The battle below the cliff raged on with increasing ferocity. Beyond the raging magical elements, earth-shaking roars and the low hum of metal clashing echoed through the canyon over and over again.
"What an intense battle." Shi Feng watched as tree after tree was blasted apart, their shattered remains spiraling through the air, and he couldn't help but look more closely.
In the tree-lined canyon below, a massive black figure could just barely be made out weaving through the forest. Everything in its path was reduced to rubble.
"What a powerful monster. That sheer destructive force is no less than a Leader-grade beast." Shi Feng narrowed his eyes, then leaped off the cliff without hesitation, intending to get a closer look.
He had come to the Dark Cavern to complete an Epic quest.
With a battle suddenly erupting right in front of him, it could very well be connected to the quest, so naturally he had to check it out.
The cliff was over a hundred meters high. An ordinary player jumping from the top would splatter on the ground below. But Shi Feng didn't care in the slightest. When he was only about twenty meters from the ground, he activated Gravity Release, instantly reducing his weight to something light as a feather. The enormous air resistance sharply decelerated his descent, allowing him to land safely.
The moment one of his feet touched the lush green grass, he immediately activated his Eye of Observation. He could easily detect any movement within a hundred-yard radius. The slightest rustle of wind and he would dodge in an instant.
This was a habit forged over years of adventuring.
When facing the unknown, caution always came first. And this was the Dark Cavern — the lair of demons — so extra vigilance was essential.
Meanwhile, the battle in the distance was growing even more intense, to the point where it was causing the ground to shake. By the time Shi Feng arrived at the scene, he discovered a pitch-black giant snake, its body over fifty meters long, lashing its tail wildly. A single sweep of that tail sliced through trees more than a meter thick as easily as cutting butter, the cuts as smooth as mirror surfaces. Then it flicked its tail again, carving a deep trench across the ground. Every movement reshaped the entire terrain.
Black Devil Serpent. Dark-type creature. Leader-grade. Level 42. Hit points: 800,000.
And fighting this Black Devil Serpent was a group of players — a six-person party. Moreover, the entire team was remarkably strong, with levels all around 29. In the Zero Wing guild, only Hei Zi had reached this level.
A level-29 Shield Warrior stood at the very front, with two ranged casters and a Ranger dealing damage from a distance, while a Priest and a Druid in the back continuously healed the Shield Warrior.
For the time being, neither side had the upper hand.
"Iron Wrist, watch out — it's Deadly Venom!" The Ranger in the back spotted the serpent's distended belly and immediately shouted a warning.
"Relax." The Shield Warrior, called Iron Wrist, actually smiled and charged straight toward the Black Devil Serpent.
The serpent opened its massive jaws and belched out billowing black smoke that spread in every direction. Grass, flowers, and trees withered and turned to ash wherever the smoke touched. But the charging Shield Warrior swung his shield and smashed it into the serpent's flank. The blow immediately disrupted the serpent's poisonous fog — it stopped spreading and began to thin out.
However, the Shield Warrior himself was now afflicted with Deadly Venom. His entire body turned pitch black, as if his skin had been painted ink-dark. His hit points plummeted with every tick — dropping by 3,000 with each pulse, instantly bringing him to critical health.
Just when the Shield Warrior looked finished, the Priest in the back had already prepared a Purify Poison. Right before the third venom tick could land, the poison was cleansed. Meanwhile, the Druid had a Life Recovery ready to go, immediately restoring over 2,000 hit points to the Shield Warrior and then regenerating over 300 hit points per second, pulling him back from the edge of death.
The Black Devil Serpent, furious at having its skill interrupted, whipped its tail toward the Shield Warrior.
At that moment, an arrow wreathed in golden light struck the serpent's tail. The instant the arrow made contact, it transformed into a series of golden chains that bound the tail to the ground.
But the serpent's strength was too great. The golden chains snapped in an instant, and the tail continued hurtling toward the Shield Warrior. Then a Spellcaster in the back row cast Ice Wall, erecting a wall of ice between the tail and the Shield Warrior. The tail's speed was reduced once more, and because of the momentary pause and dramatic deceleration, the Shield Warrior easily dodged the tail's attack.