Regional System Announcement for Frostwind City: Congratulations to the Hecate Guild for slaying the Stone Statue Guardian of the Frozen Ruins and completing the "Heart of the Statue" quest. Guild recognition has increased by 2,000 points, and the guild has received the Blessing of the Frozen Ruins.
The system announcement repeated three times in a row, echoing through the ears of every player in the Frostwind City region.
"Hecate already made it to the fourth underground floor? Did they really defeat the Guardian Boss of the fourth floor?"
"Hecate is way too impressive—charging from the first floor all the way to the fourth floor in one go would've been something, but now they've cleared the fourth floor too?"
"As expected of a top-tier guild. They're really in a different league from other guilds and adventuring parties. Now that they've completed the guild quest and obtained the Blessing of the Frozen Ruins, clearing the dungeon will be that much easier."
"Looks like the Frozen Ruins First Clear is as good as Hecate's. Too bad the Shura Adventuring Party kept expanding the Adventurer Alliance to collect rare materials—in the end, Hecate still came out on top!"
...
Everyone stared at the system announcement, sighing one after another. The various major factions still attempting the Frozen Ruins had all but given up on competing for the First Clear, and many felt a twinge of sympathy for the Shura Adventuring Party.
"Damn it! How did this happen?" Badao Changkong stared at the system announcement, his brows knitted tight.
He had originally thought Hecate would only have a slight edge over the Shura Adventuring Party. He never expected them to be this powerful—charging straight through to the final floor of the Frozen Ruins in one sweep, and even completing the guild's epic quest, "Heart of the Statue."
His own guild, the Baishi Dynasty, had the same quest, but the early stages were extremely complex. Even now, they hadn't finished the preliminary collection tasks.
Yet Hecate had completed it so quickly, even taking down the Guardian Boss of the fourth floor and obtaining the Heart of the Statue.
This meant the entire guild would receive the Blessing of the Frozen Ruins. From now on, whenever they entered the Frozen Ruins, their base stats would be boosted by 8%, the damage they took would be reduced by 10%, and their stamina and mental energy consumption would also drop by 10%. That would make tackling the final boss that much easier.
Meanwhile, on the fifth underground floor of the Frozen Ruins—this floor was completely different from the ones above. The staircase led straight into an ancient grand hall, and at its center stood a skeletal giant over six meters tall, clad in golden holy armor, a war blade radiating an eerie glow embedded in the ground. Even just standing there in silence, he exuded an indescribable aura of majesty and power.
The Bone Sovereign—undead creature, specialized Primal Species, High Grand Lord, Level 65, HP: 220 million.
Outside the hall stood a group of players, all braced and ready—the main force of the Hecate Guild, who had been resting for quite some time.
"Good. Quest turn-in is complete, and we've secured the Blessing of the Frozen Ruins. Next, we follow the original plan—prioritize defense, figure out the boss's behavior patterns and skills, and only then go in for the kill!" Xue Guang said with a grin as he read the system announcement.
"Vice Leader, you're being way too cautious. Our base stats are up 8%, and incoming damage is down 10%. Sure, it's a specialized Primal Species, but at the end of the day, it's just a High Grand Lord." A burly man well over two meters tall, carrying a massive crystal tower shield, rolled his shoulders and glanced at the Bone Sovereign with undisguised contempt.
The eleven players standing beside him all nodded in agreement, as though they couldn't care less about the Bone Sovereign.
The other members of the Hecate Guild broke into a cold sweat.
Only Hecate's Twelve Heavenly Fiends could talk like that. Anyone else would have lost the will to even fight.
But the Twelve Heavenly Fiends absolutely had the right to say it. All twelve were Second-Tier Classes, and their equipment was nothing short of spectacular—the weakest among them wore Mythril Rank gear at Level 50, with plenty of Gold-grade equipment mixed in, and some even had Epic-level pieces.
Their levels were equally impressive, all at Level 55. As for their combat skill, that went without saying—even Xuan Cang couldn't last twenty moves against any of them.
It was precisely because of the Twelve Heavenly Fiends, combined with the Hecate Guild's enormous resources, that they had risen to become a top-tier guild on the verge of breaking into the super-first-tier ranks.
"Better safe than sorry. I don't want to waste too much time in the Frozen Ruins." Xue Guang didn't push back—he knew perfectly well how strong the Twelve Heavenly Fiends were. These twelve represented the absolute peak of Hecate's combat power. "Alright, pull the boss!"
The moment Xue Guang gave the order, the Twelve Heavenly Fiends sprang into action, with the rest of the team following close behind.
As the group charged into the great hall, the towering skeletal figure that had been standing motionless suddenly blazed with brilliant green flames in its eye sockets, turning to face the members of the Hecate Guild as they rushed in.