Chapter 574 - Curse

The battle below the cliff grew in intensity as more time passed. Aside from the booming of violent elemental mana, there were also thundering roars and the constant clash of metal reverberating in the canyon.

That’s one intense battle. Seeing the trees being shattered and felled one after another, Shi Feng could not help but take a closer look at the ongoing battle.

In the forested canyon, Shi Feng could see a massive shadow moving through the trees. This shadow left a trail of destruction everywhere it passed.

Such a powerful monster. Judging from its Strength, which allows it to sweep away all obstacles in its path, it should not be any weaker than a Chieftain. Shi Feng then jumped off the cliff to take a closer look at the situation below.

He had come to the Dark Den to complete his Epic Quest.

This sudden battle before him might very well have some relation to the quest. Naturally, he had to go check it out.

If an ordinary player were to jump down from a cliff that was over a hundred meters tall, they would die the instant they landed.

However, Shi Feng did not mind. When he was about 20 meters above the ground, he activated Gravity Liberation, his body suddenly becoming as light as a feather. Due to the immense air resistance, Shi Feng’s descent decelerated sharply, so he landed safely.

The instant Shi Feng’s feet touched the green grass, he activated Omniscient Eyes, allowing him to perceive every movement within a radius of 100 yards. With this, he would be able to react immediately at the first sign of danger.

This was a habit he had picked up from his many years of adventuring.

When dealing with the unknown, caution had the top priority. Moreover, he was currently in the Dark Den, a nest of Demons. He needed to be even more cautious.

Meanwhile, the battle happening a distance away continued to intensify, so much so that even the ground was shaking right now.

When Shi Feng arrived at the battlefield, he discovered a giant black serpent over 50 meters in length swinging its tail around. With a single sweep, the serpent easily sliced apart a tree over one meter in diameter, leaving the surface of the cut as smooth as a mirror. With another casual swipe of its tail, the serpent split the ground, opening a deep gorge. Every one of the serpent’s actions was capable of causing massive changes to its surroundings.

[Dark Magic Serpent] (Dark Creature, Chieftain Rank)

Level 42

HP 800,000/800,000

Meanwhile, fighting against the Dark Magic Serpent was a party of six players. Moreover, the players in this party were extremely powerful, with the average level of the party being Level 29. Even in Zero Wing, only Blackie had reached this level.

A Level 29 Shield Warrior currently stood at the forefront, fending off the Serpent’s attacks, while two mages and a Ranger bombarded the Chieftain with a relentless stream of attacks. A Druid and a Cleric standing at the rear line were also continuously healing the Shield Warrior.

For a time, the battle remained at a stalemate.

“Ironwrist, be careful! It’s using Vicious Venom!” hurriedly reminded the Ranger standing at the rear line when he saw the Serpent’s belly expanding.

“Relax.” The Shield Warrior named Ironwrist laughed, and instead of preparing to dodge, he took the initiative to charge at the Dark Magic Serpent.

The Dark Magic Serpent opened its mouth and began spewing black mist into its surroundings. All vegetation that came into contact with this black mist immediately withered and turned into ash.

In the next moment, the Shield Warrior rushing forward used Shield Bash on the Serpent’s abdomen, interrupting its Skill and putting an end to the stream of black mist coming out of the monster’s mouth. The black mist surrounding the Chieftain began thinning out right away.

However, the Shield Warrior was also poisoned as a result of his frontal assault, the skin all over his body turning pitch-black. His HP started decreasing rapidly, losing 3,000 HP with each passing second. In the blink of an eye, the Shield Warrior’s HP hit a critical level.

Fortunately, the Cleric of the party had long since been prepared for this situation. He quickly cast Detoxify on his companion, cleansing the Serpent’s venom just as it was about to deal damage for the third time. Meanwhile, the Druid beside the Cleric had also promptly cast Life Restoration, healing the Shield Warrior for over 2,000 HP, followed by a HoT effect that recovered more than 300 HP every second, pulling the Shield Warrior out of death’s grip.

Meanwhile, angered at the interruption of its Skill, the Dark Magic Serpent swept its tail at the Shield Warrior.

At this time, a golden arrow shot towards the Serpent’s tail.

The instant the golden arrow collided with the Serpent’s tail, it transformed into numerous chains that tied the Serpent to the ground.

However, the Dark Magic Serpent’s Strength was too powerful. In the blink of an eye, it shattered the chains binding it and resumed its attack on the Shield Warrior. At this moment, the Elementalist of the party used Ice Wall, creating a wall of ice between the Serpent’s tail and the Shield Warrior. When the Serpent’s tail collided with the Ice Wall, its speed fell drastically. As a result, the Shield Warrior managed to dodge the Chieftain’s attack effortlessly.

The entire process was like flowing water. The members of the party were perfectly attuned to one another.

Despite the Dark Magic Serpent having the advantage in Levels, this party of six was toying with it.

“Such amazing coordination,” Shi Feng could not help but praise. “Just who are these people?”

The Dark Magic Serpent was a Level 42 Chieftain. Even a Guild’s elite team would do their best to avoid such a monster. Yet, right now, a party of independent players was fighting it handily.

However, the thing that shocked Shi Feng the most right now was the fact that there were actually other players in the Dark Den as well.

The Dark Den was very mysterious and well-hidden. He had arrived in this place only after using a Tier 4 magic scroll. Meanwhile, these players before him had actually managed to find their way here. It was simply inconceivable.

At this moment, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could rush forward and question these people right away. If they truly had some other method to get to this place, he could then bring some helpers to help him complete his Epic Quest. That way, his chances of success would be even higher.

However, he suppressed this urge of his. Instead, he remained hidden in the forest as he quietly observed this party of players.

There were many incidents of players plundering other players in God’s Domain. Currently, this party was still in the thick of battle against the Dark Magic Serpent. His making an appearance right now without any warning was highly likely to lead to misunderstandings. At that time, how was he supposed to get the secret of coming to this place out of them?

Time passed little by little.

The Dark Magic Serpent’s HP continuously decreased, and soon enough, its HP fell to 30%.

“Sssss!”

The Dark Magic Serpent suddenly hissed loudly, its entire body exuding black mist. Very quickly, this mist then wrapped around the Chieftain’s body and transformed into pitch-black scales. Under the bright sunshine, the scales released a blinding black light.

Chieftain ranked monsters normally entered a Berserk state when their HP fell below a certain level. Currently, the Dark Magic Serpent’s HP had dropped to 30%, which just so happened to trigger the condition for going Berserk.

After the pitch-black scales were fully formed, the Dark Magic Serpent was like an Iron Serpent. Not only had its Defense and Magic Resistance improved significantly, but even its Strength had also increased by at least 30%. Right now, its every attack shook the earth.

However, the party of six had long since been prepared for this situation. The Cursemancer of the party immediately began tracing a large number of runes in the air, while chanting verse after verse of incantations. The density of the surrounding elemental mana had also started rising sharply.

“Amazing. That Cursemancer has actually learned the Tier 1 Curse Skill, Dark Storm.” Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the runes drawn out by that Cursemancer. “It’s no wonder they dare to challenge a Level 42 Chieftain.”

In God’s Domain, physical Taboo Skills and magical Curses were both Skills that allowed players to combat enemies of a higher Tier.

However, Curses were much harder to learn compared to Taboo Skills, since Curses were much more powerful.

The instant the Cursemancer was done chanting the final verse of his incantation, the space surrounding the battlefield suddenly went silent as countless black blades of wind appeared surrounding the Dark Magic Serpent. These wind blades easily pierced through the sturdy scales of the Dark Magic Serpent.

A continuous stream of black wind blades assaulted the Chieftain for three full seconds.

The Dark Magic Serpent lost over 8,000 HP every second, losing over 20,000 HP after three seconds passed. Moreover, aside from these damages, the scales covering the Chieftain’s body had also disappeared completely, returning it to its original form.

“Okay, let’s finish it off!” The Shield Warrior, Ironwrist, immediately sent a slash at the Serpent.

However, before this party could celebrate, a loud hiss suddenly came from the woods.

“Sssss!”

At this moment, another Dark Magic Serpent emerged from the dense forest.