Chapter 996 - New Guild

"Dodge!" Fallen Wind shouted when he saw the Undead Guardian's pillar of fire.

The Guardian's Attributes were no laughing matter. Now that it used Flaming Cross Slash, it had an attack range of at least thirty to forty yards. With such an attack range, the Guardian's attacks could reach over half of the team's members.

Even after casting Protection Blessing on himself, Fallen Wind doubted he could survive this attack. Even if he did, he would be very close to death. As for his team members, if they didn't have Skills that granted invulnerability or damage immunity, they would not be able to survive the attack at all.

"We're doomed!"

Everyone felt the threat of death loom over them. Although they tried to dodge the Undead Guardian's Flaming Cross Slash, the Chieftain's Attack Speed was simply too high. By the time they turned to run, the Undead Guardian had swung its pillar of fire horizontally.

As the pillar was about to devour the team…

Shi Feng's Sacred Sword released a brilliant glow.

Boom!

The massive pillar stopped abruptly as it struck the ground, scorching the earth black and gouging a two-meter deep trench. Overall, however, the pillar of fire hadn't damaged the team. Only Shi Feng had been thrown like a cannonball due to the impact; he crashed into one of the temple's support pillars before he slid to the ground.

The other players gaped at this scene.

Despite receiving the Undead Giant's terrifying attack, Shi Feng had only lost around 2,000 HP…

When Death Wind had received one of the Undead Guardian's attacks, the Shield Warrior had lost over 5,000 HP, yet despite receiving a far more powerful Skill, Shi Feng had only suffered minuscule damage.

Although most of the players hadn't seen exactly what had happened, Fallen Wind had.

As the Undead Guardian's attack had descended, Shi Feng struck at the Chieftain's greatsword, sliding the blades along each other and altering the weapon's trajectory slightly; in doing so, he forced the Chieftain's Skill to an abrupt end. Not only had he managed to save half of the team from instant annihilation, but he had also reduced the impact on himself significantly.

However, this feat was easier said than done. The Undead Guardian had immense Strength and top-class Attack Speed and reaction speed. Finding the perfect location to strike against such a powerful monster's attack was harder than threading a needle.

Shi Feng's counterattack had been far from risky. Had he deviated in the slightest, he would have failed to save his team members and paid for his mistake with his life.

While Fallen Wind was confident in achieving a similar feat, he wouldn't have been able to do so as easily as Shi Feng.

So, that is the rumored Flowing Water Realm? After seeing Shi Feng's powerful deflection technique, a flash of inspiration struck Fallen Wind. Shi Feng's attack had also blown away the roadblock that had hindered his progress.

When Shi Feng had executed Sword's Orbit, Fallen Wind could only tell how powerful Shi Feng's combat technique was. He could not understand the techniques underlying principles. However, the technique Shi Feng used to counter the Undead Giant's attack had fully displayed the properties of the Flowing Water Realm, which helped Fallen Wind finally understand why he had been stuck in the Refinement Realm all this time.

Reaching the Refinement Realm required precise control of one's body. The Flowing Water Realm, on the other hand, required precise control over the opponent's body.

Until now, Fallen Wind had focused too much on his own body, so he hadn't truly observed his opponents and understood them. However, after seeing Shi Feng effortlessly deflect the Undead Giant's sword, he finally understood that he didn't have to spend so much energy on his own movements. Rather, he needed to put that energy and focus into his opponents.

Although this situation had only changed his views slightly, Fallen Wind's aura began to change rapidly. Unlike his previous battle-ready state, his aura relaxed, contained.

"Commander, be careful!" Autumn Goose shouted a warning as she noticed Fallen Wind slipping into a daze.

There was still an Undead Guardian looming before Fallen Wind. If the Guardian Knight did not deal with the Chieftain properly, it was very likely to kill him.

Just as the Undead Guardian before Fallen Wind swung its greatsword, the Guardian Knight lifted his massive tower shield.

Peng!

The descending greatsword slid across the shield smoothly before smashing into the ground. Although the blade had scored a deep trench in the ground, Fallen Wind had only been forced back a step, a damage of over -2,000 points appearing above his head. The impact had only taken one-tenth of his HP.

"Commander! You… Did you…" Autumn Goose's jaw dropped in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes. Although it wasn't as refined, Fallen Wind had used almost the same defense technique that Shi Feng had employed.

Seeing Shi Feng easily handle his Undead Guardian in the distance, Fallen Wind bitterly commented, "Sure enough, it's difficult. However, the Flowing Water Realm really is something. It's no wonder why I couldn't defeat One Sword. This is the most I can handle for now. I'll have to adapt to this new sensation."

Now, he could barely estimate the Undead Guardian's attack trajectory to defect it. Even so, it made his fight against the Chieftain a lot easier.

Fallen Wind's sudden rise in strength alleviated the healer's burden slightly. They could now shift more focus to keeping Death Wind alive. Meanwhile, the rest of the team launched their attacks against Shi Feng's Guardian.

As the seconds ticked by, the Undead Guardian's HP decreased.

70%... 60%... 50%...

No matter how much the Undead Guardian retaliated, Shi Feng neutralized one of its attacks after another.

Finally, after a pained shriek, the Undead Guardian, which had 2,400,000 HP, exploded into a blood mist and vanished from the large temple. The players released sighs of relief.

After the Undead Guardian disappeared, Icarus's Heart absorbed a large amount of Life Force, climbing from zero accumulated units up to 30.

Although we won't find any loot or gain any EXP here, this is a good place to collect Life Force. Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw his stored Life Force.

After Icarus's Heart had risen to Epic rank, its description no longer stated whether Life Force could be collected from players or monsters. It simply stated that it was capable of storing Life Force. In other words, he should be able to gain Life Force from both. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that he would gain anything from lower-level players and monsters.

Learning that the Undead Guardians would provide so much Life Force, it would be a waste if he did not take advantage of this situation to farm them properly.

Following which, Shi Feng rejoined the battle and dealt with the remaining Undead Guardians gradually. Unknowingly, two days passed outside the trial. The team finally defeated all of the Undead Guardians and arrived at the top of the staircase.

We're finally here. Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Contrary to expectations, the temple's Undead Guardians could respawn. A few new ones would appear every once in a while. The team had fought day and night, afraid that they wouldn't keep up with the Chieftains' respawn rate.

Only after two days did they finally reach the top of the staircase. Unknowingly, Shi Feng had also filled his Life Force storage. Once he returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm, even forging the Magic Light Set Equipment would be a trifling task.

Meanwhile, God's Domain had undergone massive changes. Particularly in Star-Moon Kingdom, something had happened that had shocked the entire kingdom.

The first-rate Guild Ouroboros officially disbanded, and a new Guild had absorbed its members.

This new Guild was called Blackwater. Furthermore, as the Blackwater Guild appeared before the public, four second-rate Guilds and over a dozen third-rate Guilds merged with Blackwater. Blackwater had also formed a strategic alliance with Heaven's Burial and declared all-out war against Zero Wing!