Ye Zhongming was wearing a set of Earth Armor, complemented by the Blood Stepping Boots, which allowed him to engage in prolonged, high-intensity combat without issue.
The Black Halo Shield and the constantly refreshing Black Earth Armor also meant he didn’t have to worry too much about the monsters’ attacks. He only needed to protect his vital areas.
However, with the Death King Tree as a burden, Ye Zhongming had to divert some of his attention to look after her. This significantly slowed his retreat compared to his initial charge.
There was also some bad news: the hidden commander among the monsters had dispatched high-level monsters to surround and kill Ye Zhongming. He could clearly feel the pressure around him gradually increasing. The monster commander obviously intended to trap and kill him here.
But was Ye Zhongming so easy to kill?
Perhaps the monsters didn’t want to repeat their mistake with the Ghost Vines. Initially, the high-level monsters they sent only harassed Ye Zhongming, slowing him down. But once enough high-level companions arrived, they launched a frenzied assault.
At least twenty level-seven monsters and two level-eight monsters attacked Ye Zhongming simultaneously.
Ye Zhongming’s response was to counterattack with an attack of his own.
He raised Wind and Lightning and plunged it into the ground. A massive energy wave erupted from the weapon, radiating outward in all directions.
In that single move, Ye Zhongming cleared a fifty-meter radius around him.
This wasn’t a newly learned ability but something he had developed after becoming a top smith. It came from a piece of equipment whose purpose had long eluded him.
The hammer that Red Hair had brought back from the Blue Secret Realm.
Previously, Ye Zhongming had been unable to figure out much about this hammer, which remained unchanged even in extremely high-temperature magma. Aside from its hard texture and ability to withstand collisions with any weapon, it seemed to have no other use.
But this time, after evolving into a top smith, Ye Zhongming sensed some inexplicable energy within it.
During breaks from crafting equipment or while resting, Ye Zhongming’s favorite pastime now was to hold the hammer and silently meditate, hoping to unlock its secrets.
As the saying goes, ” Effort never betrays the determined.” When Ye Zhongming was in an excellent state and successfully crafted a piece of gold-grade equipment, he was极 extremely fortunate to imprint his energy onto the hammer’s surface.
This imprint wasn’t a true integration but rather a trace left by his prolonged energy probing of the hammer itself, much like water dripping through stone.
This discovery naturally delighted Ye Zhongming, but he was still unsure how to use it. He had no leads.
After much consideration, Ye Zhongming used the hammer to forge a weapon during one of his crafting sessions. The result was a failure.
However, with this experience, he began to attach more energy to the hammer and conduct further experiments.
Finally, Ye Zhongming found an example where he could turn ” theory into practice.”
He discovered that when he used the hammer to temper Wind and Lightning, it would temporarily bestow the weapon with an ability—the energy wave he had just used, which could impact and damage the surrounding area.
The power was impressive. Both the mysterious hammer and Wind and Lightning were top-tier items from the Blue Secret Realm and even Earth. Combined, even a temporary ability was immensely powerful.
What Ye Zhongming hadn’t expected was that this ability could even harm level-eight lifeforms. The two level-eight monsters struggling to stand nearby were proof of that.
Previously, he had only used this ability to break through encirclements.
Seizing this rare opportunity, Ye Zhongming naturally didn’t hesitate. He activated his space equipment, flashing repeatedly as he charged toward the Cloud Peak battle formation.
At the same time, during pauses, he summoned the Explosive Mechanic, unleashing its latter two area-of-effect abilities: Lightning Turret and Light Blade Cannon. Each activation essentially cleared out the monsters within a hundred square meters, paving Ye Zhongming’s retreat path.
Everything happened so quickly that Ye Zhongming was about to return to the Cloud Peak’s formation. But suddenly, he stopped.
“Boss!”
Ye Zhongming was only a few dozen meters away from the Cloud Peak battle formation. He could have escaped in a matter of seconds at his level and speed. Moreover, the Explosive Mechanic and Cloud Peak’s ranged troops had already mostly cleared the monsters between him and his own formation.
Many didn’t understand why the boss had stopped at this moment.
The monsters hadn’t been repelled; they were only temporarily held back. By the time Ye Zhongming turned around, they were already about to catch up to him.
If he were trapped again, no one could predict what might happen.
“Catch this!”
Ye Zhongming suddenly hurled the Death King Tree toward the Cloud Peak battle formation. Some people frantically caught her and began moving her toward the rear. The unconscious Death King Tree would be safer with Le Dayuan and Liu Zhenghong, where there were powerful protective forces.
Then, Ye Zhongming turned around and charged back toward the pit.
“Boss!”
“Zhongming!”
“What are you doing?”
“Are you crazy?!”
These questions came one after another through the Battle Contribution Badge, with Xia Lei’s voice even sounding distorted.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Continue according to the original plan.”
Ye Zhongming gave a brief reply and then charged in a specific direction.
Just moments ago, as he was about to escape, he had sensed a familiar presence.
This presence had been faintly detectable among the monster horde. Ye Zhongming had tried to locate and capture it while sniping but had always come up empty-handed.
It was the monster commander’s presence.
When it issued commands, its presence would intensify, allowing Ye Zhongming to sense it. But whether because it was too good at hiding or had powerful mental energy, the presence would only flicker briefly, leaving Ye Zhongming helpless.
But just now, this presence had suddenly become too apparent, clear to the point of abnormality. Ye Zhongming easily captured it and pinpointed the monster’s location.
Through the gaps in the monster horde and with his superhuman vision, Ye Zhongming even saw a short, entirely red monster surrounded by high-level beings about two hundred meters away. It was staring back at him with an ice-cold gaze.
This was a trap, a blatant trap that practically screamed its existence. Whether to jump into it or not was entirely a choice.
Jumping in meant losing the chance to escape but potentially gaining the opportunity to kill the commander, throwing the monster army into disarray or even chaos.
Not jumping meant losing the chance for a decisive shortcut, forcing them to proceed step by step and endure a certain proportion of casualties.
Ye Zhongming chose to jump in.