to Youlan. Otherwise, they would not have been able to pass through the Battle Monkeys. Even if they could, they would have had to suffer immense losses.

Take Emperor’s Light and the Assassin’s Alliance for example: since entering White Fog Canyon, their total numbers had already decreased by a quarter.

Meanwhile, under Youlan’s command, Overwhelming Smile was able to advance through White Fog Canyon easily. Along their way to the Ruined Shrine, they had only lost a small number of players.

Shortly after Overwhelming Smile cleared out all the Goblins, Youlan received a message. After reading the message, her expression turned grim.

Lone Tyrant could feel Youlan’s mood suddenly changing, and he could not help but ask, “What happened?”

After spending some time together, Lone Tyrant had a general grasp on this woman. She was always calm and collected. Even in the face of several Lord ranked monsters, she would remain unfazed. Yet, now, after seeing a single message, her expression had turned solemn…

How could Lone Tyrant not grow curious at this situation?

Chapter 433: Evil Rakshasa

Hearing Lone Tyrant’s question, Youlan, who had originally planned to explain, suddenly received another message notification.

When she read the contents of the message, her frown deepened.

“Oriental Sword, that fool! I told him to investigate the secret Zero Wing had used to obtain their stock of Level 25 high-end equipment, yet, he brazenly killed Zero Wing’s members! He has even provoked Black Flame!” Youlan was furious after reading the message.

Youlan had previously investigated Black Flame. However, the more she looked into the man, the more creeped out she felt.

Black Flame had appeared silently, and like a rising comet, he shocked everyone with every action.

In White River City, not only had he massacred so many players, but he had also been able to move about freely. This strength alone was sufficient to strike fear into others. After all, if such a powerful person ambushed someone out in the field, and the victim was not strong enough to survive, they would still meet tragedy.

If they were dealing with an ordinary expert, they could simply form larger teams when leaving the city. That way, those experts would not dare attack them. However, Black Flame was different. He was too powerful. Even if they formed teams, Black Flame could still slaughter them with little effort, and they could only helplessly watch as he did so.

The only real solution was to form a team of several hundred players. However, they could not do that every time they left the city.

Not only would this be detrimental to the Guild’s development, but it would also make them the laughingstock of God’s Domain.

However, if Black Flame constantly hunted and ambushed their members, his growth would stagnate. Moreover, such ambushes would not significantly impact the Guild if they only occurred one or two days. Black Flame needed to ambush them over a long period of time to wound Overwhelming Smile. Meanwhile, it would be detrimental if Black Flame neither leveled up nor upgraded his equipment for a long time.

There were countless experts in God’s Domain. If one did not continuously improve their strength, others would quickly surpass them.

Zero Wing’s success today was largely due to Black Flame’s strength. If Black Flame let himself go, it would damage Zero Wing.

Hence, Youlan had prohibited the members of Overwhelming Smile from crossing any lines, maintaining the balance between both parties. She was worried that, if angered, Black Flame would disregard all consequences and act so roguishly.

Now, however, Oriental Sword had broken the balance that they had maintained!

At this point, Youlan wanted to hunt Oriental Sword down personally and strangle him.

—

After Youlan received the message, Shi Feng began to annihilate Overwhelming Smile’s members with Aqua Rose and the others by his side.

Shi Feng’s Void Steps had long since petrified his opponents. Later, they even reported to the Main God System, stating that Shi Feng had abused a loophole in the system to kill players. They all hoped that the Main God System would bring them justice, giving Shi Feng his deserved punishment!

Yet, the reply they had received stated that there were no issues. Shi Feng’s every action had been within the rules of the system.

Overwhelming Smile’s members had been even more shocked upon receiving this reply.

That ghost-like method Shi Feng had used to kill Oriental Sword wasn’t actually a bug…

For a time, the crowd from Overwhelming Smile despaired. In the face of Shi Feng’s merciless slaughter, their previous confidence was nothing but a joke. The only thing they could do was escape.

As for battling Shi Feng? That was a fool’s errand!

Just how were they supposed to fight an enemy that they could not see? Moreover, said enemy could kill them instantly upon reappearing.

“You guys wish to escape? Try it.” Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Skywheel Sword.

Previously, to kill Oriental Sword in one hit, Shi Feng had specially activated Aura of Fire and Purgatory Power, holding nothing back. Now, after activating Skywheel Sword, countless swords of light appeared in the sky above the mine’s entrance. When the swords descended, not only did they deal over -2,400 damage to all enemies within an area of 20*20 yards, but it also sealed all enemies within range, preventing them from leaving the region for 4 seconds.

Instantly, the members of Overwhelming Smile were trapped within the mine.

When everyone from Overwhelming Smile saw that there was no longer hope for escape, they tried to resist.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng did not give them a chance.

Shi Feng then used the skill of the Aura of Fire, Firestorm. Suddenly, flames filled the interior of the mine. A damage of close to -10,000 points appeared above every player and monster within. After Firestorm’s duration of five seconds, only ash remained.

Since Shi Feng began his assault, the whole process only lasted a few seconds. Just like that, over a hundred elites from Overwhelming Smile had been exterminated. Moreover, Shi Feng had collected the Immortal Souls of every player that he killed. Within a short time, all of these players had been locked out of God’s Domain…

If Shi Feng had been a wild beast that gave other Guilds massive headaches before he had become a Blade Saint, now, he was an Evil Rakshasa that others would avoid at all costs.

—

Meanwhile, inside the Ruined Shrine…

“So what if it’s Black Flame? We have the advantage of numbers. We can easily get rid of him.” A wrathful flame immediately blossom within Lone Tyrant’s eyes when he heard Black Flame’s name. Hurriedly, he said, “Why don’t I take some men to assist Oriental Sword and kill Black Flame?”

Ever since dying by Shi Feng’s hands, Lone Tyrant had toughened his heart and trained arduously every night and day. He had done so to exact his revenge. He was no longer the same as he had been in the past.

If not for Youlan restraining him, he would have long since avenged his deaths.

Now that Oriental Sword had provoked Black Flame, it was only natural that he go and help out. Youlan could not possibly sit by and watch as more than a hundred elite members fell under Black Flame’s swords, right?

Ultimately, these elite members were the backbone of the Guild. If the Guild did nothing as over a hundred of these elites were slaughtered, not only would it damage the Guild’s reputation, but it would also affect the hearts of those within the Guild.

“No need. Black Flame killed Oriental Sword with a single hit. As for the others, they’re most likely dead by now,” Youlan said, revealing a bitter smile.

Youlan had a clear understanding of Black Flame’s strength. None of the titled experts on the God’s Domain Experts List were for show. Furthermore, Black Flame currently had several experts by his side. Those hundred-plus elite members had zero chance of surviving. Only a top-tier expert might have a chance of walking away.

Upon hearing Youlan’s statement, Lone Tyrant was stunned. He said, “I am very familiar with Oriental Sword’s strength. Moreover, he has so many people with him. How could Black Flame kill him with one hit?”

“I do not know how exactly he died, but according to the reports sent from above, Oriental Sword had not managed to respond before dying,” Youlan said. “It seems that after not encountering Black Flame for a while, he has grown even stronger. We need to hurry and take down this Great Lord.”

“Are we just going to let this go?” Lone Tyrant had yet to give up on the idea of killing Black Flame. Staring at Youlan, he asked, “If others find out that, despite Black Flame having killed so many Overwhelming Smile’s elites, we are indifferent, we will become a laughingstock. What will we do if our inaction angers those above us?”

Youlan frowned. Just as Lone Tyrant had said, if they did not take any sort of action now, they would become a joke to the public.

“Youlan, what’s going on with you? You shouldn’t wear such an ugly expression. Do you need big brother’s help?” Just as Youlan struggled with her indecision, a lean man walked over, smiling.

This man was a Level 26 Assassin, his level surpassing everyone in Overwhelming Smile. Yet, despite there being no Guild Emblem on his person, everyone from Overwhelming Smile treated him with respect and reverence. Even Lone Tyrant was no exception; he was deeply afraid of provoking this young master.

The reason they were behaving in such a way was not only this young man’s high level. More importantly, this man was the key to their operation of killing the Great Lord.

Back then, Young Master Feng had repeatedly instructed them to treat this youth before them with respect. If they provoked this youth…

They would be responsible for their own actions!