High Fighting Spirits was already itching for action. He flew toward Candlelight Shadow, Invincible in hand. He suddenly activated Charge, causing his body to transform into a blurred shadow as he started moving even faster.

"Huh?!"

Candlelight Shadow jumped backward in shock even as he batted away Li Chengfeng’s Tempest Sword with his own. He managed to move behind just enough to cause High Fighting Spirit’s Charge to miss him.

"Hah!" High Fighting Spirits let out a furious roar.

He had already expected that Candlelight Shadow would dodge his Charge. His Invincible suddenly grew extremely large as it drew a brilliant arc in the air. The edges of his attack just so happened to scrape against Candlelight Shadow’s right shoulder, but the force of the blow was heavy enough to send him reeling backward.

5672!

A huge damage number flew above his head, causing Candlelight Shadow’s eyes to go cold and flat. After that, he screamed in rage, "Fucking hell! He has a really high Attack. Where the hell did that bastard Lu Chen even find these sort of people?!"

Candlelight Shadow suddenly sprang forward even though his body was still leaning backward. He didn’t show any fear or hesitation as he dashed toward Li Chengfeng and High Fighting Spirits. His sword flickered out to hit Li Chengfeng twice, the weight of those blows sending him flying. After that, he whirled around, his sword flashing through the air. High Fighting Spirits hastily raised Invincible to block his heavy slash!

Clang!

2871!

High Fighting Spirits was still sent reeling backward even though he had parried the blow. He had even lost a small chunk of health in the process.

Blood was rushing to Candlelight Shadow’s head as his eyes lit up with a competitive fire. He started laughing loudly. "This is fun! Come on! Show me everything you’ve got!"

This was the hallmark of a peak expert! They would always rise to the occasion and challenges. Setbacks would only make them perform even better! Now that Candlelight Shadow was facing off against two excellent players like Li Chengfeng and High Fighting Spirits, his blood had started to boil with excitement as he entered a realm of skill that even he had not imagined he could reach. It was also only in these moments that Candlelight Shadow would put all of his mechanical skill and innate talent on full display!

However, this also meant that Li Chengfeng and High Fighting Spirits were in a fair bit of trouble.

"Fuck your grandmother, you arrogant asshole…" High Fighting Spirits howled angrily as he whirled Invincible over his head and rushed to meet Candlelight Shadow.

"Heh, are you sure you want to rush me like that? You want to die that badly…"

Candlelight Shadow was taken aback by his opponent’s foolishness but he was not one to show any mercy. His sword shot straight toward High Fighting Spirits as he activated Barrier Break!

Pffft!

16902!

High Fighting Spirits defenses weren’t bad, but he was still nearly one-shot by Candlelight Shadow’s attack.

Thunk!

A hand wrapped in metal armor tightly grabbed onto the blade of Candlelight Shadow’s sword. High Fighting Spirits was really going all out here. He actually lunged forward, forcing the sword to sink deeper into his body as he slammed Invincible down on Candlelight Shadow’s right shoulder and activated Xiezhi Howl!

"Rooaar!"

The sinister visage of a snarling beast appeared in the air as it let out a terrifying roar. High Fighting Spirits was an absolute madman! He had sacrificed his own body to give Candlelight Shadow one hell of a surprise!

Heh, that was how people used to fight in the first place. Raw, primal, and desperate!

5829!

5228!

5292!

As those three damage numbers flew above his head, Candlelight Shadow’s health had dropped dangerously low. As his mind scrambled to process what had just happened, he sensed a bone-chilling cold approaching him from behind.

He reacted immediately by yanking out his sword from High Fighting Spirit’s chest and desperately rolling backward on the ground, staining his shiny new armor with dirt and snow!

Whoosh!

A cone of blazing energy flew just above Candlelight Shadow’s head, and a huge "MISS" appeared in the air. The blow had only sliced through a corner of his cape but nothing else. Chaos Moon had actually snuck up behind Candlelight Shadow and used Barrier Break, but he had been alert enough to force the MISS. Of course, even forcing Candlelight Shadow to roll on the ground in such an inelegant manner was already a huge and pleasant surprise for us! It was an even bigger surprise for the man who was known as the current Martial God of China, Candlelight Shadow!

……

Thud, thud, thud.

He quickly got to his feet and started making a tactical retreat. He was drinking a health potion with one hand while parrying Li Chengfeng’s sword strike with the longsword held in his other hand. Candlelight Shadow cut a sorry figure as he desperately tried to backpedal. His face had gone ashen and his lips were drawn thin. Li Chengfeng’s mechanical skill was pretty insane too. His sword kept flickering toward him at lightning speed. It was as if there was a blade darting toward Candlelight Shadow’s chest every second.

Clang! Clang!

He finally succeeded in hitting Candlelight Shadow twice. The first blow was forcefully parried by Candlelight Shadow, but he had no choice but to use a defensive skill to endure the second strike!

"Heh!"

Li Chenfeng’s iron fist shot in from the side to land heavily against Candlelight Shadow’s left shoulder. After that, he darted forward and thrust forward with all his might! Barrier Break!

……

"Damn you!"

Candlelight Shadow’s face had gone completely white and he suddenly sucked in a deep breath as the image of a golden shield suddenly encased his body. Li Chengfeng’s heavy blow only produced a simple "IMMUNE" as it struck Candlelight Shadow. This was an invincibility skill!

When he saw that, Li Chengfeng let out a roar of laughter as he beat a swift retreat. Candlelight Shadow was the Martial God of this generation and he was reputed to be invincible in China, yet Li Chengfeng, Chaos Moon, and High Fighting Spirits had actually managed to corner him to the point where he was forced to use an invincibility skill!

This was way too amusing! The great Martial God himself actually had a day like this?!

It was at this exact moment that we saw other players rush into the valley. It was a big group led by a magic knight riding on a black warhorse. Tempest Shadow had arrived with the rest of Candle Dragon’s forces at his back! As he held his longspear, his eyes practically glowed with bloodlust. Behind him stood the super archer, Transient Smoke and Clouds, and the powerhouse grand mage, God’s Dance.

The main force of Candle Dragon had finally arrived!

"Everyone, let’s retreat back to the main group and prepare our defenses! It’s time for war!" Li Chengfeng yelled as he turned around and led the rest of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls forces back to where we were fighting the boss. He formed the rearguard with Xu Yang and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun, so even if Candle Dragon tried to strike at them from the rear, they would still have the ability to fend them off. We wouldn’t lose to anyone when it came to combat power!

……

I swiftly checked the Frost Dragon’s HP. It still had about 30% of its HP left.

Yeah, we needed about twenty minutes to finish it off.

"Lu Chen, we need to hurry!" He Yi said as she shot a worried looked toward the back. "The rest of Candle Dragon have arrived. I’m afraid that Li Chengfeng and the troops we dispatched won’t be able to hold them off!"

I nodded my head. "We won’t be able to hold them off, but we’re already trying our best here…"

It was at this moment that Candlelight Shadow raised his sword in the air and bellowed, "Candle Dragon, charge! Sweep away all the enemies before you! It’s time to send our mortal foes, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, to hell!"

As the guild leader, Candlelight Shadow naturally chose to lead the charge. He darted forward as he unloaded a Barrier Break and Blazing Purgatory Slash on a hapless magic knight, dealing four hits in a row and completely obliterating the poor magic knight. His attack power really was frightening.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Cones of blazing energy shot out from the players on our side too. The five generals of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls weren’t giving any ground either as they also used their Barrier Break skill to complement their attacks. All five generals had one-shot the opponents they were facing.

Well, that was natural. The difference in power was always glaringly obvious when a general faced off against a foot soldier.

Boom!

God’s Dance’s Galaxy Storm engulfed a bunch of our players, instantly sending a group of our archers and mages tumbling to the ground. Her Magic Attack was simply way too high! It was on a whole ‘nother level when compared to Moonlight Stone, the best mage in our guild. Galaxy Storm was an advanced spell too, so it was bound to do ridiculous damage!

Furious fights broke out everywhere along our long frontlines. Since Candlelight Shadow had brought quite a few people, our numbers were about even.

Realistically speaking, the best outcome Candle Dragon could achieve under such circumstances was a pyrrhic victory. Even if they did beat us, they would only have a few dozen people left, and there was no way that would be enough to kill a strong boss like the Frost Dragon.

However, Candlelight Shadow’s pride didn’t allow him to sit still while he watched us swallow up that boss for ourselves, so he decided to gamble everyone’s lives in this risky gambit. Furthermore, Blue Sky Scar had already taken hundreds of his elites to the fourth floor, so he could still preserve his guild’s main strength even if most of the players he had brought here died.

Candlelight Shadow had really thought this one through. He would send his "little brothers" to die here, while his main force was sweeping through the fourth floor. Besides, Candle Dragon was still the premier guild in China. They had no lack of "little brothers" trying to join their guild. In fact, there were enough of them to break open a city’s gate with their weight alone.

……

But in the next instant, another group of people appeared in the gully. As I peered at them from the distance, I immediately wiped away my sweat as a big cheery grin appeared on my face. A delicate and beautiful female warrior was charging toward us on her Frostscythe Warhorse. Who else could that be than our beloved Fruit Knife Goddess? Lin Yixin had arrived, and Candlelight Shadow’s desperate gambit was now doomed to fail!

It was also at this moment that Transient Smoke and Clouds suddenly shouted, "Fang Zhuo, we’ve found it! Blue Sky Scar already found it on the B4 floor! Let’s get out of here!"

"He found it?" Candlelight Shadow let out a roar of laughter. "Okay, everyone retreat! We’re getting out of here!"

……

My heart sank.

Goddamit, Candle Dragon already found the boss of the B4 floor?

Li Chengfeng raised his sword as he yelled, "Chase after them, kill as many as you can!"

Candlelight Shadow left behind a rearguard of nearly one hundred people to stall our pursuit. The rest of their squads immediately used scrolls to teleport to the B4 floor while Li Chengfeng and his men slaughtered the hundred remaining players.

Lin Yixin swung herself off her horse as she played with a dagger that resembled a crescent moon. She smiled winsomely at me as she walked behind me and said, "Wow wee, Lu Chen, you look like you’re working hard! Do you want me to help?"

I stared fixedly at the dagger in her hand. "What the heck is that dagger…"

"Heehee, this is my lovely White Moon. It’s a 5-star Outstanding Earth-grade dagger, and it's currently sitting at the top of the dagger ranking. Not bad eh?"

"Maybe you should stab something with it…"

"Stab what?"

"Stab the boss, duh! Do you think I’d ask you to stab me?"

Lin Yixin giggled before she turned around to shout instructions to Purple Marquis. "Bring everyone to the B4 floor first. I have a scroll, so don’t worry about me. Go and find the boss of the B4 floor, or go straight to the B5 floor. I’ll be staying behind to help Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls!"

"Gotcha!"

Purple Marquis and the others waved goodbye before they took out their scrolls and disappeared. Lin Yixin brandished White Moon as she dove forward. She took advantage of the opening presented to her when the Frost Dragon lunged down to take a bite out of Gui Guzi by immediately activating Moon Gaze + Extreme Break at lightning speed. Her shiny new dagger shot into the Frost Dragon’s throat, instantly causing a huge bloody hole to appear in it!

24021!

"God damn…"

Everyone’s jaws nearly dropped to the ground.

To think that such a small dagger had dealt that sort of damage. It was too OP! It was hard to imagine just how high of an attack power this White Moon had. In fact, it was probably higher than my Heaven-stealing Sword. If not, it wouldn’t have claimed the top spot of the dagger ranking.

Everyone took advantage of Extreme Break’s effect by rushing forward and getting off a round of attacks on the Frost Dragon, instantly taking off a chunk of its HP. As expected, Beauty Lin was a deadly weapon when it came to killing bosses. It was no wonder that she had been the one to kill the final boss in the Wood Dragon Domain.

"Yiyi, did the boss of the Wood Dragon Domain drop this White Moon of yours?" I asked.

"Yup!"

"Hah, it’s really quite nice. Hey, how about you give it to me…"

"What the heck are you even going to do with a dagger?!"

"I’ll give it to Moonkiss to poach her from Purple Lily, haha!"

"WTF! You’d actually be willing to take my White Moon to get another girl?"

"Hahahaha!"