The defensive magic array that had enveloped the entire Star Ring army slowly collapsed and dissipated. In that moment, it was as if the entire world had been frozen solid—the attacks that had been about to unleash upon the guardian puppets ground to a halt, every player staring wide-eyed at the puppet standing before the magic barrier.
"No! This can't be!"
"How could a Tier 3 attack break through the array's limits?"
"Is it a Tier 4 mechanical puppet?"
The Star Ring players managing the defensive magic array stared at their completely depleted mana, hearts filled with disbelief and terror, and couldn't help but stagger backward. Before this, even the relentless bombardment from the turrets hadn't been able to so much as crack the array, yet a single attack from a mechanical puppet had shattered it in an instant.
The only way anyone could accomplish something like this was with a Tier 4 attack—they simply couldn't imagine any other possibility.
And a Tier 4 combat-capable mechanical puppet appearing right before their eyes, controlled by players at that—just the thought sent chills down their spines.
Even in the current Divine Realm, every major superpower found it incredibly difficult to deal with a single Tier 4 Legendary monster. It required all manner of preparation, and they might still need to be wiped out several times before they could take one down—and that was only because the monsters had various behavioral restrictions that made it possible at all.
If those behavioral restrictions were removed, the difficulty of killing a Tier 4 Legendary monster would skyrocket by several orders of magnitude.
"A Tier 4 puppet?" Qi Guang and the others heard the Star Ring players' exclamations and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
They hadn't expected that the attack fusion effect Qi Guang had unleashed would lead the Star Ring players into believing the guardian puppet was Tier 4. Still, the misunderstanding wasn't a bad thing—at least they'd have an easier time in the fight. After all, the pressure players faced when confronting a Tier 3 target versus a Tier 4 target was worlds apart.
Without hesitation, the four of them steered the guardian puppet into streaks of black shadow, charging straight toward the heavy crossbow emplacements. The ground shattered wherever they passed and players went flying. Before the heavy crossbows could even begin their next volley, Qi Guang and the others had already arrived right in front of them, their mechanical arms transformed into massive greatswords that swung straight down.
BOOM!
Though the heavy crossbows stood over four meters tall—like a small building—compared to the eight- or nine-meter-tall guardian puppet, they were nothing but roadside rubble. A single sword stroke cleaved a crossbow cleanly in two, leaving a sword mark several meters deep in the ground, the crack extending more than ten yards outward. The peak Tier 3 power was on full display.
In the blink of an eye, all four of Star Ring's heavy crossbows were gone, leaving the surrounding players completely dumbstruck.
The heavy crossbows might have looked like they were merely made of wood and metal, but the entire chassis had been reinforced with magic runes, making them incredibly sturdy. Even Tier 2 players would need a considerable amount of time to destroy one, and Tier 3-level attacks would still require multiple strikes. But now, one sword stroke per crossbow—in moments, the four guardian puppets had destroyed all eight heavy crossbows.
"Damn it! Pull all heavy crossbows back immediately!" Lu Xingluo's face was ice-cold as he barked orders. "Summoners, use Tier 3 summoning scrolls! We cannot let them get close to the crossbows again!"
A single heavy crossbow cost three thousand gold. They'd lost eight in the span of moments—even as wealthy as Star Ring was, they couldn't afford to burn through resources like this.
In an instant, Star Ring's summoning corps deployed eight Tier 3 summoning scrolls. Eight Great Overlords lunged in pairs at the guardian puppets, while every surviving heavy crossbow scrambled to retreat.
"Get lost!"
Two Great Overlords charged at Qi Guang, but he met them head-on. Both mechanical arms had transformed into greatswords, and he swung one at each Overlord—the peak Tier 3 force sent both Great Overlords flying, each losing well over a million hit points. He then immediately charged toward the nearest heavy crossbow.
Can Yun and the others likewise swatted away the two Great Overlords trying to pin them down with ease, continuing their relentless pursuit of the heavy crossbows. The sight of it all made Lu Xingluo and the other guild officers' eyes practically burst with rage.