Chapter 1617 - Initial Display of Might

Chapter 1617: Initial Display of Might

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1617 – Initial Display of Might
The Purgatory Serpent’s body was starting to glow as well, its aura growing more intense. Even from over a thousand yards away, the players from Zero Wing could feel the power of the snake’s aura, and they couldn’t help but shudder. At this moment, it felt as if the Purgatory Serpent was this realm’s overlord.
Everyone gulped nervously as they watched the serpent, fear flashing in their eyes. The confidence they had gained while leveling up had drowned in the Purgatory Serpent’s terrifying aura.
It’s evolving? Shi Feng’s eyes twitched as he watched the thousand-meter-long Purgatory Serpent before him.
Monster evolution was common in God’s Domain, particularly in field maps. In fact, players oftentimes considered themselves lucky if they ran across a monster during its evolution.
Normally, the various large Guilds monopolized Field Bosses, not giving other players the chance to raid them. However, evolved monsters were a different story. Monster evolutions were random, and when a monster evolved and its tier increased, it would become the equivalent of a Field Boss. Moreover, when players killed a recently evolved monster, it would drop better loot than usual.
However, an evolving Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species was no laughing matter…
The Purgatory Serpent’s combat standards had already been quite high originally. It was likely one of the strongest Bosses in the Boneless Land. Even a team of Tier 2 experts of the same level would struggle to defeat it, and they might even team-wipe. If the Purgatory Serpent evolved into a Tier 4 Mythic monster, it would definitely be the strongest Boss in the Boneless Land. It would become a taboo monstrosity, something that most players would avoid.
As an Archaic Species, if the Purgatory Serpent reached Mythic rank, its combat power would even surpass an ordinary Mythic monster.
One such incident had occurred in Shi Feng’s previous life. A Level 80 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species had suddenly evolved, and with its evolution, its map had become a forbidden land to players. The map had only been liberated from the Level 80 Boss’s tyranny after a Super Guild had sent a team of 1,000, Level 100 experts in to raid it. The team had also included over a dozen Tier 3 experts.
The Super Guild had only killed the Tier 4 Mythic ranked Archaic Species after sacrificing over 70% of the 1,000-man team and nearly half of the team’s Tier 3 experts…
Although this Purgatory Serpent was only Level 70, if it evolved into a Tier 4 Mythic monster, it’d likely be impossible to defeat until players reached Level 100.
“Guild Leader, should we retreat? Once this monster finishes its evolution, it’s perception range will definitely increase. We might not be safe here,” You Ziping suggested.
While he had witnessed Shi Feng’s prowess when working with five Level 65-plus Great Lords, he was no longer a noob. He knew that the most a Great Lord of the same level could do against a Tier 4 Mythic monster was buy some time. The five Great Lords under Shi Feng’s control had no hope against the evolved Purgatory Serpent.
Retreat? Frustration flashed in Shi Feng’s eyes as he glared at the Purgatory Serpent.
The Demon mineral field waited for him, and it was even a Medium Mineral Field that spawned Ancient Bronze Ore. Although the mineral field was not as valuable as a Manatite vein, it was worth enough. It would be especially helpful to Zero Wing, which currently lacked Mana Ore.
However, he also had no way to defeat a Tier 4 Mythic ranked Archaic Species.
This was nothing like his encounter with a Silvermoon Rate in the Dark Canyon.
The Silvermoon Rat had only been a Lord ranked monster with 18,000,000 HP. Killing it before its evolution had completed had been entirely possible.
However, the Purgatory Serpent was a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. It had a massive 160,000,000 HP. The Purgatory Serpent was already a challenging foe in its original state. Now that it was evolving, it had become far stronger.
“Guild Leader?” You Ziping asked again after Shi Feng’s long silence.
“No. We still have a chance.” After watching the Purgatory Serpent for some time, Shi Feng noticed that runes on the serpent’s body progressed very slowly. Immediately, he commanded, “Everyone, get ready and follow me!”
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
When he had cleared out the monsters around the town, he had felt that his mission was too easy. The monsters hadn’t been nearly as difficult as he had expected.
However, now that he thought about it, the Purgatory Serpent’s evolution might not involve luck at all. Rather, it may have been organized by the system.
This was an opportunity the system presented for the players. How else could he explain why the Purgatory Serpent had suddenly begun to evolve as soon as he cleared out the nearby Demonic Creatures?
The only explanation was that the system wanted players to defeat the Purgatory Serpent while it evolved.
If players failed to defeat the Purgatory Serpent and allowed its evolution, players would have no hope of acquiring the Demon mineral field until after they reached Level 100.
“What? The Guild Leader wants us to fight the Purgatory Serpent?”
As everyone watched Shi Feng dash towards the Purgatory Serpent, they began to wonder if he was a little too mad. They were only Level 40-plus players, still wearing Level 35 equipment. Starting a fight with the Purgatory Serpent would be suicidal.
But since their Guild Leader had issued the command, they had no choice but to grit their teeth as they approached the Boss.
In seconds, the team was within 1,000 yards from the evolving Grand Lord. The aura they felt radiating off of the Purgatory Serpent was much more intense as the players’ movements became somewhat sluggish.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng retrieved one Miniature Ballista after another from his bag. In total, he took out 30 Miniature Ballistas. He had initially prepared these war weapons to help him take out troublesome, high-rank Bosses in the Boneless Field, but due to the Bible of Darkness’ amazing benefits, he hadn’t found an opportunity to use the massive siege weapons.
“Split into five-man groups. Two groups will take turns manning each of the Miniature Ballistas. Leave the rest to me. Healers, follow me,” Shi Feng instructed. Following which, he approached the Purgatory Serpent alongside his five Great Lords.
Every monster evolution in God’s Domain took a considerable amount of time. Moreover, the higher tiered a monster was, the longer its evolution process would take to complete. In the case of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species like the Purgatory Serpent, it should need roughly 30 minutes to finish evolving.
In other words, the system had only given them half an hour to eliminate the Purgatory Serpent. If they failed, they could return and challenge the Boss again after reaching Level 100. By then, however, the various superpowers would likely have discovered this area.
When Shi Feng’s group was within 300 yards of the Purgatory Serpent, the evolving Grand Lord opened its amber eyes abruptly and glared at Shi Feng and the others. It roared angrily, radiating a dense killing intent that even made Shi Feng uncomfortable. However, despite its show of aggression, the serpent showed no intention of attacking. Instead, it diligently absorbed Mana from its surroundings as it continued to evolve.
It seems to be focusing on its evolution. Shi Feng smiled, feeling that their chance of success had risen.
Monsters could not move while they evolved. If they moved, their evolution would require more time. The process might even fail. Meanwhile, between dealing with them and continuing with its evolution, the Purgatory Serpent had obviously chosen the latter option.
This gave Shi Feng enough time to prepare.
“In a moment, I want every healer to focus on healing the Tomahawk Demon and pay attention to your positioning,” Shi Feng commanded. Following which, he and his five Great Lords charged at the Purgatory Serpent.
As the rest of the team watched the Swordsman charge towards the Boss, they couldn’t help but gape.
They wouldn’t have been overly surprised if Shi Feng had used the Great Lords under his control as meat shields, but he had actually joined the assault. Moreover, he led the charge himself. He was simply insane.
They were dealing with a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species here. Even the strongest MT at this stage of the game would die after two or three hits.
What they didn’t know was that Demon Ruler’s passive effect only had a 200-yard range. If Shi Feng weren’t within range of the Grand Lord, he wouldn’t be able to weaken it.
However, Shi Feng didn’t lead the charge due to Demon Ruler’s range. Rather, he did so because he wanted to use Disintegration Field, which only had a pitiful range of 100 yards.
The Disintegration Field was also why Shi Feng thought that they had a chance of victory.
He hadn’t truly witnessed the Disintegration Field’s power after recasting the Disintegration Armor. He did not know how much the Skill could suppress the Purgatory Serpent.
Shi Feng stood within 100 yards of his target in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the Purgatory Serpent opened its mouth, and Mana began to gather within. It then fired a beam at Shi Feng.
It’s time for you to show me your true power! Shi Feng then took the Disintegration Armor from his bag and activated Disintegration Field.
Immediately, a dark-gray energy rippled from the Disintegration Armor, quickly reaching the Purgatory Serpent. Wherever the energy passed, space loosened, and Mana vanished. The ground 100 yards around Shi Feng even began to dry up and crack.