[Dark Staff: Lower-grade Artifact]
[Requirements: Mage class, 2000+ Mental Strength]
[Attributes: +10,000 Mana, +1000 Magic Damage, +1000 Mental Strength, +200 Constitution, +200 Agility]
[Bonus Attributes: +10 Magic Critical Strike, +20% Dark Magic Damage]
[Additional Skill: Dark Body]
[Dark Body: Passive skill, increases Dark Element Affinity by 10 points]
[Description: A powerful dark attribute weapon.]
The Dark Staff granted an additional 20% boost to dark magic damage.
Coupled with John’s mastery of the Laws of Darkness, which doubled his magic damage, the total increase in damage was 120%. This further bolstered his already formidable strength.
The only downside was that the attached skill wasn’t a powerful ultimate magic ability, but a passive dark skill that increased elemental affinity by 10 points.
For most people, this skill was incredibly valuable, making it easier to comprehend the Laws of Darkness.
However, for John, it wasn’t that useful. Whenever he desired, he could venture into the Abyss, slay Tier 6 epic Abyss demons, and Plunder their Dark Element Affinity, further enhancing his mastery of the dark laws.
Overall, though, this artifact was still extremely powerful. John had been using a Tier 3 staff, the Phantom Mage’s Staff, and now he finally had something worthy to replace it.
As soon as John equipped the new staff, his stats saw another boost.
He now had four artifacts on him: the Sword of Divinity and Demons, the Blessed Ring, the Three-Foot Black Dragon Sword, and now the Dark Staff.
Of the six artifacts listed on the equipment leaderboard, all of them had come from his hands.
“Boss, your strength has increased again!” Ritchie and the others approached as the battle concluded, looking at John with admiration and envy.
John merely smiled and nodded. After spending more than a month in the Abyss, he had killed over 500,000 powerful Abyss demons and Plundered a vast number of attributes. It would’ve been strange if his strength hadn’t improved.
He said, “Prepare yourselves. We’re going to attack some Dark Human cities to help the Saint Martial Sect establish a faction.”
“Got it!” Ritchie’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he immediately gave the order to gather the army.
The Saint Martial Sect had triggered a faction mission, which required upgrading their city to Level 5 to unlock.
To upgrade the city, they needed Altar Upgrade Stones.
The sect’s city was already at Level 3. By destroying a Level 4 dark city and a Level 5 dark city, they could obtain the corresponding Altar Upgrade Stones to further increase their city’s level.
Level 4 and 5 dark cities were incredibly powerful, often guarded by Tier 7 legendary beings. However, for John, dealing with such forces was a simple task.
Before long, 5,000 elite troops were assembled.
The Flame Legion had now expanded to 10,000 soldiers. Ritchie didn’t send the entire force, as a portion had to stay behind to defend Flame City, in case the demon race decided to stir up trouble again.
This time, with John’s show of force, those enemies likely wouldn’t dare act rashly again- they would probably stay quiet for a few days.
The players who weren’t selected for the mission, however, were visibly unhappy. They gathered around Ritchie and complained, “Captain, we want to join this operation too.”
“Yeah, Captain, you’re playing favorites by only picking the veteran members of the Flame Legion!”
“We protest! This is unfair!”
…
The crowd clamored. They didn’t care about the danger; all they wanted was a chance to fight alongside the Godslayer, something they could boast about for the rest of their lives. “Shut your mouths!” Ritchie roared, silencing the crowd, though they still grumbled under their breath, not daring to protest too loudly.
He continued, “Relax, you’ll get your chance to shine. This time, we’re just attacking a Dark Human city. When the faction mission starts, you’ll all be included. Just make sure you don’t embarrass me when that time comes.”
The players, still a bit discontented, suddenly became excited upon hearing Ritchie’s words.
“Even if it means certain death, I wouldn’t hesitate!”
“Captain, when do we start the faction mission?”
…
The group began to chatter once more, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
Ritchie interrupted them, irritated, “Keep it down! If anything happens to Flame City while I’m away, none of you will be joining future missions.”
“Don’t worry, Captain! As long as we’re here, Flame City stands! We won’t let anything happen!” they promised confidently.
Ritchie quickly gave a few more instructions and set off.
Most of the soldiers in Flame City had advanced to Tier 4, significantly boosting their strength. They no longer feared the beasts lurking in the outer regions of Dark Forest.
However, since they had no means of flight, they had to march on foot.
Fortunately, a Level 4 city wasn’t far from their location.
The army marched forward, facing no resistance along the way. Soon, they arrived at the outskirts of the Dark Forest, near a city known as Golden Sands City.
This was a Dark Human-built Level 4 city. When bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, the entire city shimmered as though covered in a layer of golden sand, hence the name.
“Attack!” Cries of battle rang out.
Golden Sands City was under siege by one of the Gods’ world’s faction forces.
John observed the attackers with curiosity. They resembled humans but were much larger and more physically imposing. There were more than 10,000 of them, all at Tier 4.
John had never encountered this race before, so he turned to Ritchie and asked, “What race are those guys?”
Ritchie explained, “Boss, those are Barbarians, a newly emerging race. They’re all brawn and little brain, but they possess high magic resistance. They’re not to be underestimated.” “John, whose side are we on?” Sini, gripping her longbow, was eager to join the fight.
The Barbarians and the Dark Human defenders were evenly matched, with neither side
gaining the upper hand for now.
“Whose side?” John smirked coldly and replied, “Take them both out!”
He had no intention of joining the fray himself. The Barbarians and the Dark Human defenders were about as strong as the Flame Legion members. John wanted to see just
how much the legion’s strength had improved in recent times.
Upon hearing John’s command, Ritchie immediately issued the order, “Form up! Charge!
Archers and mages, unleash full firepower!”
The 5,000-strong army swiftly moved into formation with impeccable discipline.
“Attack!” Battle cries erupted as knights and warriors led the charge, with assassins following
closely behind.
In the rear, mages and archers released a torrent of arrows and spells, raining down on both the Barbarians and the Dark Humans.
Screams of pain filled the air as casualties mounted on both sides.
The Barbarians, in particular, suffered heavy losses, caught between the hammer of the Flame
Legion and the anvil of the Dark Human defenders.
“Lord, it’s human players!” one Barbarian shouted in panic.
“Despicable scum! How dare they attack the savage Barbarians! Deal with them first!” The
Barbarian leader roared, redirecting his forces toward the Flame Legion.
The clash of battle intensified as the Barbarians charged forward, but the Flame Legion soldiers showed no fear. The two forces collided with tremendous force.
It was almost too easy-like cutting through butter. The Flame Legion pushed deep into the Barbarian ranks like a sharp blade, quickly carving out a breach.
Knights and warriors held the front line, with assassins slipping in and out of the shadows like ghosts, delivering deadly strikes to the Barbarians.
Meanwhile, from the rear, arrows and magic rained down relentlessly, decimating the
Barbarian ranks.
John didn’t engage in the frontline battle. Instead, using Sword Flight, he dashed into the
city, where he destroyed the teleportation array and the resurrection point, cutting off the Dark Humans’ reinforcements.
He then landed on the city walls and proceeded to massacre the Dark Humans’ archers and
mages.
Those who posed the greatest threat to the Flame Legion.
Once the most dangerous enemies were neutralized, John paused to assess the battlefield.
Nodding in satisfaction.
He observed how the Flame Legion had grown significantly. Their coordination had improved, and they could now easily crush an enemy force twice their size of the same level.
Ritchie and Sini, in particular, charged into enemy lines as if no one could stop them,
wreaking havoc.
Soon, under the combined assault of the Flame Legion and the remaining Dark Humans, the
Barbarian army was nearly annihilated.
One of the leading Dark Human generals looked at Ritchie with gratitude and said, “Humans, thank you for your help. You are true friends of the Dark Humans!”
“Friends? You must be out of your mind!” Ritchie sneered. “Blood-red demon wolf, finish
him!”
With a command, Ritchie, riding his blood-red demon wolf, charged straight at the Dark
Human general.
“Human, you’re courting death…” the Dark Humans general cursed, but in the next moment,
he was torn apart by the blood-red demon wolf.
With only Tier 5 epic strength, he stood no chance against the Tier 7 peak epic blood-red
demon wolf, who quickly dispatched him with ease.
The brutal battle resumed, and although the Dark Humans soldiers were somewhat stronger
than the Barbarians.
It wasn’t by much.
The army continued its assault, and the already fragile city gates were soon shattered.
The Flame Legion stormed into the city, unleashing a merciless slaughter upon the Dark
Humans.
“Humans, prepare to die!” A furious roar echoed through the battlefield as a Dark Humans elite of Tier 6 epic power appeared.
He was the lord of Golden Sands City.
“Boss, let me handle this one!” the blood-red demon wolf growled excitedly, stopping John
from stepping in and charging directly at the city lord.
For the blood-red demon wolf, taking down a Tier 6 epic opponent was an easy task.
John, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, stood atop the city walls, three short swords hovering around him. If any of his soldiers were in danger, he would step in to assist.
It didn’t take long before the lord of Golden Sands City fell to the blood-red demon wolf, and
the Dark Humans soldiers were routed.
Ritchie rushed into the city and destroyed the altar, obtaining the Level 4 Altar Upgrade Stone, which, once used, could upgrade their Level 3 city to Level 4.
“Boss, which Level 5 city are we attacking next?” Ritchie asked excitedly as he handed the
altar stone to John.
Currently, most players were only at Tier 4. Aside from John and a few top-ranking players like the Mike White Family and the Azure Family, no one had reached Tier 5.
The Level 5 cities hadn’t been opened yet, so Ritchie had little knowledge about them.
“No rush. Let’s take down one more Level 4 city first,” John replied.
Both the Saint Martial Sect and Gates City, founded by Ada, had triggered their faction
missions. John decided to upgrade both cities to fully establish them as faction forces. The army moved out, heading for another Dark Humans-controlled Level 4 city.
Once again, they faced no significant resistance and easily crushed the enemy, securing yet another Level 4 Altar Upgrade Stone.
Now, it was time to seek out and destroy a Level 5 city.
John knew the locations of several Level 5 cities, though they were all quite far.
The nearest one was Pale Moon, located in the Pale Moon Forest.