Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 692

Chapter 692: A Corporation’s Strength

 

Chapter 692 – A Corporation’s Strength

Star-Moon City, Star-Moon Restaurant:

Star-Moon Restaurant was the only 5-star restaurant in Star-Moon City. The building was 36-stories tall and stood at the heart of the city’s central trade district. If one dined in the top floor rooms of the restaurant, they could couple their food with the beauty of Star-Moon City.

However, even expert players could not afford even a single meal in the top floor rooms.

The minimum expenditure here was 30 Gold.

Normally, only NPC nobles came here for a meal. This was not a place for players.

Today, however, a charming and sexy female player in luxurious purple robes enjoyed a meal in one of the VIP rooms on the top floor. Delicacies covered the table, each costing at least 2 Gold. Each dish offered players a relatively top-tier piece of equipment.

Suddenly, the room’s doors opened. A burly, middle-aged man entered the room.

“Miss Willow, I’ve arranged for the matter you requested. Both the Red Names and various Workshops are quite satisfied with the remuneration that we have provided. Now, all we need to do is watch as Zero Wing is slowly ground to dust,” the burly man reported coldly as he approached the purple-robed female respectfully.

This man was none other than Twilight Echo’s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo.

After Shi Feng had angered Exemplary Willow, the latter had ordered Glorious Echo to deal with Zero Wing. However, that was a challenge even for him.

Star-Moon Kingdom was not Twilight Echo’s home ground. Moreover, even if it were, Twilight Echo couldn’t do anything about Stone Forest Town.

Hence, he had decided to hire the various Workshops and Red Names in Star-Moon Kingdom to deal with Zero Wing.

A beggar doesn’t fear going bankrupt.

Unlike Guilds, these players could afford to target Zero Wing as they had never particularly relied on Stone Forest Town or the Stoneclaw Mountains to strengthen themselves and level up. Even if Zero Wing tried to avenge their losses, locating these Red Names and Workshops would not be easy. The resources and manpower required to do so would gradually wear Zero Wing down.

It was especially true for those Red Names. Every one of them was an expert in field combat. It was easy for these Red Names to find an opportunity to kill a few of Zero Wing’s core members. In addition, through repeated ambushes and harassment, they could restrict Zero Wing’s activity.

Moreover, Exemplary Willow was still arranging further punishment for Zero Wing. There was no need to worry about the Guild surviving.

“What did the Star Alliance and Ouroboros say about our offer?” Exemplary Willow asked softly.

“The Star Alliance has agreed to our conditions. Ouroboros, unfortunately, does not know how to appreciate kindness when offered. However, I’ve contacted Ouroboros’s original Guild Leader. If Miss Willow agrees to help him, he is confident that he can reclaim Ouroboros for himself.” Glorious Echo had been shocked by Gentle Snow’s rejection.

Ouroboros was no longer as strong as it had been. After the mutiny, Ouroboros began to struggle. Several corporations that had originally supported Ouroboros had abandoned the Guild. The fact that the Guild remained standing was a miracle in and of itself. Theoretically, the Guild should be in need of a large sum of money to turn things around. Yet, Gentle Snow had rejected the offer of Open Source Corporation’s support.

Exemplary Willow had offered no less than what she had given Twilight Echo. Moreover, as the Guild Leader of Ouroboros, Gentle Snow should hold a significant fraction of the Guild’s shares. If she had accepted the offer, those shares would have easily become over ten times more valuable.

Exemplary Willow wanted to obtain the Stoneclaw Mountains at all cost. If they could not obtain Star-Moon City’s two first-rate Guilds, it would be nearly impossible to claim the Regional Dungeon for themselves. Hence, Glorious Echo had sought out Ouroboros’s original Guild Leader, Cao Chenghua. Cao Chenghua’s influence was still entwined with Ouroboros. He was only helpless about his situation because Gentle Snow had gained the support of several important Guild Elders.

If Cao Chenghua had the support of OSC, however, there was a large possibility that he could regain control over Ouroboros.

“Since that is the case, agree to his conditions. I don’t want to waste too much of my time on Star-Moon Kingdom.” Exemplary Willow nodded indifferently. When she thought about Shi Feng’s previous arrogance, her lips unconsciously twisted into a cold sneer.

Against a boorish fellow like Shi Feng, she had decided show him just what kind of beast he had provoked.

—

Meanwhile, in the Stoneclaw Mountain’s inner region, the battle between Zero Wing’s main force and the army of Red Names was in full swing.

After Turtledove activated Freezing Air, the temperature within 15 yards of her fell sharply, cold air filling the area. The Movement Speeds of the dozen or so Red Names surrounding Turtledove instantly dropped by 40%. Meanwhile, the damage Turtledove received decreased to around -100 points.

These Red Names were no fools. The moment they noticed the change to their Movement Speeds, they began to distance themselves from Turtledove. In the next second, however, their Movement Speeds decreased by another 40%. Even if they fast, they could not outrun the Guardian Knight.

Three seconds later, all of the melee Red Names surrounding Turtledove and the other two MTs were frozen.

“What kind of Skill is this?” Some of the melee players who had intended to charge at Turtledove slid to a halt, aghast as they watched their companions turn into ice sculptures.

With such an AOE Control Skill and high Defense, melee classes like themselves had no hope in close combat with Turtledove. They could only allow Turtledove move unhindered as she approached their team’s rear line healers.

However, as players who often participated in PvP battles, these Red Names were no weaklings. Every one of them possessed Skills that allowed them to remove control effects. They immediately activated these Skills to break free from their restraints.

If they were frozen solid, they would be no more than practice targets. Zero Wing’s ranged players would bombard them with vicious attacks. If comparing equipment quality, Zero Wing’s main force was at least two levels above theirs.

It was especially true for Minor Wind’s attacks. As he possessed the Tier 1 Weapon, Windchaser, even MTs such as Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, who possessed Damage Reduction Skills, received over -1,000 from each of his normal attacks. If they sustained one of the Ranger’s Skills, they would receive nearly -3,000 damage, nearly -6,000 damage if it were a critical hit.

Among these Red Name MTs, there were a few who had as much as 9,000 HP, while some had as little as 8,000 HP. A single critical hit from a Skill was more than enough to destroy over half of their HPs. Even the Red Name healers could not keep up with Minor Wind’s damage.

Moreover, Minor Wind’s Attack Speed was astonishing. Even expert players would have a hard time dodging his arrows. Furthermore, these Red Names had opponents in front of them to deal with. They could not afford to split their attention to dodging the Ranger’s arrows.

Only, as soon as these players broke free from their Frozen debuffs, they instantly discovered that something was amiss.

Although they were no longer frozen, their Movement Speeds were still so low. They could not shake off Turtledove and could only suffer the Guardian Knight’s repeated attacks. Each of Turtledove’s attacks dealt over -600 damage to the melee players. Using Hammer of Sanctions, not only could she force her target into a Fainted state, but she could also achieve a critical hit of over -3,000 points. The half-HP Level 31 Shield Warrior, who was Turtledove’s current target, lost his remaining HP instantly, dropping two pieces of equipment as he fell to the ground.

These Red Names all belonged to the forces of darkness. Even the penalty they received for being Red Names were light. They only lost slightly more EXP than the average player; roughly 1.5 to 2 Level’s worth of EXP.

Meanwhile, Cola’s and Ye Wumian’s damage was even higher than Turtledove’s. Each one of their Skills dealt over -4,000 damage with a critical hit. The unlucky half-HP melee Red Names died instantly.

“Damn it! Why is their damage so high?!” Many Red Names were dumbfounded.

What these Red Names did not know, however, was that Cola and the others’ Skill Completion Rates far surpassed theirs. Hence, their Skill damage was very high.

Three seconds later, the melee players who had broken free from the Freezing effect froze solid once more.

Against the ranged attacks of Zero Wing’s main force, even with their healers’ support, these Red Names could not escape death.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen melee Red Names fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the majority of Zero Wing’s melee forces suddenly emerged from the forest, launching a pincer attack from the side. As the Red Names had focused all of their attention on the three MTs, they were momentarily caught off-guard by the sudden pincer attack.

Just as the melee Red Names tried desperately to defend against the sudden ambush, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and the other Assassins of Zero Wing suddenly appeared behind the Red Name healers.

Ambush!

Backstab!

Absolute Strike!

With a chain of attacks, Fire Dance and the other Assassins claimed the lives of multiple healers.

Meanwhile, the Red Name Assassins had similar thoughts. They had long since circled to Zero Wing’s back, launching an ambush on the team’s healers.

“Die!”

Traceless Blood had long since set his eyes on the Cleric Violet Cloud. Using Shadow Steps, he appeared right behind Violet Cloud, his dagger plunging towards Violet Cloud’s heart.

Chapter 693: Magic Weapon Against Magic Weapon

 

Chapter 693 – Magic Weapon Against Magic Weapon

Traceless Blood was extremely fast. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The Assassin had not given Violet Cloud any opportunities to activate her Skills.

Traceless Blood had investigated Violet Cloud, so he knew the Cleric was very strong. If he gave her even a breath of time, it was possible that his assassination attempt would fail. Hence, he had taken his time, slowly and carefully approaching Violet Cloud and using Shadow Steps at its maximum range. This way, by the time Violet Cloud’s senses reacted, it would be too late.

The dagger covered in engraved, black runes tore through the air, colliding with Violet Cloud’s back.

With his first strike landing successfully, Traceless Blood immediately used the most powerful Skill of Assassins, Absolute Strike, instead of a different Skill like Backstab. Unlike Backstab, Absolute Strike did not require any specific attack motions, allowing for a faster strike.

Suddenly, Traceless Blood transformed into a black light that pierced through Violet Cloud.

After arriving in front of the Cleric, Traceless Blood spun in midair, using his dagger’s most powerful Additional Skill, Flowing Light, on the Cleric. Flowing Light’s single target damage was even higher than Absolute Strike. The Skill was also much faster, the entire process ending in less than a heartbeat.

“You!”

Traceless Blood’s eyes widened as he looked at his dagger in disbelief. No matter how much strength he put into his arm, his dagger could not pierce Violet Cloud’s pale golden robes. It was as if her robes were made of adamantine.

“You are quite impressive. If I hadn’t activated Absolute Space at the first sign of danger, I would have most likely been dead by now,” Violet Cloud said as she looked at the dagger with black runes. Those black runes looked very familiar to her. They were very similar to the runes unique to Magic Weapons. If the dagger wounded her, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Since his attack had failed, although Traceless Blood was shocked, he immediately turned and fled. He abandoned the idea of attacking Violet Cloud as he knew that he could no longer inflict damage on the Cleric. Moreover, he did not know the duration of the Cleric’s Absolute Space. While she had that protection, he was no more than a living target. His only options were to run and hide.

“You can’t escape!”

Violet Cloud did not dare give Traceless Blood an opportunity to escape. Absolute Space had a relatively long Cooldown. If she allowed the Assassin to get away, she would not be able to fend him off should he come back to attack her again.

Waving her finger, she used the Tier 1 Skill, Star’s Guidance.

Immediately, a powerful gravitational force pulled at Traceless Blood, dragging him back towards Violet Cloud.

What kind of Skill is this?! This was the first time Traceless Blood had seen such an unconventional Skill. He felt like small threads had wrapped around him, zealously pulling him towards his enemy.

As a last resort, Traceless Blood used his Control Removal Skill, removing the effects of Star’s Guidance.

“Sacred Seal!”

Seeing that her attack had failed, Violet Cloud used Sacred Seal, a Marking Skill of Clerics. Suddenly, a sacred light appeared on Traceless Blood’s forehead, preventing him from entering Stealth.

Damn it! She knows a Skill like this as well?! Traceless Blood began to panic. Not being able to enter Stealth was extremely disadvantageous for him. With this, he would not be able to sneak up on Violet Cloud later in the battle.

Shortly after Traceless Blood began to flee, a black figure dashed towards him.

“Don’t even think of escaping!” Shadow Sword lifted Tempest’s Breath and used Charge at the Assassin.

Since Traceless Blood had already used his Control Removal Skill, he had no choice but to use Wind Steps, utilizing the 1 second of invulnerability the Skill provided to block Shadow Sword’s Charge. Turning around, Traceless Blood then flipped his dagger into a reverse-grip and plunged the weapon into Shadow Sword’s abdomen.

Kidney Strike!

As long as the Skill forced the Berserker into a Fainted state for two or three seconds, it would be enough for him to get away.

Realizing that he could not block the incoming attack in time, Shadow Sword activated Whirlwind Slash, swinging Tempest’s Breath at Traceless Blood. Shadow Sword fully intended to trade hit for hit.

Seeing this, Traceless Blood had no choice but to halt his attack and retreat immediately, evading Shadow Sword’s Whirlwind Slash.

He was merely an Assassin. How could his normal attacks deal more damage than a Berserker? Moreover, he wore leather armor, whereas Berserkers wore plate armor. Even if his weapon were a Magic Weapon, a head-on clash could end with mutual destruction. Moreover, he currently occupied the rear line of the enemy’s formation. There were no healers to recover his HP. However, Shadow Sword was different. He had the assistance of a healer like Violet Cloud. The Berserker had no fear of a battle of attrition. Hence, when Shadow Sword attacked, there was no fear in his eyes at all.

After evading Shadow Sword’s attack, Traceless Blood immediately turned and fled, having no desire to continue his clash with the Berserker.

His opponents included an expert Cleric and an expert Berserker. He had very little confidence in defeating either one in a frontal assault, to begin with, not to mention fighting both simultaneously.

However, Shadow Sword had no intentions of letting the Assassin get away so easily. Immediately, he followed his failed attack with Break and Thunderclap. When the Movement Speed Reduction effects of both Skills were compounded, Traceless Blood lost any hope of escaping the Berserker.

Traceless Blood had no choice but to enter a melee with Shadow Sword.

Peng!

When the two weapons collided, dazzling sparks scattered into the surroundings.

The impact forced Traceless Blood to retreat by three steps, a grim expression appearing on his face when he noticed his opponent still standing steadily in his original location.

Why does he have so much Strength?! Traceless Blood acknowledged that his own Strength Attribute was quite high, even slightly higher than an ordinary Berserker. Yet, against Shadow Sword’s attack, this Berserker’s Strength overwhelmed him. The Magic Weapon he wielded granted him a significant amount of Strength. Even if Shadow Sword was superior in terms of Strength, the Berserker’s attack should not have been able to force him back by three steps. Even now, his hand still felt numb from the exchange. Zero Wing actually possesses so many top-tier experts?

Smiling, Violet Cloud finished chanting her incantation. She then pointed her finger at Traceless Blood.

Tier 1 Spell, Black Coffin!

A pitch-black barrier suddenly wrapped around Traceless Blood.

Having no other choice, Traceless Blood used Vanish. After activating Vanish, he would become invulnerable to all attacks momentarily. The Skill would also place him in a Forced Invisibility state for three seconds, followed by a Stealth state. Even Sacred Seal would not be effective during Forced Invisibility’s three seconds, and these three seconds were more than enough to put a huge distance between himself and the two experts.

“Vanish?” Shadow Sword had no counter for this Skill either.

This was the most powerful Lifesaving Skill an Assassin, one of the twelve major classes, possessed. Unless one had a Silencing Skill, it was extremely difficult to kill an expert Assassin.

Three seconds later, Traceless Blood reappeared far from Shadow Sword. At this range, even the Berserker’s Charge would not reach him. Moreover, Assassin was an Agility-focused class. In terms of Movement Speed, an Assassin was much faster than a Berserker. In addition, Traceless Blood also possessed equipment that enhanced his speed. There was no way that Shadow Sword could catch up to him at this point.

This was also why Traceless Blood had been able to escape after his assassination attempt on Galaxy Past had failed.

“What’s this?” Traceless Blood suddenly noticed a black magic array beneath his feet.

Although Traceless Blood struggled to get away, this black magic array was like a black hole. No matter how much he tried to struggle, he could not escape his fate of being devoured.

In the next moment, the black magic array swallowed the Assassin whole, his body vanishing without a trace.

When Traceless Blood saw light again, he was shocked.

“How is this possible?!”

He appeared a short distance from Violet Cloud once more. This time, however, he was surrounded by Mana Balls and Barriers of Light. The Berserker, Shadow Sword, also stood nearby. He had no options to flee the enclosement of the Barriers of Light.

“I already told you that you can’t escape.” Wielding a pitch-black key in her hand, Violet Cloud smiled at Traceless Blood and said calmly, “You have a Magic Weapon. I, too, have a Magic Weapon.”

To resolve a serious threat like Traceless Blood, Violet Cloud utilized her final trump card, Star’s Reminiscence. The Skill was also an Astromancer’s main weapon. One of the Skill’s effects was Spatial Imprisonment.

When activated, Star’s Reminiscence would lock a target in the specified space indefinitely. If the target wished to escape their imprisonment, their only option was to shatter the spatial barrier or have the user dispel the Skill. Meanwhile, the user’s Mana determined how much damage the spatial barrier could absorb. It was a Skill with terrifying effects. However, the Skill also had a very long Cooldown of two hours.

I’m actually going to die like this. Traceless Blood could not help but smile bitterly as he watched the Mana Balls that covered the sky and the Berserker that eyed him like a fierce tiger.

Chapter 694: Zero Wing’s Strength

 

Chapter 694 – Zero Wing’s Strength

Stoneclaw Mountains, outer region:

Currently, over 400 finely equipped Red Names pushed deeper into the Stoneclaw Mountains’ inner region.

However, as they approached the area, not only were the monsters they encountered stronger, but the number of monsters they encountered also increased. Moreover, the more players there were on the team, the easier it was for monsters to discover them. As a result, battles occurred quite frequently.

Initially, the group only encountered two to three hundred Level 35 Elite Half-orcs and a few Special Elite and Chieftain Half-orcs. Now, however, the group frequently encountered groups of four to five hundred Level 38 Elite Half-orcs led by Level 39 Half-orc Lords. The battles were twice as difficult now.

“Our luck is terrible. These Half-orcs respawn so quickly.”

“If we had known that their respawn rates were so fast, we would not have wasted so much time on recruiting more members and let Traceless Blood get ahead of us.”

Many team members envied Traceless Blood’s team.

To have better chances of defeating Zero Wing’s main force, they had spent a lot of time trying to recruit more members. Yet, now, they had to deal with all of these Half-orcs. It would still be some time before they would catch up with Zero Wing’s main force.

“I heard that the battle has started already. I wonder if we can make it in time?”

“We’d be more effective if we arrived late. After all, this is Zero Wing’s main force we are talking about. If Traceless Blood cannot wipe them out completely, we can pick up the scraps.”

“Hey, that’s Traceless Blood you’re talking about. With him on the offensive, do you really think many will get away?”

“I guess that’s true. Let’s hurry, then. Otherwise, this trip will have been pointless.”

Realizing this, the team began to fight with more fervor.

In God’s Domain, dark players and light players rarely interacted as both sides looked down on each other. To dark players, light players were merely a group of players with little to no combat capabilities. They were only good at grinding Dungeons. How could such players compare to their intense lifestyles of blood and blades? Hence, no matter how famous and powerful a Guild expert was, in the eyes of Red Names, these experts were insignificant existences. Red Names thought nothing of Light Guilds.

“There’s a large group of players heading our way,” a Ranger suddenly reported.

“It can’t be Zero Wing’s main force, right? I didn’t think that they would give up so quickly. It seems that Zero Wing only amounts to so much. Those rumors about how powerful the Guild is are all just a bunch of lies,” many Red Names began to ridicule and mock the Guild.

“Alright, enough. Get ready. Do not let a single player from Zero Wing escape.”

They were quickly approaching the Stoneclaw Mountains inner region. Aside from Zero Wing and the ambushing Red Names, this area was empty of players. Since these players approached them from the inner region, they were, without a doubt, members of Zero Wing.

Immediately, the 400-plus Red Names spread out and waited for Zero Wing to stumble right into their encirclement.

Seconds ticked by. Very quickly, several dozen players emerged from the forest, each and every one of them looking miserable. These players panted heavily as they emerged. It was obvious that they had exhausted their Stamina from running across a long distance.

Just as the Red Names, who lay in wait, were about to rush forward and surround these exhausted players, they suddenly realized that something was amiss.

“Huh? Isn’t that Berserker Three Knives, the person ranking 91st on the Red List?”

“Aren’t they members of Traceless Blood’s team?”

“Why do they look so miserable?”

A series of questions popped up in everyone’s minds.

However, they soon found their answers. Suddenly, dozens of arrows and Spells burst from the forest. In the blink of an eye, several of the escaping Red Names fell to the ground and dropped several pieces of their equipment.

Meanwhile, Three Knives, who ran at the forefront of the team, desperately blocked and dodged the incoming attacks. However, two arrows still found him, his HP instantly falling by nearly 3,000.

“You think you can get away with provoking Zero Wing?” Minor Wind, who appeared at the treeline, coldly demanded as he glared at Three Knives. Behind him, more of Zero Wing’s members followed.

“Since I can’t escape, I’ll take you to the grave with me!” Three Knives, who was exhausted from running, stopped as he resolved to fight to the death.

The fight with Zero Wing’s main force had been one-sided punishment. Even their strongest combatant, Traceless Blood, had been easily defeated, not to mention the rest of their team.

Less than five minutes since their battle with Zero Wing began, they had lost over half their numbers. On the other hand, Zero Wing had not suffered a single death. It was simply inconceivable.

At that point, each side’s strength had been obvious. They were on completely different levels.

Following which, he had issued a command to retreat immediately.

When they started retreating, they still had more than 100 players. Now, however, only a dozen or so were alive. Minor Wind had claimed the majority of their members’ lives himself. Not only were the Ranger’s arrows extremely fast, but he also had ranged AOEs at his disposal. Even Three Knives, who ranked 91st on Star-Moon Kingdom’s Red List, could not defend against all of Minor Wind’s attacks, much less the members of his team.

“Mutual destruction?” Minor Wind could not help but laugh. “Unfortunately, you are not capable of such a thing.”

Although Three Knives was strong, superior to even a few members of Zero Wing’s main force, the Berserker’s Skill Completion Rates were not high. After taking into account the difference in their equipment, Three Knives would rank roughly around 56th in Zero Wing’s main force. Of course, this was not taking the Power of Darkness into consideration.

As Minor Wind said so, he nocked his longbow and shot dozens of arrows in quick succession at the remaining Red Names.

Although Three Knives and the other Red Names tried to approach Minor Wind, over 40 yards stretched them and the Ranger. There was not enough time for them to reach the Ranger. Moreover, of the dozen or so remaining Red Names, not a single one was a ranged class. Hence, the group had no choice but to weather the rain of arrows as they advanced.

However, the Tier 1 Weapon, Windchaser, was no trivial item. With it, Minor Wind could deal over -1,500 damage with his normal attacks alone. Three Knives and the others had, at most, a little over 7,000 HP. A few arrows were enough to finish them off. In addition, Minor Wind’s arrows would occasionally trigger the Quadruple Stars effect. Before the dozen or so Red Names crossed 10 yards, only Three Knives remained alive. Though, the Berserker only had a thread of HP left.

The Red Names lying in ambush were all shocked.

With just his bow, Minor Wind single-handedly defeated over a dozen Red Names before they came anywhere close to him. Even Three Knives was on his last breath. None of the Red Names lying in wait could believe their eyes.

“Am I dreaming?”

“Why is that Ranger so powerful?!”

Suddenly, everyone realized that their fellow Red Names who had gone ahead to ambush Zero Wing were all dead. Moreover, the only survivor had no more than a thread of HP remaining.

The gap between the light players in their imaginations and the members of Zero Wing’s main force was massive.

“Oh? You called for reinforcements?” Minor Wind shifted his gaze towards the Red Names hiding in the bushes. With Eagle Eyes, he noticed more than 400 players. Grinning, he said, “Since Big Sis Fire and the others are not around, let’s use you guys to test out my true strength.”

When the Red Names heard Minor Wind’s words, a sense of doom seeped into their hearts.

Minor Wind’s Attack Power was simply too high. Moreover, none of them were confident in escaping his rain of arrows unscathed. Three Knives was the best evidence for the assumption.

Suddenly, the leading black-robed Elementalist jumped up from his hiding spot and shouted, “W-Wait!!”

Chapter 695: Flower of Seven Sins

 

Chapter 695 – Flower of Seven Sins

The black-robed Elementalist was Level 33. On Star-Moon Kingdom’s Ranking List, he would rank within the top 20. The majority of his equipment consisted of Level 30 Fine-Gold rank, while the rest was Dark-Gold rank. Particularly, his staff, which sported a spiral of flame-red runes, was no ordinary Dark-Gold staff.

“Sunlight Dust!” Three Knives was shocked when he saw the black-robed Elementalist reveal himself. “What are you doing here?”

Among the top ten experts on Star-Moon Kingdom’s Red List, Traceless Blood ranked seventh.

Meanwhile, Sunlight Dust stood above Traceless Blood, ranking third on the Red List.

The Red List was different from the Ranking List. Rather than ranking players by their Levels, players on the Red List were judged by their strength. It was a far more accurate estimation than the God’s Domain Experts List the Secret Pavilion had created.

“So you’re Sunlight Dust, the person who defeated Red Feather, the Star Alliance’s apex expert.” Minor Wind grew serious as he watched Sunlight Dust. Coldly, he asked, “Are you targeting Zero Wing as well?”

Red Feather was one of the strongest combatants in the Star Alliance and was an expert who ranked on the God’s Domain Experts List.

The fact that Sunlight Dust could defeat an apex expert like Red Feather showed that the Elementalist should also rank at the top of Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, even he could not afford to be careless around Sunlight Dust; even the slightest mistake could result in his death.

“Initially, I had only planned to earn a quick buck. Now, however, it seems that won’t be possible,” Sunlight Dust said as he turned to an empty area near Minor Wind. Shaking his head, he said, “Zero Wing really has an abundance of experts. Its fame is not undeserved.”

Seeing Sunlight Dust’s reaction, Three Knives was very confused.

With Sunlight Dust’s strength and that of his companions, they could make short work of Minor Wind, yet the expert Elementalist chose to surrender.

A figure suddenly appeared beside Minor Wind.

This figure was none other than Flying Shadow, who had been in Stealth all this time.

“I’m impressed. He actually sensed me from so far away,” Flying Shadow muttered in surprise. With his standards, aside from their Guild Leader, Black Flame, only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud could detect him from such a long distance. One could just imagine how powerful Sunlight Dust was.

“You can’t expect this matter to end just because you revealed yourself, right?” Flying Shadow growled as he stared at Sunlight Dust.

Sunlight Dust and his companions had aimed for Zero Wing from the very beginning. And yet, the instant the situation turned sour, they wanted to just up and leave. It was nothing more than disrespectful.

“Of course not,” Sunlight Dust said calmly. “I have very useful information for Zero Wing. Let us offer this as compensation. What do you think?”

“What kind of information?” Flying Shadow asked.

“Currently, only Red Names and small Workshops are targeting Zero Wing. However, this is only the beginning. I’ve heard that our employer is in the process of hiring the Flower of Seven Sins as well,” Sunlight Dust said slowly.

At the mention of the name “Flower of Seven Sins,” everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.

There were many powers in the virtual gaming world. There were Guilds, Workshops, and special organizations such as the Flower of Seven Sins.

The Flower of Seven Sins was neither a Workshop nor a Guild. However, the organization’s name shook the virtual gaming world.

Their fame was so widespread was because the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization specializing in assassination work.

They targeted gamers’ characters, specifically.

As long as a virtual reality game possessed a PvP mechanism, the Flower of Seven Sins would be present. And as long as a player could afford their price, whether it was a monster-like gamer or the Guild Leader of a Super Guild, the Flower of Seven Sins could assassinate their target.

Moreover, these statements were not without proof. In the past, someone had paid to have the Guild Leader of a Super Guild eliminated. In the end, the Flower of Seven Sins completed the task. Back then, the organization had greatly angered said Super Guild, causing said Super Guild to declare war against the organization. In the end, however, this Super Guild ceased to exist. The Flower of Seven Sins tore the Guild apart thoroughly and removed its name from the virtual gaming world forever.

However, the Flower of Seven Sins’ asking price was extremely high. No ordinary person could afford it.

Fire Dance suddenly appeared in between the two groups. In a grave tone, she asked, “Are you telling us the truth?”

Fire Dance’s sudden appearance surprised even Sunlight Dust, causing the Elementalist to feel an immense pressure.

I actually failed to detect her at such a close distance?!

Sunlight Dust wore a grave expression as he looked at Fire Dance. This was the first time anyone had come so close to him undetected. He possessed a Special Skill that granted him greater perception than ordinary players. Otherwise, he would not have so easily discovered Flying Shadow.

If Fire Dance attacked him at such a close distance, he would likely die.

Zero Wing really is scary. It’s no wonder that person is hiring the Flower of Seven Sins. Sunlight Dust finally realized. He then turned to Fire Dance, smiling bitterly as he responded, “I guarantee that this information is true. However, as to what that person has requested the Flower of Seven Sins to do, even I have no clue.”

“You may leave.” Fire Dance dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

Whether Sunlight Dust was lying to her or not, she doubted his words. Experts had their own pride to protect. It was especially true for an apex expert like Sunlight Dust.

Following which, Sunlight Dust led his team away. As for Three Knives, he was not allowed to leave with his life. Flying Shadow immediately ended the Berserker’s life as negotiations ended. As for Sunlight Dust, he did not particularly mind. Although he and Three Knives were both Red Names, they were not companions, and he had no obligation to rescue Three Knives.

“Big Sis Fire, what are we going to do now?” Flying Shadow asked worriedly as he sheathed his daggers.

Every player’s heart was familiar with the terror of the Flower of Seven Sins. Until today, they had never once failed a job. Even Super Guilds did not dare to provoke the Flower of Seven Sins. Such an organization targeted Zero Wing…

Even with Zero Wing’s current strength, Flying Shadow doubted that they could fend off the Flower of Seven Sins.

“This matter is of utmost importance. Let’s discuss it with Aqua and Guild Leader first.” Fire Dance had no idea of what to do now. The Flower of Seven Sins’ reputation was simply too immense. Anyone who had touched a virtual reality game knew about the organization. The Flower of Seven Sins was a transcendental existence among gamers.

If the Flower of Seven Sins truly intended to annihilate Zero Wing, then this would be the greatest danger their Guild had ever faced.

—

The Top of the World, Mount Sogar:

With the aid of two Tier 3 Demons, Shi Feng finally managed to locate a pair of massive locked doors near the top of Mount Sogar. Engraved runes decorated the stone doors and black chains bound them, each chain giving off a faint pressure.

This pressure was familiar to Shi Feng.

Divine Might!

Although the Divine Might the chains exuded was faint, no one who had encountered Divine Might would forget the sensation.

Shi Feng had already reached Level 34. His level was high enough for him to rank within the top 3 of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Ranking List. On Mount Sogar, however, he was an insignificant existence. If he had not possessed two Tier 3 Demons, he would not have made it up to this point.

Shi Feng had encountered multiple Level 50 Lords on his way up the mountain. With his strength alone, unless he activated the Aura of Space’s Space Movement, he would not have survived.

Meanwhile, a gigantic beast stood guard beside the massive pair of stone doors.

This quest is absurdly difficult on so many levels… Shi Feng inwardly laughed bitterly as he watched the gigantic beast.

[Nine-headed Magic Snake] (Ferocious Beast, Great Lord)

Level 55

HP 90,000,000/90,000,000

Chapter 696: Ferocious Beast

 

Chapter 696 – Ferocious Beast

Ferocious Beasts were different from general Wild and Demonic Beasts. They belonged to the ancient era.

During ancient times, Ferocious Beasts were monsters that fought even Gods. Some Ferocious Beasts had even managed to kill Gods.

Ferocious Beasts were on the same level as Angels and Dragons, possessing the strength to challenge opponents of a higher Tier.

In the past, Shi Feng had watched large Guilds raid Ferocious Beasts, and he could describe those battles with a single word—intense.

Once, an army of ten thousand elite players and several hundred first-rate and top-tier experts had attempted to raid a Ferocious Beast. The players had all been above Level 100, whereas the Ferocious Beast had only been Level 90. Some of those players had even been Tier 3 classes. In the end, although the players defeated the Ferocious Beast, over 95% of the elites and half of the experts had died.

There was a massive difference in strength between players at Level 90 and players at Level 100. It was like the difference between Level 40 and Level 50. Equipment’s Attributes would undergo a massive improvement at the Level 100 threshold. Monsters received a similar boost.

Yet, even with such a huge difference, the players who faced off against the Ferocious Beast still suffered devastating losses.

Although the Nine-headed Magic Snake was only a Great Lord, unlike the Level 90 Ferocious Beast that had been a Level 90 Grand Lord, it was still a much higher level than Shi Feng.

At the very minimum, it would take a party of Level 60 players to take down a Level 55 Great Lord ranked Ferocious Beast.

In Shi Feng’s opinion, if he wanted to kill this Ferocious Beast, he needed at least 500 Level 60 and above Tier 2 players. Moreover, they would need excellent equipment. Particularly, their weapons should be at least Dark-Gold rank. Facing the Nine-headed Magic Snake with any less would be suicide.

Unlike other monsters, Ferocious Beasts did not just possess immense combat power. They also possessed the lifeforce passed down from ancient times.

In combat, ordinary monsters’ battle recovery would only regenerate 1% of their HPs every five seconds.

Ferocious Beasts’ battle recovery, on the other hand, regenerated 3% of their HPs every five seconds. A Ferocious Beast’s HP already ranked at the very top among monsters. They were practically Bug-like[1] existences.

The Nine-headed Magic Snake had 90,000,000 HP. In battle, it could recover 2,700,000 HP every five seconds. Even if Shi Feng multiplied his damage output by ten, and the Great Lord stood motionless, he could not kill it.

With such a powerful monster guarding the doors, it had been made clear that underestimating this quest’s difficulty would be a mistake.

Even an Epic Quest wasn’t this absurdly difficult.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like I’m required to kill the Nine-headed Magic Snake to pass through those doors. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief as he shifted his gaze towards a small circular indentation in the stone doors. The indentation was the perfect size for the Elemental Core.

Weissman had said that the Elemental Core was both a map and a key.

Since there was a keyhole in the stone doors, he just needed to insert the Elemental Core to open them. Moreover, with the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s massive body, it would not be able to cross the threshold. As long as Shi Feng reached the other side of the doors, he should be safe from the Ferocious Beast.

However, trying to open the doors under the Snake’s nose was not going to be easy.

It seems like I’ll have to sacrifice the Purgatory Demon. Shi Feng noticed that the Purgatory Demon’s time in this world was already nearing its end. Since it was going to disappear soon anyway, he might as well put it to good use.

The Purgatory Demon had 13,000,000 HP. It should buy him some time.

Immediately, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill and sent his doppelganger away. With this, should his life be in danger, he could escape.

As the doppelganger distanced itself from Shi Feng’s group, the Swordsman directed the Purgatory Demon to charge towards the Nine-headed Magic Snake.

Next to the Nine-headed Magic Snake, which was over 30 meters tall, the Purgatory Demon looked like an insect. One bite from one of the Great Lord would be enough to devour several Purgatory Demons.

When the Purgatory Demon was 30 yards away from the Nine-headed Magic Snake, the latter yawned lazily as it whipped its tail forward. Suddenly, the hill-like snake tail appeared before the Purgatory Demon. Before Shi Feng could react, the Snake sent his Purgatory Demon hurtling into a nearby stone wall.

When the Purgatory Demon slammed into the wall, a damage that the Demon had never experienced before appeared above its head.

-267,849.

Shi Feng’s mouth twitched when he saw those numbers.

This damage far surpassed his expectations.

With a casual strike, the Nine-headed Magic Snake dealt nearly -270,000 damage. Despite both creatures being Tier 3, the difference in strength was like heaven and earth.

“Since I can’t approach it, what about this?”

Shi Feng did not dare direct the Purgatory Demon to approach the Ferocious Beast again. Instead, he used the Tier 3 Skill, Garuda’s Flames.

Suddenly, a sea of fire rushed towards the Nine-headed Magic Snake.

This time, the Ferocious Beast finally woke. Suddenly, one of its snakeheads opened its mouth and inhaled.

The beast sucked the flaming tide into its mouth, devouring the fire in the blink of an eye.

“This…” Even Shi Feng was stunned.

This was his first battle against a Ferocious Beast. Although he had known that the Purgatory Demon was no match for the Nine-headed Magic Snake, he had not expected the Ferocious Beast to fend off the Purgatory Demon’s attack with little to no effort. The difference between them was absurd.

After devouring the sea of fire, that snakehead turned to stare at the Purgatory Demon. In the next moment, it widened its mouth and spat out a more powerful version of Garuda’s Flames. The flames were extremely fast, and it took everything Shi Feng had just to get the Purgatory Demon to dodge those flames. As for the sturdy stone walls that bore the brunt of the molten attack, not only did the flames effortlessly tear through the walls, but the stone also melted into glowing lava. In an instant, over 50 meters of the stone wall disappeared.

“Is this the strength of the Nine-headed Magic Snake?” Shi Feng was utterly baffled.

At this point, he even began to doubt whether the Nine-headed Magic Snake was just a Great Lord.

Even several thousand Tier 2 players would not be a match for the Ferocious Beast.

Moreover, based on the Magic Snake’s lazy attitude, it was obvious that the Ferocious Beast was simply toying with him. It had yet to utilize its true potential.

Helpless, Shi Feng could only use his final trump card.

The Purgatory Demon’s Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Spatial Suppression!

If he could not shift the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s attention towards the Purgatory Demon, he would not have a chance to open the stone doors.

The power of a Tier 3 Taboo Skill could rival even an ordinary Tier 4 Skill. As the Nine-headed Magic Snake was both a Great Lord and a Ferocious Beast, its combat power should be equivalent to Tier 4. In theory, a Tier 3 Taboo Skill should deal damage to the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Moreover, the damage should be relatively high.

When the Purgatory Demon swung its war axe at the Nine-headed Magic Snake, Shi Feng silently prayed that the attack would wound the Great Lord. Even a small amount of damage would be fine.

This time, the Nine-headed Magic Snake finally raised all nine of its heads, its eyes locked onto the Purgatory Demon’s incoming war axe. Suddenly, a hint of gravity appeared in its amber eyes.

Let this succeed! Shi Feng tightened his grip around the Elemental Core, focused on the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s reaction.

When Spatial Suppression activated, everything the space surrounding the Nine-headed Magic Snake suddenly grew incomparably heavy. One could not move if they tried.

Yet, the Nine-headed Magic Snake still moved. Although it was extremely slow, it was still capable of moving under the Spatial Suppression.

However, as its tail moved very slowly, Shi Feng could easily control the Purgatory Demon to avoid the attack. The Demon’s war axe then struck one of the Fierce Beast’s heads.

Boom!

The Nine-headed Magic Snake instantly lost that head as it fell to the ground, forming a massive crater.

Meanwhile, the other eight heads simultaneously screamed in pain as a massive amount of damage appeared above them.

-605,791!

TL Notes:

[1] Bug-like: This isn’t referring to a literal bug. It’s referring to a computer program or system error.

Chapter 697: Super-large-scale Destruction Spell

 

Chapter 697 – Super-large-scale Destruction Spell

After suddenly losing one of its heads, the Magic Snake’s eight remaining heads glared at the Purgatory Demon, rage filling their amber eyes. Less than a second later, however, the dismembered head grew back. All nine of the Great Lord’s heads then abruptly opened their mouths and spat out a gray beam.

Despite receiving a Tier 3 Taboo Skill, the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s combat power had not decreased in the slightest.

Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng hurriedly directed the Purgatory Demon to evade the beams and distance itself from the Ferocious Beast.

Anything the Snake’s beams touched turned into gray stone.

However, as the beast had fired nine gray beams, due to Shi Feng’s lack of control over the Purgatory Demon, he accidentally allowed one of the beams to strike on the Demon.

Instantly, the Purgatory Demon lost over 500,000 HP. Moreover, it was also afflicted with the Petrified state, stealing more than 200,000 HP every two seconds and 60% of its Movement Speed for 30 seconds.

“Isn’t this Petrification Skill a little too strong?!” Shi Feng used the Aura of Water’s Skill, Life Bloom, on the Purgatory Demon the moment he saw the debuff’s description.

While Petrified, not only would the Purgatory Demon lose massive amounts of HP, but the Nine-headed Magic Snake could also easily catch up to it due to the Movement Speed reduction. If that happened, the Purgatory Demon would be a goner in less than 30 seconds.

With Life Bloom, however, the Purgatory Demon’s HP recovered at an impressive rate.

Life Bloom recovered 60% of its target’s HP every second. With the Purgatory Demon’s 13,000,000 HP, even if the Nine-headed Magic Snake were more powerful, it would not instantly kill the Demon. Hence, for the next 40 seconds, the Purgatory Demon was nearly invulnerable.

Immediately, Shi Feng used the Purgatory Demon to lure the Nine-headed Magic Snake away from the massive stone doors.

Once the Ferocious Beast was 40 yards away, and Shi Feng was sure that it focused on the Purgatory Demon fully, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and dashed towards the stone doors.

Time ticked by, second after second. As Shi Feng approached the massive stone doors, his heart rate rose rapidly.

If the Nine-headed Magic Snake discovered him now, he would die without a doubt. Even if he relied on the temporarily-immortal Purgatory Demon, he could not stop the Ferocious Beast from grinding him to a pulp.

By the time Shi Feng arrived at the stone doors, over six seconds had passed. Meanwhile, the Purgatory Demon had lured the Nine-headed Magic Snake 100 yards away from the stone doors and desperately tried to pin it down, earning as much time for Shi Feng as possible.

To the Nine-headed Magic Snake, the Purgatory Demon was practically a toy. Again and again, the Ferocious Beast smashed the Purgatory Demon into the ground, damages in the hundreds of thousands appearing above the Demon’s head. The Purgatory Demon had no power to resist.

Without wasting any time, Shi Feng immediately inserted the Elemental Core into the small hole in the doors.

Suddenly, the magic arrays on the Elemental Core and inside the circular hole shifted and aligned. They then released a faint, golden light. The runes covering the pair of stone doors lit up, releasing a dazzling golden glow. A moment later, the chains around the stone doors began to shatter.

Faster!

Hurry up!

Shi Feng’s anxiety mounted as he watched the chains break, one after another.

There were over 20 chains around the doors, yet each one took a full second to break. It would take more than 20 seconds for the stone doors to open.

As the chains shattered, the initially weak Divine Might grew stronger.

This is bad!

Shi Feng frowned as he turned to the Nine-headed Magic Snake, which currently toyed with the Purgatory Demon. With the Divine Might growing stronger, even he could sense it clearly now, not to mention the Ferocious Beast that had guarded the doors all this time.

Sure enough, the Nine-headed Magic Snake sensed the increasing Divine Might, and it could not help but turn to look at the stone doors. Suddenly, it whipped its tail and sent the Purgatory Demon flying before turning and slithered towards Shi Feng.

Meanwhile, ten chains remained on the doors. With the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s speed, it did not need that much time to reach him.

With no other choice, Shi Feng directed the Curse Demon to use the Tier 3 Skill, Spiritual Blade, to attack the Ferocious Beast.

Spiritual Blade was not just a Magical Attack Skill; it was also capable of forcing its target into a Confused state for 15 seconds. The Skill could earn him enough time for the doors to open.

This time, due to the stone doors being unlocked, the Nine-headed Magic Snake did not bother blocking the Spiritual Blade. Immediately, the Ferocious Beast received over -300,000 damage, releasing a pained cry as its massive body slid to a halt. Its eyes glazed over slightly.

“Good.” Shi Feng unconsciously sighed with relief.

Although the Nine-headed Magic Snake possessed relatively high Magic Resistance, in the end, it was still only a Great Lord. A Tier 3 Skill should still be effective against it.

As the chains continued to shatter, the Ferocious Beast’s glazed eyes gradually regained clarity.

By the time the last three chains remained, the Nine-headed Magic Snake woke from its stupor. It then released an earth-shaking roar, its cold, amber eyes suddenly turning blood-red. Widening its mouths, it fired multiple gray beams once more.

The Nine-headed Magic Snake had spat a total of nine gray beams. Each one was more than enough to kill Shi Feng instantly. Moreover, the nine beams sealed off any path of retreat. Shi Feng had nowhere to go.

Immediately, Shi Feng activated his Replace Skill.

In the next moment, Shi Feng’s doppelganger lost all of its HP as it transformed into a gray statue. Following which, the doppelganger shattered, becoming dust that scattered in the wind. It could not resist the beams in the slightest.

Seeing Shi Feng vanish completely, the Nine-headed Magic Snake shifted its attention towards the Curse Demon.

Shi Feng immediately directed the Curse Demon to escape.

To the Nine-headed Magic Snake, however, the Curse Demon was simply too slow. After the Demon had taken a few steps, the Ferocious Beast caught up to it. With a whip of its tail, the Nine-headed Magic Snake sent the Curse Demon into a stone wall, destroying over 400,000 HP instantly.

In less than three seconds, the Curse Demon lost over 2,000,000 HP.

This is my chance. Shi Feng realized that all of the chains had finally broken. He activated Space Movement and arrived before the doors once more. Stretching out his hand, he twisted the Elemental Core.

As the Elemental Core produced a “click” sound, the massive stone doors gradually opened.

Turning to take a look, the Nine-headed Magic Snake froze. It had never imagined that Shi Feng would appear again. Thinking that its previous Skill had been too weak, all nine of the Great Lord’s heads stretched open their jaws once more. This time, however, the heads did not spit gray beams.

Suddenly, a massive threefold magic array appeared above the stone doors. The sky suddenly darkened as black winds moaned. The massive magic array covered a radius of 300 yards, and even the distant Purgatory Demon and Curse Demon were within the Ferocious Beast’s attack range.

Shi Feng’s excited expression dropped.

Shi Feng had seen this Spell before.

The Tier 3 Curse, Dark Gale. The Curse was a super-large-scale destruction Spell that lasted ten full seconds. At this moment, Shi Feng had no defense against this Spell.

The Seven Luminaries Ring was still on Cooldown, so he could not switch to the Aura of Earth or the Aura of Illusion. As for Defensive Blade, the Skill’s block counts were not enough to block the Dark Gale completely.

As the black gale tore at him, Shi Feng said his prayers as he activated Defensive Blade.

The wind devoured all life it touched. In the blink of an eye, the Defensive Blade’s nine block counts had been exhausted. Dark Gale had caused nine instances of damage in just one second. Even with his Tier 1 Defensive Blade, Shi Feng would not last two seconds.

Meanwhile, the Purgatory Demon and Curse Demon each lost nearly 500,000 HP every second. The Nine-headed Magic Snake’s damage was terrifying.

“What a pity.”

As the black wind surrounded him, Shi Feng felt somewhat disappointed. He was a thread away from opening and entering the stone doors. He had never imagined that the Nine-headed Magic Snake would be so vicious to use a Tier 3 Curse. Moreover, it was a super-large-scale destruction Spell. The Ferocious Beast gave him no chance.

As the black wind swept in for a second attack…

Suddenly, the threefold magic array in the sky began to disappear. The dark gale also dissipated into nothingness.

Before Shi Feng could figure out what was happening, the Nine-headed Magic Snake cried painfully as its body rapidly turned into stone. It then shattered into dust and rubble. Three shimmering items fell on top of the pile of rubble.

The sound of a system notification suddenly reached Shi Feng’s ears.

“This is…”

Chapter 698: Strengthening Device

 

Chapter 698 – Strengthening Device

By now, Shi Feng was quite familiar with the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s strength.

To current players, it was practically invincible. It didn’t matter how many players came here to raid it.

Meanwhile, in Shi Feng’s mind, he had never actually thought of killing the Nine-headed Magic Beast. Since the beginning, he had only thought of luring it away from the stone doors.

He had never expected the Great Lord to die.

For a time, Shi Feng was speechless.

However, when he heard the sound of the system notification, he more or less understood what had happened.

System: Blood Refining Passage has been opened. Do you wish to enter? (Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes)

So it turns out that, as this place’s guardian beast, if the stone doors open, the guardian dies. It’s no wonder why the Nine-headed Magic Snake was so desperate. Shi Feng inwardly celebrated as he stared at the rubble that used to be the Nine-headed Magic Snake.

Unfortunately, he had not killed the Snake. Otherwise, with the EXP from the Ferocious Beast, he might have risen several levels.

With the stone doors open and quite some time before they closed again, Shi Feng did not hurry into the Blood Refining Passage. Instead, he approached the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s remains, hoping to take a closer look at what items the Ferocious Beast had dropped.

Although he was not responsible for the Nine-headed Magic Snake’s death, as a monster, it would still drop some items after dying. Only, it would drop significantly fewer items.

The Nine-headed Magic Snake had been a Great Lord ranked Ferocious Beast. Even the most inferior item it would drop was not something one would find from an ordinary Great Lord.

Among the three items, one was a magical, pure-black cube covered with blood-red runes. The item was called Blood Refining Stone, and it could be used inside the Blood Refining World.

As for the other two items, one was a silver, fang-like dagger, while the other was a drawing.

Sure enough, a Ferocious Beast’s loot is amazing. It even dropped an Epic dagger. Shi Feng was momentarily stunned.

[Petrified Thorn] (Dagger, Epic Rank)

Level 40 – Level 100

Equipment Requirement: Strength 550, Agility 400

Attributes adjust according to user’s level.

Attack Power +1,165 (Currently Level 40)

Strength +92, Agility +101, Endurance +60

Strength increased by 10%.

Agility increased by 10%

Attack Speed +12

Evasion +20

All Skills +2 Levels

Ignore Levels +20

Ignore 20% of the target’s Defense.

Damage from sneak attacks increase by 20%.

Level requirement to equip all items decreased by 5 Levels.

Durability 300/300

Attacks have:

30% chance to inflict Petrified effect, reducing target’s weapon damage by 10% each second and Movement Speed by 60% for 6 seconds.

30% chance to trigger Fatal Blow effect, increasing damage by 220%.

Additional Skill 1-

Devour Magic: Absorbs magic damage equal to 300% of user’s maximum HP for 15 seconds. Damage absorbed can be converted into a single attack, dealing twice the amount of damage absorbed to an area of 5*50 yards in front of user.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

Additional Skill 2-

Petrification Domain: Enemies within 50 yards receive 500% weapon damage and have their Movement Speed reduced by 50% for 10 seconds. Increases the user’s Agility, Strength, and Movement Speed with each target hit. Agility and Strength can increase to a maximum of 30%, while Movement Speed can increase to a maximum of 100% for 30 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 hour

Fire Dance really lucked out this time. She’ll be able to equip this once she reaches Level 40. Only, the dagger’s Strength requirement is somewhat high. I’ll have to figure out a way to increase her Strength. Shi Feng happily stored away the Petrified Thorn.

Although the Truefire Blades Fire Dance wielded were top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons, they were on a completely different level compared to the Petrified Thorn.

At the end of the day, even the most powerful Dark-Gold Weapon was only a mortal’s weapon.

An Epic Weapon, on the other hand, was a true Extraordinary Weapon.

The Petrified Thorn’s Attack Power was especially frightening. The dagger’s 1,165 Attack Power was even higher than a Level 40 Dark-Gold ranked two-handed weapon. Not to mention, there were the Strength and Agility increases the dagger provided. If Fire Dance equipped this dagger, she could slice through players as if she were dicing vegetables.

Following which, Shi Feng’s gaze shifted towards the tattered drawing.

[Strengthening Device Forging Design]

Can strengthen player equipment, significantly reducing the consumption of Durability.

Required materials: 1 Magic Crystal, 10 Mithril Ore, 2 Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions, and 1 Basic Alchemy Array.

“Is this real?! Even something like this dropped?” Shi Feng muttered in surprise.

In God’s Domain, monsters would grow more powerful as they reached higher levels. Take the monsters players currently faced for example;, not only did they possess very high Attack Power, but they could also significantly reduce equipment Durability. It was why the various Guilds were forced to repair their equipment in Stone Forest Town.

Players could repair weapons with Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones. However, there were no such recovery items for equipment.

However, there were items that could reinforce equipment.

The Strengthening Device was one such item. Only, its forging design was extremely hard to obtain. It only dropped from Level 50 and above Great Lord ranked Field Bosses. Dungeons would not drop the design.

Moreover, the Strengthening Device was a Consumable item. It could not be permanently equipped.

Fortunately, the forging process was very simple, and the item also had relatively high Durability. Players could put it to good use for a relatively long period. If they dodged attacks properly, they could extend the Strengthening Device’s lifespan even further.

However, one of the raw materials required was not that easy to obtain.

While Mithril Ore, Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions, and Basic Alchemy Arrays were both cheap and easily available, it was a different story for Magic Crystals. Magic Crystals were always rare and valuable.

Hence, crafting Strengthening Devices was expensive. Each one would cost roughly 30 Silver to produce.

Even so, there were still a large number of players willing to purchase it.

While ordinary players were willing to waste some time traveling back to towns and cities to repair their equipment, large Guilds were not as willing. To them, time was money.

In the past, a Strengthening Device’s standard price was 2 Gold. During its peak, however, the price soared to 4 Gold due to high demand and low supply.

Currently, the various large Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom and several neighboring kingdoms had sent many of their members to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Obviously, the Strengthening Devices could offer some convenience.

Just the amount of time and repair fees the Strengthening Devices could save them were worth more than 4 Gold.

It seems I’ll have to find some opportunity to grind Level 50 Field Great Lords. With one Strengthening Device Forging Design, I won’t even be able to produce enough for the Guild members. Shi Feng suddenly thought of a profitable business idea.

If he waited too long, the Strengthening Devices would not be as profitable.

Just as Shi Feng finished organizing his items and was about to enter the Blood Refining Passage…

He suddenly discovered over a hundred unread messages in his inbox.

Among them, over 90% were from Aqua Rose.

There were also messages from Gentle Snow and Fire Dance. They had all sent these messages around the same time.

After he had reached Mount Sogar’s core, he had worried that he would get himself killed while receiving a message. Hence, he had blocked all calls and messages for the time being.

“What happened? Why are they so anxious?” Shi Feng wondered as he opened the messages.

Chapter 699: Banished

 

Chapter 699 – Banished

“The Flower of Seven Sins?”

A serious expression overcame Shi Feng when he saw this name.

He had not expected that Exemplary Willow to be so vicious.

It would have been fine had she just hired a bunch of Red Names and small Workshops to harass Zero Wing. At most, it would make things a little difficult for the Guild. However, it was a completely different story if she hired the Flower of Seven Sins.

As a mysterious assassin organization of the virtual gaming world, nearly every virtual reality game contained traces of the Flower of Seven Sins. In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins had even developed itself into one of God’s Domain’s peak powers.

No Guild could afford to offend the Flower of Seven Sins.

As long as one could afford the organization’s price, these assassins could even take out a Super Guild’s Guild Leader. Everyone was afraid of them.

In the past, five Super Guilds had banded together to suppress the Flower of Seven Sins, threatening to retaliate if the organization accepted any assassination requests on their respective Guilds’ upper echelons. Unfortunately, those Super Guilds’ efforts had been futile. In less than ten days, all five Super Guilds gave up on suppressing the assassin organization; the Flower of Seven Sins had made a statement by killing their upper echelons once. There were even God-ranked experts among those who had died. From then on, the various Super Guilds in God’s Domain no longer bothered with the Flower of Seven Sins.

Back then, the incident had shaken God’s Domain. The Flower of Seven Sins had become a power that no one would dare provoke.

However, the organization’s asking price was also extraordinarily high. Even Open Source Corporation should feel a sting from the cost of hiring the organization.

Exemplary Willow must’ve hired the Flower of Seven Sins to deal with Zero Wing’s upper echelons. Even OSC can’t afford to target the entire Guild. Shi Feng gave the situation some thought.

The best method to deal with Zero Wing was to kill the Guild’s upper echelons to Level 0. This would certainly collapse both Zero Wing’s strength and reputation.

As for the possibility of the Flower of Seven Sins failing to carry out their contract…

Since its creation, the Flower of Seven Sins had never once failed a job. Their strength was practically endless.

Even Shi Feng was not confident of surviving an assassination attempt from the Flower of Seven Sins right now, not to mention the Guild’s other members.

If I remember correctly, before the Flower of Seven Sins takes action, the organization usually invests some time to investigate their target’ before taking action. In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins would take anywhere from five to ten days to collect information. If Exemplary Willow went directly to them and hired the organization after she returned from our meeting, I should still have roughly four days before the organization takes action.

If their target is much stronger than their initial estimations, the Flower of Seven Sins will adjust their quote to their employer and will only take action after their employer agrees to the new price.

Right now, the best way to avoid this mess is to increase the strength of the Guild’s upper echelons significantly within four days, forcing the Flower of Seven Sins to renew their price. If that happened, Exemplary Willow might not consider the price worth it and give up on the organization altogether.

Shi Feng had some understanding of the Flower of Seven Sins’ rules and pricing.

Killing a system-recognized, third-rate expert cost 500,000 Credits. The price increased depending on the expert’s strength. Moreover, this was only the price for one death.

As for system-recognized, second-rate experts, the minimum asking price was 3,000,000 Credits.

The minimum price for first-rate experts was 10,000,000 Credits.

Top-tier experts cost 100,000,000 Credits at the very minimum.

Above them would be apex experts, and the organization charged upwards of 500,000,000 Credits for each kill. Ordinary people could never afford the Flower of Seven Sins. Only those large Guilds and corporations with significant financial strength could do so.

However, rather than spend so much money to kill an opponent, it was more cost effective to send their own men to get the job done. Hence, only when one had no other options would they employ the Flower of Seven Sins.

This was precisely the case for Exemplary Willow right now. At this point, even the Star Alliance was helpless against Zero Wing in the Star-Moon Kingdom, not to mention Twilight Echo, which did not have the home ground advantage.

The cost of killing Zero Wing’s upper echelons to Level 0 was astronomical. Only a massive existence like the Open Source Corporation could afford such a price.

Currently, the Flower of Seven Sins had yet to determine the strength of Zero Wing’s upper echelons. Based on Shi Feng’s estimates, killing a fifth-floor expert of the Trial Tower should cost at least 500,000 Credits, a sixth-floor expert would cost at least 3,000,000 Credits, a seventh-floor expert would cost around 10,000,000 Credits, and an eight-floor expert should cost at least 100,000,000 Credits.

Currently, Zero Wing upper management consisted of more than 20 players, and the majority were sixth-floor experts. Only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had reached the seventh floor. If everyone could improve their strength, the cost of killing them would increase exponentially. At that time, even OSC would have to reconsider.

Following which, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose, instructing her to turn the Guild’s upper echelons’ focus on improving their strength and progressing through the Trial Tower as much as possible. Shi Feng would also go all-out to supply everyone with the Hundred Berry Wine.

Although Aqua Rose did not understand Shi Feng’s intentions, since he had given the order, she had no choice but to do as he wished.

For a time, Zero Wing’s upper echelons ceased grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Instead, they focused on their progression in the Trial Tower.

As for Gentle Snow’s message, she wanted to inform Shi Feng of OSC’s investment into the Star Alliance, becoming one of the Guild’s major shareholders. She also stated that OSC intended to deal with Zero Wing, so he should be wary of the Star Alliance.

Naturally, Shi Feng had already taken appropriate measures to protect Zero Wing.

Hence, not long after Shi Feng read Gentle Snow’s message, shocking news spread throughout Star-Moon City.

Stone Forest Town was no longer open to the Star Alliance. Any Guild that was affiliated with the Star Alliance was also barred from Stone Forest Town.

This incident instantly attracted the attention of every player in the capital city.

Everyone was confused as to why Zero Wing would suddenly declare war against the Star Alliance.

The Stoneclaw Mountains had long since become an iconic symbol of Star-Moon City. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town was an indispensable resting place for players grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains.

Without this resting place, the Star Alliance would fall far behind the other Guilds. Of course, the Star Alliance could seek the aid of others to help them repair their equipment in Stone Forest Town. However, Shi Feng had prepared for that as well.

Shi Feng had limited the amount of equipment players could repair.

In other words, in addition to one’s own equipment, players visiting Stone Forest Town could only help one other player repair a set of equipment once. Moreover, he also placed a limit on the players’ Levels; only players who were Level 30 or above were allowed to repair their equipment in the town.

With this, he restricted the Star Alliance’s options of repairing equipment in Stone Forest Town.

—

“Can someone tell me what is going on here?” When Galaxy Past received this information, he nearly jumped out of his seat from anger.

The situation had changed so suddenly that even Galaxy Past did not understand what had happened.

Why had Zero Wing turned against them?

The Star Alliance had only considered striking out against Zero Wing. The Guild had yet to take such considerations seriously. Yet, Zero Wing chose to humiliate the Star Alliance publicly.

The Star Alliance had already mobilized the majority of its combat power to the Stoneclaw Mountains. If the Star Alliance’s members could not rest in Stone Forest Town, how was the Guild supposed to compete with the other Guilds?

Silence filled conference hall. This was the first time anyone had seen Galaxy Past so furious.

“Guild Leader, maybe Zero Wing made this move because they think that we are becoming too big of a threat?” Purple Eye was also confused by Zero Wing’s drastic actions. They had clearly minded their own business until just recently.

“Zero Wing must’ve found out about OSC’s investment into the Star Alliance,” Red Feather reasoned.

“Even if we have OSC’s support, there is no reason for this. Zero Wing has clearly made us out to be their greatest enemy,” Purple Eye said as she shook her head.

“Go. Contact Black Flame immediately.” Galaxy Past agreed with Purple Eye’s opinion. He needed to sort out this matter with Black Flame properly.