Chapter 438 - Twofold Liberation

Aqua Rose and the others noticed the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s sudden change immediately.

However, the Zero Wing team was more focused on s.h.i.+ Feng than they were on the Rare Lord’s reaction.

Despite having been struck by the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s Flying Knee-kick, not only had the Wolf failed to throw his prey into the air, but s.h.i.+ Feng also managed to block the Rare Lord.

“How did Guild Leader manage to do that?”

Flying Shadow was thoroughly confused when he saw the gray Abyssal Blade block the sawtooth dagger, halting its advance. Was there really a person capable of defending against that kind of speed?

The rest of the team was similarly tongue-tied.

“He should have used some sort of special skill, I think,” Fire Dance said with uncertainty.

Fire Dance had barely seen the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s attack. Although she knew that s.h.i.+ Feng was astonis.h.i.+ngly fast, he was still much slower than the Rare Lord.

The Crimson Shadow Wolf’s attack was just like s.h.i.+ Feng’s Void Steps: extremely elusive. However, in the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s case, it had not incorporated any techniques into its attack; it had relied solely on its speed.

Compared to Void Steps, where its user would momentarily disappear and reappear shortly after, the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s disappearance and reappearance occurred simultaneously. There had been no time between the two occurrences at all. It was like a mage’s Instantaneous Movement skill. However, no mage could use the skill frequently. Moreover, the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s Attack Speed was much faster than its Movement Speed.

In martial arts, only speed was unbreakable!

This saying was not baseless. If players could not even see or sense an attack, how were they supposed to block it?

Yet, s.h.i.+ Feng had detected such the strike and promptly blocked it…

Fire Dance considered herself to be an expert among a.s.sa.s.sins, and she was slightly more insightful than others. However, she did not understand how s.h.i.+ Feng had managed to block the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s attack.

However, before anyone could figure it out, the Crimson Shadow Wolf continued its a.s.sault.

Shadow Strike!

Suddenly, the Rare Lord transformed into a streak of black light that pierced through s.h.i.+ Feng’s body.

“Look out!” Fire Dance shouted a warning, but she was too late.

Shadow Strike was one of most lethal moves an a.s.sa.s.sin possessed. It could devour almost half the HP of an MT of the same level with a single hit. The attack could even drop a Berserker’s HP to a critical level. Shadow Strike was also the fastest skill in an a.s.sa.s.sin’s repertoire. One could only defend themselves against this skill with a skill. Fire Dance had never expected that the Crimson Shadow Wolf would know it as well.

However, even after the Rare Lord struck s.h.i.+ Feng, its intense expression had not relaxed in the slightest. On the contrary, it had grown even more solemn as it glowered at s.h.i.+ Feng, emitting a low, angry growl.

It turned out that the skill had not struck s.h.i.+ Feng, but his afterimage.

“Aooo!” The Crimson Shadow Wolf was furious. Suddenly, it launched a series of violent attacks at s.h.i.+ Feng, disappearing in one moment and appearing in the next.

The pitch-black daggers transformed into countless streaks of light that bombarded the formidable Blade Saint.

However, s.h.i.+ Feng also vanished and reappeared repeatedly, and the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatory’s Shadow responded with their own streaks of light, blocking every attack sent at their owner.

The one-sided situation had suddenly become a stalemate.

As both sides clashed, sparks flew into the air around them. The storm that rolled in with every collision frightened Aqua Rose and the other spectators.

“Just what is this…” Fire Dance’s eyes widened, her mind unable to keep up with the battle before her.

Since when had s.h.i.+ Feng become so fast?!

“Blackie, you know our Guild Leader better than any of us! Speak! Just how much of his strength is he hiding?!” Aqua Rose demanded, frustration filling the gaze that pinned Blackie.

Originally, when s.h.i.+ Feng had said he had used special methods to solo a High Lord, Aqua Rose could still understand. Even so, she already considered s.h.i.+ Feng inhuman for being capable of achieving such a feat. Now, however, they watched as he contended with a terrifyingly fast Lord. By this point, she had even begun to suspect that s.h.i.+ Feng was not a player at all, but the Main G.o.d System’s son or the System itself. How else could they explain his speed?

Not even a High Lord could compete with the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s speed, yet, s.h.i.+ Feng matched it. Moreover, the player and monster were also matched in terms of Strength. Even after exchanging so many attacks, s.h.i.+ Feng had not lost any HP.

How was it possible for a player to become so powerful? Even if it were possible, it could not happen at this stage of the game.

“Me?” Very innocently, Blackie said, “I really don’t know.”

If he had not known s.h.i.+ Feng, as a brother no less, he might not believe that s.h.i.+ Feng was human at all, but a monster wearing s.h.i.+ Feng’s skin.

As both parties fought on, s.h.i.+ Feng’s HP began to decrease rapidly. Even though s.h.i.+ Feng currently had 8,460 HP, far surpa.s.sing Zero Wing’s number one MT, Cola, he could not outlast the Crimson Shadow Wolf. Against the Rare Lord’s 1,000,000 HP, s.h.i.+ Feng would grossly overestimate himself if he tried to do so.

After roughly 20 seconds, s.h.i.+ Feng’s HP fell to around 3,000.

“Violet, why aren’t you healing me yet?” s.h.i.+ Feng asked, concerned, through the team chat.

“Ah…!”

Violet Cloud was so mesmerized by s.h.i.+ Feng and the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s battle that she had forgotten her responsibilities. She immediately began to wave her staff, sending one heal after another at s.h.i.+ Feng. She also cast a Sacred s.h.i.+eld on him, granting him some damage mitigation.

Violet Cloud’s heals were very powerful. Her Recover healed close to 600 HP every two seconds, whereas her Rapid Healing recovered over 1,600 HP every second. Her Greater Healing replenished close to 3,000 HP instantly. In a short moment, s.h.i.+ Feng’s 8,460 HP was back to full.

However, Violet Cloud’s heals paled in comparison to the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s. With 1,000,000 HP, the Rare Lord’s battle recovery restored 10,000 HP every five seconds. However, s.h.i.+ Feng could not deplete its HP by that much in that short time.

“Aqua, attack. Focus on using ice-type spells. Blackie, restrict the Shadow Wolf with your curses. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, stand at a distance and use your flying daggers,” s.h.i.+ Feng commanded as he fought.

There was a limit to Violet Cloud’s Mana. If they dragged this battle on the Crimson Shadow Wolf would slaughter them all. Hence, they needed to increase their damage output. However, the Rare Lord was simply too fast. With Fire Dance and Flying Shadow’s melee attacks, they would only be easy targets for the Crimson Shadow Wolf.

The team leaped into action as they received their orders, casting one skill after another at the Rare Lord and continuously depleting its HP. Compared to Lords like the Flame Guards, the Crimson Shadow Wolf had a weaker Defense. Hence, although the Crimson Shadow Wolf dodged most of the attacks effortlessly, those that landed still inflicted significant bursts of damage.

Aqua Rose’s Frost Arrow dealt over -1,000 damage, and her Flame Barrage dealt around -3,000 damage. As for Blackie, his Dark Arrow achieved over -1,300 damage; over -2,000 damage if it was a critical hit. His Unstable Affliction also dealt close to -1,000 damage every two seconds. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow could deal around -300 damage with each of their throwing attacks.

In addition, s.h.i.+ Feng would occasionally deal over -2,000 damage with his attacks. As a result, everyone’s total damage within five seconds easily exceeded 10,000 points.

After an hour or so, the Crimson Shadow Wolf only had 43% of its HP remaining. As long as they continued to wear it down for another few hours, they would kill the Rare Lord.

With the hope of killing the Crimson War Wolf in sight, everyone sighed relief. Previously, the Rare Lord had been terrifying, causing everyone to despair. They had been certain that they would die.

“Guild Leader, why are you so good at hiding yourself? You must have been lying when you said you defeated the Level 25 High Lord using special methods before, right? In reality, you must have relied on your own strength to kill it,” Aqua Rose grumbled.

“You guys misunderstand me,” s.h.i.+ Feng suddenly said while he continued to face-off against the Rare Lord.

“Misunderstand?” Everyone was confused.

“I don’t have the ability to defend against such a astonis.h.i.+ng speed.” s.h.i.+ Feng explained, “Previously, I, too, was afraid of the Shadow Wolf. Against its speed, I’m not a match for it even if I go all-out. However, while the Shadow Wolf was attacking me, I took a look at the system time.

“Afterward, I realized why the Shadow Wolf was so fast.

“It’s not because the Shadow Wolf is fast. It’s because the Shadow Wolf’s innate skill slows our reaction time, altering our perception to think that it’s fast and unstoppable.”

Upon hearing s.h.i.+ Feng’s explanation, everyone did what s.h.i.+ Feng had said. Sure enough, they understood.

At the beginning of the fight, s.h.i.+ Feng was similarly frightened. However, when he had glanced at the time displayed by the system, he realized that something was off. Originally, s.h.i.+ Feng believed that the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s attack had happened instantaneously. Yet, the system had indicated that a short moment had pa.s.sed. In particular, when the Crimson Shadow Wolf had charged at him, s.h.i.+ Feng saw the Rare Lord cross the 20-yard distance in an instant, but according to the system clock, two seconds had pa.s.sed.

As Crimson Shadow Wolf was about to land the finis.h.i.+ng blow, s.h.i.+ Feng activated the Aura of s.p.a.ce, becoming immune to all control effects. Since the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s innate skill no longer had an impact, he had no problems defending against the Rare Lord’s normal Attack Speed. After all, he, too, possessed the combat power of a Tier 2 cla.s.s.

If anyone else had stood in his place, they would have fallen to the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s innate skill.

However, after engaging in the battle for such a long time, Violet Cloud’s Mana was almost depleted. Although she used Mana Recovery Potions constantly, with her current consumption rate, she would last another ten minutes or so at most. Unfortunately, the Crimson Shadow Wolf still had 43% of its HP remaining…

“I can only give it a shot!” s.h.i.+ Feng gritted his teeth as he glared at the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s HP.

Purgatory Power, activate!

Heavenly Dragon’s Power, activate!

Suddenly, s.h.i.+ Feng’s body released a dazzling golden glow. The glow this time was far more impressive than it had been in the Demon’s Castle. His aura was more intense, forming the faint figure of a gigantic dragon. In the next moment, the dragon released a roar that made one’s eardrums tremble.

Simultaneously, s.h.i.+ Feng’s Attributes underwent a ma.s.sive transformation.

s.h.i.+ Feng’s HP instantly rose to 25,380, and his Strength slammed past the 800-point threshold. His Defense had also improved.

With a wave of his sword, s.h.i.+ Feng forced the Rare Lord back, dealing over -400 damage with the strike. He then took a step forward and used a Tier 1 Chop. Due to the Attack Speed and damage buffs of Purgatory Power, critical double damages of -4,920, -7,312, and -7,324 appeared above the Wolf’s head before it could react.

The Crimson Shadow Wolf was sent cras.h.i.+ng into a stone pillar by the side of the small path.

The Rare Lord and Swordsman’s Strengths were no longer on the same level.

Suddenly, s.h.i.+ Feng’s furious roar echoed throughout the cavern.

Dragon’s Authority!

[Dragon’s Authority]

Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 30-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 20%, Attack Speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 1 minute.

After the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s speed fell, the Rare Lord was even less of a match for s.h.i.+ Feng.

Within seconds, the Crimson Shadow Wolf’s HP plummeted to 30%.

As it reached this threshold, the Crimson Shadow Wolf began to change, growing larger. It also tossed its daggers to the side. It was now four times larger than it had been, as tall as a two-story building. The ground trembled as it took a step.

By appearances alone, the Zero Wing team understood how terrifying this monster had just become.

However, s.h.i.+ Feng couldn’t care less. Gritting his teeth, he activated Blade Liberation.

Suddenly, the Abyssal Blade released a dazzling silver light, its power flowing into s.h.i.+ Feng.