Down from the mountain peak, as Shi Feng chanted the incantation, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky, its radius encompassing more than four hundred yards. Even from several thousand yards away, it was perfectly visible.
The moment the pillar appeared, the magic within several thousand yards in every direction began converging madly toward its center, condensing at a speed visible to the naked eye into liquid mana. In less than twenty seconds, a humanoid figure had fully taken shape.
Standing before everyone was a knight clad entirely in a faint golden radiance, dressed in white robes, with a holy sword adorned with golden patterns slung at his side.
Though the white-robed knight stood only about two meters tall — far smaller than the Legendary monsters that had guarded the fortress — his appearance sent a tremor through the very soul of every person present.
As the hero, Arsrett, a Tier 4 Holy Sword Knight, Level 120, HP 55 million.
"A Tier 4 hero?" Feng Qianyu stared at Arsrett, her eyes wide with disbelief.
NPCs were inherently more powerful than players. Generally, only top-tier players could stand against an NPC. And heroes — they existed at the absolute pinnacle among NPCs, serving as the bedrock protectors of kingdoms and empires.
She had always assumed that Shi Feng's trump card would possess Tier 4 combat power. After all, to capture a fortress, Tier 4 strength was absolutely indispensable. Without it, players alone would never be able to take a fortress.
Zero Wing had summoned a Tier 4 Sacred Dragon during both the defense and the siege of fortresses before, so she had naturally assumed that Shi Feng's hidden card would be another Sacred Divine Beast.
She never expected him to summon a hero — and a Tier 4 hero at that. Such an existence could reduce an entire city to rubble with ease.
What Feng Qianyu didn't know was that Shi Feng had indeed considered using the Sacred Beast Descent. However, the materials required for the Sacred Beast Descent were enormous and extremely difficult to gather. Moreover, while that method worked well against players — thanks to the overwhelming attribute advantage — it was far less effective against fortress monsters. Their attributes were formidable enough that they weren't afraid of a head-on clash, and the summoned creature had a glaring weakness: the players maintaining the summoning circle. Killing those players would dispel the summoning almost immediately.
The Tier 4 Legendary monsters guarding the fortress were far from mindless. The moment they detected a summoning circle, they would focus their full force on destroying it. Facing a handful of players or even a few supremely powerful combatants, they could hold the line. But facing a group of powerful monsters, there was no way to defend.
That was precisely why, when assaulting monster-held fortresses, very few people relied on summoned beasts to breach the defenses. Otherwise, Shi Feng would have started taking the fortresses of the Earth Core Mountain Range long ago instead of waiting until now.
"Hall Master Feng, have everyone prepare!" Shi Feng said upon seeing Arsrett fully manifested. He wasted no more time. "Once the magic barrier is broken, all forces push toward the wall immediately. Our Zero Wing will handle the mini-bosses. Your job is to clear out the small monsters inside and keep them away from the mini-bosses."
"Understood — leave it to us." Feng Qianyu nodded, a flash of excitement in her eyes.
The most troublesome part of capturing a fortress was the boss guarding it. If it were only an ordinary Tier 4 combatant, the battle would be brutal enough, since the guardian bosses were far more powerful than typical Tier 4 monsters — they were bolstered by the fortress's own magic array. Ordinary Tier 4 fighters would simply get steamrolled.
And guardian bosses were no mindless grunts. Their intelligence might not rival a player's, but they weren't stupid either. They would prioritize clearing out players first, never fixating on a single target. In other words, unless you could suppress the guardian boss, capturing a fortress was nothing but a pipe dream.
This was exactly why, up to now, only the Thirteen Royal Courts and Star Alliance guilds on Dragon Heart Island had successfully captured fortresses.
But now, with a Tier 4 hero at their disposal, suppressing the guardian boss would be absolutely no problem.
As Feng Qianyu began directing the assembled army, Shi Feng instructed Arsrett to begin his assault on the magic barrier.
The Northern Fortress's magic barrier was no ordinary shield. Even a Tier 4 combatant would need to hammer away at it for a considerable time before draining its mana reserves.
But for a Tier 4 hero like Arsrett, the fortress's magic barrier was as fragile as paper.