"A third-tier personal guard?" The Beast Emperor watched Anna beside Shi Feng through the crystal ball of the Evil God Temple, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. But soon a cold smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "A mere third-tier personal guard — does he really think she can stop a fourth-tier Legendary NPC?"
Personal guards in the Divine Realm were, in plain terms, contracted NPCs.
However, unlike ordinary NPCs, thanks to the contract enhancement, their base stats at the same level were slightly higher than those of regular NPCs. They were better suited for protecting against and dealing with players than for fighting monsters.
Anna before him had indeed advanced to a third-tier class, and in terms of strength she was somewhat superior to other third-tier NPCs. She might be highly effective against current players, but compared to a fourth-tier Legendary, the gap was incomprehensibly vast.
A fourth-tier forbidden spell, the Dark Prison, could hold a Legendary monster of the same fourth tier for at least an hour.
During the time the target was sealed, although they couldn't deal any damage to the sealed monster, neither could the sealed monster do anything at all.
Although the Holy Magic Dragons were extraordinarily powerful, by his estimation they could be held for at least twenty minutes.
And expecting a third-tier personal guard to stall for twenty minutes was simply laughable.
At this moment, not only did the Beast Emperor think so — everyone present shared the same view.
The gap between third-tier and fourth-tier might seem like just one step, but the higher the tier, the greater the difference in strength. A third-tier NPC stood no chance of buying even a sliver of time against a fourth-tier NPC.
As Dilo and the two level-80 Legendary evil beasts drew ever closer, Anna inside the defensive magic array began chanting, rapidly inscribing Divine Runes in midair.
Section after section of golden Divine Runes quickly formed in the air.
And on either side of Anna, two enormous magic arrays — one of light, one of darkness — materialized, the surrounding mana pouring frantically into them. Everyone in Zero Wing felt as though the ambient mana density had surged several times over.
Dual Rapid Chanting!
"This personal guard is actually quite impressive — she can perform dual rapid chanting. What a pity she'll die here today." The higher-ups from the various factions watched Anna chanting her spells, each secretly envious.
NPCs were indeed powerful, but among NPCs there were vast differences.
Being able to use dual chanting as a magic-type NPC was already rare enough, let alone dual rapid chanting. This was precisely why Dilo's ability to execute dual rapid chanting and chained casting was so remarkable.
The higher the tier of a personal guard who mastered such techniques, the greater the advantage. Just like Dilo — though clearly no match for Shi Feng's Holy Magic Dragon, through various techniques he had forced Shi Feng into helplessness, even restricting his movements so he could only stand by and watch everything unfold.
And just as everyone was thinking this, two massive pillars of energy — one white, one black — shot upward from the two magic arrays.
From these pillars, three summoned creatures emerged on each side.
The creatures from the pillar of light were three knights clad in white-silver armor, each carrying a mirror-like shield and wielding a white-silver sword.
Knights of Light — Elemental Creatures, High Great Lords, Level 80, HP: 60,000,000.
On the other side, from the pillar of darkness, emerged three mages in pitch-black robes, each holding a staff radiating four different colors of light, their entire bodies shrouded in black mist.
Messengers of Darkness — Elemental Creatures, High Great Lords, Level 80, HP: 45,000,000.
Third-Tier Spell: Light Summoning!
Third-Tier Spell: Dark Summoning!
A Grandmaster Growth Potion merely raised a player's tier by one after consumption. But for NPCs, it worked differently. After advancing to the third tier, Anna had mastered all the spells that a third-tier class should possess — making her a genuine third-tier professional.
The only drawback was that the duration was extremely short — a mere fifteen minutes. Once the time elapsed, she would revert to her original state. As such, Growth Potions could only be used at critical moments and could never serve as a trump card in guild wars or siege battles.
"This personal guard is incredibly strong!"
Six level-80 High Great Lords appearing all at once silenced the entire battlefield. No one had expected Anna to be this powerful — within the third tier, she was essentially invincible.
Before anyone had even recovered from their shock, Anna commanded the Knights of Light and the Messengers of Darkness to charge toward Dilo and the two Legendary evil beasts beyond the magic array.
The Knights of Light moved with astonishing speed, immediately forming a triangular formation around Dilo and the two Legendary evil beasts, raising their shields high.