Chapter 323 - Nightmare
To avenge his hatred, Absolute Heaven had worked desperately to improve his techniques and upgrade his equipment. Now, even if Ye Feng were not involved in this sudden assault, he would still give the members of Zero Wing a taste of his new strength.
However, just after Absolute Heaven walked out of the bar’s entrance, he discovered the golden magic array hovering in the evening sky.
This magic array was a result of the Crusade Quest’s activation, and it would change the NPCs of Creek Town.
The guards that had originally been Level 50 immediately fell to Level 30, while the Level 70 Tier 1 guard captains became Level 50, the same level as Shi Feng’s normal guards.
Although Creek Town’s had been weakened, none of these guards delayed in taking action. The moment the warning bell rang, a storm of guards rushed out of the many buildings within the town. In moments, over two thousand guards surrounded the town. These NPCs belonged to the Blood Hand Association. At this moment, they had all removed their disguises, and the normal guards had revealed themselves as Blood Hand Association Members, while the guard captains were Blood Hand Association Elites.
[Blood Hand Association Members] (Elite Rank)
Level 30
HP 100,000/100,000
[Blood Hand Association Elites] (Tier 1 Elite Rank)
Level 50
300,000/300,000
“Why have all the guards become weaker?”
“What’s there to fear? Even if they are weaker, can Zero Wing defeat so many NPCs? Besides, we are here as well. If Zero Wing wants to attack, we’ll make them suffer the consequences.”
When the players of Creek Town discovered that the guards beside them had suddenly grown weaker, worry grew in their hearts. However, they soon rid their minds of this worry. Even during its peak, Zero Wing only had around 8,000 members. Moreover, due to the surge of players that had withdrawn from the Guild, they now had less than 5,000.
Even if Zero Wing had mobilized all 5,000 of its members, in the face of 2,000 NPCs, charging into the town would be nothing more than suicide. At this stage of the game, players had yet to reach Level 30. Furthermore, not a single player had managed to upgrade to a Tier 1 class. So, how could they possibly hope to fight against Level 30 and Level 50 NPCs? In God’s Domain, such a massive gap between levels was fatal.
“Begin!” Shi Feng commanded in the team chat.
Fire Dance and the others immediately took action, each of them commanding a Level 50 Tier 1 guard as they charged towards the Blood Hand Association’s army.
The guards Fire Dance and the others controlled were Tier 1 Rangers and Assassins. Regarding Movement Speed, they were much faster than the Blood Hand Association Members. Rangers also possessed ultra-long-ranged attack capabilities, and they could launch their attacks from 100 yards away. Hence, they were perfect for the role of a lure.
Within moments, the Red Names of Creek Town noticed several figures rushing at them with speeds that no players could hope to achieve.
In the next moment, these Rangers retrieved their longbows, nocking arrows and releasing them.
Xiu! The arrows struck their targets, several Level 30 Blood Hand Association Members, from roughly 90 yards away. Each arrow dealt over -5,000 damage to these Level 30 NPCs. If a player received one of these arrows, they would die with a single hit.
The Rangers’ attack attracted the attention of the Blood Hand Association NPCs. Without hesitation, over a thousand Blood Hand Association NPCs unsheathed their weapons and charged.
Seeing this, the Rangers turned on their heels and fled. Very quickly, they had drawn these Blood Hand Association NPCs away from the city.
“Weren’t we being attacked by players from Zero Wing? Why are there Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs as well?”
The Red Names were confused. They simply stood where they were, not following the Blood Hand Association NPCs in pursuit of the Tier 1 Rangers.
Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs only needed a single hit to kill them. If they did not possess lifesaving skills, fighting such an NPC was suicide. Moreover, they were all Red Names. If they died, they would pay a severe penalty. At the very minimum, they would lose two to three levels and a majority of their equipment. Naturally, they had to weigh the costs and benefits before they took action.
Not to mention, they had never intended to charge with the NPCs since the very beginning. Instead, they had planned to take advantage of the confusion while the Blood Hand Association NPCs and Zero Wing clashed. Now, however, those NPC guards had lured away all of the Blood Hand Association NPCs. At this moment, even they began to wonder whether they should join in the pursuit or not.
Just as these Red Names contemplated their actions, the Blood Hand Association NPCs had distanced themselves several hundred yards from the town.
“This is bad. The Blood Hand Association NPCs are gone!” one of the Red Names realized the situation and shouted. “We need to go help them! If Zero Wing manages to kite and kill them, we’ll be finished!”
This player’s words shook everyone to attention. Unfortunately, these Red Names were neither a single group nor of a single heart. Most importantly, they all understood that the first person to charge into battle would also be the first person to leave. Even though they had realized how serious their predicament was, none of them were willing to take action first. Instead, they all chose to stay put and do nothing at all.
None of these Red Names had discovered that, at this time, Shi Feng had already led the remaining forty Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs in a charge from another direction.
When capturing a town, the NPCs were the not the most troublesome obstacle. Instead, it was the players residing in said town. If the players and NPCs inside the town were allowed to cooperate, without absolute strength, it would be impossible to capture the town successfully.
Hence, the most important thing Shi Feng needed to do right now was to get rid of the players; only then would it be the NPCs’ turn to die.
After players died, they had to wait half an hour before they could revive at the Graveyard. Furthermore, if these Red Names died, even if they had the determination to continue fighting, they would not have the strength to present a challenge. The penalty they suffered was simply too severe.
Although the forty Level 50 Tier 1 guards did not possess as much HP as the Blood Hand Association Elites, they still had over 100,000 HP each. Moreover, the opponents they faced right now were not NPCs, but players; it would only take a single attack to kill a player instantly. When all forty Tier 1 guards charged at the Red Names of Creek Town, they were like a group of ferocious beasts as they killed everything in their path.
Although there were many Red Names in Creek Town, they were completely unable to defend themselves against these guards. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could take two hits at most. In the blink of an eye, Red Names died, one after another, littering the ground with bodies and equipment.
In contrast, although the Red Names attacked continuously, due to the level suppression of over 30 Levels, the damage the Red Names managed to deal was negligible. One thousand Level 20 players were required to take down a single Tier 1 guard, let alone forty guards.
With the forty guards sharing the damage from the enemy players, their battle recovery alone made up for the HP they lost. Not to mention, among the forty guards, there were also Clerics and other healer classes. A casual heal from one of these NPCs could replenish over 10,000 HP.
Within tens of seconds, over 200 Red Names of Creek Town died, while all forty guards that Shi Feng led still had full HP.
The disparity in strength caused the Red Names to despair.
“These NPC guards are too strong! We need to retreat and meet up with the Blood Hand Association NPCs!”
“You bastards from Zero Wing are shameless! You actually brought Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs to capture a town! If you have the strength to face us, don’t use those NPC guards and fight us fairly!
…
The Red Names cursed Shi Feng at the others as they fought the NPCs.
Shi Feng could only chuckle at their words. Immediately, he instructed the NPC mages to cast their AOE spells.
Suddenly, rain of fire descended from the sky. In the next moment, thunderbolts struck down at the Red Names. When cast by the Tier 1 mages, the Tier 1 AOE spells could display their true might.
The Red Names of Creek Town died in batches. After several AOE spells landed, the battlefield fell quiet. Of all the Red Names that had resided in Creek Town, only 400 or so remained, while everyone else was dead.
This scene not only shocked the players of the town, but Aqua Rose and the others were also stunned.
A single wave of AOE spells became a nightmare for the Red Players of Creek Town.
“Run!”
Nobody knew who shouted, but every surviving Red Name agreed wholeheartedly as they fled in all directions.
“Let’s start the slaughter. A majority of these Red Names wear Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Killing one of them will profit us more than killing a small Boss. Such an opportunity will be rare in the future,” Shi Feng laughed.
Following which, with Aqua Rose in the lead, both players and NPCs chased and killed the fleeing Red Names.
When Shi Feng was the last remaining on the high slope, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Now that no one is around, you can come out, right?”
Shortly after the battle began, Shi Feng faintly sensed someone spying on them from nearby. Moreover, the gaze that he felt contained a cold killing intent. However, it was only a feeling, so Shi Feng had not paid too much attention to it.
After his team left, however, this feeling became much clearer. He then activated the Golden Stigmata’s skill, Omniscient Eyes. The skill allowed him to perceive everything within 100 yards, and all stealth effects were useless in the face of this skill. And as expected, Shi Feng discovered an Assassin slowly creeping up on him from behind.
However, even after Shi Feng spoke, the Assassin continued to hide.
“Do you think I am playing a trick on you?” Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and immediately sent a Thundering Flash behind him.
Three green arcs of lightning streaked across the air. In the next moment, a black figure suddenly appeared and swiftly dodged the attack. It was none other than the Assassin that Shi Feng had killed before, Absolute Heaven.
At this moment, shock filled Absolute Heaven’s chilling gaze. Someone was actually capable of discovering his presence from such a long distance away. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.