"Melee, keep them occupied! Ranged, prepare to attack!" A black-clad ranger leading the charge for House of the Sea looked at the motionless Shi Feng and called out orders in a calm, measured tone. "Deploy the magic formation to suppress the NPC guards! Don't let him escape!"
Without hesitation, a golden magic formation materialized in the Trade District, jointly sustained by thirty-six magic-class players, and it enveloped the dozen-plus NPC guards charging forward.
The golden barrier stood like walls of bronze and iron. Even as those level-120-plus guards hammered into it, the shield merely trembled faintly, showing not the slightest sign of cracking.
The players watching from the streets wore expressions that could only be described as grim. There was surprise in their eyes, yes, but far more dread and fear.
The NPC guards of Nu Feng Town were a full 120 levels high — for ordinary players like them, they were essentially invincible, capable of one-shotting anyone. Those guards were the very guarantee of safety that free players relied on.
That was precisely why they could rest easy inside the town.
But now these invincible NPCs had been sealed by a magic formation. If House of the Sea wanted to do something to them in the future, wouldn't that be child's play?
"So this is House of the Sea's strength? They can actually bring out a magic formation that suppresses NPC guards!"
"That formation is incredible! At this rate, even stalling for time until the NPC guard reinforcements arrive is probably impossible."
Staring at the trapped NPC guards, the crowd's wariness of House of the Sea deepened considerably.
More than a few silently congratulated themselves for never crossing paths with the organization as enemies. The consequences would have been unthinkable.
Not far away, the Scorpion, who had been sneaking closer, was equally shocked.
He had never imagined that House of the Sea possessed this kind of hidden strength.
Still, the more formidable House of the Sea proved, the happier the Scorpion became. With the NPC guards out of the way, killing Shi Feng and slipping away unscathed would be that much easier.
On the other side, three level-43 Shield Warriors rushed toward Shi Feng from three different directions. The first one moved to draw Shi Feng's attention while the remaining two struck at his weak points — combined with staggered Charge timing, it was a textbook setup for a stun-lock kill.
The Scorpion watched the three Shield Warriors close in. He expected Shi Feng to finally make a move, but Shi Feng did nothing at all, simply allowing them to get within striking distance.
However, the instant the three Shield Warriors came within eight yards, starlight flickered to life around Shi Feng's body, as though he were wrapped in a veil of celestial radiance.
Clang, clang, clang—
Three crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out in rapid succession, and the three level-43 Shield Warriors were blasted backward, slamming hard into the ground. Their health bars dropped at a visible rate, only halving before finally stabilizing.
"What did he do?!" The players watching from a distance were completely stunned.
They had no idea what had just happened.
All they saw were streaks of cyan light rippling off Shi Feng's body, followed by the three Shield Warriors hurtling more than ten yards through the air, badly wounded.
"How strong is he really?" The Scorpion, waiting patiently for his opening, clicked his tongue in disbelief as he watched Shi Feng.
Others might not have caught it, but as a top-tier expert, he could faintly sense what had occurred. Just as the three Shield Warriors were about to reach Shi Feng, Shi Feng had flicked both of his swords in a single, swift arc — one strike per opponent, with no offensive skills or cooldowns activated — and the Shield Warriors, who boasted high defense, large health pools, and tremendous durability, had been sent flying over ten yards away.