Chapter 2196 – Monstrous Strength

Lightning bombarded the desolate wasteland. Even expert players, if they weren’t careful, would be struck and turned to ash. However, Samsara and the others advanced through the wasteland as if the lightning didn’t exist at all.

Only the swarming Demonic Creatures gave them any trouble.

[Thunder Tiger] (Demonic Creature, Lord)

Level 76

HP 36,000,000/36,000,000

[Hell Python] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord)

Level 77

HP 63,000,000/63,000,000

Even under normal circumstances, these Demonic Creatures were already tough opponents, but in the Thunder God’s Secret Land, where players’ tiers were reduced to zero, these monsters were even more of a challenge. These monsters attacked in groups of 20 or more and could easily annihilate a 100-man team of ordinary experts.

“Everyone, get ready! Old Locust and Formless, lure some of the monsters away. Everyone else, follow the plan!” Samsara calmly directed his team as he watched the approaching Demonic Creatures.

“Leave it to this old man!” the elderly Assassin named Maple Locust declared as he charged forth.

Meanwhile, the young Ranger, Formless Arrow, freed his bow and fervently fired his arrows. He released 36 arrows, hitting 18 three-meter-tall Thunder Tigers, in the blink of an eye. Moreover, every arrow found its target in the Thunder Tiger’s eyes, blinding the Demonic Creatures even if they didn’t cause any substantial damage.

Unable to see their prey, the Thunder Tigers halted their advance and swung their heads in confusion. Maple Locust made his way to the group of Demonic Creatures and used a Smoke Bomb, obscuring the area with smoke. The smoke drastically limited visibility in the area, and the Thunder Tigers were not immune to its effects.

Meanwhile, Maple Locust quickly located the seven Demonic Creatures he hadn’t blinded and threw his daggers, each dealing over -6,000 damage. His damage was overwhelmingly low for a Tier 2 expert.

The two Hell Pythons and five Thunder Tigers bellowed with fury as the daggers found their marks. Enraged, they charged through the smokescreen and pounced on the Assassin.

Even ordinary Tier 2 experts would likely die instantly under an assault from two Great Lords and five Lords, but Maple Locust had predicted these attacks and dodged the Thunder Tigers’ strikes. Although he failed to dodge the Hell Pythons’ attacks, his timing with Wind Steps was perfect, and using the Skill’s brief invulnerability to block the Great Lords’ attacks, he used the impact to pull more than a dozen yards away from the Demonic Creatures.

The techniques Maple Locust and Formless Arrow displayed were frighteningly impressive. Their timing and use of their surroundings were amazing. Even peak experts would be shocked to see it. After all, both players were currently Tier 0, not Tier 2.

The Assassin quickly lured the seven Demonic Creatures through the smokescreen and toward the team. Seeing this, Samsara, Burning Sea, and Endless Scars promptly aggroed the two Hell Pythons, with Samsara and Burning Sea working together against one, while Endless Scars pinned down the other by herself.

The Shield Warrior, Happy Art, aggroed three of the remaining Thunder Tigers, and Shi Feng worked with Heartless Sword against the last two. Maple Locust and Formless Arrow then got to work, luring the other 18 Thunder Tigers away from the team.

All of these players wore the best equipment available in the game right now, and although their tiers had been suppressed, their Basic Attributes rivaled ordinary Tier 2 players of the same level. Hence, they had no trouble pinning down a Level 76 Lord. However, whether or not they killed the Lord would depend on their individual standards.

The tier suppression in the Thunder God’s Secret Land also affected players’ Skills and Spells. As a result, players would not deal a lot of damage within the secret land. If players wished to increase their damage against these monsters, they had to maximize their efficiency with their combat standards, Skills, and Spells.

As the team fought, each member skillfully combined their combat techniques with their Skills and Spells. The power they exhibited was far beyond what ordinary Skills and Spells were capable of, and they didn’t waste a single hit as every attack struck the Demonic Creatures. As a result, the Demonic Creatures’ HP continuously decreased. The team’s overall DPS was only slightly less than that of ordinary Tier 2 experts.

Who are these people? Shi Feng watched his teammates fight, shocked. Could this be the butterfly effect?

The fact that five of his nine teammates were Domain Realm experts was already surprising, but the fact that these nine players had reached the Truth Realm was even more frightening. However, aside from Endless Scars, Shi Feng had never heard of these experts.

While Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past, he hadn’t exactly had access to a lot of information, but he had enjoyed greater access than ordinary players. Any expert capable of reaching the Domain Realm had been an apex powerhouse in God’s Domain, able to reach Tier 5 at the very least. However, Samsara and these others’ names hadn’t been among the Tier 5 and 6 players he had known about.

Of course, Shi Feng may find his teammates’ performances surprising, but he didn’t fall behind in this fight.

Shi Feng’s tier had been reduced to zero as well, but his Basic Attributes could still rival current peak experts. Including the fact that he was a Level 79 player, he easily suppressed the Thunder Tiger before him.

As he fought, damages ranging from -30,000 to -50,000 began to appear above the Thunder Tiger’s head, one after another.

“How is his Strength so high?” Happy Art’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the damages appear above the Demonic Creatures.

Even Endless Scars, the team’s strongest player, and her Strength was on par with the Thunder Tiger’s. Knowing the woman’s combat standards, this was why Samsara had her pin down one of the Great Lord ranked Hell Pythons by herself, keeping it busy. However, Shi Feng literally pinned the Thunder Tiger he faced to the ground...

“We found a diamond in the rough!” Maple Locust, who kited a group of Thunder Tigers, could not help but comment when he saw Shi Feng. “With this kid, we’ll reach the Thunder Temple much sooner than anticipated.”

“That’s right. We really owe Scars for this. It’ll also be much easier to clear out these monsters,” Samsara chimed in, nodding happily.

The monster they had to deal with on the way was the most challenging aspect of reaching the Thunder Temple. Having a team member with such high Attributes would undoubtedly relieve some of the pressure they had to face and significantly increase the team’s survivability.

Endless Scars only nodded in response to Samsara’s praise, but even she was surprised to see Shi Feng handle his monster so easily.

Shi Feng’s extraordinary Basic Attributes were precisely the reason that she had chosen him to help with this mission, but she hadn’t expected his Attributes to be this high.

She had drastically improved since they had last seen each other, replacing almost all of her previous equipment. She had also encountered a few fortuitous opportunities. Now, the power of her Spells could easily overwhelm ordinary Berserkers. And yet, Shi Feng still surpassed her. It was unbelievable.

Seeing the Swordsman’s powerful Attributes also changed Samsara’s attitude towards the boy. He stopped treating Shi Feng like a simple mercenary. Instead, he entertained the fleeting thought of recruiting this Swordsman into his team.

Meanwhile, the team advanced far faster than their last visit due to Shi Feng’s contributions. After three days of fighting and resting, these players finally arrived before a magnificent temple.

The temple was ten meters tall, with a total of three floors. The very building radiated Divine Might that kept monsters at bay, creating a natural haven.

Every member of the team had leveled up once after defeating higher-tiered monsters. Now, Shi Feng was only 9% away from reaching Level 80.

However, Shi Feng detected several dozen sources of killing intent as the team approached the Thunder Temple. “Players?” Shi Feng mumbled as he spotted several dozen people exit the temple.

Entering a Thunder God’s Secret Land was not an easy task, especially for current players. Shi Feng had already been surprised to learn that Samsara’s group had entered one, yet they encountered other people in this secret land, as well.

Moreover, Shi Feng found a familiar face among this group.

Hidden Soul, the player known as ‘Pride’ in the Flower of Seven Sins!

“You’re late, Samsara. Unfortunately, the Flower of Seven Sins has claimed this Thunder Temple!” a keen-witted man in his 40s said. Smiling at Samsara, he continued, “Hand over the Thunder God’s Secret Key, and I won’t hold you accountable for your previous transgressions!”

“Supreme Sky?! Crap! Everyone, retreat!” Samsara shouted, paling when he saw the middle-aged man.

“It’s too late! Activate the array!” the man named Supreme Sky barked with a scornful expression.

Immediately, over 20 Tier 2 Assassins appeared around Samsara’s team. They exploded into scattering blood mist. Despite the fact that players couldn’t use tools in the Thunder God’s Secret Land, this strange blood mist formed a magic array that enveloped the Thunder Temple and the players around it.