As soon as Shi Feng finished giving his orders, Ke Le couldn't wait to go lure out the Snow Wolf Chief, and the others moved into position as well, each clearly eager to take on the boss.
Although they had already advanced to Tier 3 classes, the weapons and equipment they wore were still the same gear they'd had at Level 100. Forget Level 100 Dark Gold-grade equipment — they barely had a handful of Level 100 Gold-grade pieces between them, most of which they'd obtained by sheer luck during their class change quests.
As for the Epic-grade weapons and equipment on them, while those had been top-tier at Level 100, they were ultimately capped there. As their levels increased, those Epic items would provide less and less benefit.
In particular, weapons and equipment above Level 100 saw massive attribute boosts every five levels. If they could equip a full set of Level 105–110 Gold-grade gear, it would dramatically raise their stats — and give them the capital to challenge Level 100 super-large team Dungeons.
The resources from Level 100 super-large team Dungeons were incomparable to anything in the outside world. They represented a massive watershed across the entire Divine Realm.
Within those Dungeons, not only could players obtain Level 100+ Dark Gold and even Epic-grade equipment, but the single most important drop was the lost Tier 3 magic Skill Books.
Back when they were Tier 2, they hadn't truly understood how important magic skills were. They'd treated them as just another combat tool, relying primarily on their own attributes and fighting prowess.
But after reaching Tier 3, they realized just how wrong they'd been. Tier 3 magic skills were every bit as important as those powerful combat techniques.
Why was that?
Because with the Mana Body amplification, Tier 3 magic skills were vastly more powerful than their Tier 2 counterparts — they were true trump cards.
That was why Tier 3 NPCs, despite being completely outclassed in combat skill, could still overpower them. It wasn't simply a gap in attributes — it was the sheer number of Tier 3 magic skills they commanded. They were operating on an entirely different level.
If they could learn a large number of Tier 3 magic skills, the boost to their combat power would be immense.
Once that happened, even if they faced an opponent with superior fighting skill and comparable base attributes, they would have the confidence to win.
Facing a snow wolf pack of nearly three hundred, Ke Le and the others had grown accustomed to fighting alongside their Direct Guards. Compared to their first encounter with the snow wolves, this time was considerably easier.
They didn't even need to lure the Snow Wolf Chief out separately — they could bombard and eliminate it together with the rest of the pack, significantly speeding up the kill. It took only a little over ten minutes to wipe out every last snow wolf.
Though the Ice Snow Set pieces hadn't dropped this time, they did get a pair of Gold-grade Cold Fang Set gauntlets, immediately setting every plate-armor user on fire with excitement.
"Damn, that's so unfair! The Cold Fang Set blows the Ice Snow Set out of the water. A complete six-piece boosts Strength by 20% and raises the equipment level cap to 120. A full nine-piece even upgrades the equipment's quality by a whole tier!" Hei Zi exclaimed, clicking his tongue.
For Tier 3 powerhouses like them, nothing was more agonizing than trying to get weapons and equipment above Level 100. But the Cold Fang Set could be used all the way to Level 120, and a Level 100+ Dark Gold set was absolutely peak-tier in the Divine Realm. Wearing one would let them trade blows with Tier 3 NPCs of the same level without flinching.
"The Cold Fang Set?" Shi Feng murmured, looking at the light armor that shimmered with a faint white glow, quietly stunned.
The Cold Fang Set was extremely famous in the Demon Wolf Mountain Range — a super-rare set produced in the mountain range's core area, ranked among the top ten Level 120 Dark Gold sets in the entire Divine Realm.
If anyone wore a complete set, even the old monsters of the superpowers would be green with envy.
For the Cold Fang Set to appear in the inner zone of the Demon Wolf Mountain Range was simply unbelievable.
At the thought, Shi Feng felt a surge of excitement. He immediately ordered the team to continue hunting Snow Wolf Chiefs, hoping they could put together a few more complete sets. If they could, tackling the Level 100 super-large team Dungeon afterward would be a piece of cake.
Over the next seven consecutive days, Shi Feng did virtually nothing but hunt Snow Wolf Chiefs. He had effectively cycled through every single one in the inner zone of the Demon Wolf Mountain Range. Shi Feng's level climbed from 105 to 107, and the rest of the team rose from just over 101 to 104 — only a short distance from Level 105. Their leveling speed was nothing short of insane.
Though their levels shot up quickly, the Cold Fang Set's drop rate was pitifully low. Even with Shi Feng's Divine Blessing, they only managed to assemble three complete sets. Meanwhile, the cloth-armor Ice Snow Set yielded five complete sets, and the leather-armor Ice Shadow Set also produced five.
They also picked up over a thousand Mythril-grade pieces at Levels 100 and 105 respectively — a staggeringly rich haul. It was enough to fully arm an elite hundred-person raid team.
As for the absorbed mana, they had reached 956 strands, falling short of the one-thousand-strand milestone by only a few dozen. Completing the mission within the allotted time was practically guaranteed.
During the period Shi Feng was occupied with the mission, the private residence auctions in Stone Forest City had generated enormous wealth for Zero Wing. The average rental price for a private residence hit a staggering 150,000, and multiple rounds of auctions brought Zero Wing over a billion Credit Points in revenue. Not only did this stabilize Zero Wing's financial shortfalls, it also attracted a considerable number of capable guild members to Windrift City's virtual combat platform.
"Guild Leader, when will your mission end? Star Ring has been expanding like mad lately. They've even received major support from the Demon Emperor's Temple — they've absorbed a ton of strong players, and more and more of them are ambushing us in the wild. Especially in the Dark Night Empire, a lot of factions have defected to Star Ring. Our people don't even dare step into neutral maps anymore. We can't get any resources, our daily expenses keep climbing, and even the Star Moon Kingdom is starting to feel the pressure," Liang Jing said, frustration evident in her voice.
Although the Crimson Twilight had attracted many strong players to the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance, Star Ring had immediately countered with even better benefits — they'd even slashed the Contribution Points required to exchange for special bloodline inheritances. With their limited supply of Crimson Twilight, Zero Wing simply couldn't compete.
Under a relentless campaign of covert ambushes and Star Ring's aggressive elimination of Zero Wing members in the Dark Night Empire, Zero Wing was running short on manpower and resources. Too many high-level maps required potions and special items to farm efficiently, and Star Ring's massive expansion of their Adventurer Alliance had seized control of most of those supplies.
They could still purchase through the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, but that required gold coins.
"I understand. My mission is almost done as well. If we're short on gold coins, use gold coins for the Stone Forest City private residence auctions. That should buy us some time," Shi Feng replied after a moment's thought. "As soon as the mission is complete, we'll head back immediately."
Liang Jing nodded. For now, there was really nothing else to be done.
Meanwhile, in a forbidden land of life on the eastern continent of the Divine Realm, an ancient magic circle that had been dormant for an indeterminate age suddenly blazed with five-colored radiance. From within the dazzling light, several figures stepped forth.
Though the forbidden land of life was supposedly starved of mana, these individuals were brimming with it. Their very presence caused the surrounding ambient mana to thicken considerably.
"Is this the eastern continent?"