"No good — the damage output is still too low. At this rate, we'll be the first to fall." After several rounds of exchanges, Shi Feng had already run the rough calculations in his head. His mind raced as he searched for a solution.
When the Dark Knight Gaia's HP dropped to 70%, everyone began to sense something was off.
The massive spear in the Dark Knight Gaia's hands moved like a titanic serpent — devastating yet nimble. He parried the group's attacks with increasing ease, blocking hit after hit and rendering their efforts meaningless. It was as if a God of Spears had descended upon them.
With a single savage swing of the pitch-black spear, Shi Feng and the others behind him were sent flying. Shi Feng reacted instantly, raising his sword in a parry to negate the damage, but the rest weren't so fortunate. Damage numbers of over two thousand popped up above each of their heads, placing enormous strain on the healers.
Ke Le, who bore the brunt of the aggro, was forced back three or four steps before he could steady himself, a damage figure of over forty-three hundred flashing above him.
"Guild Leader, this boss is getting more and more ferocious. At this rate, I'm afraid I can't hold out much longer." Guardian Knight Ke Le no longer sounded as relaxed as before.
Every one of the Dark Knight Gaia's attacks now dealt over three thousand damage to Ke Le. If a critical hit was triggered or a skill was used, the damage could exceed four thousand. Even with Ke Le's seven thousand-plus HP, the pressure was immense — his health kept hovering dangerously around the safety line.
This was precisely what made the Dark Knight Gaia so fearsome: the longer the fight dragged on, the stronger he became.
On the surface, the Dark Knight Gaia hadn't unleashed any major skills. In truth, he had been using one all along.
Blood Rage — the longer the battle lasted, the greater the damage dealt and the faster the attack speed climbed. This single ability alone was enough to bring every guild to its knees.
There was also the devastating wipe skill Blood Domain, which covered a one-hundred-yard radius. Every enemy within its range would have a Blood Demon materialize behind them. Each Blood Demon had ten thousand HP, but that was misleading — they barely attacked at all. The moment the Blood Demon's target came within three yards, it would self-destruct in a twenty-yard blast. On Hell Difficulty, the explosion dealt two thousand points of damage.
But with the Dark Knight Gaia having been strengthened by the quest, Shi Feng had no idea how much damage those Blood Demon detonations would actually deal. It certainly wouldn't be less than two thousand.
If the Blood Demons weren't eliminated quickly and allowed to detonate at will, the result would be a total wipe. Furthermore, with every party member fleeing from the Blood Demons, the formation would be thrown into chaos — making a wipe even more likely. So the moment any Blood Demon appeared, it had to be destroyed in the shortest time possible.
"Holy Light Blessing alone isn't enough to deal with this boss. If we can't boost our damage any further, it's only a matter of time before we're finished." Shi Feng glanced over and saw that the four healers had roughly half their mana left, yet the Dark Knight Gaia still had 65% HP. At this rate, they definitely wouldn't last until the end — and that was without the Dark Knight even using Blood Domain yet. When that happened, the pressure on the healers would be even worse.
"Brother Feng, if this keeps up, we're going to wipe. If there's no other way, I'll use Star of Light right now." Hei Zi whispered privately to him.
Star of Light was the most powerful damage skill possessed by the epic-grade staff Mephisto's Guard. Its power far surpassed second-tier magic — a single cast was enough to annihilate heaven and earth. However, its cooldown was a full half hour, meaning it could only be used once per boss fight at most. It was their ultimate trump card.
Because of this, Hei Zi always asked Shi Feng beforehand for the go-ahead, letting Shi Feng decide the optimal moment to use it.
"No — it's still too early." Shi Feng had already planned it out. Star of Light had to be reserved for Blood Domain. With its overwhelming power, a single cast would be enough to annihilate every Blood Demon in an instant.
But if they didn't use it now, they might not even survive long enough for the Dark Knight to activate Blood Domain — they'd be wiped out first.
A dilemma with no clear answer. Shi Feng didn't know what to do.
"We're just not strong enough." A bitter smile flickered through Shi Feng's mind. Their party was already so powerful, yet it still wasn't enough. He couldn't even imagine how the people back then had managed to complete this quest.
Then again, back then the top players in the guild had already advanced to first-tier professions. Facing first-tier players who were level 20 or higher, and who sported peak-tier level-20 equipment — since weapons and armor received a major upgrade every five levels, and level 20 was the first watershed for players — a level-15 Hell Difficulty Demon's Castle was nothing. It had been a complete steamroll.