Three Assassins attacked at once, dealing considerable damage to Heizi before he could react. Even though he was wearing a few pieces of ordinary cloth armor, he still lost nearly half his health.
System: The Shadow Guild has attacked your party. Party members may attack members of the Shadow Guild without incurring a crime penalty. This will last for one hour.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Heizi knew he was done for. He was no match for the Assassins' speed, but he was going to fight back before he died. He chanted a spell, and a Shadow Arrow shot at Shadow Wolf from point-blank range.
Shadow Wolf sneered. There was no dodging it, but at level 0 he had 80 health. How much damage could an incompetent Cursemancer's attack do? Surely it couldn't kill him in one hit.
With a boom, the Shadow Arrow struck Shadow Wolf.
A damage number of 76 appeared above Shadow Wolf's head, blasting him down to critical health in an instant.
Shadow Wolf was stunned by the damage. His eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the other two Assassins were just as shocked.
What the hell kind of Cursemancer was this? He was a walking turret!
Even Heizi, the one who'd dealt the damage, was stunned. He hadn't expected a level 3 Shadow Arrow to be so powerful.
What Heizi didn't know was that it wasn't just the level 3 Shadow Arrow. The high-damage Blackwood Staff, the aura effect from One Against A Thousand, and the bonus damage from his level advantage had all contributed to that astonishing hit.
"Damn it, guys, take him out! His staff has to be Mystic Iron Equipment." As an experienced gamer, Shadow Wolf quickly recovered. Greed glinted in his eyes as he stared at Heizi's weapon. Heizi had to have a Mystic Iron weapon to deal so much damage. Otherwise, he couldn't have come so close to killing him in one hit.
The two Assassins immediately sprang into action, charging at Heizi. They didn't even have ordinary weapons, let alone Mystic Iron ones. If they could loot a Mystic Iron weapon, they'd hit the jackpot.
The three attacked again. Heizi had only 6 health left, and death was just a heartbeat away. The three Assassins grew even more excited. The Mystic Iron weapon was almost theirs.
Just then, Shi Feng appeared. With an astonishing burst of speed, he stepped in front of Heizi. Three flashes of swordlight deflected the Assassins' attacks, sending out sparks as all three were knocked backward.
Before the three Assassins could even hit the ground and register their shock, they saw lightning flash.
Three bolts of lightning struck the Assassins while they were still airborne.
Damage numbers of -32, -41, and -50 appeared above their heads. All three health bars dropped to 0, and they instantly turned into starlight and faded away.
Their low defense, combined with the level difference, made the level 2 Wind Thunder Flash terrifyingly powerful!
"Brother Feng..." Heizi stared at the figure in front of him, dumbfounded. "You're Brother Feng?"
Everything had happened too fast. Shi Feng had appeared out of nowhere, swung his sword three times to block attacks from three different directions, then used Wind Thunder Flash—all in a single instant. The three Assassins hadn't even been able to react.
His speed and reflexes were almost inhuman. If the man before him hadn't clearly been the Shi Feng he knew, Heizi would have thought he was an impostor.
Shi Feng scanned the area and saw eight players closing in, led by Flame Tiger. He couldn't afford to stay, so he urged Heizi on. "What are you standing around for? Let's go."
He had activated Agile Swiftness and fully unleashed his freedom of movement, and his extraordinary physique now let him keep pace with his thoughts. But his physical attributes were still too low, making him difficult to control and draining his mental energy. He could manage two or three bursts of intense action, but he couldn't keep it up for long. Against so many plate-armored classes and a healer, running was their only option.
Heizi nodded repeatedly.
"Everyone, get after them! We have to loot my Bronze Equipment and take over this mine!" Flame Tiger licked his lips, thrilled. He didn't care at all about the three dead Assassins.
They'd spent hours searching for Shi Feng and Heizi in Dark Moon Valley, putting their leveling progress far behind. Flame Tiger had been seething with rage—until he happened to spot the two of them killing monsters.
He had wanted to surround and kill them immediately. But when he saw Heizi use smoke at the cave entrance to kill level 4 Kobolds without taking any damage, Flame Tiger had nearly died of excitement. Most of his hatred for Shi Feng vanished in an instant. He even felt grateful to Shi Feng for finding such a marvelous spot.
Leveling against monsters above your level was notoriously difficult. If they could kill level 4 monsters without taking damage, their leveling speed would be terrifying. In less than a dozen hours, they could pull ahead of every other player and build an enormous advantage. Unifying Red Leaf Town would be within reach, and Flame Tiger might even become the leader of the Shadow Studio.
With God's Domain launching, countless virtual gaming companies had gone bankrupt, while billions of players had poured into the game. Companies and corporations were flooding into God's Domain to claim a share of the profits. It was easily the most profitable virtual game ever.
Flame Tiger imagined making a name for himself in Red Leaf Town, surpassing the major guilds, and becoming the Shadow Studio's leader. Then he'd have luxury cars, beautiful women, mansions, and villas—all within easy reach. The thought left him speechless with excitement.
He owed it all to Shi Feng.
But gratitude was one thing. He still wasn't going to let the Bronze Equipment Shi Feng and Heizi were carrying get away.
"Brother Tiger, those two are fast. We can't catch them," a Berserker said.
"Then they're lucky they got away. This spot is all we need." Flame Tiger gazed at the mine, eyes shining. He could already picture himself leading Red Leaf Town in the future.
"Brother Tiger, what about Shadow Wolf and the other two? All three of them are back to level 0 now, and they've lost a lot of skill proficiency," an Elementalist asked.
Flame Tiger shot his subordinate a look. "Is that a problem? You saw it just now, didn't you? Players can attack the Kobolds in that smoke from a distance without the Kobolds retaliating. These are level 4 monsters. How hard can it be to help them level up? Tell them to hurry over."
"Brother Tiger, you really are clever. You found a place like this. Now you're definitely the number one player in the Shadow Studio," the Elementalist said, laying on the flattery.
"Get lost! What do you mean, number one in the Shadow Studio? I'm going to be the number one player in God's Domain!" Flame Tiger snapped.
The other Shadow Studio members agreed, laughing at the Elementalist for trying to flatter him and missing the mark.
Before long, under Flame Tiger's direction, three magic classes stood at a distance and dealt damage while everyone else lured the monsters into the smoke. They killed the Kobolds in orderly fashion.
"This is great! Killing one Kobold and splitting the experience between so many people still gives us 2%!"
"Brother Tiger, this is amazing! The monsters drop plenty of money and ore, too. And the Kobolds respawn quickly, so we can farm them endlessly until we reach level 6. Then the Shadow Studio will definitely be the top guild in Red Leaf Town."
The Shadow Studio members were all grinning from ear to ear. In just a few hours, everyone could reach level 6. They'd crush every guild in Red Leaf Town. Just thinking about it made them giddy.
"Hahaha, you're lucky to have me. Those other team leaders don't amount to anything. Before long, I'll be the Shadow Studio's leader." Flame Tiger was in high spirits. His experience bar was climbing rapidly; he'd reach level 2 in less than an hour and make up for what he'd lost earlier.
Not far from the Red Star Mine, Heizi watched with gritted teeth.
"Brother Feng, are we really going to let this go? We worked so hard to get that tip from a beta tester, and now these people get to benefit from it. Just thinking about it makes me furious. The Shadow Studio members are shameless. Thank goodness I never joined them."
Shi Feng shook his head and glanced at the time on the system screen. With a calm smile, he said, "They dared to steal what's mine. Let them enjoy themselves for now. Just wait a little longer, and they'll learn what it means to celebrate too soon."