A flash of sword light, and snowflakes drifted down.
The scene seemed to freeze into eternity as the entire Cold Spring Forest fell silent.
Whether it was the subdragon race warriors locked in combat or the Shadow Empire players fighting alongside them, every single one of them stood frozen in shock, staring at the subdragon warrior who had collapsed beneath the great tree and couldn't seem to get back up.
The subdragon warrior now had not only a heavy injury debuff displayed above him, but a sword scar had been carved across the silver-white armor he wore. The scar had split the armor cleanly in two, and through the gash, one could faintly see the fractured white bone of the subdragon warrior beneath.
If not for the fact that in the Divine Realm you wouldn't die unless your HP hit zero, no one would have doubted that the single sword strike just now could have killed the subdragon warrior outright.
Even so, the subdragon warrior's HP had visibly dropped by a significant chunk.
"What exactly did he do?"
Nian Xiaoxiao stared in disbelief at Shi Feng, who had just delivered that sword strike.
Earlier, she had unleashed her trump card against the subdragon warrior, and all it managed to do was push him back slightly and stall his assault for a moment. But now Shi Feng had merely swung his sword once, and the subdragon warrior had been sent into a heavy injury state. It felt like the Main God System was playing a prank on her.
After all, she was currently Level 97. She had equipped four pieces of Epic-grade gear and an exceptional Epic-grade weapon, and she also possessed a special Legacy that greatly boosted her attributes and physique in the darkness. Even among the absolute top players of those super guilds, very few could compare to her.
And yet, this seemingly ordinary, completely pressure-free Shi Feng now appeared to possess strength that exceeded hers by several tiers. How could she possibly believe that?
"He's probably that Zero Wing Guild Master, Black Flame. Rumor has it his level has already reached a hundred," said Suo Cangmang, looking at Shi Feng, whose stats were completely unreadable. Inwardly, his assessment of Zero Wing rose by an entire level.
"Even at Level 100, that kind of strength shouldn't be possible — knocking the subdragon warrior flying with a single hit. Even if we used our burst skills, we probably couldn't do that," Nian Xiaoxiao said.
The subdragon warrior before them was only a Great Lord, sure, but his strength was only slightly lower than that of the Abyss Giant from before. If they went all out at full burst, they could at best match him. To send him flying over twenty yards would require at least Legendary-tier strength.
"Level 100 alone wouldn't explain it. I suspect he's already advanced to a Tier 3 Class," Suo Cangmang said with absolute certainty.
"A Tier 3 Class? That's impossible!" Nian Xiaoxiao could barely believe it.
The earlier rumor about him reaching Level 100 was already outrageous enough. They had been leveling up in the Shadow World at a remarkably fast pace, and they were only at Level 97 themselves. Now Suo Cangmang was telling her that Shi Feng had already become a Tier 3 player? How could she accept that?
Advancing in Class was harder with each tier, and once you reached Tier 3, it was no longer just a matter of reaching the right level — it required an enormous amount of preparation time. Even with ample preparation, she wouldn't have had enough confidence to succeed in the advancement, because at their level, you couldn't just complete a simple Class advancement quest.
Just as Nian Xiaoxiao and Suo Cangmang were discussing Shi Feng, the heavily injured subdragon warrior who had collapsed against the great tree suddenly surged to his feet, letting out earth-shattering roars that echoed throughout the entire forest.
"Did his brain get scrambled?" Nian Xiaoxiao watched the subdragon warrior, who for a long while did nothing but roar without attacking, and felt a deep sense of confusion.
And it wasn't just the subdragon warrior — the entire subdragon army had begun roaring in unison as well.
"Something's wrong!" Suo Cangmang's expression darkened instantly. "They're calling for reinforcements!"
The moment Suo Cangmang finished speaking, a thunderous roar erupted from deep within the forest. Then a wave of commotion swept through the distant treeline, and before long the group saw a massive, dark tide of subdragon warriors charging toward them.
The subdragon warriors numbered well over three thousand, and among them, subdragon warriors of the elite variety — like the one on the ground — numbered five in total.
"Run!" Suo Cangmang's scalp went numb at the sight, and he bellowed the order immediately.