After Suo Cangmang finished issuing his orders, the entire two-hundred-man team picked up their pace and charged toward the Purgatory Giant, treating Shi Feng and his group as if they simply didn't exist.
"These people really couldn't care less about us," Yan Tianxing remarked, shaking his head with a wry smile as he watched the Shadowless Empire forces who showed not the slightest reaction.
Normally, when encountering another player party in the wild—especially one that was fighting a boss—the encountering side would send a warning or a reminder. But these Shadowless Empire people acted as though they hadn't even noticed them.
The only explanation was that they genuinely didn't care. They saw Zero Wing as posing zero threat, and therefore not worth paying any attention to.
"Guild Leader, are we really not going to do anything?" Hei Zi asked, looking at the area boss.
He didn't care whether the Shadowless Empire acknowledged their presence or not, but the area boss was the key to unlocking the map. Defeating it might help them gain access to the Cold Spring Great Forest.
"We're heading to the Cold Spring Great Forest, so having someone clear the path for us isn't a bad thing." Shi Feng smiled and gestured for the group to rest where they were, showing absolutely no intention of contesting the boss.
The Purgatory Giant that guarded the map was indeed an important boss. Defeating it would not only unlock the Cold Spring Great Forest map but also yield a special item—the Core of Purgatory. Once activated, it could create a natural barrier within a two-hundred-yard radius, helping players better adapt to level-100 neutral maps.
Its effect was similar to the Frost Source Water, except the Frost Source Water worked on individual players while the Core of Purgatory covered an area. For a Tier 2 Class party, the assistance was quite significant.
Beyond that, the Purgatory Giant didn't offer much else.
His real objective was the Cold Spring Canyon that the Ice Dragon Heisvit had claimed. The Core of Purgatory held no meaning for him. Once he took control of the Cold Spring Canyon, obtaining Frost Source Water would become far easier—let alone reinforcing a hundred-man party; even boosting a thousand-man party wouldn't be difficult.
"You've got a point."
Upon hearing this, Hei Zi found Shi Feng's reasoning sound and sat down to begin recovering.
The Purgatory Giant before them was a level-99 Legendary boss, and as a member of the Giant race, its life form was extraordinarily high. It wouldn't be easy to deal with, so it was just as well to let the Shadowless Empire forces serve as their test subjects against it.
Just as the Zero Wing members sat down to rest at a distance, the Shadowless Empire forces—who had already closed to within five hundred yards of the Purgatory Giant—noticed Zero Wing's behavior.
"Those people aren't completely stupid. If they'd dared try to steal the boss, we would have made sure they regretted it!" a level-96 Shadow Berserker said with a laugh, glancing at the resting Zero Wing members.
"I don't think that's it. They're planning to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight. They probably see that the Purgatory Giant isn't easy to deal with, so they want to use us as test subjects to gauge the Giant's abilities. That way, it'll be easier for them to handle it afterward," Nian Xiaoxiao said, glancing at Shi Feng's group with a subtle, cunning smile playing at the corner of her lips. "Too bad they're underestimating our Shadowless Empire."
The Shadowless Empire had dominated the entire Shadow World.
The resources and methods they possessed were far beyond what any of the superpowers on the Divine Realm's continent could fathom.
The Shadow World, though only the size of a single kingdom, was a higher-order small world whose resources had attracted the attention of numerous superpowers. In the end, all of them had been defeated by the Shadowless Empire. What chance did the Divine Realm's continent—with its far more limited heritage—stand?
"Alright, the boss has noticed us. Everyone, get ready!" Suo Cangmang suddenly shouted as the Purgatory Giant cracked open its eyes.
The Giant's awakening sent the roaming Demon Guards and Demon Wardens nearby into a state of panic.
Just the act of opening its eyes unleashed a wave of terrifying pressure that washed over everyone present. Even the Zero Wing members standing over a thousand yards away could feel it clearly.
This kind of oppressive force dwarfed that of ordinary Legendary creatures by a wide margin. Within a five-hundred-yard radius, the space itself grew heavy, and loose stones on the ground cracked apart, crumbling into fine ash.
Under such overwhelming pressure, the Purgatory Giant took a single step and appeared before the Shadowless Empire's formation. The spears in its six arms hammered down with devastating force, and wherever they passed, the space shattered inch by inch.
Just as the six spears fell, six Dark Knights wielding shields sprang forward from within the Shadowless Empire's ranks. Their entire bodies were wreathed in dark radiance, and the dark markings on their foreheads blazed with a faint crimson glow, as though ancient beasts had been roused from slumber. They moved to meet the six spears head-on.
Booom! Booom! Booom!
A cascade of thunderous impacts echoed through the decrepit old town. The six Dark Knights were driven back only three or four steps before stabilizing themselves, having lost roughly a quarter of their HP. The lost health was quickly restored by the healers in the rear.
Before the Purgatory Giant could launch its second wave of attacks, the six Dark Knights who had blocked the first strike had yet to fully recover—but another six Dark Knights emerged from the Shadowless Empire's formation to take their place.
This alternating two-wave tanking pattern against the Purgatory Giant was executed with flawless coordination. Even ordinary Perfection-level experts couldn't match the timing these Dark Knights displayed, and they actually managed to prevent the Giant from injuring anyone in the team for the moment.
"Hit it!" Suo Cangmang bellowed.
The moment he gave the command, the Warlocks who had been standing in the rear of the formation were already prepared. They unleashed the second-tier large-scale magic Dark Devouring, instantly creating a pool of black water beneath the Purgatory Giant's feet that latched onto the Giant, attempting to devour it whole.
Dark Devouring dealt no damage whatsoever, but it significantly slowed the Purgatory Giant's movements. The pressure on the entire team dropped instantly, and the Shadowless Empire members immediately began pouring out their damage.