Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

261-280

Chapter 261 - magnificent lineup

"What? You're saying Starstreak is selling an Arclight Shield right now? Are you sure about this?" Lone Tyrant grew excited when he received this piece of news.

"Boss, how could I be mistaken? The Arclight Shield is being sold at a special counter on the second floor, but they're selling it for 30 Gold Coins. Many people were stunned by the price, and they could only drool as they looked at it," an Assassin that kept watch on the Starstreak Trading Firm affirmed.

"I understand. I'll go purchase the Coins we need right now. You can stop lining up for the Mana Armor Kits for now. Go keep an eye on the Arclight Shield for me. You're not allowed to take even a half step away from it! As soon as I gather enough money, I'll send someone over to buy it," Lone Tyrant said.

Although 30 Gold Coins was not a small sum for any Guild, Lone Tyrant did not hesitate as he made this decision.

The reason being, Lone Tyrant knew how vital the Arclight Shield was. If one wished to clear the Three Great Dungeons, one must first possess a sufficiently powerful MT. Meanwhile, the best shield available to players was currently the Arclight Shield. Hence, he needed to obtain it no matter what.

Just as Lone Tyrant received this piece of news, the other Guilds based in the eight cities where the Starstreak Trading Firm had shops also received this information, because all items sold by the Starstreak Trading Firm were interconnected. As long as an item was sold in one of the shops of the Starstreak Trading Firm, the item would also appear in the seven other shops.

As a result, the competition to purchase the Arclight Shield was made even more intense now.

\---

Just as the many Guilds were desperately raising Coins, Shi Feng had already arrived in front of the Demon's Castle.

The Demon's Castle was once a lord's territory. However, the lord of this place had been bewitched by a demon and turned into a demon himself, gaining tremendous power in return. The lord had then turned this place into a demon's lair. Now, the area surrounding the Demon's Castle was filled with Level 15 or so Demonkins.

Compared to other monsters, demon-type monsters were born with very high magic resistance, and they also possessed very high magical perception. Hence, their magic attacks were very powerful. Even a normal Fireball from a Level 15 Demonkin could take away a quarter of a Level 15 Berserker's total HP. If it was a skill that possessed great destructive force such as the Great Fireball or Flame Explosion, then a single attack could take away half of a Level 15 Berserker's total HP.

To make matters worse, these Demonkins never acted alone; they normally moved around in groups of three or four. If a solo player met a group of these Demonkins, the result would be an instant kill. Hence, players normally only came to the Demon's Castle after forming a party or a team. However, even though this was a dangerous location, many players still chose to come here.

As Demons were greedy by nature, they were very fond of money and Gemstones. In general, demon-type monsters had a much higher drop rate for money and Gemstones than normal monsters. Hence, plenty of players would grind here.

A Tier 1 Gemstone could sell for roughly 1 Silver Coin on the market; it was neither too cheap nor too expensive. However, many players were not willing to inlay their equipment with these Gemstones. After all, Gemstones were one-time use items; they would be gone once inlaid into equipment. Hence, it would be a huge waste to do so if the quality of their equipment was too poor. Generally, players would only choose to inlay Gemstones into their equipment if it was of Mysterious-Iron rank or above. However, how many players could actually get their hands on Mysterious-Iron Equipment? A majority of the players at this stage of the game were still using Bronze Equipment.

Who would be willing to inlay Gemstones into Bronze Equipment?

Normally, players would either sell the Gemstones they obtained or exchange them for items to further enhance their own strength. After all, grinding monsters would exhaust a significant amount of their resources with equipment repairs taking up the majority.

However, this situation was exactly what Shi Feng had been hoping for, hence why he had been secretly purchasing Gemstones all this time.

A Tier 1 Gemstone only increased Attributes by a trivial amount; they only increased one point in specific Basic Attributes. Even if a player inlaid every piece of equipment they wore with Gemstones, they would not see any significant improvement. However, in the case of Tier 2 Gemstones, it was an entirely different story.

Tier 2 Gemstones increased specific Attributes by two to three points. If players could fully inlay all their equipment with Tier 2 Gemstones, then they could obtain an additional 20 to 30 Attribute points. The difference between the benefits provided by a Tier 1 Gemstone and a Tier 2 Gemstone was as clear as day. Such an increase was the equivalent of possessing an additional piece of equipment, thus, the prices for Tier 2 Gemstones would naturally be high.

Although Tier 1 Gemstones could only sell for around 1 Silver, a Tier 2 Gemstone could sell for at least 10 Silvers.

Also, Shi Feng knew of a secret that nobody else knew right now: Tier 1 Gemstones could be used to synthesize Tier 2 Gemstones. Moreover, only three Tier 1 Gemstones were needed to do so.

In truth, this wasn't any great secret at all. As long as someone managed to clear the Three Great Dungeons, the Alchemy Synthesis System would be unlocked for White River City. Players could then just head to an Alchemist to synthesize Tier 2 Gemstones.

At that time, the prices of Tier 1 Gemstones would abruptly soar. They would sell for at least 3 to 4 Silvers.

For now, however, nobody but Shi Feng knew of this secret.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had been hoarding Tier 1 Gemstones nonstop as he waited for someone to activate the Alchemy Synthesis System. Once that happened, he could easily earn back double or triple the original cost. However, Shi Feng hoped that this time the activation of the Alchemy Synthesis System would come a little later. That way, he would have more time to hoard even more Tier 1 Gemstones.

Through the Starstreak Trading Firm, not only could Shi Feng obtain Tier 1 Gemstones from White River City, he could also purchase them from seven other cities. His current acquisition rate was much faster than before he became the manager of the Starstreak Trading Firm. Naturally, the longer it took for players to clear the Three Great Dungeons, the more money he could earn.

"Guild Leader, what did you call me here for all of a sudden?" Aqua Rose asked in a confused tone as she arrived at the entrance of the Demon's Castle Dungeon.

As a 20-man Level 15 Team Dungeon, there were very few Guilds that possessed the strength to challenge this place right now. However, even if these Guilds did possess the strength to do so, they would not attempt to raid this Dungeon. The reason being, they were all held up by the Hell Mode of the Level 10 Team Dungeons, and also the Three Great Dungeons. Moreover, the level requirement for the Demon's Castle was simply too high. Also, if they were unable to clear the Hard Mode of the Demon's Castle, raiding it would bring little improvement to their team's equipment, making it a waste of time. It would be much better for them to place their focus on the Hell Mode of Level 10 Team Dungeons.

Hence, Aqua Rose felt curious as to why Shi Feng would call her to this place.

"Of course, it is to raid the Demon's Castle," Shi Feng said, chuckling.

Aqua Rose was shocked by his words. Immediately, she said, "Guild Leader, isn't it a little too early to raid the Demon's Castle? It would be better for us to focus on raiding the Level 10 Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Although our Guild started slower than the others, we can still try to compete with the other Guilds over the Three Great Dungeons."

"No. Aqua, our Guild will not be competing over the Three Great Dungeons. Our goal is the Level 20, 100-man Dungeon, the Thunder Palace. So, we need to start preparing for it now. Once we're done with this raid, you should get everyone to level up as quick as possible. Don't intentionally suppress their levels. It won't be a worthwhile thing to do," Shi Feng said, confidence filling his eyes as he shook his head.

Aqua Rose was rendered speechless by Shi Feng's words. She couldn't help but sigh as she felt pessimistic about Shi Feng's whimsical thoughts. Let alone the 100-man Dungeon, Thunder Palace, it was not even possible for them to obtain the First Clear of the Demon's Castle. Although she believed in Shi Feng's strength, the equipment of their team was simply insufficient.

"They're here." Shi Feng looked towards a group of a dozen or so players walking over. They were none other than Fire Dance and her team.

"They?" Aqua Rose turned towards the direction Shi Feng was looking at and was immediately shocked by what she saw.

She discovered more than ten players walking over, each of them looking extremely dazzling. It was especially true for the sexy beauty walking in the lead. The two daggers by the woman's waist were actually giving off the glow of a Fine-Gold ranked weapon. In addition, quite a few members of this team also possessed gorgeous-looking equipment; they all wore Secret-Silver Equipment. Although the Cursemancer of this team had hidden the special effects of his staff, judging by the delicate make of the weapon, it should be of Fine-Gold rank at the very least. As for the team's Guardian Knight, the equipment he wore were mostly of Secret-Silver rank, with two pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment mixed in. Although the Guardian Knight had likewise hidden the special effects of his shield, based on looks alone, it shouldn't be lower than Secret-Silver rank.

It was possible that not even the main force of Ouroboros could compare to this dazzling team.

When Aqua Rose took a closer look at this group of players, she was surprised to discover that each and every of them sported a six-winged emblem. They were actually members of their Zero Wing.

Aqua Rose's delicate mouth suddenly parted in disbelief.

"Guild Leader, I've brought everyone here," Fire Dance said, walking up to Shi Feng. She and the other core members of Zero Wing already knew about Shi Feng's secret identity. Hence, they were not confused by his appearance as Black Flame.

"Good. Leave your teams and I'll send an invite to all of you." Shi Feng nodded in reply.

Chapter 262 - we are very strong

Aqua Rose was shocked.

"They are the eight players at the top of the Ranking List?" Aqua Rose whispered in silence.

Although she did not use any identification skills on these players, aside from the top eight players, she could think of no other members of Zero Wing that could possibly possess such excellent equipment.

"Yeah." Shi Feng nodded his head. He then started inviting Fire Dance and the others into his team.

There were a total of 17 players in Fire Dance's team. Aqua Rose had also brought along a good friend of hers, Icy Fruit. Aqua Rose had chosen her upon Shi Feng's request for a healer who was Level 15 or above.

Shi Feng had exactly 20 members in his team now. Of them, two were MTs. One of them was the Guardian Knight, Cola, while the other was Ye Wumian, who was a Shield Warrior. There were also a total of four healers in the team. It was a standard composition for a 20-man Dungeon-raiding team.

Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Dungeon, another team came walking over to the Dungeon's entrance.

The members of this team were out of the ordinary. Let alone possessing Mysterious-Iron Equipment as their lowest ranked equipment, there were also several of them with Secret-Silver Equipment. This was a sight impossible to be found in an independent team.

Yet, contrary to expectations, these players were not Guild players but independent players. None of them wore a Guild Emblem on their bodies.

"War Wolf!" Fire Dance said in astonishment when she saw the slim-looking man walking over.

"Oh? Is it an acquaintance?" Whether it was his memory of this life or his past life, Shi Feng had no recollection of the man who looked to be the leader of this team.

However, if these players were able to come into possession of such quality weapons and equipment, they could definitely be considered an expert team. In theory, they should not be unknown existences.

"Could they have stopped playing midway in the past?" Shi Feng inwardly wondered.

"Hello. We meet again," War Wolf said in greeting, looking at Fire Dance. "After not meeting for some time, I never imagined that Miss Fire Dance would have joined a Guild."

"No. In truth, we were originally members of this Guild. It was only due to some complications that we did not establish the Guild before," Fire Dance explained. "Let me introduce you. This man here is our Guild Leader, Black Flame."

"What a shock. So it turns out that Your Excellency is none other than the famous Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, Black Flame." War Wolf was somewhat taken aback by this revelation. Although he had long since known that Fire Dance and the others were not ordinary players, never would he have thought that their Guild Leader would be such a well-known character.

"Team leader War Wolf is the one who has left me in shock. You are actually starting to raid the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon already. The teams that are capable of diving into the Demon's Castle at this time definitely belong to the apex of White River City." Although Shi Feng had never heard of War Wolf before, a person capable of leading such a team definitely would not be a mediocre person. Shi Feng suddenly had the urge to recruit this team of players.

"Fortunately. We are only an independent team, and it's impossible for us to compete with those Guilds over the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons. So, we can only choose to come here. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has something to do, we won't continue bothering you." War Wolf did not possess any good feelings towards Guilds, so he immediately brought his team into the Dungeon after speaking a few perfunctory words.

"This person's attitude is really weird. The previous time we met, he was welcoming when he spoke to us. Now, he only said a few words before taking his leave. Isn't this change in attitude a little too much?" Blackie said in an unhappy tone.

"He probably doesn't like Guilds too much." Shi Feng revealed a helpless smile as he looked at War Wolf entering the Dungeon.

There were all kinds of people in God's Domain, and naturally, there were bound to be some who disliked Guilds. After all, most Guilds usually acted in an overbearing manner. Many players just wanted to experience the world of God's Domain, so they weren't all that interested in Guilds.

Meanwhile, many of these players who were wholeheartedly chasing after adventure were surprisingly powerful. Among them, the most famous adventurer team in the past was the Midnight Tea Party. Although there were only twenty-plus members in the team, not a single Guild in God's Domain dared to underestimate this adventurer team. Even Super Guilds had to draw a clear line with the Midnight Tea Party, both sides minding their own businesses.

Obviously, War Wolf belonged to this type of adventurer.

"I guess it can't be helped. Everybody has their own aspirations," Shi Feng silently lamented.

"There sure are a lot of powerhouses in White River City." Aqua Rose was astonished to find that there were actually so many crouching tigers and hidden dragons in White River City.

Soon after, Shi Feng and the others had also entered the Demon's Castle. However, Shi Feng had chosen a different difficulty from War Wolf's team's.

Hell Mode, a difficulty that made all players pale when they talked about it. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen it without much thought.

Aqua Rose was momentarily rendered speechless. She couldn't stand it anymore. Shi Feng was always taking unconventional actions.

This was the Hell Mode of a 20-man Team Dungeon! At the very least, they should have started with Normal Mode to familiarize themselves with the Dungeon. They could then start accumulating better equipment from Hard Mode, before finally challenging Hell Mode. However, Shi Feng had started with Hell Mode right from the very beginning. Just what did he think of a Hell Mode Dungeon?

Even if they had powerful experts in their team, they couldn't just be so reckless. Did Shi Feng forget the fact that almost half of the members in this team still didn't possess particularly good equipment?

Meanwhile, these players in question were none other than the Five Demon Generals and the four experts from Green Leaf Workshop. Although they had already reached Level 15, and were also fully geared in Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they were still far from reaching the requirement to raid the Hell Mode of the Demon's Castle. Hence, these nine players reacted with panic when they realized Shi Feng's decision.

As this was Hell Mode, the monsters inside the castle all received an upgrade. Even the normal Elite monsters could cause one to tremble. Meanwhile, such monsters were wandering around in groups inside the castle corridors.

[Demon Maid] (Elite Rank)

Level 15

HP 80,000/80,000

Good at magical attacks, particularly fire-type damage.

[Demon Butler] (Elite Rank)

Level 15

HP 100,000/100,000

Good at melee attacks.

Of these two types of monsters, the Demon Butlers were more difficult to deal with, as they would ignore aggro when they used Charge. In addition, when their Charge connected, they would also inflict a DoT debuff called Blood Curse, causing players to continuously lose HP. Also, due to this being Hell Mode, the debuff was further strengthened. When afflicted with this enhanced Blood Curse, players would lose 300 HP every three seconds, and receive 10% additional magic damage for 30 seconds. The debuff was also stackable up to 10 times.

To make matters worse, demonic beings were born with high magic resistance, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

"Alright, Cola, go pull some monsters. Ye Wumian, you'll act as support for Cola. Healers, pay attention to the MT's HP and remember to cast Dispel when necessary. As for everyone else, just focus on your damage output," Shi Feng instructed casually.

"Guild Leader, I suggest that we should take things slowly. After all, this is a Hell Mode Dungeon, not a Normal Mode. Even if Cola's equipment is excellent, we still can't act so recklessly." Aqua Rose was close to collapsing from Shi Feng's carefree attitude.

"It's okay," Shi Feng said, smiling. "We are very strong!"

Shi Feng had a clear grasp on the strength of this team, hence his carefree and confident attitude.

Cola was currently Level 18, and with the Arclight Guard equipped, his HP had already reached 3,340 points. His Defense was even a frightening 2,300 points. In terms of Attributes, not a single MT within White River City could match him.

The Elite monsters inside the Dungeon were only at Level 15. With three levels of suppression, these monsters could hardly harm Cola at all.

Meanwhile, Cola did not hesitate in carrying out Shi Feng's orders. Immediately, he rushed at a group of monsters, raising his shield and throwing it at them. In a blink of an eye, the shield struck five Elite monsters, causing over 300 damage and placing a Silenced effect on each of the monsters, preventing them from using magic for six seconds. Shortly after, the shield returned to Cola's hands.

Before coming to this Dungeon, Cola had experienced luring over a hundred Level 25 monsters. Of them, there had been no lack of Elite monsters. Compared to those times, the few Elites before him were hardly worth mentioning. These demonic monsters simply had slightly higher HP and slightly more powerful skills.

"All of you, come over!"

Cola executed Justice Roar, compelling monsters within a fixed range to attack only him. Letting out angry roars, the Demon Maids at a distance had no choice but to attack Cola. As if he had transformed into a steel wall, Cola fully blocked the charge of the three Demon Butlers and four Demon Maids. Cola then used the group aggro skill Devotion. As the sacred aura provided by the skill dealt holy damage, it inflicted amplified damage on the seven demons. Every second, the seven demons would receive 200 holy damage. Before long, the aggro Cola had on these monsters was unshakably stable.

On the other hand, the Demon Butlers only dealt around -240 damage with each of their attacks, while the Demon Maids dealt around -400 damage with their magical attacks. However, Cola managed to dodge the majority of these attacks by utilizing his nimble footwork, greatly reducing the damage he received. As a result, only Violet Cloud was actually required to maintain Cola's HP above a safe threshold.

Meanwhile, the other healers and Ye Wumian could only watch helplessly on the sidelines.

"No way."

Aqua Rose's delicate body trembled slightly. Currently, the excitement she felt could no longer be described with words.

Chapter 263 - like a hot knife through butter 

The task that originally required two MTs to accomplish was now handled by Cola alone. Moreover, it was obvious that Cola still had energy to spare.

"Fire Dance, go lure another wave. Ye Wumian, assist Cola and attract the aggro of the Demon Maids." Shi Feng determined that they would have no problems handling two waves of monsters at once, and that it would be much more efficient to do so.

Although the Demon Butlers would frequently inflict the Blood Curse on Cola, with two Clerics taking turns casting Dispel on him, the debuff was not a particularly big problem. Moreover, the two Clerics in the team were very skilled. It was especially true for Violet Cloud. After undergoing the baptism of the Trial of Gods, it was as if she had been reborn anew.

It was no wonder she had become a Tier 6 Cleric God shortly after clearing a six-colored trial.

Although she had only cleared a four-colored trial this time, it was already a remarkable feat. The rewards she obtained from the trial also included permanent Attribute increases, enhanced skills, weapons, equipment, and other precious items. Currently, in terms of healing power, no other healer in White River City could match Violet Cloud.

After Fire Dance lured another wave of monsters, Cola immediately aimed his shield at the three Demon Butlers and threw it, executing the Shield of Vengeance. The skill caused over -300 damage to the Demon Butlers, and their aggro instantly switched from Fire Dance to Cola.

Immediately after, Ye Wumian used Flame Charge on the four Demon Maids at the back, stunning them. He then followed up with a Thunderclap, lightning flickering and electrocuting the four Demon Maids and causing close to -100 damage to them; Ye Wumian's damage was clearly much worse than Cola's. The Demon Maids grew furious at being attacked, and one of them shot a Flame Explosion at Ye Wumian right away, engulfing the Shield Warrior in brilliant flames.

Ye Wumian had to retreat two steps before he could shake off the attack. His HP abruptly decreased by a large chunk as a damage of over -700 appeared above his head.

Ye Wumian had a maximum HP of 2,580 points, while his Defense was 1,875 points. When compared to all the other Shield Warriors in White River City, he could definitely be counted as a top-tier expert. After all, Ye Wumian was originally the boss of Jin Hai City's number one Workshop; the original equipment he used was already of good quality. In addition, Fire Dance had also helped them upgrade their equipment by raiding a few Hard Mode Dungeons. Currently, most of Ye Wumian's equipment were of Mysterious-Iron rank, while three were of Secret-Silver rank; the items that were of Secret-Silver rank were his shield, breastplate, and leg guards. Yet, even with such equipment, his Attributes were still far from being comparable to Cola's.

"Strong!" When Aqua Rose witnessed the difference between Cola and Ye Wumian, she could not help but look at Cola, who was handling ten monsters simultaneously, in shock.

Before, when Aqua Rose watched how effortlessly Cola had lured and tanked the monsters, she had even believed for a second that they were not actually in a 20-man Hell Mode Dungeon. However, now that she had witnessed Ye Wumian tanking, she immediately woke up from her stupor. This was indeed Hell Mode. Cola was simply too powerful, making the monsters look weak instead. It was no wonder Shi Feng was confident enough to challenge the Hell Mode of the Demon's Castle right away. With such a powerful MT, it was not impossible for them to start from Hell Mode.

"Healers, prioritize healing Ye Wumian. Everyone else, focus your attacks and kill the Demon Maids first." Shi Feng immediately rushed into the fray after saying so, aiming for one of the Demon Maids.

"Leave it to me!" Blackie said excitedly; it was finally his turn to display his strength. He then waved his Epic ranked staff, Mavis's Guard, sending a bombardment of spells at the Demon Maids.

Blackie's firepower spoke for itself. Each one of his Dark Arrows caused -964 damage to the monsters, and critical hits caused -2,106 damage. If the effect of his staff, Spear of Light, triggered, he could also deal around -800 additional damage.

Blackie then used Hell Flame, dealing over -1,000 damage every second to all targets within a 10-yard radius of the targeted location. If demons did not possess high magic resistance, the damage of this spell would have been even higher.

Compared to Blackie, Aqua Rose's damage as an Elementalist was much weaker. Every time she used Flame Explosion or Chain Explosion, she could only deal -670 damage or so. Aqua Rose felt slightly depressed at this scene. After all, she used to be an honorary elder of Twilight Echo, yet her damage was actually lower than Blackie's by over 300 points.

However, Aqua Rose did not know that Blackie held an Epic ranked staff in his hands. If she were to find out about it, she would definitely jump in shock.

As for the other mages in the team, the damage they dealt was all above -500 or so.

As for the melee players, Fire Dance stood out the most. Although she only dealt around -280 damage with her normal attacks and her skills dealt around -460 damage, her Attack Speed with the two daggers was extremely fast. When she attacked a Demon Maid, not only was the Demon Maid unable to use any spells, its HP also madly decreased. After Fire Dance accumulated eight stars' worth of energy, she immediately used Eviscerate on the Demon Maid, dealing over -2,400 damage to the monster.

As for Lonely Snow the Berserker, although his weapon was only a Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked two-handed axe, his normal attacks still dealt over -500 damage; his attacks that achieved a critical hit dealt over -900 damage. However, when compared to an Assassin, his attack rate was much lower.

In regard to the damage output of the eight great experts of Zero Wing, the newly joined Five Demon Generals and the four experts from Green Leaf Workshop had long since grown numb of it. Not to mention, the power the experts of Zero Wing showed right now was only the tip of the iceberg.

Just as Aqua Rose and Icy Fruit were getting over their shock, Shi Feng's damage once again blew their minds away.

Shi Feng looked just like the Grim Reaper when he brandished the Abyssal Blade and the Silver Lake, sweeping through the monsters like a violent tornado. Just his normal attacks alone dealt over -350 damage. However, that was not the end. When his attacks achieved a critical hit, they dealt over -700 damage. Sometimes, triple critical hits would even appear, dealing over -1,000 damage in a single attack. Meanwhile, due to Shi Feng's high attack rate, the chances for double critical hits were also very high. It was a very pleasing sight to behold.

Shi Feng then used Thundering Flash, three arcs of lightning passing through all the elite monsters. Instantly, damages of -510, -721, and -1,020 appeared above the monsters' heads. Some of the monsters had even received critical hits, multiplying the damage they received by twofold, and even threefold.

Immediately after, Shi Feng activated Dark Violent Dance, the skill enabling him to spread 40% of the target damage towards enemies within a 12-yard cone in front of him. Every time he slashed his sword, the 14 Elite monsters behind his main target would receive over -100 damage. If he executed the Level 10 Chop, the 14 monsters would instantly receive over -300 damage.

Although Shi Feng's damage was frightening, it was not his most amazing aspect. Instead, the area he excelled at the most was his perfect grasp of timing and the overall situation. As long as these Elite monsters showed the slightest signs of leaving the group, he would immediately execute Thunder Flame Explosion, placing all these Elite monsters into a Fainted state. As a result, the two MTs would have more time to react to the situation, readjusting their positions and retaking the aggro of the monsters.

Although Aqua Rose had long since known of Shi Feng's strength, she still could not help but be shocked when she personally witnessed Shi Feng's damage output.

After killing these two waves of Elites, Shi Feng took a look at the team's Damage Output List.

"Hah, I'm no good anymore. It's been too long since I upgraded my equipment. I never thought I would deal only this little damage." Shi Feng smiled bitterly.

Although Shi Feng's total damage ranked at the very top of the team, his damage exceeding even Blackie's, in terms of single-attack output, he was far from being Blackie's match.

All this time, Shi Feng had been busy making money and increasing his Guild's backing. Hence, he did not get much of a chance to upgrade his own equipment. Presently, he was still using the Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, the Wind Extinguisher set. He only had three pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment on his entire person, and they were even Level 10 equipment only...

Shi Feng depended mainly on the Abyssal Blade and his Pseudo-extraordinary item, the Blazing Meteor, to produce his frightening damage. Without them, he would only rank around fifth or sixth place at best within the team.

However, Shi Feng's words had immediately earned him the contemptuous gazes of everyone in the team.

If Shi Feng, who ranked first in terms of damage output, said he was no good, then what were they supposed to be?

Following which, under Shi Feng's command, everyone advanced deeper into the castle, killing hundreds of Elites and a dozen or so Special Elites. Of the latter, the Demon Hounds were extremely ferocious. Moreover, these Demon Hounds moved in groups of four. Fortunately, Cola was capable of tanking three of these monsters at once, leaving the remaining one to Ye Wumian. If Cola had not been sufficiently strong, they would have definitely team-wiped.

Naturally, the team's harvest was also bountiful. Aside from a few Tier 1 Gemstones, and Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they had also obtained two pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. One of them was a cloth-armor chest piece for Elementalists, which was promptly distributed to Aqua Rose. The other item was cloth-armor shoes for Clerics. As Violet Cloud already had excellent equipment, she had no need for the shoes at all. Hence, the equipment was given to the other Cleric in the team, Icy Fruit.

"The profits of a 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon is truly high. We have obtained so many Mysterious-Iron Equipment just from the Elite monsters. The Special Elites even drop Secret-Silver Equipment," Aqua Rose exclaimed. Just the harvest they reaped from arriving at the first Boss was already comparable to the harvest of raiding a Hard Mode Team Dungeon. If they could kill one or two Bosses this time, they would definitely make a huge profit.

"It's still too early to get excited. Save your joy for after we finish raiding this Boss before us." Shi Feng's pupils contracted, focusing his gaze towards the center of the arena. A tall heavy-armored knight with bloodshot eyes stood there, an aura of bloodthirst surrounding it.

[Knight Captain Justin Freed] (Demonic Being, Lord Rank)

Level 16

HP 880,000/880,000

Chapter 264 - nemesis

"Such a high HP!" Aqua Rose couldn't help but wrinkle her brows at this sight.

The amount of HP a Boss was correlated with the amount of time needed to kill it, and the more HP a Boss had, the higher the demands on the damage dealers. The Bosses of Level 10, 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would have 700,000 HP at maximum. Even so, not a single team in White River City had managed to clear one such Dungeon yet. Meanwhile, the Boss before them had 880,000 HP. Aqua Rose instantly felt despair at this sight.

Fire Dance and the others, on the other hand, felt nothing much about it. They were simply waiting for Shi Feng's orders.

Feeling everyone's fervent gaze on him, Shi Feng smiled as he said, "Cola, go test the waters. Gluttonous Mouse, you'll be responsible for healing him. Everyone else, pay close attention to the Boss's movement patterns and habits; be sure to take a video recording. Afterwards, we'll think of a way to raid it."

As the Knight Captain of the Demon's Castle, Justin Freed excelled in melee combat. Even though Cola boasted excellent equipment, he could survive three hits at most from this Boss. If it were any other MT, they would definitely die in two hits.

Aside from possessing high Attack Power, Justin Freed was a heavy-armored knight and his Defense spoke for itself. Now that he had been converted into a demon, his natural magic resistance was also very high. Justin Freed was practically a Boss without weaknesses.

Justin Freed had two major skills, and if not taken with caution, either one of these skills could easily wipe out their entire team.

Moreover, these two skills were further strengthened by the Hell Mode difficulty, making them extremely hard to deal with.

The first skill was called Demon Summoning. Periodically, Justin Freed would summon three Demon Guards. If players failed to kill these three Demon Guards within a set amount of time, they would be absorbed into Justin Freed's body, replenishing the Boss's HP. In the Hard Mode difficulty of the Dungeon, each Demon Guard would heal Justin Freed of 3% of his maximum HP, while in Hell Mode, that percentage was increased to 5%. Hence, players needed to kill these Demon Guards no matter what.

The second skill was called Death Blow. When using this skill, Justin Freed would randomly mark a player and throw a spear at them, dealing large amounts of damage. Players struck by this spear would also have their Movement Speed reduced by 60%, and Defense reduced by 100%. Justin Freed would then charge towards this marked player. During this charge, players had to avoid standing between Justin Freed and the marked player. Otherwise, both the marked player and the players standing in Justin Freed's way would die without question. Hence, when a player was marked by Justin Freed, they needed to run as far away from everyone else as possible. The marked player would be fine as long as they could survive Justin Freed's onslaught for 10 seconds.

Just these two skills alone would already cause many challengers to despair. However, Justin Freed also possessed multiple other minor skills, although those would not be a huge problem if players made sure to dodge them.

After Cola and Gluttonous Mouse battled with the Boss a few times, everyone fully understood just how amazing Justin Freed was. If struck by Justin Freed's greatsword, even a powerful tank like Cola would lose over 1,400 HP. It would take Justin Freed only two attacks to finish off anyone else within the team. Moreover, Justin Freed had a very high Attack Speed; he had no problems brandishing his greatsword twice in one second. If they wished to successfully clear this Boss, they needed to cooperate with each other properly. Not only did the MTs have to know when to dodge Justin Freed's attacks, the other melee classes also needed to know how to interrupt the Boss's attack pattern.

"Start the raid!"

After Shi Feng finished giving out his instructions, everyone went to their assigned positions, making a perfect encirclement around Justin Freed. Once ready, Cola immediately rushed towards Justin Freed, while Ye Wumian waited at one side for the appearance of the three Demon Guards.

Compared to attacking an Elite monster, the damage Cola dealt to Justin Freed was much lower; his normal attacks only dealt slightly more than -100 damage to the Boss. After Cola solidified his aggro of the Boss, everyone else promptly barraged Justin Freed with attacks.

However, the team quickly discovered a crucial matter Justin Freed's Defense was seriously too high. During the trial runs, Cola had been the only one attacking. Hence, everyone had not really noticed how high Justin Freed's Defense was.

Take Lonely Snow for example. As a Berserker, every time he struck Justin Freed's back with his two-handed axe, he could only deal slightly more than -200 damage. Even after using Armor Break on the Boss, his damage only barely reached -300.

As for the newcomers, the damage they dealt was far less.

"His Defense is too high!" Even with her most powerful spells, Aqua Rose only managed to deal around -500 damage to the Boss.

"Shadow Burst!"

Blackie didn't dare hold back, immediately using the new skill he received for clearing the four-colored trial. Five black streaks of light immediately shot out from his staff, landed on Justin Freed's back, and exploded.

Damages of -736, -741, -726, -732, -738 appeared above Justin Freed's head.

Shi Feng was also slashing madly at Justin Freed's back. However, the damage he dealt was far lower than Blackie's. Each of his basic attacks only dealt over -100 damage. However, this damage was further increased when Shi Feng triggered one of the Abyssal Blade's effects, inflicting the Doom Curse on the Boss. There was also the Damage Amplification effect from Thundering Flash.

As Justin Freed was a Hell Mode Boss, both the Abyssal Blade's Doom Curse and the effect of Thundering Flash were greatly weakened. Overall, the two debuffs had weakened Justin Freed by 15%.

Simultaneously, Shi Feng swapped out his Might of a Thousand title for his Demon Hunter title, further weakening Justin Freed.

Now, Justin Freed only possessed 80% of his original strength. This result undeniably reduced the burden placed on everyone in the team.

"Guild Leader, the additional passive skill of your weapon and also the effect of your title are simply too amazing! Thanks to you, the difficulty of this Boss has been forcefully brought down a notch!" Cola said with a smile. Undeniably, he was the person who profited the most from these debuffs.

Aqua Rose's eyes glowed with joy as well when she witnessed this scene. Thanks to Shi Feng's skills and title, they now had hope of defeating this Boss.

_It seems that I, too, should get more of such titles in the future. It would make Boss raids a lot easier._ Aqua Rose looked at Shi Feng's title in envy. However, she knew it would be very difficult to obtain such a title. Aqua Rose made a note to herself to ask Shi Feng how she, too, could obtain such a title when they left this Dungeon.

When Justin Freed's HP fell to 90%, Shi Feng immediately shouted through the team chat, "Ye Wumian, get ready to aggro the monsters! Everyone, focus fire on the spawns the moment they appear! Fire Dance and I will help Cola cope with the Boss!"

"Damnable trespassers! Guards! Get rid of them!" Justin Freed bellowed.

Suddenly, three Demon Guards ran in from outside the arena. Every one of these Demon Guards were Elite monsters. Moreover, each of them possessed 40,000 HP.

Fortunately, the Demon Guards had much lower Defense compared to the Boss. The team took no time at all to finish all three, especially when they had a powerhouse like Blackie.

Everyone then returned their focus to the Boss.

During the entire battle, Shi Feng did not get many chances to deal damage. Possibly due to there being many more people attacking him, Justin Freed's attack pattern right now was slightly different from when only Cola and Gluttonous Mouse were raiding him. The Boss could always accurately force Cola into a corner whenever he brandished his greatsword, preventing Cola from effectively dodging his attacks. To make matters worse, aside from Shi Feng, nobody else in the team could accurately find a way to interrupt the Boss's attack rhythm. Although Fire Dance managed to react to the situation and find a suitable location to attack, due to her low Strength as an Assassin, she failed to interrupt Justin Freed's attack. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to focus all his attention on interrupting the Boss's attacks. Otherwise, if Cola were to make a mistake and eat any of the Boss's minor skills, he would definitely lose his life because the healers would not be able to keep up with their healing. Concurrently, Cola's death would also mean everyone else's death.

When Justin Freed's HP fell to 78%, he finally used Death Blow in a fit of rage.

Meanwhile, the target of this skill was none other than Shi Feng.

Shi Feng's first reaction to the activation of this skill was to turn tail and run. After being marked by this skill, unless players activated skills that provided invincibility, they would unquestionably die when Justin Freed closed in on them.

Justin Freed retrieved a silver spear and abruptly threw it at Shi Feng. Instantly, a silver flash streaked across the sky and flew at Shi Feng, producing a boom as it broke the sound barrier.

Players were unable to dodge this silver spear, so they could only try to block it. Hence, just as the spear was about to reach him, Shi Feng immediately spun his body around and activated Parry.

The spear smashed into the Abyssal Blade, generating brilliant sparks as metal clashed against metal. Shi Feng was forced to retreat over a dozen steps before he could shake off the attack and stabilize his body. Both his hands felt numb after blocking Justin Freed's attack, and he had very nearly lost his grip on his swords. He then took a glance at the Abyssal Blade, finding a clear scar on the blade of the sword.

"Unbelievable. To think that this move could even damage a Magic Weapon... If it were a Secret-Silver Weapon taking this hit, wouldn't it get destroyed instantly? Even a Fine-Gold Weapon might not survive this attack." Shi Feng secretly rejoiced that he had not used the Silver Lake to block this attack. Otherwise, the sword would have been finished.

After seeing his spear blocked, Justin Freed grew furious. Ignoring Cola, he charged at Shi Feng with large strides.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk, increasing his Movement Speed by 30%. He then started moving in circles around the arena.

As Shi Feng did not receive any damage from Justin Freed's spear, he also did not receive the Movement Speed reduction debuff. Hence, no matter how hard the Boss tried to chase Shi Feng, he simply couldn't catch up. In the end, Shi Feng kited the Boss around the arena for the full ten seconds.

With both of Justin Freed's major skills dealt with, everyone returned to their positions and resumed their attack on Justin Freed. Later on, no matter how many times Justin Freed used his major skills, the end result was still the same. After a dozen minutes passed, even when Justin Freed entered his berserk state, he still could not change the inevitable. The reason being, Cola had Protection Blessing to stave off the Boss's increased damage. Cola also had the Arclight Guard's additional skill, Time Arc. The effect of this skill was the equivalent of providing Cola with nine seconds of invincibility. It also allowed him to reset the Cooldown of any skills he had used during Time Arc's duration. One way or another, Cola had managed to endure and survive through the 20-second duration of the Boss's berserk state.

In the end, Justin Freed let out a scream of resentment as he fell to the ground, his body leaving behind a pile of dazzling items as it disappeared.

Chapter 256 - dark knight Gaia

"It's a jackpot!"

"Our karma must be too good!"

"I wonder what we'll get?"

"This is the Hell Mode of the Demon's Castle. A jackpot should give us at least a Dark-Gold Weapon, right?"

Justin Freed's death allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. However, when they saw the pile of items on the ground, everyone knew that their luck had come. Just a brief glance told them that Justin Freed had dropped more than ten items. It was an obvious sign that this was one of those rare karmic jackpots.

"Alright, don't get too excited right now. Rest and recover for now." Shi Feng simply smiled when he looked at his teammates' excitement. However, he knew that the jackpot this time around was no coincidence.

Others might not know this, but the Demon's Castle was actually the hardest Dungeon out of all the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeons, although everyone believed that it was simply a 20-man Dungeon with above average difficulty. In the past, countless Guilds had suffered team-wipe after team-wipe in order to raid the Demon's Castle. According to Shi Feng's understanding, the Bosses of every Hell Mode Team Dungeon that possessed the highest difficulty out of all Hell Mode Team Dungeons of the same level would always yield a jackpot when it was being raided for the first time. This was a reward by the system for pioneering the Team Dungeon with the highest difficulty.

\---

While Shi Feng was counting up the loot from Justin Freed, a group of players revived at the entrance of the Demon's Castle.

"Boss, that Justin Freed's Defense and Attack are simply too high. Compared to a Level 10 Dungeon, the Demon's Castle is far more difficult. Moreover, this is only the Normal Mode Dungeon. Even a powerful MT like yourself could not survive three hits from the first Boss. I don't think there's any way we can raid this Dungeon right now," a Druid said.

"It seems that two MTs are required for this Boss, to share the damage. We can just let a Ranger kite the three summoned monsters." After experiencing a battle with Justin Freed, War Wolf fully realized just how powerful the Boss was. Every time Justin Freed attacked, War Wolf would be forced into a corner and prevented from dodging; he had no choice but to take the full brunt of the Boss's attack.

If he only had to endure Justin Freed's basic attacks, War Wolf was confident he could make do with the heals he received. However, one of Justin Freed's minor skills, Thousand Sweep, dealt at least -1,000 damage to all targets within an 8-yard radius. Meanwhile, the activation time for this skill was practically instantaneous, so War Wolf had no chance at dodging it. When War Wolf ate this minor skill in addition to a basic attack, he would instantly lose at least 2,000 HP. Only with all four healers in the team focusing their heals on him could they barely manage to get his HP back up to a safe level before Justin Freed's next attack connected. However, shortly after, the Boss summoned three Demon Guards.

Once the healers spread their focus to the other members of the team, War Wolf was promptly slain by Justin Freed.

The end result? A team-wipe.

\---

As War Wolf's team was about to enter the Demon's Castle for the second time, Shi Feng had already started distributing the loot.

The jackpot this time had yielded 11 weapons and equipment in total. There were also quite a number of Magic Crystals and precious materials.

Among the weapons and equipment dropped were three Secret-Silver Equipment: leg guards for Rangers, a hat for Druids, and shoulder guards for Summoners.

As this was a Guild-only team, and also a pioneer raid, the distribution of items this time was not done using the contribution-auction method. Instead, Shi Feng assigned the items to specific players while placing priority on increasing the overall battle prowess of the team.

Meanwhile, Fine-Gold ranked weapons and equipment numbered the most. There was a total of six of such items dropped by Justin Freed. The Attributes of these items spoke for themselves. The items dropped from the Hell Mode of the Demon's Castle were all of the finest quality.

Lonely Snow received a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked greataxe, while Cola received a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked shortsword. Meanwhile, the Secret-Silver Weapons the two previously used were passed on to their teammates. The remaining four items were Fine-Gold Equipment: shoes for Swordsmen, arm guards for Cursemancers, a chest piece for Oracles, and a chest piece for Elementalists.

Shi Feng kept the shoes for Swordsmen for himself, exchanging it with his Level 10 Mysterious-Iron ranked boots.

[Triumph Boots] (Shoes, Plate Armor, Fine-Gold Rank)

Level 15

Defense +184

Strength +17, Agility +20, Endurance +12

Movement Speed +5

Restricted to Swordsman.

Additional Passive Skill-

Light-footed: Increases Movement Speed by 5%.

Shi Feng then handed the Fine-Gold ranked arm guards to Blackie, the chest piece for Oracles to Gluttonous Mouse, and the chest piece for Elementalists to Aqua.

The final two items were of Dark-Gold rank. One was a pitch-black longsword, while the other was a dark-gray colored staff that emitted black mist.

[Demonbane] (One-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 15

Attack Power +183

Strength +20, Agility +21, Endurance +10

Attack Speed +3

Durability 100/100

Additional Passive Skill-

Demonbane: Deals 20% additional damage towards darkness-type monsters.

Although the Demonbane was only at the level of being satisfactory in terms of Attributes, the passive skill that came along with it was perfect for raiding the Demon's Castle. Shi Feng just happened to be able to replace his Level 10 Dark-Gold Weapon, the Silver Lake.

Although the Silver Lake was a Personal Exclusive Weapon, in terms of Attributes and Attack Power, it was much weaker than the Level 15 Demonbane. The reason being, there would be a huge increase in the performance of weapons and equipment every five Levels. Moreover, when taking into consideration the convenience of the upcoming battles, Shi Feng had even more reason to exchange the Silver Lake for the Demonbane.

As for the Dark-Gold ranked staff, it was also of extremely good quality.

[Black Mist Staff] (Two-handed Staff, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 15

Equipment Requirement: Strength 40, Intelligence 60

Attack Power +154

Intelligence +42, Vitality +28, Endurance +33

Chanting Speed +6

Durability 100/100

Elemental Spell Damage increased by 10%

Elemental Spells have 18% chance to achieve a critical hit.

Ignore Levels +3

Cast Range +2

Elemental Spell Levels +1

Restricted to Elementalist.

"Wow! The Attributes on this staff are insane! It's practically tailored for Elementalists!" Even though Blackie already had an Epic ranked staff, he still couldn't help but exclaim when he saw the Attributes on this staff.

The eyes of the two Elementalists in the team immediately glowed upon seeing the Attributes of this staff.

"This staff will go to Aqua." Shi Feng handed the staff over to Aqua Rose without hesitation. Although Taciturn Goose, who was one of the newly recruited Five Demon Generals, was also an Elementalist, Aqua Rose was the Vice-Leader of the Guild.

It would not look well if the Vice-Leader of the Guild continued using only a Secret-Silver ranked staff. Moreover, Aqua Rose's techniques and strength was far above Taciturn Goose's, and she would be able to display the staff's true power better.

"For me?" Although Aqua Rose indeed liked this Black Mist Staff very much, she had only recently joined the Guild. She would feel very awkward if she were to receive such an amazing staff so quickly.

"Take it. You're the Vice-Leader of our Guild. We can't have other Guilds looking down on Zero Wing now, can we?" Shi Feng said, a grin on his face.

"That's right, Vice-Leader! Our Guild is acknowledged as one of the six major Guilds right now! If the other Guilds were to find out that our Vice-Leader was still using a Secret-Silver ranked staff, they would definitely make fun of us!" Blackie said.

"Alright, then. I'll take it."

Aqua Rose felt that their words were logical. As one of the top management of the Guild, every action she took affected the Guild's reputation. If others were to discover her poor quality equipment, although they might not outright slander them with insults, they would definitely look down on Zero Wing. It would make others think that Zero Wing was not as good as it seemed to be.

After equipping this exquisite staff, Aqua Rose suddenly felt the responsibilities placed upon on her shoulders growing heavier.

Following which, after everyone was rested, they resumed advancing towards the heart of the Demon's Castle.

Due to the jackpot from Justin Freed, the team's overall strength was greatly increased. They had a much easier time now when they fought against the Elites and Special Elites, and very quickly, they arrived at the main hall of the Demon's Castle. The final Boss, the Dark Knight Gaia, sat high above on the throne inside the hall.

The moment everyone set foot inside the hall, the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed, and even the air started feeling heavy.

Everyone in the team sucked in a mouthful of cold breath at the scene inside the hall.

"This is a joke, right?" Blackie looked at the throne in the distance, his mouth gaping wide open in shock.

"What is going on here? Why are there two more Bosses with Dark Knight Gaia?" Astonished, Shi Feng stared at the two beauties standing beside the throne. The two beauties had a pair of pitch-black wings on their backs, and both of them were giving off an imposing aura that was no weaker than Dark Knight Gaia's.

Chapter 266 - holy light

Just Dark Knight Gaia alone was a challenge for them to deal with. Yet, there were two more Bosses of equal strength now.

Even Shi Feng felt powerless at this sight...

However, the fact that there were three Bosses in this hall was not the most important point. The key point was that even a single Boss was enough to cause everyone to despair.

"The difficulty of this quest is too high." Shi Feng's head ached when he looked at the three Bosses. He never imagined that Weissman's quest would be so difficult.

If it were the normal Hell Mode Demon's Castle, Shi Feng would still have a way to clear it. However, if he had to face the three Bosses before him simultaneously, then there really was no hope for clearing this Dungeon at all.

[Dark Knight Gaia] (High Lord Rank)

Level 16

HP 4,000,000/4,000,000

[Fallen Angel Ayr] (High Lord Rank)

Level 16

HP 3,600,000/3,600,000

[Fallen Angel Lara] (High Lord Rank)

Level 16

HP 3,600,000/3,600,000

Not only did the quest increase the number of Bosses, it had also greatly increased their strength. With a frightening 4,000,000 HP, even if their healers exhausted all their Mana, they still wouldn't be able to kill Dark Knight Gaia.

It was also highly possible that Cola would die with a single stab from Dark Knight Gaia's spear.

"Guild Leader, I think we should withdraw. There must be a problem with the System. Four million HP is just ridiculous..." Cola said, shaking his head while sighing.

"I think so as well, Brother Feng. Maybe we should go out and reset the Dungeon," Blackie said.

The others had similar thoughts as well. Even if this was Hell Mode, the difficulty of these Bosses was simply preposterous.

"Since we've already come this far, let's give it a try. There should be a special mechanism in place if the Bosses are set to be so powerful." Shi Feng did not think there was an error with the System. It definitely had its own reasoning for making the Bosses this powerful. So, they might as well test the water. Who knows? They might even discover some secret trick that will allow them to defeat these Bosses.

Since Shi Feng had already spoken, the others naturally did not oppose his decision. At worst, they would simply waste some of their EXP, and EXP was something they could easily obtain.

Hence, like the previous time, Cola and Gluttonous Mouse went ahead to gauge the standards of the Bosses. Like before, Cola threw his shield at the three Bosses, activating Shield of Vengeance. Yet, the moment Cola's shield struck the three Bosses, everyone in the team was stunned by what they saw.

-1...

-1...

-1...

Only one point of damage appeared above each of the three Bosses. Their frightening Defense rendered everyone in the team speechless.

"You are seeking death!" Dark Knight Gaia spoke in a tone that was neither enraged nor arrogant. Rather, his voice was only filled with coldness and indifference. He spoke just like a machine—emotionless. Gaia then slowly got up from his throne. He did not rush to attack Cola, instead choosing to abruptly focus his eyes on Cola.

Cola instantly felt a chill overcome his body. Although this was a game, the pressure he felt was nothing but real.

Similarly, the two Fallen Angels by Gaia's side did not take any action. They did not even give Cola a single glance, as if saying Cola was not worth their attention at all.

"I refuse to believe it yet."

Cola summoned up his courage as he used Punishment on Dark Knight Gaia. However, just like before, his attack only dealt one point of damage to the Boss. Everyone cringed at this result.

This time, Dark Knight Gaia finally retaliated against Cola's attack. Gaia casually retrieved a spear from his side, aimed it at Cola, and threw it. Before anyone could react, a flash of light pierced through Cola's chest, followed by a sonic boom reverberating throughout the hall. The attack caused over -2,900 damage to Cola, leaving him with only several hundred HP remaining. This casual attack had nearly taken Cola's pitiful life.

Just as Dark Knight Gaia was about to attack for the second time, a pillar of holy light descended from the sky, enveloping Cola.

When Gaia's spear clashed against the holy light, it was as if the spear had struck an impenetrable wall—the spear could not advance by even an inch.

"There was a trick to it as expected." Shi Feng smiled faintly when he saw the holy light descending from the sky. He also discovered the silhouette of a person floating amidst the pillar of holy light. Hence, Shi Feng shouted in the team chat, "Everyone, together! Healers, get Cola's HP back up first!"

Previously, everyone merely had the intention of giving the Bosses a try; they did not hold any hope of actually killing them. Now that a chance had appeared, how could they easily give it up?

The atmosphere surrounding the team instantly changed. No longer were they shrouded by despair.

"Huh? Why is it her?" When the person inside the pillar of light walked out, Shi Feng discovered a familiar face. When he caught a clearer view of that saintly appearance, his mind immediately turned sluggish.

The person that walked out of the pillar of holy light was actually the Tier 3 Divine Official Sharlyn.

"Wow! My Goddess!" Blackie's eyes widened upon seeing Sharlyn, his drool nearly leaking out of his mouth.

Putting aside Sharlyn's peerless appearance and graceful figure, just that extraordinary aura that she exuded would attract others to her. Gifted with both appearance and aura, Sharlyn was even more mesmerizing than the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow.

After Sharlyn descended into the hall, she did not look at the people behind her. Instead, she focused her attention on the black throne, at Dark Knight Gaia and the two Fallen Angels by his side.

Dark Knight Gaia no longer maintained his look of indifference when he noticed Sharlyn's appearance. Instead, a hint of fear showed on his face.

"Gaia, leave that woman to us. You take care of those ants and activate the teleportation gate. It is about time we let this continent be filled with fear and death once more," Fallen Angel Ayr said.

"Yes, Lady Ayr," Dark Knight Gaia answered respectfully.

At the same time, Sharlyn whirled around to look at everyone, saying, "Adventurers! For his selfish gains, Gaia has turned the past inhabitants of this castle into demons, letting them live a life that is worse than death! Now, he is even trying to open a gate to the Demon World, summoning the Legion of Dead to attack White River City! You must stop Gaia from doing so at all costs and prevent a terrible fate from befalling the inhabitants of White River City!"

Finished speaking, Sharlyn immediately chanted some divine incantations. She then pointed a finger at the players before her. Suddenly, everyone in the team received a buff.

[Blessing of Holy Light]

Increases all Attributes by 200 points.

"This blessing is insane! My Magic Damage is over a thousand points! My HP is also over 5,000! This feels awesome!" Blackie said in exhilaration.

Everyone else shared Blackie's feelings. Their bodies felt full of power, and they felt that they could easily go back and trample the previous Boss, Justin Freed.

Just the HP of the ranged players had already exceeded the 5,000 threshold. The other melee players also had their HPs increased past the 6,000 threshold. As for the monstrous MT of the team, Cola, his HP had already gone past the 7,000 threshold. Cola was practically a mini Boss now.

After Sharlyn and the two Fallen Angels departed to do battle, Dark Knight Gaia immediately charged towards the team of players, intending to massacre them quickly.

At this time, everyone in the team no longer looked at Dark Knight Gaia with fearful eyes like before.

Even if Cola received close to -3,000 damage from a single spear throw from the Boss, the Guardian Knight presently had over 7,000 HP. Moreover, the healers also had their Magic Damage increased from the blessing. Now, a casual heal from any one of them could replenish over a thousand HP for Cola. They had no problems coping with Dark Knight Gaia's frightening damage.

Taking the lead, Cola immediately slashed his sword at Gaia, following up the attack with a Punishment.

-328, -641.

Two damages appeared above Dark Knight Gaia's head.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had used Silent Steps and arrived at Dark Knight Gaia's back. Executing Chop, he slashed his sword down at Gaia's neck, immediately causing more than -1,200 damage to the Boss. His follow-up normal attacks also caused around -600 damage.

However, compared to physical damage classes, the mages had a much greater improvement.

Each of Blackie's Dark Arrows caused over -2,000 damage to the Boss; over -4,000 damage if it was a critical hit. As for Aqua Rose, her Flame Explosion dealt over -1,500 damage to the Boss.

The other mages in the team could also deal over -1,200 damage with each of their attacks, which was very impressive.

On the other hand, Dark Knight Gaia's damage towards Cola was slightly reduced. Each of his attacks only dealt slightly over -2,400 damage to Cola now.

One side was strengthened, while the other, weakened. Even if Dark Knight Gaia had 4,000,000 HP, everyone still felt confident of defeating him.

As Dark Knight Gaia's HP continuously fell, his attack rate also grew fiercer, and the damage he dealt also became greater. From the initial -2,400 damage, Cola now received around -2,700 from each of Gaia's attacks.

Chapter 267 - legendary power

"This won't do. The damage we're dealing is still too low. If this keeps up, we will definitely be the ones to die." After several exchanges with Dark Knight Gaia, Shi Feng had already deduced the most likely ending of this raid. His mind immediately started churning for a solution to this problem.

When Dark Knight Gaia's HP fell to 70%, everyone else detected that something was wrong.

The spear Gaia brandished was like a python, containing both power and agility. Gaia had a more relaxed time responding to everyone's attacks now, successfully blocking and rendering many of the attacks sent at him ineffective. Currently, Gaia was like the reincarnation of the spear god.

Dark Knight Gaia abruptly swept his spear in a circle, sending Shi Feng and the others, who were attacking his back, flying. Shi Feng reacted quickly and used Parry without hesitation, preventing any harm from reaching him. Unfortunately, everyone else in the team was not as quick to react. As a result, each of them received over -2,000 damage from the attack, suddenly increasing the burden placed on the healers.

Meanwhile, the main target of Dark Knight Gaia's attack, Cola, had to retreat a handful of steps before stabilizing his body. A frightening damage of -4,300 also appeared above his head.

"Guild Leader, the Boss is getting more powerful the longer we fight! I don't think I will last long if this situation continues!" At this moment, the Guardian Knight, Cola, was no longer as calm and composed as he was before.

Currently, the Dark Knight Gaia would deal around -3,000 damage each time he attacked Cola. If the Boss triggered a critical hit or used a skill, he would deal over -4,000 damage. Even if Cola had over 7,000 HP, the pressure placed on him was huge. His HP constantly hovered around the safety threshold, which was a very dangerous situation.

This was exactly where the Dark Knight Gaia excelled. The longer he fought, the braver he got.

On the surface, Dark Knight Gaia did not seem to use any major skills. However, in reality, he had been using them constantly.

Blood Rage. With this skill, the longer Dark Knight Gaia battled, the higher his damage would become. His Attack Speed would also rise as time passed. Just this skill alone was already sufficient to make any team that dared challenge him kneel and accept defeat.

In addition, Dark Knight Gaia also possessed an AOE skill, Blood Domain. The skill had an effective area of 100 yards. When used, a Blood Demon would spawn behind all enemies within this range. These Blood Fiends each had 10,000 HP. Contrary to expectations, these Blood Fiends would not attack players. Instead, if these Blood Fiends came within 3 yards of their locked target, they would self-destruct. The resulting explosion had an effective radius of 20 yards, and in Hell Mode, the explosion would deal -2,000 damage.

However, due to Shi Feng's quest, the current Boss the team faced was an enhanced version of the Hell Mode Dark Knight Gaia. Hence, Shi Feng did not know how much damage the Blood Fiends would deal if they exploded; it was bound to be more than -2,000 damage.

If they could not deal with these Blood Fiends quickly, leaving the monsters to self-destruct without control, the end result would, without a doubt, be a team-wipe. Yet, if everyone were to run around the hall while having the Blood Fiends chase after them, it would disrupt the team's formation; any mistake made during this confusion would easily lead to a team-wipe. Hence, the moment these Blood Fiends appeared, they needed to deal with them within the shortest amount of time possible.

"Just depending on the Blessing of Holy Light won't be enough to deal with this Boss. If we can't increase our damage output, we will die sooner or later." Shi Feng took a look at the Mana levels of the four healers and discovered that all of them only had around half remaining. However, Dark Knight Gaia still had 65% of his HP left. If this situation continued, they wouldn't be able to last until the end. Not to mention, Dark Knight Gaia hadn't used Blood Domain yet. At that time, the burden on the healers would definitely be huge.

"Brother Feng, we'll definitely be team-wiped if this continues! Should I use Stars of Light now?" Blackie secretly sent a private message to Shi Feng.

Stars of Light was the most powerful skill of the Epic ranked staff, Mavis's Guard. Its might surpassed even that of a Tier 2 spell. It was a spell that could devastate both heaven and earth. Unfortunately, this powerful spell had a Cooldown time of half an hour. Hence, it was a trump card that could only be used once in a Boss battle.

As a result, whenever Blackie was in a party together with Shi Feng, he would always seek Shi Feng's advice, letting Shi Feng decide when he should use the skill.

"No, it's still too early for it." Shi Feng had long since planned for Blackie to use Stars of Light when Gaia used Blood Domain. The might of the skill would instantly evaporate the Blood Fiends that spawn.

Yet, if they did not use the skill now, they might not even survive to see Dark Knight Gaia use Blood Domain.

With two difficult options at hand, Shi Feng was at a loss which to pick.

_In the end, we still aren't strong enough._ Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Even though their team was already so powerful, it was still not enough to clear this quest. Shi Feng truly did not know how those players in the past had managed to complete this quest.

However, it was also a fact that the players had already completed their Tier 1 class promotion when they completed this quest. With a team of Tier 1 players with top-tier Level 20 equipment and weapons, it would be a simple walk in the park for them to conquer the enhanced Hell Mode of the Demon's Castle.

Also, even if nobody in the team had reached Level 20, if everyone's weapons and equipment were of Dark-Gold rank or above, Dark Knight Gaia would still have no choice but to submit to them.

To put it bluntly, they were lacking in preparations.

"As expected, our current equipment is still too weak." Shi Feng could not help but lament as he watched the Boss getting stronger as time passed.

Suddenly, however, a flash of realization came to Shi Feng.

"That's right! If it's equipment, don't I have the Fragmented Legendary item?"  Shi Feng thought of the ring that had been left asleep inside his bag.

The Heavenly Dragon's Breath. As a Fragmented Legendary item, it possessed the strength to change a player's Tier. Yes, Tier, not Level.

Previously, Shi Feng had never managed to reach the requirements of the Fragmented Legendary item. Now, however, he had already achieved it.

[Heavenly Dragon's Breath] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 200, Agility 200, Intelligence 120

Strength +40%, Agility +40%, Intelligence +30%, Endurance +50%

Movement Speed +20%

Attack Speed +30%

Ignore Levels +10

All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels.

Additional Skill 1: Dragon's Authority. Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 30-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 20%, Attack Speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 1 minute.

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Additional Skill 2: Dragon Breath. Inflicts 6X damage in a 30*5 yard line in front of you. There is a 20% chance to induce the Fainted state for 2 seconds.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Additional Skill 3: Heavenly Dragon's Power. Allows the user to temporarily possess the power of the Heavenly Dragon, increasing HP by 300%, Strength by 100%, and Defense by 300%, and grants immunity to all controlling effects for 2 minutes.

Cooldown: 3 hours

The Dragon Slayer Mekaseru once owned the Heavenly Dragon's Breath. It was originally a Legendary Ranked Item possessing the suppressed strength of the dragon tribe. Due to damage resulting from a war between Gods, its might has greatly decreased. However, the Heavenly Dragon's Breath possesses an incomparably strong magic power and possesses the potential to restore itself. Its past glory may be restored with three Magic Stars and one Dragon's Heart. Current restoration (0/4).

[Blessing of Holy Light]

Increases all Attributes by 200 points.

This blessing had allowed Shi Feng to instantly surpass the daunting requirement of having 120 Intelligence.

Without wasting any more time, Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Heavenly Dragon's Breath from his bag.

The instant he wore the ring, he immediately felt it transmit a boundless power into his body. Not even the Blessing of Holy Light could compare to this power.

"Good. The raid officially starts, now!"

Shi Feng looked at the silver dragon-shaped ring on his finger, a smile on his face. Whether it was his past life or his present life, this was the very first time he was feeling the strength of a Legendary item, even if it was only a fragment. He then shifted his gaze towards Dark Knight Gaia, his eyes abruptly focusing.

Dragon's Authority!

Instantly, everyone felt Shi Feng's transformation. They could feel the might of an ancient dragon coming off him, and even their souls quivered in the face of this power.

Meanwhile, as if stuck in a deep quagmire, Dark Knight Gaia's movements turned sluggish. Gaia's Attack Power was greatly reduced as well, letting Cola gain a breather. Cola no longer felt overwhelmed by Gaia's attacks, and he could even dodge the Boss's attacks now.

It wasn't just limited to Cola. Everyone else started attacking with greater efficiency as well.

Originally, they were on the verge of being team-wiped. Yet, the situation suddenly had a huge change. It was simply unbelievable.

"What happened?" Aqua Rose was shocked.

Chapter 268 - everything is insubstantial 

Although everyone was shocked by Dark Knight Gaia's weakening, they were even more shocked by the person who activated Dragon's Authority, Shi Feng.

Currently, raging winds surrounded Shi Feng's body, swirling in all directions and creating a dazzling sight.

Shi Feng had now become the focus of this hall.

When Shi Feng took a step forward, his body instantly disappeared and reappeared in front of Dark Knight Gaia. Brandishing both the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane, Shi Feng sent over a dozen slashes at the Boss, the afterimages of his swords creating an impression of a lotus flower.

Due to the Heavenly Dragon's Breath, Shi Feng's Attributes were greatly increased once more. Currently, his Strength had already exceeded 500 points, while his Attack was well over 1,200 points. His Agility had also exceeded 600 points. Whether it was his Attack Power or Attack Speed, both were far above the standards of even a Tier 1 Swordsman. Right now, Shi Feng could even give a Tier 2 Sword Master a run for his money.

This was the power of a Legendary item. Even though Shi Feng only had a fragmented version of it, the increase in combat power he received could allow him to challenge enemies of a higher tier.

Damages of over -1,000 appeared one after another. Some of his attacks had even dealt over -2,000 and -3,000 damage.

Dark Knight Gaia, who had previously been like an immovable mountain, was currently being forced to retreat step after step by the torrent of sword slashes. He could not even enter a basic stance due to the incessant attacks. Meanwhile, Cola was having a relaxed time going against the Boss, expending almost no effort on evading the Boss's attacks.

However, Shi Feng's onslaught had yet to end.

Thundering Flash!

Chop!

Double Chop!

Earth Splitter!

Thunder Flame Explosion!

Every skill dealt over -2,000 damage. Of them, the Level 8 Thunder Flame Explosion had even achieved a critical hit, dealing over -6,000 damage to the Boss.

Shi Feng's damage far surpassed even that of Blackie now.

"Guild Leader, what sort of potion did you take? How did you suddenly become so awesome?" Cola was extremely curious about Shi Feng's sudden transformation. Previously, Shi Feng's single-output damage was even below Blackie's and Aqua Rose's. Now, however, his damage had completely left that of the two in the dust. If Shi Feng said it was nothing, not even a ghost would believe him.

"Potion? Cola, you're thinking too highly of potions. This is the trump card of our Guild!" Blackie said, a grin on his face. He had a fair idea of what was actually going on. After all, he had also been present when Shi Feng obtained the Heavenly Dragon's Breath.

"Brother Black is right. Cola, you're looking down on Guild Leader too much," Lonely Snow chimed in with a proud tone.

The matter of the Fragmented Legendary item had always been a secret between the three of them. Shi Feng had previously told them not to leak any information about it, so nobody else, other than them, knew about it.

After all, just an Epic ranked item alone could entice a first-rate Guild to take action. If it was known that their Guild possessed a Fragmented Legendary item, rivers of blood might start to flow in White River City.

"It's not a potion?" Aqua Rose was also surprised. However, after she gave it a thought, their words felt right. It should not be possible for potions to provide such a powerful upgrade. Yet, if it was not a potion, what else could allow Shi Feng's battle strength to increase so tremendously?

Suddenly, Aqua Rose started growing more confused about the Guild known as Zero Wing.

It was clearly a recently established Guild. It could even be described as a blank slate. Yet, shortly after she had joined the Guild, she received one shock after another.

Aqua Rose had even begun to suspect that Shi Feng was an elder of one of those Super Guilds, and that he had come to White River City to play the role of a pig to devour the tiger.

Only a dozen seconds passed since the battle resumed, and already, Dark Knight Gaia had lost 5% of his HP. Currently, he only had 54% of his HP remaining. If this trend continued, his life would end before three minutes even passed.

However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this result.

The reason being, along with the passing of time, Dark Knight Gaia would grow stronger and stronger. Moreover, Dragon's Authority lasted for only one minute. After the minute was up, Dark Knight Gaia would once again be like the reincarnation of a spear god. With Cola's equipment, he would not last long under the Boss's onslaught.

Just as Dark Knight Gaia was about to recover his battle strength...

"I wonder how well this move will perform?"

The Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng's hand suddenly ignited in flames, the fire-type mana within a 30-yard radius frantically gathering around the weapon.

The light from the scorching flames illuminated the dark hall, while the heat evaporated the moisture in the air. Currently, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng's hand was like a miniature sun.

This was none other than Shi Feng's ultimate move, Flame Burst.

Due to his increased Attributes, the current Flame Burst was much stronger than the last time Shi Feng used it.

Before anyone could react, the Abyssal Blade turned into a shooting star, smashing into Dark Knight Gaia's chest.

Gaia's previously impenetrable armor was like tofu when it met with the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade easily pierced Gaia's steel armor and body like a hot knife through butter, creating a large hole in Gaia's chest. However, this was not the end of Shi Feng's attack. Shi Feng then followed up with five more slashes, each of his slashes dealing over -6,000 damage. Some of them had even achieved a critical hit, dealing over -13,000 damage. Meanwhile, the armor on Dark Knight Gaia's body was instantly shattered, the sundered metal fragments smashing heavily against the stone pillars at the sides of the hall. These stone pillars completely collapsed at the impact of the metal fragments.

Receiving these six continuous attacks, Dark Knight Gaia instantly lost over 60,000 HP. This scene absolutely dumbfounded everyone in the team.

Right now, Shi Feng looked more like the Boss here with Dark Knight Gaia as the player.

The situation was so shocking that Cola and everyone else in the team even forgot to attack Dark Knight Gaia.

"Oi! Stop daydreaming! The Boss is still alive!" Shi Feng smiled helplessly as he received everyone's fervent gazes.

After Shi Feng's reminder, Cola and Ye Wumian quickly reacted and charged at the Boss.

Maybe because he no longer had his armor, Dark Knight Gaia was actually receiving an additional 30% damage from everyone's attacks now. The raid progressed at a much faster rate right away.

"You ants have angered me! Accept the punishment of darkness!"

The moment Dark Knight Gaia bellowed, the entire hall turned bloody red. Immediately, 20 ferocious-looking Blood Fiends appeared within the hall. Meanwhile, these Blood Fiends each had 20,000 HP, and each of them quickly ran towards their locked targets after being summoned.

"Blackie!" Shi Feng said in the team chat.

"Got it! It's finally time for me to show off!" Blackie chuckled as he waved his staff. A gigantic magic circle appeared above the hall, and in the blink of an eye, a dazzling star emerged from the magic circle and crashed downwards.

The Stars of Light had a very wide coverage. Hence, Blackie easily enveloped all the Blood Fiends within the skill, the enraged Dark Knight Gaia included.

Each star caused over -5,000 damage. After over a dozen stars came crashing down, not even ashes remained of the Blood Fiends. As for Dark Knight Gaia, he was left in a miserable state after the duration of the skill ended.

Everyone else in the team took this chance to use their most powerful moves on the Boss, holding nothing back.

Before even a minute passed, Dark Knight Gaia's HP fell to 30%. Instantly, the Boss went into a berserk state, his body doubling in size. In this state, both his Attack Power and Defense were greatly increased.

Even when Cola had Protection Blessing activated, the skill reducing any damage he received by 50%, he lost over 3,000 HP the instant Dark Knight Gaia's spear connected with his body.

"Just in time." Shi Feng had been waiting for this moment all along.

Did he think going berserk was amazing?

In front of a dragon, everything was insubstantial!

Shi Feng immediately activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, increasing his HP by 300%, Strength by 100%, Defense by 300%, and also becoming immune to all controlling effects for two minutes.

After the activation of Heavenly Dragon's Power, Shi Feng's body underwent a transformation. Dragon scales suddenly covered his skin, making him look as if he was wearing dragon-scale armor. With the addition of these dragon scales, Shi Feng's originally ordinary appearance suddenly became tyrannical.

Chapter 269 - violet conclusion 

Originally, everyone was still worried about how they should deal with the berserk Boss. However, Shi Feng's shocking transformation immediately attracted their attention.

Leaving aside Shi Feng's new handsome and gorgeous appearance, just by standing there, he was already giving off an insurmountable pressure.

This was no longer an oppression due to strength. Instead, this pressure was the instinctive reverence for a primordial life form.

"Just what is going on here?" Aqua Rose asked in shock.

It was a known fact that players could not transform their bodies. Yet, Shi Feng had actually transformed in defiance of that notion. Moreover, that frightening pressure he was giving off was much more terrifying when compared to the berserk Dark Knight Gaia.

Let alone the others, even Blackie and Lonely Snow, who knew about the Fragmented Legendary item, were greatly astonished by Shi Feng's sudden transformation.

They never thought that a player could actually become so powerful after activating the Heavenly Dragon's Power.

"I think the Guild Leader can kill me in a single hit now," Lonely Snow said, a bitter smile on his face.

"Let alone you, even Cola might not survive a single hit from Brother Feng." With the activation of the Heavenly Dragon's Power, Shi Feng's Strength received a severalfold increase, which meant that his Attack Power had increased as well. When Blackie thought about how his most powerful skill, Stars of Light, already failed to match Shi Feng's previous strength...

If Shi Feng used a skill, even Cola, who had over 7,000 HP, would be reduced to ash.

The Heavenly Dragon's Power is strong, as expected, Shi Feng thought as he shook his fists. He could feel boundless power coursing through his body. In addition, after activating this skill, Shi Feng could feel his mind becoming much clearer than before, allowing him to reach a peak condition that he had never experienced.

Shi Feng's Strength now exceeded 1,000 points. His Attack Power was also over 2,300 points, while his HP was over 15,900. In addition, his Defense had gone past 4,500 points—almost twice that of Cola's. Currently, he could easily be considered a mini Boss.

"Cola, leave tanking the Boss to me." Shi Feng wanted to test his new body. Moreover, it would be much more effective for him to tank the Boss instead of Cola right now. Apart from having higher Attack, Defense, and HP, Shi Feng's current dodging capabilities were miles ahead of Cola's.

"Alright." Although Cola was still shocked by Shi Feng's transformation, he managed to muster a reply.

With more than 15,900 HP, nobody was a more reliable MT than Shi Feng.

After relieving Cola of his duties, Shi Feng immediately slashed a sword at Dark Knight Gaia. Like a lightning bolt, Shi Feng's sword smashed into Dark Knight Gaia's body with the might of a thousand. The attack dealt over -2,000 damage to the Boss, and the strength behind the attack forced the Boss to retreat three steps. Each step the Boss retreated left behind a deep footprint on the hard tiled floor.

This was the benefit of increasing one's Strength. Compared to increasing just Attack Power, if players with physical damage classes increased their Strength, not only could they gain additional Attack Power, their increased Strength would also create a suppression effect during battle. This effect would further raise the damage they dealt their enemies. When attacking, players could also cause their enemies to lose their balance. In a battle, if one could not maintain a proper stance, it would be very easy for problems to arise. Hence, compared to purely increasing one's Attack Power, it would be much more beneficial to increase one's Strength instead.

This was a kind of invisible support, and many players only discovered the importance of Basic Attributes after playing the game for a long time.

Currently, Shi Feng's battle with Dark Knight Gaia was in full swing, and the other melee classes had no chance to get close to the Boss at all. The reason being, aside from MTs like Cola and Ye Wumian, the other melee classes could not even survive a single hit from Dark Knight Gaia. In this situation, only the ranged players could continue attacking without worry.

Although Dark Knight Gaia had gone berserk, he was merely an insignificant being in the face of the Shi Feng who had the Heavenly Dragon's Power activated.

The battle between the two of them was just like a battle between two Boss monsters. Although Shi Feng's HP was only a tiny fraction of Dark Knight Gaia's 4,000,000 HP, in this battle, Shi Feng was the only one doing actual damage. Whenever Dark Knight Gaia attacked Shi Feng, the latter would either dodge the attack or block it. Dark Knight Gaia was unable to deal any real damage to Shi Feng.

Moreover, every time Shi Feng brandished his two swords, Dark Knight Gaia would be forced to retreat. Each of Shi Feng's attacks dealt over -2,000 damage, but more often than not, his attacks would achieve a critical hit and deal over -4,000 damage. A critical Chop also dealt over -6,000 damage.

On the other hand, Dark Knight Gaia could only deal around -2,000 damage to Shi Feng with each attack. With close to 16,000 HP, the healers could take their sweet time healing Shi Feng; they had no need to fear stealing the aggro of the Boss at all. As a tank, Shi Feng was currently far stronger than the Guild's number one MT, Cola.

After the 30-second berserk period was over...

Dark Knight Gaia's body shrank back to its original size. Even though he still had Blood Rage in effect, he no longer possessed the previous ferocity he had possessed in his berserk state.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Dragon's Power had a duration of two minutes; there were still 90 seconds left before Shi Feng's transformation ended.

Without the berserk effect, Dark Knight Gaia was like a venomous snake that lost its fangs. He could only receive a one-sided beating from Shi Feng now. Whenever Shi Feng slashed his sword, Dark Knight Gaia would have to retreat a handful of steps. The gap between the two of them simply rendered one speechless.

"Throw in everything you've got. We need to end the battle as quick as possible," Shi Feng said in the team chat.

Upon Shi Feng's reminder, the others who hadn't dared to approach the Boss before immediately rushed up in a hurry. As a result, the damage rate to the Boss instantly soared.

When Dark Knight Gaia's HP fell to 15%, he used Blood Domain once more, summoning another group of Blood Fiends. However, unlike the first group of Blood Fiends, these newly summoned monsters each had 30,000 HP.

"As expected, even his skills have changed." Shi Feng had been afraid of something like this happening, hence why he wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Since the quest had altered the raiding difficulty of the Dungeon, a change to the skills of the Boss would naturally occur. Since there wasn't much of a change in Dark Knight Gaia's Blood Rage, then the only skill that remained was Blood Domain.

"Everyone, gather in the center!" Shi Feng immediately shouted.

When Blood Domain was previously used, the team had a wide-range AOE skill like the Stars of Light to depend on. However, they had no such skill that could quickly deal with all the Blood Fiends this time. Stars of Light had a 30-minute Cooldown, so there was no way of using it for the second time in this battle. Hence, they could only hope to group up and concentrate their attacks on the monsters.

Everyone in the team reacted fast. Before three seconds had passed, all of them were already standing together.

Having the shape of a demonic beast, the blood-red monsters revealed malicious expressions upon being summoned. After locking on to their respective targets, the Blood Fiends let out frenzied roars as they charged forward.

By the time the Blood Fiends started moving, Aqua Rose had already finished chanting an incantation. First, she summoned an Ice Wall to block off all the Blood Fiends from closing in on their group. The Ice Wall also placed an additional debuff on the Blood Fiends, slowing the monsters' Movement Speeds. Right after that, Aqua Rose shot an Ice Sphere at the group of monsters, reducing their Movement Speeds even further. With the successive use of these two skills, the group of Blood Fiends now moved as slow as snails.

However, Aqua Rose was still not done with her spells. She then followed up with a third spell called Blizzard. Not only could this spell deal high amounts of damage, it also had a very good Movement Speed reduction effect...

Without staying idle, the other ranged players started throwing out attacks at the monsters as well.

Blackie had also taken this chance to use the most powerful AOE skill currently available to him.

Hell Flame!

Pillars of dark green flames shot up from the ground, repeatedly dealing over -2,000 damage to the group of Blood Fiends for five seconds.

However, such an amount of damage was still not enough to deal with the Blood Fiends.

Just as the Blood Fiends were about to close in on the team, Shi Feng suddenly appeared in front of everyone, blocking the Blood Fiends' path of advance.

"Die!" Shi Feng bellowed at the group of Blood Fiends.

Shi Feng used Thundering Flash, causing damages of -3,125, -4,321, and -6,040, and also inflicting the Damage Amplification effect to all of these Blood Fiends. However, these monsters were still not dead. Next, Shi Feng inhaled abruptly and executed Dragon Breath.

Before anyone noticed, countless wind blades transformed into streaks of silver light, piercing through everything that stood in Shi Feng's path. These Blood Fiends instantly turned into minced meat, and not even Dark Knight Gaia, who was charging at the team, was spared from this attack. Dark Knight Gaia was sent flying by the attack, and his body was embedded into the distant wall. However, an instant later, the wall behind him shattered, and Dark Knight Gaia was again sent flying for more than ten yards. Dark Knight Gaia's body was filled with bloody injuries now. Meanwhile, Dark Knight Gaia had received over -15,000 damage from Dragon Breath.

The amount of violence this skill displayed was far above Blackie's Hell Flame.

Without the threat of Blood Domain, the battle continued for only 30 more seconds before Dark Knight Gaia died in the middle of the hall, letting out an agonized roar as his life faded away.

Immediately, many people in the team leveled up. Shi Feng had also risen from Level 17 to Level 18.

White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Demon's Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP, and 10 Silver Coins.

White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hell Mode Demon's Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP and one Tier 2 Gemstone of random Attribute.

System: Hell Mode Demon's Castle has been cleared for the first time. Loot increased by 100%.

Chapter 270 - Ennobled 

Outside one of the Three Great Dungeons, the Land of Death, there were many Guilds that had established a base of operations to facilitate raiding the Dungeon.

Meanwhile, inside Dark Star's base of operations...

"The Arclight Shield is already in our hands now, so the MT problem has been dealt with. The next thing we need to do is to snatch the First Clear of the Land of Death right in front of everyone," Lone Tyrant said in high spirits.

Lone Tyrant had spent a lot of effort in order to acquire the Arclight Shield. In order to quickly collect the required 30 Gold Coins, he had played the role of the gullible fool and purchased them at an overpriced value of 700,000 Credits. However, now that the actual item was in his hands, Dark Star would officially become the second Guild in White River City to start raiding the Hard Mode of one of the Three Great Dungeons.

Previously, the main reason why Dark Star had been surpassed by Ouroboros was the insufficient strength of their MT. Now, however, the situation was different. With their newly acquired Arclight Shield, Dark Star would be competing with Ouroboros on a level playing field.

As for the other Guilds, Dark Star had no reason to be fearful of them.

Even if Zero Wing already had their own Arclight Shields, they were only a recently established Guild. They did not possess the backing required to raid the Three Great Dungeons.

At this moment, however, a System Announcement rang out...

White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Demon's Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP, and 10 Silver Coins.

White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hell Mode Demon's Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP and one Tier 2 Gemstone of random Attribute.

...

The announcement was repeated three times.

Lone Tyrant was dumbfounded by this announcement.

He was very clear about what sort of Dungeon the Demon's Castle was. If not for the fact that the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons was too important to them, Dark Star would have long since started raiding the Demon's Castle.

However, Zero Wing had gotten the drop on them and secretly taken the First Clear of the Demon's Castle. Moreover, it was the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demon's Castle...

Currently, Ouroboros was the only Guild in White River City that could successfully raid a 20-man Hard Mode Dungeon. However, that capability was limited to the Level 10 low-difficulty Dungeons, and not a Level 15 high-difficulty Dungeon.

"How did they do it? Aren't they just a recently established Guild?" Lone Tyrant could not make sense of the situation. "Did that Ye Feng help them in secret? Even so, they still shouldn't be able to clear it. That's a 20-man Dungeon; there is a limit to one person's strength."

"Boss, do you want us to go investigate?" an Assassin asked.

"No need. The Three Great Dungeons takes priority. Zero Wing has only obtained the First Clear of the Demon's Castle. By the time we obtain the First Clear of the Land of Death, Zero Wing would only serve as a foil to make Dark Star look even better." Lone Tyrant shook his head, a contemptuous smile on his face.

Although Lone Tyrant acted dismissively towards Zero Wing's achievement, the other Guilds in White River City did not. In addition, the independent players in White River City were also greatly astonished by Zero Wing's achievement.

Before, not everyone felt that Zero Wing really deserved to be ranked as one of the top six Guilds of White River City. After all, the only real achievement of the Guild was its monopoly of the top eight positions on the Ranking List; nothing else about the Guild was worth mentioning. Now that they had obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demon's Castle, it showed that Dungeon-raiding was no longer a weakness of Zero Wing.

This situation had caused many gaming experts who were previously hesitant about joining Zero Wing to change their minds.

The reason being, Zero Wing was the second Guild in White River City to have successfully cleared a 20-man Hell Mode Dungeon. Moreover, the Dungeon they had cleared was a Level 15 Dungeon, the highest-leveled Dungeon that players could currently enter. This showed that their strength had surpassed the other Guilds by a large margin.

\---

Just as the players in White River City were fervently discussing this matter, Shi Feng's team started distributing their spoils of war.

Originally, aside from the Hell Mode Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons, Dark Knight Gaia could be considered as the strongest Boss below Level 20. After receiving the frightening enhancement from Shi Feng's quest, Dark Knight Gaia had become even stronger than the final Boss of the Hell Mode of the Three Great Dungeons. Hence, the loot he dropped would naturally be excellent.

Dark Knight Gaia had dropped a total of 27 items: nine weapons and equipment, one Forging Design, one Tailoring Design, one Potion Recipe, one Cooking Recipe, three precious production materials, ten Magic Crystals, and one Demon's Heart. The last item was also Shi Feng's quest item this time around.

Among the nine weapons and equipment, five were of Dark-Gold rank, and all of them were items that could level up from Level 15 all the way up to Level 20. Of the five items, one was a staff for Clerics, and one was a cloth-armor chest piece for Clerics. Both items were given to Violet Cloud. Meanwhile, Blackie received a hat for Cursemancers, Aqua Rose received shoulder guards for Elementalists, and Ye Wumian received arm guards for Shield Warriors.

The remaining four weapons and equipment were of Fine-Gold rank. The leather-armor chest piece and shoulder guards were both given to Fire Dance. There was also a longbow for Rangers, which was given to Sentimental Memories, one of the Five Demon Generals. Lastly, the Berserker, Water Buffalo, received a greatsword.

After having distributed all the equipment, the team's battle power greatly increased once again.

With such equipment, no other team in White River City could even hope to compare to them.

As for the other items, Shi Feng promptly kept them for himself.

"We've got a good harvest this time." Shi Feng felt exhilarated when he looked at the designs and recipes in his bag.

In the hands of others, these items would only be worth a small sum of money. In his hands, however, these items would be money-making machines.

Most importantly, the Forging Design he obtained was meant to produce the Gemstone Buckle. This item could allow players to equip an additional Gemstone onto equipment that were of Bronze rank or above. Meanwhile, players could apply up to three Gemstone Buckles on their characters, meaning they could have up to three additional Gemstones.

The value of this item was no less than the Advanced Whetstone.

As for the other recipes and designs, they were relatively valuable as well. Only, they were not as valuable as the Gemstone Buckle.

\---

After leaving the Demon's Castle, Shi Feng allowed everyone to go ahead with their own agendas while he headed to the City Hall of White River City.

When Shi Feng arrived at the reception room of the City Hall, the Tier 4 Wizard Weissman was still as leisurely as he was before. Weissman currently stood by the window, a peaceful expression on his face as he observed the plaza outside the City Hall.

"Young man, you're here. I've already heard about your achievements from that little girl, Sharlyn." Before Shi Feng had even entered the room, Weissman had already detected his presence. At this time, Weissman moved away from the window and walked towards Shi Feng. He then nodded his head, a smile on his face as he said, "Not bad! Truly not bad at all! I never imagined a day would come when this old man would misjudge somebody! Hahaha!"

"Not only have you slain Gaia, you have also saved the entire White River City. I don't even know how I should reward you for your efforts.

"How about this? With the power vested in me, from this day onwards, you are a Viscount of White River City!

"With your strength, I believe you should be able to protect that place. Take this Blacksteel's Contract here and head over to that place, then."

System: Unique Quest "Demon's Heart" completed.

Quest rewards: Position of Viscount in White River City, Blacksteel's Contract, 500,000 EXP, 50 Free Mastery Points, and 2 Gold Coins.

Shi Feng was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected rewards. These rewards were simply too bountiful, especially the position of Viscount. In the entire White River City, perhaps only Shi Feng would understand the importance of this position.

"Right, I nearly forgot to mention, that little girl, Sharlyn, said she has some matters that she needs to speak with you about. She is at the Stargazing Tower right now. If you have nothing else to do, you should go see that little girl. You don't want to miss out on a rare opportunity," Weissman said, giving Shi Feng a meaningful smile.

Chapter 271 - guild residence

"Lady Sharlyn is looking for me?" A bad premonition stirred in Shi Feng's mind.

Shi Feng had a very good understanding of Sharlyn's personality.

She was definitely the type of person that would not act out of altruism, and Shi Feng couldn't help but wonder just which item on him Sharlyn had her eye on again.

"Forget it. It's better if I just go and see what she has in store for me, Shi Feng decided after giving it some thought. Although Sharlyn was a money grubber, he had always received a great harvest every time they met. This time, Sharlyn might give him some advanced quest again. If the quest rewards were good, he would consider giving it a try.

However, the Stargazing Tower was located in Blackwing City, and this situation puzzled Shi Feng greatly. Since when had Sharlyn run all the way to Blackwing City?

If Shi Feng had not known the location of the Stargazing Tower, he would have definitely wasted much of his time blindly searching for Sharlyn in White River City. Moreover, it was not easy to go to Blackwing City. Without the appropriate pass, players would find it impossible to go there at all.

To put it simply, if any other player wished to meet with Sharlyn, it would be a very difficult endeavor.

Fortunately, it was a simple task for Shi Feng. Although he had already depleted the number of uses on the Seven Luminaries Gemstone, his pass to Blackwing City, Aqua Rose still had a few Blackwing Passes of her own.

"On second thought, maybe I should postpone meeting up with Sharlyn." Based on Shi Feng's many years of experience campaigning in God's Domain, the quest that he could trigger by going to Blackwing City would definitely not be simple. He also had many things he needed to do right now, so it was better for him to just push this matter to a later time.

\---

After leaving the City Hall, Shi Feng called for Aqua Rose and Fire Dance to meet up with him. They then headed towards the Purple Sun Mansion located in the Trade Area of White River City.

The Purple Sun Mansion was originally the official residence of a Count. However, this Count had mysteriously disappeared inside the Purple Sun Mansion over half a century ago. In the following decades, every new owner of the residence would also mysteriously disappear overnight. An answer was never found for their disappearance, and ultimately, the residence was sealed by the city more than a decade ago. Moreover, the city had even stationed guards in front of the residence, preventing anyone from entering the place.

It went without saying that the area the Purple Sun Mansion occupied, as the official residence of a count, was one of the largest within the Trade Area of White River City. Even though Shi Feng was now a Viscount, the personal land he could purchase would be less than a third of the Purple Sun Mansion.

"Guild Leader, why did you bring us to this abandoned residence?" Aqua Rose asked in curiosity as she looked at the dilapidated residence in the distance, and also at the eight guards stationed outside the place.

Their Guild had just recently obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demon's Castle, and the resulting fame had attracted many players to apply to join the Guild right now. As a result, Aqua Rose was swamped with work.

Although Blackie was also helping out with management, he was mainly focused on managing the Workshop side of things. The Guild within the game, on the other hand, was left to Aqua Rose to manage. As for Fire Dance, she was responsible for leading the main force of the Guild. Each of them had their own respective duties. However, the management of the Guild was the most onerous task out of the three.

Zero Wing had been established only recently, so there were still many problems on the management side of things. Aside from the Guild perks system still being imperfect, their Guild was also not prepared to recruit so many players. Therefore, Aqua Rose could only carefully select whom to allow into the Guild. Meanwhile, her criteria for selection were not based on a player's level. Instead, she chose players based on how skilled they were in battle, and such strict selection criteria were very laborious and time-consuming. Aside from recruitment affairs, Aqua Rose also had to manage the daily affairs of the Guild, and this, in turn, had made Aqua Rose a very busy woman.

If Shi Feng had not called her over, most likely, she would still be occupied with the matter of recruitment right now.

"What do you think of this residence?" Shi Feng asked, a smile on his face.

"What do I think of it?" Aqua Rose carefully scrutinized the Purple Sun Mansion.

Although it was currently daytime in God's Domain, with the sun shining brightly up in the sky, the Purple Sun Mansion was surrounded by a depressing atmosphere. It even gave others an eerie feeling. However, this residence occupied a very large plot of land, and it was also situated in the heart of White River City; it was definitely prime real estate.

"Although it looks shabby, its location is very strategic. Both the Bank and Auction House are only two streets to the west, while the Adventurer's Association is three streets to the east. There are only five such strategic locations throughout White River City, and four are already owned by major nobles; only this place is left without an owner. Moreover, out of the five residences, the Purple Sun Mansion occupies the largest area. Unfortunately, it is not for sale, and it is also protected by guards.

"If a Guild can establish a Guild Residence here, it would be very beneficial towards the Guild's development in the future."

Aqua Rose replied with eloquence. She was extremely familiar with the real estate of White River City. Her eyes were filled with yearning when she looked at this dilapidated residence. However, since they could not obtain it, there was not much point in talking about it.

Not to mention owning private territory within the Trade Area, they did not have the power to purchase land in even the outermost sectors of the city right now.

"Indeed. Within White River City, the Purple Sun Mansion could be considered the best location to establish a Guild Residence." Shi Feng nodded his head in agreement. He then said with a soft chuckle, "However, from today onwards, this Purple Sun Mansion belongs to us, Zero Wing."

After Shi Feng finished speaking, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance were instantly dumbfounded. They looked at Shi Feng with eyes filled with disbelief.

"Guild Leader, what did you say?" Aqua Rose couldn't believe the words she just heard.

This prime real estate belonged to Zero Wing from now on?

No matter how she thought about this matter, it was simply impossible for it to be true.

"This Purple Sun Mansion will be Zero Wing's Guild Residence from now on," Shi Feng said with a smile.

"Guild Leader, stop joking around. For such prime real estate, not to mention now, even if another month passed by, it would still be impossible for anyone to obtain it." Aqua Rose had a clear understanding about Guild Residences. Currently, not a single Guild in White River City possessed a Guild Residence of their own. Yet, Shi Feng was saying that this hot property was now under the ownership of Zero Wing? If what Shi Feng said was indeed true, then it would be even more shocking than Zero Wing obtaining the First Clear of one of the Three Great Dungeons right this instant. It was simply unbelievable.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, which is why I brought you over to take a look." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed.

If Zero Wing wished to develop rapidly, a Guild Residence was a must. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was the manager of the Guild, so Shi Feng naturally had to bring her over to take a look at their future Guild Residence. It would allow Aqua Rose to better plan for the future.

After all, it was one thing to obtain the land for the Guild Residence; actually establishing it was an entirely different matter. It would be better for them to plan ahead.

Just as the three of them arrived in front of the steel gate of the Purple Sun Mansion, the captain of the stationed guards walked up to them, blocking their paths.

"This is a forbidden location of White River City. Those unrelated, please leave," the guard captain berated.

"Don't tell me even I am not allowed entry?" Shi Feng revealed his title of Viscount.

"So it is Lord Viscount. Forgive this humble one for not recognizing my lord. However, Magistrate Weissman has personally given orders that nobody is allowed entry into this place, and even if it is you, Lord Viscount, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to enter." The guard captain suddenly grew respectful when speaking to Shi Feng.

"What about this?" Shi Feng took out the Blacksteel's Contract this time.

The guard captain was shocked after seeing this piece of paper.

After all, this paper was the deed to the Purple Sun Mansion. In other words, from this moment onwards, the Purple Sun Mansion was the private territory of the Viscount before him.

"Since Lord Viscount has already become the owner of this place, of course this humble one would not stop my lord from entering," the guard captain said carefully. He then added, "However, there is something very strange about this Purple Sun Mansion. If my lord is planning to enter, please exercise caution."

"I understand." Shi Feng nodded in reply.

Following which, the eight guards moved away from the entrance, allowing the three of them entry into the residence.

Meanwhile, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance were shocked by Shi Feng's revelation. He was actually a Viscount of White River City!

Nobility was unlike Levels. One could not get ennobled simply by wishing for it. Instead, one needed a large amount of reputation to do so. Currently, all the Guilds in White River City were busy trying to raise the White River City Reputation they had. Although there were already players who had become citizens, there had yet to be a single person who achieved nobility even until now.

Meanwhile, nobility could be categorized into five tiers, which were Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron. Just the difficulty of becoming a Baron had made all the Guilds in White River City lament over their powerlessness, not to mention obtaining the position of Viscount, which was one tier above Baron.that place. Take this Blacksteel's Contract here and head over to that place, then."

Chapter 272 - spirited away

Based on Aqua Rose's knowledge about the authority of Barons, aside from being able to purchase private territory within White River City, they could also hire their own guards. A Baron could hire a total of 10 NPCs to serve as guards for his own territory.

However, a Baron was the lowest rank of nobility.

Only when one was promoted to Viscount would one be counted as one of the true nobles of the city.

A Viscount could not only purchase private territory, one could recruit up to 40 NPCs as guards, as well as have two personal guards.

Having personal guards was a special privilege available only to true nobles.

The normal guards hired by players were not capable of growth, unlike personal guards. In other words, after recruitment, the Levels of normal guards would not change no matter how much time passed. On the other hand, personal guards could be leveled up. They would also receive bonus Attributes from leveling up, making them much stronger than normal guards. The difference between the two was like the difference between a Common monster and a Boss monster.

Meanwhile, if their Guild had these personal guards protecting their Guild Residence, at this stage of the game, the defense of their Guild Residence would definitely be foolproof. Furthermore, they could even have these personal guards participate in Boss battles. Although the levels of these NPCs would be suppressed, they would still be a lot stronger than the average player. With these personal guards, Zero Wing would have a greater advantage over other Guilds when contesting for Field Bosses.

Thinking up to this point, Aqua Rose couldn't help but reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng once again.

"Guild Leader, the more I get to know you, the less I actually understand about you. Not only have you managed to obtain such an excellent location for a Guild Residence, you are also a Viscount of White River City. If other Guilds were to find out about this matter, they would definitely go insane," Aqua Rose giggled, blinking her shining large eyes.

"Indeed, they will definitely hunt me down like maniacs," Shi Feng laughed.

The moment a Guild possessed their own Residence, they would be like a seedling that had finally set down roots; they would no longer be at the mercy of the winds and rain.

Only by growing roots could a plant thrive and have the possibility to grow into a towering tree.

In the past, a player had once joked that a Guild without their own Guild Residence was like a gang of mountain bandits, while a Guild that had their own Guild Residence was like the lord of a region.

The reason being, only with a Guild Residence could a Guild gradually perfect the many benefits they provided. It was especially true for Guild Quests. At this stage of the game, as nobody possessed their own Guild Residence yet, the NPCs within the city were unable to privately publish quests to the Guilds. Hence, players could only accept some daily quests from the Adventurer's Association to earn Guild Reputation.

In comparison to the individual quests that players received from the Adventurer's Association, the private Guild Quests published by NPCs rewarded much higher Guild Reputation. If a Guild was sufficiently powerful, there was even the possibility that a quest rewarding an Epic ranked item would appear. Moreover, unlike at the Adventurer's Association, the number of quests available to Guild members was not just limited to two or three...

As long as a Guild was sufficiently powerful, there would be several hundreds, even thousands of Guild Quests being published in the Guild Residence every day.

With so many quests available, players would be able to level up and upgrade their equipment more efficiently than if they were limited to grinding monsters. Also, statistical analysis made by professionals in the past showed that Guilds with Guild Residences made at least double, or even triple, the amount of money of Guilds without Guild Residences.

Moreover, only with a Guild Residence would a Guild officially have a stable source of income. The reason being, whenever a Guild member completed a Guild Quest, the Guild would automatically collect 15% of the quest reward as processing fee. The fees collected would then be stored inside the Guild Bank to serve as funding for the Guild.

This was the reason why Guild Residences were so important.

The location of the Guild Residence was also very important as this correlated to the number of Guild Quests a Guild would receive. A newly established Guild Residence would be an unknown existence in White River City. To be precise, it would be unknown to the NPCs of White River City, and that anonymity would prevent many of these NPCs from commissioning quests with such newly established Guild Residences. If, however, a Guild Residence was established in a high-traffic location like the Trade Area, it would be easily noticed by NPCs. As a result, the number of quests the Guild Residence received would increase.

Meanwhile, as the number of quests resolved by the Guild increased, the fame of the Guild among NPCs would also rise. And the number of NPCs willing to commission quests would also increase in turn.

Such a snowball-like development speed would be unstoppable once it started.

Hence, if the Guilds in White River City were to find out about Zero Wing coming into possession of a Guild Residence, they would definitely hate Shi Feng down to the bone. Fortunately, Zero Wing had already grown past the stage of a fledgling Guild; unrated Guilds would not dare to make an enemy out of Zero Wing. Only third-rate Guilds or above would pose a threat.

However, once Zero Wing officially establishes its Guild Residence, not even third-rate Guilds would dare to become its enemies.

While Shi Feng and Aqua Rose were having their merry discussion, the three of them arrived inside the main building of the Purple Sun Mansion.

After remaining vacant for over a decade, the interior of the mansion was fully covered in a layer of dust. Weeds could even be seen growing in certain locations inside the mansion. The interior of the building looked extremely dilapidated, as if it could collapse at any moment. Not to mention people, even rats would not want to live in this place.

"It seems this place needs to be completely demolished and rebuilt," Shi Feng said in heartache as he swept a glance at the interior of the mansion.

For privately owned territories, any expenditures spent on it had to come out from the owner's own pockets. However, not to mention building a Guild Hall meant for an entire Guild, even the cost of building an ordinary house was insanely expensive; it was a price that no normal person could afford. Only a large Guild with immense wealth could afford such a price.

"Guild Leader, you are the wealthiest player in White River City, yet you're actually crying about being poor?" Aqua Rose rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. She knew for a fact that Shi Feng had spent over 100 Gold Coins without even blinking when he bought the Arclight Shield Forging Design.

Shi Feng could only shake his head and bitterly smile in reply to Aqua Rose's teasing.

What Aqua Rose did not know was that a fee of 200 Gold Coins was required in order to construct even the most common Guild Hall. Meanwhile, such a Guild Hall only had a capacity of 500 players. If it were a Guild Hall with a capacity of 1,000 players, the construction fee would be 500 Gold Coins.

With the area the Purple Sun Mansion occupied, Shi Feng could build an Advanced Guild Hall with a capacity of 3,000 players, at the very least. However, the price tag for an Advanced Guild Hall was 3,000 Gold Coins...

Three thousand Gold was an astronomical sum for any one Guild. Even though Shi Feng indeed had the ability to construct an Advanced Guild Hall, he still had the burden of 30,000 Gold from the Gospel Project quest bearing down on him; he dared not randomly spend his money. The only reason he had spent over 100 Gold for the Arclight Shield Forging Design was because he was confident of earning back the money through sales of the shields he produced. In the case of the Guild Hall, however, it was a one-way expenditure.

Just as Shi Feng's group arrived at a flight of stairs, Shi Feng suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blowing over his face. He could also hear an indistinct voice whispering by his ears, as if calling him to descend the stairs.

Instantly, Shi Feng felt all the hairs on his body stand up. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane, raising his five senses to their very limits. In this moment, he was fully prepared for any enemies that would show up.

Aqua Rose and Fire Dance, on the other hand, reacted a tad slower than Shi Feng. However, they too promptly readied their weapons as they fixed their gazes at the staircase.

Contrary to their expectations, however, nothing appeared from the staircase. Only a cold breeze blew up from below, causing the weeds within the mansion to quiver slightly.

"How can there be wind coming from inside the building?" Fire Dance asked, feeling there was something very strange about the situation. The virtual world of God's Domain closely resembled reality. Meanwhile, their current location was the heart of the mansion. It was an enclosed space, so it should have been impossible for any wind to be present.

Likewise, Shi Feng also felt this matter was strange.

However, according to Shi Feng's knowledge, there was indeed something very strange about this Purple Sun Mansion. After all, it was a fact that every previous owner of the mansion had disappeared without a trace while staying inside the building. It was due to these disappearances that the inhabitants of White River City had nicknamed the building the Ghost Mansion.

Even the Tier 4 Wizard Weissman could not find the reason for the past owners' disappearances. The only solution he had was to send out a team of guards to prevent anyone from entering the mansion.

Shi Feng also had not learned anything about the Purple Sun Mansion in his past life. Hence, he could only rely on himself to resolve this matter.

Only, he never expected to feel such a great pressure just by standing at the entrance of the staircase. It felt as if he was standing in front of a ferocious beast.

Moreover, this kind of pressure had a sense of familiarity. However, Shi Feng could not recall where he had felt this pressure before.

"The cold wind seems to be coming from the basement. Let's go have a look at it for now." Shi Feng shook his head. He decided to first discover the source of this mysterious wind before making any further decisions.

Chapter 273 - forgotten lands

After entering the basement of the Purple Sun Mansion...

Shi Feng took a look around, finding nothing special about the place.

The entire room was empty. There was none of the cold wind from before, neither was there the oppressive feeling that could shock even one's soul.

"There's nothing here? Were my senses playing tricks on me?" When Fire Dance discovered no monsters in the basement, she promptly put away her daggers, sheathing the weapons back into their scabbards.

"I don't know, but it is indeed true that there is no danger here," Shi Feng said, shaking his head.

As players experienced more and more battles in God's Domain, their sensitivity towards danger would also gradually improve. It was especially true for an expert of God's Domain. Moreover, this ability of players to perceive danger was usually not wrong.

"Let's take a closer look around," Shi Feng said.

If they could not resolve this mysterious situation whereby the mansion's inhabitants were spirited away, should something actually happen, it would be a tragedy if the incident scared away the NPCs that came to commission quests with the Guild.

If players were the ones to get caught up in this mystery, they would at worst die once, losing a Level and some Skill Proficiency. However, it would be different if an NPC were to get entangled in this matter. If they died, then it would be a true death for them; the Main God System would not revive them.

Hence, it was imperative for Shi Feng to resolve this mystery as soon as possible. Otherwise, this prime real estate would be worthless.

After the trio searched for more than ten minutes, they found no problems with the place. Not to mention a monster, they couldn't even find a mouse in this place.

However, Shi Feng did not think that the enormous pressure he felt before was an illusion, especially since he had also felt this pressure previously in his past life; it was just that he could not recall when he had felt it exactly.

After searching for a long time and getting no results, Shi Feng's group had no other choice but to return upstairs.

"What's going on here?!" The moment the group arrived upstairs, Aqua Rose immediately called out in shock when she saw the scene before her.

Aqua Rose wasn't the only person who was shocked; even Shi Feng was taken aback by what he saw.

They had simply returned to the hall on the first floor, yet, the scene here was completely different from before. No longer was it the empty, dilapidated hall they had seen. Instead, the sight that greeted the three after they exited the staircase was an intricate labyrinthine corridor. It was as if they had arrived at an entirely different place; it was definitely not the former Purple Sun Mansion they had been in.

At this moment, a notification sounded from the system.

System: Players have discovered the Forgotten Lands. All communications to the outside world are temporarily disabled.

"So it turns out to be something like this." Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. He finally knew why the previous owners of the mansion had all disappeared one after another. It turned out that all of them had been transported to this location.

"Guild Leader, I can't use my Return Scroll," Fire Dance said, her eyebrows wrinkled. "This is just like the time in the Trial of God."

"It seems that this place isn't ordinary at all." Shi Feng began observing his surroundings.

Shi Feng had encountered numerous such situations in his previous life. It was just like the Lost Lands he had encountered shortly after entering God's Domain in this life. He had even obtained the Abyssal Blade from that place.

Although the Forgotten Lands was different from the Lost Lands, both still had their similarities. Most likely, players trapped in this place would be released after they completed a certain quest. However, unlike the time in the Lost Lands, none of them received any notifications of having triggered a quest.

Soon after, Shi Feng's group of three advanced into the labyrinth and began to explore the map.

Shi Feng couldn't help but admit that this map was very large. Even after they had wandered around for more than six hours, they still hadn't finished exploring the place. In the end, the three of them decided to split up and continue their exploration. In any case, they had not met with any dangers so far, and it would be much more efficient if they explored the map separately.

Unwittingly, a day passed by without anything happening.

Only on the second day did Aqua Rose find something new in the region she explored.

Aqua Rose discovered a large magic array. According to the speculations of Shi Feng and an Elementalist like Aqua Rose, it should be a magic array that was Tier 5 or above. However, as to what this magic array was used for, not even Shi Feng with his bountiful experience could guess. Unless there was a Tier 5 Wizard or a Tier 6 Mage God before them...

Following which, after spending the rest of the day exploring the place, Fire Dance discovered a second magic array that looked exactly the same as the first one. Other than this discovery, the trio found nothing else. They did not find even a single monster throughout their exploration, nor did they receive any quest notifications.

Aqua Rose entertained the thought of simply giving up on this pointless endeavor. It would be more worthwhile for her to just kill herself and return to the city.

In this godforsaken place, they could not level up, neither was there any quest for them to complete. They were simply wasting their time by staying here. Moreover, she was the manager of the Guild; she still had many things she needed to do. How could she afford to waste so much precious time in this place? Moreover, there was still the matter of the Guild Residence.

However, Shi Feng discouraged Aqua Rose from taking such an action.

The reason being, there was no guarantee she could return to the city even if she killed herself. In the event that she could not return, she would have lost a Level for nothing.

Listening to Shi Feng's words, Aqua Rose had no choice but to give up on this idea of hers as she continued exploring this Forgotten Lands.

When the third day arrived, after exploring a majority of the Forgotten Lands, the group discovered three more magic arrays. In total, they had discovered five of such Tier 5 magic arrays.

Soon after, the three of them met up and shared their map information with each other.

The moment their map information sharing was completed, a notification sounded from the system...

System: Unique Quest "Miracles Unsealed" activated.

Quest details: Remove the seal on the Forgotten Lands.

Quest rewards: Unknown.

"Remove the seal on the Forgotten Lands? The quest doesn't even tell us how to do so. What are we even supposed to do here?" Fire Dance glared at the notification screen in anger.

They had been exploring this place for three days now, yet, the only thing they got in return was this quest that provided them with no hints at all. The game was simply too despicable.

"It should be around here," Shi Feng said, pointing on the map. To be precise, he was pointing at an area central to the five magic arrays. "Magic arrays require Mana to operate, and normally use Mana Crystals as a source for Mana. However, although the magic arrays were functioning properly when we discovered them, there was no sign of any Mana Crystals on site powering them. Moreover, these five magic arrays seem to be an integrated structure, so there should be a place where they draw their Mana from. We've already explored the outskirts of the Forgotten Lands, and the only area we have yet to explore is the central region. There is a high possibility the power source for these magic arrays are situated in the central region. If we destroy the Mana Crystal there, we should be able to complete this quest."

"Guild Leader, I never expected you to know so much about magic arrays. For a second there, I even thought you were an Elementalist or a Cursemancer, and not a Swordsman at all," Aqua Rose said teasingly.

"I just studied the topic by accident. There are plenty of books on magic arrays inside the Library of White River City, after all. If you manage to read all the books inside the White River City Library, you will definitely be more amazing than I am," Shi Feng laughed.

"The Library? I would like to go there, but I'll need a permit to do so. Guild Leader, since you're the one who mentioned it, you have to take responsibility!" Aqua Rose also knew the importance of the Library. If an Elementalist wished to learn more powerful spells, the best way to do so was at the Library. Unfortunately, she lacked the permit to enter the Library. The only choice she had now was to steadily raise her reputation in White River City.

"Okay, I'll get you a permit to the Library after we leave this place." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed again.

As a Demon Hunter, he could obtain a permit to the Library any time he wanted. Moreover, now that he was a Viscount of White River City, as one of the true nobles of the city, he could easily obtain a handful of Library Emblems.

Following which, the three of them ran towards the central region of the Forgotten Lands.

Four hours later, the trio arrived outside the central region. If they wished to enter the place, they needed to go through a very long crystalline pathway. However, there was a giant three-headed wolf made out of blue crystals blocking the entrance of the pathway.

"So there is a monster here after all." Fire Dance's eyes glowed with interest when she saw this three-headed wolf. After several days of no combat, her hands were already itching for action.

Chapter 274 - gold treasure chest

"The presence of a monster doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing," Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face as he looked at the three-headed wolf guarding the entrance of the crystal pathway.

[Crystal Warwolf] (Lord Rank)

Level 25

HP 300,000/300,000

Compared to a Dungeon Boss, a Field Boss of the same rank was much more powerful. Moreover, in order to counter zerg tactics[1], God's Domain had set it so that Field Bosses would have their combat power and HP increased in proportion to the number of players participating in the battle.

Generally, the optimum number of players required to raid a Lord ranked Field Boss was around ten to twenty, unless of course it was a Special Boss.

However, judging from the appearance of the Crystal Warwolf before them, Shi Feng felt that it should not be a Special Boss. In other words, at least ten players were needed to raid this Boss. To make matters worse, the Crystal Warwolf was a Level 25 monster, while nobody in Shi Feng's group had even reached Level 20; the resulting level suppression would be dire. Of those present, aside from Shi Feng, who had the Abyssal Blade, which allowed him to fully ignore this level suppression, only Aqua Rose possessed a piece of equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute. Even so, her equipment only allowed her to ignore up to three Levels. Aqua Rose herself was only at Level 17 right now, and a level suppression of five Levels would not be easy for her to deal with. As for Fire Dance, there was nothing to say.

Of course, every cloud had a silver lining. Since the Boss guarding the crystal pathway was very strong, it meant that the things beyond the pathway was equally important. Moreover, Shi Feng also discovered a treasure chest sitting beside the pathway.

This treasure chest was a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest, and Shi Feng's heart burned with a fiery passion as he looked at it. The loot he could get from this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest would be much better than the loot from the Boss before him.

"We won't be able to defeat a Level 20 Lord with just the three of us alone; we'll need to call for reinforcements." Aqua Rose's eyes glowed with excitement when she looked at the Crystal Warwolf before her. It was extremely difficult for players to meet with a Field Boss. They would definitely make a huge profit after killing it. Not to mention, there was also the treasure chest the Crystal Warwolf was guarding.

Following which, Aqua Rose temporarily logged off the game to contact Blackie, who was at the Zero Wing Workshop, telling him to bring the main force of Zero Wing to the Purple Sun Mansion and enter the staircase to the basement, in order to meet up with them at the Forgotten Lands.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng ceaselessly observed the Crystal Warwolf and the surrounding terrain, trying to think of a strategy to raid the Boss.

Ten minutes later, Aqua Rose logged back into the game.

"How did it go? When will they be arriving?" Shi Feng asked.

"They're already at the Purple Sun Mansion. However, no matter what they tried, they can't seem to find the entrance to this map," Aqua Rose said, slight disappointment showing on her face.

"If so, the appearance of the entrance should be random," Shi Feng said, lapsing into silent contemplation. After a while, he shifted his sights to the Crystal Warwolf and added, "It seems we can only depend on ourselves to defeat this Boss."

Hearing Shi Feng's conclusion, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance immediately thought that Shi Feng had gone insane. He was actually suggesting they deal with this Crystal Warwolf before them. They had neither an MT nor a healer in the party right now. With just three damage dealers, how were they supposed to deal with a Level 25 Lord ranked Boss that had a height of over ten meters?

Although both girls knew of Shi Feng's unrivalled strength, a Lord ranked Boss was still not something that could be defeated with just three players.

"We are only giving it a try. In any case, we can't just stay stuck in this place forever, right? Moreover, even if we do die, it is a good chance to check whether or not we can actually leave this place after dying. We'll be killing two birds with one stone," Shi Feng joked.

"Guild Leader, you decide what we should do, then," Fire Dance said with high spirits.

Aqua Rose sighed helplessly. "Alright, then. I'll join in as well."

"We can't just fight this Crystal Warwolf head-on; the only choice we have is to kite it. I'll act as bait. Aqua Rose, you'll be the main damage-dealer. Fire Dance, you'll be responsible for restricting its movements as much as possible." After some consideration, Shi Feng settled on this strategy. Although he could no longer equip the Heavenly Dragon's Breath, his Agility was still over 200 points. Moreover, his equipment also provided additional Movement Speed. His Movement Speed was definitely faster than a Level 25 Lord. Combining those with his keen reactions, out of the three players in the party, he was definitely the most suited to be the bait.

Following which, Shi Feng gave Fire Dance plenty of Basic Frost Grenades and Intermediate Frost Grenades, letting her use them as she saw fit.

Fire Dance never thought Shi Feng would possess such good items. With the Frost Grenades, Shi Feng would have a much higher chance of success at kiting the Boss.

After the three of them were in position, Shi Feng retrieved the Blazing Meteor from his waist. Standing at a distance of 40 yards from the Crystal Warwolf, Shi Feng aimed the throwing weapon at the Boss and threw it.

"Xiu!"

The Blazing Meteor streaked through the air and pierced the Crystal Warwolf's eye, causing -651 damage to it. Compared to a one-handed sword, Shi Feng's damage with the throwing weapon was much higher.

"Ao!" The Crystal Warwolf let out an agonized wail.

With bloodshot eyes, the Crystal Warwolf glared at the direction where the throwing weapon came from. As a result of its actions, however, the Blazing Meteor, which was still lodged in its eye, damaged the visual organ even further, causing an additional burst of -1,300 damage. The Crystal Warwolf was utterly angered now, and using its powerful hind legs, it leaped and charged at Shi Feng.

Immediately, Shi Feng turned around and ran.

Everything was just like Shi Feng had guessed: his speed was just a tad faster than the Crystal Warwolf's. However, in order to avoid having Aqua Rose's and Fire Dance's aggro on the Boss exceed his, which would in turn lead to the Crystal Warwolf attacking the two girls, Shi Feng needed to constantly send attacks at the Boss to strengthen his aggro on it. As a result, the Crystal Warwolf would oftentimes catch up and attack him.

The Crystal Warwolf's attacks were extremely powerful. A single swipe from its paws could easily shatter the floor, resulting in fist-sized rubble flying everywhere.

Fortunately, Shi Feng always managed to nimbly evade the Crystal Warwolf's razor-sharp claws at the very last second, before pulling away from the Boss and attacking it once more.

Shi Feng's attacks were only meant as a provocation; Aqua Rose was the true damage dealer this time around. After the Demon's Castle raid, Aqua Rose had two Dark-Gold ranked items on her person. Of the two, one was even a Dark-Gold ranked staff of the finest quality; Aqua Rose's damage right now was already considerably high. If not for Blackie outshining her with the Epic ranked Mavis's Guard, Aqua Rose would definitely have the highest single-output damage in the Guild.

As Shi Feng ran around the perimeter with the Crystal Warwolf chasing after him, Aqua Rose stood in the center and blasted Frost Arrows and Frost Spears on the Crystal Warwolf's body.

Not only could these spells reduce Movement Speed, each of these spells also dealt over -500 damage to the Boss. If not due to the level suppression of five Levels, her spells would definitely deal over -800 damage. Fortunately, unlike Shi Feng who could only attack intermittently, Aqua Rose could attack continuously and deal a constant stream of damage to the Boss.

On the other side, Fire Dance kept inflicting the Bleeding debuff and using poisons that reduced Movement Speed on the Boss.

With the two Movement Speed Reduction effects stacked together, the Crystal Warwolf slowed down significantly.

Also, whenever the Crystal Warwolf got too close to Shi Feng, Fire Dance would immediately throw a Frost Grenade at the Boss, freezing it. However, as the Crystal Warwolf was a Lord ranked Boss, the freezing effect of the Frost Grenades was greatly diminished, lasting no more than 3 seconds; sometimes it lasted for only one short second.

However, when experts exchanged moves, it took only an instant to reach a conclusion, so one second was more than enough for Shi Feng to pull a great distance away from the Boss.

Although the three of them dealt only a small amount of damage, the HP of the Crystal Warwolf continuously rose and fell. After more than a dozen minutes passed, the Crystal Warwolf had only 30% of its 300,000 HP remaining. By simple estimates, the Boss would die in less than 10 minutes.

"Aooo!" The Crystal Warwolf went berserk. Just like a deflated balloon, its towering body, which was over ten meters in height, suddenly shrank. Within moments, the Boss became much smaller than it was before.

"Not good! This is the type of berserk that discards power for speed!" Shi Feng had encountered plenty of such Bosses in the past. Hence, the moment he witnessed the Crystal Warwolf's transformation, he immediately recognized the Boss for what it was. "Fire Dance, keep on using the Frost Grenades to slow it down!"

"Understood!" Fire Dance knew that this was a crucial period. Hence, she tossed out the Frost Grenades in her hands one after another without pause.

However, something unexpected happened.

Aside from the Frost Grenades dealing much less damage than before, both their Movement Speed Reduction and freezing effects were completely useless against the Boss.

In the blink of an eye, the shrunken Crystal Warwolf appeared before Shi Feng. It brandished its claws. Its three heads bared the fangs in its mouths, and it bit down at him. Although Shi Feng managed to deftly evade the three jaws clamping down on him, he failed to evade one of the paws that quickly followed. Suddenly, Shi Feng's entire person was sent flying for more than ten yards, and a frightening damage of more than -2,100 appeared above his head. Shi Feng felt as if his chest had caved in when he received the attack.

Shi Feng's HP instantly fell to a dangerous level, his previously green HP bar turning into a bright red.

TL Notes:

[1]zerg tactics: a strategy that uses numbers rather then strategy to defeat the enemy.

Chapter 275 - seven luminaries key

The moment Shi Feng landed on the ground, the Crystal Warwolf arrived at his back like a savage gale. Without giving Shi Feng any chance to defend, the three heads of the Crystal Warwolf opened their jaws to bite down on Shi Feng.

"Guild Leader!" Fire Dance was greatly shocked. Immediately, she closed in on the Crystal Warwolf, sending a 3-star Kidney Strike to its body.

However, even a controlling skill like Kidney Strike had no effect on the Crystal Warwolf.

Just as the fangs of the Crystal Warwolf were about to close on Shi Feng's head, Shi Feng managed to cross his swords and execute Parry in the nick of time.

"Boom!"

The floor beneath Shi Feng instantly cracked from the force.

"What a strong fellow," Shi Feng laughed bitterly.

Although Parry allowed players to block the physical damage of an attack, it did not neutralize the force of the impact.

There was no healer in the party right now. If Shi Feng ate another attack, he would definitely lose his life.

From this brief exchange, Shi Feng had also gotten a general understanding of how much more powerful the Crystal Warwolf had become. In Shi Feng's estimation, although the Crystal Warwolf had not received much of an increase in terms of strength, its current speed was at least 30% faster than before it went berserk.

At this moment, only by equipping the Heavenly Dragon's Breath could Shi Feng have a chance at grasping victory. Otherwise, he would only receive unilateral abuse from the Boss.

Unfortunately, although reaching 200 points in Agility was a simple task, it was not easy for a Swordsman like Shi Feng to attain 120 points in Intelligence. Moreover, very few plate-armor equipment meant for Swordsmen had the Intelligence Attribute on it; those that did would be considered garbage equipment.

Seeing that its attack had failed to kill its prey, the Crystal Warwolf immediately rotated its body, its diamond-like tail whipping at Shi Feng as it did so.

As Parry was still on Cooldown, Shi Feng had no choice but to activate one of his lifesaving skills, Defensive Blade.

Defensive Blade was currently at Level 4, and it protected Shi Feng from nine ranged attacks or four melee attacks.

Defensive Blade was a skill that provided complete immunity to any attack, be it damage or the resulting impact.

It was one of the must-have basic combat skills for Swordsmen.

As for why Shi Feng had chosen to use Parry first instead of Defensive Blade, it was for the sole purpose of determining the combat power of the berserk Crystal Warwolf. Only by experiencing the force of the impact could Shi Feng make the best judgment.

Meanwhile, the conclusion Shi Feng arrived at was to face the Crystal Warwolf head-on. If he tried to escape, he would only die faster.

Following which, he raised the Abyssal Blade up in the air. Green electric arcs surrounded the body of the sword as it moved to meet with the snowy, sharp claws of the Crystal Warwolf.

Thundering Flash!

The green electric arcs pierced the Crystal Warwolf's body, causing -572, -1,623, and -1,204 damage to it. Although only one out of the three arcs achieved a critical hit, the attack also managed to trigger the curse of the Abyssal Blade, inflicting the Doom Curse on the Crystal Warwolf. Immediately, all of the Crystal Warwolf's Attributes were reduced by 20%.

Suddenly, the berserk Crystal Warwolf that had had its Agility increased by 30% was weakened greatly.

However, Shi Feng was still not done with his attacks. He activated Phantom Kill right away, his doppelganger appearing beside the Crystal Warwolf. Shortly after, Shi Feng's doppelganger started sending a barrage of attacks at the Crystal Warwolf as well.

Although the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Feng's Attributes, it had fully inherited the skills Shi Feng had learned.

Yet, despite having greatly reduced the Crystal Warwolf's speed, Shi Feng still did not have an easy time evading its attacks. Having no other choice, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. Shi Feng's body instantly became as light as a feather, and like a spirited monkey, he dodged the originally unavoidable attack.

Wind Blade!

Immediately, Shi Feng's Attack Speed increased even further.

Double Chop!

Earth Splitter!

Thunder Flame Explosion!

Skills blasted on the Crystal Warwolf one after another, each dealing over -1,000 damage.

Although the Crystal Warwolf's attacks became stronger and its speed much faster after going berserk, these improvements came at the price of its Defense being weakened. Combined with the 20% Damage Amplification effect of Thundering Flash, the damage the Crystal Warwolf received became a lot higher than before.

Fire Dance's and Aqua Rose's attacks also landed at this point, so the Crystal Warwolf's HP fell sharply. By the time the 30-second duration of Gravity Liberation was almost over, the Crystal Warwolf only had 10% of its HP remaining.

Just as the effect of Gravity Liberation was about to end, Shi Feng executed Nine Dragons Slash. Nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade appeared behind Shi Feng, and all of them shot towards the Crystal Warwolf. Meanwhile, just as an attack from the Crystal Warwolf was about to land on Shi Feng, Shi Feng swapped positions with his doppelganger. Upon being relocated, the doppelganger immediately used Parry and Defensive Blade to repel the Crystal Warwolf's attacks.

Each phantom of the Abyssal Blade had high Attack Power, and each of them could deal over -150 damage every time they struck at the Crystal Warwolf. In total, the nine phantoms dealt over -1,300 damage to the Crystal Warwolf every second. Meanwhile, there were 28 seconds before the effect of Nine Dragons Slash ended.

After having used up both of its lifesaving skills, Parry and Defensive Blade, the doppelganger received a direct hit from the Crystal Warwolf's claws. Alas, the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Feng's Attributes, so it died on the spot.

However, the doppelganger had earned a lot of time for Shi Feng.

With the doppelganger gone, the Crystal Warwolf shifted its attention back to Shi Feng's actual body. Shi Feng activated Wind Walk again without hesitation. He then whirled around and ran.

Fortunately, with his Movement Speed increased by 30%, Shi Feng was still a tad faster than the Crystal Warwolf, which was still under the 20% Attribute Reduction effect of the Doom Curse. Thus, the kiting strategy began once more.

Under Aqua Rose's and Fire Dance's constant barrage, the Crystal Warwolf's HP fell lower and lower.

9%...

8%...

7%...

...

By the time the effect of Shi Feng's Windwalk was about to end, the Crystal Warwolf only had 3% of its HP remaining.

"It should be about time..."

At this moment, Shi Feng stopped running. He then turned to face the Crystal Warwolf, pointing the Abyssal Blade at the monster.

Abyssal Bind!

Nine snakelike chains suddenly surfaced from the floor, instantly binding the Crystal Warwolf.

Although the Crystal Warwolf had been immune to the control skills used on it before, its movements were still bound by the pitch-black chains.

In God's Domain, the so-called "immunity to control skills" did not necessarily make one immune to all control skills. Instead, it simply made one immune to control skills that were below a certain tier. Skills such as Frost Arrow, Ice Sphere, and Kidney Strike were all considered basic skills. In other words, they were Tier 0 skills. As these skills were of the lowest tier, the Crystal Warwolf was completely immune to their effects.

As a Level 25 Lord, the Crystal Warwolf was immune to any control skills that was below Tier 2. However, Tier 2 or Tier 3 control skills could still restrain it.

Although Shi Feng did not know which tier the Abyssal Bind belonged to, it was a skill attached to a Magic Weapon. In Shi Feng's estimation, it should be at least Tier 3 or above, meaning that it would be effective against all Bosses that could possibly appear at this stage of the game.

With the Crystal Warwolf completely restrained, Shi Feng took a step forward as he activated his ultimate skill, Flame Burst, which could only be used around once every four minutes.

Shi Feng's two swords were just like miniature suns with the activation of Flame Burst. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng slashed the Crystal Warwolf's body six times with his swords.

-2,238, -4,452, -2,198, -2,212, -4,408, -2,216...

The six attacks dealt a total of more than -17,000 damage, instantly wiping away the Crystal Warwolf's remaining 3% HP.

System: Level 25 Crystal Warwolf killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 485,630 EXP.

The experience bars of all three of them instantly increased by a large chunk. Aqua Rose even advanced to Level 18. As for Shi Feng, he had only recently reached Level 18, so he was still at Level 18 even after killing the Crystal Warwolf. If he could kill several more of such Lord rank Bosses, he would definitely level up very quickly.

"I never thought a Lord ranked Boss could be killed in such a way as well." This battle was an eye-opener for Aqua Rose.

In truth, however, if not for Shi Feng being capable of holding a stable aggro on the Crystal Warwolf, in addition to consistently evading its multitude of attacks, they definitely could not have killed it.

"Guild Leader, quickly check the loot!" As a huge fan of Shi Feng, Fire Dance was not surprised by Shi Feng's ingenuity. She had always believed Shi Feng could lead them to victory. Moreover, Fire Dance was hoping to reach Shi Feng's standards one day. How could she allow herself to falter when faced with a Lord ranked Boss?

Shi Feng nodded in reply, promptly going ahead and checking the loot left behind by the Crystal Warwolf.

"It can't be, right? How could this Boss be so cheap? How could it drop only one key and one piece of equipment?" Aqua Rose immediately grew unhappy when she saw the information shared by Shi Feng.

What was even more annoying was that the equipment dropped was only a Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked plate-armor wrist guard; it wasn't even Dark-Gold rank.

"Not bad. Don't forget that this Seven Luminaries Key can be used up to three times to open a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Isn't there a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest right before us?" Shi Feng laughed.

After Aqua Rose had followed Shi Feng for some time, unconsciously, her standard for judging items became much higher than before. If it was in the past, Aqua Rose would definitely have forgotten herself in joy if she saw a Fine-Gold Equipment. Now, however, unless an item was of Dark-Gold rank, it would not even pique her interest.

"That's right!" Aqua Rose shifted her sights towards the distant treasure chest. After the arduous battle, the existence of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest had completely slipped her mind. They could get a Dark-Gold Equipment at the very minimum if they opened this treasure chest. There was also a small chance for them to obtain an Epic ranked item.

Epic ranked items. Aqua Rose did not dare to even hope for one.

Chapter 276 - Dragonscale set equipment 

"It's locked, as expected." No matter how hard Shi Feng tried, he could not open the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

Hence, he retrieved the key he had just obtained from his bag.

"Kachak!"

The lid of the purple-gold-colored treasure chest popped open slightly. Multicolored lights escaped between the gap, the lights illuminating even areas that were several hundred yards away. If this treasure chest had been opened out in the fields, it would definitely cause a huge commotion and attract many players to come and snatch it. Fortunately, there was only Shi Feng's group of three in the Forgotten Lands.

After the multicolored lights faded away, Shi Feng reached into the treasure chest. However, he quickly discovered there were only very few items inside it.

The treasure chest contained a total of three items. Of them, two were Dark-Gold Equipment, while one was a Forging Manual.

The two Dark-Gold Equipment were the Crystal Armor and the Boots of Extreme Speed.

[Crystal Armor] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Equipment Requirement: Strength 120, Agility 140

Defense +140

Strength +24, Agility +21, Endurance +20

Restricted to Swordsman.

Additional Passive Skill-

Smart Outbreak: Every time user receives damage, Strength and Agility increased by 2% for 15 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.

Although the Basic Attributes on this piece of equipment could only be considered at the level of being "good," the passive skill that was attached to it was simply amazing. After all, the passive skill could potentially increase a player's Strength and Agility by 10%. If the wearer of the Crystal Armor originally had high amounts of Strength and Agility, the additional Attributes provided by Smart Outbreak would be like having equipped an additional piece of equipment at the very least. The only downside to this passive skill was its need for the user to take damage up to five times. Although such a condition had made it relatively useless in Boss battles, when used in grinding monsters and PK, it would definitely provide the wearer of the Crystal Armor with unspeakable advantages.

[Boots of Extreme Speed] (Shoes, Leather Armor, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Equipment Requirement: Strength 90, Agility 130

Defense +143,

Strength +20, Agility +26, Endurance +18

Movement Speed +10

Evasion +7

Additional Passive Skill-

Rapid Movement: Increases Movement Speed by 12% and Agility by 8%.

In regard to Assassins and Rangers, the most sought-after Attribute for these two classes was Agility, followed by Strength. Meanwhile, this pair of boots increased the wearer's Agility to the extremes. One could even argue that no other Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked shoes could increase Agility as much as the Boots of Extreme Speed could.

Although these two pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment were excellent, they were worth barely a fragment of the true value of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

After all, the item that reflected the true value of the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was none other than the Forging Manual. In addition, it was even a Fine-Gold ranked Forging Manual. Forging Manuals were different from Forging Designs. In the case of Forging Designs, only one particular piece of equipment could be made using it. In the case of Forging Manuals, however, an entire set of equipment could be made using it.

This Forging Manual was meant to produce the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment. There were a total of six pieces in this set, and it could be worn by any class that could use plate armor.

Previously, Shi Feng had spent over 100 Gold at the Blackwing Auction House just to purchase the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. However, the value of the Arclight Shield was far from being comparable to the Dragonscale Set Equipment. After all, the Dragonscale Set Equipment was a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment.

Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, not a single Guild had managed to obtain a Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment up to now. One could simply imagine the value of a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment.

If Shi Feng could forge a few sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment and give them to the plate-armor classes in the Guild's main force... when these players walked on the streets wearing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, one could simply imagine the shock on the other players' faces when they see the Set Equipment. The members of other Guilds would definitely tremble with fear. Just the thought of such a scene was simply exhilarating.

However, it would definitely be extremely difficult to forge the Dragonscale Set Equipment. As it was a Set Equipment, the difficulty of producing the entire set would be no less than producing a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment.

Shi Feng was only an Advanced Forging Apprentice right now. Without raising his forging level, producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment would only be a pipe dream.

At the very least, he needed to get promoted to an Intermediate Forger or Advanced Forger before he had an actual chance of producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment.

"I have to raise my forging levels after we return." Shi Feng formed a plan in his mind as he looked at the Dragonscale Forging Manual.

Shi Feng then handed the Boots of Extreme Speed to Fire Dance. Now that Fire Dance had reached Level 19, she was only a short distance away from Level 20. As for the Crystal Armor and Dragonscale Forging Manual, he kept both of them for himself.

After resting for a short while, Shi Feng's group of three entered the crystal pathway.

The crystal pathway was so long that one could not see the end of it in a single glance. Moreover, the Elemental Mana present in this pathway was extremely dense, so much so that it was even visible in the form of an aurora. It was an absolutely stunning sight to behold. Aside from being visually appealing, the dense Mana also gave the three of them a buff, increasing the magic damage they could deal by 300%. One could simply imagine how dense the Elemental Mana was in this pathway.

Before they knew it, Shi Feng's group of three had walked for more than an hour inside this crystal pathway. When they finally emerged, they were at the base of a huge mountain.

When the three of them laid eyes on this mountain, they were immediately stunned.

"This entire mountain can't be made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal, right?!" Aqua Rose stared at the crystal mountain, her heart filled with immense shock.

Aqua Rose had previously visited the Blackwing Auction House, so she had seen Seven Luminaries Crystal before.

It was common knowledge that the Seven Luminaries Crystal was one of the best mana-conducting crystals in God's Domain. Not only was it extremely rare, its price was even more impressive. Not even White River City, a city with a population of several million, was qualified to use such a precious commodity. Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, only the palace and Star-Moon Auction House at the capital city could afford to use a floating platform made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal.

Previously, Aqua Rose had believed that the crystal pathway was actually made out of Mana Crystals. However, the sight of this large mountain and its surrounding environment overturned her previous assumptions. The reason being, it was simply impossible for mere Mana Crystals to fill their surroundings with such dense Elemental Mana, resulting in even the formation of Seven-colored Mana Clouds.

"It should be." Shi Feng nodded blankly.

Shi Feng's mind grew heated at the thought of having so much Seven Luminaries Crystal.

On the market, a Seven Luminaries Crystal the size of a small residential house could be used to purchase a large town with a population of 50,000, with plenty to spare. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Crystal before him was in the form of a mountain, and in terms of size, this mountain could rival even White River City.

A city made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystal, just what sort of concept was this? Even if the entire Star-Moon Kingdom was sold, it would not be enough to purchase so much Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Unfortunately, none of these crystals could be taken away. It was not even possible to pick some to take back.

If they wished to mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals, at the very least, they needed to reach Master level in mining. Shi Feng was only at Basic Apprentice level in mining right now, and not even in his dreams could he mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Seven Luminaries Crystal was even more valuable than gold. Yet, even though so much Seven Luminaries Crystals were sitting right before him, he could do nothing but look at it. Shi Feng's heart simply bled at this thought.

However, this couldn't be helped. Who would have ever thought there would be so much Seven Luminaries Crystals at this place?

Shi Feng shook his head, banishing his thoughts. He then moved his sights towards a flight of stairs a short distance away that led to the peak of the mountain, saying, "Let's go up and take a look. We might discover how to unseal this place up there."

Fire Dance did not know the true value of Seven Luminaries Crystal, hence she barely reacted to it. She had simply been mesmerized by the beauty of this mountain. Aqua Rose, on the other hand, knew full well the value of this mountain. If Fire Dance had not given her a shove, rousing her from her stupor, Aqua Rose would definitely still be immersed in her shock.

After all, this entire mountain was a mountain of money...

If she could nick even a tiny piece of this mountain, the Coins converted from it would be enough to sustain even a first-rate Guild for a long time.

As the trio traversed the stairs up the mountain, Shi Feng suddenly felt an oppressive pressure bearing down on him. Moreover, this pressure was exactly the same as what he had felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, only a lot more powerful. The pressure only grew stronger and stronger as they climbed further up the mountain.

By the time Shi Feng arrived at the mountaintop, he was already drenched in sweat. His body also felt extremely heavy, as if it were made out of lead. Meanwhile, the two girls, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose, fared much worse than Shi Feng. At this moment, both girls were sprawled on the ground, their bodies refusing to move even an inch. Unable to help his teammates, Shi Feng decided to walk towards a monolith visible at a distance by himself.

Just by looking at this semi-transparent sky-blue monolith, Shi Feng could immediately sense that it was the heart of this land. It was obvious that this standing stone was the thing that filled the surrounding environment with such dense Elemental Mana, and not the mountain-sized Seven Luminaries Crystal.

Arriving before the monolith, Shi Feng discovered many golden divine runes engraved on the bottom of the standing stone. They were by far the most complicated divine runes Shi Feng had ever seen. Also, Shi Feng had actually discovered a figure flickering in and out of existence within the semi-transparent monolith.

When Shi Feng took a closer look at this figure, his eyes immediately widened in shock. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing was real.

The reason being, Shi Feng had seen the figure inside the stone before.

However, Shi Feng was confused. Why would this person appear here?

Chapter 277 - A god's grave

While Shi Feng was still in a daze, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose caught up with him, having recovered from their exhaustion.

"Guild Leader, did you find anything?" Fire Dance asked out of curiosity when she saw Shi Feng lost in thought.

Aqua Rose, on the other hand, did not notice any difference in Shi Feng's demeanor, because the moment she arrived before the monolith, her attention was completely caught by something else. As an Elementalist, she was much more sensitive to magic power than players of other classes.

The frightening magic power radiating from the monolith was definitely the purest form of magic power Aqua Rose had ever felt, as if it was the master of all Elemental Mana.

When Aqua Rose noticed the figure inside the monolith, she, too, froze on the spot.

"How is it possible?" Aqua Rose could not believe what she saw. She rubbed her eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on her.

Aqua Rose's reaction baffled Fire Dance.

"What has gotten into the two of you?" Fire Dance looked at Aqua Rose, then at Shi Feng, confused by their reactions.

"You'll understand after taking a look inside the monolith," Shi Feng said slowly, pointing towards the figure in the monolith.

Fire Dance then transferred her gaze to the monolith.

"How could she be here?" Fire Dance asked in shock.

Fire Dance knew the figure in the monolith. Moreover, she had met this person only recently.

This person was none other than Sharlyn, the Divine Official who faced off against the two Fallen Angels back at the Demon's Castle. To be precise, the woman within the monolith looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even the saintly aura she emitted was similar to Sharlyn's. If Fire Dance had to point to a difference between the two women, then it would be the pressure this woman gave off.

This was no longer an oppression due to strength. Instead, this pressure was the instinctive reverence for a primordial life form, just like the reverence mortals had towards Gods.

"Could she possibly be a God?" Fire Dance suddenly had this thought when she looked at the woman who looked like Sharlyn.

Shi Feng's thoughts were running along similar lines to Fire Dance's.

However, Shi Feng could say with certainty that the woman inside the monolith was definitely a Tier 6 God, because in the past he had personally experienced this overbearing pressure, which could only be exuded by a God.

If the woman in the monolith was simply a Tier 6 God, Shi Feng would not have found the matter too shocking. After all, during his decade of playing God's Domain, he had personally met with plenty of Tier 6 players and NPCs. The thing that truly startled him was the fact that the woman before him looked identical to Sharlyn.

Back at the Purple Sun Mansion, he had already experienced this kind of pressure. He had simply forgotten where he had felt it before. Now he knew why that pressure felt so familiar.

After all, he had felt a similar pressure from Sharlyn. Only, the pressure Sharlyn gave off was not as powerful as the one he felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, hence he failed to recognize it.

Not only did the two women look exactly the same, even the pressure they emitted felt similar. The only real difference between the two were their actual strengths.

If Shi Feng was told that the woman before him was Sharlyn, he would definitely not believe it. After all, Sharlyn was only a Tier 3 Divine Official. She was still miles away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Yet, if he was told that Sharlyn had no connection to this woman before him, then he likewise would not believe it.

Although the woman inside the monolith was clearly no longer alive, at the end of the day, she was still a God. As long as her body did not receive any intentional damage, it would not undergo any decay.

As of now, Shi Feng finally realized that the Forgotten Lands was merely the grave of a God. However, he was still curious about who had actually created this masterpiece. This great personage had actually made such a complex magic array that utilized a God's body as its power source. The materials used to create the magic array even included the extremely valuable Seven Luminaries Crystal. Just what kind of thing was this great personage trying to seal?

Even if it was for the purpose of sealing a God, there should not be a need for so much resources...

"It seems there is a deep connection between Sharlyn and this place." Shi Feng had long since felt that Sharlyn's origins were not simple. The fact that she was a Tier 3 NPC was already amazing in and of itself. Sharlyn was also capable of handing out an Epic Quest to Shi Feng. Now, there was even a God that looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even Shi Feng could not fathom Sharlyn's true identity.

Unless he went and asked Sharlyn herself...

Shi Feng was extremely curious about this matter. He vowed to himself to visit Sharlyn, who was at the Stargazing Tower at Blackwing City, after this entire ordeal was over.

"Guild Leader, what are we supposed to do now? Destroy this monolith?" Aqua Rose asked.

The mana source of this magic array clearly originated from this monolith. If they wished to release the seal on the Forgotten Lands, their only choice was to destroy the monolith. However, it was unknown what sort of reaction they would incur if they did so. There was a God inside the monolith, after all.

"Let's give it a try." Shi Feng had taken a look at the monolith's surroundings just now. However, he did not discover any mechanisms that would allow him to undo the magic array.

After Shi Feng nodded, Fire Dance immediately took action by slashing at the monolith with her two daggers.

However, the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers, which could easily cut through metal like a hot knife through butter, simply grazed the surface of the monolith, creating dazzling sparks in the process. There was not even a mark left on the monolith.

"Hard." Fire Dance's hands went numb from the attack. It felt as if her daggers had hit God-steel.

"I'll try using magic." Aqua Rose started chanting the incantation for Chain Explosion.

With the Elemental Mana so dense in this place, any spells used here would be greatly enhanced.

Originally, Chain Explosion would only summon five fireballs, each the size of a washbowl. When Aqua Rose cast the spell now, however, the fireballs grew to the size of a small house. When these fireballs bombarded the monolith, they were like meteors hurtling down from the sky. Sparks flew in all directions as the fireballs crashed into the monolith.

After the flames subsided, Aqua Rose was greatly shocked by the result.

The monolith remained completely unscathed. On the contrary, it even looked more brilliant and dazzling than before...

Shi Feng wrinkled his brows at this sight. If even Aqua Rose's ultimate move could not deal any damage to the monolith, he would most likely end up with a similar result if he tried to attack the monolith.

"Since we can't destroy the monolith, we'll need to use some other method to destroy the magic array," Shi Feng said.

The Main God System would not hand out a quest that players had no hope of actually completing. If they couldn't destroy the power source of the magic array nor the magic array itself, then there was only one other thing they could destroy.

The connection points!

"Aqua, help me look for the connection points of this magic array," Shi Feng said.

"I see!" Aqua Rose immediately understood Shi Feng's intention.

Fire Dance, however, remained clueless after the two's brief conversation. As an Assassin, she knew next to nothing about magic. Hence, she could only stay by the monolith's side as she watched her two friends hard at work. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose started searching the surroundings of the monolith for the veins that carried magic power to the five modules of the magic array. Only by looking for veins could they locate the connection points.

Normally, the quickest way to destroy a magic array was to destroy its power core. If that was not viable, then the two other remaining options would be to destroy the magic array itself and to destroy the connection points of the magic array. Destroying the magic array itself was an extremely challenging task to pull off. On the other hand, it was a very simple task to destroy the connection points. Unfortunately, locating these connection points was also a very difficult task.

A connection point was a node that connected the magic array to its power source. It acted similar to a circuit breaker in real life. Only, instead of being used to prevent an overflow of electric current, the connection point served to limit the amount of mana flowing from the power source to the magic array. If the connection point was damaged, then the mana supply would surge, and consequently, the magic array would destroy itself due to excessive mana input.

After searching for some time, Shi Feng finally found a connection point. He promptly struck down with the Abyssal Blade, destroying the connection point.

However, this enormous and complex magic array did not possess only a single connection point. They needed to search and destroy all the connection points of the magic array.

After several more hours passed, Aqua Rose found another connection point, which she quickly destroyed. Even so, the magic array remained stable.

In this way, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose spent the entire day destroying more than twenty connection points. Although the destruction of the connection points had a slight effect on the magic array, it was clear that the damage was within the parameters of the magic array's design.

"Not good! Guild Leader, one of the connection points you previously destroyed is back to normal!" Having nothing better to do, Fire Dance had tagged along with Shi Feng, hoping to learn how she, too, could search for the connection points. However, during her observations, she suddenly discovered that one of the connection points Shi Feng had previously destroyed had actually recovered.

"What did you say?" Shi Feng asked in disbelief.

Even the connection points could restore themselves? Shi Feng started to suspect that this was no longer an ordinary magic array but a magic array that had already cultivated into a demon.

Shi Feng had seen plenty of Tier 5 magic arrays in the past; he had even seen Tier 6 magic arrays before. However, he had never once heard of a magic array that was capable of repairing itself.

Chapter 278 - the greatest catastrophe 

"By no means can we continue like this. There might be hundreds of connection points in this magic array. By the time we locate the ones remaining, the other connection points might have repaired themselves already," Shi Feng said, his head aching.

A magic array that was capable of self-repair was simply unheard-of.

If they did not have a dozen or so players moving separately to destroy the connection points, it was simply impossible to destroy every single connection point in this magic array.

Destroying the connection points suddenly became a much harder task than Shi Feng had imagined it to be.

"Guild Leader, I found something here. Come over and take a look," Aqua Rose said through the party chat.

Hearing that there was a new discovery, Shi Feng immediately hurried over to Aqua Rose's location.

Aqua Rose was currently situated in the middle of this Seven Luminaries Mountain, inside an extremely obscure cave. If not for the indicator provided by the system map, Shi Feng could not have found the cave Aqua Rose was in.

After entering the cave, Shi Feng immediately observed his surroundings. He discovered that the walls of the cave were covered with engravings of divine runes, the golden glow these divine runes were giving off brightly illuminating the interior of the cave.

Looking at the cave's central crystal pillar, Shi Feng noticed a blood-red stone embedded in it. This piece of stone was just like a beating heart, only, instead of bright-red liquid, an endless amount of mana passed through it. Meanwhile, the mana that passed through this blood-red stone became much purer in quality.

"Aqua, how did you manage to find this place?" Shi Feng asked, astonished by this scene before him.

"I just happened to discover a particularly thick mana vein and followed it here." Aqua Rose beamed a proud smile at Shi Feng.

If they demolished this place, then the magic array would definitely be finished.

"Guild Leader, I'll start destroying this place, alright?" Aqua Rose could wait no longer.

She had been trapped in this godforsaken place for so many days now. During this period of time, she had no option but to keep contact with her subordinates through the phone in order to make arrangements for the daily affairs of the Guild. She had also instructed them to prepare for the establishment of their Guild Residence. Currently, most of the average players in White River City were already around Level 14 to Level 15, while the elite players of the various Guilds were already at Level 17.

The intensity of the competition for the Three Great Dungeons had also reached its peak by now. Out of all the Guilds in White River City, Ouroboros shone the brightest. They had already managed to take down the second Boss of the Hard Mode Land of Death, and they were currently in the midst of challenging the third Boss of the Dungeon. Meanwhile, Dark Star, which ranked after Ouroboros, was still attempting to raid the second Boss. As for the other Guilds, they had also passed through Normal Mode, and were currently preparing to raid Hard Mode.

Furthermore, as players started raiding the Hard Mode Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons, they soon discovered the astonishing benefits they could obtain. Aside from dropping Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment, the Bosses also dropped plenty of recipes and designs. Players could also obtain the Guild Task Order that could not be obtained from 20-man Team Dungeons or lower. These Guild Task Orders could be used to accelerate the promotion of a Guild. Otherwise, it would take ages for Guilds to get promoted if they simply relied on the meager Guild Reputation their members obtained by completing Daily Quests.

Yet, as one of the top six Guilds in White River City, Zero Wing had actually remained inactive all this time. Not only had it accomplished nothing during this period of time, it did not even set foot in any of the Three Great Dungeons. It had simply focused its attention on raiding Level 15, 10- and 20-man Dungeons, and its decision to do so had greatly confused the masses.

Even though Zero Wing clearly had the strength to challenge the Three Great Dungeons, it had chosen not to take action instead.

The Guild's behavior had caused many of the new members to grow dissatisfied, and a majority of these players had chosen to leave the Guild one after another. Very quickly, Zero Wing's member count that had originally exceeded 8,000 had quickly dwindled down to just slightly more than 6,000.

This situation had panicked Aqua Rose somewhat.

In reply to Aqua Rose's panic, Shi Feng had simply said, "If they wish to leave, then let them leave. You don't need to stop them. The Guild is too bloated right now, so this is a good chance to rid ourselves of those that joined solely with the intention of taking advantage of us. The Guild would become much purer after those players are gone."

Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Aqua Rose had no choice but to turn a blind eye to all the players withdrawing from the Guild. However, she did make sure to record the names of those who left. In the future, they would no longer be welcomed into the Guild.

Meanwhile, the players that withdrew from the Guild simply reacted with contempt at Aqua Rose's actions. They had even made a mockery of Zero Wing, declaring that they would never rejoin a lousy Guild like Zero Wing. Moreover, as if to rub salt into the wound, Dark Star had also been secretly killing many players from Zero Wing, causing even more players to withdraw from the Guild.

As of this moment, there were only around 4,000 members remaining in Zero Wing. Not to mention a third-rate Guild, they were not even comparable to a large unrated Guild right now.

Hence, Aqua Rose was in a rush to break out of this place. She wanted to quickly return and rectify the Guild.

"Hold on a minute," Shi Feng hurriedly said when he noticed a large fireball already appearing in Aqua Rose's hand. "We don't really need to destroy it."

"But, how are we supposed to leave this place if we don't destroy it, then?" Aqua Rose asked.

"I have my own ways." Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he looked at the blood-red stone embedded inside the crystal pillar.

Shi Feng truly had not expected to find this piece of blood-red stone here.

Instead of calling it a blood-red stone, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as the Philosopher's Stone.

Previously, Shi Feng had obtained a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone back at the Sun Temple. Now, he had stumbled upon another fragment.

The Philosopher's Stone was an alchemy treasure. Despite being fragmented into five pieces, each of these individual pieces still contained the strength of an Epic ranked item.

Also, when Shi Feng discovered the Philosopher's Stone at this place, he quickly understood just how the connection points of the magic array had managed to repair themselves. It turned out it was all because of the Philosopher's Stone.

_Although I can't take away any of these Seven Luminaries Crystals, it is still not bad if I can return with this piece of the Philosopher's Stone._ Shi Feng arrived before the crystal pillar. He then inserted the tip of the Abyssal Blade into the crevice in the crystal pillar where the Philosopher's Stone was set. With a light tap on the pommel of the Abyssal Blade, the Philosopher's Stone easily popped out from the crystal pillar. Shi Feng promptly retrieved the item and stored it in his bag.

Shortly after the Philosopher's Stone was removed from the crystal pillar, the cave started fading away. Moreover, the rate at which it disappeared was visible to the naked eye. The dense Elemental Mana that filled the air and land also gradually dispersed, becoming thinner and thinner. As for the incomparably hard Seven Luminaries Crystals, they, too, had began turning into ash.

"Not good! This place is about to collapse! We need to leave immediately!" Shi Feng shouted through the party chat as soon as he noticed this change.

Shi Feng's group of three rushed down the Seven Luminaries Mountain, and before long the entire mountain started imploding. The magic array that sealed the Forgotten Lands also lost its effectiveness.

As for the monolith that had previously been standing on the mountaintop, it remained floating high up in the sky. Gradually, the monolith rose higher and higher, before suddenly releasing a rainbow brilliance. The monolith was like a miniature sun at this moment. Soon after, the dazzling glow disappeared, along with the gigantic monolith itself.

After the Seven Luminaries Mountain collapsed, a bottomless pit appeared in its place. The pit was just like a black hole, devouring everything that entered it.

At the deepest reaches of this bottomless pit, there was actually a boundless aura of destruction, and any object that came into contact with this pressure instantly turned into ash.

Surprisingly, Shi Feng felt signs of life at the very bottom of this immeasurably deep pit, and his entire body instinctively shuddered at this discovery.

"Guild Leader, did we do something bad?" Fire Dance asked Shi Feng in a careful tone. She, too, could feel the immensely frightening pressure that came from the bottomless pit.

"I don't know, either," Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face.

At this moment, a notification from the system sounded.

System: Unique Quest "Miracles Unsealed" completed.

Quest rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, 40 Free Attribute Points, and 40 Free Mastery Points.

System: The Endless Abyss has come into existence. Activating new expansion pack, "The Great Catastrophe."

System: Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest "Seven Treasures" activated.

Quest details: The Endless Abyss has been unsealed. You are required to immediately notify the War God's Temple in order to have them reseal the Endless Abyss.

After reading these notifications, Shi Feng finally had an inkling of what was going on.

Inadvertently, they had actually opened the door of taboos. According to Shi Feng's memories, the new expansion pack "The Great Catastrophe" had only appeared three months after God's Domain's launch in his previous life. Now, however, because of him, the Great Catastrophe had appeared in advance...

Chapter 279 - quality over quantity

When Aqua Rose and Fire Dance read the notifications they received, both of them were immediately sent into a daze.

A Legendary Quest!

Moreover, it was a Main Storyline Quest, a quest that was capable of changing the history of God's Domain. The reward for such a quest would definitely be luxuriant.

According to rumors, the minimum reward for completing an Epic Quest was an Epic ranked item, or an item of equivalent value. In other words, if they completed a Legendary Quest, then the minimum reward they could obtain would be a Legendary ranked item.

They had never even seen an Epic ranked item before, much less a Legendary ranked item. It could definitely become the symbol of the Guild.

However, when the two of them thought about how they were required to seal this Endless Abyss, they sank into deep despair...

"The Return Scrolls are usable now. Let's leave this place, then." Shi Feng's memories of the new expansion pack "The Great Catastrophe" were still fresh in his mind. After the Great Catastrophe occurred, the monsters throughout God's Domain started becoming restless. Towns, especially, would randomly come under attack from Demonic Beasts, resulting in chaos.

According to Shi Feng's memories, some of the weaker border towns had even been conquered by the Demonic Beasts, turning those into Demonic Beast Towns.

Among the biggest changes made to the game were to the nights in God's Domain. After the new pack was implemented, the number of monsters that would appear during nighttime was much higher than before. Moreover, monsters corrupted by the Endless Abyss would also appear. These corrupted monsters would all be transformed into Demonic Beasts, and even the weakest of Demonic Beasts were Tier 1 monsters. Which was to say, if players had still not received their promotion into a Tier 1 class, it would be tremendously difficult for them to fight against these monsters. Instead of being the ones doing the killing, players would have a much higher chance of getting killed by these Demonic Beasts.

Hence, after the new expansion pack, players would find it very difficult to grind and level up during nighttime.

In contrast to the shock Aqua Rose and Fire Dance felt, the revelation of the new pack caused a sensation throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Players could not help but feel excited after finding out about the Great Catastrophe expansion pack.

The official developers of the game had already revealed information about this new expansion pack. In the future, Demonic Beasts would randomly launch assaults on towns, and in response to such attacks, towns would issue Defense Quests to players. As long as players managed to defend the town, they would receive bountiful rewards. Of these rewards, there would even be Secret-Silver ranked items and many more valuable items. In addition, players would also receive City Reputation from completing the Defense Quest.

These Defense Quests would undeniably allow average players to quickly improve themselves, hence the excitement of many of the average players over the arrival of this new expansion pack.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in White River City had also suddenly cooled down, as many players had chosen to head out to the towns instead. They intended to grind for some levels while they awaited for a Demonic Beast assault to occur.

If luck would have it, they might even happen upon a Demonic Beast assault, making a huge profit from completing the resultant Defense Quest.

"Guild Leader, should we arrange for a few members to head towards various towns and keep an eye out for a Demonic Beast assault?" Aqua Rose suggested, her brows wrinkled slightly when she looked at the deserted streets of White River City.

The other Guilds were currently busying themselves with raiding the Three Great Dungeons. They definitely would not have the time to pay attention to these Demonic Beast assaults. Hence, this was a good chance for Zero Wing to shine.

"Let's not participate in the Demonic Beast assaults. Focus on leveling up. Level 20 is the time when our Guild will shine." Shi Feng shook his head, a knowing smile on his face.

In the past, Shi Feng had experienced many assaults launched by Demonic Beasts. Hence, he knew very well how difficult it was to actually receive the reward of a Defense Quest. The reason being, even the weakest Demonic Beast was a Tier 1 monster; they would all be Level 30 or above. Shi Feng had even once encountered a Tier 3 Demonic Beast during an assault. If they were to try and defend a town right now, it would simply be suicide.

Naturally, Shi Feng would not let the members of his Guild die a pointless death.

One could say that towns were extremely dangerous locations right now. If players were to truly meet with a Demonic Beast assault, then it was not luck but fate.

Currently, the safest places in God's Domain were cities, since there would be high-tier NPCs guarding them. Take White River City for example. There were three Tier 4 NPCs guarding it, so Demonic Beasts would not dare to casually approach the city itself.

"If we don't participate and make some achievements, many more of the remaining members might choose to withdraw from the Guild." Aqua Rose could not understand what was going through Shi Feng's mind.

Before, they had given up on competing over the Three Great Dungeons. Now, they were also going to give up such a good chance to earn precious equipment and reputation. Just what were they supposed to do?

"Let them leave, then. Our Guild is only capable of handling 3,000 members right now, and we are still well above that number. It would be even better if they do leave." Shi Feng smiled without care.

What Shi Feng was trying to pursue was quality, not quantity.

God's Domain was a game, and the resources available to players were limited. Meanwhile, the more members they had in the Guild, the more resources the Guild needed to spend. However, if the resources available in the Guild only amounted to so much, having more members in the Guild would mean that each member would receive less resources. As a result, their development speed would also fall.

In the past, Shadow had conducted a mass recruitment of players, recruiting all kinds of players into the Guild. In the end, the Guild had bitten off more than it could chew, causing its development to slow to a crawl. In this life, Shi Feng would not repeat the same mistakes Shadow made in the past. The members in the Guild could just leave for all he cared. He definitely would not try to stop them from leaving.

Talent was very important if one wished to become an expert in God's Domain. However, truly talented people were limited. In the past, a majority of the experts in God's Domain had participated in one battle after another, gradually learning and accumulating the experience needed to become an expert, instead of relying on talent.

Instead of cultivating some two-faced talented Guild members, Shi Feng would rather invest his resources in nurturing normal, but loyal, Guild members.

In the past, a Super-Guild called Black Tower had sent over 200,000 of their members to attack a second-rate Guild called Solitary Rulers. Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had less than 80,000 members in total; the Guild was believed to have the fewest members among all second-rate Guilds.

Before the battle between the two Guilds had even started, everyone had already expected Black Tower to easily obtain victory.

However, the end result was far from what others had imagined it to be. Although both Guilds clashed tens of times, Black Tower hadn't succeeded in destroying the city governed by Solitary Rulers. While more than 30,000 members of Solitary Rulers had died in that battle, Black Tower had lost more than three times that number, with over 100,000 members of Black Tower dying. Black Tower suffered a tremendous loss after that battle, greatly shocking the other Guilds that were watching from the sidelines.

In the end, Black Tower had no choice but to mobilize its seven Tier 5 Saint-rank players and one of its Tier 6 God-rank players to destroy Solitary Rulers.

However, every member of Solitary Rulers still fought to the bloody end, fighting tooth and nail against their eventual demise. Before they lost their city, they had even managed to kill two of the Saint-rank players and another 100,000 or so Black Tower members.

In the subsequent clashes between the two Guilds, Solitary Rulers had suffered one defeat after another. After all, the Tier 6 God-rank expert and seven Tier 5 Saint-rank experts were simply too powerful. As a result, Solitary Rulers lost five of the cities they governed in quick succession. By the time the battlefield moved to Solitary Rulers' final base of operations, Unparalleled City, amazingly, not a single member had chosen to withdraw from the Guild. Even after dying tens of times, they still chose to charge head-on into the battlefield.

Shi Feng couldn't help but shiver every time he recalled the unyielding attitude of those iron-blooded souls.

Clearly, the difference in strength between the two Guilds was like heaven and earth. Yet, instead of giving up and accepting their fates, every single member of Solitary Rulers had chosen to brave the battlefield. It was also due to this reason that Black Tower had suffered such immense losses. If it were any other Guild standing in Solitary Rulers' place, the members would have long since abandoned hope and quit the Guild. They would not have chosen to fight at all.

While Black Tower was in the midst of conquering Solitary Rulers' final city, however, another Super-Guild had attempted to take advantage of the situation and laid siege to Black Tower's cities. As a result, Black Tower had no choice but to give up their plan of completely annihilating Solitary Rulers.

Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had instantly risen to fame after this conflict, becoming the role model of all second-rate and third-rate Guilds.

Aside from Solitary Rulers as an example of quality over quantity, there was also the adventurer team that was known throughout the entire God's Domain, the Midnight Tea Party. Although its members numbered less than 30, not even Super-Guilds dared to cross it.

In God's Domain, although quantity was important, quality was even more important.

"I understand."

Looking at Shi Feng's determined expression, Aqua Rose had no better choice but to concede to his decision. It was indeed like Shi Feng had said: there were too many members in the Guild. The current member count far exceeded their range of tolerance. By having those unfaithful members leave, they could also lay a good foundation for their Guild's future.

Another reason why Aqua Rose had agreed to Shi Feng's decision was mainly because of the Guild Residence. Once they revealed their Guild Residence to the public, there would be no shortage of players wanting to join their Guild.

If they did not possess the Guild Residence, Aqua Rose definitely would not have agreed to such a self-destructive course.

After Aqua Rose went on her own way, Shi Feng headed to the Adventurer's Guild. Now that the Great Catastrophe expansion pack had been activated, he needed to quickly handle the matters concerning the Guild Residence.

Chapter 280 - Zero Wing Residence 

Currently, the interior of the Adventurer's Association of White River City was filled with players coming and going. Most of these players were here to accept or hand in their Daily Quests.

However, there were insufficient NPCs to cater to the large number of players. As a result, these players usually needed to wait in the lounge for a period of time before they could accept or turn in their quests.

Having nothing better to do inside the lounge, some Guild players started ordering alcohol and holding a discussion among themselves.

"Zero Wing is getting worse by the day! If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have definitely joined some other large Guild to develop myself! Perhaps I might have already become the leader of a party by now! Brother Hui, as expected, you are still the smarter and wiser one! You joined Dark Star from the very start, and now, you've already become the vice-leader of a 15-man team! Now that I have left Zero Wing, I will be relying on Brother Hui's guidance from now on!" A Shield Warrior with tanned skin flattered the robust-looking Berserker sitting beside him.

"No problem! With me around, you will definitely have no problem joining the Guild!" the Berserker assured him, clapping his chest.

Meanwhile, sitting beside this Berserker addressed as Brother Hui was a pretty female mage. Although her face looked average, she had an excellent figure. Coquettishly fluttering her eyelashes, the female mage looked at the person known as Brother Hui, sweetly saying, "Big Brother Hui, I've been wanting to go to the Level 15 Wind Ridge. When will you take me there?"

Wind Ridge was a Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon. Among Level 15 Team Dungeons, Wind Ridge had a below-average difficulty. However, to average players at this stage of the game, even a Level 15, 10-man Team Dungeon was a great challenge, not to mention a 20-man Dungeon like Wind Ridge.

"Of course, of course! Isn't it just Wind Ridge? You're already my woman now, how could you settle for only a meager Wind Ridge? Tomorrow, I'll call up my men and bring you to the Demon's Castle!" The Berserker wrapped his arm around the female mage's willowy waist, a nasty grin on his face.

Many onlookers grew envious at this scene. They could not help but wish that they, too, could join Dark Star and getting a beauty for themselves as well.

"Brother Hui, I hear that the Demon's Castle has a very high difficulty. Don't tell me you've already managed to obtain the raid strategy from Zero Wing's main force?" the tanned Shield Warrior asked curiously.

"Indeed, we've managed to obtain the strategy already. However, even without it, with Dark Star's strength, we could still easily conquer the Demon's Castle. The main reason we haven't done so is simply because of the competition we're having with Ouroboros. Otherwise, Zero Wing would not have had the chance to take the limelight as they did before. Look, isn't Zero Wing in shambles now? They're simply a little faster in terms of leveling up. They haven't even cleared the Normal Mode of any of the Three Great Dungeons yet. Dark Star, on the other hand, has already killed the second Boss of Hard Mode and started trying to raid the third Boss. We have already caught up with Ouroboros. It is only a matter of time before we surpass Ouroboros. I really don't know what qualifications Zero Wing possesses to be considered as one of the top six Guilds in White River City." The Berserker's loud voice was filled with disdain as he spoke of Zero Wing.

"Even though the Guild clearly has no future, there is still more than half the original number of players remaining in it. It really makes you wonder just what is going through those people's minds."

"They're just fools."

"Brother Hui, you're right! I really regret listening to my friend's words about joining Zero Wing back then." The Shield Warrior nodded his head in agreement, his heart filled with great disappointment. If he had joined Dark Star early on, he might also have had a beauty accompanying him by now.

Meanwhile, seated near this trio, Shi Feng was currently quietly browsing through information on the official forums.

Naturally, he could clearly hear the loud conversation between the robust Berserker and the skinny Shield Warrior, and the same went for everyone else waiting inside the lounge.

However, Shi Feng made no comment on their mocking words. After all, everyone had the freedom to make their own decisions.

As for the Shield Warrior's regret at joining Zero Wing?

Shi Feng simply revealed a calm smile.

If this Shield Warrior knew that Zero Wing was about to establish their very own Guild Residence, just what sort of emotions would he have?

At that time, even the words "earth-shattering" would not be enough to describe the amount of shock he would feel.

However, Shi Feng really could not be blamed for this...

Soon after, Shi Feng headed to the counter and dealt with all the necessary procedures. After he turned his private territory into a Guild Residence, he also spent 3,000 Gold to build an Advanced Guild Hall in place of the Purple Sun Mansion. The Advanced Guild Hall could fit up to 3,000 people. As for the other facilities of the Guild Residence, those would only be obtainable from large-scale Team Dungeons that were Level 25 or above.

Some time was needed before the construction of the Advanced Guild Hall could be completed.

After Shi Feng completed all the necessary procedures, his remaining task was to head to the War God's Temple and report the matter of the Endless Abyss.

Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the Adventurer's Association, the system notification sounded.

Moreover, this wasn't just any normal notification. Instead, it was a notification sent to the entire Star-Moon Kingdom.

Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to establish a Guild Residence! Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation, 10,000 Guild Popularity and 10 Gold Coins to the Guild.

"I spent 3,000 Gold, yet only got 10 Gold in return. The System sure is tightfisted." Shi Feng laughed.

However, Shi Feng did not concern himself with such an amount of Gold.

The reason being, in these past few days, the Starstreak Trading Firm was already making a daily profit of over 1,700 Gold. It was all thanks to the popularity it gained from selling the Arclight Shield, as well as the Basic Mana Armor Kits. During this period of time, the forging genius, Cream Cocoa, had also been continuously producing Gemstone Buckles, Advanced Whetstones, and many more forging products.

Moreover, the number of forging players Melancholic Smile recruited was also rising. Not only did the combination of these new forgers and the various Forging Designs provided by Zero Wing increase the number of products sold by the Starstreak Trading Firm, it also expanded the company's product selection. As a result, the daily profits of the Starstreak Trading Firm continuously rose.

Currently, the Starstreak Trading Firm already controlled over half of the market for forging products in White River City. Moreover, such a situation wasn't limited to just White River City; it extended to the seven surrounding cities.

Hence, Shi Feng was not lacking in money at all.

Compared to having spent 3,000 Gold Coins, Shi Feng was more interested in the 10,000 Guild Popularity points. This was a feature that would only become available to a Guild after it established a Guild Residence. The higher the Guild Popularity, the more famous a Guild would become among NPCs. With 10,000 Guild Popularity, Zero Wing could be considered relatively famous among the NPC populace. Compared to starting from scratch, having this 10,000 Guild Popularity made things much simpler for him.

It should be known that, when a Guild member completed a quest commissioned by an NPC, the Guild would normally receive only one to three Guild Popularity. Only quests with high difficulty would reward five to ten points. In other words, a Guild needed to complete thousands of Guild Quests in order to accumulate 10,000 Guild Popularity.

These bonus Guild Popularity points had saved the Guild plenty of development time.

Meanwhile, inside the lounge of the Adventurer's Association, the tanned Shield Warrior that had just recently left Zero Wing no longer felt joyful about joining Dark Star. On the contrary, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

\---

Inside the Land of Death, one of the Three Great Dungeons...

Dark Star's main team was currently battling against a White-bone Giant Elephant, which was over 20 meters in height.

At this time, the MT of the team, Lone Tyrant, was enduring the attacks from this White-bone Giant Elephant. Every time he took an attack from the Boss, he would receive over -2,000 damage. His HP constantly rose and fell, his life hanging by a thread.

Just as the White-bone Giant Elephant in the distance was preparing to charge, Lone Tyrant suddenly received a system notification.

Lone Tyrant was momentarily stunned by what he saw.

"How did Zero Wing obtain a Guild Residence so quickly?!" Lone Tyrant couldn't help but yell out when he saw the description of this system notification, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He even forgot to use a skill to block the incoming attack from the White-bone Giant Elephant before him.

As a result, he was turned into a pile of meat paste by the Boss's foot, losing his life instantly.

What followed was what would be expected: a team-wipe...