Chapter 641 - Battle Demon
Black Dragon Empire, Sandstone Town:
Sandstone Town occupied the Black Dragon Empire's southern border and was the nearest town to the Star-Moon Kingdom. Unfortunately, the forces of darkness occupied this town, so ordinary players could not venture here. Only players who had joined the forces of darkness could enter the town safely.
The forces of darkness controlled very few towns, so many Dark Guilds were based in Sandstone Town. Among them, the most powerful Dark Guild was The Million Ghosts. One could say that The Million Ghosts was Sandstone Town's absolute overlord.
"Thousand Mile's team was defeated?"
"Impossible!"
"We sent twelve core members to assist them! With the strength of the independent Caravans that travel between Starfall City and Copper Mountain City, how could they possibly lose?!"
Inside the conference hall of The Million Ghosts, the Dark Guild's upper echelons were flabbergasted when they received news of Thunder Mile Bear's defeat.
Dark Guilds were different from ordinary Guilds. Their members relied on strength to raise their positions within the Guild. Meanwhile, every person who became a core member was an expert who had fought hundreds and thousands of Guild members to get to there. There were only slightly more than 100 core members in The Million Ghosts. If these core members were members of any of the ordinary large Guilds, everyone would easily become one of the top few experts within the Guild. Yet, of the twelve core members they dispatched, not a single one managed to return alive. It was simply inconceivable.
"What did the twelve that died have to say?" the middle-aged man, who occupied the Guild Leader's seat, asked. This middle-aged man had dark eyes, a stalwart body, bronze skin, and a chiseled face.
When this man spoke, the conference hall immediately fell silent. Nobody dared to act presumptuously before this man.
This man was The Million Ghosts' Guild Leader, Lifestealer. He was also an intimidating character who the various large Guilds in Black Dragon Emperor had nicknamed 'Battle Demon.'
In an ordinary Guild, the position of Guild Leader was only a symbol of status, not a symbol of strength. This held true for most Guilds in God's Domain. However, for Dark Guilds, the position of Guild Leader was the symbol of both status and strength. The fact that Lifestealer had become The Million Ghosts' Guild Leader proved that his strength ranked number one in the entire Guild.
Due to Lifestealer's presence in The Million Ghosts, the various large Guilds in the several nearby cities avoided provoking The Million Ghosts at all. Even the Guild ruling over Bronze Mountain City, the Holy Church of War, deferred to The Million Ghosts.
The Holy Church of War was a second-rate Guild with control over five cities. It was a top-tier second-rate Guild that had over 300,000 members. The Guild also had two experts who ranked on the God's Domain Experts List. Yet, such a Guild still allowed The Million Ghosts to manage the trade route to Star-Moon Kingdom freely. This was all due to the Battle Demon Lifestealer.
"Their opponents wore cloaks, so they did not see who they were fighting. However, judging by the enemy's tone, it seems that they look down on The Million Ghosts. They even warned us not to touch the trade routes."
"They're taking us too lightly! Guild Leader, let me lead some men and hunt down those bastards! If we don't do anything about this, the reputation our Guild has built will be ruined!"
"Guild Leader, I'll go as well. The nearby large Guilds should have learned of this by now. The Holy Church will also be watching. If we show them what the consequences are for messing with us, the Holy Church won't dare consider vying for dominance."
The Elders in the conference hall began stepping up, one after another, all wanting to teach those who dared provoke The Million Ghosts a lesson.
"It seems that our Guild's reputation isn't as well known as it should be, to think that even the people from Star-Moon Kingdom dare provoke us. However, there is no need to be anxious. Since they have done such a thing, it shows that they possess certain confidence and background. Have our members stationed in Starfall City investigate this matter. Once we know who we're dealing with, we'll give them a taste of hell," Lifestealer revealed a malicious grin.
Seeing the smile on Lifestealer's face, everyone involuntarily shuddered.
Back when the third-rate Guild, Divine Flurry, had provoked their Guild, their Guild Leader had revealed this exact smile. Four days after the initial incident, every core member of Divine Flurry died over a dozen times, and the Guild disbanded as a result. Now that Lifestealer wore this smile once more, Starfall City would most likely fall into chaos.
---
Meanwhile, inside the shrine in the Great Forest of Soria…
Watching the Thunder Wolf's HP rapidly approach 10%, tension grew in the party.
This was the crucial moment to capture the Thunder Wolf, and any mistakes could waste all of their previous efforts.
Suddenly, Shi Feng controlled the Evil Blade Spirit to leave the flooded area. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others dashed towards the Thunder Wolf, each holding a Hunting Scroll.
12%...
11%...
10%...
"Start!" Shi Feng immediately lured the Thunder Wolf out of the flooded area, the Lord's HP stopping at precisely 10%.
Upon reaching her position, Fire Dance chanted the last verse of the incantation and activated the Hunting Scroll.
Xiu!
A pitch-black chain emerged from the Hunting Scroll and bound one of the Thunder Wolf's hind legs. Meanwhile, Fire Dance affixed the scroll on the ground.
The Hunting Scroll's purpose was to trap the targeted beast. However, its effect only lasted one short minute.
At the same time, everyone else in the party also activated their Hunting Scrolls, binding all four of the Thunder Wolf's limbs and preventing the Demonic Beast from moving.
"Awoo!" the Thunder Wolf howled in anger.
Suddenly, dense dark clouds condensed above the fight, releasing blue strikes of lightning towards the affixed Hunting Scrolls.
Reacting quickly, Fire Dance activated Wind Steps, utilizing the Skill's nearly 1-second invulnerability to block the oncoming lightning strike. However, though she was unscathed from the attack, the Hunting Scroll was obliterated.
"Continue using Hunting Scrolls! Do not let it go no matter what!" Shi Feng also retrieved a 5-star Cage from his bag and charged at the Thunder Wolf.
The second key aspect when capturing a beast was timing. Cages required time to activate. During this period, the target must not escape the Cage's range. Otherwise, the capture will fail, rendering the Cage useless.
Fire Dance and the others understood what they needed to do. They retrieved more Hunting Scrolls from their bags and activated them. Meanwhile, the Thunder Wolf continuously destroyed the affixed Hunting Scrolls in a fit of rage.
At this moment, Shi Feng found an opportunity as he abruptly leaped into the air, jumping above the Thunder Wolf and activating the Cage.
Fixing the Cage to a specific location required approximately two full seconds. However, the 5-star Cage's enclosure was not large.
"Awooo!" the Thunder Wolf released an angry howl. Suddenly, more dark clouds collected in the sky, the lightning strikes increasing in number as well.
Immediately, two of the five affixed Hunting Scrolls were destroyed. The Thunder Wolf then made an angled jump, escaping the Cage's enclosure in the nick of time.
Capture failed!
Following which, Fire Dance and the others hurriedly used more Hunting Scrolls to pin down the Demonic Beast.
However, Shi Feng's second capture attempt also failed.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng only had two 5-star Cages remaining. In other words, he only had two chances to capture the Thunder Wolf left.
As expected of a 5-star rare Mount. It really is lively. This was the first time Shi Feng had attempted to capture a 5-star Mount in either life. The Thunder Wolf was far more difficult to capture than he had expected.
However, Shi Feng was not someone to be trifled with. For his third attempt, he activated one of the Abyssal Blade's Skills, Abyssal Curse, preventing all targets within a 30-yard radius from moving for 5 seconds.
Although the Thunder Wolf was a Level 50 Lord, the Skill would still affect it somewhat.
Suddenly, the Thunder Wolf's movements visibly slowed.
Shi Feng then activated Heavenly Dragon's Power and used Thunder Flame Explosion on the Demonic Beast.
-8,679.
Although his damage was negligible, Thunder Flame Explosion had a Movement Speed Reduction effect. As a result, the Thunder Wolf's speed dropped further.
"Use the Hunting Scrolls quickly!" Shi Feng shouted anxiously.
Hearing Shi Feng's command, Fire Dance and the others activated their Hunting Scrolls. This time, five chains simultaneously bound the Thunder Wolf.
Still not satisfied, Shi Feng activated Abyssal Bind as well. Nine chains suddenly sprouted from the ground, locking the Thunder Wolf in place.
However, despite the many restrictions, the chains began to shatter, one after another.
Shi Feng began setting a Cage into position once more.
For a moment, everyone forgot to breathe.
Just to hold the Thunder Wolf in position, they had used more than 60 Hunting Scrolls. Each person only had a few Hunting Scrolls remaining.
The Cage's channeling time slowly decreased.
Two seconds…
One second…
"In you go!" Shi Feng roared.
Immediately, a massive steel cage fell from the sky, trapping the Thunder Wolf within.