Chapter 1114 — High-Level Techniques

Hei Bei had barely finished speaking when a series of crashing sounds erupted from within the forest. One after another, withered trees toppled with deafening booms as three hulking black-skinned trolls, each roughly three meters tall, leapt out. They wore battered armor and gripped silver-gray spears, their blood-red eyes burning with endless killing intent.

"Roooaarrh!"

The moment the three black-skinned trolls caught sight of Shi Feng and the others, they let out furious roars. Their arms swung out in a blur, and a tree thick enough to require two people to encircle it was cleaved clean through with a single blow. The sheer power behind that strike was enough to command even Shi Feng's full attention.

Stone Troll. Leader rank. Level 62. HP: 8,200,000.

Every member of the team felt an immense wave of pressure settle over them.

If it had been a level-40 Leader, they might have managed to hold it down, but a level-62 Leader was on an entirely different level. Apart from the main tank who could hold aggro for a brief moment, no one else in the party could survive a direct hit — let alone keep one occupied.

A level-62 Leader in this area operated at the combat level of the fourth floor of the Trial Tower. In speed and base stats, it outclassed every single one of them. And since Leaders were generally immune to crowd-control skills, there was no way to slow one down even if you could run from it. So how were they supposed to tangle with it?

Shi Feng's expression turned grave.

"Some luck we've got — even Stone Trolls got summoned." For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

Stone Trolls were nothing like ordinary trolls. Thanks to the petrification runes carved into their bodies, their skin was harder than steel, and they possessed terrifying brute strength. They were famously difficult to deal with — most players who stumbled across one simply turned around and walked away.

A Stone Troll's defense rivaled that of a Great Leader, and its strength was on par with a High Leader. It was a massive hassle to fight one, and the loot was only Leader-grade anyway. You'd be better off hunting other Leaders, or going after a High Leader specifically.

But the three Stone Trolls gave the team no time to think. Without a word, they lunged directly at Ke Le, who had been holding off the Troll Chieftain.

"Why is it always me?!" Ke Le glanced at the charging Stone Trolls and immediately activated his first-tier Shield Wall and Last Stand, reducing incoming damage by 50% while weakening knockback effects. At the same time, his maximum HP surged by 40%, rocketing from thirty-five thousand to forty-nine thousand five hundred thirty.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive strikes landed — three streaks of silver-gray spear light smashed into the Dragon Scale Shield.

−6,717

−6,809

−6,784

Then the Troll Chieftain raised his enormous stone-slab-like blade, which erupted with a blood-red glow, and cleaved down at Ke Le.

Third-tier skill — Raging Wind.

Ke Le pivoted on his heel in a flash, bringing the Dragon Scale Shield up to guard his flank at the last possible heartbeat. Meanwhile, Ziyan Liuyun, sharp-eyed and quick-handed, cast a True Word Shield on him from a distance.

BOOM!

The slab-like great blade crashed into the Dragon Scale Shield, sending brilliant sparks flying. The thunderous impact echoed through the dead forest, and everyone could feel the shockwave wash over them. Deep slash marks cracked the ground where Ke Le stood.

The True Word Shield shattered on impact. Ke Le's body was sent flying, slamming hard into a nearby tree — which snapped cleanly in half.

−19,678!

"What a devastating blow!"

A single strike was enough to make every person in the party draw a sharp breath.