Chapter 1078: Attack versus Defense
Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: FluffyGoblyn
Chapter 1078 – Attack versus Defense
“How arrogant!”
A cold glint flashed in Nine Kills’ eyes. Immediately, his body melted into the shadow on the ground and disappeared.
Instead of having a Skill like the Assassin class’s Stealth, the Shadow Dancer class had the Shadow Space Skill that allowed players to meld with shadows, moving through them. They were far more difficult to detect than stealthed Assassins as their bodies were in a different dimension altogether when they vanished into the shadows. Furthermore, objects and people in the ordinary dimension couldn’t interfere with anything in the Shadow Dimension. This was different from Assassins’ Stealth Skill, which only turned its user invisible.
After entering the Shadow Dimension, unless Nine Kills intentionally left the dimension, he was impossible to detect, even with an advanced Identification Skill.
It was this reason that Nine Kills had been a legend in the past.
Sure enough, I can’t sense his presence in the slightest. Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Despite having activated Omniscient Eyes, he couldn’t sense Nine Kills at all after the middle-aged man entered the Shadow Dimension. It was as if Nine Kills had vanished completely.
This was bad news for Shi Feng.
The Shadow Dancer class was an extreme class. The class had very powerful covert techniques and instantaneous explosive power. If a Shadow Dancer launched a successful ambush, even an MT with active Lifesaving Skills might not survive.
“Hahaha! I guess even the Sword King can be nervous! Even Black Flame can’t do anything when the Boss enters the Shadow Dimension. Once the Boss finds a weak point to exploit, he’ll take care of Black Flame easily,” a female Assassin with an oval face said softly.
“Dark Heart, let’s get ready. The Boss’s Shadow Dimension has a long Cooldown. If he can’t defeat Black Flame in his initial assault, we need to jump in immediately. We absolutely cannot give an expert like Black Flame a chance to retaliate!” the youth named Dark Feather reminded his companion.
“Relax. I still have a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Even if the Boss’s attacks don’t kill Black Flame, he won’t escape my Tier 3 Scroll,” Dark Heart replied confidently.
The scroll she carried contained a Tier 3 AOE Attack Spell that had an effective radius of 15 yards. The Spell’s range could cover over half of the room they occupied.
If Nine Kills failed, she simply needed to activate the Spell, killing both Nine Kills and Black Flame.
This was in line with the Dark Blade’s code of conduct. They would do anything, including sacrificing their own companions, to complete their missions.
However, it wasn’t likely that they would need to go to such lengths.
Shadow Dimension really is an amazing Skill. It seems that I have no choice but to use this method. After observing the situation for a long moment, Shi Feng still could not detect Nine Kills. Hence, he took eight Light Stones from his bag and threw them into the corners of the room.
As the Light Stones released their dazzling glow, they illuminated the room. As a result, the nearby shadows shrunk.
Although the Shadow Dancer class possessed superior covert and explosive capabilities, the class had a major flaw.
Once Nine Kills entered the Shadow Dimension, he could only leave it through a shadow. Hence, Nine Kills had carried out his past missions at night or in enclosed spaces. He would not try to assassinate his targets during the day in the fields.
“Damn it! How does he know my weakness?!” From inside the Shadow Dimension, Nine Kills frowned as he searched for a place to emerge. “There are still six...no, seven places I can launch an attack from. I should be able to use that move.”
Although he had no idea how Shi Feng knew about the Shadow Dancer’s weakness, the class had one secret he had never spoken about: the class’s Sure-kill Skill, Shadow Dancer’s Blade. After activating this Skill, he could move rapidly between a maximum of seven locations. Although the Skill had a long, one-hour Cooldown, during the Skill’s 10-second duration, he could move so quickly that he would be invisible to the naked eye.
He hadn’t used this Skill since becoming a Shadow Dancer; he simply hadn’t found a qualified target.
“You should be proud that you’ve forced me to use this Skill,” Nine Kills sneered as he watched Shi Feng from the Shadow Dimension.
Suddenly, in the ordinary dimension, a black figure appeared from one of the seven shadows in the room with lightning speed. Immediately, this black figure dove into another shadow. In less than a second, Nine Kills filled the room with his afterimages. It was impossible to detect Nine Kills’ true body.
So fast! The sudden development surprised Shi Feng. Is this Shadow Dancer’s Blade? I can’t even catch sight of Nine Kills’ real body.
Shadow Dancer’s Blade was the reason for Nine Kills’ fame. It was due to this Sure-kill Skill that Nine Kills had successfully assassinated numerous Super Guild apex experts. Unless one had a Skill that provided invulnerability for ten seconds or they moved out of the Shadow Dancer’s Blade’s effective area, this move was impossible to escape.
“Die!”
Once he was confident of landing a blow, Nine Kills unsheathed the short sword from his waist and slashed it at the back of Shi Feng’s neck.
Dang!
The clash of metal echoed throughout the room.
Before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had begun to execute Sword’s Orbit, preventing all attacks from coming within eight yards of himself.
As his Attributes and combat standards improved, he was able to exert a more powerful defense with Sword’s Orbit. Unless one had a higher Strength than Shi Feng, they would not be able to break through his defense.
However, Shi Feng was currently Level 44 and equipped with the Level 50 Magic Light Set Equipment. He also wielded Epic Weapons and the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon’s Breath. In terms of Strength, even a Berserker with an Epic Weapon and a complete Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment would be no match for Shi Feng, much less a Ranger like Nine Kills.
Huh? Nine Kills, whose attack had been repulsed, stared at Shi Feng, dumbfounded. For a moment, his mind failed to process what had happened.
His speed definitely ranked at the peak among God’s Domain’s current players. It was utterly impossible for players to react to his attack, let alone controlling their bodies to defend themselves. Although Void Realm Assassins might notice him, barely, they definitely could not defend themselves in time.
Yet, Shi Feng had blocked his blade...
Impossible!
Retreating into the shadows, Nine Kills launched another wave of rampant attacks against Shi Feng. After all, Shadow Dancer’s Blade had a duration of ten seconds.
Xiu... Xiu... Xiu...
Nine Kills’ attacks were too fast to see. Due to his frightening speed, Nine Kills’ short sword pushed further into Sword’s Orbit’s defensive bubble. From the initial eight yards, the Ranger’s short sword gradually penetrated Shi Feng’s defense, pushing deeper until it was only three yards from the Swordsman’s body. However, no matter what Nine Kills did, he couldn’t push his attacks any further.
Shi Feng was very nearly forced to activate the Aura of Earth’s Absolute Defense. Fortunately, the defensive capabilities of Sword’s Orbit were close to perfection.
Despite facing Nine Kills’ lightning-quick attacks, Shi Feng remained calm. On the contrary, Nine Kills lost HP each time Sword’s Orbit repulsed his blades. Right now, he had less than half of his HP remaining...
This can’t continue! I need to use a bigger attack! Nine Kills could tell that, if he did not use a Berserk Skill to overwhelm Shi Feng’s Strength, he wouldn’t break through Sword’s Orbit.
Suddenly, a faint gray glow enveloped Nine Kills’ body.
[Shadow Possession] (Tier 1 Curse) Increases Strength by 60% and Agility by 80%, and improves Strength’s effects by 100% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 2 hours
He had specifically learned this Shadow Possession Skill to make up for the Shadow Dancer’s lack of Strength.
“Break!” Nine Kills fiercely swung his sword at Shi Feng.
The power and speed within the blade allowed the weapon to cut through space itself as it collided with Shi Feng’s Sword’s Orbit.
Sensing Nine Kills’ transformation, Shi Feng directly activated Heavenly Dragon’s Power.
Boom!
When the swords met, a violent storm raged through the room. Nine Kills transformed into a shadow as his body was embedded into the wall behind him.