Chapter 416 - Dance of Blades
While Shi Feng hunted the Battle Monkey Warchief, the ranged classes of Zero Wing within the gorge began to take action.
Cola and the other MTs had successfully held off the first charge. The healers in the back had also stabilized the fifteen MTs’ HP. The only thing left to do was to clean up the assaulting Battle Monkeys.
Standing in the rear, Blackie had begun to chant an incantation, waving his staff.
After becoming a Tier 1 Cursemancer, Blackie’s damage had increased significantly. At the same time, he had also learned a new Tier 1 skill, Magic Synergy.
[Magic Synergy]
Tier 1
Increases the efficiency of the caster’s spells, improving spell effects by 30% and reducing cast time by 30% for 15 seconds.
The density of elemental mana surrounding Blackie skyrocketed. Blackie then cast Stars of Light.
Due to Magic Synergy’s enhancement, both the effective range and power of Stars of Light had increased by 30%.
In the next moment, a dazzling ball of light descended from the sky. Noticing this, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys responded quickly and tried to evade the incoming attack. However, while inside the gorge, other than advancing, their only escape was to retreat backward. Natural rock walls surrounded the Battle Monkeys on both sides, and it was impossible for them to scale these walls. With Cola and the other MTs of Zero Wing creating a shield wall ahead, and their companions blocking their rear, these Battle Monkeys could only watch helplessly as the Stars of Light descended.
They also had no way to block this incoming bombardment. AOE destruction spells attacked from all angles. Unless one had magic immunity, invincibility, or countered with an AOE destruction spell of their own, there was no other way to defend against the attack.
Boom!
The instant the Stars of Light descended, a damage of over -5,000 points appeared above the heads of every Battle Monkey the spell struck. As for the monsters further away from the site of impact, they, too, received damages of over -3,000 points. Despite having increased Attributes due to the Warchief’s Aura, these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys still lost close to a third of their HP.
However, this was only the beginning. Stars of Light had a duration of 15 seconds, and with each passing second, the spell’s damage would scale up by 10%. After only five seconds, all of the Battle Monkeys within range had turned to ash, leaving behind a plethora of loot.
A large section of the gorge was suddenly empty. Making a rough estimate, over a hundred Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys had died.
“AOE destruction spells are awesome! Though it would be great if their Cooldown times were shorter.”
Although Cola had seen Blackie cast the spell many times, his heart still trembled with excitement whenever he witnessed this overwhelming destruction.
The scattered loot on the ground and his soaring EXP bar also exhilarated him.
The EXP from Level 22 Elites was originally quite significant. Meanwhile, after the meteorite shower, the EXP from the monsters inside the White Fog Canyon had increased by three to four times. In other words, killing a single monster here was the equivalent of killing three or four monsters of the same level and rank outside of White Fog Canyon.
After Blackie’s Stars of Light ended, Ye Wumian rose from Level 22 to Level 23, his HP breaking past the 5,000 threshold. Everyone else also watched their experience bars increase by a huge chunk. Originally, it would have taken them several hours to gain so much EXP. Now, however, they had only taken around a dozen seconds or so.
Stars of Light truly shone when used in a war. Not only was it massively destructive, but it could also shock enemies.
Take the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys caught outside the range of Stars of Light for example. Despite having received no damage, they did not barrel forward after Stars of Light ended. They stood there with stunned expressions; their previous fierce momentum had completely vanished.
Unfortunately, AOE destruction spells like Blackie’s Stars of Light were rare. Moreover, these spells possessed long Cooldowns, needing a full half an hour. In a battle, such spells could be used once at most.
“Stop daydreaming! All ranged classes, attack those dazed Battle Monkeys!” Aqua Rose commanded.
Suddenly, spells and arrows bombarded the dazed monsters.
Momentarily, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys were at a loss of what to do. They had even forgotten to dodge or use their weapons to fend off the incoming attacks. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen more Battle Monkeys died.
However, one would be sorely mistaken if they thought they could get rid of these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys so easily. As soon as these monsters regained themselves, they charged at Cola and the other MTs with even greater madness.
Suddenly, the second battle of attrition had begun.
Although the battle was vicious, compared to Shi Feng’s battle, it paled in comparison.
Shi Feng’s current opponent was the Battle Monkey Warchief, a Level 25 Chieftain that had gone berserk. Inside a Dungeon, the Warchief was definitely worthy of the role of a Boss. Only, its HP was slightly lower than a typical Dungeon Boss.
Shi Feng moved in front of the Battle Monkey Warchief with a flash, blocking its path. He then activated Chop and sent three silvery-gray blades of light slashing at the Warchief’s thin frame, completely sealing off its exit.
“Zhi! Zhi! Zhi!”
The Monkey Warchief suddenly squinted its blood-red eyes as it screeched, releasing an intimidating power. It then took a step back, its right fist punching towards the convergence point of the three blades of light.
Peng!
The three blades of light shattered. The Monkey Warchief then took a step forward and swung its left fist, flames covering the fist as it flew towards Shi Feng’s head.
The whole process had happened in the blink of an eye, and the Battle Monkey Warchief had launched its attack was a lot more accurately and faster than many expert players.
However, the instant the Monkey Warchief’s fist struck Shi Feng’s head, it felt as if it had struck air. Taking a closer look, the Monkey Warchief discovered that had only hit Shi Feng’s afterimage.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had used Silent Steps and arrived behind the Battle Monkey Warchief. He then used Thunder Flame Explosion.
The Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosion possessed a brief area suppression effect when cast, slowing all enemies’ movements within a 10*10 yard area.
Moreover, Shi Feng was now a Tier 1 player. Despite being only Level 22, the effect of the attack-type skills he used would not have weakened in the slightest even against the Level 25 Battle Monkey Warchief. Furthermore, Shi Feng also possessed the Golden Stigmata, which allowed him to ignore up to 20 levels of suppression.
Suddenly, the Battle Monkey Warchief’s speed had fallen, having only one-sixth of its original speed. It was no longer capable of blocking or dodging incoming attacks in time.
Boom!
The power of lightning and fire assaulted the Monkey Warchief. However, it had a surprisingly high Defense for such a thin frame. Despite being a Tier 1 Blade Saint, Shi Feng only managed to deal over -3,600 damage to the Monkey Warchief.
Fortunately, Thunder Flame Explosion forced the Monkey Warchief into a Fainted state for six seconds.
Originally, Shi Feng had intended to follow up his victory with hot pursuit, taking the opportunity to damage the Monkey Warchief heavily while it was incapacitated for six seconds. In the end, however, the Battle Monkey Warchief activated Berserker Rage, becoming immune to all control effects and increasing its Strength and speed. It then unsheathed the war saber hanging on its back and brandished it at its adversary. Suddenly, nine blades of light wrapped around Shi Feng.
This was one of the Battle Monkey Warchief’s skills, Dance of Blades.
If struck, even an MT like Cola would die without question. However, Cola possessed a large shield that he could use to defend himself; he would have no problems blocking the majority of the blades of light. Shi Feng, however, did not possess a shield. He only had his two swords.
“Good timing!”
At this moment, Shi Feng could feel impending doom approaching. Yet, he neither defended with his swords, nor did he activate Defensive Blade to save his life. Instead, he activated Purgatory Power and charged at the Monkey Warchief’s Dance of Blades.
Void Steps!
Previously, Shi Feng would have never thought of confronting a berserk Level 25 Battle Monkey Warchief head-on. After all, the Monkey Warchief was terrifying after going berserk. Not only did its speed surpass Tier 1 players, but Tier 1 players also could not block its incredible attacks.
After his match with Soaring Snake, Shi Feng had finally succeeded in learning the advanced footwork Void Steps. However, he had not found a chance to test his footwork again since that match. Meanwhile, the agile Battle Monkey Warchief was the perfect opponent for Shi Feng to practice Void Steps on.
The usefulness of Void Steps wasn’t limited to PvP. It was also effective against monsters.
After the Battle Monkey Warchief swung its saber, it suddenly discovered that Shi Feng had disappeared.
By the time the Monkey Warchief discovered his opponent again, the latter had already appeared beside it, casually walking past. Meanwhile, several bloody gashes appeared on its body.