Chapter 2599 - True Tier 4

Cola and the others grew nervous as the Demonwolves swarmed. Most of the monsters were only High Lord ranked Ice Demonwolves, but with their high levels, their Basic Attributes could rival that of Level 115 Great Lords. In other words, they had to face more than 1,000 Great Lords of the same level simultaneously, and every one of these monsters had the combat standards to reach the Trial Tower’s third floor.

Moreover, quite a few Three-headed Demonwolves ran with this pack. These monsters moved like a powerful tsunami that could wipe out anything in its path.

As the Demonwolves moved closer, and Zero Wing’s members prepared for battle, the pack split into two and surrounded the team.

Completing the encirclement, the Ice Demonwolves opened a path for their Grand Lord ranked brethren, allowing the Three-headed Demonwolves to move to the front.

“How intelligent are these monsters?!” Cola’s eyes nearly fell from their sockets.

These Demonwolves moved more like a well-trained army than a bunch of Demonic Creatures, and this army had been specifically trained to target players.

Before Cola and the others could react, one of the Three-headed Demonwolves charged forth. Over a hundred Ice Demonwolves followed the Grand Lord, providing cover.

Cola immediately responded by charging forward and using Justice Roar on the Three-headed Demonwolf.

Just as the blinding light radiated from Cola, before he could land an attack, however, a playful look flashed in the Grand Lord’s eyes, confusing the Guardian Knight.

Two Ice Demonwolves then appeared from behind the Grand Lord, ramming their heads into Cola.

Peng!

The Ice Demonwolves bounced off Cola’s armor, flying back, and the MT’s assault came to a grinding halt. Before Cola could regain his stance, the Three-headed Demonwolf s paw descended toward him, enveloped in an ink-black glow.

“Don’t you dare think I’m that easy to kill!” Cola roared, reacting quickly and raising his shield to block the attack.

The instant he raised his shield, however, he was dumbfounded.

This time, three more Ice Demonwolves appeared from the Grand Lord’s sides…

A two-pronged assault!

Despite the fact that Demonic Creatures shouldn’t possess much intellect, these Demonwolves knew how to work together to launch complicated assaults. Moreover, their coordination was simply perfect. They had executed their strategy with flawless timing. Not even players could pull off such a tactic. It was as if these Demonwolves had practiced relentlessly to deal with him specifically.

Just as Cola thought all hope was lost, an Ice Wall rose up around him.

Boom!

The wall shook violently when the Three-headed Demonwolf and three Ice Demonwolves collided with it, but it held steady.

Stunned, Aqua Rose and the others glanced toward the origin of the Ice Wall’s Mana.

None of them had been able to react to the Demonwolves’ attacks in time to save Cola, but someone had cast Ice Wall around the MT just before the four monsters’ attack landed. The Ice Wall was only a Tier 2 Spell, yet it had even stopped the Grand Lord ranked Three-headed Demonwolf. It was unbelievable!

Locating the caster, the team stared at Versailles, the elderly man behind Shi Feng.

However, to their surprise, there wasn’t a magic array around the NPC or the crystalline staff he wielded, yet he had created the Ice Wall.

When players cast Spells, they first needed to form the necessary magic array. Even Instantaneous Spells required arrays to cast, and all magic arrays took time to form. Although Instantaneous Spells’ arrays manifested much faster, time was still needed for their completion.

Versailles, however, had cast the Tier 2 Ice Wall without any magic arrays as if the Spell had taken shape with a thought. Moreover, his Ice Wall was astonishingly powerful.

Enraged, the Three-headed Demonwolf glared at Versailles. All three of the Grand Lord’s heads opened their maws, and a twofold magic array began to form beneath the monster’s feet.

After a brief pause, the three wolf heads spat a frightening storm, resembling a hurricane, which threatened to devour everyone in the area. No one had any time to dodge the attack.

In response, Versailles lifted his free hand and summoned a rock wall, isolating them from the Three-headed Demonwolf.

The powerful storm attack didn’t even shake the rock wall. Even after exhausting its energy, the storm only cleaned the wall of loose dirt…

Cola and the others were flabbergasted.

That attack had undoubtedly been a Tier 3 Curse. Including the fact that the Three-headed Demonwolf was a Level 124 Grand Lord, the attack rivaled a full-powered hit from a Level 120 Mythic monster, yet Versailles had effortlessly blocked it…

Meanwhile, the Tier 4 NPC summoned stone spikes beneath the other two Three-headed Demonwolves, who were preparing a long-range ambush, and broke the other Grand Lords’ concentration.

A Tier 4 NPC is actually this strong? Aqua Rose was utterly baffled as she watched.

She had thought Shi Feng was overestimating Versailles, who was only a Level 112 Secret-Silver Guard. He might be a Tier 4 NPC, but fighting this formidable Demonwolf army should still give him some trouble.

But after witnessing Versailles’s performance, she understood why Shi Feng thought so highly of the elderly NPC.

Versailles had instantly cast three Spells to interrupt the three Grand Lords’ attacks. In other words, he could triple instant-cast. Moreover, all three of his Spells were incredibly powerful, despite their low tier. Versailles was on a completely different level than the Tier 4 NPCs she had encountered before.

“Everyone, be more careful. Although we have Versailles’ protection, it isn’t foolproof. These Demonwolves are extraordinary. Not only are they incomparably cunning, but they also know how to take advantage of all sorts of opportunities. You need to be vigilant at all times,” Shi Feng warned, chuckling when he saw his teammates’ surprise.

Any NPC that could reach Tier 4 was a dragon among men. These individuals could protect entire cities without help. How could any of them possibly be weak?

Moreover, humans at Tier 4 were completely different from monsters at the same tier.

Humans needed to rely on techniques and Mana control to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quests, but monsters could reach the tier as long as they and their Bloodline were sufficiently powerful. Hence, even if a Tier 4 human NPC was slightly lower-leveled than a Tier 4 monster, they could rely on their superior techniques to fill the gap. Furthermore, a Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard’s growth rate was by no means lacking.

Shi Feng’s warning snapped everyone from their stupor, and a passionate flame began to bum in their eyes.

The Demonwolves before them were indeed extraordinary. That was clear after witnessing Cola’s brief battle. Not only could these monsters chain their attacks, but they also knew how to target players’ weak points. Most importantly, this wasn’t a training session, but a life-threatening battle where they could exhibit their full potential.

This was a battlefield that all expert players dreamed of!

The 11 team members immediately cleared their minds and focused on the fight before them. Although their attention was on the Demonwolves in front of them, they kept an eye on the monsters around them, as well.

Shi Feng wasn’t idle, either. He immediately charged at two of the Three-headed Demonwolves in the distance, trying to integrate his Basic Combat Techniques in his every movement.

Trying to use combat techniques with every action was incredibly difficult. When he had fought the Swordsmen on the Extraordinary Tower’s second-floor staircase, he hadn’t spared any attention or time for conducting such experiments. The tower had reduced his physique to that of a Tier 1 player, and he had barely been able to keep up with the second floor’s Swordsmen as it was. If he had tried to combine combat techniques with his movements, his efforts would’ve yielded the opposite effect.

Fortunately, these Demonwolves were the perfect practice targets. Not only did they target players’ weak points, but he could also maintain his Tier 3 physique during the fight. He would have more than enough energy to spare for practicing his combat technique integration.

Shi Feng proceeded to engage in a bitter battle with the two Three-headed Demonwolves and several hundred nearby Ice Demonwolves. Whenever he focused his attacks on the Grand Lords, the Ice Demonwolves pounced to intercept him. Some of the High Lords even used the chance to launch surprise attacks, preventing Shi Feng from using any of his Skills or Spells. He could only rely on combat techniques, which were faster, to defend himself.

As the battle progressed, Shi Feng grew increasingly familiar with using Basic Combat Techniques in combat.

Initially, he had only been able to execute a Basic Combat Technique perfectly once every dozen or so moves, but he gradually reduced that to five or six moves. As he did, his fight against the Three-headed Demonwolves became easier. Now, even his normal attacks were stronger than the Level 124 Grand Lords’. In fact, Shi Feng began to gain the advantage against the two Three-headed Demonwolves and several hundred Ice Demonwolves as the battle continued.

Aqua Rose and the others also improved with flying speed. At first, their fight with the Demonwolves had been arduous, and Versailles had had to rescue them from time to time. However, they began to learn how to use their environment, and now, all of their movements resembled combat techniques.

The team continued to train for five consecutive days. During that time, they traveled between the Demonwolf den and the Extraordinary Tower. Not only had all of the team members reached the Ascension Realm standard in the end, but Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose had also created customized Bronze Combat Techniques.

Everyone had also leveled with astonishing speed.

The Demonwolf den’s monsters didn’t drop loot, but they did grant abundant EXP. In addition, Shi Feng had sent the Personal Guards to clear out a portion of the den while everyone trained. As a result, the team members had leveled twice during the past five days. Unfortunately, due to the Demon God, Atlock’s Soul Curse, Shi Feng had lost one of the two levels he had earned. Hence, he had only reached Level 118.

Sure enough, my combat power has risen considerably after integrating Basic Combat Techniques with my movements. Overall, both my offense and defense have improved. If I can do the same with Advanced Combat Techniques, I might be able to transcend tiers, Shi Feng thought as he fought three Three-headed Demonwolves simultaneously.

After five days of frantic training, he had finally merged Basic Combat Techniques with his movements. Now, he could effortlessly execute a Basic Combat Technique with every action. As a result, his strength had undergone a qualitative transformation, and he could now pass the 90th step on the Extraordinary Tower’s second-floor staircase.

However, he still hit a roadblock on the 96th step during his fight with three Black Swordsmen. If he wished to defeat them, he’d have to become as powerful as the Black Swordsmen, integrating Advanced Combat Techniques in his movements.

Unfortunately, the feat was too difficult to accomplish as he was. Advanced Combat Techniques consumed a lot more Stamina and Concentration than Basic Combat Techniques. They were also far more complex. Executing an Advanced Combat Technique normally was already a challenge. Trying to use one with every action was beyond Shi Feng right now.

“Guild Leader, we’re almost out of time. If we don’t hurry to the western continent now, Wonder won’t make it for the family competition,” Aqua Rose announced when she realized Shi Feng was engrossed in his fight.

“It’s already time?” Shi Feng felt as if time had passed too quickly. “Alright, let’s get ready to return, then!”