Shi Feng already bore a deep crimson scar across his arm from the Glorious War God's Giant Bear Battle Axe.
In the Divine Realm, while striking a player's limbs didn't cause significant damage, when a player's limbs took damage, they would experience a mild numbing sensation. Additionally, because the pain wouldn't fade quickly, limb movements would become sluggish, which would affect the player's combat condition and slightly reduce their combat power.
However, most players rarely resorted to this in PvP—there was simply no need. Compared to targeting limbs, striking the body was far easier. It was simpler to defend against attacks aimed at limbs with a weapon, limbs were highly agile and hard to hit, and most importantly, striking vital points on the body dealt considerably more damage.
This tactic was generally only used by experts who wanted to toy with newcomers.
The Glorious War God clearly intended to toy with Shi Feng.
Yet despite taking the hit, Shi Feng didn't let out a single cry of pain—something that left Shuise Qiangwei quite bewildered.
After all, Shi Feng was merely a Blacksmith. In the Divine Realm, that was essentially a desk job, and his pain tolerance certainly wouldn't be high. Even veteran combat players in the Divine Realm would at least twitch their faces or let out a small yelp when struck.
Given Shi Feng's Blacksmith class, he absolutely should have screamed.
Could he have turned off his pain sensitivity? Typically, skilled players kept their pain perception at thirty percent or above. Only newbie scrubs who couldn't handle it would disable it, though most kept it around twenty percent. But Shi Feng clearly didn't look like some clueless rookie—he couldn't have turned off the pain system. And yet he'd definitely been hit, without the slightest hint of pain on his face. In fact, he was smiling. This was far too abnormal.
But the Glorious War God didn't care about any of that. Though he felt something was missing—like a scream—it didn't stop him from continuing his assault. Chop after chop landed on Shi Feng's limbs, and after a full five seconds of relentless attacking, he nearly screamed with excitement himself.
Meanwhile, Shuise Qiangwei grew more alarmed with every passing moment.
"Hei Yan—who exactly are you?!"
What stunned Shuise Qiangwei wasn't the ferocity of the Glorious War God's frenzied attacks—it was Shi Feng's health bar.
Despite the relentless onslaught, the Glorious War God's attacks had barely dented Shi Feng's HP. Visibly less than ten percent had been lost. And after five seconds, his health had already climbed back to roughly ninety-five percent.
What shocked Shuise Qiangwei the most was the damage the Glorious War God was dealing to Shi Feng.
True, the Glorious War God was a Shield Warrior, and his damage output was significantly lower than that of a comparably-leveled Berserker. But he was wearing a full set of ninth-level Iron-rank gear and wielded a Mythril-rank Giant Bear Battle Axe. His attack power was no worse than an ordinary ninth-level Berserker's.
Despite not using skills, none of his hits exceeded fifteen points of damage. Shi Feng's defense was absolutely terrifying.
"How can you still have that much health?!" The Glorious War God suddenly halted his relentless barrage, wanting to see the agony on Shi Feng's face—only to discover in shock that Shi Feng had barely lost any HP at all. A glance at his damage log showed individual hits of barely ten points each...
"Good reflexes, precise attacks, solid combat technique—above average, and able to fight in a Transcendent State. Worthy of being a top-five Shield Warrior in Twilight Echo." Shi Feng gave a quick assessment of the Glorious War God's skill level, then smiled. "Since you're done hitting, it's my turn."
He was level fourteen. The Glorious War God was level nine. In the Divine Realm, when the level gap between a player and a monster reached three levels, damage was reduced by roughly fifty percent due to level suppression. Between players, the reduction was sixty-five percent. At a five-level gap, damage was cut by eighty percent. At ten or more levels, it exceeded ninety-five percent.
On top of that, Shi Feng was equipped with the Silver Moon set, granting him exceptional defense. Having just reached level fourteen, his Endurance stat had surpassed eighty, activating the hidden passive skill Basic Body Enhancement—any damage below fifty points was dramatically reduced, combat recovery was slightly boosted, and stamina regeneration received a minor increase.
This was why the Glorious War God's damage against him was negligible, while his own combat recovery restored a substantial amount of HP with each tick.
This was the nature of virtual games—the gaps in levels and stats created vast disparities in power, and the Glorious War God clearly had no idea.
"Big talk. You're nothing but a wooden dummy with high defense. Watch me take you down and drag you back to level zero—you'll regret ever crossing me!" The Glorious War God refused to believe—refused to even consider—that Shi Feng could do anything to him. He then raised his Giant Bear Battle Axe and delivered a devastating overhead smash aimed at Shi Feng's chest.
This time, the Glorious War God wasn't playing around. He intended to cut Shi Feng down in the blink of an eye like a hurricane, so he imbued the attack with a skill.
But Shuise Qiangwei, watching from afar, didn't believe for a second that Shi Feng was bluffing. Since the fight began, Shi Feng had only swung his sword once at the start, then stood completely still for a full five seconds, letting the Glorious War God attack nonstop.
Five seconds—even the worst player could have launched multiple attacks or defenses in that time. But Shi Feng had done neither...
The Giant Bear Battle Axe plunged clean through Shi Feng's body. The Glorious War God's lips curled into a cold smirk, now even more convinced that Shi Feng was all talk.
"Afterimage?!" The Glorious War God suddenly realized the sensation of his axe striking through the body felt wrong. Only then did he grasp that what stood before him was nothing but an illusion. He frantically whipped his head around, searching for Shi Feng's position.
Shi Feng was already standing behind the Glorious War God—silent, soundless, as though he didn't exist. He subtly moved his right hand, and the Abyssal in his grip gently pierced toward the Glorious War God's back. The sturdy breastplate offered no resistance, easily penetrated clean through in a heart-piercing strike.
In an instant, the Glorious War God felt a searing pain explode through his chest. For a pampered young master like him, when had he ever experienced such agony? He let out a piercing scream as over three hundred damage points erupted above his head, instantly carving away more than a fifth of his HP.
"What incredible speed! What terrifying attack power!" Shuise Qiangwei saw it all with perfect clarity from afar, so shocked she didn't even blink. She never imagined that Shi Feng—a Blacksmith by class—could be this formidable in actual combat. His attack power was simply inhuman. Keep in mind, the Glorious War God was wearing a full ninth-level Iron-rank set along with a Mythril-rank shield—his defense was extraordinary, yet Shi Feng had still casually slashed him for over three hundred damage in a normal attack...
Between the two, the Glorious War God was completely outmatched in both defense and offense. The gap in their strength was blatant—they weren't even in the same league.
For someone at the Glorious War God's level to still have such a glaring disparity was simply unbelievable. It completely overturned everything Shuise Qiangwei thought she knew about the Divine Realm.
After landing his stab, Shi Feng gave him no further chance. He swung the Abyssal again, slashing into the Glorious War God's body. A triple critical hit of over twenty-four hundred damage erupted instantly, one-shotting the Glorious War God in a single blow. (To be continued...)
P.S. Thanks to Wo Ai Ye Chunhua for the 100-point tip!