"Why are you here, Purple Lightning?"
As the pleasant voice rang out, the Tier 3 female Swordsman turned toward the source, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise.
A stunningly beautiful and regal Tier 3 female Elementalist approached, clad in light blue mage robes and wielding a deep purple wooden staff, her level reaching 107. Though she stood just half a step away from the Void Realm—no different from the Tier 3 female Swordsman—something was distinctly different. As she walked forward, the ambient mana seemed to recognize its master, growing gentle and warm around her.
The appearance of this Tier 3 female Elementalist immediately drew the attention of every player nearby. They couldn't help but stare, and quite a few female players gazed upon her with expressions of admiration and reverence.
"No way! Purple Lightning Rakshasa! She's actually come here too?"
"It looks like there's hope for the Bronze Teleportation Gate that opened in our Aurora Shelter after all."
"Of course. Purple Lightning Rakshasa is one of the Three Great Elementalists, on par with Qingshuang of the First Shelter. Even though she only recently advanced, her strength is every bit on par with Qingshuang and the rest. Besides, she's so young—it's entirely possible she'll surpass them to become the number one Elementalist."
The experts present murmured amongst themselves as they regarded the magnificent Tier 3 female Elementalist, and the tense atmosphere that had gripped the shelter softened considerably.
"Purple Lightning Rakshasa?"
Shi Feng studied the proud, leopard-like Tier 3 female Elementalist with surprise.
He had never expected to encounter one of the Divine Realm's Ten Greatest Grand Holy Demon Archmages—the legendary Purple Lightning Rakshasa—here of all places.
In his previous life, Qingshuang and the others had been key figures of the first-rate guild Illusory World Temple, backed by the full might of a top guild. That was how they had risen to become peak powerhouses of the Divine Realm. But Purple Lightning Rakshasa, a freelance player, had relied solely on her own strength to earn recognition as one of the Divine Realm's Ten Greatest Grand Holy Demon Archmages.
In truth, aside from Tier 6 God-ranked experts, no one in the entire Divine Realm could challenge Purple Lightning Rakshasa. If only she'd had better opportunities, she could very well have advanced to become a Tier 6 God Mage.
As Shi Feng and the others observed Purple Lightning Rakshasa, she briefly swept her gaze over them and looked away.
A Tier 3 Class was indeed formidable in the current era, but the truth was that they were no longer as rare as before. Moreover, even among those who had advanced to Tier 3, there were vast differences in strength—nothing like the uniformity of Tier 2.
When a player advanced to Tier 3, the quality of their Mana Body varied dramatically.
Those who passed through a Normal Difficulty trial to advance to Tier 3 were nothing special. In fact, the vast majority of Tier 3 players one encountered in daily life had advanced through this very method.
To ordinary players, such Tier 3 experts might seem untouchable. But to someone at her level, they were no different from average Tier 2 experts—just slightly stronger base stats, nothing more.
"The Bronze Teleportation Gate of Aurora Shelter is a lifeline for our entire region—our connection to the outside world. If external guilds seize control of it completely, then the rest of us who live here will suffer. Naturally, I had to come and do my part." Purple Lightning Rakshasa shot a sidelong glance at the Tier 3 female Swordsman, Junya. "The First Shelter is locked in a heated battle with those external guilds right now. There's no way they could send anyone over here, let alone Qingshuang. And the enemy we're facing this time isn't some ordinary external guild—it's a superpower. They're not the kind of small fry that Qingshuang and her people can casually deal with."
"I know that, but you and Qingshuang are both Elementalists. In large-scale team battles, your effectiveness is several times greater than that of physical combat Classes like ours. With your support, our chances at Aurora Shelter would be much better." Junya sighed regretfully.
If it were a small-scale skirmish, she would have had reasonable confidence. But the battle for control of the Bronze Teleportation Gate involved hundreds of thousands of players—a war far too large for a physical combat Class like hers to make a meaningful difference.
Magic Classes were a different story entirely, especially Qingshuang and her cohort—the Three Great Elementalists. Each of them wielded multiple Tier 3 large-scale destructive spells that could turn the tide of a battlefield. A single one of them was worth dozens of her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been planning to cooperate with Qingshuang to manage the Bronze Teleportation Gate.
"Qingshuang and the others are strong, especially with those maniacs in team battles. But expecting to win against an external superpower in this war is nothing but a pipe dream. You have no idea how powerful those superpowers truly are." Purple Lightning Rakshasa shook her head. "I'll be honest—even the current me could only barely hold my own against two or three of their top experts. As for those monsters who've mastered a Domain, just dealing with one would be a tremendous challenge. And the superpowers have several Domain masters among their ranks…"
"Monsters that even you can't defeat—and there are several of them?" Junya's eyes widened in disbelief.
She knew Purple Lightning Rakshasa's strength all too well. The woman could single-handedly cut down more than ten Tier 3 experts and even triumph against the top players of first-rate guilds. She could hardly imagine that external superpowers possessed multiple experts stronger than Purple Lightning Rakshasa.
"Yes. My last trip outside showed me just how many powerful fighters exist in the wider world. Their combat level is far above ours. The only advantages we have are our Tier 3 magical skills and our level-100 equipment." Purple Lightning Rakshasa's expression turned solemn.
"Then what are we supposed to do now? If even you can't match them, the other experts in the shelter surely stand no chance." Junya's brow furrowed deeply.
She had always known the external superpowers were dangerous, but she hadn't expected them to be this strong.
"That's exactly why I told you—the Vice Guild Master Huanyu that I met outside is the best choice. If we cooperate with them, we should be able to win control of the Bronze Teleportation Gate this time and buy ourselves a breathing spell." Purple Lightning Rakshasa glanced toward Shi Feng and the others as she spoke. "Otherwise, even if every expert from the First Shelter—including Qingshuang—came over, it would still be a drop in the bucket."
"I suppose we have no other choice." Seeing how serious Purple Lightning Rakshasa's expression was, Junya understood that the upcoming battle truly offered little hope. She had never known Purple Lightning Rakshasa to lie. "Alright. Let's do as you suggest."
Junya then asked Purple Lightning Rakshasa to contact the Red Emperor's side. After relaying her instructions, she turned her gaze once more toward Shi Feng and his group.
"I apologize, everyone. I made a mistake earlier, and Purple Lightning's remarks were not meant as a slight toward Zero Wing—it's just that Aurora Shelter's fate is at stake, and that made her tense. As compensation, I can offer you all a twenty percent discount on anything you purchase at Aurora Shelter today, on behalf of the shelter. However, there's going to be a major battle here soon, so I'm afraid you won't be able to stay much longer. If you linger, you could easily be caught in the crossfire, and then even if you wanted to leave, it would be difficult." Junya regarded Shi Feng and the others with an apologetic expression.
But before Shi Feng could respond, Purple Lightning Rakshasa suddenly walked over, a flash of excitement in her eyes.
"Junya, great news! Vice Guild Master Huanyu and her people are already here. She says they'll arrive shortly, and then you can discuss the details of cooperation with them." Purple Lightning Rakshasa told Junya.
Not long after Purple Lightning Rakshasa finished speaking, a group of players appeared down the street. Leading them was a tall, supremely captivating female Priest in white robes. In an instant, the Aurora Shelter players around them erupted into commotion.
Not for any other reason than that this team of over a hundred players was, without exception, entirely composed of Tier 3 experts—the same number of Tier 3 powerhouses that the entire Aurora Shelter could muster…