Chapter 2004 – Thunder Axe City

After about fifteen minutes of teleporting with the Seven Luminaries Ring, Shi Feng finally arrived in the Icefire Mountain Range.

Even from the range’s entrance, Shi Feng could feel the bitingly cold wind against his face. If not for his high Ice Resistance, he would’ve frozen into an ice sculpture and died.

Although the Icefire Mountain Range wasn’t a forbidden land, it wasn’t an easy place for ordinary players to visit, either.

The mountain range was one-fifth the size of an ordinary kingdom, and either fire or ice enveloped the mountain’s outer region. This map only had two entrances, one within the icy tundra, and the other within the flaming inferno. Both entry points led to the mysterious Thunder Axe City.

Fortunately, the ice zone wasn’t as demanding on players as the fire zone. The ice zone’s monsters ranged between Level 70 and 85, and they onl challenge was the area’s high Ice Resistance requirement. If players wanted to survive in this cold, they’d need at least 100 points in their Ice Resistance. Any fewer and players would lose HP constantly, and the low temperature would reduce their mobility. If players wanted to fight at their peak here, they’d need at least 120 points of Ice Resistance.

The fire zone’s monsters ranged between Level 80 and 90, and players would be fine with 80 Fire Resistance; 100 if they wanted to fight unaffected.

Shi Feng didn’t linger around the entrance, summoning his Mount and venturing into the mountain range.

All Teleportation Skills and tools were prohibited within the Icefire Mountain Range. Players had to rely on their own feet or Mounts to explore the map.

Although there weren’t a lot of monsters in the ice zone’s outer region, the mountain range was a natural maze. The paths through the range were complicated and often crossed each other. There were also plenty of hidden magic traps. Depending on a trap’s strength, one could die on the spot or be stuck in place for several hours.

Even though Shi Feng was somewhat familiar with the Icefire Mountain Range, he didn’t dare to proceed carelessly.

Since Shi Feng was the first player to explore this map, he was able to claim several Treasure Chests as he explored the mountain range.

After over eight hours of maneuvering through the ice zone’s outer region, Shi Feng had obtained a total of five Treasure Chests, four of which were Bronze Rank and one was Mysterious-Iron rank. This was far more than what one would expect to find exploring a map within a kingdom.

Weapons and equipment became scarcer after Level 50, and Treasure Chests were even rare. One would be very fortunate to come across a Bronze Treasure Chest in Level 50 maps or above. Obtaining a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest in a Level 70 map was akin to securing the loot of a Level 70 Grand Lord without expending any energy.

As Shi Feng expected, the Treasure Chests contained Level 70 equipment. The most valuable of the multiple pieces he had obtained was a pair of Level 70 Secret-Silver ranked cloth armor gloves. He had also gained some potions, Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, and Magic Crystals, all of which could fetch a considerable sum if sold on the market.

“I’m finally here,” Shi Feng muttered as he arrived before a steep mountainside and stared at the cave entrance that was behind a magic array. This was where his Exploration Quest began, and it was the only entrance to Thunder Axe City.

Even after the various superpowers’ peak experts had reached Level 75 in the past, they still hadn’t been able to break through this array. Players had only been successful after reaching Level 77 and donning Level 75 and 80 top-tier equipment.

Following which, Shi Feng retrieved the Magic Scroll the Adventurer’s Association had given him and used it to remove the magic array on the cave’s entrance.

The moment Shi Feng removed the magic array, an enraged roar reached him from within the cave, echoing throughout the mountain range and causing the surrounding monsters to flee.

What a powerful pressure! It’s no wonder why ordinary experts had refused to enter this cave in the past. Even Shi Feng felt slightly uncomfortable as the pressure washed over him.

Despite this, however, Shi Feng didn’t hesitate in the slightest as he entered the cave.

Once he stepped inside, a new magic array sealed the cave entrance once more, entrapping the pressure within.

The cave’s interior wasn’t dark; on the contrary, it was as bright as day. Various crystals that radiated a faint glow covered the cave walls, and armed Gargoyles wandered the cavern. These Gargoyles occasionally emerged and entered the tunnel at the other end of the cavern.

[Enraged Gargoyle] (Elemental Creature, Lord)

Level 75

HP 15,000,000/15,000,000

[Gargoyle Warrior) (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 76

HP 40,000,000/40,000,000

Although these Gargoyles were not particularly strong, they moved in groups of three to five. Moreover, there wasn’t much distance between each group. If players weren’t careful, they might attract two or more groups of monsters at once. While this might not be a challenge for a group of Tier 2 players, players had to face the Exploration Quest alone. Meanwhile, individual Tier 2 players would struggle to defeat the Great Lord ranked Gargoyle Warriors. It was only natural that so many peak experts in the past had failed to reach Thunder Axe City, even after reaching Level 75.

Following which, Shi Feng threw Howling Thunder at an Enraged Gargoyle.

Xiu!

An arc of blue lightning streaked toward one of the wandering Enraged Gargoyles, but just as Howling Thunder was about to find its mark, the Gargoyle’s eyes glowed with a red light. The monster then swept its stone axe in a horizontal arc.

Dang!

A crisp, metallic clang echoed throughout the cavern.

What fast reaction speed! Shi Feng was astonished.

Although his attack was relaxed, his aim had been perfect. The targeted Enraged Gargoyle’s back had been turned towards him, as well. Normally, the attack would’ve even struck elite players, yet this monster had reacted in time to block it...

Before Shi Feng could launch another attack, the Enraged Gargoyle and three of its companions charged toward him with even higher Movement Speed than a Tier 2 Assassin expert.

“What about this, then?” Shi Feng threw Howling Thunder again.

Tier 1 Throwing Skill, Phantom Thorns!

Suddenly, Howling Thunder split into over a dozen copies as it flew toward the four Enraged Gargoyles, accurately aimed for the Gargoyle’s blind spots.

Dang... Dang... Dang...

A series of metallic clangs echoed throughout the cavern as the Enraged Gargoyles blocked most of the incoming attacks, but one phantom slipped past and struck a Gargoyle’s rocky form. The attack forced the Enraged Gargoyle to stumble one step back and lose over 10,000 HP.

Their combat standards are so high? Shi Feng was actually surprised to see the Enraged Gargoyle stumble backward.

Shi Feng learned through this clash that these Enraged Gargoyles’ combat standards were on par with the Trial Tower’s fourth-floor. They weren’t far behind expert players in terms of combat standards.

If an ordinary Tier 2 expert encountered four Lord ranked monsters with such high combat standards, their death would be guaranteed. Only Refinement Realm experts and stronger players would have any hope against them.

Now, Shi Feng, more or less, understood why the past’s Level 75 peak experts hadn’t been able to activate Thunder Axe City. If the monsters at the beginning of the quest were so tough, it was easy to imagine how challenging the monsters would be further down the tunnel.

Although these four Enraged Gargoyles were impressively strong, against Shi Feng, who had the Attributes of a Level 70 Great Lord, they were a joke. Shi Feng took less than ten minutes to eliminate all four Gargoyles.

When the Enraged Gargoyles died and dropped their loot, one shining item, in particular, caught Shi Feng’s attention.