Chapter 603 - S-rank

Time passed quickly, and Shi Feng’s head was spinning.

This was a test meant to determine a player’s understanding of themselves and their abilities.

If a player overestimated their strength and skills, they might bring about their own deaths due to choosing monsters that were too strong. On the other hand, if they chose monsters that were overly weak, they might fail their quest due to having insufficient time.

In other words, the more a player understood of their own strength, the more benefits they could obtain through this test.

With Berserk Skills such as Heavenly Dragon’s Power and Blade Liberation, although it was possible for Shi Feng to kill a Lord of the same Level, the same did not true for a group of Lords. Hence, Shi Feng could not make this decision lightly.

System: You have 30 seconds to consider. Please make your decision as soon as possible.

“I choose one Lord and nine Chieftains,” Shi Feng said, finally deciding.

System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test’s difficulty is A-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Dark-Gold rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice?

Dark-Gold rank? Shi Feng immediately felt that something was amiss. Hurriedly, he said, “I wish to change my selection to two Lords and eight Chieftains.”

His quest was Epic rank. It was clear that he would not be able to obtain the Bible of Darkness if he could only visit Dark-Gold Shrines. He needed to be able to enter Epic Shrines. Otherwise, even if he won this battle, he would still fail his quest.

System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test’s difficulty is A-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Dark-Gold rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice?

Crap! Even with two Lords, it’s still hasn’t reached S-rank? Shi Feng inwardly cursed. “Change my selection to three Lords and seven Chieftains.”

Shi Feng should be at his limit with two Lords. There was only a 50% chance that he would emerge victorious from such a battle. If he faced three Lords, based on his estimations, his success rate would be less than 20%.

System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test’s difficulty is S-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Epic rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice?

“Confirm!” Shi Feng shouted, gritting his teeth. Hopefully, the line-up of these Lords won’t be too powerful.

A moment later, ten monsters appeared before Shi Feng on the altar; three of them were Lords, and seven were Chieftains. All ten monsters were combat puppets of the same shape and size as an average player. In terms of Attributes, however, they were leaps and bounds above Shi Feng.

[Golden Puppet] (Lord Rank)

Level 32

HP 1,600,000/1,600,000

[Silver Puppet] (Chieftain Rank)

Level 32

HP 550,000/550,000

Good, my luck isn’t that rotten after all. These puppets are all melees, and their HPs are quite low as well. I shouldn’t have too many issues if I fight them from a distance. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief.

When the battle started, the ten puppets began moving. Step by step, they slowly approached Shi Feng, lacking the dexterity of a living creature. However, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragon’s Power, increasing his Strength by 100% and Defense and HP by 300%. Instantly, Shi Feng’s HP broke through the 30,000 threshold.

Sure enough, Lords were not that easy to deal with.

The instant Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon’s Power, the combat puppets dashed towards him, much faster than an ordinary Chieftain and Lord.

The ten combat puppets crossed the distance of 50 yards in the blink of an eye. The first to attack were the Silver Puppets, who thrust their spears at Shi Feng. Following closely, the Golden Puppets unsheathed the twin swords slung over their backs.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and Black Emperor, holding nothing back. Deep blue flames covered Shi Feng’s entire body, raising his fire and ice damage by 40%. Shi Feng then used Skywheel Sword, sealing the movements of all ten combat puppets within a fixed perimeter. He followed up with a Firestorm.

Ice-blue flames devoured the ten combat puppets, dealing over -20,000 damage, or -40,000 damage with a critical hit, to all ten puppets every second for five seconds. When the spell’s duration ended, the ten combat puppets had received over -100,000 damage each. Shi Feng fully displayed the devastating might of the large-scale destruction spell.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng collected 30 stacks of Death Aura from this single attack.

“I’ll get rid of one of you first.”

Shi Feng then took out a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine from his bag, drinking it. Instantly, his compatibility rate with his swords soared. Moving towards a Silver Puppet with less than 300,000 HP remaining, he used Phantom Kill, followed by Flame Burst.

Twenty-four consecutive strikes!

Twenty-four swords of light illuminated the altar. The Silver Puppet faded out of existence.

Although Shi Feng killed one Silver Puppet, the remaining six Silver Puppets and three Golden Puppets caught him in a pincer attack.

With his most powerful Burst Skill exhausted, Shi Feng used Thunder Flame Explosion to slow the remaining combat puppets, as well as deal over -10,000 damage to each. Due to his compatibility rate rising, he managed to achieve a 95% Completion Rate on Thunder Flame Explosion, reducing the Movement Speed of these combat puppets for over 10 seconds. Following which, he switched to the Aura of Wind, turning around and fleeing with his doppelganger.

Facing two Lords at the same time was already enough to overwhelm Shi Feng, not to mention three Lords and six Chieftains simultaneously.

With the Aura of Wind’s Movement Speed Increase and Thunder Flame Explosion’s Movement Speed Reduction, the Silver Puppets were unable to catch up with Shi Feng. As for the Golden Puppets, although their speed allowed them to keep up with Shi Feng, their occasional attacks caused their speed to drop sharply as well. As a result, it became impossible for them to surround Shi Feng.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng activated Nine Dragons Slash, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms constantly assaulting the distant Silver Puppets. From time to time, Shi Feng would also attack with the Blazing Meteor. Although damage from his ranged attacks caused was not as high as the Abyssal Blade, each attack still dealt around -2,000 to -3,000 damage. Occasionally, Shi Feng would also use Thundering Flash to inflict the Damage Amplification effect on the remaining nine combat puppets.

Shi Feng also constantly expended the Death Auras he accumulated to reduce the Cooldown of Thunder Flame Explosion, Thundering Flash, and other Skills. Among them, he reduced the Cooldown of Flame Burst the most.

In such a way, Shi Feng reduced the Movement Speed of all combat puppets while exterminating the Silver Puppets. From time to time, he would use Flame Burst to instant-kill a Silver Puppet.

In less than two minutes, Shi Feng had annihilated all of the Silver Puppets; only three Golden Puppets remained.

However, these three Golden Puppets were inseparable. Shi Feng could not find a chance to take them on one-on-one. Moreover, even though so much time had passed since the battle began, the three Golden Puppets were still at full HP thanks to their battle recovery.

Even when Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and managed to single out one of the Golden Puppets with his overwhelming speed, the remaining two would quickly catch up. As a result, Shi Feng could only land a few hits before he was forced to retreat.

This is troublesome. Although the Golden Puppets do not have any Skills, the three of them are like a single entity, attacking and defending as one. Shi Feng, who hovered in the air, frowned at the three Golden Puppets.

The Golden Puppets were too powerful when working together. Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon’s Power’s duration would end soon. At that time, even a battle of attrition would be difficult against the three Golden Puppets.

“Do I have no other choice?” Shi Feng muttered as he reluctantly retrieved an aqua-blue Magic Scroll from his bag.

This was his greatest trump card, one that he never thought of using.

Watching the remaining seconds of the Heavenly Dragon’s Power’s duration tick by, Shi Feng had no choice but to unfurl the aqua-blue Magic Scroll.