Chapter 119: An Unstoppable Force

With the Chain Fireball spell, Ye Chen’s damage output was now enough to match that of four or five people by himself. If not for the spell’s somewhat lengthy cooldown, it might even have been possible for him to rival the output of an entire squad.

Although Monk Dingyuan’s damage was pitiful, his defense and vitality were beyond question. Moreover, as the number-one ascetic of Blazing Mountain City, the man’s ability to hold aggro was absolutely rock-solid. Even when paired with Ye Chen’s monstrous damage output, the monsters never once shifted their hatred.

With the three of them working together, an eighty-thousand-health quasi-boss was hardly worth mentioning. In just over a minute, the Pig Demon King collapsed to the ground with a wail. Its experience could not compare with that of a true boss, but it was still quite substantial. More importantly, it generously dropped one rare piece of equipment and two superior pieces. Monk Dingyuan and Longface were so delighted that they could barely close their mouths. They were not freaks like Ye Chen, who could casually refine a few pills and sell them for thousands of gold coins. To them, this was already a considerable income.

After Ye Chen and the others dealt with the Pig Demon King, the rest of the team had killed nearly two hundred ordinary pig demons. Such an achievement was due not only to their doubled attributes, but also to the fact that all these second-class players possessed area-of-effect skills. Otherwise, if they had needed to kill the monsters one by one, managing a few dozen in a minute would have been the absolute limit.

With less than five minutes remaining before the next wave arrived, Ye Chen and the others hurriedly joined the battle. Monk Dingyuan had little room to display his abilities at this point, but Ye Chen and Longface truly shone. Ye Chen in particular could kill a monster instantly with a casual Chain Fireball, leaving the rest of the team staring at him in disbelief.

A little over a minute later, not a single pig demon remained alive on the battlefield. Ye Chen ordered everyone to clear the field and count the spoils. Aside from the Pig Demon King, even the ordinary pig demons had a surprisingly high drop rate. Nearly ten superior pieces of equipment had dropped, to say nothing of the eighty-odd gold coins scattered across the ground. Once the gold was divided, every face was wreathed in smiles. This was only the first wave, yet they had already earned so much. Their anticipation for the battles ahead grew even stronger.

After a brief rest, the second wave arrived.

This time, the attackers were Shadow Leopards, agile monsters that posed no threat whatsoever to the fortress walls. With their attributes doubled, the players had nothing to fear from such creatures. Nine people guarded the gate while six others coordinated their attacks from atop the arrow towers. In less than three minutes, all three hundred Shadow Leopards—including the Leopard King, a quasi-boss—lay dead beneath the city gate.

Three hundred monsters in three minutes. Although they were only ordinary monsters, everyone’s experience bars visibly climbed. The experience gained by Ye Chen and the others was particularly impressive. Ye Chen, who specialized in landing the finishing blow on quasi-bosses, had already gained nearly ten percent of a level. Such a thing would have been unimaginable outside. Yet no one found it strange. Where in the wilderness could they find monsters gathered in such numbers? Dungeons did offer similar concentrations, but inside them, the players had no doubled attributes. Simply escaping in a sorry state would have been an achievement, let alone slaughtering monsters with such ease.

Thinking of this, everyone once again appreciated Ye Chen’s value. Those who had once treated him with hostility were now filled with regret. What a pity it was that they had failed to cling to such a powerful ally! Idle Cloud and the others therefore fought desperately to distinguish themselves, while flattery flowed toward Ye Chen without end.

The third wave, the fourth, and then the fifth.

By the time the fifth wave ended, the team’s total gold income had exceeded four hundred coins. Divided among them, each person received more than twenty-five coins on average. Everyone had also obtained several superior pieces of equipment. As for some of Ye Chen’s more sinister plans, he had not yet set them into motion. He genuinely did not care for superior-grade equipment, and these items were not valuable enough to justify alerting the enemy.

The fifth wave finally offered them some resistance. In addition to a boss creature and a quasi-boss leader, ten elite-level Mighty Black Apes appeared. These creatures could actually climb the arrow towers. Fortunately, Ye Chen had warned the six players stationed there in advance; otherwise, casualties might truly have occurred. Even so, the holy priest atop the Tower of Holy Light was thrown into a frantic struggle. If Longface had not stubbornly tanked one of the monsters for him, the priest would certainly have been the first to die.

Once the fifth wave was eliminated, the sixth wave arrived almost without giving them time to breathe. Many players had only half their health and mana remaining. Someone suggested using the Tower of Holy Light to restore them, but Ye Chen rejected the idea without hesitation.

“Are you joking? This is only the fifth wave. The arrow towers will be needed most after the tenth wave. If we waste one activation now, we may very well be unable to clear the trial.”

Fortunately, Ye Chen’s authority was at its peak. No one dared object. They endured the pain, swallowed their potions, and slaughtered the sixth wave. By then, everyone’s health and mana were nearly depleted. However, the sixth wave contained neither elite monsters nor a boss, saving them considerable time and finally granting them a chance to catch their breath. By the time the seventh wave arrived, everyone had recovered fully.

Although the monsters continued to grow stronger, the absence of elite monsters and bosses allowed the players to wipe out each wave ahead of schedule. That changed with the tenth wave. A Black Iron boss appeared, accompanied by a leader monster and thirty elite monsters, causing them considerable trouble.

The boss itself was manageable. The thirty elites were the true problem.

Ye Chen was forced to change tactics. He had Monk Dingyuan hold off the two strongest monsters alone, while he and Longface helped the rest of the team deal with the elites. Only then did they barely eliminate the tenth wave before the next attack began.

When the eleventh wave launched its assault, Ye Chen had no choice but to order the Tower of Holy Light to activate. A sacred white radiance descended from the heavens, and green numbers reading +3000 rose above everyone’s heads. Apart from a few people whose health and mana exceeded three thousand, the rest of the team was restored to full condition.

By then, the group had been fighting in the Demon Training Grounds for more than an hour. Fortunately, the stimulation of experience, equipment, and gold kept them going. Without those rewards, the intensity of the battle would likely have caused some of them to collapse already.

It was worth mentioning that during this hour, Ye Chen’s Thorn Aura and Haste Aura had played an enormous role. The battlefield class known as the Dark Arbiter was finally beginning to reveal its edge. Constantly casting those two skills had also caused their proficiency to rise rapidly. Thorn Aura had reached level three, with its reflected-damage effect rising to an impressive nine percent. Haste Aura had reached level four, and now increased movement speed by twenty-eight percent and attack speed by eighteen percent.

The Attribute Aura had far less room to shine in a battlefield like this. These second-class players already possessed formidable attributes, and after doubling, they became even more astonishing. An additional ten or twenty points made little difference. However, Ye Chen had made use of the aura’s hidden attribute. A hundred or two hundred extra health might seem insignificant, but at a critical moment, it could still save a life.

They fought all the way to the fifteenth wave, and the Demon Training Grounds finally began to reveal its true pressure. One Bronze monster accompanied by fifty elite monsters drove the entire team into a desperate struggle. The only fortunate thing was that no one had yet been killed.

Everyone understood, however, that once the twentieth wave appeared, casualties would be almost unavoidable. They could accept that outcome. After all, by surviving twenty waves, everyone would walk away with a rich haul, and dying would not count as a loss. Besides, as long as the remaining players managed to protect the Demon’s Heart, those who died could be resurrected through it once the Demon Training Grounds had been cleared.

Seventeenth wave. Eighteenth. Nineteenth.

After three more waves of monsters, the twentieth wave finally arrived as scheduled.

“Tower of Holy Light—restore everyone’s condition!”

“Tower of Flame—prepare to scorch the earth and boil the seas!”

“Tower of Earth—prepare the mass Earthspike!”

“Tower of Frost—prepare the freezing breath!”

Ye Chen issued his orders to the operators of the various towers one after another, then said solemnly, “The twentieth wave will be a true test. I hope everyone will obey orders without question. The team will compensate those who sacrifice themselves. Anyone who hangs back out of fear will be expelled. Do not say I failed to warn you—the Demon Training Grounds still hold many benefits beyond this battle. If you are kicked out, you will receive none of them.”

At his words, everyone’s expression turned grave. Many silently weighed the importance of what he had said. Ye Chen had painted them a magnificent prize, and if they did not want to lose it, they had no choice but to fight with everything they had.

Clop, clop, clop, clop.

A deep rumble of hooves rang out. At the very front of the monster horde appeared a tall Death Knight Lord mounted on an eerie bone horse. Its bones were gray-white, and flames burned beneath all four hooves. As it appeared, one hundred elite Death Knights followed close behind. Behind them came a herd of centaurs led by a level-thirty-five Centaur King of leader rank.

The time for the attack had arrived, but the Death Knight Lord did not immediately lead the Death Knights and centaurs into a charge. Instead, it urged its horse forward and slowly drew the silver-white lance from its back.

The one hundred elite Death Knights moved in unison, each advancing one step on horseback. They formed a cavalry charge behind their commander. Then, with a sharp metallic hiss, they simultaneously drew their lances. A murderous aura instantly spread through the air, chilling everyone who felt it.

Ye Chen and the others grew solemn at the sight. Several team members who had never witnessed such a scene before were already trembling in the legs.

“Dead, follow me into the charge!”

With a low roar, the Death Knight Lord lowered its lance and spurred its mount forward. The one hundred Death Knights moved at the same moment, lowering their lances in perfect formation and driving their bone horses ahead. Like arrows loosed from a bow, they shot toward the fortress.

The Death Knight Lord was the arrowhead.

The charge of one hundred Death Knights possessed the momentum of a thousand troops and ten thousand horses. By contrast, the two hundred centaurs resembled a rabble of scattered soldiers, rushing forward in utter disorder.

[Death Knight Lord] — Silver Rank
Health: 380,000
Level: 37
Skills: Charge, Rally, Shadowstep, Probing Lance
Additional Effect: When leading Death Knights in a charge, gradually increases the movement speed of the entire formation, reaching its peak at five hundred yards.

[Death Knight] — Elite Rank
Health: 18,000
Level: 35
Additional Effect: When the formation’s charge speed reaches its peak, all members gain the Shadowstep effect.

“Stop them! We have to stop them!” Longface cried anxiously as he sent the monsters’ detected information to the team channel.

Shadowstep was a level-thirty knight skill. Combined with Charge, it could create a short-range teleportation effect. Five hundred yards was precisely the distance between the monster horde and the city gate. If they allowed the charge to continue, the one hundred elite knights would inevitably use Shadowstep to break into the fortress.

The consequences would be unimaginable.

A Silver boss accompanied by one hundred elite knights—no one dared underestimate their destructive power. They might even be capable of smashing the Demon’s Heart outright.

At the thought of that possibility, everyone’s faces turned deathly pale. Twenty-eight pairs of eyes fell upon Ye Chen at once.

At a moment like this, he was the only person they could think of—and the only person they could trust.

To be continued.

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