Shi Feng's words left everyone confused.
It was just a roar. What was there to pay attention to?
Seeing the dismissive looks on their faces, Shi Feng grew serious. "Listen up. Hell Roar isn't as simple as you think. Follow my instructions from here on. If anyone messes up, don't blame me for kicking them from the party."
After Shi Feng's scolding, everyone sobered up. No one wanted to be kicked out of the party.
"I'll go in front with Kele. Lonely As Snow, protect the Oracle and stay in the middle. Heizi, you and the Summoner take the rear. Remember, no matter what you hear, don't break formation. No one attacks first without my order. Understood?" Shi Feng laid out the basic formation.
Shi Feng had the Guardian Knight Kele take the lead because Kele had put all his free attribute points into Stamina, giving him 310 HP. That meant he could hold out longer and take some of the pressure off Shi Feng.
God's Domain's dungeons were unlike those in other virtual games. They offered far more freedom and were enormous. Plenty of parties had entered a dungeon, wandered for hours, and failed to find even a single BOSS. Dead Silence Forest wasn't quite that large, but it was still easy to get lost among its shadowy trees.
And if they got lost...
All Shi Feng could say was, "Heh."
The terrifying thing about Dead Silence Forest was how players lost their way inside and then died one after another under mysterious circumstances. In his previous life, countless players had gone in, only to die over and over without even seeing a monster. Those lucky enough to find a lone monster ended up getting their whole party wiped out. Only after many guild experts had fallen did everyone understand how terrifying Dead Silence Forest was. It was widely regarded as a dungeon that was impossible to clear before Level 5.
When the Shadow Guild reached Level 5, it organized over a hundred players to scout the forest in groups. They finally mapped out Dead Silence Forest, but at the cost of hundreds of lives.
Dead Silence Forest had thirty-six paths, but only three led to the first BOSS, Wilmi. Those three paths had been discovered at the cost of many players' lives. Two were extremely dangerous, and anyone who lacked the strength to handle them would die. Only one had few monsters.
Led by Shi Feng, the group entered the forest.
As soon as they stepped into the trees, they saw countless paths crisscrossing through the woods and had no idea which one to take. Shi Feng, however, didn't hesitate at all. He picked one and headed down it, while the others followed close behind, cautiously watching their surroundings.
About five minutes later, they encountered their first monster, and everyone tensed up.
"Don't do anything rash. Follow my orders!" Shi Feng called out.
The monster ahead was only a Level 2 Elite Night Rabbit. However, the dungeon's enhancements had greatly increased its Attack, Defense, and HP, bringing its health to a full 700.
"Kele, go draw it over. Oracle, be ready to heal. Everyone else, hold your attacks until I give the order." Shi Feng quickly issued his instructions.
Guardian Knight Kele swallowed nervously and carefully stepped into the Night Rabbit's aggro range. The others were tense too. It was only a Level 2 Elite, but this was a Hell-Grade dungeon.
Their nervousness proved unnecessary. The Night Rabbit, which stood about as tall as a person, charged straight at Kele as soon as it spotted him.
Kele drew the Night Rabbit over without a hitch. He didn't panic as he retreated, using his shield to block its attacks. Every blow landed on his shield, but the damage was terrifying: 42 points per hit. By the time Kele made it back to the party, he had lost a third of his HP.
Sleepy Sloth, the Oracle, had good instincts. As soon as the Night Rabbit entered his casting range, he immediately used a healing spell. But each heal restored only 24 HP, nowhere near enough to keep up with Kele's losses.
"Brother Feng, shouldn't we attack yet?" Heizi asked anxiously. Kele was already down to less than a third of his HP.
Bringing an Oracle into a dungeon was a mistake. Among healing classes, Oracles had the weakest healing power. But Shi Feng had chosen one, so Heizi had accepted it. Now their tank was about to die, and Shi Feng still hadn't ordered an attack. This was hard to justify.
"Wait," Shi Feng said firmly.
The seconds ticked by. Kele kept blocking the Night Rabbit's claws with his shield, and his HP fell lower and lower until only 20% remained. Yet Shi Feng still gave no order to attack.
Just as everyone thought Shi Feng was going to abandon Kele, an arrow shot out of the trees and flew toward Sleepy Sloth, the Oracle. Lonely As Snow hadn't even had time to react before Sleepy Sloth was struck in the chest. A huge 123 damage appeared above him.
Shi Feng shouted, "Sloth, use Life Payment and transfer the damage you take to Kele. Heizi, keep the Night Rabbit occupied and let Kele recover. Lonely, follow me. Everyone else, attack the Night Rabbit!"
Oracles really were the weakest healers, but they had plenty of HP and were hard to kill in one shot. They also started with two skills: Life Prayer and Life Payment. Life Payment let the caster turn the damage he took into healing and transfer it to someone else. For healers with few skills and no gear in the early game, Oracles had a much greater advantage than other healing classes in Dead Silence Forest. That was why Shi Feng had chosen an Oracle instead of a Priest.
As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, he charged into the trees.
"Did you think I'd let you get away?" Shi Feng sneered at the shadow racing through the forest.
Wind Chasing Sword!
Shi Feng blurred into motion and pursued it.
The reason he had forbidden everyone from attacking the Night Rabbit was to use Kele as bait and draw out the one behind the ambush.
The Night Rabbits might have seemed terrifying, but an elite party could handle two or three at once. Yet in his previous life, even Level 5 elite parties had been wiped out because of the shadow ahead. It used Night Rabbits as bait, luring players into attacking while it struck the healers from behind. With the party tied down by the Night Rabbits, no one could rescue the healer, and they all died.
If they didn't deal with this creature in Dead Silence Forest, their party would eventually be wiped out.
With Wind Chasing Sword's speed boost, Shi Feng quickly caught up with the shadow and swung three times, cutting off its escape.
Knowing it couldn't get away, the shadow turned and drew two twin blades to block Shi Feng's attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With the Abyssal Walker in hand, Shi Feng had tremendous strength. He drove the shadow back three steps. More than ten points of damage appeared above its head with each step, and at last, its figure was revealed in the moonlight.
Dark Night Ranger, Level 2, Special Elite, HP: 1458/1500.
Seeing the Dark Night Ranger stagger backward, Shi Feng gave it no chance to recover. He immediately used Abyssal Bind. Nine dark chains shot out and bound the Dark Night Ranger, leaving him unable to move for three seconds and reducing his Defense by 100%.
Wind Thunder Flash!
Slash!
The two skills dealt one tremendous blow after another: -81, -98, -119, -124. In an instant, they took a quarter of the Dark Night Ranger's HP.
Bound by nine chains, the Dark Night Ranger couldn't break free, no matter what abilities he had. He could only take the beating for a full three seconds.
Shi Feng showed no mercy. He stabbed the Dark Night Ranger's chest again and again, targeting its vital point. By the time it broke free, its HP had fallen below 700.
"Damn human!" the Dark Night Ranger roared in fury, swinging its twin blades like a gale and sweeping them toward Shi Feng.
Lonely As Snow arrived just then and stunned the Dark Night Ranger with Charge, interrupting its Gale Blade as well.
Shi Feng seized the chance to use Slash, cutting into the Dark Night Ranger's neck.
Lonely As Snow swung his battle-axe at it too.
The Dark Night Ranger finally woke, but its HP was already in the red. It swept its twin blades across, knocking Lonely As Snow away and dealing 64 damage. Then it turned to Shi Feng and swung again, slashing horizontally at his neck.
With a clang, Shi Feng parried with his sword, giving the Dark Night Ranger no chance to counterattack. He held it off and followed up with several more strikes, finishing it off.
He casually picked up the two items it dropped, then immediately ran back to help Kele.
Watching Shi Feng's nimble movements, Lonely As Snow lay stunned nearby. He even forgot to follow and help, his mind filled with shock.
Could you really fight monsters like that?