Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1061-1080

Chapter 1061 - Divine Hand

"Hm? Why is he here?!"

Yuan Tiexin's expression froze when his eyes fell upon a middle-aged man standing with the Red Jade Legion. The middle-aged man's appearance depicted strength, and he carried a bow of bones across his back.

Noticing Yuan Tiexin's suddenly stern expression, Purple Jade, immediately followed his gaze from her seat beside him. However, she did not discover anything unusual. Yuan Tiexin didn't seem to be looking at anyone noteworthy.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Purple Jade asked, "Uncle Yuan, could there be someone from the Dark Blade among those people...?"

Even a Super Guild like Pantheon had its secrets. Hence, the Guild had established a secret department called the Dark Blade. The Dark Blade specialized in tasks that others who walked in the light didn't want such as assassinations and banditry. This department's members would also assassinate other Guilds' upper echelons, disguising the deed as another Guild's work and causing strife between other Guilds for their profit.

However, these tasks were secondary.

The Dark Blade's true purpose was to assassinate enemy commanders during Guild wars.

To achieve this, when Pantheon nurtured these players, the selection of Skills, weapons, equipment, tools, and Attribute allocation were specially catered towards killing individual players. Although this was an extreme method of combat, it was suitable to deal with players who sought balance. In a one-on-one battle where both sides had equal combat standards and similar quality of weapons and equipment, the Dark Blade's members could trample such players.

Of course, with such an extreme combat method, the members of the Dark Blade fared poorly against monsters in the field or a Dungeon. This, in turn, greatly impacted their leveling speed. Hence, they needed other players to power-level them.

"That's right. I'm familiar with the man wielding the massive bone bow. He is the vice commander of Dark Blade, Divine Hand Nine Kills!" Yuan Tiexin said, rage filling his gaze as he watched the distant, bow-carrying player.

The bow-carrying man's name was Nine Kills, while Divine Hand was a title he had been given by others in the industry.

In a past large-scale virtual reality game, due to Nine Kills successfully assassinating the Secret Pavilion's third Vice Guild Leader at the time, the Pavilion had lost a major war against Pantheon. Yuan Tiexin had been one of the guards protecting the third Vice Guild Leader. In the end, however, Nine Kills had pulled off the assassination attempt.

Due to that loss, the Secret Pavilion had been forced to withdraw from that virtual reality game.

That incident had become one of Yuan Tiexin's lifelong embarrassments, and he had hungered for revenge. However, the trail of Pantheon's Dark Blade members was too difficult to track.

Yuan Tiexin had not expected to encounter the man here.

Although Nine Kills had modified his appearance somewhat, Yuan Tiexin recognized him.

"So, he is the rumored Divine Hand," Purple Jade carefully observed Nine Kills as well.

However, no matter how much she watched Nine Kills, she could not sense anything special from the man. He looked like any other expert in the Red Jade Legion.

"Since Nine Kills is making a move, the other members of the Dark Blade should be hidden among the legion as well. Zero Wing has no chance of victory," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing.

Setting aside the army of high-intelligence monsters, just the presence of Dark Blade could ruin Stone Forest Town.

If the town didn't have any commanders, it would be a piece of cake for Blackwater to raid the town.

Although he believed that Shi Feng was quite strong, the Dark Blade's members, who had undergone special training to kill other players, were no trifling opponents. The Secret Pavilion's Vice Guild Leaders were not just figureheads. Without sufficient strength and talent, it was impossible to achieve this position, not to mention becoming the third Vice Guild Leader.

Yet, even with three guards by his side, the third Vice Guild Leader had been killed. Although the three guards had eventually killed the Dark Blade member, their victory had held no meaning.

...

Outside of Saimu Town's entrance, a large number of elite members belonging to both Blackwater and Heaven's Burial waited for their orders. These players were all Level 37 or above. The independent players watching from afar were shocked by this scene.

"There should be at least 100,000 players, right?"

"A hundred thousand? Aren't you underestimating Blackwater and Heaven's Burial too much? Both Guild recruited that alone during their last two recruitment campaigns. Not to mention, Blackwater annexed Ouroboros."

"Eh? Many of the experts I know are now wearing Blackwater's emblem. What's going on?"

"The Blackwater Corporation is supporting Blackwater. The Guild isn't hurting for money at all. Moreover, the Blackwater Corporation is prepared to invest into God's Domain fully. If one joins the Guild and obtains a good position, their future could be limitless. The income of the Guild's core members already rivals the Blackwater Dojo's newly-hired instructors. Do you know how many people are vying to become an instructor in the Blackwater Dojo each year? It's a pity that only a handful of people get chosen."

"I guess you're right. It's a pity that I'm not strong enough right now. Otherwise, I would try to join Blackwater."

"I know, right? I have heard that, since Blackwater established its Guild, several thousand of Star-Moon Kingdom's independent players have joined. However, they only received the treatment of elite members. It is extremely difficult to become a core member. This war is a good opportunity for them to display their skills. If they perform well, they might even be promoted to a core member. At that time, they could afford to live without worrying about basic necessities. I have also heard that the team leaders and vice team leaders among Blackwater's core members received incomes that rival the Blackwater Dojo's basic and intermediate instructors. If one manages to reach those positions, they wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of their lives."

...

Just as the players in Saimu Town discussed the current atmosphere, a row of players atop high-ranking Mounts began to lead the elite army towards Stone Forest Town.

Even the most inferior among these Mounts was Bronze rank, while the two people in the lead rode Mysterious-Iron Mounts.

"Miss Muyun, I have truly underestimated your Blackwater Guild. I had never thought that you would dispatch so many elite members. I believe that even Zero Wing will be surprised," Singular Burial, who rode a black cheetah, commented, laughing.

Previously, Singular Burial had thought that Blackwater could dispatch at most 100,000 elite members. After all, the Guild still faced many management issues after annexing Ouroboros. The Guild still needed some elite members to maintain order in the towns and cities it ruled over. However, contrary to expectations, Blackwater had dispatched 200,000 elite members...

It was very hard to imagine that Blackwater already possessed such strength, despite establishing only a short time ago.

In terms of the number of elite members, even the Star Alliance was no match for Blackwater. Blackwater also had plenty of experts. If the Guild were already this strong after recently joining God's Domain, it was hard to imagine how powerful it would become in the future.

"Whether Zero Wing is shocked or not is no concern to Blackwater. In any case, ours won't be the main force raiding the town. We are simply here to pick up the pieces," Qin Muyun said indifferently. "If Zero Wing uses everything it has against us, excellent. As for hindering Zero Wing's reinforcements, I'll leave that to Guild Leader Burial."

"Please, rest assured. Heaven's Burial will prevent Zero Wing's army from setting foot in Stone Forest Town," Heaven's Burial confidently declared.

Although Blackwater had dispatched an army of elite members, Heaven's Burial had dispatched quite a few of its own.

With a total of 120,000 elite members in addition to their terrain advantage, the town would have new owners before Zero Wing's army reached it. After that, Heaven's Burial simply needed to work with Blackwater to encircle and annihilate Zero Wing's army.

"Guild Leader, a report just came in. Several cloaked players riding Mounts have been sighted leaving Saimu Town. By the looks of it, they seem to be heading towards Stone Forest Town!" Daybreak Fog, who stood to a side, suddenly announced. "They should be Zero Wing's upper echelons. Should we dispatch some of our experts to get rid of them?" 

Chapter 1062 - Forceful Break Through

Hearing Daybreak Fog's deduction, Singular Burial fell into deep thought.

"Have Ghost Shadow's group stop them. Remember, don't let a single player escape!" Singular Burial said strictly.

"We're sending Ghost Shadow's group?" Daybreak Fog was momentarily stunned. "Aren't we making a big fuss over something so small?"

Ghost Shadow was Heaven's Burial's number one expert. He was already considered a top-tier expert in previous virtual reality games. Now, during his time in God's Domain, he had come across a fortuitous encounter which allowed his techniques and strength to undergo a qualitative change. Only, Ghost Shadow had been improving himself away from the public eye all this time, so not many people knew about his current strength. They had originally planned to use him to surprise Zero Wing's army.

Yet, Singular Burial intended to expose Ghost Shadow's strength to hunt down a few players.

"I don't think so. Even now, Zero Wing has yet to arrange an army to head over to Stone Forest Town. Instead, they are sending a few experts with Mounts over first. The only reason they would do so is most likely because there are no good commanders in Stone Forest Town right now. Among the Zero Wing members heading towards Stone Forest Town, a commander is likely among them. I believe that Ghost Shadow will be very interested in them. He might even come across Zero Wing's number one Assassin, Fire Dance," Singular Burial explained.

Of course, this was only a guess.

However, to make their raid on Stone Forest Town easier, he would rather mistakenly kill a thousand players than let one escape.

"I'll head over as well, then." Daybreak Fog could not help her growing interest.

It was a popular belief that Star-Moon Kingdom's strongest female experts were in Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was the most famous female player in Zero Wing. This was because she had once been an Honorary Elder of the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo. Following Aqua Rose was Fire Dance, who had displayed frightening strength in several past battles. However, Daybreak Fog did not agree with this sentiment.

Without having fought each other, how could she know which among them was the strongest?

If she came across either one of these women, she would initiate a proper fight.

...

"They dare to rush at us with so few people. They aren't taking Heaven's Burial seriously!" a strong, muscular Level 40 Assassin wearing a black mask gowled, sneering at the five players rushing towards him from a distance. "Leader, you must leave one for me! I want to show these people that the real experts aren't in Zero Wing. They are in Heaven's Burial's Ghost Shadow Legion!"

Although Heaven's Burial was an upstart Guild, it possessed an extraordinary background. Otherwise, Blackwater would not have bothered to cooperate with the Guild. Meanwhile, in Heaven's Burial, the Ghost Shadow Legion consisted of experts from many well-known Workshops.

Only, this matter was never made public. The Ghost Shadow Legion's members leveled up and trained in secret. The Guild had even invited some of the virtual gaming world's apex experts to spar and train them. In the real world, the legion's members specifically gathered in a training complex, which Heaven's Burial used to nurture its experts. There, members of the legion sparred with other members and underwent all sorts of vigorous training methods each day. It felt like a living hell.

Correspondingly, however, their strength had undergone earth-shattering changes.

As for the experts who had made a name for themselves in Star-Moon Kingdom, they paid no attention to these people whatsoever.

After all, even the best among those experts was only strong enough to reach the sixth floor of the Divine Colosseum's Trial Tower. On the other hand, even the weakest members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were sixth-floor experts, with many of them having reached the seventh floor. As for the legion's commander, Ghost Shadow, he had reached the late stage of the eighth floor. He had long since surpassed the record Zero Wing's members had set. Only, he had kept his record hidden all this time.

"Sure. You'll deal with the magical classes. However, if there is a female Assassin among them, leave her to me!" Ghost Shadow laughed.

In reality, he didn't care about the several Zero Wing members heading towards him. If not for Daybreak Fog stating that Fire Dance might be among these players, he would not have bothered coming.

During the rank competition between Guilds in the Trial Tower, Fire Dance had humiliated him. He had been a top-tier expert in the virtual gaming world for many years, yet this little girl had defeated him. After that incident, he had vowed that he would, sooner or later, pay back the humiliation he had suffered.

After a fortuitous encounter, not only had his combat standards improved greatly, but he also no wielded Epic ranked weapons. This was why he was so confident of defeating Fire Dance. He had walked the line between life and death to complete that quest. He had even sacrificed the lives of thousands of the Guild's elite members.

In his current state, he would even dare to challenge Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame.

...

"Big Sis Aqua, I used Eagle Eyes and discovered a team of 100 players hiding along the sides of the forest path ahead. Should we circle around them?" Minor Wind asked.

Heaven's Burial's army was positioned all over the place. The Guild had sealed off practically all of the official paths leading from Saimu Town to Stone Forest Town. However, as the map was quite massive, it was impossible for Heaven's Burial's elite army to be everywhere. As long as they moved through the forest, their party could avoid detection. The only problem was that they could attract monsters' attention. If that happened, they would have to waste a lot of time. However, fighting Heaven's Burial's members would similarly put them in a bind.

"We don't have that much time. Moreover, they don't have a large group. We'll force our way through!" Aqua Rose decided.

"Oh yeah! I was waiting for you to say that!" Minor Wind said, grinning.

Minor Wind rendered the other three party members speechless. It was obvious that Minor Wind had purposefully asked that question. The Ranger clearly wanted to test out the Advanced Mana Armor Kits he had recently equipped.

Three Advanced Mana Armor Kits provided an increase of roughly 10% to one's Basic Attributes. To players with excellent equipment like themselves, that was the equivalent of an additional piece of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment.

...

"Ready the magic array!" Ghost Shadow commanded upon seeing Aqua Rose's party of five approach. "Once they are within 50 yards, activate it! Don't let even any of them get away!"

"Leader, rest assured; the magic array has an effective radius of 100 yards. As long as we activate it in time, they'll have no hope of escape," a Level 40 Elementalist said confidently.

When Aqua Rose's group was within 50 yards of Ghost Shadow's team, the latter activated their magic array.

Suddenly, a red magic barrier that was 30 yards tall and covered a radius of 100 yards appeared in the forest.

When active, the Six-star Crimson Array would lock an area within a barrier. It was a Basic Magic Array meant for ambushing enemies. The only way to break free was to attack the barrier and deplete the casters' Mana.

"Charge!" Ghost Shadow shouted in the team chat. Following which, he activated his Stealth Skill and made his way to his targets.

Immediately, the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights hidden on either side of the small road took the lead and charged at the enemy's Mounts, hoping to knock Aqua Rose and her teammates down.

Meanwhile, the ranged classes hidden a distance away began to launch one attack after another. 

Chapter 1063 - The Power of Five

The Rangers, Elementalists, Cursemancers, and Summoners hiding in the forest numbered several dozens.

The Spells and arrows they shot out formed a wall that drove towards Aqua Rose's party, leaving the five with no space to dodge at all.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

As a series of explosions rang out, dust and dirt went flying into the air. Everyone from the Ghost Shadow Legion felt a strong gust of wind blowing in their faces.

It's over? Daybreak Fog quietly looked at the dust cloud before her in doubt. Did I guess wrong, and these people aren't Zero Wing's upper echelon at all?

Although their frontal attack had been overwhelming, expert players could simply avoid them altogether rather than receive the attacks directly. After all, ranged attacks were not instantaneous. There was a small time lag between the launching and landing of the Spell. Moreover, there was also the system-provided ballistic prediction lines.

"So they're just a bunch of trash! It seems Zero Wing's experts only amount to that much after all!"

When the Ghost Shadow Legion members saw the rising dust cloud, smug smiles appeared on their faces.

However, as the dust cloud dissipated, the faces of those who were still feeling proud of themselves immediately darkened.

After the dust settled, what appeared was a large crater in the ground. However, this crater was actually in the shape of a semicircle. At the flat end of this semicircle, as if an invisible wall stood before Aqua Rose's party, no damage had reached Aqua Rose and the others at all.

They actually blocked all those attacks? Daybreak Fog's eyes turned serious as she took in this unbelievable sight.

With a closer look, she could faintly make out a translucent barrier erected before Aqua Rose's party. A moment later, this barrier shattered like glass, its fragments scattering to the ground before vanishing out of existence.

"Violet, this Absolute Barrier of yours really is strong! It actually managed to block off all those attacks. With this, we'll have to rely on you to block the ultimate moves of Bosses in the future," Minor Wind said, chuckling.

"My Absolute Barrier is only a Tier 1 Skill. It can block Tier 2 Skills at most. Right now, it is only useful in fights against other players," Violet Cloud said, shaking her head.

Although Violet Cloud had said so, this feat had still dealt an enormous blow to the Ghost Shadow Legion's mental state.

They had considered the possibility that Aqua Rose's party would directly dodge their attacks. However, they never imagined that the latter would actually be able to receive their attacks straight on.

At this moment, Daybreak Fog noticed that the Elementalist standing behind Aqua Rose was in the midst of chanting an incantation. Hurriedly, she shouted, "Not good! Everyone, scatter!"

As an Elementalist herself, Daybreak Fog had a deep understanding of the class.

Even without the Spell's magic array taking form, she could tell what kind of Spell it was just through the amount of Mana the incantation was gathering. Even if it was a Spell she was not familiar with, she could still judge the power of the Spell.

Meanwhile, Daybreak Fog's senses were currently telling her that the Elementalist standing behind Aqua Rose was casting a large-scale destruction Spell, and that it was already too late for them to interrupt the Spell.

Hearing Daybreak Fog's reminder, everyone in the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately broke into a sprint. At this time, the alarm bells in their minds were also going off, warning them that they would die if they did not flee.

"Don't you think it's a little too late to run now?" the Elementalist behind Aqua Rose giggled softly before pointing a finger to the sky.

A blue streak of lightning promptly shot towards the clouds. Following which, a gigantic twofold magic array appeared in the sky, covering a 100-yard diameter.

In the next moment, the blue magic array shot out a blue pillar of light that directly bombarded the rear line of the Ghost Shadow Legion. Then, the light pillar began expanding in size and devouring the escaping players one after another.

Damn it! It's too fast!

Although Daybreak Fog had used Blink to get away, she still could not escape the expanding light pillar. In the end, she had no choice but to use Ice Barrier, becoming immune to all damage. However, her body also couldn't move as a result.

As the light pillar faded, it left a plot of scorched earth in its wake. Black smoke wafted up from the blackened ground.

This scene stupefied the Ghost Shadow Legion members standing at the frontlines.

This scorched landscape was simply too terrifying. If not for them charging ahead, they would have already turned into ash and dust by now.

"Isn't this a little too strong?!" Minor Wind fell breathless despite himself. "Big Sis Aqua, just what kind of person is your friend?"

This was his first time seeing a large-scale destruction Spell that could expand to cover such a large area so quickly.

Just this single attack had annihilated over half of the 100-man team before them.

"Her?" Aqua Rose looked over her shoulder to give Alluring Smile a glance. Chuckling, she said, "She's just a battle maniac!"

Upon hearing this, Alluring Summer could not help but stretch out her hand and pinch Aqua Rose's waist. Not only had her friend forcefully dragged her all the way out here, but she also actually called her a battle maniac.

"Alright, enough. We don't have much time to waste here. Let's hurry up and move!" Aqua Rose said hurriedly as she tugged on her Mount's reins.

At this moment, the members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were already frightened stiff by Alluring Smile's attack. Although they had seen videos showing large-scale destruction Spells in use, experiencing one in person was something else altogether.

When they felt the might of the large-scale destruction Spell, a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed their bodies.

"Everyone, get a grip! Large-scale destruction Spells are extremely rare! They can't possibly have another one! Even if they do, as long as we close in on them, they won't be able to use it!" Daybreak Fog shouted as soon as her Ice Barrier ended.

Although Aqua Rose's party had caught them off guard, their advantage remained unchanged.

Moreover, now, she was even more certain that someone of Zero Wing's upper echelon was definitely among the party of five. Otherwise, it would simply have been impossible for them to use a large-scale destruction Spell. As long as they managed to hold back these five players, they would have a much easier time conquering Stone Forest Town later on.

At Daybreak Fog's words, everyone from the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately snapped out of their daze. The melee players standing at the forefront started moving once more.

Charge!

Previously, it was a wall of Spells and arrows that had assaulted Aqua Rose's party. Now, it was a wall of players.

With shields defending them from attacks and the healers in the rear line providing them with heals and protection buffs, even Minor Wind's arrows could do little against them.

At this time, Shadow Sword, who was in front of Aqua Rose, took the initiative, saying, "Let me!"

Shadow Sword unslung the blood-red greatsword hanging on his back. This greatsword was the new weapon Shadow Sword had obtained after saving up Guild Contribution Points every way he could. He had even traded in his previous weapon for this greatsword. Meanwhile, this greatsword was none other than the Holy Weapon Shi Feng had obtained from killing the Demonic Ape King—Crimson Moon.

Currently, Shadow Sword had already upgraded Crimson Moon to Fine-Gold rank. As a result, his level had dropped to just barely over Level 40. If he were to upgrade the weapon to Dark-Gold rank, his level would fall below Level 35.

"He dares to come at us all by himself? Let's surround him and beat him to death!"

Seeing Shadow Sword charging towards them, the melee players of the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately sprang into action. As for the Bronze warhorse Shadow Sword was riding, they paid no attention to it whatsoever.

Individually, their power might not be a match for the Bronze warhorse. However, they could easily hold it back if several of them worked together. It would be just like fighting against a Boss monster.

Thud!

Along with the sound of an impact, three MTs blocked the warhorse Shadow Sword rode.

Just as the other melee players were approaching Shadow Sword from both sides...

"I was waiting for this!" Shadow Sword grinned as he tightened his grip on Crimson Moon. He then abruptly swung it.

Whirlwind Slash!

Immediately, a crimson storm sent the eight melee players approaching him flying. Even the three MTs blocking the warhorse had to retreat three steps, damage of over -2,000 points appearing above their heads.

Such powerful Strength! Daybreak Fog was stunned.

The members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were not your ordinary expert. Whether it was in terms of combat standards or weapons and equipment, they were top-notch. Yet, now, Shadow Sword actually beat these powerful experts and sent them flying by as if they were Common monsters.

However, the Ghost Shadow Legion members were all experts. After their first assault got repelled, they coordinated their movements even more closely with each other for their second assault. Moreover, with Shadow Sword's Whirlwind Slash on Cooldown, how was the Berserker going to defend against an attack coming from all sides?

"Scram!" Seeing his enemies crowding around him once more, Shadow Sword brandished Crimson Moon again.

Unlike the previous attack, Crimson Moon radiated a faint red glow this time, having successfully triggered the Blood Boiling effect. At Fine-Gold rank, the Blood Boiling effect increased Shadow Sword's Strength by an additional 1,000 points for 12 seconds.

With Shadow Sword's current Strength, even a High Lord of the same level would be no match for him.

This time, although Shadow Sword could not attack using Whirlwind Slash, he could use the Active Skill that came with the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Berserkers, Bladestorm.

In the next moment, a red storm raged. All players within a 15-yard radius got blown into the air, invisible wind blades cutting their bodies time after time. In the end, these players transformed into streaks of white light and disappeared one after another. Then, weapons and equipment rained down on the ground. 

Chapter 1064 - The Few Cannot Fight the Many

"Just who are they?"

Daybreak Fog's eyes stayed glued on the five cloaked figures. She couldn't guess the identities of Aqua Rose's party of five at all.

Among the information she collected, there were no records of such a powerful Elementalist or Berserker in Zero Wing.

Particularly, the Berserker's Strength was truly incredible!

With just a single attack, he had directly killed over a dozen nearby melee players—including several MTs with over 20,000 HP. The destructive force of the Bladestorm he used could practically rival the large-scale destruction Spell used by the Elementalist before.

With such Strength, how were other players supposed to contend with him?

Faring worse than Daybreak Fog, the members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were stunned speechless.

Just a meager party of five had killed over half of their Ghost Shadow Legion in mere moments. Moreover, this party of five remained completely unharmed.

If they recounted this situation in Heaven's Burial, nobody would believe them.

"Leave that Berserker to me! All melee players, prioritize killing the four in the rear!" Daybreak Fog commanded.

Shadow Sword was too powerful. It would be suicidal to have their melee players go up against him. Only a ranged player like herself could possibly pin him down.

Obeying Daybreak Fog's words, everyone promptly avoided Shadow Sword. He was only a Berserker. Even if he wanted to hold them back, he could detain only one or two people at most. The remaining dozen or so players could easily steer clear of him and charge at Aqua Rose and the others.

"Get them!" The dozen or so melee players that managed to get past Shadow Sword's blockade immediately charged at Aqua Rose and the others.

When only ten yards separated Aqua Rose's group and the melee players, over a dozen arrows shot towards the Berserker leading the charge. All the Berserker saw were several streaks of light coming at him. Knowing that he could no longer dodge or block the oncoming attacks, he instinctively raised his battle axe and executed Whirlwind Slash.

However, when the Berserker's battle axe came into contact with the first arrow, the powerful impact forced him to take a step back, causing his body to stiffen momentarily.

Following which, the remaining dozen or so arrows struck the Berserker one after another. Every time an arrow hit, the Berserker had to take another step back, his HP decreasing by over 4,000. He even received over -8,000 damage. The healers standing at the rear failed to keep up with the damage. After the fifth arrow struck the Berserker, his body fell powerless to the ground. As for the remaining arrows, the remaining melee players of the Ghost Shadow Legion barely managed to block them.

"They're just arrows, so why do they contain that much power?" At this moment, the legion members eyed the distant Minor Wind in fear. They no longer dared to charge forward recklessly. If they received a concentrated volley of arrows like the Berserker had just now, they would undoubtedly lose their lives.

They were no ordinary players. They were experts of Heaven's Burial.

From defending against Minor Wind's attacks, they fully realized just how frightening the Ranger was.

Although it seemed as if Minor Wind had shot these dozen or so arrows very casually, in reality, every one of these arrows was accurately aimed at their blind spots—which made defending against the attacks extraordinarily uncomfortable. Moreover, their reactions towards such attacks would be slower and delayed compared to defending against other attacks.

If they had to go up against five of such blind-spot attacks simultaneously, with their standards, they could defend against three or four of them at most; the remainder would strike home. Of course, if they had to receive only one or two attacks, they would not mind at all. After all, they had healers who could quickly patch up the damage they received. However, the power contained within Minor Wind's arrows was extraordinary. As melee players, after they defended against one arrow, they would no longer have any power to spare to block the remaining attacks.

With such a powerful Ranger backing up Aqua Rose's party, quickly approaching the party was simply impossible.

Just as Minor Wind was suppressing the melee members of the Ghost Shadow Legion, four figures suddenly appeared behind Aqua Rose's group of four.

"Die!"

With Ghost Shadow in the lead, four Assassins stabbed their daggers at Aqua Rose's group of four practically simultaneously.

Ambush!

Anyone struck by this Skill would be placed in a Fainted state for two seconds. To expert Assassins like them, two seconds were more than enough for them to kill an MT of the same level, not to mention non-plate armor classes.

Seeing this scene, Daybreak Fog smiled.

While she acknowledged that Aqua Rose and the others were indeed very powerful, the Ghost Shadow Legion members were no weaklings, either.

The commands she had shouted were simply a feint. Her motive for doing so was to divert the attention of Aqua Rose's group of four to allow Ghost Shadow's Assassin group to display its fullest effect.

As long as the four ranged players died, dealing with Shadow Sword would be a simple matter.

At this time, Aqua Rose shouted, "Thorn Bind!"

Thorn Bind was a Tier 1 Curse. When activated, it would immediately restrain all enemies within a 20-yard radius with thorny vines for four seconds. Moreover, these thorns would connect with the HP of the bound target. If the target tried to forcefully break free of their bindings, they would receive a corresponding backlash.

Green vines swiftly emerged from the ground one after another with Aqua Rose as the center. In the blink of an eye, the vines bound all four Assassins.

"Not good! Everyone, avoid them!" At this moment, Ghost Shadow also realized that they had fallen for a trick. He activated Vanish right away and disappeared from everyone's eyes.

The other three Assassins also activated their Vanish Skill without hesitation, rendering the bindings of the vines ineffective.

After Ghost Shadow's group disappeared, Violet Cloud used Soul Cloud[1], promptly sending attacks flying in all directions.

Dang... Dang... Dang...

Along with a series of clashing sounds, Ghost Shadow's group of four appeared once more.

"Soul Cloud! So you're Violet Cloud!" After Ghost Shadow defended against all the attacks, he glared at the cloaked Violet Cloud, intense fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.

She had similarly defeated him previously at the Trial Tower. This time, he would not allow a repeat.

However, immediately after Violet Cloud's attack, Alluring Summer used Flame Barrage and attacked the four Assassins from their blind spots.

As if the three women were of one mind, their coordination was seamless.

Ghost Shadow managed to use his daggers to block the oncoming fireballs, but the other three Assassins failed to do so, opening a gap in their defense. Seizing this opportunity, Violet Cloud immediately controlled her Soul Cloud to bombard the three Assassins with black balls of Mana.

If they were simply dealing with normal magical attacks, these expert Assassins could still defend against quite a few, even though their stance was not ideal. However, Violet Cloud's Soul Cloud was extremely lively and flexible. Her attacks always managed to change directions abruptly at crucial moments. In the end, the three Assassins could only block a small portion of the oncoming attacks and promptly lost their lives to the barrage.

Only Ghost Shadow, with his nimble footwork and accurate judgment, was able to defend against the black Mana balls. However, the more he fought, the more shocked he grew.

"How can this Spell be so powerful?!"

The power of the Soul Cloud Violet Cloud controlled was simply overwhelming. In terms of Strength, the Spell was practically equal to him.

Meanwhile, he was wielding Epic Weapons.

What was even more shocking was Violet Cloud's ability to control the Spell.

Her level of control had clearly already entered the Refinement Realm!

This discovery astounded Ghost Shadow. Previously, when he had encountered Violet Cloud, he could tell that she was still far from reaching the Refinement Realm. Yet, just after a short time, not only had she entered the Refinement Realm, but her understanding of the realm had even achieved a considerable standard. She could not only control such a large number of attacks but also manipulate them with ease.

As Ghost Shadow was dealing with Violet Cloud's attacks, Aqua Rose and the others were assisting the girl from the sides as well. This support applied considerable pressure on Ghost Shadow. If he went one-on-one against Violet Cloud, he was still confident of defeating the girl. However, Violet Cloud had three experts with extremely high Basic Attributes surrounding her. Continuing to fight would only be a waste of energy.

Right now, he needed to get away from this place first before launching another assault.

Following which, Ghost Shadow activated Wind Steps and began retreating.

"Don't even think about getting away so easily!" Violet Cloud smiled faintly. She then used Star's Guidance on the retreating Assassin.

Immediately, Ghost Shadow felt a powerful force pulling him towards Violet Cloud.

Reacting quickly, he used a Control Removal Skill.

However, during Ghost Shadow's momentary pause, a white arc of lightning pierced through his chest. Following which, Aqua Rose, Minor Wind, and Violet Cloud's attacks bombarded the Assassin one after another.

The four people killed Ghost Shadow instantly. 

Chapter 1065 - War Erupts

Ghost Shadow's death was like the straw that broke the camel's back.

The moment he died, the other members of the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately fell into a panic, the momentum they had from before vanishing completely.

The dozen or so melee players that originally were still rushing forward stopped cold, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Aqua Rose's group of four.

The reason why their legion was named the Ghost Shadow Legion was all because of Ghost Shadow's existence.

If even someone as strong as Ghost Shadow got killed, what could they possibly do now?

Looking at the current situation, Daybreak Fog gnashed her teeth as she reluctantly commanded, "Retreat!"

Although she was unwilling to acknowledge their defeat, if this fight continued, it would only end with their total annihilation. Rather than gift their enemies with more equipment, they would be better off withdrawing.

"Big Sis Aqua, they're running away. Should we give chase?" Shadow Sword asked eagerly. He still had not had his fill of fighting.

The battle this time was truly exhilarating.

Or to put it in another way, he never had so much fun before. He felt as if he were in a dream right now.

None of the Ghost Shadow Legion members were weaklings. Through his battle with these people, he could tell that they possessed bountiful combat experience and extremely high combat standards. Unfortunately for them, his combat experience still surpassed theirs.

In the Secret Pavilion's simulation training system, he had fought against all kinds of experts. Although the Refinement Realm experts there bullied him to no end, these fights allowed him to develop a penetrating insight. As a result, he could easily see through the weaknesses of attacks on the level of the Ghost Shadow Legion members. With that insight added to his huge advantage in Basic Attributes, killing the experts of Heaven's Burial was as easy as chopping up vegetables.

Previously, he had been wondering whether or not he had improved at all. After all, no matter how many battles he fought in the simulation training system, they always ended with his defeat. Now, however, after tangling with these expert players, he finally realized just how much he had improved.

"No need. Heaven's Burial's members are everywhere. If we let them surround us, we'll have to waste even more time. Our priority right now is to reach Stone Forest Town," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head as she watched Daybreak Fog's group remove the magic barrier and escape into the forest.

Following which, Shadow Sword and the others swiftly collected their loot before getting back on their Mounts and hurrying towards Stone Forest Town.

Shortly after Aqua Rose left, several Assassins appeared from the forest. These Assassins did not bear any Guild Emblems on their persons. They were all independent players who were planning on sneaking to Stone Forest Town to observe the upcoming war.

The first siege war in Star-Moon Kingdom—one which pitted Blackwater and Heaven's Burial's joint army of 300,000 elite players against Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild, Zero Wing—was a major event. If they did not personally witness this war, they would surely regret it for the rest of their lives.

Only, due to them coming across Aqua Rose's party on their way to Stone Forest Town, they decided to follow after the party and take a look at what the party was up to.

However, they never imagined that they would actually encounter such an expert battle on their journey.

"Did you guys record everything?"

"Do you take me for a fool? Of course, I've recorded everything! What about your side?"

"Relax, I didn't miss out any of the exciting moments!"

"Our luck is really good! I never thought that we would come across such a fight. Zero Wing's members are too cool! Just five of them managed to go up against a team of 100 experts! I really wonder, just how strong are those five people? If I can become as strong as any one of them, I wouldn't have wasted my time playing God's Domain."

"Alright, enough dreaming. Let's hurry up and post these videos on the forums. This message will definitely shock everyone!"

Following which, these several Assassins posted their recorded videos on Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums. Moreover, they even gave their post a very eye-catching title.

Five Zero Wing experts shockingly massacre Heaven's Burial's 100-man expert team!

Published along with this post were several video clips showing the fight between Zero Wing and the Ghost Shadow Legion from several different angles, the videos thoroughly reproducing the entire battle from before.

As soon as the post was published, it immediately created a commotion in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Nobody would've ever thought that a measly five people would be able to turn the tables on an encirclement of 100 experts. Moreover, they had even done so in such an overwhelming manner. Whether it was the weapons, equipment, Skills, or coordination of these five Zero Wing members, all were aspects that inspired everyone's admiration.

Particularly, Alluring Summer's large-scale destruction Spell made the blood of all the viewers boil with passion.

In addition, there was Shadow Sword with his horrific Strength. The fight was truly an unforgettable one.

"This is simply inhuman! Over half a team of 100 experts were killed just like that! Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stop Zero Wing now?!"

"Hooray for Zero Wing!"

"It seems Blackwater will have trouble taking down Stone Forest Town this time!"

Due to the appearance of these videos, many players who initially did not have an optimistic view of Zero Wing's prospects were stupefied. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds that were happily and eagerly anticipating Zero Wing's fall could not help but start reevaluating Zero Wing's strength now.

However, the ones most affected by these videos would still have to be Zero Wing's members.

Previously, they all thought that Stone Forest Town was finished. However, after seeing at the performance of Aqua Rose's party of five, they finally understood the views that their Guild Leader, Black Flame, advocated.

Quality was much more important than quantity!

Due to this reason, Zero Wing had always walked the path of the elite.

Zero Wing might not be a match for Blackwater and Heaven's Burial in terms of member count, but in terms of player quality, Zero Wing was definitely superior.

Was it amazing to have a lot of people?

Zero Wing only needed five people to trample over 100 experts!

While everyone was discussing this topic on the forums, Singular Burial had an extraordinarily chilling expression on his face.

"Kill them! I want them all killed! Notify the teams in hiding! Think of a way to stop them! Once their whereabouts are discovered, gather at their location right away!" Singular Burial commanded angrily.

Originally, he had dispatched the Ghost Shadow Legion and Daybreak Fog precisely because he was worried that the regular experts couldn't take down Zero Wing's members. Now, however, Heaven's Burial had become the biggest laughingstock of Star-Moon Kingdom.

Those were 100 experts!

The team even had apex experts such as Daybreak Fog and Ghost Shadow leading it. He found it truly hard to accept that Daybreak Fog and the others would lose so miserably.

However, from the battle video, Singular Burial was able to clearly identify two of the five players. One was naturally Violet Cloud, whom Ghost Shadow had also identified, while the other one was Aqua Rose. If the Cursemancer leading the party wasn't her, then Singular Burial truly could not figure out which Cursemancer in Zero Wing had the qualifications to command Violet Cloud.

As long as they managed to hold back Aqua Rose, not only would they be able to repay the humiliation they suffered, but taking down Stone Forest Town would also be a piece of cake.

Nevertheless, after watching the battle video, Singular Burial felt a deep chill crawling down his spine.

Zero Wing's experts were improving much too quickly.

The rapidity of their improvement was to the point of being staggering.

Only after paying a huge price did Heaven's Burial manage to nurture a batch of experts. However, compared to Zero Wing's experts, those experts Heaven's Burial nurtured were practically garbage!

If so many apex experts had already appeared in the current Zero Wing, if they really gave Zero Wing a little more time, then the consequences would be unimaginable.

Unfortunately for Heaven's Burial, its pursuit and interception mattered very little to Aqua Rose and the others. Their speed when riding Mounts was unmatchable by players running on foot. Moreover, the Mount Aqua Rose rode was a Secret-Silver Mount. In the end, the party of five managed to arrive at Stone Forest Town safely, and they promptly began commanding Zero Wing's members in Stone Forest Town to take the appropriate defensive measures.

As time went by, the atmosphere in Stone Forest Town also grew increasingly more oppressive. The usual liveliness in the streets was no longer present. To avoid getting dragged into the war, many players had chosen to leave Stone Forest Town and observe the battle from a distance. Only some daring players remained in town.

"Big Sis Aqua, the Magic Tower has just sensed a large number of creatures approaching Stone Forest Town! By the looks of it, they should be those monsters!" Violet Cloud reported, her complexion slightly pale.

The map displayed by the Magic Tower showed a swarm of creatures heading towards Stone Forest Town, the exact number incalculable.

"So they've finally arrived."

Aqua Rose, who stood atop the town's defensive walls, turned to look into the distance. She knew plenty regarding this upcoming war. Rather than the player armies of Blackwater and Heaven's Burial, their true enemies were the endless number of monsters.

"Immediately notify the Guild Leader!"

...

Inside the distant White River City's Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng was still desperately making the magic array scrolls for the Double Protection Magic Array and Divine Beast's Descent.

"They've arrived already?"

After receiving the message, Shi Feng had to stop his actions, a slight frown appearing on his face. Blackwater's monster army had arrived much sooner than he expected. He immediately used a Return Scroll to teleport to the city's Teleportation Hall, then took a teleportation array to Saimu Town. 

Chapter 1066 - Black Flame Appears

Standing at the top of Stone Forest Town's Magic Tower, Aqua Rose and her companions noticed dust clouds rising in the distance as they finished taking care of the town's defense. Upon closer inspection, they would discover swarms of monsters beneath the dust.

"How can there be so many monsters?!" Blackie watched the black patch approach Stone Forest Town from a distance, shock filling his heart. It looked as if a swarm of locust was advancing on the town.

Blackie wasn't alone in his surprise. All players that witnessed this scene were frightened.

Although they had seen high-level monsters before, this was the first time any of them had seen so many high-level monsters moving as a unit. The earth even shook as the monsters moved.

Players were nothing in front of these monsters.

These monsters were all Level 60 and above. Moreover, they were, at the very minimum, Elite rank. There were also plenty of massive Chieftains, Lords, High Lords, Great Lords, and Grand Lords that were over 30 meters tall.

"Crap, what are those?!" Minor Wind cried out after using Eagle Eyes, which enhanced his vision far beyond that of normal players.

Currently, ordinary players could only see the batch of monsters in the lead. They couldn't see the three one-eyed monsters that were over a hundred meters tall walking behind the monster army.

"Minor, what's wrong? What's got you so scared?" Aqua Rose asked curiously.

"Mythic... Mythic monsters!" Minor Wind stuttered, his complexion paling. "There are... three of them!"

To current players, Mythic monsters were insurmountable. They were the equivalent of Tier 4 classes among players. Currently, the strongest monsters players would encounter were Grand Lords. Even then, Grand Lords required a lot of planning and sacrifice to raid, not to mention Mythic monsters.

Everyone already discovered that a Level 60 Mythic monster resided in Black Ridge Town. They were forced to realize just how powerless they were against such an existence. Even 10,000 players were nothing in front of the Mythic monster.

All three Mythic monsters were Level 65. They were even stronger than the Mythic monster in Black Ridge Town.

"How can this be? Wasn't there only supposed to be one of them?" Aqua Rose frowned.

To ensure their victory against Blackwater's Mythic monster, she had used her connections to obtain five Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. She had even negotiated with the Secret Pavilion and traded a large amount of Tier 3 Gemstones for three Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. With eight Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, they should be able to pin down a Mythic monster.

Yet, now, there were three of them...

"Big Sis Aqua, Blackwater's vanguard has arrived," Minor Wind reported. "There seem to be 50 of them, and the leader looks like Blackwater's Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave! Pantheon's members are also with them!"

Ordinary players needed to run for over ten hours to reach Stone Forest Town. However, players could reach the town in around four hours on Mounts.

As soon as Minor Wind announced the incoming army, everyone saw over a dozen massive magic arrays appear in the distant sky.

As these massive magic arrays began to gather a frightening amount of Mana, monsters that were around 20 to 30 meters tall emerged from these magic arrays.

"Why do they have so many Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls?!" Blackie could not help but panic.

Zero Wing had only obtained eight of such scrolls after much difficulty, yet Blackwater had easily prepared a total of seventeen Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. Moreover, unlike the monsters in the monster army, players controlled these summoned creatures. The threat they posed to Stone Forest Town far surpassed that of an ordinary Great Lord.

...

Standing atop a hill some distance away from Stone Forest Town, Abandoned Wave and Peerless, the commander of Pantheon's various legions for this war, laughed as they watched the monster army before them.

"Against so many monsters, even an NPC city would fall. I want to see how Zero Wing deals with this." Abandoned Wave revealed a confident smile.

"Brother Wave, you are too excited. How can an NPC city possibly be that easy to raid? Just the Level 200, Tier 4 NPC stationed in the city could easily obliterate us several times," Peerless said, rolling his eyes at Abandoned Wave.

However, he had to admit that the monsters Abandoned Wave had called forth were incredibly powerful. With current players' strength, it was impossible to defend against these monsters.

"I was only joking," Abandoned Wave laughed. "However, even now, Black Flame hasn't shown himself. I'm guessing that Zero Wing has already given up on Stone Forest Town."

"That shouldn't be the case. Stone Forest Town is Zero Wing's goldmine. Unless absolutely necessary, they won't abandon it," Peerless said sternly.

"Let's hope that's the case, then. That way, I'll get to use some of the trump cards I worked hard to prepare," Abandoned Wave casually replied.

To assure his victory in Stone Forest Town, he had planned very carefully.

No matter how Zero Wing struggled, Stone Forest Town would eventually belong to Blackwater.

...

Star-Moon City region, Saimu Town. Inside the second-floor VIP room of a high-class bar...

Twenty people had gathered inside this room. These people were all Level 40 or higher. Moreover, they were all Assassins. As for Fire Dance, this group's leader, she was Level 44.

"Guild Leader, you really don't need us to go over and help?" Fire Dance worriedly asked as she watched the cloaked Shi Feng enter the room.

She already understood the gist of the situation due to Aqua Rose.

To put it simply, Stone Forest Town's situation was grim.

Over 200,000 monsters surrounded Stone Forest Town. Moreover, the lowest-leveled monster among them was Level 60. There were even plenty of Chieftains, Lords, and Great Lords in the mix as well. The measly 20,000-plus elite Zero Wing members, NPC soldiers, and guards stationed in Stone Forest Town were not enough to deter this army.

These monsters acted under the command of a player. To better-capture Stone Forest Town, the player controlling these monsters would be close to the battlefield.

If their team of Assassins could eliminate that player, the monster army would fall into disarray. This would make it easier for Zero Wing's members to defend the town.

"No. I have another task I need you all to do," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then took out ten silver magic scrolls and dozens of Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, handing them over to Fire Dance. "The silver magic scrolls are Probing Scrolls. They can sense all monsters within a 3,000-yard radius. Your task is to find the anchor points for the magic array sealing the Stoneclaw Mountains. These anchor points are easy to find. As long as you see a large gathering of monsters, I'm 90% certain that it'll be an anchor point.

"However, Blackwater's people are not fools. They will have heavy security there. It is also very difficult to destroy those anchor points. When destroying them, use these Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Once the seal lifts, our people can teleport to Stone Forest Town in droves."

After issuing his instructions, Shi Feng used Space Movement to reach Stone Forest Town.

Shi Feng's sudden appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention in the town. Shi Feng had already used the Demon Mask to disguise himself as Black Flame. Even if people tried not to pay attention to him, the horrific aura he radiated made it difficult to ignore him.

"That is the Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Alluring Summer could not help but size up Shi Feng in surprise.

Not only was the man Level 44, but just by standing there, his aura resembled that of a prehistoric beast. Despite such a huge distance separating them, alarms sounding off in her mind, warning her of her imminent demise.

...

"He has arrived?" Abandoned Wave quickly received news of this matter. Sneering, he said, "So what?"

...

As Shi Feng reached the top of the Magic Tower, he placed his hand on the massive crystal ball.

"Activate Battle Mode!" 

Chapter 1067 - Cutting Edge　　

The instant Shi Feng activated the Magic Tower, an aqua-blue magic array appeared above the tower.

A semi-transparent, protective barrier then appeared around Stone Forest Town, enclosing it within.

"What's going on?"

"What is that?"

Despite standing so far from Stone Forest Town, both Abandoned Wave and Peerless could clearly feel the sudden change. If the town had previously been a harmless, sleeping sheep, then now, the town felt like a waking beast.

"Guild Leader, our spies have just reported that all of Zero Wing members within the town have received a 15% boost to their Basic Attributes. The damage they deal has also been increased by 20%, and their Movement Speed has increased by 15%!" Laughing Drunkard, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, announced.

"How can there be such a huge increase?" Peerless frowned when he heard the news. "It seems that it'll take some more time to finish them off."

After reaching their level, even a 5% Attribute increase would massively increase a player's strength, not to mention a 15% increase. Moreover, there was the 20% increase in damage dealt and 15% increase to Movement Speed.

Such improvements were enough to raise the standards of elite players to a whole new level. After factoring in the coordination between players, the rise in the combat power of Zero Wing's members would be even more intense. The sudden development doubled the difficulty of raiding Stone Forest Town.

"So, that's why Zero Wing hasn't sent for reinforcements. They still have such a hand to play. Unfortunately, monsters are their opponents this time, not players. This small buff would only make a difference if they had to face other players." Abandoned Wave chuckled. Although the sudden development had surprised him considerably, the situation was still within his control. "In any case, this is a good opportunity to show Black Flame that all of his efforts are futile."

"That's right. They have only gained an additional buff. Against so many powerful monsters, one meager buff would not change the overall situation," Peerless nodded in agreement. Chuckling, he continued, "I'll have to count on Brother Wave for the next step."

"Leave it to me. You can just sit back and watch the show." Abandoned Wave then gave the command to start the assault on Stone Forest Town. He ordered the monsters to attack the town from all sides.

When players raided a town, in order to minimize losses, they would generally launch a powerful assault on a single location. However, these players were not concerned about the monsters' deaths. Hence, they could launch an all-around assault without worry, making Stone Forest Town even harder to defend.

...

As the monster army began to circle the town, the Zero Wing members inside the town grew nervous.

The monsters assaulting the town were different from the monsters they normally fought in the fields. These monsters possessed considerably high intelligence, and even elite players of the same level might not necessarily win against the Elite monsters in a one-on-one battle. Furthermore, they were dozens of levels lower than these monsters and were outnumbered by ten-to-one. Although the Magic Tower had significantly boosted their Attributes, when compared to the monsters' Attributes, this increase was not worth mentioning...

"Guild Leader, can we win?" Even Aqua Rose's confidence wavered.

It would've been fine if their opponents were simply players. Now, however, seeing the black clumps of monsters come at them from all sides, even she felt somewhat nervous.

Zero Wing was clearly understaffed. There were only around 20,000 elite members in Stone Forest Town right now. After splitting them up around the cardinal points, each side only had around 5,000 members protecting it.

"We can only try," Shi Feng quietly responded. "How is the construction of the Magic Towers coming along?"

"The foundations have been completed. Only the core magic patterns need to be drawn," Aqua Rose reported.

"Good. Lead the Dark Gods Legion and deal with the Great Lord rank and above monsters first. Utilize all of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls to pin down the Mythic monsters. Have the town's firepower focus on the monsters below Great Lord rank. After that, we have to endure for as long as possible. Once Fire Dance's group completes their mission, the tides of war will shift to our favor!" Shi Feng instructed. Immediately, he made his way towards the Magic Towers that were still under construction.

Magic Towers had become mainstream defensive buildings in towns and cities because of their outstanding defensive capabilities. Not only did they possess a Mana Pulse Cannon with great destructive power, but they could also increase local players' Attributes. Meanwhile, the Attributes increases would change depending on the number of Magic Towers present.

Of course, the maximum effect would be achieved with three Magic Towers. With three Magic Towers, players would receive a 30% boost to their Basic Attributes. This was why the various large Guilds in the past had actively constructed Magic Towers in the towns and cities they operated, going so far as to construct three Magic Towers in important towns and cities.

As a precaution, Shi Feng had tasked Aqua Rose with spending all of the money they had earned from selling the Lands around the teleportation house to purchase the Magic Tower's construction materials. They then built two more towers in Stone Forest Town. With three Magic Towers defending the town, even against so many high-intelligence monsters, they were not without a chance of victory.

As for the Magic Towers for Shi Feng's future city, he had no choice but to think of another means of defense. After all, if he could not even protect Stone Forest Town, he could never defend a city.

...

"Charge!"

Under Abandoned Wave's command, the monster army roared angrily as they charged at Stone Forest Town.

"Is this Blackwater's strength?"

"Stone Forest Town is truly finished this time. Even the NPC guards won't be able to hold back so many powerful monsters!"

The players observing the war from the sidelines were stunned by the tsunami of monsters rushing at Stone Forest Town. They no longer harbored any hope that Stone Forest Town would survive this war. The difference between each side's strength was obvious at first glance.

The various large Guilds' upper echelons, who watched the war via a live stream, were similarly stupefied.

Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stand up against this army of 200,000 monsters?

It was suicidal to try to fight these monsters!

...

"Big Sis Aqua, they're coming!" Blackie gulped nervously.

"Good! Focus the Defense Turrets and Magic Tower's attacks on the monsters below the Great Lord rank!" Aqua Rose commanded as she watched the approaching monsters from the top of the town's wall.

Immediately, the four Defensive Turrets situated around the town rang, the explosive shells they fired flew straight into clumps of monsters before exploding.

The Elite monsters caught within the explosions died on the spot. Each of the four explosive shells killed over a hundred monsters. Unfortunately, while the Defensive Turrets could damage monsters above Elite rank, they could not kill them outright.

"Hahaha! Although the Defensive Turrets are powerful, it's a pity that their range is too small!" Abandoned Wave could not help but laugh when he saw that only several hundred monsters had died in the initial blast.

He had previously thought that the Defensive Turrets would, more or less, pose a threat to his monster army. Now, however, it would seem that his worries were unnecessary.

In the next moment, the tip of the Magic Tower fired a rainbow-colored beam towards the sky. Immediately, the clouds refracted the beam towards the monster army, shocking everyone.

When the rainbow beam struck, it swept through the monster army. Everywhere the beam passed, massive flames erupted. All monsters below Lord rank were vaporized. As for the Lords that had survived, they had less than half of their HPs remaining.

When the rainbow beam eventually disappeared, over 3,000 monsters had vanished with it. A large, empty space had appeared in the midst of the densely packed monster army... 

Chapter 1068 - Double Protection Barrier

As the light from the Magic Tower dissipated, every player in Stone Forest Town fell silent.

A single attack had extinguished the lives of over 3,000 Level 60 and above monsters. This was far more terrifying than any large-scale destruction Spell they had ever seen.

In fact, it wasn't just Zero Wing's members who were stunned. Even Abandoned Wave and Peerless, who watched the war from a distance, wore dark, tense expressions.

"Why does the Magic Tower have this kind of ability?" Abandoned Wave frowned as he looked at the empty space in the middle of the battlefield. "In one attack, it heavily injured Lord ranked monsters. Zero Wing really knows how to hide its strength."

Among the 200,000 monsters, the majority consisted of monsters below Lord rank. Only a small minority consisted of Lord rank and above monsters.

The firepower of a single Magic Tower could already rival the attacks of ten Defense Turrets.

"That attack is already as powerful as a Tier 4, large-scale, destruction Spell. Based on my understanding of God's Domain's tools, this kind of attack should have a very long Cooldown. Even so, I no longer think that it's possible to take Stone Forest Town down in a short time. If we don't think of a way to deal with that Magic Tower as soon as possible, I'm afraid that our casualties will be severe," Peerless commented as he looked at the towering Magic Tower in the distance. "However, the Magic Tower's attacks are somewhat clumsy. If players or agile monsters were charging into the town, I doubt that the Magic Tower would be as effective. If we send some agile monsters, we should be able to destroy it."

"Although losing the Magic Tower will be unfortunate, we have to remove it to minimize our losses." Abandoned Wave nodded, agreeing to Peerless's suggestion. Immediately, he barked in the team chat, "Drunkard, have the Tier 3 summoned creatures assault the Magic Tower! Think of a way to destroy it as quickly as possible!"

"Guild Leader, rest assured; I will destroy that Magic Tower!" Laughing Drunkard confidently replied.

They had a total of seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures on their side. Although those summoned creatures were only Level 55, much weaker than the Level 60+ Great Lords in the monster army, players were in full control of these summoned creatures. With the speed of Tier 3 summoned monsters, dodging the Magic Tower's monotonous attacks would be a piece of cake.

Quickly, Laughing Drunkard and his subordinates directed the seventeen summoned creatures to move out. Every one of the Level 55 summoned creatures had 50,000,000 HP. Including their battle recovery, even if they stood still and did nothing, players would need a lot of time to kill them. There were also seventeen of these creatures to contend with.

Normally, these seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures would be more than enough to destroy a town.

...

The moment the Tier 3 summoned creatures moved, they attracted the distant, spectating players' attention.

"Blackwater is amazing! That's seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures!"

"Crap! I recall that, during the last major war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, the Star Alliance had only summoned two of these monsters!"

"As expected of the Blackwater Corporation. A Tier 3 Summoning Scroll is even more expensive than an Epic item. Even then, it is near-impossible to buy one. I suspect that even Super Guilds only have several on hand."

"Watching such a spectacular battle with my own eyes is awesome! Most likely, even those apex experts looming over God's Domain aren't strong enough to participate in such a battle."

"Indeed. It seems I did not waste my time making this trip to Stone Forest Town. The videos I've watched showing other Guild wars around God's Domain cannot compare to this."

"Zero Wing's era is really coming to an end!"

When the spectating players saw the summoned creatures, which stood over 20 meters tall, charge towards Stone Forest Town, goosebumps rose all over their bodies.

...

The seventeen summoned creatures had very high Movement Speeds. Moreover, unlike ordinary monsters, they could change directions nimbly. The summoned creatures could easily dodge the Defense Turrets and the Magic Tower's attacks.

However, just as the summoned creatures were about to reach the town's walls, a semi-transparent magic barrier appeared around the entire town.

The summoned creatures crashed into the magic barrier, one after another, and were unable to proceed a step further.

"Guild Leader's protection barrier is so strong!" Blackie exclaimed, astonished.

It had stopped the charge of seventeen Great Lord ranked monsters!

Any normal magic barrier would've shattered under the might of these monsters, yet the Double Protection Barrier remained intact.

Aqua Rose, who stood atop the Magic Tower, was similarly overjoyed.

Previously, she had worried that the magic barrier would not hold off these monsters and believed that Shi Feng had been joking when he said that it could.

She had never thought that the barrier would be this powerful.

Not only weren't there any cracks in the magic barrier that needed to be repaired, but the players maintaining the barrier also had all of their Mana. At this rate, the barrier could easily support its own recovery without any additional Mana.

"A magic barrier?" Laughing Drunkard sneered. "Do you think you can hold us off with that?"

Following which, Laughing Drunkard's group controlled the summoned creatures to start a fierce assault against the semi-transparent magic barrier, ignoring the attacks Zero Wing's elite members launched from within.

Although Zero Wing's members were very well-equipped, against Level 55, Tier 3 summoned creatures, the level suppression limited their attacks to around -1,000 damage. This was even with the Magic Tower's buff. Otherwise, their attacks would only deal around -600 damage.

With each attack only dealing around -1,000 damage, even with three or four hundred players attacking simultaneously, each wave of attacks would only shave off three or four hundred thousand HP.

Furthermore, the summoned creatures had their battle recovery, which allowed them to generate 1% of their HP every five seconds. Even if Zero Wing's elite members attacked freely, it would take a very long time before any of the summoned monsters fell. However, it was a different story for the magic barrier.

The magic barrier used players' Mana. The more damage the barrier took, the more Mana it consumed. If the players maintaining the barrier ran out of Mana, the magic barrier would crumble. With the power of their seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures, it would take less than ten seconds to bring down the magic barrier.

Deafening explosions shook the magic barrier, one time after another. Even those standing several thousand yards away could hear the explosions clearly. They could also see various attacks bombarding the summoned creatures, rapidly depleting their HPs.

Five seconds... Ten seconds... Twenty seconds...

Even after thirty seconds of constant attacks, the magic barrier showed no signs of cracking. On the contrary, the seventeen summoned creatures had lost over ten million HP each.

"This won't do! Everyone, use your ultimate moves!" Laughing Drunkard yelled, grinding his teeth.

Tier 3 summoned creatures possessed their own ultimate Skills. However, the Cooldowns were very long. He intended to save these Skills to take down the Magic Tower.

Unfortunately, at this rate, the summoned creatures' HPs wouldn't outlast the magic barrier.

Immediately, the seventeen summoned creatures released mighty roars as they began to concentrate their power, Mana rapidly gathering around these creatures claws.

However, before these creatures could attack the magic barrier, five purple-gold magic barriers appeared and enveloped the seventeen summoned creatures. The instant these magic barriers took form, the summoned creatures suffered a 40% Attribute decrease, their maximum HPs dropping to 30,000,000. When the creatures Skills struck the purple barriers, although the barriers shuddered, they held.

"How is this possible?!" Laughing Drunkard's lips twitched as shock and confusion filled his gaze.

Meanwhile, before anyone realized it, five Miniature Ballistas had appeared above the town walls, and all five were already aimed at the summoned creatures.

"Kill them all!" Aqua Rose swung her hand forward fiercely. 

Chapter 1069 - Mythic

With Aqua Rose's command, the five Miniature Ballistas atop the town walls fired an arrow each.

The five arrows were extremely fast, even faster than the Magic Tower's Mana Pulse Cannon. From afar, one would only see five streaks of blue light shooting through the magic barrier, flying towards the Tier 3 summoned creatures.

So fast!

Laughing Drunkard, who controlled one of the summoned creatures, was surprised. His expert instincts kicking in, he willed his summoned creature to sidestep.

In the critical moment, his summoned creature dodged the incoming arrow by a hair's breadth.

Boom!

When the arrow struck the ground, the immense power within it carved out a crater that was twenty meters in diameter – the arrow embedded itself deep into the ground.

Although Laughing Drunkard's summoned creature had managed to dodge the Miniature Ballistas' attack, his four companions' creatures had not.

Four summoned creatures had been nailed to the ground, each of their HPs dropping by one million. This amount of damage might not be much to a Level 55 Great Lord, but the arrows would pin their targets down for several seconds after they hit. This put the Great Lords, which possessed the advantage of speed, at a disadvantage.

"Again!" Aqua Rose commanded once more.

Before anyone realized it, the Miniature Ballistas, which had just launched their arrows, were already reloaded. Immediately, the players controlling the ballistas fired another volley of arrows at the Tier 3 summoned creatures.

Seeing the arrows fly at the summoned creatures once again, Laughing Drunkard's complexion paled.

He had never imagined that the Miniature Ballistas would possess such a high attack rate.

"Dodge the arrows! Use everything you have to attack the barrier!" Laughing Drunkard hurriedly ordered.

While their summoned creatures were trapped inside the purple-gold barriers, not only were they given limited space to dodge the oncoming arrows, but they had also been significantly weakened. If they did not break free from these magic barriers, they would become live targets for the five ballistas.

Although Laughing Drunkard had not made the wrong decision, he did not know that the magic array trapping their summoned creatures was the Nine-star Polar Domain, an Intermediate Magic Array. This particular array could even suppress Mythic monsters. Great Lords were not strong enough to free themselves from it.

Exactly how powerful were Mythic monsters?

They could rival major cities' ruling NPCs.

As Tier 4 monsters, all of their Skills were also Tier 4. These Skills were many times stronger than Tier 3 Skills.

However, the Nine-star Polar Domain could withstand Mythic monsters' fierce assault for a considerable amount of time, much less the attacks of Tier 3 summoned creatures.

For a time, the seventeen summoned creatures were little more than practice targets for the five Miniature Ballistas as the arrows repeatedly nailed them to the ground. Zero Wing's elite members also bombarded them with attacks, rapidly decreasing their HPs.

After a short moment, two of the summoned creatures died.

This scene stupefied the players observing the battle.

Generally, it took a 100-man elite team led by an expert to raid Great Lord ranked monsters. If one encountered a Great Lord that possessed powerful AOE attacks, even a legion of 1,000 elites wouldn't be strong enough to raid it. Now, however, Zero Wing rendered them helpless...

"Brother Wave, it seems that Zero Wing has prepared extensively. Do you need Pantheon to join the fray?" Peerless asked, chuckling at Abandoned Wave.

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Peerless, but this small variable is not enough to put a dent in my plans." Abandoned Wave rejected Peerless's offer. Following which, he notified the true controller of the monster army and asked softly, "Can you instruct the three Mythic monsters to join the battle?"

Originally, he had only intended to use the monster army to eliminate the town's exterior defenses and probe Zero Wing for hidden trump cards. After defeating every Zero Wing member outside of Stone Forest Town, he would then lead Blackwater's elite army to capture the town.

Although the monster army was very powerful, if these monsters entered the town, they would lose any hope of capturing it. The monsters would pollute the town with the Evil Energy they released. Players could not remain in an environment polluted by Evil Energy for any length of time. As a result, even if Blackwater secured Stone Forest Town, it would be useless unless they gave up their humanity as the monster army's controller had. Either that or they would have to exterminate these monsters' true creator. Obviously, neither of these options were viable.

As for Pantheon, they had long since agreed that, before Blackwater dealt with Stone Forest Town's defenses, Blackwater would not require Pantheon's assistance. If Pantheon were asked to take action, Blackwater would have to split a portion of Stone Forest Town's shares with Pantheon.

Hence, he could only rely on the Mythic monsters to free him from this predicament.

If possible, Abandoned Wave would rather avoid employing the three Mythic monsters. Although the Mythic monsters were incredibly strong, they were very difficult to control. Even the true controller could only issue general instructions. If a mistake occurred, it was highly possible that these monsters would charge into Stone Forest Town and wreak havoc. Hence, he had hoped to utilize the Tier 3 summoned creatures to destroy the Magic Tower. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to work.

With the protection barrier around Stone Forest Town, none of the monsters could proceed into the town. Even the Grand Lords were no exception. With the Defense Turrets and Magic Tower's rampant attacks, the monster army suffered immense losses.

If they did not break this stalemate, their Tier 3 summoned creatures would be annihilated.

At that time, he would be forced to pay an even greater price to destroy the Magic Tower.

"There are no problems on my side. However, if I force them, these three Mythic monsters won't be nearly as strong," the mysterious, bandaged youth explained.

"No problem. With the Mythic monsters' strength, even if they are significantly weakened, they are still far stronger than Grand Lords. I refuse to believe that they can't shatter a magic barrier!" Zero Wing's magic barrier frustrated Abandoned Wave.

This protection barrier had transformed Stone Forest Town into a sturdy fortress. In addition, the Magic Tower was on the offensive. The strength Zero Wing had displayed so far exceeded his expectations.

"Rawrr!"

Soon after, deafening roars echoed across the battlefield from behind the monster army. These roars shook the ground, and everyone turned towards the source of the sound.

Three massive figures, standing over a hundred meters tall, gradually appeared. The Grand Lords, which were over thirty meters tall, looked like infants before these three towering monsters.

[Evil Earth Dragon] (Dark Creature, Mythic)
Level 65
HP 150,000,000/150,000,000

Everyone gasped when they saw the Evil Earth Dragons' information, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets.

Despite watching the monsters from afar, they involuntarily trembled, and fear filled their hearts.

"Guild Leader, Blackwater has dispatched its three Mythic monsters. What should we do now?" Aqua Rose asked nervously as she watched the approaching Evil Earth Dragons.

Mythic monsters!

To current players, they were invincible. Although the Mythic monsters' HP was only slightly higher than Grand Lords, the difference between their strengths was like the difference between heaven and earth. Once monsters reached the Mythic rank, they would unlock their Domains.

Inside the Domain, not only would players' Attributes be suppressed, but they would also be subjected to a powerful mental oppression. Even displaying 40% of their normal combat power would be a miracle. Moreover, players' Stamina consumption would greatly increase.

The battle in Black Ridge Town was the best example.

The battle in Black Ridge Town had allowed everyone to realize just how frightening Mythic monsters were.

Even an army of tens of thousands of players would have to turn tail and run from a Mythic monster... 

Chapter 1070 - Incarnation of Disaster

Mythic monsters? Shi Feng, who was currently drawing the magic patterns for the Magic Tower, frowned upon hearing this.

Although he had known that Blackwater had dispatched three Mythic monsters, he hadn't expected the piling pressure he felt when it was time to face them.

God's Domain's players had yet to truly understand Mythic monsters. What they had seen in the battle in Black Ridge Town was only the tip of the iceberg.

However, Shi Feng had fought Mythic monsters many times in the past.

While Mythic monsters' Domains were indeed powerful, their high intelligence and combat standards were the true dangers.

In God's Domain, aside from special cases, most monsters would only start developing high intelligence after reaching Tier 3. In other words, this was a concern after monsters became Great Lords. At that stage, monsters would be more difficult to deal with. They would often act in unexpected ways. Situations such as monsters ignoring MTs and going for the rear line healers occurred when one dealt with monsters at this rank. In these situations, the MTs combat experience would be put to the test. Not only must MTs attract the Bosses' aggro, but they must also hold the Bosses' attention. As for DPS classes, they had to do the opposite. When attacking, they had to make sure they attracted as little attention as possible.

This was why Shi Feng had the Guild's core members learn Void Steps.

Even the weakest Mythic monster was as intelligent as an ordinary human.

In addition, their combat standards were roughly equal to ordinary experts. Using the Trial Tower as a measurement, their combat standards should put them on the fourth floor. Hence, if players wanted to defeat a Mythic monster, they needed at least a team of 100 Tier 2 elite players of the same level.

Right now, the 20,000 Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town wouldn't even serve as a proper warm-up for the three Level 65 Mythic monsters. Fortunately, Shi Feng had hired plenty of Tier 2 NPC guards. The NPCs should be capable of holding the monsters off for awhile.

Following which, Shi Feng contacted Alluring Summer and asked, "Summer, how are things on your side?"

Before he had arrived to finish the Magic Towers' construction, he had handed the magic array scrolls he had made to Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer. Among them, Aqua Rose was tasked with managing the Nine-star Polar Domain and Double Protection Barrier, while Alluring Summer was tasked with the Divine Beast's Descent.

Unlike the other two magic arrays, the Divine Beast's Descent Magic Array required 88 Summoners to recite the predetermined incantation simultaneously to summon a Divine Beast. The requirement was much higher than ordinary Summoning Scrolls.

Generally, players needed a lot of practice before they could pull off the summoning. In addition, the summoned Divine Beast lacked intelligence. It required a player's control. Due to time constraints, Shi Feng only produced one set of Divine Beast's Descent Scrolls and one set of Double Protection Barrier Scrolls.

Among those currently in Stone Forest Town, Aqua Rose was needed to command the overall situation, Violet Cloud was a healer, while Alluring Summer outshined everyone else's combat standards. Hence, Shi Feng had decided that Alluring Summer should control the summoned Divine Beast.

"They've mostly familiarized themselves with the summoning procedure. I shouldn't have many issues either," Alluring Summer replied nervously.

Despite having recently joined Zero Wing, she had never thought that she would actually get to participate in such a large war so soon.

Solo battles were her bread and butter. Even one-versus-many situations were not unusual for her. However, facing three Mythic monsters by herself was definitely the craziest thing she had done in God's Domain.

Inwardly, though, she looked forward to the upcoming battle. Based on the fact that Shi Feng had left such an important task for a newcomer like her, she could tell how highly he valued her. Moreover, Aqua Rose had personally recommended her for the task. Regardless of the circumstances, she needed to perform well in the upcoming battle.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you, then. I'll have Aqua's team summon Tier 3 creatures to assist you," Shi Feng said, trying to comfort Alluring Summer when he saw the woman's tense expression.

Alluring Summer might not be a match for Violet Cloud or Fire Dance, but with her current standards, she should have no problems controlling a Divine Beast. Moreover, she would also have help from the Magic Tower.

...

As the three Evil Earth Dragons moved closer to Stone Forest Town, the players in the town grew increasingly tense.

Aqua Rose had the Guild's experts use the eight Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls they had gathered. However, compared to the three Mythic monsters, the eight creatures looked like children. Despite their massive sizes, the Tier 3 summoned creatures did not even reach the Evil Earth Dragons' knees. It felt as if the Earth Dragons would kill the summoned creatures with one stomp.

"Eight Tier 3 summoned creatures?" Abandoned Wave, who watched from afar, sneered. "So, this is Zero Wing's trump card?"

"That's quite impressive, actually. Even first-rate Guilds only manage to get their hands on two or three Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. At this point, Zero Wing is roughly as strong as a first-rate Guild overall. The Guild has already surpassed my expectations by acquiring eight of these scrolls," Peerless commented, relatively surprised by Zero Wing's foundations.

Even a Super Guild like Pantheon had only obtained twenty Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls so far. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was only an upstart Guild that controlled White River City and Stone Forest Town. It was hard to imagine how the Guild had secured such resources.

"Zero Wing's foundations are indeed shocking. Unfortunately, the difference between us is too vast. It is fated that they will fail to defend Stone Forest Town," Abandoned Wave laughed. He did not oppose Peerless's views.

Unfortunately, eight Tier 3 summoned creatures were barely enough to pin down one Evil Earth Dragon. How was Zero Wing going to deal with the remaining two?

...

Following which, one of the three Evil Earth Dragons charged at one of the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays. The Defense Turrets and Magic Tower couldn't land an attack on the nimble Earth Dragon. In the next moment, the Mythic monster stretched out one of its massive claws and slashed at the purple-gold magic barrier.

Boom!

The instant the claw collided with the magic barrier, a wide tear appeared in the sturdy barrier...

Meanwhile, the nine players maintaining the attacked barrier lost one-fifth of their Mana pool on the spot.

This scene shook Zero Wing's members. Even Aqua Rose was surprised.

Even when the numerous Tier 3 summoned creatures had attacked the barrier, they hadn't inflicted any significant damage. However, a single attack from the Evil Earth Dragon had nearly crumbled the barrier. The Mythic monster was even stronger than they had imagined.

So sturdy! The bandaged man controlling the Evil Earth Dragons was slightly surprised by this outcome.

Although he had taken control of the Evil Earth Dragons, decreasing its combat power significantly, the monsters' power was still at the Mythic rank. If one of these monsters attacked a Basic Magic Array, it could shatter the array with one attack, yet even after the onslaught of three Evil Earth Dragons, the purple-gold barrier remained. The Mythic monsters had only torn the barrier. Moreover, the tear was quickly mending.

I want to see how many hits this magic array can withstand! Immediately, the bandaged man controlled the Evil Earth Dragons to attack again.

Peng... Peng... Peng...

After receiving a series of claw attacks, the Nine-star Polar Domain shattered, transforming into particles of light before vanishing. The four summoned creatures trapped within the barrier were released.

As another Evil Earth Dragon was about to attack another Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array, a massive, golden magic array appeared above Stone Forest Town, enveloping nearly half of the town.

"What's that?"

"A summoned creature?"

Everyone could not help but look up. Before they realized it, a hundred-meter-long golden dragon appeared in the sky. The dragon's wings stretched over four hundred meters. With a light flap, the golden Dragon sent a wind storm through Stone Forest Town. The strong wind nearly threw the players in the town to the ground.

"A Dragon!"

"How is this possible?!"

"Isn't that a legendary creature?"

"Why has a Dragon appeared in Stone Forest Town?!"

Everyone's jaws fell open when they saw the golden Dragon. Dragons were considerably famous in God's Domain. They were the image of power and destruction. Moreover, there were very few of them. When these creatures appeared, disaster followed. 

Chapter 1071 - Mythic versus Mythic

"Why has a Dragon suddenly appeared?"

When Abandoned Wave, Peerless, and Blackwater and Pantheon's other upper echelons saw the dazzling, golden Dragon appear above Stone Forest Town, they were shocked.

Dragons were legendary creatures. Even if one tried to find a Dragon, it was nearly impossible.

Yet, one such creature had appeared in a small town like Stone Forest Town. It was inconceivable.

"Could this be...something that Zero Wing has summoned?" Peerless frowned as he thought of this possibility. However, he was not certain of this answer.

How rare were Dragons?

It was simply impossible to come across one in Stone Forest Town coincidentally. The only possibility was that Zero Wing had summoned it.

Those who had heard Peerless's guess wore ugly, twisted expressions.

According to what they had learned from various libraries, even the weakest Dragon was a Tier 5 creature. Moreover, due to their life ratings being extremely high, they were practically invincible among existences of the same tier.

It would be a trifling matter for a Dragon to annihilate their army of 200,000 monsters. The Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons were no exception.

"What are you worried about? Do you know how powerful an actual Dragon is? Do you think Zero Wing is really capable of summoning a Dragon?" Abandoned Wave coldly asked as he glanced at his worried subordinates. "Look closely! That is merely a summoned creature! It isn't a true Dragon! It only has the shape of one!"

Hearing this, everyone used their Identification Skills on the golden Dragon.

[Divine Dragon] (Elemental Creature, Mythic)
Level 60
HP 200,000,000/200,000,000

"An Elemental Creature?" Peerless muttered.

Although its name contained the word "Dragon," it was an Elemental Creature instead of a bona fide Dragon. This hinted that this Divine Dragon only looked impressive, but lacked real worth. It did not possess an actual Dragon's power. It was like the Evil Earth Dragons, where they were called "Dragons" but were Dark Creatures that did not possess the power of the Dragon race. Its life rating was no different than an ordinary monster.

"Although I don't know how Zero Wing managed to summon this Mythic monster, if they think they can defend Stone Forest Town with one Mythic monster, they are making a huge mistake." Abandoned Wave watched the Divine Dragon with contempt. He then gave his subordinates a command, saying, "Bring it out. Let's widen Zero Wing's horizons! We'll show them that they aren't the only ones with siege tools!"

Hearing this, Abandoned Wave's subordinates exploded into action.

Shortly after, three Gnome Cannons appeared beside Abandoned Wave.

Peerless was momentarily stunned when he saw these cannons.

Why does Blackwater have these?

Pantheon possessed Gnome Cannons as well. However, they were extremely difficult to manufacture. Even when they had allowed their Guild's Chief Engineer to make them, the latter's success rate was only 10%. In addition, due to the rarity of the materials and plenty of effort, Pantheon had only manufactured six Gnome Cannons. Each of these cannons was easily worth as much as one or two Epic items.

Pantheon treasured its six Gnome Cannons. Even when they raided Towns, they refused to use them, afraid that they would accidentally damage or destroy them.

He had never imagined that Blackwater would have three of the cannons as well.

In terms of destructive power, the Gnome Cannon might not be a match for the Magic Tower. However, it could compare to the Defense Turret. Unfortunately, its firing rate was not as high as the Defense Turrets. However, its advantage lay in its maneuverability, unlike the Defense Turrets, which had fixed positions upon construction.

Hence, they were considerably useful in a siege battle. The Gnome Cannons' Passive Skill, in particular, could deal double damage against constructions and magic barriers.

"Fire at will! I want to see how long their magic barriers can last!" Abandoned Wave commanded.

Originally, he had not wanted to expose the Gnome Cannons. However, after all was said and done, the Divine Dragon was a Mythic monster. If the Evil Earth Dragons were at their peak, they might be able to put up a fight against the Divine Dragon. Unfortunately, the monsters' combat powers were weak right now. If he had only sent one Evil Earth Dragon up against the Divine Dragon, the former would be overwhelmed. If that happened, the Divine Dragon would wreak havoc among the monster army. The losses they would suffer would be tremendous.

Before this, he had signed a contract with the bandaged man, stating that he would compensate the latter for the monsters he lost. He could deal with the compensation for the monsters below Lord rank. However, if Lord or above monsters died, even he would feel a sting.

For safety's sake, he needed two Evil Earth Dragons to pin down the Divine Dragon. He would then have the last Earth Dragon attract the attention of Zero Wing's summoned creatures. This way, Zero Wing would have no way to prevent Blackwater's summoned creatures from rampaging inside Stone Forest Town.

However, before they had the opportunity to use the Gnome Cannons, an explosion blasted above them.

With a violent flap with its wings, the Divine Dragon appeared before the Evil Earth Dragon that was about to attack the Nine-star Polar Domain. It then whipped its tail at the Evil Earth Dragon's pitch-black scales.

Boom!

The attack sent the massive Evil Earth Dragon flying. Not only had it been thrown away from the Nine-star Polar Domain, but its HP bar had also decreased by a visible chunk.

The Divine Dragon's strength surpassed everyone's imaginations.

The independent players watching the battle from a safe distance gaped in shock.

Despite both being Tier 4 Mythic monsters and the Evil Earth Dragon being five levels higher than the Divine Dragon, the latter easily sent the former's titanic figure flying...

However, the Divine Dragon's controller, Alluring Summer, was more surprised than anyone.

"Is this the power of a Mythic monster?"

At this moment, Alluring Summer's body had merged with the Divine Dragon. One could say that the Divine Dragon and Alluring Summer were one right now.

The power the Divine Dragon wielded was intoxicating.

This was the first time Alluring Summer had experienced such destructive power. Even high and mighty Grand Lords were trifling existences in front of her. She felt like she could easily annihilate those Grand Lords with a single wave of her hand.

Seeing this, the other two Evil Earth Dragons brandished their claws against the Divine Dragon.

One had to admit that the Evil Earth Dragons' attacks were seasoned and accurate. They struck at the Divine Dragon's blind spots. Moreover, the two Earth Dragons coordinated their attacks very well. If the Divine Dragon tried to block one of the Earth Dragons, it would fail to block the other.

Yet, contrary to expectations, even when the Earth Dragons' claws were about to strike the Divine Dragon, the latter remained motionless. It did not attempt to dodge or block the incoming attacks.

"Is the Divine Dragon not listening to commands?" Aqua Rose wondered.

If a problem occurred with the Divine Dragon now, this war was as good as over.

Dang!

In the next moment, the Evil Earth Dragons' claws slammed into the Divine Dragon's body. However, their claws only left behind several white marks on the latter's golden scales; the attacks did not penetrate the Divine Dragon's scales. As for the damage the Divine Dragon received, compared to the Divine Dragon's 200,000,000 HP, it was not worth mentioning. If one did not pay close attention, they might not even notice the change to the Divine Dragon's HP bar.

"Impossible!" At this moment, Abandoned Wave's calm vanished, his mouth hanging open as he watched.

Why was there such a massive difference between the Dragons, despite being monsters of the same tier?

Every player that witnessed this fight was stupefied.

They even began to wonder if the Evil Earth Dragons truly were the demons that had annihilated tens of thousands of players in Black Ridge Town. 

Chapter 1072 - Tier 4 Curse

While Abandoned Wave and the others were shocked over the Divine Dragon's Defense, under Alluring Summer's command, the Divine Dragon began its counterattack.

The Divine Dragon's tail tore through space as it whipped at the two nearby Evil Earth Dragons.

"Rawrr!"

The two Evil Earth Dragons possessed high intelligence. Knowing that the Divine Dragon's attack packed an extraordinary amount of power, they roared angrily as they swiped their sharp claws at the approaching tail.

Boom!

The instant claws and tail collided, a loud crash resounded throughout Stone Forest Town, the resulting shockwave sending all nearby players and monsters flying.

At the same time, like kites with cut strings, the two Evil Earth Dragons were sent flying hundreds of yards away. When they landed, their bodies slammed into the ground, instantly killing dozens of Elite monsters.

Atop the Magic Tower, Aqua Rose's expression shifted from worry to joy.

The Divine Dragon was so strong!

Despite the Evil Earth Dragons also being Tier 4 Mythic monsters, they couldn't even parry the Divine Dragon's attack.

With this strength, the Divine Dragon could easily suppress all three Evil Earth Dragons. Combined with the strength of their magic arrays and Tier 3 summoned creatures, they could definitely defend Stone Forest Town.

Every Zero Wing member in Stone Forest Town brimmed with confidence once again.

With the Divine Dragon and the Magic Tower holding down the fort, raiding Stone Forest Town became several times more difficult for Blackwater. The army of 200,000 monsters had become nothing more than a treasure trove of EXP.

...

"Why is it so powerful? Could it really be a member of the Dragon race?" Abandoned Wave frowned.

"No wonder why Zero Wing is so fearless. They have a card like this to rely on." The Divine Dragon's power astonished Peerless as well. If not for him witnessing this battle personally, he wouldn't have known that players were capable of summoning such powerful monsters.

With a single Divine Dragon, the tides of the war had shifted in Zero Wing's favor.

"Brother Wave, are you ready to reconsider?" Peerless turned to Abandoned Wave. "If you let Pantheon join the battle and save those trapped summoned creatures, removing the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets shouldn't be a problem. However, if you let this situation drag on, soon, even Pantheon won't be able to guarantee our victory."

"Fine; you can join the fray!" After hesitating for a few moments, Abandoned Wave agreed to Pantheon's assistance.

Although the three Gnome Cannons had bombarded the purple-gold magic barriers, their attacks, at most, caused the barriers to ripple. It was impossible to destroy the barriers quickly. Furthermore, now that the Divine Dragon protected the Nine-star Polar Domains, the Evil Earth Dragons could get close enough to save the Tier 3 summoned creatures.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before their Tier 3 summoned creatures died. If that happened, it would be far more difficult and costly to take down the town's defenses.

"Alright, boys, you heard him!" Pantheon announced, laughing. "However, Brother Wave, you mustn't forget our agreement."

"Of course. As long as you help me destroy Stone Forest Town's Magic Tower and Defense Turrets, you'll receive every share that I've promised you," Abandoned Wave said, nodding. He was curious about Peerless's confident tone.

What methods did Pantheon possess?

To take down Stone Forest Town, he had sacrificed much to gain the bandaged man's cooperation. The seventeen Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls hadn't been easy to obtain either.. Even then, he hadn't been able to shake Stone Forest Town's foundations...

As soon as Abandoned Wave said so, a team of twenty players appeared behind Peerless, startling Abandoned Wave.

All of these twenty players wore Black Cloaks. They radiated cold, dense killing intent, causing the nearby players to shiver involuntarily.

So strong! Laughing Drunkard was inwardly shocked as he glanced at the twenty players that had suddenly appeared.

Among these twenty players, quite a few felt extremely dangerous. If not for these people exposing themselves, Laughing Drunkard suspected that there was over an 80% chance that these people could kill him before he realized what had happened.

Meanwhile, each of these Assassins retrieved a light gray Magic Scroll from their bags.

Individually, these Magic Scrolls could not compare to Tier 3 Magic Scrolls' quality. However, when all twenty were lined up, the Mana fluctuations they released instilled a deep fear in everyone's hearts.

"What are those?" Abandoned Wave asked curiously.

"A magic array that rivals a Tier 4 Curse," Peerless introduced, laughing. "We obtained them from some temple ruins we raided. We sacrificed over one hundred thousand players to conquer those ruins. I'm willing to bet that this is the only set available throughout God's Domain right now."

"You guys raided temple ruins?!" Abandoned Wave could not help his surprise.

There were many temple ruins throughout God's Domain. The Gods had constructed these temples as centers for their worship. They all housed extremely valuable treasures. However, despite the passing of time and the destruction of a large portion of these temples, the temple ruins were considerably dangerous. These ruins' core areas, in particular, were known as forbidden zones. Death was almost certain for any player who ventured into these ruins.

Even so, many Guilds in God's Domain willingly raided these temple ruins.

Temple ruins were different from Dungeons. Dungeons limited the number of players that could enter at a time, and the requirement of each player's strength was incredibly high. Temple ruins, on the other hand, did not have such limits. Any number of people could enter at the same time. Moreover, the treasures one could obtain were far better than Dungeons.

In fact, over 70% of the Epic items the various Super Guilds had obtained had been found in temple ruins.

Blackwater had found some severely damaged temple ruins. However, even after sacrificing tens of thousands of players, they had no hope of surviving the ruins' core. In the end, they had been forced to give up.

Abandoned Wave had never imagined that Pantheon had succeeded where Blackwater had failed.

"Let's begin!" Pantheon commanded.

"Understood!" The twenty Assassins unfurled their Magic Scrolls and began to chant the recorded incantation.

As the Spell activated, the twenty Magic Scrolls formed a massive, gray, threefold magic array directly above the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays.

The unnatural flow of Mana interrupted Shi Feng's concentration as he put the finishing touches on the two new Magic Towers. He couldn't help but turn towards the gathering of Mana.

Space Smasher?! Shi Feng was stunned. How do they have that?!

Space Smasher was a Tier 4 Curse. It also needed an Advanced Magic Array to cast. Unlike ordinary Curses, it had a much longer casting time. However, the area it enveloped was much larger, being able to deal a devastating blow to everything within a 300-yard radius.

Tier 3 players could easily dodge such Curses. However, against an immobile target, the Curse could be tremendously effective.

Reacting quickly, Shi Feng shouted through the Guild chat, "Everyone, get out of the magic array's effective area immediately!"

Unfortunately, Shi Feng's warning served little purpose. Space Smasher covered too wide of an area. Aside from the players near the array's edges, no one could avoid the incoming Spell.

Boom!

Immediately, space shattered within the affected area. Pitch-black spatial tears of various sizes appeared and moved about the magic array. When these spatial tears encountered the Nine-star Polar Domains, the latter's magic arrays shattered. The Double Protection Barrier, which was also within Space Smasher's range, disintegrated as well.

Without exception, the spatial tears killed every player still in its affected area. As for the monster army, only Grand Lords survived the Curse. Even then, they lost over half their HPs in the attack.

As for the Tier 3 summoned creatures, they had not received fatal damage as the Nine-star Polar Domains took the brunt of the attack.

However, now that there were no more players, NPC guards and soldiers, or magic arrays in their way, these Tier 3 summoned creatures could easily storm Stone Forest Town.

"Excellent!" Abandoned Wave was ecstatic. "Destroy Stone Forest Town's fortifications!" 

Chapter 1073 - Town Defense

Seeing the release of the remaining thirteen Tier 3 summoned creatures, the joy Zero Wing's members previously enjoyed made a 180 turn.

If they only had to face the Tier 3 summoned creatures, they were confident of their success.

After all, this was not their first time killing Great Lord ranked monsters. Moreover, they had 20,000 elite players on their side. Defeating these monsters would be a trifling matter.

However, the true problem lay in the disappearance of the magic barriers that had protected them...

Now, they were forced to take on an endless army of monsters.

"All MTs, move forward! Assist the NPCs and hold off the monsters! Don't let any of them enter the town!" Aqua Rose hurriedly commanded.

Previously, they had the Double Protection Barrier to mitigate the monsters' damage. The most they lost was some Mana. As long as they replaced the players maintaining the barrier, they could hold out for a long time with little effort. However, that plan was no longer viable.

Suddenly, a Level 60 Great Lord massacred one of the Level 40 MTs standing at the forefront. The healers in the back had not even had a chance to save the player. If not for the Level 60-plus, Tier 2 NPC guards and soldiers blocking the Great Lords, the monsters would've charged into the town.

Unfortunately, this stalemate would not last long.

Although Zero Wing had mass-recruited NPCs to defend Stone Forest Town, due to the town's Popularity, they hadn't been able to recruit a lot of powerful NPCs. In addition, due to Stone Forest Town's small size, they could only recruit a maximum of 1,000 NPC guards.

Among them, a portion consisted of Tier 1 NPCs ranging between Level 60 and Level 70. As for Tier 2 NPCs, there were less than 100.

Tier 2 NPCs were only about as strong as Lord ranked monsters. However, as NPCs knew how to cooperate and monsters did not, they could display greater combat power.

However, the Lords Aqua Rose could see outnumbered the Tier 2 NPCs by ten-to-one. There were also as many Great Lords as Tier 2 NPCs...

Even Tier 2 NPCs could not fend off such a monstrous lineup.

Zero Wing suffered over 600 casualties during the monster army's initial charge, and the death count continued to increase. Despite the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets continuous bombardment, they couldn't slow the casualty rate.

"Drunkard, ignore the summoned creatures and guards' blockade! Regardless of the cost, I want that Magic Tower and those Defense Turrets destroyed!" Abandoned Wave commanded.

While he had joined hands with the bandaged man to exhaust Stone Forest Town's living forces, the main reason for their cooperation was to take down the town's fortifications.

If Stone Forest Town lost its fortifications, Blackwater's forces could overwhelm Zero Wing in both quantity and quality when his elite army arrived. It would be child's play to take the town.

"Guild Leader, leave it to me!"

Laughing Drunkard licked his lips before directing his Tier 3 summoned creature to circle Zero Wing's summons and NPC guards, charging straight towards the Magic Tower. At the end of the day, Blackwater's summoned creatures outnumbered Zero Wing's. The latter had no hope of blocking the assault fully.

Currently, the Evil Earth Dragons had the Divine Dragon pinned down. Zero Wing wouldn't dare take the battle into the town, which is exactly what they hoped for. With this, his summoned creatures only had to face Zero Wing's members.

With his skills and the Tier 3 summoned creatures' Attributes, it was practically impossible for Tier 1 players to stop him.

"Block it!" Aqua Rose shouted.

Although Aqua Rose had issued the directive, if a Great Lord ranked monster wanted to run, there wasn't much Tier 1 players could do to stop it. Moreover, this monster had the awareness of an expert. It could easily dodge the majority of the attacks against it. Even if an attack struck, the damage was negligible to a Tier 3 summoned creature.

With incredible speed, the Tier 3 summoned creature only needed a few moments to reach the Magic Tower.

"Zero Wing, you're finished this time!" Bloodthirst and excitement flashed in Laughing Drunkard's eyes as he looked at the looming Magic Tower.

Without the Magic Tower's protection, Zero Wing's fate was as good as sealed.

Boom!

In a single attack, a crack appeared in the Magic Tower's sturdy wall. If not for the magic patterns' bugger, Laughing Drunkard would have achieved his goal with that attack.

"This thing's quite sturdy, but how many hits can it take?" Ignoring the surrounding players' barrage, Laughing Drunkard blasted the Magic Tower with attacks.

With each attack, more cracks snaked along the wall. After a few hits, the Magic Tower started to tremble.

...

Meanwhile, seated in a high-class bar in Saimu Town, a man and a woman watched the live stream of the war in Stone Forest Town.

"It seems that this war will end soon," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing. "However, I truly underestimated Zero Wing's foundations. Even first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds would have to take a joint attack by Blackwater and Pantheon seriously. Pantheon was even forced to use the only Tier 4 Curse it had. Although Zero Wing has lost this war, it is a glorious defeat."

"It's truly a pity. I thought that I would get to see Black Flame fight Pantheon's experts. However, it seems that this siege war will end before that happens," Purple Jade commented disappointedly.

Stone Forest Town's peril was obvious at first glance. Regardless of whether Black Flame appeared or not, the outcome would not change.

Once the Magic Tower fell, Zero Wing would no longer have the power to resist Blackwater's invasion. Rather than prolong the fight, as Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame would try to save the Guild from further losses.

"Alright, it's about time we prepare as well," Yuan Tiexin said as he withdrew emotionally. Turning to Purple Jade, he said, "Thanks to Blackwater, we now understand just how powerful the Magic Tower can be. As long as the Secret Pavilion obtains its own, the status quo among God's Domain's super powers will have to change."

The Magic Tower's strength had exceeded Yuan Tiexin's expectations.

Not only could it attract players, but it could also fortify a town. If the Secret Pavilion had the Magic Tower, they could develop more towns. They would not have to worry about lacking manpower for their towns' defense.

"Hm?!" However, just as Purple Jade was about to turn the live stream off, she noticed something. Hurriedly, she shouted for Yuan Tiexin, who was about to leave the room, "Uncle Yuan, something's not right! Look at the sky above Stone Forest Town!"

Confused, Yuan Tiexin turned to look at the screen, and immediately, he was stunned.

A massive, dark-blue magic array had appeared above Stone Forest Town, enveloping the town. Moreover, due to this magic array, Mana surged into the town, filling the sky with shimmering colors. It looked like an aurora of light, but more beautiful.

...

"What's going on?" Laughing Drunkard unconsciously froze as he looked at the sky.

Even he shuddered with fear at the Mana gathering rate and the array's effective area.

...

"We finally made it." Shi Feng took a deep breath. 

Chapter 1074 - Turning the Tables

"This is..."

Quickly, Laughing Drunkard noticed that at another two Magic Towers had appeared in the town. The two new Magic Towers were positioned to form a triangle with the Magic Tower before him, and there seemed to be a faint connection between the three constructs.

"How has Zero Wing obtained three Magic Towers?!"

Jealousy filled Abandoned Wave and Peerless, who watched from afar.

Even when the Divine Dragon had been summoned, they hadn't envied Zero Wing.

They had already witnessed the Magic Tower's effects personally, so they knew just how powerful the construction was. A Super Guild or first-rate Guild would only need to dispatch a fraction of its forces to defend a town with a Magic Tower.

Obviously, such a powerful, valuable construction was not easy to build.

Yet, Zero Wing had constructed three Magic Towers in one town.

...

"Extravagant! Zero Wing is simply too extravagant!" Despite his ability to control himself, Yuan Tiexin could not help but curse as he stared at the new Magic Towers.

Stone Forest Town's magic barrier had already been destroyed, and Blackwater's Tier 3 summoned creatures were inside the town. It was a waste to complete more Magic Towers.

With two Magic Towers, one could operate two towns with a player population of one million!

Now, at best, these two additional Magic Towers could eliminate some monsters. It would not affect the overall situation at all.

Zero Wing would have been better off selling these Magic Towers to the Secret Pavilion.

...

"Hmph. Even if you have two more Magic Towers, it is futile," Laughing Drunkard snorted disdainfully.

Were the magic barrier protecting the town still present, he might've feared the three Magic Towers.

Previously, dodging the Magic Tower's attacks had been relatively easy. However, if three Magic Towers attacked simultaneously, he wouldn't escape the attack's range in time. Meanwhile, the Magic Towers possessed the destructive power of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Even a Tier 3 summoned creature would suffer under such a bombardment. After receiving a few hits, his summoned creature would be heavily injured, which would decrease its combat power. In the end, he would not be able to destroy the Magic Towers.

However, Stone Forest Town no longer had a magic barrier to protect it, and Zero Wing had no way of hindering his summoned creature in the town. Even destroying ten Magic Towers wouldn't be difficult, much less three.

"Shatter!"

Laughing Drunkard then used his summoned creature's Tier 3 Skill, Wind Ripper.

In the next moment, wind-type Mana gathered around the creature's claws, forming a tornado that was over 50 meters tall.

Wind Ripper was the summoned creature's strongest Skill. Although the Skill had a one-hour Cooldown, generally, summoned creatures could only exist for three hours.

It's over! Aqua Rose felt her heart grow cold as she watched the tornado, which was even taller than the Magic Tower, spin toward her.

Boom!

When the tornado crashed into the Magic Tower, dust and dirt flew into the air. Laughing Drunkard revealed a wicked smile.

"Huh? This... This is... impossible!"

However, when Laughing Drunkard turned to the tower after the dust cleared, he was stunned.

As the dust settled, the Magic Tower stood before him.

Although the cracks had widened, they were gradually mending. This was the most astonishing thing Laughing Drunkard had ever seen.

Even Aqua Rose, Zero Wing's Vice Guild Leader, was flabbergasted.

Previously, the summoned creature's normal attacks had shaken the Magic Tower, yet after receiving a Tier 3 Skill, not only hadn't the tower crumbled, but it also began to regenerate slowly.

"I won't let you recover!" Laughing Drunkard succumbed to madness as he controlled his summoned creature to strike the Magic Tower once more.

However, despite the creature's bombardment, the cracks didn't widen. On the contrary, the cracks decreased.

...

Shi Feng, who stood in a distant Magic Tower, could not help but laugh and shake his head as he watched Laughing Drunkard's crazed assault.

How foolish!

As the mainstream defensive structure during God's Domain's later stages, the Magic Tower had its own unique qualities. Otherwise, wouldn't capturing a town or city during the game's mid-late stages have been a piece of cake for Tier 4 or 5 experts? If that were the case, why would anyone have bothered to construct these Magic Towers?

As long as another Magic Tower was within range, the towers' Defense would increase significantly. The Magic Towers would reach their peak when five were within range. Moreover, due to the magic patterns on the tower, it would automatically gather the surrounding elemental Mana to repair itself. The number of Magic Towers near each other would also affect this trait.

Now that Stone Forest Town had three Magic Towers, the structures might not hold up against Tier 4 Mythic monsters for long, but they would have no problems against Tier 3 monsters.

...

"How can this be?!" Abandoned Wave could no longer sit still. "Everyone else, help Drunkard! I want those Magic Towers destroyed!"

If they failed to destroy the Magic Towers and allowed the defensive structures to attack freely, their army of 200,000 monsters would be massacred before they could annihilate Zero Wing's 20,000 elites.

Without nearby healers with the Resurrection Skill, players generally needed half an hour before they would automatically resurrect. However, their monsters would not revive; their deaths were permanent.

Abandoned Wave's angry bellow increased the pressure on the dozen or so players who controlled the Tier 3 summoned creatures. Hurriedly, they began to push through the encirclement of NPCs and players and charged forward to join Laughing Drunkard at the Magic Tower.

Previously, as Laughing Drunkard had already broken through the encirclement, they had thought they could leave the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets' destruction to him. However, the situation had changed.

Even if they had to endure the attacks from Zero Wing's Tier 3 summoned creatures, they had to break free and reach the Magic Towers.

A few moments later, two more half-HP summoned creatures broke free and arrived to help Laughing Drunkard attack the Magic Tower.

Seeing this, Shi Feng had to admit that their plan was somewhat effective. However, the addition of the two summoned creatures only served to slow the Magic Tower's recovery rate; the structure took no additional damage.

As the three summoned creatures madly bombarded the tower, Shi Feng appeared behind them.

...

"Has Black Flame lost his mind?! He's approaching three Tier 3 summoned creatures!" Yuan Tiexin wore an astonished expression as he stared at the Shi Feng on the screen.

Tier 3 summoned creatures under player control were no trifling matter. Only ranged players had any chance against them. Melee players would simply seek death if they tried to take these monsters on.

As she watched, Purple Jade was also confused.

Although she had an inkling of Black Flame's intentions, it was ludicrous! With his identity as a Guild Leader, it was unlikely that Black Flame would do such a thing.

...

"Black Flame?" Upon seeing Shi Feng, Laughing Drunkard sneered as he said, "I've been looking for you! To think you would actually show yourself before me! Die!"

Saying so, Laughing Drunkard sent his summoned creature's claw slamming towards Shi Feng.

Although Laughing Drunkard couldn't fully display his combat standards due to controlling another body, he still pushed his summoned creature into the Half-step Refinement Realm. No Tier 1 player could cope with his explosive speed.

"So fast!" Aqua Rose, who watched from a safe distance, gasped.

In the blink of an eye, the summoned creature's claw appeared above Shi Feng's head.

Boom!

When the claw struck, it carved several deep grooves in the ground.

As for Shi Feng, the attack had thrown him a short distance away. However, he had not received any damage; in the moment of imminent peril, he activated Parry to nullify the damage.

"You blocked it?" Laughing Drunkard was slightly surprised. However, he recovered from his daze quickly and laughed as he coldly declared, "I want to see how many Skills you have!"

Saying so, he brandished the summoned creature's claws against Shi Feng once more.

Sure enough, a Tier 3 summoned creature under an expert's control is really powerful. After Shi Feng slammed into the ground, both of his hands were numb. It seems that I have no choice but to summon them.

Watching the summoned creature charge at him, Shi Feng calmly revealed two scrolls.

Summon guards! 

Chapter 1075 - Suppressing Tier 3

The instant Shi Feng used Summon Guard, two unassuming figures appeared beside him.

"Personal Guards?"

When Laughing Drunkard saw the two figures, his lips curled up, and disdain filled his eyes.

Currently, even very high-leveled Personal Guards were only Level 60. Even if they conquered their Tier 2 class promotions, a Tier 3 summoned creature could easily kill them.

"Scram!"

Laughing Drunkard's summoned creature used the Tier 2 Skill, Dark Claw. He intended to send the two NPCs flying and finish Shi Feng off.

After all, if Shi Feng tried to hide, he'd be very hard to find in a town this size.

Right now, he was helpless against the Magic Towers. However, if he could kill Shi Feng, he could deal a greater blow to Zero Wing's morale.

Dang!

As if it had collided with adamantium, the summoned creature's claws stopped mid-swing, the clang of metal echoing across the town.

"This..." Laughing Drunkard wore an incredulous expression. "A Tier 2 NPC blocked a Tier 3 summoned creature's Tier 2 Skill?"

The gap between Tier 2 and Tier 3 was massive. This was especially true for monsters and NPCs. It was impossible for a Tier 2 NPC to stand against a Tier 3 monster.

Yet, as the impossible became a reality, Laughing Drunkard's mind was blown.

They've really grown after completing the Epic Quest. They're both so much stronger. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with Kite's performance.

If Kite were an ordinary Personal Guard, he wouldn't be able to easily fend off the Tier 2 Skill of a Level 60, Tier 3 summoned creature. However, Kite was a Dark-Gold Guard. He was practically invincible among those of the same tier.

Now that Kite had completed an Epic Quest, his combat power had risen once again.

The new, silver longsword Kite wielded made this apparent. Although the hilt was hollow, it shone with a dazzling, golden brilliance. Rather than a sword, it looked as if Kite wielded a miniature sun. The sword was no less elegant than the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. Kite's weapon was also Epic rank.

Not only had Kite replaced many of his old weapons and equipment, but he had also risen from Level 65 to Level 68. His leveling speed was astonishing. Being able to block the attack of an ordinary Tier 3 summoned creature was expected.

However, Anna's transformation was even greater than Kite's.

Anna wore gorgeous, black and white mage robes and held a golden scepter. Her waist-long golden hair fluttered freely in the wind. Whether it was her appearance or temperament, she emitted the aura of a goddess. Even a great beauty like Aqua Rose was mesmerized by Anna's beauty.

A single glance was all it took to captivate countless male players.

As for her level, she had already reached Level 69.

"How can this world have such a beautiful NPC?!"

"Crap! Even if I have to spend everything I have, I have to find an NPC like that for myself!"

As everyone was enchanted by Anna's appearance, body, and temperament, some experts had noticed the items she wore.

As this was the first time Shi Feng had summoned Kite and Anna since their Epic Quest, he had not had an opportunity to hide the effects of their weapons and equipment. Hence, their items were available for all to see.

At first, only Anna's appearance had surprised the watching players. However, upon closer inspection, these players gasped.

"A Fragmented Legendary Weapon!"

Everyone's eyes were glued on the golden scepter Anna wielded, greed filling their gazes. If not for the fact that players could not use NPCs' items, they would've charged into Stone Forest Town to steal that scepter.

Currently, Epic weapons were the highest rank available to players. There had not been any sightings of weapons or equipment above Epic rank. If they could get their hands on a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, they would instantly gain fame and fortune.

"Do these Personal Guards belong to Zero Wing's Guild Leader? They're simply amazing!"

"Crap! This is insane! I only recently equipped my Personal Guard with a set of Bronze Equipment. Even the Guild upper echelons' Personal Guards I've seen are using at most Secret-Silver or Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment."

...

"This is somewhat thorny. You two, help me pin down these NPC guards. I'll deal with Black Flame!" Laughing Drunkard quickly reacted. After a single clash, he understood that he couldn't injure Shi Feng if he fought alone.

Only with the two other Tier 3 summoned creatures holding back Shi Feng's Personal Guards would he have a chance of killing Zero Wing's Guild Leader.

"Leave it to us, boss!"

Snapping out of their daze, the players controlling the two other summoned creatures launched an assault against Kite and Anna.

Unfortunately, while Laughing Drunkard's plan was fairly solid, he severely underestimated Anna.

By the time the two summoned creatures arrived before Anna, the latter had finished chanting her Spell. Anna then slammed the butt of her scepter against the ground.

Like a drop of water falling into a still lake, Anna's scepter created ripples in the surrounding Mana. Immediately after, ten Tier 2 Rock Guards rose from the ground. Anna was capable of summoning far more creatures than ordinary Summoners. Moreover, the Rock Guards were Level 69.

Following which, Anna started another chant and cast a Spell to strengthen the ten Rock Guards.

In the next moment, the Rock Guards split up and surrounded the two Tier 3 summoned creatures. Even when the latter attacked, the Rock Guards received the blows without hesitation.

However, the biggest surprise was the fact that each Rock Guard was nearly as strong as a Tier 3 Great Lord of the same level. They were on par with the Level 60, Tier 3 summoned creatures. With five of them working together, they easily suppressed one Tier 3 summoned creature.

"How can there be such powerful Tier 2 NPC guards?" Laughing Drunkard ground his teeth as he watched Kite and Anna. Despite Shi Feng standing right in front of him, he couldn't approach Shi Feng at all.

Kite, the NPC guard he faced, already had higher Strength than his summoned creature. In terms of speed, the NPC was even more frightening. His creature couldn't respond to the NPC's attacks in time.

Every one of Kite's attacks devoured over a hundred thousand of his creature's HP. If the former used a Tier 2 Skill, he could deal over -400,000 damage.

Kite's combat standards came as an even greater shock to Laughing Drunkard.

A Tier 2 NPC fought as if it had entered the Refinement Realm. Kite's HP might not be a match for a Tier 3 summoned creature, but he was definitely superior in terms of Strength and speed. On the other hand, the summoned creature Laughing Drunkard controlled could only display the Half-step Refinement Realm. In the end, Laughing Drunkard had to watch helplessly as his summoned creature's HP fell.

Suddenly, Anna arrived to assist Kite, using the Tier 2 Skill, Elemental Thorns against Laughing Drunkard's summoned creature.

With one attack, the summoned creature was forced to retreat by over a dozen yards. Not only had the attack dealt over -500,000 damage, but it also gave Kite an easier time damaging the summoned creature.

Laughing Drunkard's summoned creature could no longer resist the bombardment.

Against Anna and Kite's joint assault, it was only a short moment before Laughing Drunkard's summoned creature collapsed, never to rise again. 

Chapter 1076 - Final Fight

"It's dead?"

"How did it die so quickly?!"

The Blackwater members controlling summoned creatures were momentarily stunned.

Laughing Drunkard was a top-class expert in their Guild. Moreover, he could display far more of his creature's strength than they could.

Yet, after just a few moments, his summoned creature, which had tens of millions of HP, died. Moreover, it had been killed by just two Tier 2 NPCs...

"Damn it! Damn it! You couldn't even last a few minutes against two Tier 2 NPCs?!" Abandoned Wave cursed at Laughing Drunkard, who stood beside him.

"Guild Leader, those two NPCs are extraordinary. They've both reached the Refinement Realm standard. They can execute all of their moves naturally. Moreover, their Basic Attributes are even higher than the Tier 3 summoned creature I controlled," Laughing Drunkard explained. "So, I..."

"Enough! Stop finding excuses! I only want results!" Abandoned Wave glared at Laughing Drunkard.

Laughing Drunkard immediately fell silent.

However, standing to the side, Peerless frowned when he heard Laughing Drunkard's comments.

He had originally expected to finish Zero Wing off with their Tier 4 Curse.

He had never expected that Zero Wing would have hidden such a trump card.

He had witnessed the fight between the Tier 3 summoned creature and the two Tier 2 NPCs personally.

He had to admit that Laughing Drunkard had not lost without reason. Without much of a difference in Basic Attributes, a Half-step Refinement Realm summoned creature was no match for Refinement Realm NPCs.

Now that Laughing Drunkard, the most skilled player among those controlling Blackwater's summoned creatures, had been defeated, it was only a matter of time before the remaining twelve creatures were killed.

"Brother Peerless, what do you think we should do now?" Abandoned Wave had already used all of his cards. He could not think of another way to destroy the Magic Towers.

The Magic Towers' Defense had already been quite high. Now that two absurdly powerful NPC guards had joined the fray, it was practically impossible to destroy Stone Forest Town's fortifications.

Of course, they could instruct the monster army to invade the town. With the number of players defending the town, Zero Wing could not fend off this army. However, doing so would discard the goldmine that was Stone Forest Town, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Frustration filled Abandoned Wave's heart when he thought about how he couldn't obtain Stone Forest Town.

Of course, having his elite army force their way into the town wasn't a viable option either. Not only would he suffer immense losses by doing so, but they still might fail to capture Stone Forest Town. The monster army's losses made this clear.

There was only one real method to capture a town; destroy the Guild Residence of the town's ruler and obtain the Town Token hidden within. As long as one held the token for two hours, that player would secure the town's ownership.

Capturing a town was not as difficult as most thought. There was no need to kill every member of the ruling Guild in the town. One simply needed to destroy the ruling Guild's Residence and obtain the Town Token.

However, the two NPC guards Shi Feng had summoned were simply too powerful. If they defended Zero Wing's Residence, sending players to take down the Residence would be as effective as sending them through a meat grinder...

"I have a plan. However, it will depend on your resolve," Peerless said after considering Abandoned Wave's question.

"What is it?" Abandoned Wave was out of options.

"First, stop the assault on the town for now and order the monster army to retreat. Once Blackwater's elite army arrives, we'll charge into the town as one force," Peerless said, chuckling. "Afterward, I'll have my Guild's experts sneak into Zero Wing's Residence to steal the Town Token. Of course, for this plan to work, we have to prevent those two NPC guards from entering Zero Wing's Residence. You must keep them away from the Residence. I'm not confident of our success otherwise."

Pantheon's Dark Blade members were among the best in God's Domain when it came to infiltration. Players had no way of sensing their presence. However, the same could not be said for Level 60-plus, Tier 2 Refinement Realm NPCs. On the off chance that they were discovered, only death awaited them. After all, Dark Blade members' survivability was extremely low.

"If I lure those two NPC guards away, how confident are you of succeeding, Brother Peerless?" Abandoned Wave asked when he noticed that Kite and Anna were already starting to clear out the remaining summoned creatures.

"Assuming that Zero Wing has used all of its hidden trump cards, roughly 90%," Peerless said confidently.

This time, Nine Kills, the Dark Blade's vice commander, would lead the legion.

Nine Kills had never failed to assassinate his targets. Stealing a Town Token would be a piece of cake.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you, then," Abandoned Wave reluctantly agreed. He then recalled his forces.

...

"Guild Leader, they're retreating!" When Aqua Rose noticed the monster army pull away from the town, she could not help but grow excited.

"They're retreating?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised to hear this.

The battle wasn't even halfway over, yet Blackwater retreated. No matter how he thought about it, something smelled fishy.

Shi Feng wasn't the only one surprised by Blackwater's retreat. Everyone watching the war had questions of their own.

Although Zero Wing appeared to have the advantage, after all was said and done, the monster army was too strong. If this war continued, Blackwater had a chance of capturing the town. Not only would such an abrupt retreat result in unnecessary casualties, but it would also wound the approaching elite army's morale. After all, Blackwater's monster army had already reached the gates of Stone Forest Town. As long as they continued fighting, they could take the town.

However, after the monsters withdrew from the Magic Towers' attack range, they stopped suddenly and defended their position. With this development, everyone finally understood what Blackwater intended to do.

Blackwater wasn't retreating at all. Rather, it was preparing for a final strike!

Monsters' Movement Speed was much higher than players, and Blackwater's elite army was still on its way to Stone Forest Town. There was still some time before it would arrive. Hence, Blackwater intended to wait. Once both armies were present, it would launch an all-out assault against Stone Forest Town.

...

"So, they're finally getting serious," Shi Feng muttered as he watched Blackwater's elite army gradually approach from atop a Magic Tower.

Players were different from monsters. Although players were not as strong as monsters individually, they were able to cooperate to display a strength that surpassed their own. If it really came down to a fight, the elite army would be far more difficult to deal with than the monster army.

"Guild Leader, look over there!" Aqua Rose said as she pointed towards the group of one-horned humanoid monsters that had suddenly appeared from the southeast.

Based on their investigations, not only were the humanoid monsters frighteningly strong, but their intelligence was also shockingly high. Among them, some were on par with ordinary expert players. Most likely, the Great Lords were even more powerful than the Tier 3 summoned creature Laughing Drunkard had controlled.

Over 100 one-horned humanoid monsters had arrived on the battlefield, and they were all Level 60. Among them, 20 were Great Lords, while the rest were High Lord rank.

...

"Guild Leader Wave, this is the most help I can offer. Don't forget your promise!" the bandaged man growled when he contacted Abandoned Wave.

"Rest assured; after we capture Stone Forest Town, I'll gather 300,000 elite players and 300 expert players for you," Abandoned Wave responded with a slightly grim expression.

Unlike the other monsters in the monster army, the humanoid monsters wouldn't pollute the town with Evil Energy if they entered. However, the humanoid monsters were incredibly precious. Hence, the bandaged man hadn't wanted to risk losing them.

However, to guarantee Stone Forest Town's capture, the bandaged man had no choice.

"I refuse to believe that Zero Wing can fend off this attack!"

Following which, Abandoned Wave issued the command to attack.

Immediately, both the monster army and the player army charged towards Stone Forest Town from all directions. 

 Chapter 1077 - Shadow Dancer

The spectacular scene of hundreds of thousands of monsters and elite players surging towards Stone Forest Town made Zero Wing's members nervous.

They were outnumbered by ten-to-one. Moreover, half of their enemies were players. Even Aqua Rose, who had experienced her fair share of large-scale battles, worried that they would fall against this assault.

Unlike the previous assault, this move had been strategic. This time, both players and monsters stood considerably far apart. They were not clumped as they had been.

As a result, even with three Magic Towers, they were not as effective as the one tower had been during the beginning of this battle.

Although the Magic Towers weren't as effective, the number of players and monsters dying still made Abandoned Wave's eyes twitch.

Every wave of attack destroyed over a thousand players and monsters.

The Magic Towers' destructive power once again stupefied the war's spectators.

"Blackwater is quite daring. With this, its losses will undoubtedly be astronomical." Yuan Tiexin could not help but sigh as he watched the rapidly increasing number of corpses on the battlefield. However, he had to admit that this move was effective.

Against such an assault, even a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion would struggle to defend Stone Forest Town, much less Zero Wing. At most, it could reduce its losses by retreating from the town as quickly as possible.

Although the Magic Towers seemed powerful, they had a glaring flaw. By the time Blackwater's players and monsters reached the Magic Towers, the latter's effects would be considerably limited.

Once the Magic Towers were dealt with, Zero Wing would have to rely on its Miniature Ballistas and various Magic Scrolls to defend Stone Forest Town. Either that, or it would have to use large-scale destruction Spells.

However, these were obviously not enough to take out such a large army.

After all, no matter how many players or monsters died, Blackwater's army still outnumbered Zero Wing's. This numerical advantage would secure Blackwater's victory.

This was the cruel reality of siege wars. If Zero Wing could not fend off Blackwater's forces in time, Blackwater's excess forces would attack Zero Wing's Residence and take the Town Token without any resistance.

Unlike the Magic Tower, any player with even a little Attack Power could destroy a Guild Residence. It was only a matter of time. After all, the Guild Residence was not protected by magic patterns like the Magic Tower.

Of course, faced with a frightening weapon like the Magic Tower, most Guilds would not attack as desperately as Blackwater. They definitely would not willingly sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of players to take down Stone Forest Town's Magic Towers.

Elite members were an important part of a Guild's foundation. A Guild required the strength of these elite members to accomplish many tasks. After all, Guilds generally had very few expert players. Strong blades needed strong steel.

A Guild could allocate expert player teams to pioneer large-scale Team Dungeons. However, if a Guild relied on such a team to obtain equipment, said Guild would suffer severe deficiencies.

After players raided a large-scale Team Dungeon, they had to wait for some time before they could raid it again. Meanwhile, each Dungeon dropped a limited number of items. Hence, Guilds would generally have their expert teams learn and build raiding strategies before passing on said strategies to the Guild's elite members. With this, the Guild could farm more weapons and equipment within a certain amount of time.

Due to this reason, a Guild's development would stagnate if a large number of its elite members died.

The army of 100,000-plus elite players Blackwater had dispatched was the Guild's foundation. If these players died in battle, Blackwater would suffer a shortage of weapons and equipment for quite some time.

However, Abandoned Wave could not care less right now.

"Players, charge into the town's heart! Leave the borders to the monster army!" Abandoned Wave shouted crazily.

At this point, it was do or die.

Throughout God's Domain, only Abandoned Wave dared to use hundreds of thousands of monsters and elite players as bait.

...

Zero Wing's Residence:

"Guild Leader, there's too many of them. They're rushing ahead and disregarding their casualties. We don't have enough people to hold them off. Over ten thousand players have already infiltrated the town. The one-horned monsters are also assaulting the Residence from all sides.

"Among our enemies, the most troublesome are the humanoid monsters. Even after we sent all of our Tier 3 summoned creatures, we couldn't stop their advance. Moreover, they are devouring players and growing stronger. None of our players dare approach them. We have to rely on the NPC guards and soldiers to hold those monsters back."

Aqua Rose anxiously reported the situation to Shi Feng.

Battles had broken out all over Stone Forest Town. She couldn't keep up with managing the war. If not for the three Magic Towers boosting her guildmates' Attributes, Blackwater would have already captured the town.

A siege war was different from war in an open field. Field wars relied on both quantity and quality. Siege wars, however, only relied on quantity. The more players a Guild possessed, the greater the advantage it would have. After all, even if an expert were more powerful, how many players could they hold back? How many players could they kill?

Even if Zero Wing annihilated 99% of Blackwater's army, it would lose this war if any enemy player got their hands on Stone Forest Town's Town Token.

After Blackwater took control of the Town Token, Stone Forest Town would enter a new protection period. At that time, all Blackwater needed to do was return to an NPC city and hire a bunch of powerful guards.

After all, how could players who had not even reached Level 50 possibly survive against Level 150 NPC guards?

After giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng looked at Anna and said, "Anna, you and Kite deal with those humanoid monsters. Don't let them near the Guild Residence!"

Shi Feng hadn't expected the humanoid monsters to appear on this battlefield.

To these monsters, Tier 1 expert players were nothing more than a snack. It was meaningless to have players fight these monsters. Moreover, any player these monsters devoured would lose a fraction of their Immortal Soul. This would deal a fatal blow to Zero Wing.

Zero Wing had no way of receiving reinforcements. If the present elite members' Immortal Souls were damaged, they would be forced out of the game for a long time.

With no better choice, Shi Feng was forced to send Anna and Kite against these monsters. Otherwise, by the time these humanoid monsters devoured every player in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would be powerless to stop them.

...

"Brother Wave, it would seem that our plan has been quite successful. Those two NPC guards have already gone out to keep your monsters from devouring Zero Wing's members," Peerless stated, joy brightening his eyes as he read the message his subordinate had sent.

"Then that means..." Excitement surfaced in Abandoned Wave's eyes. What he had anticipated had finally occurred.

"That's right. Pantheon's members have infiltrated Zero Wing's Residence. When the time comes, not only will you obtain Stone Forest Town, but the three Magic Towers will also be yours to command," Peerless said, laughing.

Without those two Tier 2 NPCs in their way, it was almost certain that the Dark Blade members would steal the Town Token.

...

"Vice Commander, we've dealt with the hidden Assassins. Before us lies the secret room containing the Town Token," a Level 41 gray-robed Assassin reported to Nine Kills with a mechanical tone, pointing towards a room a short distance away.

In response, Nine Kills nodded and said, "Alright, have everyone prepare. Leopard, Heart, Wind, Feather, follow me to retrieve the Town Token."

He had hoped to assassinate Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame. Hence, he had volunteered to join the war.

Unfortunately, he had been disappointed. All of his opponents had been small fries; his several apprentices had no issue dispatching these players.

However, after Nine Kills and his four companions opened the secret room's locked door, their expressions froze.

"Black Flame!"

Nine Kills and the others were caught by surprise. They hadn't expected Zero Wing's Guild Leader to wait for them in the room with the Town Token.

"Nine Kills?" Glancing at the middle-aged man carrying a bone bow, Shi Feng smiled slightly as he said, "I've been waiting for you for some time now."

"You know of me? You've even discovered over tracks. As expected of the Leader of Zero Wing." After recovering from his shock, Nine Kills clapped, praising Shi Feng. "However, haven't you a little too careless. You're the only one here. I have men stationed outside. Reinforcements won't reach you in time. Do you understand what this means?"

"Not really, but I do know that none of you are leaving this place alive." Shi Feng chuckled.

Shi Feng knew quite a bit about Nine Kills. In the past, the man had been an assassination expert with his own legends. If not for the Magic Tower's detection ability and his Omniscient Eyes, he wouldn't have noticed Nine Kills and the others infiltrating Stone Forest Town. Despite Nine Kills being a Ranger, his figure was blurry, and when he moved, he was soundless. Rather than calling him a Ranger, it was more appropriate to call him an Assassin.

However, Shi Feng knew that Nine Kills wasn't just a Ranger. He had a hidden class.

Shadow Dancer!

This class that was even more secretive and powerful than the Assassin class. Moreover, it was an extreme class. The class's instantaneous, explosive power even surpassed Shi Feng's Blade Saint class.

"You're going to accomplish this, alone?" Nine Kills sneered.

The other four Assassins began to laugh.

Shi Feng had just told the world's funniest joke.

"That's right, alone!" Shi Feng ignored their mocking giggles as he unsheathed Killing Ray. 

Chapter 1078 - Attack versus Defense

"How arrogant!"

A cold glint flashed in Nine Kills' eyes. Immediately, his body melted into the shadow on the ground and disappeared.

Instead of having a Skill like the Assassin class's Stealth, the Shadow Dancer class had the Shadow Space Skill that allowed players to meld with shadows, moving through them. They were far more difficult to detect than stealthed Assassins as their bodies were in a different dimension altogether when they vanished into the shadows. Furthermore, objects and people in the ordinary dimension couldn't interfere with anything in the Shadow Dimension. This was different from Assassins' Stealth Skill, which only turned its user invisible.

After entering the Shadow Dimension, unless Nine Kills intentionally left the dimension, he was impossible to detect, even with an advanced Identification Skill.

It was this reason that Nine Kills had been a legend in the past.

Sure enough, I can't sense his presence in the slightest. Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Despite having activated Omniscient Eyes, he couldn't sense Nine Kills at all after the middle-aged man entered the Shadow Dimension. It was as if Nine Kills had vanished completely.

This was bad news for Shi Feng.

The Shadow Dancer class was an extreme class. The class had very powerful covert techniques and instantaneous explosive power. If a Shadow Dancer launched a successful ambush, even an MT with active Lifesaving Skills might not survive.

"Hahaha! I guess even the Sword King can be nervous! Even Black Flame can't do anything when the Boss enters the Shadow Dimension. Once the Boss finds a weak point to exploit, he'll take care of Black Flame easily," a female Assassin with an oval face said softly.

"Dark Heart, let's get ready. The Boss's Shadow Dimension has a long Cooldown. If he can't defeat Black Flame in his initial assault, we need to jump in immediately. We absolutely cannot give an expert like Black Flame a chance to retaliate!" the youth named Dark Feather reminded his companion.

"Relax. I still have a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Even if the Boss's attacks don't kill Black Flame, he won't escape my Tier 3 Scroll," Dark Heart replied confidently.

The scroll she carried contained a Tier 3 AOE Attack Spell that had an effective radius of 15 yards. The Spell's range could cover over half of the room they occupied.

If Nine Kills failed, she simply needed to activate the Spell, killing both Nine Kills and Black Flame.

This was in line with the Dark Blade's code of conduct. They would do anything, including sacrificing their own companions, to complete their missions.

However, it wasn't likely that they would need to go to such lengths.

Shadow Dimension really is an amazing Skill. It seems that I have no choice but to use this method. After observing the situation for a long moment, Shi Feng still could not detect Nine Kills. Hence, he took eight Light Stones from his bag and threw them into the corners of the room.

As the Light Stones released their dazzling glow, they illuminated the room. As a result, the nearby shadows shrunk.

Although the Shadow Dancer class possessed superior covert and explosive capabilities, the class had a major flaw.

Once Nine Kills entered the Shadow Dimension, he could only leave it through a shadow. Hence, Nine Kills had carried out his past missions at night or in enclosed spaces. He would not try to assassinate his targets during the day in the fields.

"Damn it! How does he know my weakness?!" From inside the Shadow Dimension, Nine Kills frowned as he searched for a place to emerge. "There are still six...no, seven places I can launch an attack from. I should be able to use that move."

Although he had no idea how Shi Feng knew about the Shadow Dancer's weakness, the class had one secret he had never spoken about: the class's Sure-kill Skill, Shadow Dancer's Blade. After activating this Skill, he could move rapidly between a maximum of seven locations. Although the Skill had a long, one-hour Cooldown, during the Skill's 10-second duration, he could move so quickly that he would be invisible to the naked eye.

He hadn't used this Skill since becoming a Shadow Dancer; he simply hadn't found a qualified target.

"You should be proud that you've forced me to use this Skill," Nine Kills sneered as he watched Shi Feng from the Shadow Dimension.

Suddenly, in the ordinary dimension, a black figure appeared from one of the seven shadows in the room with lightning speed. Immediately, this black figure dove into another shadow. In less than a second, Nine Kills filled the room with his afterimages. It was impossible to detect Nine Kills' true body.

So fast! The sudden development surprised Shi Feng. Is this Shadow Dancer's Blade? I can't even catch sight of Nine Kills' real body.

Shadow Dancer's Blade was the reason for Nine Kills' fame. It was due to this Sure-kill Skill that Nine Kills had successfully assassinated numerous Super Guild apex experts. Unless one had a Skill that provided invulnerability for ten seconds or they moved out of the Shadow Dancer's Blade's effective area, this move was impossible to escape.

"Die!"

Once he was confident of landing a blow, Nine Kills unsheathed the short sword from his waist and slashed it at the back of Shi Feng's neck.

Dang!

The clash of metal echoed throughout the room.

Before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had begun to execute Sword's Orbit, preventing all attacks from coming within eight yards of himself.

As his Attributes and combat standards improved, he was able to exert a more powerful defense with Sword's Orbit. Unless one had a higher Strength than Shi Feng, they would not be able to break through his defense.

However, Shi Feng was currently Level 44 and equipped with the Level 50 Magic Light Set Equipment. He also wielded Epic Weapons and the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon's Breath. In terms of Strength, even a Berserker with an Epic Weapon and a complete Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment would be no match for Shi Feng, much less a Ranger like Nine Kills.

Huh? Nine Kills, whose attack had been repulsed, stared at Shi Feng, dumbfounded. For a moment, his mind failed to process what had happened.

His speed definitely ranked at the peak among God's Domain's current players. It was utterly impossible for players to react to his attack, let alone controlling their bodies to defend themselves. Although Void Realm Assassins might notice him, barely, they definitely could not defend themselves in time.

Yet, Shi Feng had blocked his blade...

Impossible!

Retreating into the shadows, Nine Kills launched another wave of rampant attacks against Shi Feng. After all, Shadow Dancer's Blade had a duration of ten seconds.

Xiu... Xiu... Xiu...

Nine Kills' attacks were too fast to see. Due to his frightening speed, Nine Kills' short sword pushed further into Sword's Orbit's defensive bubble. From the initial eight yards, the Ranger's short sword gradually penetrated Shi Feng's defense, pushing deeper until it was only three yards from the Swordsman's body. However, no matter what Nine Kills did, he couldn't push his attacks any further.

Shi Feng was very nearly forced to activate the Aura of Earth's Absolute Defense. Fortunately, the defensive capabilities of Sword's Orbit were close to perfection.

Despite facing Nine Kills' lightning-quick attacks, Shi Feng remained calm. On the contrary, Nine Kills lost HP each time Sword's Orbit repulsed his blades. Right now, he had less than half of his HP remaining...

This can't continue! I need to use a bigger attack! Nine Kills could tell that, if he did not use a Berserk Skill to overwhelm Shi Feng's Strength, he wouldn't break through Sword's Orbit.

Suddenly, a faint gray glow enveloped Nine Kills' body.

[Shadow Possession] (Tier 1 Curse)
Increases Strength by 60% and Agility by 80%, and improves Strength's effects by 100% for 1 minute.
Cooldown: 2 hours

He had specifically learned this Shadow Possession Skill to make up for the Shadow Dancer's lack of Strength.

"Break!" Nine Kills fiercely swung his sword at Shi Feng.

The power and speed within the blade allowed the weapon to cut through space itself as it collided with Shi Feng's Sword's Orbit.

Sensing Nine Kills' transformation, Shi Feng directly activated Heavenly Dragon's Power.

Boom!

When the swords met, a violent storm raged through the room. Nine Kills transformed into a shadow as his body was embedded into the wall behind him. 

Chapter 1079 - Futile Effort

"He lost?"

Dark Feather's four companions, watching from a short distance away, were speechless.

They all stared at Nine Kills, who pulled himself out of the hole in the wall, with stupefied expressions. Nine Kills had less than one-third of his HP remaining. The short sword in his right hand trembled uncontrollably.

My Strength is still no match for his?

Nine Kills could not help but shift his gaze to Shi Feng, questions filling his mind.

The additional Strength Shadow Possession provided might be mediocre, but the Skill could double its effects. Even a Berserker with a Strength-type Berserk Skill would not be a match for him.

Yet, even after activating this Skill, the gap between him and Shi Feng hadn't shortened; on the contrary, it had grown.

Nine Kills even began to wonder if Shi Feng was a player or a Tier 2 NPC in disguise.

What Nine Kills did not know was that Shi Feng had activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, increasing his Strength by an additional 150%. In addition, Shi Feng had the buff from the Magic Towers. In terms of Strength, even a Great Lord of the same level was no match for Shi Feng, much less Nine Kills, who was only had the Strength of a High Lord.

It wasn't unusual for a Great Lord's attack to send a High Lord flying. Not to mention, Shi Feng's Strength was slightly higher than a Great Lord's.

"Dark Feather, use the Magic Barrier Stones! I'll pin down Black Flame! We cannot let Black Flame leave alive! The consequences will be unimaginable!" Nine Kills barked the order through the team chat.

"Boss, our task is to steal the Town Token. Isn't it a little wasteful to use the Magic Barrier Stones...?" The calm Dark Feather gave Nine Kills a strange look.

Moreover, from the way Nine Kills spoke, it sounded as if he were treating Shi Feng like a Demon King that could destroy the world.

What did he mean by "cannot let him leave alive?"

Even if Black Flame were stronger, at the end of the day, he was still a player. Without support, he could not affect the overall war. Moreover, the Magic Barrier Stones were treasures Pantheon had sacrificed a lot of manpower and resources to obtain. These were supposed to be used against creatures below Tier 4. They could even trap the most powerful Tier 3 NPC. Using it on a Tier 1 player was a huge waste.

"Stop wasting time! I'll take responsibility, so use them!" Nine Kills growled as tension gripped his body. He had no time to explain.

Dark Feather and the others had merely seen Shi Feng's attack send him flying. However, he had experienced the attack personally.

From that single clash, he understood how terrifying Shi Feng truly was. Even a Tier 3 Magic Scroll wasn't likely to do much against him. Moreover, allowing Shi Feng to leave this room was the equivalent of releasing a Great Lord with a Void Realm's combat standards onto the battlefield. He would be a lion among a herd of sheep.

Of course, Berserk Skills did not last long. However, the Skill's duration would be more than enough for Shi Feng to annihilate all of the Dark Blade members that had snuck into Zero Wing's Residence.

Pantheon's Dark Blade did not have many members. Nurturing every member was costly. Helping each member level up was particularly expensive for the Guild. In addition, every Dark Blade member used weapons and equipment that were specifically tailored to their strengths. Pantheon had only gathered these items after utilizing the Guild's full strength. Each item would be incredibly difficult to replace. Currently, over a hundred Dark Blade members had infiltrated Zero Wing's Residence. If they all died, they would lose over a hundred weapons and pieces of equipment in total.

If Black Flame had some special tool that increased the drop-rate of the players he killed, they could lose two or three hundred items...

They had to use the Magic Barrier Stones.

Hearing Nine Kills' command, Dark Feather and the others had no choice but to set up the Barrier Stones. As for Nine Kills, he turned to Shi Feng again to buy his allies enough time.

"You want more?" Shi Feng began to execute Sword's Orbit once more when he saw Nine Kills launch another assault.

After activating Heavenly Dragon's Power, Sword's Orbit's defense was even more solid than it had been. Shi Feng no longer relied on brute force to defend himself. Now, he redirected a portion of the incoming force.

Shi Feng suspected that he could even defend against a Great Lord's attacks right now.

As for Nine Kills, he had wisened up after being thrown. This time, he didn't try to encroach on Sword's Orbit's defensive bubble. Instead, he moved around the bubble's perimeter, utilizing his absolute advantage of speed to render Shi Feng helpless. However, if Shi Feng relaxed for even a moment and stopped using Sword's Orbit, he would strike.

Unfortunately, while his plan was sound, its flaw was obvious. Shadow Dancer's Blade's duration was simply too short. After ten seconds, it would be his turn to be helpless.

However, Nine Kills' goal wasn't to slay Shi Feng personally. He simply needed to pin the Swordsman down for as long as possible.

"Boss, we're ready!" Dark Feather called out.

"Good! Use them now! Don't worry about catching me inside!" Nine Kills nodded as he signaled for Dark Feather and the others to take action.

Immediately, each member of Dark Feather's group threw a black stone block around Shi Feng and Nine Kills.

Magic Barrier Stones! A chill crawled down Shi Feng's spine when he saw the black stone blocks that surrounded him.

Magic Barrier Stones were extremely rare magical tools in God's Domain, and they had many uses. Moreover, the more Barrier Stones players used, the more effective they were.

Among them, Space Sealing was the most powerful effect!

With the power of four Magic Barrier Stones, players could trap any creature beneath Tier 4 for a long period. The barrier could last anywhere from three hours to two days. It was like a portable jail.

"It seems that you are familiar with the Magic Barrier Stones. Unfortunately, this has come to an end. The Barrier Stones don't have a casting time. Even you can't escape them. Let's rest in here for a while. By the time you escape, Stone Forest Town will not belong to you anymore!" Nine Kills could not help but laugh at the grim expression on Shi Feng's face.

If he told Pantheon's Elders that he had used the Magic Barrier Stones to trap a lone Tier 1 player, they would give him a beating. However, in Nine Kills' opinion, the Barrier Stones had been well spent. After all, they could trap Zero Wing's Guild Leader for several hours. Without its backbone, Zero Wing would lose this war.

As Nine Kills finished his comment, the four Magic Barrier Stones activated. In the blink of an eye, both Shi Feng and Nine Kills were sent to another dimension. A black cube, each side measuring one meter, formed in their place.

"The Boss is being too cautious. We could've settled things with the Tier 3 Scroll," Dark Heart said somewhat disappointedly. She thought that Nine Kills underestimated her abilities.

"The Boss has his reasons," Dark Feather said, trying to console the female Assassin. "Before anything else, let's retrieve the Town Token."

The others nodded in response to Dark Feather's suggestion.

Although using the Magic Barrier Stones on Shi Feng might have been overboard, they could secure the Town Token earlier than expected.

Following which, Dark Feather's group began to attack the magic barrier protecting the Town Token.

However, before they struck, they sensed a suffocating killing intent radiating from the black cube. For a moment, they even thought that the magic barrier would crumble.

"Stop wasting your energy. It is impossible to do anything against me while you're inside the barrier. You're stuck with me in here," Nine Kills said contemptuously when he noticed the change in Shi Feng's aura.

Although they could both see each other, they were in different dimensions. He wasn't afraid of Shi Feng killing him or escaping.

"Is that so?"

Shi Feng then activated Blade Liberation, his Attributes abruptly soaring. 

Chapter 1080 - Heart and Sword become One

"You!"

Nine Kills was shocked when he noticed the rise in Shi Feng's aura.

Shi Feng's Attributes had already been frightening. Now, even Nine Kills feared the Swordsman.

The feeling Shi Feng gave off resembled that of a Grand Lord, an existence that was capable of mutilating its terrain with each attack.

The sudden development made Nine Kills feel quite lucky.

Had Shi Feng used this power earlier, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to trap in this barrier. They would have been forced to watch as Shi Feng slaughtered every Dark Blade member in Zero Wing's Residence.

"Increasing your Strength is useless. No creature below Tier 4 can break free from the Magic Barrier Stones' internal dimension," Nine Kills commented as he watched Shi Feng from a distance. Chuckling, he continued, "However, you should be proud. Pantheon has only found twelve Magic Barrier Stones so far. As a precaution, I specifically applied for four stones for this war. I hadn't expected to use all four on you."

"How will I know if it is impossible if I don't try?"

Shi Feng did not try to refute Nine Kills' words. The Magic Barrier Stones were extremely powerful items. During God's Domain's mid-late stages, they had often been used against apex experts. Only, activating Space Sealing required at least four Barrier Stones.

Following which, Shi Feng began to slash at the enclosed space's walls.

Despite being trapped inside the Magic Barrier Stones, he still received the Magic Towers' buff. In terms of Strength, he should even rival a Grand Lord of the same level.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

However, even after a series of attacks, the magic barrier remained unharmed. Its Defense was even higher than the Magic Towers.

Is it no good? Shi Feng frowned.

If he were trapped in here for several hours, the war would end before he escaped.

Currently, Zero Wing relied on the sacrifice of its elite members to buy time. Although the Magic Towers were powerful, their attacks had limitations. In such a chaotic battlefield, friendly fire was common. Zero Wing was also at a huge disadvantage in terms of the number of experts.

Setting aside the fact that Pantheon had sent three of its core legions, Blackwater and Heaven's Burial's armies were more than enough trouble for Zero Wing.

Meanwhile, the most important aspect of a siege war was the Town Token.

With only Aqua Rose and several other Zero Wing core members, defending the Town Token was impossible. As long as Blackwater held onto the Town Token for two hours, this war would be over...

...

Dark Feather and his companions outside the barrier released a sigh of relief.

They had almost expected Shi Feng to burst free from the sealing barrier.

Those inside might not notice anything, but they had seen it clearly. Shi Feng's attacks had shaken the magic barrier. Their hearts had shuddered with each boom that had echoed throughout the room.

"Thank goodness his Strength isn't any higher! However, with his Attributes, the barrier won't hold him for long. We should hurry!" After calming himself, Dark Feather finally understood why Nine Kills had asked them to use the Magic Barrier Stones instead of Tier 3 Magic Scrolls.

The others nodded in agreement. They then shifted their attention to the magic barrier protecting the Town Token.

Every town players captured had a secret room to store the Town Token. A Protection Barrier could then be erected inside the room. However, a small town's Protection Barrier didn't have a high Defense. As long as players dealt a total of 10,000,000 damage, they would destroy the barrier. Any player could steal the Town Token.

Meanwhile, when the Protection Barrier came under attack, all members belonging to the town's ruling Guild who were in or near the town would be notified. After the invading players obtained the Town Token, they needed to hold onto it for two hours. Furthermore, they were not allowed to leave the town. If they held onto the token after the two hours were up, they would become the town's new owner.

Following which, Dark Feather's group arrived before the magic barrier, and each player retrieved a Tier 3 Magic Scroll.

These Magic Scrolls were single-target Attack Scrolls, and every one of them could give a Great Lord a run for its money.

Immediately, the four players began to activate their Magic Scrolls.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

Four Spells struck the magic barrier consecutively, immediately destroying over two million of the barrier's HP, reducing the barrier to less than eight million.

...

Suddenly, Zero Wing's members in Stone Forest Town received a system announcement.

Stone Forest Town Region Announcement: Stone Forest Town's Protection Barrier is under attack! Please defend it quickly!

"Is our Guild Leader having trouble?" Aqua Rose could not help but worry when she received the notification.

Shi Feng had told them that he would defend the Town Token himself.

Only a small number of players were allowed to enter the secret room that contained the Town Token. Shi Feng, who possessed extremely high combat power, would be able to display his full strength there.

Aqua Rose tried to contact Shi Feng. However, the only response she received was a system notification that told her that the target player was temporarily unavailable.

"This won't do. Violet, lead a team to check on the secret room!" Aqua Rose commanded after considering the situation.

"But what about them?" Violet Cloud asked as she watched Blackwater's player army approach from the distance.

They could handle an army of elite players. Unfortunately, an eye-catching, 1,000-man legion marched alongside that army. This legion's members were all Level 40 and above, and they all wore exquisite, red-white coats over their equipment. These players were none other than the Pantheon's prided Red Jade Legion.

Although the Red Jade Legion only had 1,000 members, they were all experts. Despite having the Magic Towers' buff, the Red Jade members easily slaughtered Zero Wing's members. Only Zero Wing's Dark Gods Legion barely held them back.

"Don't worry. I'll try to hold on for as long as possible. The Guild Leader's situation is more important right now. If the Guild Leader is in trouble, there won't be any point in defending this town," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head.

"Alright, I'll hurry." Violet Cloud agreed with Aqua Rose's logic. Immediately, she led a team of 100 elite players into Zero Wing's Residence.

...

"Why is this Protection Barrier so resistant to Magic Scrolls?!" Dark Feather was stunned when he saw how little damage they had dealt.

That had been four Tier 3 Magic Scrolls!

The combined damage could even heavily injure a Great Lord, yet the barrier had only taken around two million damage.

Initially, they had expected the Protection Barrier to lose over five million HP after the four Tier 3 Magic Scrolls' attacks. However, the barrier's tenacity surpassed their expectations.

What Dark Feather did not know was that, thanks to the Magic Towers, the town's buildings had received a significant resistance boost.

"Feather, what should we do? We only have two scrolls left. With our attacks, we'll need quite some time to break the barrier. Zero Wing's members will have more than enough time to reach us," Dark Heart said.

"Forget about that for now. Before anything else, let's use the rest of the scrolls!" Dark Feather ordered as he took out another Tier 3 Magic Scroll.

...

As the Protection Barrier's HP decreased, Shi Feng halted his rampant attacks against the sealing barrier.

"Hahaha! What's wrong? Giving up?" Nine Kills laughed.

In his opinion, Shi Feng was only wasting his energy. Exactly how precious were the Magic Barrier Stones? Their value could even rival Magic Scrolls that stored Tier 4 Curses. How could a measly Tier 1 player possibly break this barrier?

Shi Feng paid Nine Kills no mind. Instead, he calmed himself and cleared his mind, relaxing his body.

Thunder God's Descent, activate!

Phantom Kill, activate!

Nine Dragons Slash, activate!

Immediately, Shi Feng's doppelganger appeared beside him, the doppelganger having 80% of his Attributes. In addition, twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms hovered around him.

"Break!"

Shi Feng's eyes flew open as he activated Flame Burst. Gathering his concentration, he controlled his doppelganger and the Abyssal Blade phantoms to attack the sealing barrier simultaneously.