Barely ten seconds had passed since the battle began, yet a single wave of close-quarters combat had left the confident Dark World players completely stunned.
The tanks charging at the very front were all genuine third-tier class players, and among them were plenty of well-known powerhouses. With their high defenses and massive HP pools, even other third-tier experts would need a good while to take them down.
But forget about fighting for a while — even the healers in the back ranks couldn't restore them fast enough. They were simply swept away in an instant by the combined charge and magic, without even the chance to struggle.
They half-suspected those third-tier tanks had rushed in wearing nothing but Bronze Equipment.
These were just level 120-plus third-tier NPCs. It wasn't as though they hadn't fought third-tier NPC guards from NPC cities before. Their stats might be a bit higher than players', and their combat level quite impressive, but there was no way the gap should be this massive.
Right now, it wasn't just the Dark World players who were dumbfounded — even the members of Zero Wing were watching with their jaws on the floor.
Over a thousand third-tier class warriors and several thousand second-tier experts — these weren't exactly common fodder. Even those mega powers would find such a lineup headache-inducing. Zero Wing themselves would probably need a good while to finish a battle against that kind of force. Yet in front of these third-tier knights, they were like helpless infants with no power to fight back. The two sides' combat strength simply weren't on the same plane.
And among everyone present, only Shi Feng was completely unfazed.
On the surface, these third-tier knights were only about a dozen levels above those third-tier players. The gap in combat strength shouldn't have been this wide — not even if they were decked out head to toe in Epic-grade weapons and equipment.
But current Divine Realm players had no idea that among third-tier class NPCs, combat strength varied wildly. The most obvious dividing line was the liberation of the Magic Body.
Players were different from NPCs. After reaching the third tier, players needed to spend enormous amounts of time unlocking their Magic Body on their own. NPCs who entered the third tier didn't have that problem — it depended entirely on talent and potential. Third-tier NPCs with outstanding talent and potential could unlock their Magic Body very quickly, while those with average talent and potential might never unlock it in their entire lives.
And the knights of Zero Wing's knight corps were handpicked elites, far beyond the NPC guards stationed in NPC cities. Those who had made it into the third tier were precisely the ones with exceptional talent and potential, so unlocking their Magic Body after promotion was a natural next step — nothing like the painstaking trial and error that even top-tier or peak-tier players had to endure.
But what about the current third-tier player experts in Divine Realm?
Forget about unlocking the Magic Body — barely any of them had even begun the process. Trying to fight third-tier elite NPCs with their Magic Bodies unlocked? That was at least ten years too early.
Everyone knew that back when fourth-tier classes had barely appeared in Divine Realm, a knight corps with just two or three hundred third-tier NPC warriors could hold an entire city. That was the reason why. Otherwise, how could they possibly suppress so many third-tier experts in an era when the mainstream powerhouses had already advanced to the third tier?
Moreover, his knight corps included quite a few Orc, Elf, and Giant third-tier knights. Their combat strength was an entire sub-tier above Human NPCs of the same level. An Iron Rank Orc warrior could rival a Mythril Rank Human warrior.
The weakest among these non-Human third-tier NPCs was at least Iron Rank…
Forget about those reasonably skilled third-tier players — even peak-tier third-tier experts in their best equipment wouldn't last more than a few exchanges in front of these NPCs, let alone a bunch of players far below the peak tier.
But before anyone on the battlefield could even process what was happening, Zero Wing's knight corps had already charged through. Wherever they passed, Dark World players fell like wheat before the scythe. Not a single player could withstand three moves — they were all taken out in an instant.
There were no spectacular battles or jaw-dropping combat techniques on this battlefield.
There was only sheer power and absolute terror!
In less than two minutes, the first wave of forty to fifty thousand players who had charged the hardest were now strewn across the plain, one after another. Among the fallen were five to six thousand third-tier class experts. Meanwhile, Zero Wing's knight corps hadn't sustained a single scratch — they couldn't even manage to wound these third-tier knights.
In an instant, the entire battlefield fell deathly silent.
The Dark World players who had been itching to charge forward now found themselves involuntarily backing away.
"How… how is this possible?" From the distance, Elder Rage Heart — who had been preparing to charge in and take on Zero Wing himself — stared at the carpet of Dark World players lying on the ground and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
He had assumed this battle would end in a landslide victory for the Dark World. He had considered every possibility, even that it might drag out into a prolonged engagement. But he had never imagined it would turn out like this.
Five or six thousand third-tier class experts!
That was enough firepower to casually destroy any guild city, and yet in front of Zero Wing's knight corps, they were being mowed down like common mobs on the roadside.
"How could the gap in combat strength possibly be this vast?" In the distance, the Dark Female Knight and Elder Jin — neither of whom had participated in the battle — watched the complete annihilation of the first wave, their shock beyond words.