After leaving Dead Silence Forest, Shi Feng's team hurried straight to Dark Moon Valley.
At this stage, many players had reached Level 2. Aside from running dungeons in Dead Silence Forest, they were killing Level 2 Leopard Cubs in Brook Hills. Only a handful of experts ventured to Level 4 Dark Moon Valley to level up. However, as everyone's level increased, it wouldn't be long before players claimed the valley.
After spending over half an hour getting back to Dark Moon Valley, they found that things were just as Shi Feng had guessed.
Several elite teams uninterested in dungeons were grinding Level 4 Wandering Kobolds around the valley's outskirts. Their players were quite skilled. They would pull two or three at a time, with the Shield Warrior holding them off at the front so they couldn't reach the casters and healer. The healer kept restoring the Shield Warrior's health from the rear, barely keeping him alive, while everyone else dealt damage as fast as they could. By the end of each fight, the Shield Warrior was nearly dead and the healer had spent more than a third of his mana, forcing the team to sit down and recover.
Although this method of grinding consumed plenty of resources, the rewards were decent. Three Kobolds had dropped two copper coins and some stone.
In God's Domain, only monsters above Level 3 dropped skill books and Bronze Equipment. The odds were only one in ten thousand, but players still flocked to hunt them. Bronze Equipment was worth a lot right now, and skill books were even more valuable. With rewards like those, plenty of experts came despite the danger.
After watching for a moment, Shi Feng turned and headed deeper into Dark Moon Valley.
The rest of the team were still nervous about exploring the unknown valley. Seeing Level 4 monsters covering the slopes made their breathing quicken. Heizi, however, was completely calm at the sight of the Level 4 Kobolds. He had already killed hundreds of them, unlike the other team members, who were facing them for the first time. Without hesitation, he followed Shi Feng into the depths of the valley.
When the elite teams grinding Kobolds saw Shi Feng's group head into the valley, they couldn't help but feel surprised. They hadn't expected the newcomers to be so bold.
There were very few players in Dark Moon Valley, and it had yet to be fully explored. Kobolds were everywhere in the valley, and the deeper one went, the more there were. Some even gathered in groups of more than a dozen. Grinding there was far too dangerous. Each fight meant facing at least four or five Kobolds, and dying even once would make it a terrible deal.
Unfortunately, they had no idea that Shi Feng was even more reckless than they imagined.
Shi Feng wasn't merely heading deeper into the valley. He was going to its very heart, where there was an excellent grinding spot. It had an enormous number of monsters, a fast respawn rate, and, most importantly, a high ore yield.
When it came to Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng could practically be called its local god. In his previous life, he had spent a great deal of time studying the area—what monsters lived where, how many there were, and how long they took to respawn—all to keep his team's grinding speed high and improve his standing in the Shadow Studio team.
Life really was interesting. His efforts for Shadow Studio in his previous life had ended up helping him now. They would let his own team level up quickly while ensuring a steady supply of ore.
They followed a rocky path, and every so often, four or five Level 4 Kobolds appeared. With Shi Feng's team's equipment, they were no trouble at all.
Kele, the Guardian Knight, could easily hold off four Kobolds now, both in terms of health and defense. Sleepy Sloth, the healer, had no trouble keeping Kele's health above 80%. If any monsters slipped past, Lonely As Snow would draw them back. The others simply poured on the damage. A casual swing from Shi Feng dealt over a hundred damage, while Heizi's Shadow Arrow dealt 88. It was almost laughably easy.
In no time, they had taken down all five Kobolds, outperforming the elite teams outside by more than a little.
Shi Feng casually picked up the dropped stone and ore, then continued deeper into Dark Moon Valley.
They pressed on for more than an hour before reaching the foot of a mountain a hundred meters high. Wandering Goblins roamed all around it now, instead of Kobolds. They carried small shovels, digging at the mountain's rocky slopes, while several Goblin Overseers patrolled the area with whips in hand.
"Brother Feng, there are way too many monsters here. Are we really going to grind here?"
Heizi looked around, his heart trembling. He saw at least several hundred Wandering Goblins spread across the wide mountainside, along with a few Level 5 Goblin Overseers. Compared to the dozen or so Kobolds gathered outside, this place was practically a battlefield.
Kele swallowed, his voice anxious. "Captain, I'm not bragging, but six or seven is my limit. I really can't handle this many."
Heizi and Kele weren't the only ones worried. The mountain was covered in Wandering Goblins, and they were packed close together. One wrong pull, and they would be facing hundreds of Level 4 monsters. That was far more terrifying than the Lord-ranked Ferrot.
"I know you can't handle them. But who said I was asking you to fight hundreds of Goblins?" Shi Feng shot the others a look. He knew exactly what his team could do. Ten enemies at a time was about their limit. There was no way they could take on hundreds.
Hundreds of Level 4 monsters would finish off even a Level 10 player.
But as they say, if you can't win, can't you just run?
His Agility was over 30, and with his Bronze-grade boots, he was faster than the Level 4 Goblins. He could kite them, then have Heizi use Hellfire to wipe them out in groups. It would be several times more efficient than grinding alone.
Shi Feng explained the plan to the group, telling Heizi to time his spell carefully and maximize Hellfire's effect. The others would focus on finishing off the wounded Goblins.
After choosing a spot, Shi Feng grabbed a handful of stones and charged toward a nearby Goblin Overseer.
As soon as he came within 20 yards, the Goblin Overseer began shouting, drawing the attention of many Wandering Goblins nearby. Shi Feng waited a moment, dodging the Overseer's whip while the Goblins gathered around him.
Once more than thirty had assembled, Shi Feng turned and ran toward another area. He threw a small stone that struck a different Goblin Overseer, which let out a roar and charged at him with more than twenty underlings.
Shi Feng had drawn nearly sixty monsters, but he still wasn't satisfied. He began circling the mountain to gather more. In less than five minutes, hundreds of Wandering Goblins and more than a dozen Goblin Overseers were chasing him in a great horde.
Unfortunately for the Goblins, Shi Feng's gear was too good. He was at least 30% faster than they were, and with his exceptional technique and control, he could toy with them however he wanted.
"Heizi, get ready to cast," Shi Feng called, glancing toward him.
"Got it!" Heizi was excited too. It was his first time using an area-of-effect spell, and he had no idea how well it would work.
As Heizi traced shapes in the air with his fingers, brilliant magical runes appeared one after another, forming a dazzling magic array that surged with power.
When Heizi uttered the final syllable, the earth shook. Emerald flames erupted into the sky and swallowed the entire Goblin horde. Damage numbers of over a hundred appeared across the horde. After five seconds, the hundreds of Goblins had each lost more than two hundred health, leaving them with less than half of their health remaining.
But the Goblins changed targets, no longer chasing Shi Feng. Now, they were going after Heizi.
Shi Feng immediately stopped, drew the Abyssal Walker, and charged forward.
Wind Thunder Flash!
At Level 4, Wind Thunder Flash had a shorter cooldown and a range of 15*3 yards. It nearly covered the entire Goblin horde.
Three streaks of lightning pierced through the Goblins, and three damage numbers of over 120 appeared, wiping out their remaining health. Kele quickly held the Goblins that survived, and Lonely As Snow charged in with a Whirlwind, finishing them all off.
All the Goblins died, leaving the ground strewn with loot.
Everyone's experience bars shot up. The dozens of experience points appearing one after another were dazzling.
With a whoosh, Heizi reached Level 3.
"That was awesome!" Heizi shouted excitedly.
"This is only the beginning. They'll all respawn again in a little while," Shi Feng said with a smile. "Let's hurry and pick up the loot."
Everyone immediately got to work. With loot from hundreds of Goblins, even six people would need ages to pick it all up.
But not long after they started, a Goblin piloting a giant robot suddenly appeared. His face was flushed with anger, and he charged straight at Shi Feng's team.
"It's a Risk Goblin! Everyone, scatter!" Shi Feng shouted the moment he saw the giant robot.